Lopert formed Pax Films and Juno Films to distribute foreign films in the US, most famously
Mayerling (1936). He became head of foreign film distribution for
MGM, resigning in 1946 to become an independent distributor. Lopert remarked that prior to
World War II only 12 foreign films a year played in the United States and it was impossible to make a living distributing foreign language films in America.
Lopert Films was created in 1947 to release foreign films in the USA such as
Shoeshine (1946),
Richard III (1955), and
Nights of Cabiria (1957). Lopert produced
Summertime (1955) for
David Lean and
Katharine Hepburn and also owned two cinemas in Washington D.C. the DuPont and Playhouse and one cinema in New York City, the Plaza. Though critically acclaimed, his films were American
box office failures that forced him to sell his theatres. In 1958,
United Artists bought Lopert Films, renaming them Lopert Pictures to release foreign films that may attract controversy by being in violation of the
Production Code of the time. Lopert Pictures first release for United Artists was
Black Orpheus (1959) followed by the smash hit
Never on Sunday (1960). In 1961, Lopert became United Artists' coordinator of European Production. In addition to foreign films, Lopert films also released
Billy Wilder's
Kiss Me, Stupid (1964). At the 1964
Academy Awards presentation, Ilya Lopert, representing
United Artists, accepted, without saying a word, the best picture Oscar for
Tom Jones on behalf of the film's producers who made no move to attend, and were thus ostracized. The arthouse film industry collapsed in the United States in 1970,
Variety reporting that for the first time in six years not one foreign language film grossed over one million dollars. This trend and other factors affecting Hollywood at the end of the 1960s led United Artists to close Lopert films in 1970. He had a daughter,
Tanya Lopert, who became an actress. == References==