Monday 10 December 2007
This advert is on Diet Coke..it shows the coke being advertised as women fulfil there imagination of desiring a man... throughout the clip it shows sexual connotions shown from the women, as they bite there lips.. also the music connates what the women desire...it shows the men as a sex object which follows the theorist Cortese (1999)...
This advert is boots advertisement on there products... it represents women as stereotypical but still shown in a sexual way.. as they all care about there looks more...But still fulfill there stereotype roles such as washing the dishes, hovering.... This follows the theorist of Scheibe 1979 ... this theorist shows how women are more concerned with there beauty,cleanliness,family and pleasuring others...
Wednesday 31 October 2007
Lesley Douglas was appointed Controller, BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music on 10 October 2003 and took up the post on 5 January 2004.
She started her career in the BBC in 1986 as a Production Assistant, first in a research department and moving later that year to the David Jacobs show.
A year later she joined Promotions working as a Promotions Assistant.
In 1988 she became a Producer in the Music Department working on programmes such as the Gloria Hunniford show, the David Jacobs show, the Ken Bruce show and Brian Matthew's Round Midnight.
In 1990 Lesley returned to Promotions, this time as a Producer, and was promoted to Editor, Radio 2 Presentation and Planning in 1993.
In May 1997 she became Managing Editor, Radio 2, and in 2000 was appointed Head of Programmes, Radio 2.
Since Lesley took over as Controller, Radio 2 has been voted the Sony UK Radio Station Of The Year in May 2005 and 6 Music was voted Best Radio Station at the UK 2005 BT Digital Music Awards.
Lesley was awarded the top prize at the Music Industry Woman Of The Year Awards in 2004.
She is a trustee of Children In Need.
Lesley is a Fellow of the Radio Academy and has chaired the Radio Festival Steering Committee on two occasions.
Lesley was born in Newcastle in 1963 and gained a degree in English at Manchester University.
She started her career in the BBC in 1986 as a Production Assistant, first in a research department and moving later that year to the David Jacobs show.
A year later she joined Promotions working as a Promotions Assistant.
In 1988 she became a Producer in the Music Department working on programmes such as the Gloria Hunniford show, the David Jacobs show, the Ken Bruce show and Brian Matthew's Round Midnight.
In 1990 Lesley returned to Promotions, this time as a Producer, and was promoted to Editor, Radio 2 Presentation and Planning in 1993.
In May 1997 she became Managing Editor, Radio 2, and in 2000 was appointed Head of Programmes, Radio 2.
Since Lesley took over as Controller, Radio 2 has been voted the Sony UK Radio Station Of The Year in May 2005 and 6 Music was voted Best Radio Station at the UK 2005 BT Digital Music Awards.
Lesley was awarded the top prize at the Music Industry Woman Of The Year Awards in 2004.
She is a trustee of Children In Need.
Lesley is a Fellow of the Radio Academy and has chaired the Radio Festival Steering Committee on two occasions.
Lesley was born in Newcastle in 1963 and gained a degree in English at Manchester University.
Wednesday 26 September 2007
companies invovled ....
Five years later MCA acquired Paramount's pre-1948 film library for US$50 million, subsequently proven to be a bargain as the new owners licenced films to US and overseas television stations.
MCA bought Universal's back lot for US$11 million in 1958, leasing the facility to Universal.
Four years later, amid increased competition and consolidation in the record industry, Decca sold Universal to MCA. The sale reflected MCA's interest in using Universal's production and distribution facilities, particularly for television production as an extension of its existing Revue Television Productions operation (responsible for video fodder such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Leave It to Beaver and Wagon Train.
In 1990 MCA was acquired US$1.6 billion by Japan's Matsushita group, a counterpart of GE and Westinghouse (and a competitor of Sony). Matsushita - centred on Matsushita Electric Industrial Company - was best known as the parent of Panasonic electronics.
Acquisition reflected Matsushita's large cash flow (particularly from exporting consumer appliances to North America), the availability of cheap loans as a consequence of the 1980s Japanese property bubble and received wisdom that hardware manufacturers such as Sony and Matsushita had to expand downstream into content production.
Performance by MCA was underwhelming and Matsushita appears to have faced difficulties coming to grips with the 'creatives' in Los Angeles. In 1995 it accordingly offloaded a controlling stake MCA to Seagram for US$5.7 billion.
As a way of gaining cash for Seagram's ambitious expansion plans (eg acquisition of Polygram for US$10.4 billion) and building alliances the Universal Television studios were spun off to Seagram's USA Networks subsidiary in 1998, being renamed Studios USA. Vivendi inherited Universal in 2000 when it acquired Seagram, reflecting that purchase by rebadging itself as Vivendi Universal. Two years later it bought back the USA Networks studio and cable television holdings (reinstating the Universal Television name).
MCA bought Universal's back lot for US$11 million in 1958, leasing the facility to Universal.
Four years later, amid increased competition and consolidation in the record industry, Decca sold Universal to MCA. The sale reflected MCA's interest in using Universal's production and distribution facilities, particularly for television production as an extension of its existing Revue Television Productions operation (responsible for video fodder such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Leave It to Beaver and Wagon Train.
In 1990 MCA was acquired US$1.6 billion by Japan's Matsushita group, a counterpart of GE and Westinghouse (and a competitor of Sony). Matsushita - centred on Matsushita Electric Industrial Company - was best known as the parent of Panasonic electronics.
Acquisition reflected Matsushita's large cash flow (particularly from exporting consumer appliances to North America), the availability of cheap loans as a consequence of the 1980s Japanese property bubble and received wisdom that hardware manufacturers such as Sony and Matsushita had to expand downstream into content production.
Performance by MCA was underwhelming and Matsushita appears to have faced difficulties coming to grips with the 'creatives' in Los Angeles. In 1995 it accordingly offloaded a controlling stake MCA to Seagram for US$5.7 billion.
As a way of gaining cash for Seagram's ambitious expansion plans (eg acquisition of Polygram for US$10.4 billion) and building alliances the Universal Television studios were spun off to Seagram's USA Networks subsidiary in 1998, being renamed Studios USA. Vivendi inherited Universal in 2000 when it acquired Seagram, reflecting that purchase by rebadging itself as Vivendi Universal. Two years later it bought back the USA Networks studio and cable television holdings (reinstating the Universal Television name).
LIST OF THE FILMS BY UNIVERSAL PICTURES
1920s
• White Youth (1920)
• The Flaming Disc (1920)
• Am I Dreaming? (1920)
• The Dragon's Net (1920)
• The Adorable Savage (1920)
• Putting It Over (1920)
• The Fire Eater (1921)
• A Battle of Wits (1921)
• Dream Girl (1921)
• The Millionaire (1921)
• A Daughter of the Law (1921)
• The Conflict (1921)
• The Rage of Paris (1921)
• No Woman Knows (1921)
• Action (1921)
• The Danger Man (1921)
• The Kiss (1921)
• The Heart of Arizona (1921)
• The Beautiful Gambler (1921)
• Desperate Trails (1921)
• The Man Tamer (1921)
• Cheated Love (1921)
• The Blazing Trail (1921)
• The Freeze-Out (1921)
• The Diamond Queen (1921)
• Foolish Wives (1921)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
• The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
• The Man Who Laughs (1928)
• Melody of Love (1928, Universal's first all-talkie)
• Show Boat (1929)
• Broadway (1929, first Universal talkie with color sequences)
1930s
• All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
• King of Jazz (1930, first Universal all-color talkie)
• Dracula (1931)
• Frankenstein (1931)
• Back Street (1932)
• The Mummy (1932)
• Counsellor at Law (1933)
• The Invisible Man (1933)
• Imitation of Life (1934)
• Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
• Magnificent Obsession (1935)
• Show Boat (1936)
• My Man Godfrey (1936)
• Three Smart Girls (1936)
• Dracula's Daughter (1936)
• One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937)
• Destry Rides Again (1939)
• East Side of Heaven (1939)
• My Little Chickadee (1939)
• Son of Frankenstein (1939)
1940s
• Enemy Agent (1940)
• The Bank Dick (1940)
• Black Friday (1940)
• My Little Chickadee (1940)
• Buck Privates (1941)
• The Wolf Man (1941)
• You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith (1943)
• House of Frankenstein (1945)
• House of Dracula (1945)
• The Egg & I (1946)
• The Killers (1946)
• Great Expectations (1947, U.S. distribution only)
• The Naked City (1948)
• Hamlet (1948, U.S. distribution only)
• Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
1950s
• Francis the Talking Mule (1950)
• Harvey (1950)
• Winchester '73 (1950)
• The World in His Arms (1952)
• Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953)
• Magnificent Obsession (1954)
• The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
• Revenge of the Creature (1955)
• The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)
• Written on the Wind (1956)
• The Thing That Couldn't Die (1958)
• Touch of Evil (1958)
• Pillow Talk (1959)
• Imitation of Life (1959, remake of 1934 film)
• The Snow Queen (1959, English dub, distributor)
1960s
• The Leech Woman (1960)
• Spartacus (1960)
• Flower Drum Song (1961)
• Lover Come Back (1961, distribution)
• Cape Fear (1962)
• That Touch of Mink (1962, distribution)
• To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
• Captain Newman, M.D. (1963)
• The Birds (1963)
• Send Me No Flowers (1963)
• Island of the Blue Dolphins (1964)
• Marnie (1964)
• Charade (1964)
• Mirage (1965)
• Pinocchio in Outer Space (1965, distributor)
• The Ipcress File (1965)
• Arabesque (1966)
• Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
• Gambit (1966)
• The Rare Breed (1966)
• Torn Curtain (1966)
• Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)
• The War Wagon (1967)
• The Party (1968)
• Sweet Charity (1969)
• Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
1970s
• Airport and its sequels (1974, 1977, and 1979, respectively)
• Shoot Out (1971)
• The Andromeda strain (1971)
• Silent Running (1972)
• Slaughterhouse-Five (1972)
• American Graffiti (1973, plus sequel in 1979)
• The Sting (1973, plus sequel in 1983)
• Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
• Earthquake (1974)
• The Black Windmill (1974)
• Jaws (1975, plus sequels in 1978, 1983, and 1987)
• Swashbuckler (1976)
• Midway (1976)
• Slap Shot (1977)
• The Slipper and the Rose (1977)
• MacArthur (1977)
• Smokey and the Bandit (1977, plus sequels in 1980 and 1983)
• Sorcerer (1977, co-production with Paramount Pictures)
• Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978, co-production with Paramount
Pictures)
• The Deer Hunter (1978, co-production with EMI Films)
• Jaws 2 (1978)
• National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
• Dracula (1979)
• Yanks (1979, co-production with United Artists)
• 1941 (1979, co-production with Columbia Pictures)
1980s
• The Blues Brothers (1980)
• The Island (1980)
• Somewhere in Time (1980)
• Xanadu (1980)
• On Golden Pond (1981, distribution only, produced by ITC Entertainment)
• Halloween II (1981)
• The Great Muppet Caper (1981, distribution only, produced by ITC Entertainment)
• Conan the Barbarian (1982)
• Frances (1982)
• Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
• Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
• The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982)
• Sophie's Choice (1982, distribution only, produced by ITC Entertainment)
• Cat People (1982)
• The Thing (1982)
• The Dark Crystal (1982, distribution only, produced by ITC Entertainment)
• Bad Boys (1983)
• Jaws 3-D (1983)
• Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983, distribution only, produced by Recorded
Picture Company)
• Stroker Ace (1983, co-production with Warner Bros.)
• Rumble Fish (1983)
• Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)
• Scarface (1983)
• Sixteen Candles (1984)
• Firestarter (1984)
• Gotcha! (1985)
• Back to the Future (1985, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
• The Breakfast Club (1985)
• Weird Science (1985)
• Fletch (1985, plus the 1989 sequel)
• Brazil (1985, co-production with 20th Century Fox)
• Legend (1985, co-production with 20th Century Fox)
• Howard the Duck (1985, co-production with Lucasfilm Ltd.)
• An American Tail (1986, plus its three sequels, co-production with Amblin
Entertainment)
• Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
• Harry and the Hendersons (1987, and later the 1990s TV series)
• Prince of Darkness (1987)
• Dragnet (1987)
• *batteries not included (1987)
• The Land Before Time (1988, plus sequels, co-production with Amblin Entertainment
and Lucasfilm Ltd.(logo not actually shown)
• They Live (1988)
• The Great Outdoors (1988)
• Phantasm II (1988)
• Watchers (1988)
• Field of Dreams (1989)
• The 'Burbs (1989)
• Back to the Future Part II (1989, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
• Do the Right Thing (1989)
• Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
• Uncle Buck (1989)
• The Dream Team (1989)
• Parenthood (1989) (co-production with Imagine Entertainment)
1990s
• Jetsons: The Movie (1990, co-production with Hanna Barbera)
• Tremors (1990)
• Problem Child (1990)
• Henry & June (1990)
• Back to the Future Part III (1990, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
• Darkman (1990) (plus its two sequels)
• Cry-Baby (1990, co-production with Imagine Entertainment)
• Child's Play 2 (1990;using 75th anniversary commerative logo)
• Kindergarten Cop (1990)
• Career Opportunities (1991;using 75th anniversary commerative logo)
• Problem Child 2 (1991)
• Child's Play 3 (1991)
• Backdraft (1991)
• Jungle Fever (1991)
• Cape Fear (1991)
• Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
• Beethoven (1992)
• Scent of a Woman (1992)
• Judgment Night (1993)
• Beethoven's 2nd (1993)
• Carlito's Way (1993)
• Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)
• Jurassic Park (1993, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
• The Real McCoy (1993)
• Schindler's List (1993, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
• We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
• Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)
• The Flintstones (1994, co-production with Amblin Entertainment and Hanna-Barbera)
• The Shadow (1994)
• The Little Rascals (1994, co-production with Amblin Entertainment and King
World)
• The Cowboy Way (1994)
• The River Wild (1994)
• The War (1994)
• Reality Bites (1994)
• Street Fighter (1994, distributor)
• Junior (1994)
• Apollo 13 (1995)
• Babe (1995)
• Billy Madison (1995)
• Waterworld (1995)
• Casino (1995)
• Casper (1995, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
• Balto (1995, co-production with Amblin Entertainment
• Twelve Monkeys (1995)
• Ed (1996)
• Flipper (1996)
• Happy Gilmore (1996)
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996)
• The Chamber (1996)
• Twister (1996, co-production with Warner Bros. and Amblin Entertainment)
• The Nutty Professor (1996, co-production with Imagine Entertainment)
• Daylight (1996)
• The Frighteners (1996)
• Dante's Peak (1997)
• The Jackal (1997)
• Leave It to Beaver (1997)
• Liar Liar (1997)
• The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997, co-production with Amblin
Entertainment)
• Small Soldiers (1998, co-production with DreamWorks)
• Patch Adams (1998)
• Meet Joe Black (1998)
• Baseketball (1998)
• Babe: Pig in the City (1998, sequel to Babe, distributor)
• Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)
• Bride of Chucky (1998)
• Mercury Rising (1998)
• Psycho (1998, co-production with Imagine Entertainment)
• Shakespeare in Love (1998) (co-production with Miramax Films)
• October Sky (1999)
• The Mummy (1999)
• American Pie (1999)
• The Hurricane (1999)
• Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
• End of Days (1999)
• Angela's Ashes (1999, co-production with Paramount Pictures)
• EDtv (1999) (co-production with Imagine Entertainment)
• The Story of Us (1999) (co-production with Castle Rock Entertainment)
2000s
• U-571 (2000, distributor)
• Billy Elliot (2000, distributor)
• Gladiator (2000)
• Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000) (co-production with Imagine
Entertainment)
• The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000, co-production with Amblin
Entertainment)
• O Brother, Where Art Thou (2000, co-production With Touchstone Pictures)
• Erin Brockovich (2000, co-production with Columbia Pictures)
• Meet the Parents (2000, co-production with DreamWorks, plus its sequel in 2004)
• The Watcher (2000)
• The Family Man (2000)
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000, co-production with Imagine
Entertainment)
• Hannibal (2001) (co-production with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and DDLC
Dino De Laurentiis Company)
• Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) (distributor)
• A Beautiful Mind (2001, co-production with DreamWorks and Imagine
Entertainment)
• The Mummy Returns (2001)
• The Fast and the Furious (2001)
• Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)
• American Pie 2 (2001)
• Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) (co-production with Miramax Films, Studio Canal
and Working Title Films)
• K-PAX (2001, co-production with Intermedia Films and FilmFour)
• Jurassic Park III (2001, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
• Spy Game (2001, distributor)
• Josie and the Pussycats (2001) (co-production with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Pictures)
• 40 Days and 40 Nights (2002) (co-production with Miramax Films)
• Big Fat Liar (2002)
• Blue Crush (2002) (co-production with Imagine Entertainment)
• The Bourne Identity (2002)
• Undercover Brother (2002)
• The Scorpion King (2002)
• 8 Mile (2002)
• Red Dragon (2002)
• The Emperor's Club (2002)
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: 20th Anniversary Edition (2002) (edited re-
release of the E.T. 20th anniversary edition celebration version in 2002, co-
production with Amblin Entertainment)
• Apollo 13 (2002) (IMAX DMR Edited re-release, 10th anniversary edition) (co-
production with Imagine Entertainment)
• The Pianist (2002, distributor)
• The Life of David Gale (2003)
• 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
• American Wedding (2003)
• Bruce Almighty (2003, co-production with Spyglass Entertainment)
• The Cat in The Hat (2003, co-production with DreamWorks and Imagine
Entertainment)
• Honey (2003)
• Hulk (2003)
• Love Actually (2003, distributor)
• Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
• Peter Pan (2003, co-production with Columbia Pictures and Revolution
Studios)
• The Rundown (2003)
• Seabiscuit (2003, co-production with DreamWorks and Spyglass Entertainment)
• Along Came Polly (2004)
• Dawn of the Dead (2004) (co-production with Strike Entertainment)
• The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
• Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004, co-production with Miramax Films)
• Connie and Carla (2004) (co-production with Spyglass Entertainment)
• The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
• Friday Night Lights (2004)
• In Good Company (2004)
• Meet the Fockers (2004, sequel to Meet the Parents, co-production with
Dreamworks)
• The Phantom of the Opera (2004) (distribution only) (distributed in Latin
America and Australia, produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, The Really Useful
Group and Scion Films)
• Ray (2004, distribution)
• Van Helsing (2004)
• Land of the Dead (2005;using 1930's logo)
• White Noise (2005)
• Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)
• The Wedding Date (2005)
• The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
• The Interpreter (2005)
• Doom (2005)
• Cinderella Man (2005)
• Jarhead (2005)
• Kicking & Screaming (2005)
• King Kong (2005)
• Munich (2005, co-production with DreamWorks Pictures and Amblin
Entertainment)
• The Perfect Man (2005)
• Pride & Prejudice (2005, with Focus Features)
• Prime (2005)
• The Producers (2005, co-production with Columbia Pictures)
• Serenity (2005)
• The Skeleton Key (2005)
• Two for the Money (2005, co-production with Morgan Creek Productions)
• American Pie Presents: Band Camp (2005) (distribution only) (distributed by
Universal Studios Home Entertainment, co-production with Rogue Pictures)
• Children of Men (2006)
• Nanny McPhee (2006, co-production with Working Title Films and Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer Pictures)
• Curious George (2006, with Imagine Entertainment)
• Slither (2006)
• The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
• Miami Vice (2006)
• United 93 (2006)
• Let's Go to Prison (2006)
• Accepted (2006) (co-production with Shady Acres Entertainment)
• The Holiday (2006) (co-production with Columbia Pictures and Waverly Films)
• American Pie: The Naked Mile (2006) (co-production with Rogue Pictures)
. Man of the Year (2006) (co-production with Morgan Creek Productions)
• The Good Shepherd (2006) (co-production with Morgan Creek Productions and
American Zoetrope)
• Alpha Dog (2007)
• Peaceful Warrior (2007) (distribution only) (produced by Lions Gate and
Sobini Films)
• Smokin' Aces (2007)
• Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007, co-production with StudioCanal and Working Title
Films)
• Because I Said So (2007)
• Breach (2007)
• Dead Silence (2007)
• Evan Almighty (2007) (co-production with Spyglass Entertainment, Shady Acres
Entertainment and Original Film)
• Georgia Rule (2007)
• Knocked Up (2007)
• I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007) (co-production with Happy Madison
Productions and Shady Acres Entertainment)
• The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
• Illegal Tender (2007)
UPCOMING
2007
• American Gangster (2007) (co-production with Imagine Entertainment)
• The Kingdom (2007)
• American Pie Presents: Beta House (2007)
2008
• The Incredible Hulk (2008)
• Frost/Nixon (2008, co-production with Working Title Films and Imagine
Entertainment)
• Diary of the Dead (2008, co-production with Strike Entertainment and Rogue
pictures.
• The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie (2008, co-production
with Big Idea Productions)
• Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008) (distribution only)
• Mamma Mia! (2008) (distribution only)
• Nappily Ever After (2008)
• The Tale of Despereaux (2008)
• Fahrenheit 451 (2008, co-production with Castle Rock Entertainment and Icon
Productions)
• Definitely Maybe (2008)
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
• The Mummy 3 (2008)
2009
• Imperial Life in the Emerald City (2009,co-production with Working Title
Films)
• White Youth (1920)
• The Flaming Disc (1920)
• Am I Dreaming? (1920)
• The Dragon's Net (1920)
• The Adorable Savage (1920)
• Putting It Over (1920)
• The Fire Eater (1921)
• A Battle of Wits (1921)
• Dream Girl (1921)
• The Millionaire (1921)
• A Daughter of the Law (1921)
• The Conflict (1921)
• The Rage of Paris (1921)
• No Woman Knows (1921)
• Action (1921)
• The Danger Man (1921)
• The Kiss (1921)
• The Heart of Arizona (1921)
• The Beautiful Gambler (1921)
• Desperate Trails (1921)
• The Man Tamer (1921)
• Cheated Love (1921)
• The Blazing Trail (1921)
• The Freeze-Out (1921)
• The Diamond Queen (1921)
• Foolish Wives (1921)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
• The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
• The Man Who Laughs (1928)
• Melody of Love (1928, Universal's first all-talkie)
• Show Boat (1929)
• Broadway (1929, first Universal talkie with color sequences)
1930s
• All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
• King of Jazz (1930, first Universal all-color talkie)
• Dracula (1931)
• Frankenstein (1931)
• Back Street (1932)
• The Mummy (1932)
• Counsellor at Law (1933)
• The Invisible Man (1933)
• Imitation of Life (1934)
• Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
• Magnificent Obsession (1935)
• Show Boat (1936)
• My Man Godfrey (1936)
• Three Smart Girls (1936)
• Dracula's Daughter (1936)
• One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937)
• Destry Rides Again (1939)
• East Side of Heaven (1939)
• My Little Chickadee (1939)
• Son of Frankenstein (1939)
1940s
• Enemy Agent (1940)
• The Bank Dick (1940)
• Black Friday (1940)
• My Little Chickadee (1940)
• Buck Privates (1941)
• The Wolf Man (1941)
• You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith (1943)
• House of Frankenstein (1945)
• House of Dracula (1945)
• The Egg & I (1946)
• The Killers (1946)
• Great Expectations (1947, U.S. distribution only)
• The Naked City (1948)
• Hamlet (1948, U.S. distribution only)
• Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
1950s
• Francis the Talking Mule (1950)
• Harvey (1950)
• Winchester '73 (1950)
• The World in His Arms (1952)
• Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953)
• Magnificent Obsession (1954)
• The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
• Revenge of the Creature (1955)
• The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)
• Written on the Wind (1956)
• The Thing That Couldn't Die (1958)
• Touch of Evil (1958)
• Pillow Talk (1959)
• Imitation of Life (1959, remake of 1934 film)
• The Snow Queen (1959, English dub, distributor)
1960s
• The Leech Woman (1960)
• Spartacus (1960)
• Flower Drum Song (1961)
• Lover Come Back (1961, distribution)
• Cape Fear (1962)
• That Touch of Mink (1962, distribution)
• To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
• Captain Newman, M.D. (1963)
• The Birds (1963)
• Send Me No Flowers (1963)
• Island of the Blue Dolphins (1964)
• Marnie (1964)
• Charade (1964)
• Mirage (1965)
• Pinocchio in Outer Space (1965, distributor)
• The Ipcress File (1965)
• Arabesque (1966)
• Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
• Gambit (1966)
• The Rare Breed (1966)
• Torn Curtain (1966)
• Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)
• The War Wagon (1967)
• The Party (1968)
• Sweet Charity (1969)
• Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
1970s
• Airport and its sequels (1974, 1977, and 1979, respectively)
• Shoot Out (1971)
• The Andromeda strain (1971)
• Silent Running (1972)
• Slaughterhouse-Five (1972)
• American Graffiti (1973, plus sequel in 1979)
• The Sting (1973, plus sequel in 1983)
• Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
• Earthquake (1974)
• The Black Windmill (1974)
• Jaws (1975, plus sequels in 1978, 1983, and 1987)
• Swashbuckler (1976)
• Midway (1976)
• Slap Shot (1977)
• The Slipper and the Rose (1977)
• MacArthur (1977)
• Smokey and the Bandit (1977, plus sequels in 1980 and 1983)
• Sorcerer (1977, co-production with Paramount Pictures)
• Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978, co-production with Paramount
Pictures)
• The Deer Hunter (1978, co-production with EMI Films)
• Jaws 2 (1978)
• National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
• Dracula (1979)
• Yanks (1979, co-production with United Artists)
• 1941 (1979, co-production with Columbia Pictures)
1980s
• The Blues Brothers (1980)
• The Island (1980)
• Somewhere in Time (1980)
• Xanadu (1980)
• On Golden Pond (1981, distribution only, produced by ITC Entertainment)
• Halloween II (1981)
• The Great Muppet Caper (1981, distribution only, produced by ITC Entertainment)
• Conan the Barbarian (1982)
• Frances (1982)
• Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
• Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
• The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982)
• Sophie's Choice (1982, distribution only, produced by ITC Entertainment)
• Cat People (1982)
• The Thing (1982)
• The Dark Crystal (1982, distribution only, produced by ITC Entertainment)
• Bad Boys (1983)
• Jaws 3-D (1983)
• Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983, distribution only, produced by Recorded
Picture Company)
• Stroker Ace (1983, co-production with Warner Bros.)
• Rumble Fish (1983)
• Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)
• Scarface (1983)
• Sixteen Candles (1984)
• Firestarter (1984)
• Gotcha! (1985)
• Back to the Future (1985, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
• The Breakfast Club (1985)
• Weird Science (1985)
• Fletch (1985, plus the 1989 sequel)
• Brazil (1985, co-production with 20th Century Fox)
• Legend (1985, co-production with 20th Century Fox)
• Howard the Duck (1985, co-production with Lucasfilm Ltd.)
• An American Tail (1986, plus its three sequels, co-production with Amblin
Entertainment)
• Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
• Harry and the Hendersons (1987, and later the 1990s TV series)
• Prince of Darkness (1987)
• Dragnet (1987)
• *batteries not included (1987)
• The Land Before Time (1988, plus sequels, co-production with Amblin Entertainment
and Lucasfilm Ltd.(logo not actually shown)
• They Live (1988)
• The Great Outdoors (1988)
• Phantasm II (1988)
• Watchers (1988)
• Field of Dreams (1989)
• The 'Burbs (1989)
• Back to the Future Part II (1989, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
• Do the Right Thing (1989)
• Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
• Uncle Buck (1989)
• The Dream Team (1989)
• Parenthood (1989) (co-production with Imagine Entertainment)
1990s
• Jetsons: The Movie (1990, co-production with Hanna Barbera)
• Tremors (1990)
• Problem Child (1990)
• Henry & June (1990)
• Back to the Future Part III (1990, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
• Darkman (1990) (plus its two sequels)
• Cry-Baby (1990, co-production with Imagine Entertainment)
• Child's Play 2 (1990;using 75th anniversary commerative logo)
• Kindergarten Cop (1990)
• Career Opportunities (1991;using 75th anniversary commerative logo)
• Problem Child 2 (1991)
• Child's Play 3 (1991)
• Backdraft (1991)
• Jungle Fever (1991)
• Cape Fear (1991)
• Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
• Beethoven (1992)
• Scent of a Woman (1992)
• Judgment Night (1993)
• Beethoven's 2nd (1993)
• Carlito's Way (1993)
• Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)
• Jurassic Park (1993, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
• The Real McCoy (1993)
• Schindler's List (1993, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
• We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
• Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)
• The Flintstones (1994, co-production with Amblin Entertainment and Hanna-Barbera)
• The Shadow (1994)
• The Little Rascals (1994, co-production with Amblin Entertainment and King
World)
• The Cowboy Way (1994)
• The River Wild (1994)
• The War (1994)
• Reality Bites (1994)
• Street Fighter (1994, distributor)
• Junior (1994)
• Apollo 13 (1995)
• Babe (1995)
• Billy Madison (1995)
• Waterworld (1995)
• Casino (1995)
• Casper (1995, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
• Balto (1995, co-production with Amblin Entertainment
• Twelve Monkeys (1995)
• Ed (1996)
• Flipper (1996)
• Happy Gilmore (1996)
• Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996)
• The Chamber (1996)
• Twister (1996, co-production with Warner Bros. and Amblin Entertainment)
• The Nutty Professor (1996, co-production with Imagine Entertainment)
• Daylight (1996)
• The Frighteners (1996)
• Dante's Peak (1997)
• The Jackal (1997)
• Leave It to Beaver (1997)
• Liar Liar (1997)
• The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997, co-production with Amblin
Entertainment)
• Small Soldiers (1998, co-production with DreamWorks)
• Patch Adams (1998)
• Meet Joe Black (1998)
• Baseketball (1998)
• Babe: Pig in the City (1998, sequel to Babe, distributor)
• Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)
• Bride of Chucky (1998)
• Mercury Rising (1998)
• Psycho (1998, co-production with Imagine Entertainment)
• Shakespeare in Love (1998) (co-production with Miramax Films)
• October Sky (1999)
• The Mummy (1999)
• American Pie (1999)
• The Hurricane (1999)
• Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
• End of Days (1999)
• Angela's Ashes (1999, co-production with Paramount Pictures)
• EDtv (1999) (co-production with Imagine Entertainment)
• The Story of Us (1999) (co-production with Castle Rock Entertainment)
2000s
• U-571 (2000, distributor)
• Billy Elliot (2000, distributor)
• Gladiator (2000)
• Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000) (co-production with Imagine
Entertainment)
• The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000, co-production with Amblin
Entertainment)
• O Brother, Where Art Thou (2000, co-production With Touchstone Pictures)
• Erin Brockovich (2000, co-production with Columbia Pictures)
• Meet the Parents (2000, co-production with DreamWorks, plus its sequel in 2004)
• The Watcher (2000)
• The Family Man (2000)
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000, co-production with Imagine
Entertainment)
• Hannibal (2001) (co-production with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and DDLC
Dino De Laurentiis Company)
• Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) (distributor)
• A Beautiful Mind (2001, co-production with DreamWorks and Imagine
Entertainment)
• The Mummy Returns (2001)
• The Fast and the Furious (2001)
• Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)
• American Pie 2 (2001)
• Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) (co-production with Miramax Films, Studio Canal
and Working Title Films)
• K-PAX (2001, co-production with Intermedia Films and FilmFour)
• Jurassic Park III (2001, co-production with Amblin Entertainment)
• Spy Game (2001, distributor)
• Josie and the Pussycats (2001) (co-production with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Pictures)
• 40 Days and 40 Nights (2002) (co-production with Miramax Films)
• Big Fat Liar (2002)
• Blue Crush (2002) (co-production with Imagine Entertainment)
• The Bourne Identity (2002)
• Undercover Brother (2002)
• The Scorpion King (2002)
• 8 Mile (2002)
• Red Dragon (2002)
• The Emperor's Club (2002)
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: 20th Anniversary Edition (2002) (edited re-
release of the E.T. 20th anniversary edition celebration version in 2002, co-
production with Amblin Entertainment)
• Apollo 13 (2002) (IMAX DMR Edited re-release, 10th anniversary edition) (co-
production with Imagine Entertainment)
• The Pianist (2002, distributor)
• The Life of David Gale (2003)
• 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
• American Wedding (2003)
• Bruce Almighty (2003, co-production with Spyglass Entertainment)
• The Cat in The Hat (2003, co-production with DreamWorks and Imagine
Entertainment)
• Honey (2003)
• Hulk (2003)
• Love Actually (2003, distributor)
• Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
• Peter Pan (2003, co-production with Columbia Pictures and Revolution
Studios)
• The Rundown (2003)
• Seabiscuit (2003, co-production with DreamWorks and Spyglass Entertainment)
• Along Came Polly (2004)
• Dawn of the Dead (2004) (co-production with Strike Entertainment)
• The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
• Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004, co-production with Miramax Films)
• Connie and Carla (2004) (co-production with Spyglass Entertainment)
• The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
• Friday Night Lights (2004)
• In Good Company (2004)
• Meet the Fockers (2004, sequel to Meet the Parents, co-production with
Dreamworks)
• The Phantom of the Opera (2004) (distribution only) (distributed in Latin
America and Australia, produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, The Really Useful
Group and Scion Films)
• Ray (2004, distribution)
• Van Helsing (2004)
• Land of the Dead (2005;using 1930's logo)
• White Noise (2005)
• Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)
• The Wedding Date (2005)
• The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
• The Interpreter (2005)
• Doom (2005)
• Cinderella Man (2005)
• Jarhead (2005)
• Kicking & Screaming (2005)
• King Kong (2005)
• Munich (2005, co-production with DreamWorks Pictures and Amblin
Entertainment)
• The Perfect Man (2005)
• Pride & Prejudice (2005, with Focus Features)
• Prime (2005)
• The Producers (2005, co-production with Columbia Pictures)
• Serenity (2005)
• The Skeleton Key (2005)
• Two for the Money (2005, co-production with Morgan Creek Productions)
• American Pie Presents: Band Camp (2005) (distribution only) (distributed by
Universal Studios Home Entertainment, co-production with Rogue Pictures)
• Children of Men (2006)
• Nanny McPhee (2006, co-production with Working Title Films and Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer Pictures)
• Curious George (2006, with Imagine Entertainment)
• Slither (2006)
• The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
• Miami Vice (2006)
• United 93 (2006)
• Let's Go to Prison (2006)
• Accepted (2006) (co-production with Shady Acres Entertainment)
• The Holiday (2006) (co-production with Columbia Pictures and Waverly Films)
• American Pie: The Naked Mile (2006) (co-production with Rogue Pictures)
. Man of the Year (2006) (co-production with Morgan Creek Productions)
• The Good Shepherd (2006) (co-production with Morgan Creek Productions and
American Zoetrope)
• Alpha Dog (2007)
• Peaceful Warrior (2007) (distribution only) (produced by Lions Gate and
Sobini Films)
• Smokin' Aces (2007)
• Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007, co-production with StudioCanal and Working Title
Films)
• Because I Said So (2007)
• Breach (2007)
• Dead Silence (2007)
• Evan Almighty (2007) (co-production with Spyglass Entertainment, Shady Acres
Entertainment and Original Film)
• Georgia Rule (2007)
• Knocked Up (2007)
• I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007) (co-production with Happy Madison
Productions and Shady Acres Entertainment)
• The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
• Illegal Tender (2007)
UPCOMING
2007
• American Gangster (2007) (co-production with Imagine Entertainment)
• The Kingdom (2007)
• American Pie Presents: Beta House (2007)
2008
• The Incredible Hulk (2008)
• Frost/Nixon (2008, co-production with Working Title Films and Imagine
Entertainment)
• Diary of the Dead (2008, co-production with Strike Entertainment and Rogue
pictures.
• The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie (2008, co-production
with Big Idea Productions)
• Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008) (distribution only)
• Mamma Mia! (2008) (distribution only)
• Nappily Ever After (2008)
• The Tale of Despereaux (2008)
• Fahrenheit 451 (2008, co-production with Castle Rock Entertainment and Icon
Productions)
• Definitely Maybe (2008)
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
• The Mummy 3 (2008)
2009
• Imperial Life in the Emerald City (2009,co-production with Working Title
Films)
Universal History
Universal studios is one of the biggest American film studios.Its production studios are located at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California, an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County between Los Angeles and Burbank.
Distribution and other corporate, administrative offices are based in New York City. Universal is the second longest-lived studio in Hollywood (Viacom's Paramount Pictures is the oldest by only a month
The founder of universal was a German Jewish immigrant named Carl Laemmle, he settled in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, he his job was to manage a clothing store. On a 1905 buying trip to Chicago, he was struck by the popularity of nickelodeons. One story has Laemmle watching a box office for hours, counting patrons and calculating the take for the day. The first week there he had given up dry goods and had bought numerous nickelodeons.
The establishment in 1908 of the Edison-backed Motion Picture Trust meant that exhibitors were expected to pay fees for any Trust-produced film they showed. On the basis of Edison's patent on the electric motor used in cameras and projectors, along with other patents, the Trust collected fees on all aspects of movie production and exhibition, and also held a monopoly on distribution. Later on Laemmle and other nickelodeon owners decided to stay away from paying Edison by producing their very own pictures.
In June 1909, Laemmle started the Yankee Film Company with partners Abe and Julius Stern. That company quickly evolved into the Independent Moving Picture Company.
Laemmle broke with Edison's custom of refusing credit to actors. By naming the stars of films, he was able to attract many of the leading players of the time, and contributed to the creation of the star system. Most notably, in 1910, he actively promoted Florence Lawrence, then known as the "Biograph girl", in what may be the first instance of a studio using a film star in its marketing.
On June 8, 1912, Laemmle merged IMP with eight smaller companies to form the Universal Film Manufacturing Company; this then introduced the word UNIVERSAL into the organizations name.
Laemmle was the primary figure in a partnership that included Mark Dintinfass, Charles Baumann, Adam Kessel, and Pat Powers. BUT sooner or later all would be bought out by Laemmle. The new studio was a horizontally integrated company, with both movie production and distribution capacity (though the company lacked a major circuit of exhibition venues, ownership of which would become a central element of film industry integration in the following decade).
The name was later changed to Universal Pictures Company, Inc.
Near to the end of 1912 the company was mainly focusing there production efforts Hollywood area. In 1915, Laemmle opened the world's largest motion picture production facility, Universal City Studios, on a 230-acre (0.9-km²) converted farm just over the Cahuenga Pass from Hollywood.
Studio management now became the third facet of Universal's operations, with the studio incorporated as a distinct subsidiary organization. Unlike other movie moguls, Laemmle opened his studio to tourists.
Universal became the biggest studio in Hollywood, and remained so for a decade. However, it sought an audience mostly in small towns, producing mostly melodramas, cheap westerns, and serials.
Despite Laemmle's role as an innovator, he was an extremely cautious studio chief. Unlike rivals Adolph Zukor, William Fox, and Marcus Loew, Laemmle chose not to develop a theater chain. He also financed all of his own films, refusing to take on debt. By 1925, Universal had lost its role as the biggest studio to MGM. This was in part due to the talents of a former Universal producer, Irving Thalberg, who left after MGM offered him more money. By the end of the 1920s, Universal was a second-tier studio and would remain so for several decades.
In 1926, Universal also opened a production unit in Germany, Deutsche Universal-Film AG, under the direction of Joe Pasternak. This unit produced 3 to 4 films per year until 1936, migrating to Hungary and then Austria in the face of Hitler's increasing domination of central Europe. With the advent of sound, these productions were made in the German language or, occasionally, Hungarian or Polish. In the U.S., Universal Pictures did not distribute any of this subsidiary's films, but at least some of them were exhibited through other, independent, foreign-language film distributors based in New York, without benefit of English subtitles. Nazi persecution and a change in ownership for the parent Universal Pictures organization resulted in the dissolution of this subsidiary
Keeping leadership of the studio in the family
In 1928, Laemmle, Sr. made his son, Carl, Jr. head of Universal City Studios as a 21st birthday present. Universal already had a reputation for nepotism—at one time, seventy of Carl, Sr.'s relatives were on the payroll. To his credit, Carl, Jr. persuaded his father to bring Universal up to date. He bought and built theaters, converted the studio to sound production, and made several forays into high-quality production.
His early efforts included the 1929 part-talkie version of Show Boat, the lavish musical Broadway (1929) which included Technicolor sequences, the first all-color musical feature (for Universal); King of Jazz (1930); and All Quiet on the Western Front, winner of the "Best Picture" award for 1930. Laemmle, Jr. also created a successful niche for the studio, beginning a long-running series of monster movies, affectionately dubbed: Universal Horror, among them Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Mummy. Other Laemmle productions of this period include Imitation of Life and My Man Godfrey.
The Laemmles lose control
Ironically, Universal's forays into high-quality production nearly broke the company. Taking on the task of modernizing and upgrading a film conglomerate in the depths of the depression was risky, and for a time Universal slipped into receivership. The theater chain was scrapped, but Carl, Jr. held fast to distribution, studio and production operations. The end for the Laemmles came with a lavish remake of Show Boat, featuring several stars from the Broadway stage version, which began production in late 1935. However, Carl, Jr.'s spending habits alarmed company stockholders, especially after the costly flop of Sutter's Gold earlier in the year. They would not allow production to start on Show Boat unless the Laemmles obtained a loan. Universal was forced to seek a $750,000 production loan from the Standard Capital Corporation, pledging the Laemmle family's controlling interest in Universal as collateral. It was the first time in Universal's 26-year history that it had borrowed money for a production. Production problems resulted in a $300,000 overrun. When Standard called the loan in, a cash-strapped Universal couldn't pay. Standard foreclosed and seized control of the studio on April 2, 1936. Show Boat was released in 1936 and is widely considered to be one of the greatest film musicals of all time. However, it was not enough to save the Laemmles, who were unceremoniously removed from the company they had founded.
Standard Capital's J. Cheever Cowdin took over as President and Chairman of the Board of Directors and instituted severe cuts in production budgets. Gone were the big ambitions, and though Universal had few big names under contract, those it had been cultivating, like William Wyler and Margaret Sullavan, now left. By the start of World War II, the company was concentrating on smaller-budget productions: westerns, melodramas, serials and sequels to the studio's horror classics. Only the films of young singer Deanna Durbin were given reasonably high budgets, under the control of Joe Pasternak upon his emigration from Europe; if any one star can be said to have kept Universal in business during the late 1930s, it was Durbin, despite her often being woefully miscast as a young teenager when she was, clearly, a fully adult woman.
Fortunately, just when Durbin outgrew her screen persona, the studio signed the comedy team of Abbott and Costello (Bud Abbott and Lou Costello) to a long-term contract. A string of low-budget hits beginning with "Buck Privates" (1941) placed Abbott and Costello among the top box office draws in the country, improving Universal's bottom line even more than Durbin's glossy productions had. Other low and medium budget fare dominated through the years of World War II, when the studio's roster included many cast-off Paramount players like Mae West, W.C. Fields, and Marlene Dietrich. The studio also churned out various sequels for each of its monsters. During the war years Universal did have a co-production arrangement with producer Walter Wanger and his partner, director Fritz Lang, but their pictures were a small bit of quality in a schedule dominated by the likes of Cobra Woman and Frontier Gal.
By late 1950’s, the motion picture business was in trouble. The combination of the studio/theater-chain break-up and the rise of television saw the mass audience drift away, probably forever. The Music Corporation of America (better known as MCA), mainly a talent agency, had also become a powerful television producer, renting space at Republic Studios for its Revue Studios subsidiary.
After a period of complete shutdown, a moribund Universal agreed to sell its (by now) 360-acre (1.5 km²) studio lot to MCA in 1958, for $11 million. Although MCA owned the studio lot, but not Universal Pictures, it was increasingly influential on Universal's product. The studio lot was upgraded and modernized, while MCA clients like Doris Day, Lana Turner, and Cary Grant were signed to Universal Pictures contracts.
The actual, long-awaited takeover of Universal Pictures by MCA finally took place in mid-1962, and the production subsidiary reverted in name to Universal Pictures, while the parent company became MCA/Universal Pictures Inc. Universal-International Pictures Inc. remained a subsidiary only engaged in export/international release of Universal product.
for a few years in the 1960s Universal became what it had never been: a full-blown, first-class movie studio, with leading actors and directors under contract; offering slick, commercial films; and a studio tour subsidiary (launched in 1964.
Though Universal's film unit did produce occasional hits, among them Airport, The Sting, American Graffiti, and a blockbuster that restored the company's fortunes, Jaws, Universal in the 1970s was primarily a television studio. Weekly series production was the workhorse of the company. There would be other film hits like E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial, Back to the Future, and Jurassic Park, but overall the film business was still hit-and-miss.
In the early 1970s, Universal teamed up with Paramount Pictures to form Cinema International Corporation, which distributed films by Paramount and Universal worldwide. It was replaced by United International Pictures in 1981, when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer joined the fold. UIP began distributing films by start-up studio DreamWorks in 1997, and MGM subsequently dropped out of the venture in 2001, letting 20th Century Fox internationally distribute its films. In 1990, MCA created MCA/Universal Home Video Inc. to enter the lucrative videotape and later DVD sales industry
NBC Universal
Burdened with debt, in 2004 Vivendi Universal sold 80% of Vivendi Universal Entertainment (including the studio and theme parks) to General Electric, parent of NBC. The resulting media super-conglomerate was renamed NBC Universal, while Universal Studios Inc. remained the name of the production subsidiary. Though some expressed doubts that regimented, profit-minded GE and high-living Hollywood could coexist, as of 2007 the combination has worked. The reorganized "Universal" film conglomerate has enjoyed several financially successful years. As presently structured, GE owns 80% of NBC Universal; Vivendi holds the remaining 20%, with an option to sell its share in 2006.
In late 2005, Viacom's Paramount Pictures swooped in to acquire DreamWorks SKG after acquisition talks between GE and DreamWorks stalled. Universal's long time chairman, Stacey Snyder, left the company in early 2006 to head up DreamWorks. Snyder was replaced by Marc Shmuger, a veteran Universal and studio executive. Shmuger is well respected in the industry, with a reputation for being very bright and opinionated. Some question his experience in dealing with talent. With no blockbusters on Universal's 2006 slate, Shmuger's tenure will be defined by what the studio develops in the next few years.
Partnership with universal
Universal was created from the merger of Laemmle's IMP with several smaller film-production businesses. These companies (and their proprietors) included:
• Champion Motion Picture Co., Mark Dintinfass, president
• Nestor Motion Picture Company, David Horsley
• The New York Motion Picture Company, Charles Baumann and Adam
Kessel,proprietors
• Powers Motion Picture Co., Pat Powers, president
• Rex Motion Picture Co., William Swanson
Distribution and other corporate, administrative offices are based in New York City. Universal is the second longest-lived studio in Hollywood (Viacom's Paramount Pictures is the oldest by only a month
The founder of universal was a German Jewish immigrant named Carl Laemmle, he settled in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, he his job was to manage a clothing store. On a 1905 buying trip to Chicago, he was struck by the popularity of nickelodeons. One story has Laemmle watching a box office for hours, counting patrons and calculating the take for the day. The first week there he had given up dry goods and had bought numerous nickelodeons.
The establishment in 1908 of the Edison-backed Motion Picture Trust meant that exhibitors were expected to pay fees for any Trust-produced film they showed. On the basis of Edison's patent on the electric motor used in cameras and projectors, along with other patents, the Trust collected fees on all aspects of movie production and exhibition, and also held a monopoly on distribution. Later on Laemmle and other nickelodeon owners decided to stay away from paying Edison by producing their very own pictures.
In June 1909, Laemmle started the Yankee Film Company with partners Abe and Julius Stern. That company quickly evolved into the Independent Moving Picture Company.
Laemmle broke with Edison's custom of refusing credit to actors. By naming the stars of films, he was able to attract many of the leading players of the time, and contributed to the creation of the star system. Most notably, in 1910, he actively promoted Florence Lawrence, then known as the "Biograph girl", in what may be the first instance of a studio using a film star in its marketing.
On June 8, 1912, Laemmle merged IMP with eight smaller companies to form the Universal Film Manufacturing Company; this then introduced the word UNIVERSAL into the organizations name.
Laemmle was the primary figure in a partnership that included Mark Dintinfass, Charles Baumann, Adam Kessel, and Pat Powers. BUT sooner or later all would be bought out by Laemmle. The new studio was a horizontally integrated company, with both movie production and distribution capacity (though the company lacked a major circuit of exhibition venues, ownership of which would become a central element of film industry integration in the following decade).
The name was later changed to Universal Pictures Company, Inc.
Near to the end of 1912 the company was mainly focusing there production efforts Hollywood area. In 1915, Laemmle opened the world's largest motion picture production facility, Universal City Studios, on a 230-acre (0.9-km²) converted farm just over the Cahuenga Pass from Hollywood.
Studio management now became the third facet of Universal's operations, with the studio incorporated as a distinct subsidiary organization. Unlike other movie moguls, Laemmle opened his studio to tourists.
Universal became the biggest studio in Hollywood, and remained so for a decade. However, it sought an audience mostly in small towns, producing mostly melodramas, cheap westerns, and serials.
Despite Laemmle's role as an innovator, he was an extremely cautious studio chief. Unlike rivals Adolph Zukor, William Fox, and Marcus Loew, Laemmle chose not to develop a theater chain. He also financed all of his own films, refusing to take on debt. By 1925, Universal had lost its role as the biggest studio to MGM. This was in part due to the talents of a former Universal producer, Irving Thalberg, who left after MGM offered him more money. By the end of the 1920s, Universal was a second-tier studio and would remain so for several decades.
In 1926, Universal also opened a production unit in Germany, Deutsche Universal-Film AG, under the direction of Joe Pasternak. This unit produced 3 to 4 films per year until 1936, migrating to Hungary and then Austria in the face of Hitler's increasing domination of central Europe. With the advent of sound, these productions were made in the German language or, occasionally, Hungarian or Polish. In the U.S., Universal Pictures did not distribute any of this subsidiary's films, but at least some of them were exhibited through other, independent, foreign-language film distributors based in New York, without benefit of English subtitles. Nazi persecution and a change in ownership for the parent Universal Pictures organization resulted in the dissolution of this subsidiary
Keeping leadership of the studio in the family
In 1928, Laemmle, Sr. made his son, Carl, Jr. head of Universal City Studios as a 21st birthday present. Universal already had a reputation for nepotism—at one time, seventy of Carl, Sr.'s relatives were on the payroll. To his credit, Carl, Jr. persuaded his father to bring Universal up to date. He bought and built theaters, converted the studio to sound production, and made several forays into high-quality production.
His early efforts included the 1929 part-talkie version of Show Boat, the lavish musical Broadway (1929) which included Technicolor sequences, the first all-color musical feature (for Universal); King of Jazz (1930); and All Quiet on the Western Front, winner of the "Best Picture" award for 1930. Laemmle, Jr. also created a successful niche for the studio, beginning a long-running series of monster movies, affectionately dubbed: Universal Horror, among them Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Mummy. Other Laemmle productions of this period include Imitation of Life and My Man Godfrey.
The Laemmles lose control
Ironically, Universal's forays into high-quality production nearly broke the company. Taking on the task of modernizing and upgrading a film conglomerate in the depths of the depression was risky, and for a time Universal slipped into receivership. The theater chain was scrapped, but Carl, Jr. held fast to distribution, studio and production operations. The end for the Laemmles came with a lavish remake of Show Boat, featuring several stars from the Broadway stage version, which began production in late 1935. However, Carl, Jr.'s spending habits alarmed company stockholders, especially after the costly flop of Sutter's Gold earlier in the year. They would not allow production to start on Show Boat unless the Laemmles obtained a loan. Universal was forced to seek a $750,000 production loan from the Standard Capital Corporation, pledging the Laemmle family's controlling interest in Universal as collateral. It was the first time in Universal's 26-year history that it had borrowed money for a production. Production problems resulted in a $300,000 overrun. When Standard called the loan in, a cash-strapped Universal couldn't pay. Standard foreclosed and seized control of the studio on April 2, 1936. Show Boat was released in 1936 and is widely considered to be one of the greatest film musicals of all time. However, it was not enough to save the Laemmles, who were unceremoniously removed from the company they had founded.
Standard Capital's J. Cheever Cowdin took over as President and Chairman of the Board of Directors and instituted severe cuts in production budgets. Gone were the big ambitions, and though Universal had few big names under contract, those it had been cultivating, like William Wyler and Margaret Sullavan, now left. By the start of World War II, the company was concentrating on smaller-budget productions: westerns, melodramas, serials and sequels to the studio's horror classics. Only the films of young singer Deanna Durbin were given reasonably high budgets, under the control of Joe Pasternak upon his emigration from Europe; if any one star can be said to have kept Universal in business during the late 1930s, it was Durbin, despite her often being woefully miscast as a young teenager when she was, clearly, a fully adult woman.
Fortunately, just when Durbin outgrew her screen persona, the studio signed the comedy team of Abbott and Costello (Bud Abbott and Lou Costello) to a long-term contract. A string of low-budget hits beginning with "Buck Privates" (1941) placed Abbott and Costello among the top box office draws in the country, improving Universal's bottom line even more than Durbin's glossy productions had. Other low and medium budget fare dominated through the years of World War II, when the studio's roster included many cast-off Paramount players like Mae West, W.C. Fields, and Marlene Dietrich. The studio also churned out various sequels for each of its monsters. During the war years Universal did have a co-production arrangement with producer Walter Wanger and his partner, director Fritz Lang, but their pictures were a small bit of quality in a schedule dominated by the likes of Cobra Woman and Frontier Gal.
By late 1950’s, the motion picture business was in trouble. The combination of the studio/theater-chain break-up and the rise of television saw the mass audience drift away, probably forever. The Music Corporation of America (better known as MCA), mainly a talent agency, had also become a powerful television producer, renting space at Republic Studios for its Revue Studios subsidiary.
After a period of complete shutdown, a moribund Universal agreed to sell its (by now) 360-acre (1.5 km²) studio lot to MCA in 1958, for $11 million. Although MCA owned the studio lot, but not Universal Pictures, it was increasingly influential on Universal's product. The studio lot was upgraded and modernized, while MCA clients like Doris Day, Lana Turner, and Cary Grant were signed to Universal Pictures contracts.
The actual, long-awaited takeover of Universal Pictures by MCA finally took place in mid-1962, and the production subsidiary reverted in name to Universal Pictures, while the parent company became MCA/Universal Pictures Inc. Universal-International Pictures Inc. remained a subsidiary only engaged in export/international release of Universal product.
for a few years in the 1960s Universal became what it had never been: a full-blown, first-class movie studio, with leading actors and directors under contract; offering slick, commercial films; and a studio tour subsidiary (launched in 1964.
Though Universal's film unit did produce occasional hits, among them Airport, The Sting, American Graffiti, and a blockbuster that restored the company's fortunes, Jaws, Universal in the 1970s was primarily a television studio. Weekly series production was the workhorse of the company. There would be other film hits like E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial, Back to the Future, and Jurassic Park, but overall the film business was still hit-and-miss.
In the early 1970s, Universal teamed up with Paramount Pictures to form Cinema International Corporation, which distributed films by Paramount and Universal worldwide. It was replaced by United International Pictures in 1981, when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer joined the fold. UIP began distributing films by start-up studio DreamWorks in 1997, and MGM subsequently dropped out of the venture in 2001, letting 20th Century Fox internationally distribute its films. In 1990, MCA created MCA/Universal Home Video Inc. to enter the lucrative videotape and later DVD sales industry
NBC Universal
Burdened with debt, in 2004 Vivendi Universal sold 80% of Vivendi Universal Entertainment (including the studio and theme parks) to General Electric, parent of NBC. The resulting media super-conglomerate was renamed NBC Universal, while Universal Studios Inc. remained the name of the production subsidiary. Though some expressed doubts that regimented, profit-minded GE and high-living Hollywood could coexist, as of 2007 the combination has worked. The reorganized "Universal" film conglomerate has enjoyed several financially successful years. As presently structured, GE owns 80% of NBC Universal; Vivendi holds the remaining 20%, with an option to sell its share in 2006.
In late 2005, Viacom's Paramount Pictures swooped in to acquire DreamWorks SKG after acquisition talks between GE and DreamWorks stalled. Universal's long time chairman, Stacey Snyder, left the company in early 2006 to head up DreamWorks. Snyder was replaced by Marc Shmuger, a veteran Universal and studio executive. Shmuger is well respected in the industry, with a reputation for being very bright and opinionated. Some question his experience in dealing with talent. With no blockbusters on Universal's 2006 slate, Shmuger's tenure will be defined by what the studio develops in the next few years.
Partnership with universal
Universal was created from the merger of Laemmle's IMP with several smaller film-production businesses. These companies (and their proprietors) included:
• Champion Motion Picture Co., Mark Dintinfass, president
• Nestor Motion Picture Company, David Horsley
• The New York Motion Picture Company, Charles Baumann and Adam
Kessel,proprietors
• Powers Motion Picture Co., Pat Powers, president
• Rex Motion Picture Co., William Swanson
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