George Harrison Was ‘Taken Advantage of Horribly’ While Running a Celebrated Film Company
In 1978, George Harrison wanted to see Monty Python’s Life of Brian, so he founded a film production company in order to do so. The company was initially successful, putting out many films and revitalizing the British film industry. As the years went by, though, it began to struggle financially. Harrison didn’t realize just how tightly his own financial security was tied to the company. An accountant who looked into the declining business said that Harrison was being taken advantage of by his business partner.
George Harrison started his film production company in 1978
Harrison had befriended several members of Monty Python, so when the group needed financial backing for Life of Brian, they turned to the former Beatle for help.
“What happened was that I helped to raise the money for them in order to make the film when the previous backer pulled out,” Harrison told Rolling Stone in 1979. “As I’m a Monty Python fan, I wanted to see the movie — I like to go and have a laugh too — and a friend suggested that I try and raise the money. So we just got a loan from a bank. It’s a risk I suppose.”
With his business partner Denis O’Brien, Harrison founded HandMade films, a production company.
He didn’t realize that his business partner was taking advantage of him
By the end of the 1980s, HandMade was in rough financial waters due to a string of unsuccessful films. After hiring an accountant to look into the situation, however, Harrison learned that things were worse than he thought. Instead of being equal financial partners with O’Brien as he’d thought, Harrison alone was responsible for the company’s mounting debts. Per the book Very Naughty Boys by Robert Sellers, Harrison owed roughly $25 million to creditors.
According to accountant John Reiss, the amount owed didn’t bankrupt the musician, but it was still a staggering amount.
“O’Brien milked George directly or indirectly in every conceivable way possible that I believe George would have become bankrupt,” Reiss said. “It was only the launch of The Beatles’ albums on CD in the early Nineties that came to his rescue. A big flood of money came in and also later with subsequent Beatle re-releases. So I imagine he died a wealthy man, but he wouldn’t have done had his fortune been wiped out at that stage, which wouldn’t have been very nice because he was an honest, decent man. I think he was taken advantage of horribly.”
Harrison sued O’Brien, and in 1996, a court awarded him $11 million.
George Harrison didn’t want to sign the papers to sell his film production company
In 1994, Harrison sold HandMade to Paragon Entertainment Corp for $8.5 million. The situation upset Harrison so deeply that he only wanted to sign his name one time to hand the company over.
When he arrived at the signing meeting, though, lawyers presented him with 20 separate contracts. Harrison refused to sign. It wasn’t until they compiled the contracts into one single document, allowing for only one signature, that he signed and wiped his hands of the company.
