Located in Culver City, California, Columbia TriStar Pictures (a.k.a Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group) is the movie marketing, licensing, and promotions arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE)¹. SPE is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, which is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation.

HISTORY

Columbia Pictures ² was founded in 1924, and in 1982 it was purchased by Coca-Cola.  In 1989, Sony purchased Columbia and all of its entertainment holdings from Coca-Cola for $3.4 billion.  This deal was the largest acquisition by a Japanese firm up to that time. The studio relocated to the former MGM lot in Culver City, California and was later renamed Sony Pictures Entertainment.

In 1983, Columbia joined HBO and CBS to form the first new motion picture studio in decades, TriStar Pictures. TriStar achieved the fastest growth to major studio status in the industry’s history by releasing such films as The Natural, Rambo: First Blood Part II and Peggy Sue Got Married ³.

In 1998, Sony Pictures Entertainment folded its TriStar Pictures into its Columbia Pictures Unit, creating a single film production arm called Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, or Columbia TriStar pictures ⁴.

The Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group ⁵ releases about 20 films per year through its three studios: Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics.  Columbia Pictures is dedicated to big-budget films, Sony Pictures Classics specializes in the acquisition, marketing, and distribution of prestigious foreign films and American independent films.  Recent Releases include Incendies and Midnight in Paris.  Screen Gems focuses on films that fall between wide-release movies traditionally done by Columbia and those released by Sony Pictures Classics.

 

CURRENT EXECUTIVES ¹   

 

 

Michael Lynton – Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment

 

 

Amy Pascal – Chairman of Sony PIctures Entertainment Motion Picture Group

 

 

 

Douglass Belgrad – President of Columbia Pictures

 

 

 

Hannah Minghella – President of Production for Columbia Pictures

 

 

 

Clinton Culpepper – President of Screen Gems

 

 

 

Michael Barker, Tom Bernard, Marcie Bloom – Co-Presidents of Sony Pictures Classics

 

CURRENTLY IN THEATERS⁶ 

(Domestic Total – From Box Office Mojo)

21 Jump Street – $131.9 million (as of April 29, 2012)

• Released March 16, 2012
• Production Budget – $42 million
• Columbia Pictures

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance – $51.7 million (as of April 29, 2012)

• Released February 17, 2012
• Production Budget – $57 million
• Columbia Pictures

Underworld Awakening – $62.3 million (as of March 4, 2012)

• Released January 20, 2012
• Production Budget – $70 million
• Screen Gems

The Vow – $124.8 million (as of April 29, 2012)

• Released February 10, 2012
• Production Budget – $30 million
• Screen Gems

COMING SOON

The Amazing Spider – Man (Columbia Pictures)

Men in Black 3 (Columbia Pictures)

Premium Rush (Columbia Pictures)

Resident Evil: Retribution (Screen Gems)

Skyfall (Columbia Pictures)

That’s My Boy (Columbia Pictures)

Total Recall (Columbia Pictures)

Hope Springs (Columbia Pictures) 

Hotel Transylvania (Columbia Pictures)

Looper (TriStar)

Sparkle (TriStar)

 

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS    

The following films were all developed by Sony Pictures Classics⁷: To see full list click here

Award Winners

Academy Awards:

Midnight in Paris: Best Original Screenplay – Woody Allen

A Separation: Best Foreign Language Film

Golden Globe Awards

Midnight in Paris: Best Screenplay – Woody Allen

A Separation: Best Foreign Language Film

 

Award Nominations

Academy Awards

Midnight in Paris: Best Picture

Best Director: Woody Allen 

In Darkness: Best Foreign Language Film

Footnote: Best Foreign Language Film

Golden Globes

Midnight in Paris: Best Picture (Musical/ Comedy)

Carnage: Best Actress in a Musical/ Comedy (Jodie Foster)

A Dangerous Method: Best Supporting Actor (Viggo Mortensen)

The Guard: Best Actor in a Musical/ Comedy (Brendan Gleeson)

In Darkness: Best Foreign Language Film

The Skin I Live In: Best Foreign Language Film 

SAG (Screen Actors Guild Awards)

Midnight in Paris: Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion PIcture

 

 Sony/ Columbia Pictures Winners and Nominations

The Academy Awards

Nominations

Money Ball

• Best Picture
• Actor in a Leading Role
• Actor in a Supporting Role
• Film Editing
• Sound Mixing
• Best Adapted Screenplay

COLUMBIA TRISTAR PICTURES IN EARLY 2012

February 1, 2012 – Former Harvard student, Aaron Greenspan ⁸, entered a dispute with Columbia Pictures about the award-winning film The Social Network, claiming he was the true genius behind Facebook and he defamed by being left out of the movie.  He claimed he created the original college social networking site and sent e-mails describing his invention before Zuckerberg even got started.  Columbia filed a motion to dismiss Greenspan’s claims, stating that Greenspan was not a character in the film at all; the movie was not “of and concerning” him so he fails to state a cause of action against Columbia for defamation.

February 2012 – Columbia Pictures picked up the rights to Taped ⁹ , a Dutch thriller, and will develop an English-language remake.  The film, which just opened in the Netherlands, follows a young couple who inadvertently videotape the murder of an innocent man by a corrupt cop while on vacation in Buenos Aires. No writer or filmmaker are attached to the U.S. remake; Douglass Wick and Lucy Fisher from Red Wagon will produce it and Hannah Minghella and Jonathan Kadin will oversee the project for Columbia pictures.

March 2012 – Columbia pictures is working on closing a deal to attain the rights to adapt Bloodshot ¹⁰ , a best-selling Valiant comic book character, into a feature film.  It would be produced by Jason Kothari and Neal H. Moritz, who also produced 21 Jump Street and is currently in post-production of the 6th installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise.

March 2012 – It was announced that Bruce Willis will star in Five Against A Bullet ¹¹, an action thriller currently in the process of being produced by Lorenzo DiBonaventura, Jordan Schur, and David Mimran for Columbia PIctures.  The screenplay, written by Alex Litvak, focuses on a Mexican politician (Willis) who, after his father’s murder by by a drug cartel, hires the five best bodyguards in the world to protect him throughout a controversial election.

March 19, 2012 – Columbia’s 21 Jump Street ¹², a film spoof of the 1980’s TV series of the same name, debuted at No.1.  Starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, the film generated $36.3 million dollars its opening weekend.

April 22, 2012 – Screen Gem’s Think Like a Man ¹³  debuted at Number 1 with $33 million.  It scored one of the best openings in recent memory for an African-American-themed film.  It was the first film to knock off The Hunger Games from it’s four-week run at Number 1.

April 25, 2012 – Sony Pictures Entertainment has promoted Lauren Glotzer¹⁴ to executive VP of corporate development.  In her new role, Glotzer will head the corporate development team, overseeing investments and analyses, mergers and acquisitions, new business development, and strategic planning.

April 26, 2012 – A Director’s Guild of America arbitrator ordered Men in Black III director Barry Sonnenfeld¹⁵ to pay $325,000 to his former agent, United Talent Agency, for money he made directing the third installment of the Men in Black series.  Sonnenfeld earned $3.25 million for directing the movie and owes UTA 10 percent commission under an agreement the agency negotiated with Columbia Pictures in 1995.  Even though Sonnenfeld left UTA almost 20 years ago, the arbitrator wrote that under terms negotiated between the Association of Talent Agents and the Directors Guild, agents are sometimes entitled to commission after they part ways with a client.

 

References

1. Hoovers Inc. (2012). Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group. Retrieved March 20, 2012, from Hovvers.com: http://www.hoovers.com/company/Columbia_TriStar_Motion_Picture_Group/rfjshyi-1-1njht4-1njfaq.html

2. Hoovers Inc. (2012). Columbia Pictures. Retrieved March 20, 2012, from Hoovers.com: http://www.hoovers.com/company/Columbia_Pictures/rfjssyi-1-1njht4-1njfaq.html

3. Sony Pictures Entertainment . (2006). Sony Pictures History. Retrieved March 18, 2012, from Sony Pictures Entertainment Museum : http://www.sonypicturesmuseum.com/studio/history/1

4. Benedict Carver, D. C. (1998, March 30). Sony Hitches TriStar to Col. Retrieved March 20, 2012, from Variety: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117469309?refCatId=18

5. Sony Corporation of America . (2012). Sony Corporation of America. Retrieved March 17, 2012, from Sony.com: http://www.sony.com/SCA/outline/pictures.shtml

6. Box Office Mojo. (2012). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 23, 2012, from http://boxofficemojo.com/

7. Sony Pictures Classics. (2012). Awards. Retrieved March 20, 2012, from SonyClassics.com: http://www.sonyclassics.com/awards-information/

8. Gardner, E. (2012, February 1). Columbia Pictures Fights Man Claiming He Was Omitted From ‘The Social Network’. Retrieved April 30, 2012, from The Hollywood Reporter: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/social-network-lawsuit-mark-zuckerberg-aaron-greenspan-286388

9. The Hollywood Reporter. (2012, Feb 28). Columbia Picks Up Rights to Dutch Thriller ‘Taped’. Retrieved March 19, 2012, from Hollywood Reporter: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/columbia-taped-dutch-thriller-295744

10. Dixon, J. (2012, March 1). Columbia Pictures to Develop Valiant Comic Book ‘Bloodshot’. Retrieved March 20, 2012, from Examiner.com: http://www.examiner.com/article/columbia-pictures-to-develop-valiant-comic-book-bloodshot

11. McCue, M. (2012, March 5). Bruce Willis To Star In FIVE AGAINST A BULLET For Columbia Pictures & Mimran Schur Pictures . Retrieved March 18, 2012, from We AreMovie Geeks: http://wearemoviegeeks.com/2012/03/bruce-willis-to-star-in-five-against-a-bullet-for-columbia-pictures-mimran-schur-pictures/

12. Rob Golum, D. H. (2012, March 19). ’21 Jump Street’ is Top Film with Sales of $36.6 Million. Retrieved March 20, 2012, from Business Week: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-18/21-jump-street-is-top-weekend-film-with-35-million-in-sales

13. McClintock, P. (2012, April 22). Box Office Report: ‘Think Like a Man’ Beats ‘Lucky One,’ ‘Hunger Games’ with $33 Million. Retrieved April 30, 2012, from The Hollywood Reporter: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-report-think-like-man-lucky-one-hunger-games-314869

14. Sneider, J. (2012, April 25). Sony Pictures ups Glitzer to exec VP: Five-year vet to head corporate development at the studio. Retrieved April 30, 2012, from The Chicago Tribune: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-04-25/entertainment/sns-201204251537reedbusivarietynvr1118053109apr25_1_virgin-media-studio-senior-exec

15. Reynolds, M. (2012, April 26). ‘Men in Black’ Director Owes Agent $325,000. Retrieved April 30, 2012, from Courthouse News: http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/04/26/45972.htm

YouTube Videos

1. IGN Entertainment . (2011, July 21). The Amazing Spider-Man Official Trailer. Retrieved April 20 2012, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di7VkCDOY_M&feature=fvst

2. IGN ENtertainment . (2011, Dec 13). Men In Black 3 Trailer. Retrieved April 20, 2012, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWoOthOWrXs&feature=fvst

3. Sony Pictures. (2011, Sept 15). Premium Rush Trailer. Retrieved April 20, 2012, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn6ie1zCkZU

4. Sony Pictures. (2012, Feb 29). That’s My Boy Trailer. Retrieved April 20, 2012, from YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoWkFkWiiTc

5. Sony Pictures. (2012, April 1). Total Recall Trailer. Retrieved April 20, 2012, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GljhR5rk5eY

6. Sony Pictures. (2012, April 25). Hope Springs Trailer. Retrieved April 30, 2012, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s22_Mvikl8

7. Sony PIctures. (2012, April 24). Hotel Transylvania Trailer. Retrieved April 30, 2012, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv6dx0qKBjI

8. Sony Pictures. (2012, April 13). Looper Trailer. Retrieved April 30, 2012, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AXwtch744A

9. Sony Pictures. (2012, April 2). Sparkle Trailer. Retrieved April 30, 2012, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55cuiV9yL6Q