Mitchell, Pieces (1982) starring Christopher George, They Call Me Bruce? (1982), The Pod People (1983), Vigilante (1983) starring Robert Forster, The House on Sorority Row (1983), Mortuary (1983) starring Bill Paxton, The Power (1984), Alley Cat (1984), and Mutant (1984) starring Bo Hopkins. Demise In 1980, FVI acquired the rights to the Italian film Great White, a thinly veiled Jaws rip-off starring James Franciscus and Vic Morrow. Montoro and FVI spent over $4 million in advertising in the U.S., but Universal Pictures promptly filed a lawsuit, claiming that the film was too derivative of Jaws. Universal won the lawsuit and Great White was pulled from the theaters after just one week of release. The failure of Great White was a major monetary loss for FVI. By 1984, FVI was on the verge of collapse due to multiple financial issues, including the release failure of Great White, the poor box-office performance of the studio's final film Mutant, and a pending divorce settlement of Montoro's. Surprising many within the industry, Montoro took $1 million from FVI and vanished, never to be seen again. Film Ventures International officially closed its doors in 1985, filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and later being purchased by the INI Entertainment Group. Montoro's whereabouts remain unknown to this day, though it is believed he fled to Mexico. In 1987, Film Ventures International attempted to return to film production with a co-venture of April Films to set up a film project called The Prank, and received a three-picture co-production deal over the next 12 months and with the acquisition of co-production and distribution of other ventures, after becoming a subsidiary of INI Entertainment Group (at that time it was called Independent Network Inc.). That year, Film Ventures International acquired the rights to two feature films, namely Operation: Take No Prisoners and Phantom Empire, two of the action films that were churned out for a ten-picture acquisition and in-house production blueprint for the next twelve months, slated to go through 1988. In other media Some of their films, including fan favorites Pod People and Cave Dwellers, were eventually riffed by the cult TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000. References External links Interview discussing Film Ventures International Site devoted to film director William Girdler American companies established in 1968 Mass media companies established in 1968 Mass media companies disestablished in 1985 Film production companies of the United States Companies based in Atlanta