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Harpo Productions

Harpo Productions
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Foundation date 1 january 1986
Creator Oprah Winfrey

Harpo Productions (also referred to as Harpo Studios) is an incorporated US-based multimedia production company founded by Oprah Winfrey (the name "Harpo" is "Oprah" spelled backwards, and was the name of her on-screen husband in The Color Purple) and is the sole subsidiary of her media and entertainment company, Harpo, Inc. Harpo Productions's subsidiaries consist of Harpo Radio, Inc. (the company's radio broadcasting division) and Harpo Print, LLC (the company's publishing house). Another of its subsidiaries, Harpo Films (the company's film studio), was shut down in early 2013. The company also counts in its holdings 50% of the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) (the company's joint venture cable network with Discovery Communications). It was based in Chicago, and Harpo Studios (the company's TV production studio and corporate headquarters for Harpo Productions) was located in the Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago until the studios closed in 2015. Harpo Productions and OWN are both currently based in West Hollywood, Los Angeles.

The land where the production studio formerly sat once housed the 2nd Regiment Armory that was used as a makeshift morgue for victims of the capsizing of the steamer SS Eastland. The 88,000-square-foot (8,200 m) facility was renovated and opened in the late 1980s for use by The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Best films

Selma
Selma
(2014) Precious
Precious
(2009)
See more : Wikipedia

Filmography of Harpo Productions (7 films)

Display filmography as list

Production

The Hundred-Foot Journey
The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)
, 2h
Directed by Lasse Hallström
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Themes Cooking films
Actors Helen Mirren, Manish Dayal, Om Puri, Juhi Chawla, Charlotte Le Bon, Clément Sibony

The Kadam family ran a restaurant in Mumbai. The second-oldest son, Hassan (Manish Dayal), was being groomed to replace his mother (Juhi Chawla) as the restaurant's main cook. However, a mob attacks and firebombs the restaurant over an election dispute. Papa Kadam (Om Puri) and his family evacuate the guests, but Mama is killed. Seeking asylum in Europe, the family first settles in London, where their residence proves ill-suited for a restaurant. They depart for mainland Europe.
Selma
Selma (2014)
, 2h8
Directed by Ava DuVernay
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Biography, Historical
Themes Films about racism, Political films
Actors David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, Common, Carmen Ejogo, Tim Roth, Lorraine Toussaint

In 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) accepts his Nobel Peace Prize. Four African-American girls are shown walking down the stairs of the 16th Street Baptist Church until an explosion explosion set by the Ku Klux Klan kills them. In Selma, Alabama, Annie Lee Cooper attempts to register to vote but is prevented by the white registrar. King meets with President Lyndon B. Johnson and asks for federal legislation to allow black citizens to register to vote unencumbered. Johnson says he has more important projects.
Precious
Precious (2009)
, 1h49
Directed by Lee Daniels
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes L'adolescence, Films about education, Films about children, Films about families, Pregnancy films, Medical-themed films, Obésité, Films about sexuality, Rape in fiction, LGBT-related films, Films about disabilities, Films about school violence, LGBT-related films, HIV/AIDS in film, LGBT-related film
Actors Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Sherri Shepherd

In 1987, obese, illiterate 16-year-old Claireece Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) lives in the New York City ghetto of Harlem with her dysfunctional, abusive, unemployed mother, Mary (Mo'Nique), who has long subjected her to physical, mental and sexual abuse. Precious has also been raped by her father, Carl (Rodney "Bear" Jackson), resulting in two pregnancies. The family resides in a Section 8 tenement and survives on welfare. Her first child, "Mongo" (short for Mongoloid), has Down syndrome and is being cared for by Precious' grandmother, though Mary forces the family to pretend that Mongo lives with her and Precious so she can receive extra money from the government. When Precious' second pregnancy is discovered, her high school principal arranges for her to attend an alternative school, where she hopes Precious can change her life's direction. Precious finds a way out of her traumatic daily life by escaping into daydreams. In her mind, she has created an alternate world where she is loved and appreciated.
The Great Debaters
The Great Debaters (2007)
, 2h6
Directed by Denzel Washington
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Films about education, Films about racism
Actors Forest Whitaker, Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Denzel Whitaker, Denzel Washington, John Heard

Based on a true story, the plot revolves around the efforts of debate coach Melvin B. Tolson (Denzel Washington) at historically black Wiley College to place his team on equal footing with whites in the American South during the 1930s, when Jim Crow laws were common and lynch mobs were a pervasive fear for blacks. In the movie, the Wiley team eventually succeeds to the point where they are able to debate Harvard University. This was their 47th annual debate team.
Tuesdays with Morrie
Tuesdays with Morrie (1999)
, 1h25
Directed by Mick Jackson
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy-drama
Actors Jack Lemmon, Hank Azaria, Wendy Moniz, Caroline Aaron, Bonnie Bartlett, Aaron Lustig

Mitch became caught up with his career as a sport commentator and journalist. He ignored his girlfriend and did not make time to do things in life that are of the most value to a human being. Now he has learned that Morrie, one of Mitch's professors, is dying of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease" or ALS. Reconnecting with Morrie teaches Mitch a lot about his old friend and himself.
Beloved
Beloved (1998)
, 2h52
Directed by Jonathan Demme
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Horror, Historical
Themes Films about slavery, Films about racism, Films about religion, Films about sexuality, Rape in fiction
Actors Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Kimberly Elise, Beah Richards, Lisa Gay Hamilton

Sethe is a former slave living on the outskirts of Cincinnati shortly after the Civil War. An angry poltergeist terrorizes Sethe and her three children, causing her two sons to run away forever. Eight years later, Sethe (Oprah Winfrey) lives alone with her daughter, Denver (Kimberly Elise). Paul D. (Danny Glover), an old friend from Sweet Home, the plantation Sethe had escaped from years earlier, finds Sethe's home, where he drives off the angry spirit. Afterwards, Paul D. proposes that he should stay and Sethe responds favorably. Shortly after Paul D. moves in, a clean, mentally handicapped young woman (Thandie Newton) named Beloved stumbles into Sethe's yard and also stays with them.

Distribution