Paramount Pictures

by Tara McHugh

PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION

Paramount Pictures 100th Anniversary Logo. © 2012 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Company Overview

Originally founded in 1912 by Adolph Zukor under the name “Famous Players Film Company,” Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC) has become an international producer and distributor of motion picture entertainment that controls a wide variety of entertainment brands across all areas of media [0]. Paramount Pictures is celebrating its 100th Anniversary in 2012, the only major Hollywood studio to reach this momentous achievement. In addition to Paramount Pictures, film labels within PPC include MTV Films, targeted towards young adults;  family-oriented Nickelodeon Movies; and art-house style, specialty film label Paramount Vantage (formerly Paramount Classics). In addition, Paramount has established distribution contracts with famous comic developer, Marvel Entertainment and acclaimed animated film producer, DreamWorks Animation. There are eight divisions within PPC: Paramount Digital Entertainment
, Paramount Home Entertainment
, Paramount Pictures International
, Paramount Licensing, Inc.
, Paramount Studio Group
, Worldwide Television Distribution
, and Paramount Famous Productions
.

Contact Information

    Address                           Phone                       Twitter                       Facebook
     Paramount Pictures            323-956-5000          @ParamountPics         Like the Page!
5555 Melrose Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90038

Company Executives

Brad Grey 

CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION [1]

Rob Moore

 Vice Chairman, Paramount Pictures [2]

Frederick Huntsberry

 Chief Operating Officer, Paramount Pictures [3]

Adam Goodman

President, Paramount Film Group [4]

Mark Badagliacca

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Paramount Pictures Corporation [5]

Randall Baumberger

 President, Paramount Studio Group [6]

Hal Richardson

 President, Worldwide Television Distribution [7]

Jim Tharp

President, Domestic Theatrical Distribution, Paramount Pictures [8]

Dennis Maguire

President, Paramount Worldwide Home Entertainment [9]

Company Logo

The iconic logo was originally created in 1916, displaying a monochromatic symbol of a single snow-topped peak from the Wasatch mountain range.

When Viacom International purchased Paramount in 1994, the byline displaying the corporation’s signature font was added.

The most recently updated logo, released December 14th 2011, was redesigned by Devastudios, Inc. to include the “100 Years” emblem. In 2013, this emblem will be removed, but the design will continue to be used [1011].

HERE & NOW: SPRING 2012 SNAPSHOT OF PARAMOUNT PICTURES

  Paramount Pictures: 100 Years of Movie Magic App

In honor of the 100th Anniversary, Paramount developed an app, called Paramount100, that offers the consumer an innovative way to access their favorite Paramount productions via a digital timeline composed of exclusive photos, unforgettable film clips, Academy Award® nominations and wins, and timeless music compositions.

It takes the user through the studio’s vast and compelling history, from the release of the first full-length drama Queen Elizabeth in 1912 to the 2011 release Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, including an overview of  Paramount’s history.

The app also takes the user on a virtual tour of the Studio and offers hours of interactive entertainment with uniquely developed Scene It? game.

On January 7th 2012, iPad Insight declared Paramount100 as the Best Free iPad App of the Week. The review praised the inclusion of old movie posters and high-quality behind-the-scenes photos [12]. The 1.1 version of the app is free to download on iTunes and may be accessed on the iPad (Updated as of January 11, 2012. Requires iOS 4.0 or later.) [13].

 The 84th Academy Award® Nominations and Wins

On January 24th 2012, Academy Award® nominations were announced. Paramount nominations included: Hugo (Best Picture, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Directing, Film Editing, Music (Original Score), Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, and Writing (Adapted Screenplay)), Kung Fu Panda 2 (Animated Feature Film), Puss In Boots (Animated Feature Film), Rango (Animated Feature Film), The Adventures of Tintin (Music (Original Score)), and Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects) [14].

Hugo Official Movie Poster © 2012 Paramount Pictures

At the 84th Academy Awards® on February 26th, 2012, Paramount took home six out of the seventeen awards. Five of the six went to Hugo for Cinematography (Robert Richardson), Art Direction (Dante Ferretti & Francesca Lo Schiavo), Sound Mixing (Tom Fleischman & John Midgley), Sound Editing (Philip Stockton & Eugene Gearty), and Visual Effects (Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman & Alex Henning). Rango won for Best Animated Film (Gore Verbinski) [15].

A Season of Re-Releases

Titanic 3D Official Movie Poster © 2012 Paramount Pictures

Spring 2012 was a season full of re-releases and special screenings for previous Paramount productions, the most pervasive being the re-release of Titanic in 3D. The re-release of the film on April 4th 2012 commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Titanic setting sail (coincidentally the same year as Paramount Picture’s 100th anniversary). The original film took home Best Picture, Best Director (James Cameron), and nine more awards at the 70th Academy Awards®.

Digital stereoscopic effects enterprise Stereo D coordinated the 3D conversion, amplified visual effects, and delivered full 3D editorial services for the film. Stereo D formally worked with Cameron on his 2009 Blockbuster hit Avatar [16].

According to Rolling Stone movie critic Peter Travers:

Titanic 3D is revelatory, not just for scale it brings to the maritime disaster of an unsinkable ship hitting an iceberg and going down, but for the hushed closeness it brings to the interplay between the characters. The 3D intensifies Titanic. You are there. Caught up like never before in an intimate epic that earns its place in the movie time capsule.”  [17]

Travers also reviewed the original film back in 1997 [18]. With a production budget of $18 million, the film just missed profit within the first weekend with a total weekend gross of $17,285,453. As per April 29th 2012, the film gross totaled $56,280,875 [19].

On January 26th 2012, Paramount announed the limited week-long re-release of Rango at the ArcLight Hollywood [20]. Presumably, the re-release of this film was due to its Academy Award® nomination, or perhaps it was because the domestic total gross of the film ($123,477,607) did not exceed the budget ($135 million) [21].

On February 28th 2012, it was announced that a restored and re-mastered version of The Godfather will be shown on a limited amount of screens, exclusively Cinemark XD, starting on March 1, 2012. The Coppola Restoration of The Godfather 40th Anniversary Edition was in the works since 2006 when Paramount Pictures and Francis Ford Coppola began to collaborate. Archivist Robert Harris and original cinematographer Gordon Willis also joined the project and the team worked together revising the original prints, re-release prints, and negatives, shot by shot and frame by frame to create the most visually astounding version of the film to date [22].

Playing Now

A Thousand Words Official Movie Poster © DW Studios LLC. All Rights Reserved

Paramount productions currently in theaters are Titanic 3D (tickets) A Thousand Words (tickets), and Jeff, Who Lives at Home (tickets). As mentioned previously, Titanic 3D is a re-release of the 1997 Academy Award® winning film. A Thousand Words stars Eddie Murphy as a literary agent who becomes enchanted by a magical Bodhi tree and his speech becomes limited to 1000 words [23]. Jeff, Who Lives at Home stars Jason Segel as a middle-aged man living in his mother’s basement who, upon a trip to the hardware store, finds the meaning of life while investigating his potentially adulterous wife with his brother, played by Ed Helms [24].

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You

The Dictator Official Movie Poster © 2012 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

The most anticipated Paramount release is The Dictator. As you can see from clicking the link, the movie website was designed specifically to promote the film and legitimize the faux country dictated by Sasha Baron Cohen’s character in the film. There is a ticker at the top of the site displaying false headlines and links such as “Tourism” and “Weather Forecast”. There was also a game created by iTunes for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad called Wadiyan Games. Other upcoming films: Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most WantedG.I. Joe: RetaliationKaty Perry Part of Me 3DRise of the Guardians.

 

All sources cited within links.

CBS Films

CBS FILMS

CBS Films is a relatively new production company. It was founded in 2007 and oversees the development, financial components, production, and promotion of theatrical motion pictures and films.

The studio headquarters location is 1800 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. Telephone: 310-575-7700

CBS WEBSITE

Connect with CBS Films:

Connect on Twitter

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CBS FILMS EXECUTIVE LEADERS AND OFFICERS

Co-President Wolfgang Hammer studied at University of Vienna Law School and received a master’s degree from Stanford University. Before working at CBS Films he worked for Media Rights Capital and Lionsgate. Hammer manages the financial and legal aspects of CBS Films.

Co-President Terry Press manages the creative process of the films produced by CBS. She also supervises the distribution and marketing of the films. She also does consulting for many films that are not produced by CBS Films.

 

Steven Friedlander serves at the Executive Vice President of Theatrical Distribution. Friedlander began his career at 20th Century Fox and has also worked for Fine Line Features and Warner Independent Pictures.

 

The Chief Financial Officer of CBS Films is Reid Sullivan, a Certified Public Accountant with a degree in Business Administration. Sullivan has managed financial operations at Arthur Andersen & Co., Sony Pictures Entertainment, Columbia Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures Entertainment, and First Look Studios.

Rik Toulon is CBS Films’ Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Toulon handles business in connection with the company’s alliances and outside associations. He has a degree from the University of Southern California and a degree from University of California, Los Angeles.

The Executive Vice President of Production, Maria Faillace, manages the production of the films that CBS Films produces. She recently served as the Senior Vice President of Production at CBS Films.

CBS FILMS THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES

The studio’s goal is to release four to six movies every year. They have been involved in the production and/or distribution of seven movies thus far.

CBS Films was involved in the production of Extraordinary Measures (2010), The Back-Up Plan (2010), Faster (2010), and Beastly (2011). CBS Films was a distributor for The Mechanic (2011), Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011), and The Woman in Black (2012).

_________________________________________________________________________________

CBS Films produced Extraordinary Measures. Extraordinary Measures, starring Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford was released on January 22, 2010. The estimated budget was $31,000,000 and the reported gross was $11,854,694 (USA).

CBS Films produced The Back-Up Plan. The Back-Up Plan, starring Jennifer Lopez and Alex O’ Loughlin, was released on April 23, 2010. The estimated budget was $35,000,000 and the reported gross was $37,481,242 (USA).

CBS Films produced Faster. Faster, starring Dwayne Johnson and Billy Bob Thornton, was released on November 24, 2010. The estimated budget was $24,000,000 and the reported gross was $23,240,020 (USA).

CBS Films was a distributor of The Mechanic. The Mechanic, starring Jason Statham and Ben Foster, was released on January 28, 2011. The estimated budget was $40,000,000 and the reported gross was $29,121,498 (USA).

CBS Films produced Beastly. Beastly, starring Alex Pettyfer and Vanessa Hudgens, was released on March 2, 2011. The estimated budget was $17,000,000 and the reported gross was $27,854,896 (USA).

CBS Films was a distributor of The Woman in Black. The Woman in Black, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Janet McTeer, was released on February 3, 2012. The estimated budget was $17,000,000 and the reported gross was 54,279,711 (USA). This CBS Film has been the most successful in the box office.

CBS Films was a distributor of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, starring Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt, was released on March 11, 2012. The reported gross was $7,077,214 (USA).

CBS FILMS UPDATES,NEWS, AND CURRENT EVENTS

CBS Film casted for their comedy Get A Job in March. They are in the pre-production stages. On March 7, 2012, they signed Bryan Cranston, Anna Kendrick, and Miles Teller to a cast already consisting of Nick Braun, Alison Brie, Brandon T. Jackson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Jay Pharoah.

Director Dylan Kidd expressed his happiness about the new cast in the press release:

“We are making an emotionally honest comedy about the challenges that every generation faces in our rapidly changing world. We have assembled an extraordinary cast to make that happen.”

On March 21, 2012, CBS Films signed actress Marcia Gay Harden to co-star in their upcoming comedy Get A Job. Harden is an Oscar and Tony Award-winner and was featured in Into the Wild and Mystic River. 

On March 22, 2012 CBS Films received motion/feature picture rights to the novel The Man Who Forgot His Wife by John O’Farrell. The novel tells the story of a man who develops amnesia and then realizes that he was is in the midst of separating his family by divorcing his wife. He can’t remember why and he attempts to solve the issues, fall in love again, and regain his memory.

CBS Films has made many executive promotions in the last month. They have named new Co-Presidents, and a new Executive Vice President of Production.

On April 23, 2012 CBS Corporation named Wolfgang Hammer and Terry Press Co-Presidents of CBS Films. They both possess the strong qualities needed to lead the company, but their duties will be slightly different even though they will work together in harmony. Hammer will handle the company’s financial state while Press is in charge of all creative processes of the company.

The President and CEO of CBS Corporation, Leslie Mooves, stated:

“In Terry and Wolfgang, we are fortunate to have two very skilled executives, each with terrific knowledge of the business and strong resumes of innovation.”

Read more about the promotions by clicking HERE.

On April 25, 2012 Maria Faillace was promoted from Senior Vice President, Production to Executive Vice President, Production.

This year, CBS Films is planning to release four films. 7500 (date TBA), The Words (September 21, 2012), Seven Psychopaths (November 2, 2012), and are in the midst of planning Last Vegas (date TBA). The Words is a romantic drama, Seven Psychopaths is an action comedy and Last Vegas is a comedy.

CBS Films has many motion pictures under the process to be released. Look for them in theaters!

Sources:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1244659/ – Extraordinary Measures

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1212436/ – The Back-Up Plan

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1433108/ – Faster

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472399/ -The Mechanic

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1152398/ – Beastly

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1596365/ – The Woman in Black

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441952/ – Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

www.cbsfilms.com

http://www.cbsfilms.com/about_us/– CBS Overview

– CBS Overview Details

20th Century Fox

by Rosemary Angelo

Image from Screenrant.com

Overview

20th Century Fox has been making and distributing movies for the past 75 years.  They are known for iconic films such as Avatar, Titanic, and the X-Men films.  The company is a part of Twentieth Century Fox International which is under Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation company. (1)

This Season so Far

So far this year 20th Century Fox has released four motion pictures.   In January they released Red Tails –in collaboration with Lucasfilm- which has earned a total of $49,621,987.  In February they released the Valentines Day flick This Means War, which has since grossed $52,463,012, and Chronicle in which made $63,577,998 as well as a re-release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 3-D which earned $43,430,964. On April 4th, 20th Century Fox re-released Titanic 3-D, and it has so far grossed $56,280,875.  The company also released their Three Stooges remake mid-April, and they have made $31,740,544 to date. (2)  Overall the company has earned $268 million, the most out of all the ‘Big Six’ companies.

Late in January, before the theatrical release of This Means War, Fox appealed to The Classification and Rating Appeals Board, petitioning to have the R rating lowered to a PG-13 in hopes of being able to attract a larger audience.  However, the request was denied due to sexual content in the film.  20th Century Fox later edited the film down to meet these requirements to achieve the PG-13 rating.(3)

Link to ‘Rotten Tomatoes’ reviews of This Means War

Re- Releases

This year 20th Century Fox has been relying on profits from films it is re- releasing, in addition to new motion pictures.  They have already re-released two films, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in Januaryand this month the studio re-released Titanic.  Both films were put back into theaters with 3-D effects to draw in an audience, and both contributed significantly to their initial profits.(4)  This summer the company will putting a third film back into theaters; Chariots of Fire will be playing in theaters across the UK as a part of the celebrations surrounding the London 2012 Summer Olympics.(5)

Trailer for the re-release of Chariots of Fire (from Blockbuster UK)

Since their re-releases, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace has now grossed $474,519,259, and Titanic has grossed a total of $657,069,063. (6)

Scheduled Releases

Over the course of the spring season 20th Century Fox plans on releasing two more films.  These include;  Prometheus (June), and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (June). (7)

Taken from the 20th Century Fox official website

Prometheus is the “indirect prequel” to the hugely successful Alien films, it is being directed by Ridley Scott, who directed the previous films in the franchise as well. (8)

Prometheus’ Theatrical Trailer

And later in the summer 20th Century Fox will be releasing two family films.  In August they plan on releasing the follow up to 2010’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and it’s 2011 sequel Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules.  The third film will be titled Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days.  And in July they will release the most recent film in the Ice Age series; Ice Age: Continental Drift. (9)

Taken from the official 20th Century Fox website.

Hiring and Firing

In February Mary Daily was promoted from her position as top executive of motion picture marketing to President and chief marketing officer of worldwide marketing. (10)  In March Debbie Miller was hired as the new Executive VP of marketing. (11)  Also in March Chris Aronson was promoted to executive vice president of domestic distribution and general sales manager for the company. (12)

International

Titanic was particularly successful outside the U.S. as well, breaking China’s box office record for an Imax release when it made $7 million on its opening weekend.  It passed up the previous leader, last year’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon.(13)

Last year 20th Century Fox also signed a deal with Hopscotch/Entertainment One to have the company distribute their films across New Zealand and Australia.  This agreement allowed Fox to start off the year by marketing Midnight in Paris and We Need to Talk About Kevin this past February in those countries. (14)

Link to Hopscotch Distribution’s website

Awards

Paul Higginson, 20th Century Fox’s executive vice president of theatrical in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Todd Huntley the company’s senior vice president are being honored this summer at CineEurope 2012.  The two are being honored as distributors of the year for their work on Rise of the Planet of the Apes, X-Men: First Class, and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. (15)

It was also announced in February that the film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, released by 20th Century Fox last year, will be nominated in the Feature film category for this year’s Genesis awards, sponsored by the humane society. “Animal welfare concerns, such as chimpanzees being used in research which is addressed in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, are reaching huge audiences, thanks to the quality and engaging storylines of these films.” Said HSUS senior director and event EP Beverly Kaskey. (16)

Link to the Website for the 2012 Genesis Awards

Advertising/Marketing

To promote the release of their recent superhero film Chronicle Fox flew human shaped RC planes over New York City.  The stunt drew attention from Youtube, as well as several news shows, including the Today Show. (17)

VIdeo of Chronicle Publicity Stunt

To further market 2011’s release of Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakqual the company partnered with Walmart to release a line of apparel inspired by the films. (18)

To incite buzz about Titanic’s 3-D release an advanced screening was scheduled for Valentines Day.  The effort was hugely successful, screenings around the country sold out within just a few hours of tickets going on sale. (19)

Other Media

Over the past few years 20th Century Fox has produced the popular family films in the Ice Age Franchise.  Now the studio is attempting to market the products further, through means other than film.  A Live show-to open in November- is currently being produced in London.  The show is titled “Ice Age Live! A Mammoth Adventure,” and will feature ice skating, music, puppets and arial arts.  Fox signed on last year with European Live and Stage Entertainment, and they are now beginning to promote the show as well as divulging more information. (20)

But that’s not the only market that Ice Age is popping up in.  20th Century fox has also been working on a game which will be distributed through Bigpoint.  The game will draw on all of the franchise’s films, and will be released strategically this summer along with the latest addition to the series; Ice Age: Continental Drift.  (21)

Sources

  1. 20th Century Fox International http://www.foxinternational.com/
  2.  Box Office Mojo  http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2012&p=.htm
  3.  Hollywood Reporter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/this-means-war-r-rating-fox-loses-appeal-285147
  4.  Box Office Mojo  http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2012&p=.htm
  5. Hollywood Reporter  http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscar-winner-chariots-fire-return-303728
  6.  Box Office Mojo  http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2012&p=.htm
  7.  20th Century Fox http://www.foxmovies.com/
  8.  IMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1446714/
  9.  20th Century Fox http://www.foxmovies.com/
  10.  Hollywood Reporter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mary-daily-fox-home-entertainment-chief-marketing-officer-290096
  11.  Hollywood Reporter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/debbie-miller-joining-fox-executive-VP-marketing-301744
  12.  Hollywood Reporter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-promotes-chris-aronson-303429
  13.  Hollywood Reporter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/titanic-3d-breaks-box-office-313688
  14.  Hollywood Reporter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/20th-century-fox-inks-home-267526
  15. Hollywood Reporter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/paul-higginson-todd-huntley-named-302068
  16. Hollywood Reporter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/war-horse-planet-apes-humane-society-genesis-awards-287660
  17. Hollywood Reporter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/chronicle-flying-people-viral-video-superpowers-286839
  18. Hollywood Reporter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-takes-alvin-chipmunks-merchandise-304506
  19. Hollywood Reporter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/titanic-3d-valentines-day-preview-286470
  20. Hollywood Reporter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ice-age-live-show-fox-producers-scrat-new-characters-316630
  21. Hollywood Reporter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-ice-age-online-game-connect-movie-fans-games-of-thrones-battlestar-galactica-310476

Lucasfilm Ltd.

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This gallery contains 10 photos.

by Zachary Gulergun {5} Overview: Lucasfilm Limited is a privately held American film production company that was founded by George Lucas in 1971. It is currently located in Presidio of San Francisco, CA. The company is best known for producing the Star … Continue reading