PARAMOUNT PICTURES
5555 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA www.paramount.com
KEY EXECUTIVES
Brad Grey courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter
Brad Grey is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Paramount Pictures since 2005. Grey has won Academy Awards as producer for many films such as The Departed and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Under Grey’s tenure Paramount released some of their highest grossing films of all time such as Transformers, Indiana Jones, and the Paranormal Activityfranchises. [1]
Rob Moore courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter
Rob Moore has been the Vice Chairman since 2008. He previously worked at the Walt Disney Company for 13 years as Senior Financial Analyst and was later appointed Executive Vice President of Finance and Operations. [2]
Frederick Huntsberry courtesy of Paramount.com
Frederick Huntsberry has been the Chief Operating Officer since 2006. His previous work includes different positions in the Finance and Business Development at Universal Studios. He was the President of NBC Universal Television Distribution. [3]
Adam Goodman courtesy of thezog.info
Adam Goodman is the President of Paramount Film Group since June 2009. He previously served as President of Production. He also was the President of Production at Dreamworks Studio. Some of his work that he is credited for includes Flight,Super 8, andTrue Grit. After the success with the Paranormal Activity franchise Goodman created Paramount’s micro-budget division called Insurge Pictures which distributed successful films like Justin Beiber: Never Say Never, Jackass 3D and Katy Perry: Part Of Me.[4]
BREIF HISTORY
In 1912 Adolph Zukor founded the Famous Players Film Company that would later be called Paramount Pictures Inc. Paramount is the is the longest functioning and only major studio that remains in Hollywood. With remarkable talent and executives Paramount was a leader in the entertainment industry from very early on. The company won their first Academy Award in 1927 for Best Picture, just one year after moving to their present studio lot. They pride themselves with the highest grossing movie of all time, Titanic. In 2011 Paramount broke a record in the film industry with six consecutive films bringing each bringing in a revenue over $100 million dollars at the box office. Last year marked Paramount’s 100th year in the entertainment industry. Media conglomerate Viacom owns Paramount Pictures. [4][5]
FINANCIALS
So far this year Paramount Pictures released 7 movies, with a $810 million dollar yearly gross. It is ranked number 6 behind Warner Bros, Universal, Buena Vista, Sony/Columbia, and 20th Century Fox. As of November 2013, Paramount has a 8.9% market share, already surpassing 2012’s results when Paramount was ranked number 7 with a 8.4% market share, a gross difference of $106 million dollars. After several quarters of declining revenue, Paramount Pictures had the best quarter yet with an 11% increase in revenue. Star Trek Into Darkness is Paramount’s most successful movie of 2013, followed by World War Z and G.I. Joe: Retaliation. With the anticipation of Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, coming out December 20th, it will be interesting to see if Paramount can climb the ranks and place top 5. [6][7][8][9]
RECENT NEWS
courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa was the only film Paramount released this fall. It has brought in $90 million from a $15 million dollar budget. The lighthearted comedy impressed moviegoers, surpassing popular films such as Gravityand Captain Phillips in box office results.
courtesy of fandango.com
Paramount tried something different this Fall. From August 30th-September 5th Paramount combined Star Trek Into Darkness and World War Z into a double feature where moviegoers would be able to see these two films for the price of one in select AMC theaters. This is the first time a studio has done this. [10][11]
courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is Paramount’s most anticipated movie of 2013 will be released on December 20th. Paramount is coming out with very classy and creative marketing and promotional ideas for this upcoming film. [12]
For instance, Paramount Pictures is teaming up with Dodge Brand in a humorous promotion contest for Anchorman 2. Fans will be able to win an all-new 2014 Dodge Durango by going to funnyordie.com to play “Hands on Ron Burgundy”. This contest tests fan’s endurance and perseverance to see how many times they can touch Ron Burgundy. The fan who lasts the longest in one session wins a new car with about a hundred additional prizes for those who place close. [13] [14]
Also, Paramount is allowing fans to see Anchorman 2 two days before the December 20th release date. They announced that special “supertickets” will be available on November 26th. Paramount is expanding on their promotional idea done with World War Z’s “megaticket” that viewers bought for $50 to see the film 2 days before national release, available in 5 U.S. cities. [15]
On November 14 The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Paramount Pictures is in development on a number of sequels that in Mission Impossible, World War Z, Star Trek and G.I.Joe.[17]
David Chase courtesy of imbd.co
David Chase The Sopranos director, sold Paramount Pictures the script of Little Black Dress. Thumbnail: While working a potentially lethal investigation at a post-war job, she gets involved with a superstitious NYPD detective who helps bring her back from a personal precipice. This film is in the developmental stage. [18][19]
Recently, Paramount has expressed disappointment regarding California’s tax incentives to bring film productions back to Hollywood. The Los Angeles Mayor promised to “storm” Sacramento to bring about a greater annual Film/TV Tax Credit program. Paramounts Studio Group President, Randy Baumberger was quoted saying:
“virtually no feature films are shot in LA anymore. What producers need are commitment and consistency. What producers are looking for is to be able to plan out 3 or 4 years”. [20]
Paramount Pictures Corporation is subsidiary of Viacom. It is a production and distribution company for film and television. Paramount is famed for continuously producing top-grossing motion pictures.
Paramount Executives
BRAD GREY Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount was the byproduct of Adolph Zukor’s Famous Players Film Company merging with Jesse L Lasky’s Lasky Feature Play Company in 1916. Paramount Pictures recognizes Zukor’s company’s establishment date as their own (1912).
Throughout the the 20th century, Paramount went through its ups and downs, inventing and re-inventing itself while changing hands of ownership many times over. It entered new prosperity under Gulf + Western thanks to Robert Evans‘ leadership. This lasted through the 70’s into the 90’s. In 1994, Paramount Communications (the parent company for Paramount Pictures, at the time) merged with Viacom, putting it under its ownership. In 2005, Brad Grey was appointed Chairman and CEO. Grey has continued the quarter century long tradition of unwavering success. In 2011, Paramount produced six-consecutive films that broke the 100 million dollar box office gross mark; an unrivaled achievement. They are now, in 2012, celebrating Paramount’s centennial. [29]
Paramount Activity
In the fiscal third quarter, parent company, Viacom was down from 2011. Paramount’s theatrical revenue being down by 52% – as a result of fewer summer releases – did not help matters. Several of these releases during the summer reflect partnerships that no longer will exist with Paramount moving forward. These include the Marvel (now Disney IP) and DreamWorks Animation (20th Century Fox IP) films. This demonstrates Paramount’s dire need to find new, fresh content and put out more theatrical releases. The only other Paramount summer releases included one original film Sacha Baron Cohen‘s The Dictator. The rest were re-releases of films likeTitanic. [28]
Now in the fourth fiscal quarter, Viacom reports a stronger quarter, but is still not doing as well as they should be. Paramount has reportedly done better but is expected to report losses in the upcoming year’s fiscal first quarter. It is anticipated it will gradually improve thereafter. [27]
With the success of the Paranormal Activity franchise, Paramount Pictures created a new company called Insurge Pictures in 2010. The goal of the company is to duplicate that franchise’s success by producing a series of micro-budget films and giving them wide-releases. It’s a low risk, but potential for high-reward venture. To this sub-divisions credit are the succeeding Paranormal Activity pictures, The Devil Inside, and both the Katy Perry and Justin Beiber movies (Part of Me and Never Say Never respectively). [26]
A new international trailer is released of Paramount’s upcoming film Jack Reacher starring Tom Cruise. This trailer reveals more characters than previous ones. [25]
November 20, 2012
Paramount sets Paranormal Activity 5 release date for October 15, 2013. There is also discussion of developing a spin-off franchise. [24]
Joel Silver has been given a deal by Paramount to produce his next horror flick, Sanctuary. The story centers around a fictitious, secret Vatican-run program that aims to train the demonically possessed to use their powers against evil. [22]
November 8, 2012
Michael Bay cast Mark Wahlberg in Transformers 4 slated for release June 27, 2014. Wahlberg also stars in Bay’s upcoming film Pain and Gain, another Paramount release, on April 23, 2013. [21]
November 7, 2012
Paramount is producing Brett Ratner‘s Hercules alongside MGM. It will begin production in 2013 and is based on Radical Studio’s graphic novel. [20]
November 5, 2012
Anheuser-Busch, a brewing company, has asked Paramount to hide or remove the Budweiser logos from the newly released Denzel Washington film, Flight – a movie about an alcoholic pilot. Legally, Paramount is not obligated to. [19]
John Singleton settles in his lawsuit against Paramount Pictures and MTV Films. [18]
October 29, 2012
Paramount gets Nia Vardalos‘ Leftovers, an “anti-romantic comedy.” It is still in-development. [17]
October 25, 2012
Paramount pledges to put Adam Sandler‘s new western comedy, The Ridiculous 6 into production in April 2013. [16]
Insurge Pictures and Yahoo! announce the 2-season renewal of Burning Love, a comedy series which plays on Yahoo! Screen and is produced in part by Ben Stiller’s company, Red Hour Digital. [15]
October 24, 2012
Paramount Insurge acquires Jayson Rothwell‘s script, Patrol. A story about Marines met by an unexpected twist after chasing drug smugglers to a remote island. [14]
Paramount closes a deal to acquire Our Name is Adam; a project that already has Tom Cruise attached to it. Cruise, as an astronaut, goes back in time to work with his younger self. [13]
October 19, 2012
Paramount acquires Wayne Kramer‘s pitch for a new movie called, The Circuit. He will write and direct the picture. [12]
October 11, 2012
Fans vote worldwide on where Paramount Pictures will pre-release the fourth installment of Paranormal Activity prior to the overall theatrical release. The contest was held through a voting application integrated in Facebook. The application is called “Want It” which plays into the franchises long-standing PR “demand it” campaign. [11]
October 5, 2012
Melrose Investors 2 amends a lawsuit it has against Paramount for holding out on profit-sharing by mis-reporting film earnings. They now are going after parent company Viacom and holding them responsible. [10]
Paramount picks up Michael Bay-produced “found-footage” movie called, Almanac. The project is “top secret” and being kept under wrap for the time being. Dean Israelite makes his directorial debut with this film. [9]
John Singelton‘s suit against a contract breach with Paramount is given a court date. The case is Singelton’s grievance with Paramount Pictures and MTV Films for rescinding on a two-picture deal he alleges he was promised after allowing them to acquire 2005’s Hustle & Flow. [7]
Paramount acquires the rights to the Clark Baker‘s sci-fi horror short Vessel. Stephen Susco is on board to adapt it for the big screen. [5]
September 4, 2012
Amazon.com reached a deal with Epix to gain high-profile films for its instant-streaming service. Included in the deal are many films from the Paramount catalogue. [4]
September 3, 2012
Paramount celebrates 100 years of movies and music by hosting an event at the Hollywood Bowl. Paramount played clips from its vault of classic and contemporary films. These clips were accompanied by a live orchestra which played pieces from some of their most famous films’ soundtracks. [3]
August 20, 2012
DreamWorks Animation no longer to distribute through Paramount. They move to a 5-year deal with Twentieth Century Fox in pursuit of “more favorable economics overall for DreamWorks Animation…” [2]
August 16, 2012
Paramount pictures gears up to develop its animation department. Following the success of Rango, their first animated project since separating from a brief DreamWorks affiliation, the company will make a second Spongebob Squarepants movie and other movies based off of Nickelodeon IP. Paramount, prior to this, had not had its own animation division officially since 1967. [1]
“To start filling a pipeline, Paramount chief Brad Grey is turning to sister division Nickelodeon to supply much of the IP. Though development has not begun yet, possible Nickelodeon products that could be turned into films include Dora the Explorer, The Legend of Korra and Monkey Quest. Company boasts a strong consumer products, travel and resorts biz to boost future pics’ earnings potential.” – published in Variety
Paramount Pictures is the longest operating film and television production and distribution company in the United States, and is the last major film studio to have its headquarters in Hollywood, CA. Paramount Pictures is a division of the media conglomerate Viacom, and boasts more than 1,000 films in its collection, including iconic films such as the Indiana Jones series, Forrest Gump, and Titanic, and uses Paramount Home Entertainment to distribute its films on DVD and Blu-ray.
Randall Baumberger – President of Paramount Studio Group
History:
Founded in 1912 by Adolph Zukor, Jesse Lasky, and Cecil DeMille, Paramount Pictures became the first studio in Hollywood to make a feature length film with its version of The Squaw Man, originally a stage play. By 1920 the studio was releasing two-three new pictures a week, and established its famous symbol of a snow-covered mountain peak, which remains today [12].
Throughout the years, some of the most iconic directors and actors of all time have worked with Paramount to create the classic films we have today, such as Alfred Hitchcock’sPsycho(1960), Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments (1923), and Blake Edwards’ Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), starring Audrey Hepburn. Next to these classic
Credit: IMDB.com
films, Paramount also produced some of the most successful television series of all time, including Happy Days, The Brady Bunch, Cheers, and Fraiser[10]. The studio first dabbled in the world of television in the 1960’s, after it purchased Desilu television studios from Lucille Ball, and expanded its original 26-acre lot. The studio lot today covers 65 acres with thirty stages, and offers tours to the public to show fans the sets of legendary films, and walk in the footsteps of leaders of the cinema world [10].
Paramount has never slowed down, and went on to produce the highest grossing film of all time, Titanic (1997), until 20th Century Fox released Avatar in 2009, which is now the box office record holder. Further success flooded the studio under the director of Brad Grey, who became CEO back in 2005. Under his direction, Paramount released eight of its top 10 highest grossing films of all time, including the Transformers and Paranormal Activity franchises, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Star Trek[12]. The studio made history at the Academy Awards back in 2010 with 20 total nominations, due to the success of True Grit, The Fighter, and How To Train Your Dragon, and has had countless awards over its reign as the largest studio, with successes such as No Country for Old Menand There Will Be Blood. In 2011, Paramount made box office history yet again with six consecutive movies grossing more than $100 million dollars, an industry record, with the releases of Rango, Thor, Kung Fu Panda 2, Super 8, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and Captain America[12].
Recent Films:
Paranormal Activity 4
Paramount has seen great success with the Paranormal Activity franchise, but experienced disappointing results with the release of the fourth film on October 19, 2012. Paranormal Activity 2 opened at the box office with $40.7 million in 2010, and an even
Credit: IMDB.com
higher opening weekend for Paranormal Activity 3 came at $52.6 million last October, so they were disappointed to see the fourth film start with $29 million opening weekend [2]. The fourth film in the series has yet to gross as high as the first three, but may see more cash flow come in with the DVD release, set for January 2013. Despite not having staggering success, Paranormal Activity 4 still earned the studio its budget and more, and the fifth installment of the franchise has a set release date for October of 2013. The success of the fifth film may show Paramount if audiences have been paranormal-activitied-out.
Paranormal Activity 4 also had a different type of promotion out for the film, which was a contest to see which 25 cities around the world voted the most to have a free screening of the film three days before the theatrical release. Participants voted for their city through a Facebook application, and the results came out October 11th. Lima, Peru was ranked as the #1 city, which received a free screening, as well as cities in Brazil, Russia, Argentina, the U.K., France, Germany, and the United States [9].
Flight
November proved to be a box office success for Paramount with the release of its adult drama, Flight, starring Denzel Washington, which currently has a domestic total of $83 million. Though opening weekend only reached $25 million, and did not make the films budget of $31 million right away, the film has held its own over the past month while competing with box office blockbusters Skyfall and Breaking Dawn Part 2[6]. The film, about an alcoholic pilot, received some press after Anheuser-Busch asked Paramount in late October to remove the Budweiser logo from the film, as they felt it negatively portrayed the brand, which is an advocate of responsible drinking [4]. The company stated
“We would never condone the misuse of our products, and have a long history of promoting responsible drinking and preventing drunk driving. We have asked the studio to obscure the Budweiser trademark in current digital copies of the movie and on all subsequent adaptations of the film, including DVD, On Demand, streaming and additional prints not yet distributed to theaters [4].”
Though Anheauser-Busch was displeased with the incorporation of their product in the film, there was little they could do about it legally since trademark laws do not give companies the right to censor their products in film and television. Paramount did not remove the logos from Flight, and Budweiser can still be seen throughout the movie and trailer.
Paramount also finished its seven year distribution deal with DreamWorks with Rise of the Guardians, which released on November 21 to extremely disappointing results. With a production budget of $145 million, the opening weekend only earned $24 million and a current domestic total only reaching $51 million [5]. This was the last film Paramount will distribute for DreamWorks, as DreamWorks announced at the end of August that they signed a deal with 20th Century Fox as their new distributor [3]. As a result, Paramount may see a dip in their income come 2013, as DreamWorks was a big income generator for them, paying Paramount $50 million in theatrical release fees alone.
Upcoming Releases:
Credit: IMDB.com
The studio is set to release three films in December 2012, including The Guilt Trip, starring Seth Rogen and Barbara Streisand, Not Fade Away, and Jack Reacher, starring Tom Cruise [1].
The Guilt Trip, a story about a man who goes on a road trip with his mother, should attract a variety of generations and audiences with the team of comedy powerhouse Rogen and famed Streisand, and Jack Reacher, an action flick about an investigator hunting a military sniper, is sure to attract Cruise fans. Not Fade Away could prove to be a bit of a miss for the studio, as it has no major celebrities and not much advertising.
In the most recent fourth quarter financial report from Viacom, the conglomerate reported a 17% drop in revenues from $4.05 in 2011 to $3.36 billion in 2012. The company stated that it is hard to compare these two years due to the major financial impact Transformers: Dark of the Moon had when Paramount released it last June. The film had a total gross of $353 million, so without another large blockbuster in 2012, the numbers were sure to drop [7]. Director of Transformers 4, Michael Bay, announced on November 8th that Mark Wahlberg is set to star in the next film of the franchise, which Paramount has set to release June 27, 2014 [8]. With hype already building for the film, and an A list celebrity now attached, Viacom should definitely see their income skyrocket again in 2014.
