Orion Pictures

We've all heard how by the time you see the light of a star, it's already dead. Well, so is Orion Pictures, a company that filed for bankruptcy in 1991, the movie studio equivalent of collapsing into a black hole, and completely folded in 1999.

Orion was one of the brightest stars for a few years, despite being a complete failure of a company. It produced the Academy Award-winning Best Pictures Amadeus, Platoon, Dances with Wolves, and The Silence of the Lambs. They were a studio that allowed actors to step behind the camera and direct, like Kevin Costner directing Wolves or Danny DeVito directing Throw Momma from the Train. (Source)

Believe it or not, Orion wasn't sure Anthony Hopkins was right for the role of Hannibal Lecter They struck a compromise with the director, Jonathan Demme, who himself wasn't sure about Jodie Foster. He could have Hopkins if he'd agree to use Foster. That worked out well in the end. (Source)

Unfortunately Orion's poor judgment took over in later years, when they produced critical and commercial failures like She-Devil and Robocop 3. Stars can't burn forever.