EXHIBIT 99.1

                                FOUR MEDIA CO.
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                               January 19, 1999
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WARBURG, PINCUS TO PURCHASE 51% OF FOUR MEDIA COMPANY FOR $80 MILLION; EXPANDED 
CAPITAL STRUCTURE WILL FACILITATE FUTURE GROWTH

BURBANK, Calif., Jan.19 /PRNewswire/ -- Four Media Company (Nasdaq: FOUR) today
announced that definitive agreements (collectively the "Agreement") have been 
signed under which Warburg, Pincus Equity Partners, L.P. and certain affiliates 
(collectively "Warburg, Pincus") will acquire 10.2 million shares of Four Media 
Company common stock, comprised of both newly issued shares and existing shares,
for approximately $80.0 million. The Agreement, approved by the Four Media 
Company Board of Directors, is subject to shareholder, regulatory and bank 
approval.

Under the terms of the Agreement, Warburg, Pincus will acquire all 3.1 million 
of the outstanding shares currently held by Technical Services Partners, L.P., 
("TSP"), a limited partnership controlled by Steinhardt Management Company, 
Inc., for approximately $23.4 million. In addition, Warburg, Pincus will acquire
approximately 6.6 million common shares from the Company for $52.7 million and 
will receive a warrant to purchase 1.1 million shares with an exercise price of 
$15.00 per share. An additional 498,000 shares will be purchased for 
approximately $4.0 million from the Company's founders, who have agreed to enter
into new long-term employment contracts and who will continue to have a 
significant equity interest in the Company. Concurrently with the closing of the
transaction, the holder of all outstanding shares of the Company's preferred 
stock has agreed to convert all of its preferred shares into 2,250,000 shares of
common stock.

Proceeds from the new equity investment will be used to enhance the Company's 
ability to serve and support customers in the process of creating and 
distributing entertainment programming and to continue to make strategic 
acquisitions.

Commenting on the transaction, Robert T. Walston, Chairman and Chief Executive 
Officer of Four Media Company stated, "We are very pleased to have Warburg, 
Pincus as a major shareholder in Four Media Company and look forward to 
benefiting from their experience with entertainment-related companies as well as
providers of business services. This equity investment demonstrates their 
confidence in Four Media Company and provides us with equity capital with 
which to pursue our long-term strategy. We look forward to quickly deploying 
this new capital to continue our successful program of providing the latest 
equipment and highest quality service to our customers in addition to making 
more strategic acquisitions.

Warburg, Pincus Equity Partners, L.P. is an affiliate of E.M. Warburg, Pincus &
Co., LLC, a global investment firm with over 30 years of experience. E.M. 
Warburg, Pincus & Co., LLC, through affiliated entities manages approximately 
$6 billion of private equity investments, with $5 billion of incremental capital
available for future investment.

Four Media Company is a leading provider of technical and creative services to 
owners, producers and distributors of television programming, feature films and 
other entertainment

 
product both domestically and internationally. The Company's services integrate 
a variety of systems and processes to enhance the creation and distribution of 
entertainment content. Four Media's client base includes the world's largest 
entertainment companies. As a result of its investments and acquisitions, Four 
Media Company is one of the largest and most diversified providers of technical 
and creative services to the entertainment industry, which enables the Company 
to offer its customers a single source for such services.

This press release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant 
to the Safe-Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Words such as "intends", "believes" and similar expressions reflecting 
something other than historical fact are intended to identify forward-looking 
statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. 
These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, 
including the timely development and market acceptance of products and 
technologies, successful integration of acquisitions, the ability to secure 
additional sources of financing, the ability to reduce operating expenses and 
other factors described in the Company's filings with the Securities and 
Exchange Commission, including its 1997 Prospectus. The actual results that the 
Company achieves may differ materially from any forward-looking statement due to
such risks and uncertainties. The Company undertakes no obligations to revise or
update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or 
circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.

/CONTACT: Robert T. Walston, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, or Sandra C. 
Mays, Vice President, Investor Relations, of Four Media Company, 818-840-7356, 
or fax, 818-846-5197/