Dualstar

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Dualstar Entertainment Group, LLC
Company typePrivate LLC
Industryfashion, entertainment
FoundedMay 5, 1993; 30 years ago (1993-05-05)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
FoundersMary-Kate Olsen
Ashley Olsen
Headquarters
Culver City, California
,
United States
Footnotes / references
[1]

Dualstar Entertainment Group, LLC is a privately held American limited liability company owned by twin sister actresses Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen, which produced films, television series, magazines, video games, and other popular media. Dualstar was based in Los Angeles, California and is now based in Culver City.

History[edit]

The company Dualstar Productions was originally started in 1993 by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, then-stars of Full House, at the age of 6. They had a development deal at Warner Bros. and ABC, who had a television broadcast contract,[2] and set up its own video and audio arm with a deal at BMG Kidz, the kids label of BMG.[3][4] It then became a pioneer in the tween industry.[5]

The company operated eight such subsidiaries such as: Dualstar Productions, Dualstar Animation, Dualstar Records, Dualstar Video & DVD, Dualstar Interactive, Dualstar Publications, Dualstar Consumer Products and Dualstar Clothing.

Dissatisfied by the BMG deal, the Olsens opted to move the Dualstar Video label to WarnerVision Entertainment in 1995.[6]

In 1999, it entered into a partnership with game publisher Acclaim Entertainment to launch its Dualstar Interactive line.[7] Also that year, it launched Dualstar Animation and entered into a pact with DIC Entertainment to launch a Mary-Kate and Ashley cartoon.[8] The cartoon was subsequently picked up by ABC in 2001 for Disney's One Saturday Morning block.[9] In 2003, the group estimated that the sales are around $1.4 billion.[5] The interactive unit subsequently filed a lawsuit against Acclaim Entertainment in 2004.[10] Also that year upon their 18th birthday, the Olsens took control of the Dualstar studio.[11]

In 2006, Dualstar partnered with Dylan and Cole Sprouse, the twin brothers from Disney's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, to produce Code a magazine geared toward a young male demographic.[5]

In April 2015, Mary-Kate and Ashley reached a deal with Viacom-owned Nickelodeon to license the entire library.[12]

Operations[edit]

On May 7, 2004, the company released New York Minute, the Olsen twins' last and only theatrical film since 1995's It Takes Two. The film did not do well at the box office, and suffered negative critical reception.[citation needed] Since then, Dualstar and the Olsens have neither produced nor starred in another film.

Productions[edit]

Feature films[edit]

Musical video series[edit]

Television series[edit]

Legal issue[edit]

A class action lawsuit against Dualstar alleges that the Entertainment Group failed to pay interns for menial tasks. The suit, brought forth by forty past and current interns, argues that the interns should have been paid minimum wage because they were doing similar jobs as their paid colleagues, without receiving academic or vocational credit.[13]

Dualstar responded, "As an initial matter, Dualstar is an organization that is committed to treating all individuals fairly and in accordance with all applicable laws. The allegations in the complaint filed against Dualstar are groundless, and Dualstar will vigorously defend itself against plaintiff's claims in court, not before the media. Dualstar is confident that once the true facts of this case are revealed, the lawsuit will be dismissed in its entirety."[14] The lawsuit was settled out of court in March 2017 for $140,000.[15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Business Entity Detail: DUALSTAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP, INC. (search on Entity Number: C1857445)". California Business Search. California Secretary of State. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  2. ^ Lowry, Brian (1993-05-12). "Dozen movies and trio of minis on ABC sked". Variety. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
  3. ^ McCormick, Moira (1993-08-21). "Child's Play" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
  4. ^ McCormick, Moira (1993-09-18). "Zoom, BMG Push Olsens Via QVC, Prime-Time Spots" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
  5. ^ a b c Bahney, Anna (2006-04-30). "Boys Just Want to Be ... Olsens". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  6. ^ Goldstein, Seth (1995-04-15). "WarnerVision Nabs Olsen Twins Vid Titles from BMG" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
  7. ^ L. Scott, Tracey (2001-12-16). "The Olsen Twins: Playing With a Full Corporate House...Mary-Kate and Ashley Inc". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  8. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (1999-03-17). "Olsen twins pact for Disney toon". Variety. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  9. ^ Bernstein, Paula (2001-03-09). "ABC adds Olsens toon to Sat. ayem". Variety. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  10. ^ "Acclaim sued by Olsen twins over videogame contract". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  11. ^ Billey, Catherine (2005-01-29). "Arts, Briefly; Olsen Twins Take Charge". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  12. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (2015-04-23). "Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen's Classic Movies & Series Heading to Nickelodeon". Variety. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  13. ^ "Olsen twins respond to intern lawsuit". Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  14. ^ Feitelberg, Rosemary (11 August 2015). "Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's Dualstar Entertainment Fires Back About Unpaid Interns Lawsuit". Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  15. ^ Slattery, Denis. "Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen to pay interns $140G in wage theft lawsuit - NY Daily News". Retrieved 9 September 2018.
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