Good Machine was an independent film production, film distribution, and foreign sales company started in the early 1990s by its co-founders and producers, Ted Hope and James Schamus. David Linde joined as a partner in the late 90s and to also start the international sales company. They sold the company to Universal Pictures in 2001; in 2002 it was acquired by Vivendi SA, which merged it with USA Films to create Focus Features.