Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc.

100px Monochrome Sony Pictures logo
Type	Subsidiary of Sony[1]
Industry	Entertainment
Founded	1987 as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.,[2] renamed Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. on August 7, 1991
Headquarters	10202 West Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, United States
Key people	Michael Lynton (Chairman and CEO) Amy Pascal (Co-Chairman) Jeff Blake (Vice Chairman)
Products	Motion pictures Television Production Television Syndication Online games Mobile Entertainment Video on demand Digital distribution
Revenue	US$ 7.3 billion (FY2010)[3]
Operating income	US$ 300 million (FY2010)[3]
Parent	Sony Corporation
Website	http://www.sonypictures.com

Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. (SPE) is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony. Its group sales in 2010 has been reported to be of $7.2 billion.^[3][4]

Sony Pictures Entertainment is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).^[5]

History[link]

On September 28, 1989, Sony Corporation obtained an option to purchase all of The Coca-Cola Company's stake (49%) in Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc. (CPE; Columbia Pictures, Tri-Star Pictures, etc.) for $27 per share. The next day, Sony also announced that it reached an agreement with Guber-Peters Entertainment Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: GPEC; formerly Barris Industries, Inc.) to acquire the company for $200 million when Sony hired Peter Guber and Jon Peters to head CPE. It was all led by Norio Ohga, who was the president and CEO of Sony during that time. On October 31, 1989, Sony completed a friendly takeover bid for the rest of shares (51%) of CPE, which was a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: KPE), and acquired 99.3% of the common stocks of the company. On November 8, 1989, Sony completed the acquisition by a "short-form" merger of its wholly owned subsidiary Sony Columbia Acquisition Corporation into CPE under Delaware law. Sony also completed a tender offer for shares of common stock of the GPEC on November 6, 1989 and acquired the company on November 9, 1989. The acquisition cost Sony $4.9 billion ($3.55 billion for shares and $1.4 billion of long-term debt) and was backed (financed) by 5 major Japanese banks Mitsui, Tokyo, Fuji, Mitsubishi and Industrial Bank of Japan.^[6][7][8] The company was renamed Sony Pictures Entertainment on August 7, 1991.^[9]

Sony has since created numerous other film production and distribution units, such as creating Sony Pictures Classics for art-house fare, by forming Columbia TriStar Pictures (also known as the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group) by merging Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures in 1998, revitalizing Columbia's former television division Screen Gems, and expanded its growth on April 8, 2005, when a consortium led by Sony and its equity partners acquired the legendary Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in a deal worth nearly US$5 billion.^[10]

On June 4, 2008, SPE's wholly owned group 2JS Productions B.V. acquired Dutch production company 2waytraffic N.V., famous for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and You Are What You Eat for £114.3 million ($223.2 million in US dollars).

On June 3, 2011, SonyPictures.com was hacked, resulting in over a million passwords and e-mail addresses being stolen.^[11][12]

Sony Pictures franchises[link]

This is a list of franchises by Sony Pictures Entertainment.

• I Dream of Jeannie: Based on the television series by Screen Gems with the cartoon series Jeannie in 1973.
• Bewitched: Based on the television series by Screen Gems with a cartoon special Tabitha and Adam and the Clown Family in 1972, a spin-off series Tabitha in 1978, and a movie sequel in 2005.
• The Karate Kid: Five films; one in 1984, 1986, 1989, 1994, and the 2010 remake including the television series The Karate Kid: The Animated Series.
• Spider-Man: Beginning with the 2002 film with two sequels in 2004 and 2007 and a upcoming reboot of the franchise in 2012 including two produced series Spider-Man: The New Animated Series and The Spectacular Spider-Man in conjunction with Marvel Entertainment.
• Stuart Little: Beginning with the 1999 film with two sequels in 2002 and 2006 and one television series Stuart Little: The Animated Series. Based on the novel by E. B. White.
• Wheel of Fortune: Created by Merv Griffin in 1975 and syndicated in September 1983 by King World (now CBS Television Distribution). Including spin-off Wheel 2000. Acquired in 1986 after acquiring Merv Griffin Enterprises.
• Jeopardy!: Created by Merv Griffin in 1964. Including spin-offs (Super Jeopardy!, Rock & Roll Jeopardy!, and Jep!). First piloted in September 1983 with a second pilot on January 1, 1984, until officially premiered in September 1984 all syndicated by King World (now CBS Television Distribution). Acquired in 1986 after acquiring Merv Griffin Enterprises.
• Men in Black: Starting with the 1997 film with a 2002 sequel, and a 2012. Including the cartoon Men in Black: The Series. Based on the Malibu comic created by Lowell Cunningham.
• Ghostbusters: Began with the successful 1984 blockbuster, followed by a 1989 sequel, three animated series: one in 1986, 1988, and 1997, many products including a recent video game released in 2009, and an upcoming third film TBA.
• The Partridge Family: The hit 1970s sitcom including the cartoon series Partridge Family 2200 A.D., the 1999 television movie Come On Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story, and the ultra short-lived series In Search of the Partridge Family in 2004.
• Open Season: Beginning with the 2006 film, with two direct-to-video sequels in 2009 and 2011.
• Underworld: Beginning with 2003 film, with three sequels in 2006, 2009, and 2012, produced by Lakeshore Entertainment.

Corporate structure[link]

Headquartered in Culver City, California, USA, SPE comprises various studios and entertainment brands, including Columbia Pictures and GSN.

Senior management team[link]

• Michael Lynton
  • Chairman & CEO, Sony Pictures Entertainment
• Amy Pascal
  • Co-Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment
  • Chairman, Motion Picture Group, Sony Pictures Entertainment
• Jeff Blake
  • Vice Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment

List of holdings[link]

Sony Pictures Plaza in Culver City, California

Motion Pictures and Home Entertainment[link]

• Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group With a library of more than 4,000 films (including 12 Academy Award for Best Picture winners), as of 2004 this unit of Sony distributes about 22 films a year under its various studio brands in 67 countries.^[4] The group owns studio facilities in the United States, Hong Kong, Madrid, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Japan. In addition to the below company-owned brands, Columbia TriStar also has a contract to distribute films for independent Revolution Studios and select films by MGM and United Artists.
  • Columbia Pictures: Founded in 1924 by Harry Cohn, Sony acquired the studio in 1989 from The Coca-Cola Company for $3.4 billion.^[6][7]
  • TriStar Pictures Formed in 1982 as a joint venture between Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS. Became part Columbia Pictures Entertainment in December 1987 and the Sony ownership in 1989. Was relaunched in 2004 as a marketing and acquisitions unit with a particular emphasis on genre films.
  • Sony Pictures India, production house established by Sony to release Indian movies and distribute Hollywood movies, released under Columbia Pictures.
  • Sony Pictures Classics (SPC): Specializes in acquiring distribution rights to independent and art films as well as producing lower-budget productions geared to limited audiences.^[4]
  • Sony Pictures Releasing
  • Sony Pictures Releasing International
    • Monumental Pictures: A Russian motion picture studio formed on February 2, 2006 as a joint venture between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Russia-based Patton Media Group producing and releasing Russian language films in Russia, the CIS, and Mongolia.
  • Screen Gems: Originally Columbia's animation division and later a television production company best known for TV's Bewitched and The Partridge Family, as well as bringing The Three Stooges short subjects to TV in 1958. Sony revived the Screen Gems brand to develop mid-priced movies (production budget of between $20 million and $50 million) in specific genres such as science fiction, horror, black cinema and franchise films.
  • Triumph Films: The label Sony uses for its low-budget films. Originally a joint venture between Columbia Pictures and Gaumont in 1982.
  • FEARnet A joint venture between SPE, Lions Gate Entertainment, and Comcast for horror, suspense, and thriller movies online.
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment: Manufactures and distributes the Sony film library on Blu-ray Disc, DVD, video cassette, and UMD forms to global markets.
  • Sony Wonder: The former kids and family label of Sony Music Entertainment that was moved to SPHE on June 21, 2007.
• Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (SPWA): A Sony division which acquires and produces about 60 films per year for a wide variety of distribution platforms, especially for non-theatrical markets. It is also known as Worldwide SPE Acquisitions, Inc.
  • Destination Films: A "niche" motion picture company purchased by Sony in 2001.
  • Stage 6 Films: A direct to video label created in 2007.
  • Affirm Films: A motion picture label launched in 2008 to release gospel and Christian films.

Television Production and Distribution[link]

• Sony Pictures Television Group: (formerly Columbia TriStar Television Group) The successor-in-interest to Columbia's television division (first Screen Gems, later Columbia Pictures Television, Coca-Cola Television, TriStar Television (A division of Columbia Pictures Television), and Columbia TriStar Television), as of 2004 the unit was producing 60 titles for various television outlets globally. Contains a library that includes more than 35,000 episodes of more than 270 television series and 22,000 game show episodes under the Columbia TriStar Television brand, and the television rights to the Embassy Pictures library (including The Graduate and The Lion in Winter) and also the owner of the television division "Embassy Television"--among most recent notable shows in this library are Seinfeld, King of Queens, Days of our Lives and The Young and the Restless.
  • Adelaide Productions
  • Barris Industries: Formed in 1965 by Chuck Barris as Chuck Barris Productions. Renamed to Barris Industries in 1984. Merged with the Guber-Peters Company in 1988 and renamed as Guber-Peters Entertainment Company in 1989.
  • Barry & Enright Productions (post-scandal), including Jack Barry Productions: Formed in 1947 by Jack Barry and Dan Enright, shut down in 1959, and reformed in 1975. Later renamed Stafford-Enright Productions in 1991.
  • Crackle (formerly known as Grouper Networks): Crackle is a digital platform of Sony Pictures. It hosts videos on YouTube, Hulu, Dailymotion, and its own site, etc.
  • Culver Entertainment
  • ELP Communications (ELPC) and Tandem Licensing Corporation (TLC): The two in-name only units of Sony Pictures Television own the productions' copyrights presented by Norman Lear's companies: Tandem Productions and ELP Communications (series from T.A.T. to ELP Communications). The companies were formed by Bud Yorkin and Norman Lear in 1958 as Tandem Productions. Yorkin ended his partnership with Lear in 1975, but remained with Tandem. Lear and his partner Jerry Perenchio sold Tandem/Embassy Television to The Coca-Cola Company in 1985 and later became Embassy Communications in 1986 (later became ELP Communications in 1988). ELPC and TLC are part of Sony Pictures Entertainment since 1991.
  • Embassy Row: A television and digital production company by Michael Davies known for producing Power of 10, the 2005 version of Chain Reaction, and the current incarnation of The Newlywed Game for GSN. SPT acquired the company on January 14, 2009.
  • Four D Productions: Independent production house founded by Danny Arnold in 1974. Acquired by The Coca-Cola Company in 1986.^[13]
  • GSN: (joint venture with DirecTV)
  • Lean-M Producers Center: A Russian production company founded in 2000 by Timur Weinstein, Vyacheslav Murugov and Oleg Osipov. In 2007, SPTI acquired a majority stake in Lean-M, with an additional 16% on April 13, 2009 ^[14] and the remainder in 2010.
  • Merv Griffin Enterprises: Founded in 1964 by Merv Griffin as Merv Griffin Productions. He sold his company to The Coca-Cola Company in 1986 as Merv Griffin Enterprises and was a subsidiary of Columbia Pictures Entertainment from 1988 to 1991 and Sony Pictures Entertainment from 1991 to 1994.
  • The Minisode Network
  • Sony Movie Channel
  • Stewart Tele Enterprises: Formed in 1964 by Bob Stewart
• Sony Pictures Television International: Formed in 1995 as the worldwide television distribution arm for Sony Pictures Entertainment. Formerly known as Columbia TriStar International Television from 1995 to 2002.
  • Tuvalu Media: A Dutch production company based in Holland, Netherlands. SPT acquired a majority stake in the company in March 2010.
  • 2waytraffic: Acquired by Sony in 2008, this television production company owns a number of formats, most notably including Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?.
  • SPE Networks
    • Sony Aath
    • Sony Entertainment Television
    • Animax: Instituted in Japan by Sony in 1998, Animax is the world's largest anime television network,^[15] with respective networks operating across Japan, East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, South America and other regions.^[16] However, Animax was cut off from Vietnam cable network in 2010 without any reason
    • AXN: Formed in 1997, AXN is Sony's entertainment television network, which airs across Japan, Asia, Latin America and Europe.

Other Sony Pictures operations[link]

• Sony Pictures Music Group
• Sony Pictures Family Entertainment Group
• Sony Pictures Consumer Products
• Sony Pictures Digital Productions Inc.^[4][17]
  • Sony Pictures Imageworks
  • Sony Pictures Animation
  • Sony Station
  • Sony Pictures Network
  • Sony Pictures Mobile
  • Sony Pictures Digital Networks
    • SPiN
    • SoapCity
    • Screenblast
    • Advanced Platform Group APG
  • Sony Pictures Europe

• • • Offices located at 25 Golden Square, London, United Kingdom

Entrance to SPE main lot in Culver City

• Sony Pictures Cable Ventures, Inc.
• Sony Pictures Studios: The actual physical buildings, land and movie-making equipment properties in Culver City, California. Includes 22 sound stages, ranging in size from 7,600 to 43,000 square feet (700 to 4,000 m²)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan) (SPEJ): The company plans, produces, manufactures, sells, imports, exports, leases, broadcasts and distributes movies, TV programs, videos and audio-visual software in Japan. The company web site says it was established on February 10, 1984,^[18] predating Sony's acquisition of Columbia Pictures Entertainment by 5 years. SPEJ was formed in 1991 through the merger of Columbia Tristar Japan, RCA Columbia Pictures Video Japan, and Japan International Enterprises.^[19] Based in Tokyo, Japan.
• Sony Pictures Loot: A newly formed group of developers that creates experiences and products for PlayStation Home. Their products include premium personal spaces and decorative ornaments and clothes/costumes for the users personal spaces and avatars. The premium personal spaces have equipment that allows users, if hooked up to a video capture system, make their own machinimas in Home.^[20]
• Sony Pictures Studios Post Production Facilities
• Worldwide Product Fulfillment
• Sony Pictures Technologies
  • Digital Authoring Center provides educational seminars for film-makers preparing stereoscopic productions. Also known as Sony Pictures Digital Authoring Center.
  • Colorworks, established in 2009, provides digital image production services such as digital restoration, digital intermediates, scanning and film recording, digital dailies and asset management

Notes and references[link]

External links[link]

• Official website (English)
• SonyPictures.net (Sony Pictures Global Gateway)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment Museum
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) at the Internet Movie Database

v t e Sony Corporation Primary businesses Sony Corporation (electronics & holding of the Sony group) · Sony Music Entertainment (music) · Sony Pictures Entertainment (motion pictures and television) · Sony Computer Entertainment (video games) · Sony Financial Holdings (financial services; 60%) · Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation Technologies and brands α · Betacam · Blu-ray · BRAVIA · CD · Cyber-shot · Dash · Dream Machine · DVD · Handycam · HDCAM/HDCAM-SR · LocationFree · Memory Stick · MiniDisc · MiniDV · mylo · Reader · S/PDIF · SDDS · SXRD · Sony Tablet · UMD · VAIO · Video8/Hi8/Digital8 · Walkman · Walkman Phones · XDCAM · Xplōd · HMZ-T1 Historical products AIBO · CV-2000 · DAT · Betamax · Sony CLIÉ · Discman · JumboTron · Lissa · Mavica · NEWS · Qualia · Rolly · TR-55 · Trinitron · U-matic · Watchman · WEGA Electronics Sony EMCS · Sony Electronics (subsidiary in the US) · Sony Creative Software · Sony Mobile Communications  · S-LCD (50% minus 1 share) · Sony Mobile Display · Sony Optiarc · Sharp Display Products (7%) · Aiwa (former) Sony Music Entertainment Sony/ATV Music Publishing (50%) · Columbia Records · Epic Records · RCA Records · Sony Music Nashville (Arista Nashville, BNA Records, Columbia Nashville, RCA Records Nashville) · Provident Label Group · Verity Gospel Music Group · Sony Music Latin · Sony Masterworks  · Legacy Recordings  · RED Distribution  · IODA  · Syco Music  · Syco TV  · Syco Film  · Sony Music Australia · Sony Music Japan  · Gracenote · Aniplex · A-1 Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group (Columbia Pictures · Sony Pictures Classics · Screen Gems · TriStar Pictures · Triumph Films) · Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (Destination Films · Stage 6 Films · Affirm Films) · Sony Pictures Television Group (Adelaide Productions · Culver Entertainment · Embassy Row · 2waytraffic · Lean-M  · Gogglebox Entertainment · Victory Television · Silver River Productions · Starling · Huaso · Floresta · Teleset) Sony Pictures Home Entertainment · Sony Wonder · Sony Pictures Family Entertainment Group · Sony Pictures Digital (Sony Pictures Imageworks · Sony Pictures Animation · Sony Pictures Mobile) · Sony Pictures Studios · Sony Pictures Consumer Marketing (Sony Pictures Consumer Products · Sony Pictures Loot) U.S. networks Sony Movie Channel · GSN (40%), joint venture with DirecTV · FEARnet HD (joint venture with Comcast and Lionsgate) · 3net (joint venture with Discovery Communications and IMAX) International networks Sony Entertainment Television (Asia, South East Asia, India, Latin America, South Africa, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Baltic and United Kingdom) · AXN · AXN HD · AXN HD+1 · AXN Asia · AXN India · AXN Pakistan · AXN White · AXN Crime · AXN Black · AXN Mystery · AXN Sci Fi · AXN Spin · Sony Aath · Multi Screen Media · Animax · Animax Asia · Animax India · Animax Pakistan · Animax Korea · Animax Eastern Europe · BeTV · Sony Spin · SET One · SET Max · Sony SIX · Sony MIX · SET PIX · SAB TV · Men&Movies · Movies4Men Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Online Entertainment · PlayStation · PSP · PlayStation Vita · Cellius (49%) · Square Enix (8.25%) · Sony Imagesoft (defunct) Online distribution platforms Sony Entertainment Network (Music Unlimited · Video Unlimited · PlayStation Network) · FEARnet · The Minisode Network · Crackle Financial services Sony Financial Holdings · Sony Life Insurance · Sony Assurance · Sony Bank · Sony Bank Securities Other businesses So-net Entertainment · Sony Broadcast & Professional Research Laboratories · Sony Sendai Other assets Sony Corporation of America (umbrella company in the US) · Other subsidiaries Joint ventures Sony/ATV · FeliCa Networks · Vevo · Cellius (49%) · Sharp Display Products (7.04%) Key personnel Kazuo Hirai · Masaru Ibuka · Nobuyuki Idei · Yasuo Kuroki · Ken Kutaragi · Michael Lynton · Akio Morita · Norio Ohga · Amy Pascal · Howard Stringer  · Nicole Seligman Category ·  Commons ·  Wikinews

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Karen O
Karen O at All Tomorrow's Parties festival, December 2009
Background information
Birth name	Karen Lee Orzolek
Born	(1978-11-22) November 22, 1978 (age 33)[1] South Korea
Origin	New Jersey, United States
Genres	Indie rock,[2] art punk, alternative rock
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	Since 2000
Labels	Interscope
Associated acts	Yeah Yeah Yeahs Native Korean Rock

Karen Lee Orzolek (born November 22, 1978), better known by her stage name Karen O, is the vocalist for New York rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Early life[link]

Karen O was born in November 1978^[1] in South Korea to a Korean mother and a Polish father.^[3][4][5] She eventually moved to the United States, where she grew up in Englewood, New Jersey.^[6] She has commented on her childhood: "It's almost embarrassing how well-behaved I was, which is probably why I do things like spit water on myself onstage as an adult."^[7] She attended Oberlin College, but transferred to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She is now based in Los Angeles.

Career[link]

Karen O is best known as the frontwoman for the band Yeah Yeah Yeahs. She has also been noted for her sense of fashion, wearing ostentatious outfits made by her friend, fashion designer Christian Joy. In the early days of the band, she became well known for her outrageous antics during live shows.^[4]

Playboy made an offer for her to pose on their cover. Karen O said on the subject, "I was approached but I said no. Who knows though? Maybe I'll do it in the future, but now doesn't seem to be the right time."^[8] Since then, however, Karen stated in an interview with Associated Press magazine that she has changed her mind and would never do Playboy because of the audience that Playboy magazine attracts.^[9]

During a tour for the 2003 Livid Festival in Australia, at a sideshow at The Metro in Sydney, she accidentally danced off the stage and was reluctantly taken to a hospital. A few days later at the Sydney leg of the Livid Festival, she appeared in a wheelchair pushed by Angus Andrew.^[10]

Karen O won Spin Magazine's Sex Goddess Award in both 2004 and 2005. In 2006, she was named one of rock's hottest women by Blender.^[11] In 2007, Karen O placed #3 on Spinner.com's Women Who Rock Right Now.^[12] In February 2010, she won a Shockwaves NME Award for the Hottest Woman.^[13]

She began working on a small side project called Native Korean Rock and the Fishnets with fellow NYC musicians in 2008.^[14]

In 2009, she contributed backing vocals, screaming animal sounds and noises to the songs "Gemini Syringes", "I Can Be A Frog", and "Watching the Planets" on The Flaming Lips album Embryonic.

In 2011, she contributed vocals on the song "Pinky's Dream" on the David Lynch debut album Crazy Clown Time.

On the collaboration project with N.A.S.A. on The Spirit of Apollo, she appears on the track "Strange Enough", together with Ol' Dirty Bastard and Fatlip.

O's vocal approach has been described as "ethereal",^[15] sometimes compared to indie folk artist Quinn Marston,^[16] and has been described as "yelping" at times.^[17] She described her approach:

We still have to grab people by the collar … We put out a record every three years now; we could easily be forgotten. If you look at a lot of our peers that we came up with, a lot of them have disappeared.

—Karen O in the Los Angeles Times, 2009^[17]

Soundtrack work[link]

O was featured in the track "Cut Me Up" by Har Mar Superstar for the soundtrack to the 2005 horror film House of Wax. For the movie Jackass 2, Karen O collaborated with electronic artist Peaches and Johnny Knoxville to record a track entitled "Backass"; for Jackass 3D, she covered the Roger Alan Wade's "If You're Gonna Be Dumb" under the alternative title of "If You're Gonna Be Dumb, You Gotta Be Tough". In 2007, she also contributed vocals to a version of Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" for the I'm Not There movie soundtrack.^[18] At the end of episode 409, "Brothers Cinco", of the Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! she performed a short song.

In May 2011, it was reported that Karen O had collaborated with Trent Reznor on a cover version of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" for the soundtrack to the English-language version of the film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, for which Reznor composed the score.^[19] In December 2011 it was announced that the song would open the soundtrack album, be released as the opening single, and be available free to all who pre-ordered before the official release date (December 9).^[20]

[edit] Where the Wild Things Are

Karen O composed all of the songs on the soundtrack of Where the Wild Things Are (with the exception of a cover of the Daniel Johnston song,"Worried Shoes") in collaboration with Carter Burwell. The film was directed by her former boyfriend Spike Jonze. She is listed on the soundtrack as "Karen O and the Kids".^[21] Karen O and her Yeah Yeah Yeahs bandmate Nick Zinner co-wrote "All is Love", which was nominated for the "Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media", a songwriter's award, at the 2010 Grammy Awards.^[22]

Karen O at Bumbershoot 2009.

Video work[link]

In 2004 Karen O, using the moniker Marshmellow, directed the music video for "We Fenced Other Gardens with the Bones of Our Own" by the Liars, fronted by her then boyfriend Angus Andrew.^[23][24] The following year she directed the "Blessed Evening" video for Foetus with her then boyfriend Spike Jonze working as cinematographer.^[25] In 2006 she directed the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' video "Cheated Hearts".^[26][27]

Under the moniker Kids With Canes, Karen O and her boyfriend Barney Clay directed the music video for the Tiny Masters of Today song "Hologram World", released on February 8, 2008. Karen also contributed vocals to the song, served as choreographer of the video, in which she appears along with Yeah Yeah Yeahs bandmates Nick Zinner and Brian Chase as well as Mike D from the Beastie Boys, Gibby Haynes from the Butthole Surfers, Russell Simins from the Blues Explosion and Sam James from The Mooney Suzuki.^[28]

[edit] The KO At Home demo leak

On December 10, 2006, a home-recorded album titled KO at Home was leaked via an invite-only BitTorrent tracking site. The album, originally a personal gift to Dave Sitek of the NYC band TV on the Radio, was discovered inside a suitcase Sitek left behind in a New York City apartment. The disc's 14 tracks and scan of the cover – a photograph of Karen O, with a poem written by Oscar Wilde on the back side of the photo – quickly spread. The music news site stereogum.com broke the story of the leak^[29] the following morning and continued their coverage^[30] when Sitek lashed out at the fan who leaked the demos.^[31] Eventually Sitek followed up his comments with an apology letter.^[32] Karen O's response to the leak was "shit happens" and although she was somewhat "grossed out," she offered advice on which of the songs she liked the most,^[33] namely the tracks "Pumpkin" and "Snakes and Worms".

Personal life[link]

In 2011, Karen O married longtime boyfriend Barnaby Clay.^[34]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Karen O

• Yeah Yeah Yeahs official website
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs on Myspace
• 2010 interview with Karen O

Trent Reznor
Background information
Birth name	Michael Trent Reznor
Born	(1965-05-17) May 17, 1965 (age 47) Mercer, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres	Industrial rock, industrial metal, post-industrial, dark ambient, alternative rock, experimental rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, sound designer, record producer, film score composer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizer, mellotron, keyboards, bass guitar, saxophone, cello, double bass, drums, tuba, sousaphone, harmonium, marimba, pan flute, harpsichord, vibraphone, swarmatron
Years active	1982–present
Labels	The Null Corporation, Nothing, Interscope, Universal, TVT
Associated acts	Option 30, The Innocent, Exotic Birds, Nine Inch Nails, How to Destroy Angels, Tapeworm, Atticus Ross, Marilyn Manson, David Fincher
Website	www.nin.com

Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American singer–songwriter, composer, and record producer. As both a vocalist and a multi-instrumentalist, Reznor has led the industrial rock project Nine Inch Nails beginning in 1988, and as of 2010 he and his wife, Mariqueen Maandig, are also members of the post-industrial^[1][2] band How to Destroy Angels alongside fellow composer Atticus Ross,^[1][3] with whom Reznor has scored two films. Reznor was previously associated with the bands Option 30, Exotic Birds, and Tapeworm, among others. Reznor left Interscope Records in 2007, and is now an independent recording artist.

Reznor began creating music early in his life, and cites his Western Pennsylvania childhood as an early influence. After being involved with a number of synthesizer-based bands in the mid-80s, Reznor gained employment at Right Track Studios in Cleveland, Ohio and began creating his own music during the studio's closing hours under the moniker Nine Inch Nails. Reznor's first release as Nine Inch Nails, Pretty Hate Machine (1989), was a commercial and critical success, and he has since released seven major studio releases. Outside of Reznor's chief project Nine Inch Nails, he has contributed to many other artists' albums, including Marilyn Manson and Saul Williams. In 1997, Reznor appeared in Time magazine's list of the year's most influential people, and in Spin magazine he was described as "the most vital artist in music."^[4]

Reznor, in collaboration with Atticus Ross, composed the score for the soundtrack to The Social Network, a 2010 theatrical film about the founding of Facebook. The duo won the 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and the Academy Award for Best Original Score for their collaboration. Reznor and Ross also composed the score to the US film adaptation of the novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which was released in late 2011. Both soundtrack albums were released by The Null Corporation, Reznor's own independent record label.

Early life[link]

Reznor was born in Mercer, Pennsylvania, halfway between Pittsburgh and Erie, the son of Nancy Lou (née Clark) and Michael Reznor.^[5] After his parents divorced, he lived with his maternal grandparents, while his sister Tera lived with their mother.^[6] Reznor is a direct descendant of George Reznor, who founded the Reznor Company, a heating and air conditioning company, in 1888. The family sold the business in the 1960s.^[5][7]

Reznor began playing the piano at the age of five and showed an early aptitude for music. In a 1995 interview, his grandfather, Bill Clark, remarked, "Music was his life, from the time he was a wee boy. He was so gifted."^[8] His former piano teacher Rita Beglin said "Reznor always reminded me of Harry Connick, Jr." when he played.^[8]

Reznor has acknowledged that his sheltered life in Pennsylvania left him feeling isolated from the outside world. In a 1994 interview with Rolling Stone, he references his choices in the music industry.

However, Reznor later said, "I don't want to give the impression it was a miserable childhood."^[10]

At Mercer Area Junior/Senior High School, Reznor learned to play the tenor saxophone and tuba. He was a member of both the jazz and marching band. Former Mercer High School band director Dr. Hendley Hoge remembered Reznor as "very upbeat and friendly."^[8] Reznor also became involved in theater while in high school. He was voted "Best in Drama" by classmates for his roles as Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar and Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man. Reznor graduated from this high school in 1983 and enrolled at Allegheny College, where he studied computer engineering.^[11]

Music career[link]

Early musical projects[link]

While he was enrolled in Allegheny College, Reznor joined local band Option 30, playing three shows a week with them. After only a year of college, Reznor dropped out and moved to Cleveland, Ohio to pursue a career in music.^[8] In 1985, he joined The Innocent as a keyboardist. They released one album, Livin' in the Street, but Reznor quit after just three months. In 1986, Reznor joined local band Exotic Birds, during this time, Reznor also contributed on keyboards to the band Slam Bamboo. He also appeared with them as the fictional band "The Problems" in the 1987 film Light of Day.^[12]

Reznor got a job at Cleveland's Right Track Studio as an assistant engineer and janitor.^[13] Studio owner Bart Koster later commented that Reznor was "so focused in everything he [did]. When that guy waxed the floor, it looked great."^[8] Reznor asked Koster for permission to record demos of his own songs for free during unused studio time. Koster agreed, remarking that it cost him "just a little wear on [his] tape heads".^[8] While assembling these, the earliest Nine Inch Nails recordings, Reznor was unable to find a band that could articulate his songs as he wanted. Instead, inspired by Prince, he played all the instruments himself, except drums.^[14] This role remains Reznor's on most of the band's studio recordings, though he has occasionally involved other musicians and assistants. Several labels responded favorably to the demo material, and Reznor signed with TVT Records.^[13] Nine selections from the Right Track demos were unofficially released in 1988 as Purest Feeling; many of these songs had appeared in revised form on his 1989 debut studio album under the stage name Nine Inch Nails.

Formation of Nine Inch Nails[link]

Reznor performing at the Lollapalooza festival, 1991.

Most of Reznor's work as a musician has been as founding and primary member of Nine Inch Nails. Nine Inch Nails' debut album, Pretty Hate Machine was released in 1989. It was a moderate commercial success, and was certified Gold in 1992.^[15] Amid pressure from Reznor's record label to produce a follow-up to Pretty Hate Machine, Reznor secretly began recording under various pseudonyms to avoid record company interference, resulting in the Broken EP, released in 1992.^[16] In the summer of 1991 Nine Inch Nails was included in the Lollapalooza package tour. They later won a Grammy Award in 1993 for the song "Wish" in the Best Heavy Metal Performance category.^[17]

Nine Inch Nails' second full-length album, The Downward Spiral, entered the Billboard 200 chart in 1994 at number two,^[18] and remains the highest-selling Nine Inch Nails release in the United States.^[15] To record the album, Reznor rented and moved into the 10050 Cielo Drive mansion, site of the 1969 Manson Family murders.^[19] Reznor built a studio space in the house, which he renamed Le Pig, after the word that was scrawled on the front door in Sharon Tate's blood by her murderers.^[19] Reznor told Entertainment Weekly that despite the notoriety attached to the house, he chose to record there because, "I looked at a lot of places, and this just happened to be the one I liked most".^[19]

Nine Inch Nails toured extensively over the next few years, including a performance at Woodstock '94, although he admitted to the audience that he did not like to play large venues.^[20] Around this time, Reznor's studio perfectionism,^[21] struggles with addiction, and bouts of writer's block prolonged the production of a follow-up.^[22]

Collaboration with other artists[link]

One of Reznor's earliest collaborations was a Ministry side project in 1990 under the name of 1000 Homo DJs. Reznor sang vocals on a cover of Black Sabbath's Supernaut. Due to legal issues with Reznor's label, Reznor's vocals had to be distorted enough to make his voice indistinguishable. The band also recorded additional versions with Al Jourgensen doing vocals.^[23] While there is still debate as to which version is Reznor and which is Jourgensen, it has been definitively stated that Reznor's vocals were used in the TVT Record's Black Box Box set.^[24] Reznor sang backing vocals on Tori Amos' 1994 album Under the Pink on a track called "Past The Mission." Reznor produced Marilyn Manson's first album Portrait of an American Family (1994), several tracks on Marilyn Manson's albums Smells Like Children (1995), and Antichrist Superstar (1996), as well as the film soundtracks for Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994) and David Lynch's Lost Highway (1997). Reznor is credited for "Driver Down" and "Videodrones; Questions" on the soundtrack for Lost Highway, while another track, "The Perfect Drug", is credited to Nine Inch Nails instead. In 1998 Reznor produced a remix of Notorious B.I.G.'s song "Victory" which also featured Busta Rhymes.^[25] He also unofficially worked with Garrett Ahlstrom on "Big Black Bomb" a remix on "Burn" he stated on the spiral, "I never worked on the song but I still consider it an official mix"

Under the band name Tapeworm, Reznor collaborated over the span of nearly 10 years with Danny Lohner, Maynard James Keenan, and Atticus Ross, but the project was eventually terminated before any official material was released.^[26] The only known released Tapeworm material is a reworked version of a track called "Vacant," retitled "Passive", on A Perfect Circle's 2004 album eMOTIVe,^[27] as well as a track called "Potions," on Puscifer's 2009 "C" Is for (Please Insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference Here).

In 2006, Reznor played his first "solo" show(s) at Neil Young's annual Bridge School Benefit. Backed by a four piece string section, he performed stripped-down versions of many Nine Inch Nails songs.^[28] Reznor featured on El-P's 2007 album I'll Sleep When You're Dead, guesting on the track "Flyentology". The accompanying music video for the song and its artwork was created by Adult Swim, who aired the music video.

Reznor co-produced Saul Williams' 2007 album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! after Williams toured with Nine Inch Nails in 2005 and 2006. Reznor convinced Williams to release the album as a free download, while giving fans the option of paying $5 for higher quality files, or downloading all of the songs at a lower quality for free.^[29][30] Reznor was also credited as "Musical Consultant" on the 2004 film Man on Fire.^[31] The movie features six Nine Inch Nails songs.^[32] He has produced a number of songs for Jane's Addiction in his home studio in Beverly Hills. The first recordings, new versions of the early tracks "Chip Away" and "Whores", were released simultaneously on Jane's Addiction's website and the NINJA 2009 Tour Sampler digital EP.

How to Destroy Angels[link]

In April 2010, it was announced that Reznor had formed a new band with his wife, Mariqueen Maandig, and Atticus Ross, called How to Destroy Angels. The group released a self-titled six song EP digitally on June 1, 2010, with the retail edition becoming available on July 6, 2010.^[33]

As an independent artist[link]

Trent Reznor and Robin Finck, Santa Barbara, California 2009.

In May 2008 Reznor founded The Null Corporation and Nine Inch Nails released the studio album The Slip as a free digital download. In his appreciation for his following and fan base, and having no contractual obligation, he made "The Slip" available for free on his website, stating “This one’s on me.”^[34] A month and a half after its online release, The Slip had been downloaded 1.4 million times from the official Nine Inch Nails website.^[35]

In February 2009, Reznor posted his thoughts about the future of Nine Inch Nails on NIN.com, stating that "I've been thinking for some time now it's time to make NIN disappear for a while."^[36] Reznor noted in an interview on the official website that while he has not stopped creating music as Nine Inch Nails, the group will not be touring in the foreseeable future.^[37][38]

Video games[link]

The original music from id Software's video game Quake is credited to "Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails";^[39] Reznor helped record sound effects and ambient audio, and the NIN logo appears on the nailgun ammunition boxes in the game.^[40] Reznor's association with id Software began with Reznor being a fan of the original Doom. He reunited with id Software in 2003 as the sound engineer for Doom 3, though due to "time, money and bad management",^[41] he had to abandon the project, and his audio work did not make it into the game's final release.

Nine Inch Nails' 2007 major studio recording, Year Zero, was released alongside an accompanying alternate reality game.^[42] With its lyrics written from the perspective of multiple fictitious characters, Reznor described Year Zero as a concept album criticizing the United States government's current policies and how they will affect the world 15 years in the future.^[43]

Film composition[link]

In 2001, Reznor was asked by Mark Romanek to provide the score for One Hour Photo, but the music did not work for the film and was not used. These compositions eventually evolved into Still.^[44]

In 2009, Trent Reznor composed "Theme for Tetsuo" for the Japanese cyberpunk film Tetsuo: The Bullet Man from Shinya Tsukamoto.^[45]

Reznor collaborated with Atticus Ross to compose the score for David Fincher's The Social Network, a 2010 drama film about the founding of Facebook. Says Reznor, "When I actually read the script and realized what he was up to, I said goodbye to that free time I had planned."^[46] The score was noted for portraying "Mark Zuckerberg the genius, developing a brilliant idea over ominous undertones,"^[47] and received nearly unanimous praise across the board. On September 16, 2010, Reznor announced that the film's score would be released in October 2010 in multiple formats, including digital download, compact disc, 5.1 surround on Blu-ray disc, and vinyl record.^[48] A 5-song sampler EP was released for free via digital download.^[49] In 2011 Reznor and Ross won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score^[50] and the Academy Award for Original Score^[51] for this work.

On January 7, 2011, Reznor announced that he would again be working with Fincher, this time to provide the score for the American adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.^[52] A cover of "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin produced by Reznor and Ross, with Karen O (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) as featured singer, was released by way of a trailer for the film. The cover extended for the entirety of the trailer and was well received by critics.^[53] Reznor and Ross were announced as nominees for the 2012 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for their score.

Business activity[link]

Suit and counter-suit with John Malm[link]

In 2004, Reznor's former manager John Malm Jr. filed suit in the United States district court of Ohio against Reznor for over $2 million in deferred commissions. The suit alleged that Reznor "reneged on every single contract he and Malm ever entered into", and that Reznor refused to pay Malm payments which he was contractually entitled to.^[54] Weeks later, Reznor filed a counter-suit in the U.S. District Court of New York, charging Malm with fraud and breach of fiduciary duties.^[55] Reznor's suit arose from a five-year management contract signed in the early days of Nine Inch Nails, between Reznor and Malm's management company J. Artist Management. This contract, according to the suit, was unlawful and immoral in that it secured Malm 20% of Reznor's gross earnings, rather than his net earnings, as is the standard practice between artists and their management. The suit also alleged that the contract secured this percentage even if Malm was no longer representing Reznor, and for all Reznor's album advances.^[56] The suit also described how Malm had misappropriated the ownership rights regarding Nine Inch Nails, including the trademark name "NIN".^[57] According to testimony by Malm, Reznor gave him half of the "NIN" trademark "as a gift."^[57]

Reznor stated that he began to fully understand his financial situation after tackling his addiction to drugs and alcohol.^[56] Reznor requested a financial statement from Malm in 2003, only to discover that he had only $400,000 in liquid assets. "It was not pleasant discovering you have a 10th as much as you've been told you have," Reznor told the court.^[58] Malm's lawyers, however, claimed that Malm had worked for years "pro bono", and that Reznor's inability to release an album or tour and his uninhibited spending were the reasons for Reznor's financial situation.^[59]

After a three week trial in 2005, jurors sided with Reznor, awarding him upwards of $2.95 million and returning to him complete control of his trademarks.^[58] After adjustment for inflation, Reznor's award rose to nearly $5 million.^[57]

Independence from major record labels[link]

Following the release of Year Zero, Reznor announced later that Nine Inch Nails had split from its contractual obligations with Interscope Records, and would distribute its next major albums independently. The last Nine Inch Nails release on Interscope was Year Zero Remixed, based on material from Year Zero.^[60]

Criticism of the music industry[link]

In May 2007, Reznor made a post on the official Nine Inch Nails website condemning Universal Music Group—the parent company of the band's record label, Interscope Records—for their pricing and distribution plans for Nine Inch Nails' 2007 album Year Zero.^[61] He labeled the company's retail pricing of Year Zero in Australia as "ABSURD," concluding that "as a reward for being a 'true fan' you get ripped off". Reznor went on to say that as "the climate grows more and more desperate for record labels, their answer to their mostly self-inflicted wounds seems to be to screw the consumer over even more."^[62] Reznor's post, specifically his criticism of the recording industry at large, elicited considerable media attention.^[63] In September 2007, Reznor continued his attack on Universal Music Group at a concert in Australia, urging fans there to "steal" his music online instead of purchasing it legally.^[64] Reznor went on to encourage the crowd to "steal and steal and steal some more and give it to all your friends and keep on stealin'."^[65]

Musical style and influence[link]

Reznor is a fan of David Bowie, and has cited Bowie's 1977 album Low as one of his favorite albums. Reznor has stated that he played the album constantly during the recording of The Downward Spiral for inspiration.^[10] In 1995, Nine Inch Nails and David Bowie toured as a co-headlining act on the Outside Tour. Reznor also appeared in Bowie's video for "I'm Afraid of Americans", cast as Bowie's stalker. Reznor also made several remixes for the single release of the same song, as well as a remix of "The Hearts Filthy Lesson".^[66] Reznor also states in the 2010 documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage that the band Rush had played a major part in his childhood influences. He also stated that he considered Rush to be "one of the best bands ever" and had gained a perspective on how keyboards could be introduced into hard rock after listening to their 1982 album Signals. Reznor also stated "Freddie Mercury's death meant more to me than John Lennon's" and covered Queen's "Get Down Make Love", which was produced by Paul Barker & Al Jourgensen of Ministry and released on the single for "Sin". In many interviews in Musician, Spin, and Alternative Press, Reznor mentioned The Cars, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Soft Cell,^[67] Prince, Gary Numan, and The Cure's 1985 album, The Head on the Door, as important influences. In a radio interview, Reznor stated the first song he ever wrote "Down in It" was a "total rip-off" of the Skinny Puppy song "Dig It."^[68]

Reznor's work as Nine Inch Nails has influenced many newer artists, which according to Reznor range from "generic imitations" dating from the band's initial success to younger bands echoing his style in a "truer, less imitative way".^[69] Following the release of The Downward Spiral, mainstream artists began to take notice of Nine Inch Nails' influence: David Bowie compared NIN's impact to that of The Velvet Underground.^[70] In 1997, Reznor appeared in Time magazine's list of the year's most influential people, and Spin magazine described him as "the most vital artist in music."^[4] Bob Ezrin, producer for Pink Floyd, Kiss, Alice Cooper, and Peter Gabriel, described Reznor in 2007 as a "true visionary" and advised aspiring artists to take note of his no-compromise attitude.^[71] During a rare appearance at the Kerrang! Awards in London that year, Reznor accepted the Kerrang! Icon, honoring Nine Inch Nails' long-standing influence on rock music.^[72] Steven Wilson of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree has stated that he much admires Reznor's production work, in particular The Fragile. Timbaland, one of pop music's most successful producers in recent years, has cited Reznor as his favorite studio producer.^[73]

Personal life[link]

During the five years following the release of The Downward Spiral (1994), Reznor struggled with depression, social anxiety disorder, and the death of his grandmother, who raised him. During this period of intense grief, Reznor began abusing alcohol and other drugs. He eventually became addicted to alcohol and cocaine.^[74] Five years elapsed before Nine Inch Nails' next album, The Fragile, a double CD that debuted in September 1999 at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 228,000 copies in its first week and receiving favorable reviews.^[75]

In 2001, Reznor successfully completed rehab, and eventually moved from New Orleans to Los Angeles. In a 2005 interview with Kerrang!, Reznor reflected on his self-destructive past: "There was a persona that had run its course. I needed to get my priorities straight, my head screwed on. Instead of always working, I took a couple of years off, just to figure out who I was and working out if I wanted to keep doing this or not. I had become a terrible addict; I needed to get my shit together, figure out what had happened".^[22] In contrast with his former suicidal tendencies, Reznor also admitted in another interview that he is "pretty happy".^[76] Nine Inch Nails' next full-length album, With Teeth (2005), reached number one on Billboard 200.^[77][78]

Reznor married Mariqueen Maandig in October 2009.^[79] Their son, Lazarus Echo, was born in October 2010^[80] and they are currently expecting another child.^[81]

Discography[link]

References[link]