David Puttnam at Columbia Pictures, Part 2: The Films Taking Shape Inside a Changing Studio

During David Puttnam’s tenure at Columbia Pictures, the studio entered a period of active transition, with a slate of films moving through development and production under his leadership. In Part 2 of this series on The 80s Movie Podcast, we examine the projects taking shape while Puttnam was still running the studio, and how his approach influenced what Columbia was greenlighting during this period.

This chapter covers a wide-ranging slate that includes Hope and Glory, School Daze, The Last Emperor, Vice Versa, Someone to Watch Over Me, and other films in various stages of production. The mix reflects Puttnam’s interest in filmmaker-driven projects and more selective development, set against the practical realities of managing a major Hollywood studio with commercial expectations.

As these films begin moving toward release, tensions between vision, budget, and market expectations become more visible, setting up the pressures that will define the final phase of his leadership. Part 3 continues as these projects reach theaters and the consequences of this period start to become clear.

Start the series: David Puttnam at Columbia Pictures, Part 1: The British Outsider Who Tried to Rewire Hollywood
Continue to Part 3: David Puttnam After Columbia Pictures, Part 3: The 1988 Slate and the Studio Under Strain
Final Part: Columbia Pictures After David Puttnam, Part 4: Fallout, Reassessment, and the End of an Experiment

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Original 1988 Theatrical One-Sheet for Spike Lee's School Daze

The titles discussed during this episode include:

The Big Easy (Jim McBride, August 1987)
The Big Town (Ben Bolt, September 1987)
Hope and Glory (John Boorman, October 1987)
Housekeeping (Bill Forsyth, November 1987)
The Last Emperor (Bernardo Bertolucci, November 1987)
Leonard Part 6 (Paul Weiland, December 1987)
Little Nikita (Richard Benjamin, March 1988)
Pulse (Paul Golding, March 1988)
School Daze (Spike Lee, February 1988)
Someone to Watch Over Me (Ridley Scott, October 1987)
Stars and Bars (Pat O'Connor, March 1988)
The Stranger (Adolfo Aristarian, December 1987)
A Time of Destiny (Gregory Nava, April 1988)
Vice Versa (Brian Gilbert, March 1988)
White Mischief (Michael Radford, April 1988)
Zelly and Me (Tina Rathborne, April 1988)

Spike Lee, Giancarlo Esposito, Larry Fishburne and the cast of School Daze

Original 1988 Theatrical One-Sheet for Pat O'Connor's Stars and Bars