Kent Adamson(I)
- Additional Crew
- Producer
- Writer
Kent Adamson, an award winning filmmaker,began making movies at the age
of 11,shooting family events with a Super-8 camera he borrowed from his
uncle. At 18, he attended USC School of Cinema - Production. His
professional career in film and television began in Los Angeles,
working for Pierre Cossette on the pilot of "Great American Homes",
also at the age of 18. He went on to work on several drive-in movies
for Roger Corman and Charles B. Griffith at New World Pictures.Kent
also worked with Menahem Golan at Cannon Films in the late 1970s and
early 1980s.
A pioneer in Home Entertainment, DTV Movies, and early Pay Per View/On Demand/Cable, Kent was Senior VP of Production at Select and On TV National Movie Channels in the 1980s. He then worked for Sony Pictures, and other corporate entertainment companies in the 1990s/2000s. Among several SPP projects, he helped to launch the DVD format.
Kent Adamson has also had a lengthy career from the 1980s to the present day as a documentary historian, shooting thousands of hours of film, video, and digital media, as well as recording extensive oral histories on Los Angeles & Hollywood nightlife and history, Spoken Word Poetry and Slam Poets, and underground music/nightclubs. He worked closely with actress Ann Savage from 2000 - 2008 as her authorized biographer and began production of a feature length documentary of her life and films.
Originally, in the 1960s and 70s, Kent was inspired by visits to his family in Los Angeles and Hollywood and revival screenings at La Jolla's famed Unicorn Cinema. The Unicorn screened the best available 35MM prints of such classic films as The Third Man (1949), Shoot The Piano Player (1933), Footlight Parade (1933) and all the works of Buster Keaton and Charles Chaplin. This was before the home video revolution. After having a hole blown though his head and all sense of vision and hearing overwhelmed by The Third Man (1949), it would be six years before Kent would see another quality screening of the film. The Unicorn Cinema also hosted special Club screenings which frequently invited filmmakers to screen their work and mingle with members. This allowed Kent to receive early career/film school advice from such notables as Robert Wise with The Andromeda Strain (1971), George Seaton with Airport (1970) and Vincente Minnelli with An American in Paris (1951) and Gigi (1958).
As a teenager, Kent began to win awards as a filmmaker, and in acting and public speaking. He played Horatio in Shakespeare's Hamlet, a Kearny High School production that won first place in statewide competition. He was accepted into the USC Department of Cinema and achieved his then young, but lifelong dream of moving to Hollywood. At USC, he enjoyed studying under the beloved Bernard Kantor, Arthur Knight, Arthur Mayer, Gary Prebula and Richard Jewell. As a student, Kent was privileged to be on the set of The Big Red One (1980) and observe the legendary director, Samuel Fuller, at work. He also met and worked with Academy Award-winning producer/writer/director Robert Pirosh, and became friends with student filmmakers Richard Redeman and Larry Wessel. While still at USC, Kent worked for Roger Corman and assisted Menahem Golan during the last days of the drive-in movie market.
Cannon was a prolific training ground in screenplay development, the nuts and bolts of professional line production, production management and the marketing and promotion of feature films. Led by the larger than life personalities of Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus (Cousins) known as the "Go Go Boys" and "The GG's", Cannon functioned as a mini-studio in continual production. Kent worked for Cannon from the beginning of the GG's arrival in Hollywood. Kent functioned as a one-man story department for Menahem Golan, reading and writing summaries for over a thousand submitted screenplays. Privy to the inner workings of development of every Cannon film during the early 1980s, Kent learned every aspect of film genre first hand. From introducing the "Ninja" cycle, to the musical Breakin' cycle and Cannon's redefinition of action movies with Bronson, Stallone, Van Damme and even Leon Isaac Kennedy, it was a unique training ground. Quickly building a company of international proportions, the GG's also imparted a knowledge of international finance, distribution and festival promotion to Kent.
As the drive-in movie market began its slow fade out, the dawn of the Satellite/Cable TV and Home Video era began. Kent transitioned quickly to these new markets, eventually working under USC alum, filmmaker Richard Redeman at SelecTV of America. He ultimately became Senior Vice President of Production, responsible for the production of thousands of hours of programming, advertising, interstitial material and promotional materials. Kent then transitioned into the freelance production world working with Time-Warner, Sony Pictures, Columbia TriStar Home Video, New World Pictures, CBS, NBC, HBO, Showtime and many others. Kent also co-founded "Magic Lantern Film and Video with fellow USC alum "Cochise" Miller.
Kent is based in Hollywood, California. Within a family tradition of service to the community, he devotes time to Charitable/Nonprofit work in the areas of Historic Preservation, Food and Personal Support programs for the needy, and the encouragement of young creative artists. He was a full six year term member on the Board of Directors of Hollywood Heritage, a nonprofit which operates the DeMille/Lasky Barn - a now restored barn originally rented by Cecil B. DeMille in 1913 - considered the first studio in Hollywood.
In 2005, Kent began working with Josh Caldwell developing and producing music, film and digital projects resulting in the launch of the band Les Blanks, the book project Savage Detours, and ongoing vinyl record and video releases of artists including Wammo of The Asylum Street Spankers, Fkenal, Jessica Schwartz, and several others.
Kent Adamson was married to writer Corinne Greiner for seven years of an eighteen-year relationship. She is also known as the award-winning poet and authoress of PYX, Corinne Lee.
A pioneer in Home Entertainment, DTV Movies, and early Pay Per View/On Demand/Cable, Kent was Senior VP of Production at Select and On TV National Movie Channels in the 1980s. He then worked for Sony Pictures, and other corporate entertainment companies in the 1990s/2000s. Among several SPP projects, he helped to launch the DVD format.
Kent Adamson has also had a lengthy career from the 1980s to the present day as a documentary historian, shooting thousands of hours of film, video, and digital media, as well as recording extensive oral histories on Los Angeles & Hollywood nightlife and history, Spoken Word Poetry and Slam Poets, and underground music/nightclubs. He worked closely with actress Ann Savage from 2000 - 2008 as her authorized biographer and began production of a feature length documentary of her life and films.
Originally, in the 1960s and 70s, Kent was inspired by visits to his family in Los Angeles and Hollywood and revival screenings at La Jolla's famed Unicorn Cinema. The Unicorn screened the best available 35MM prints of such classic films as The Third Man (1949), Shoot The Piano Player (1933), Footlight Parade (1933) and all the works of Buster Keaton and Charles Chaplin. This was before the home video revolution. After having a hole blown though his head and all sense of vision and hearing overwhelmed by The Third Man (1949), it would be six years before Kent would see another quality screening of the film. The Unicorn Cinema also hosted special Club screenings which frequently invited filmmakers to screen their work and mingle with members. This allowed Kent to receive early career/film school advice from such notables as Robert Wise with The Andromeda Strain (1971), George Seaton with Airport (1970) and Vincente Minnelli with An American in Paris (1951) and Gigi (1958).
As a teenager, Kent began to win awards as a filmmaker, and in acting and public speaking. He played Horatio in Shakespeare's Hamlet, a Kearny High School production that won first place in statewide competition. He was accepted into the USC Department of Cinema and achieved his then young, but lifelong dream of moving to Hollywood. At USC, he enjoyed studying under the beloved Bernard Kantor, Arthur Knight, Arthur Mayer, Gary Prebula and Richard Jewell. As a student, Kent was privileged to be on the set of The Big Red One (1980) and observe the legendary director, Samuel Fuller, at work. He also met and worked with Academy Award-winning producer/writer/director Robert Pirosh, and became friends with student filmmakers Richard Redeman and Larry Wessel. While still at USC, Kent worked for Roger Corman and assisted Menahem Golan during the last days of the drive-in movie market.
Cannon was a prolific training ground in screenplay development, the nuts and bolts of professional line production, production management and the marketing and promotion of feature films. Led by the larger than life personalities of Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus (Cousins) known as the "Go Go Boys" and "The GG's", Cannon functioned as a mini-studio in continual production. Kent worked for Cannon from the beginning of the GG's arrival in Hollywood. Kent functioned as a one-man story department for Menahem Golan, reading and writing summaries for over a thousand submitted screenplays. Privy to the inner workings of development of every Cannon film during the early 1980s, Kent learned every aspect of film genre first hand. From introducing the "Ninja" cycle, to the musical Breakin' cycle and Cannon's redefinition of action movies with Bronson, Stallone, Van Damme and even Leon Isaac Kennedy, it was a unique training ground. Quickly building a company of international proportions, the GG's also imparted a knowledge of international finance, distribution and festival promotion to Kent.
As the drive-in movie market began its slow fade out, the dawn of the Satellite/Cable TV and Home Video era began. Kent transitioned quickly to these new markets, eventually working under USC alum, filmmaker Richard Redeman at SelecTV of America. He ultimately became Senior Vice President of Production, responsible for the production of thousands of hours of programming, advertising, interstitial material and promotional materials. Kent then transitioned into the freelance production world working with Time-Warner, Sony Pictures, Columbia TriStar Home Video, New World Pictures, CBS, NBC, HBO, Showtime and many others. Kent also co-founded "Magic Lantern Film and Video with fellow USC alum "Cochise" Miller.
Kent is based in Hollywood, California. Within a family tradition of service to the community, he devotes time to Charitable/Nonprofit work in the areas of Historic Preservation, Food and Personal Support programs for the needy, and the encouragement of young creative artists. He was a full six year term member on the Board of Directors of Hollywood Heritage, a nonprofit which operates the DeMille/Lasky Barn - a now restored barn originally rented by Cecil B. DeMille in 1913 - considered the first studio in Hollywood.
In 2005, Kent began working with Josh Caldwell developing and producing music, film and digital projects resulting in the launch of the band Les Blanks, the book project Savage Detours, and ongoing vinyl record and video releases of artists including Wammo of The Asylum Street Spankers, Fkenal, Jessica Schwartz, and several others.
Kent Adamson was married to writer Corinne Greiner for seven years of an eighteen-year relationship. She is also known as the award-winning poet and authoress of PYX, Corinne Lee.
