Universal Studios (sometimes called Universal City Pictures, Universal City Studios, Universal City or just simply Universal), a subsidiary of Comcast and a division of NBCUniversal (Comcast's media holding company), is one of the six major movie studios.

Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle,^[3] it is the oldest movie studio in the United States of America. It is also the second oldest in the world that is still in continuous production; the first being Gaumont Pictures, the next oldest is Paramount Pictures.^[4] On May 11, 2004, the controlling stake in the company was sold by Vivendi Universal to General Electric, parent of NBC.^[5] The resulting media super-conglomerate was renamed NBC Universal, while Universal Studios Inc. remained the name of the production subsidiary. In addition to owning a sizable film library spanning the earliest decades of cinema to more contemporary works, it also owns a sizable collection of TV shows through its subsidiary NBCUniversal Television Distribution. It also acquired rights to several prominent filmmakers' works originally released by other studios through its subsidiaries over the years.

Its production studios are at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California. Distribution and other corporate offices are in New York City. Universal is the longest-lived Hollywood studio.^[4] Universal Studios is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

Universal Pictures is one of the divisions of Universal Studios. ^[6]

History[link]

Early years[link]

Universal was founded by Carl Laemmle, a German-Jewish immigrant from Laupheim who settled in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where he managed a clothing store. On a buying trip in 1905 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 day's take. Within weeks of his Chicago trip, Laemmle gave up dry goods to buy the first of several nickelodeons. For Laemmle and other such entrepreneurs, the creation in 1908 of the Edison-backed Motion Picture Trust meant that exhibitors were expected to pay fees for Trust-produced films they showed. Based on Edison's patent for 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 attempted to enforce a monopoly on distribution.

Soon Laemmle and other disgruntled nickelodeon owners decided to avoid paying Edison by producing their 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 Pictures Company (IMP). Laemmle broke with Edison's custom of refusing to give billing and screen credits to performers. By naming the movie stars, he attracted many of the leading players of the time, contributing to the creation of the star system. In 1910, he promoted Florence Lawrence, formerly known as "The Biograph Girl," and actor King Baggot, in what may be the first instance of a studio using stars in its marketing.

The Universal Film Manufacturing Company was incorporated April 30, 1912 in New York. Laemmle, who emerged as president in July 1912, was the primary figure in a partnership that included Mark Dintenfass, Charles Baumann, Adam Kessel, and Pat Powers. Eventually all would be bought out by Laemmle. Baumann and Kessel later partnered with Mack Sennett for their highly successful Keystone Film Company. The new Universal studio was a horizontally integrated company, with movie production and distribution capacity (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 company was incorporated as Universal Pictures Company, Inc. in 1915.

Following the westward trend of the industry, by the end of 1912 the company was focusing its production efforts in the Hollywood area. Its first logo was an Earth with a Saturn-like ring and the text in a bold Kentucky typeface. In 1963, this logo was revamped with mattes and animated models. In 1990, it was replaced by a filmed 3D model, which was first created to celebrate 75 years. In 1997, another logo, which uses CGI animation, was introduced. Fifteen years later, in 2012, another CGI-animated logo was created, this time, to celebrate the company's 100th Anniversary. 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 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 inexpensive melodramas, 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. This policy nearly bankrupted the studio when actor-director Erich von Stroheim insisted on excessively lavish production values for his films Foolish Wives and Blind Husbands, but Universal shrewdly got some of its money back by launching a sensational ad campaign that attracted moviegoers. Character actor Lon Chaney became a huge drawing card for Universal in the 1920s, appearing steadily in dramas. His two biggest hits for Universal were The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925). During this period Laemmle entrusted most of the production policy decisions to Irving Thalberg. Thalberg had been Laemmle's personal secretary, and Laemmle was impressed by Thalberg's cogent observations of how efficiently the studio could be operated. Promoted to studio chief, Thalberg was giving Universal's product a touch of class, something it seldom had during the silent era.

Louis B. Mayer lured Thalberg away from Universal with a promise of better pay. Without his guidance Universal became a second-tier studio, and would remain so for several decades.

In 1926, Universal opened a production unit in Germany, Deutsche Universal-Film AG, under the direction of Joe Pasternak. This unit produced three to four 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.

In the early years, Universal had a "clean picture" policy. However, by April 1927, Carl Laemmle considered this to be a mistake as "unclean pictures" from other studios were generating more profit while Universal was losing money.^[7]

"Oswald" fallout gives rise to "Mickey Mouse" and Disney[link]

Contentious business dealings involving Universal over the drawing of a cartoon character may have affected the course of animation history.^{[citation needed]}

Although Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks had created the "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" character, which had enjoyed a successful theatrical run, Universal – and not Disney – owned the rights to it. This gave Mintz leverage in demanding that Disney accept a lower fee for producing the property or he would produce the films with his own group of animators. In the end, Disney refused the offer. As an alternative, he and Iwerks created what became Disney's flagship trademark, Mickey Mouse, which contained some of Oswald's features and soared to popularity following the duo's producing of its first talking short, Steamboat Willie. This moment effectively launched Walt Disney Studios' foothold, while Universal became a minor player in film animation after Oswald. Universal cut its ties with Mintz and formed its own in-house animation studio to produce Oswald cartoons headed by Walter Lantz.

In 2006, after almost 80 years, NBC Universal sold all Walt Disney-produced Oswald cartoons back to Disney. In return, Disney released ABC sportscaster Al Michaels from his contract so he could work on NBC's Sunday night NFL football package. However, Universal kept the Oswald cartoons that Walter Lantz produced for them from 1929 to the mid-1930s.

Keeping leadership of the studio in the family[link]

In 1928, Laemmle, Sr. made his son, Carl, Jr. head of Universal Pictures as a 21st birthday present. Universal already had a reputation for nepotism—at one time, 70 of Carl, Sr.'s relatives were supposedly on the payroll. Many of them were nephews, resulting in Carl, Sr. being known around the studios as "Uncle Carl." Ogden Nash famously quipped in rhyme, "Uncle Carl Laemmle/Has a very large faemmle." Among these relatives was future Academy Award winning director/producer William Wyler.

To his credit, "Junior" Laemmle 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 Edna Ferber's novel 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" Academy 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, The Mummy and The Invisible Man. The 1931 six-sheet (81-by-81-inch) poster for Frankenstein is considered to be the most valuable movie poster in the world. There is only one copy of this poster known to exist. Other Laemmle productions of this period include Imitation of Life and My Man Godfrey, both films that were remade in color in the 1950's.

The Laemmles lose control[link]

Universal's forays into high-quality production spelled the end of the Laemmle era at the studio. 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 its 1929 part-talkie Show Boat, which had flopped and had been received poorly by critics. The new Show Boat featured several stars from the Broadway stage version, which began production in late 1935. (This one was firmly based on the Broadway musical version rather than the novel.) Eventually, Carl, Jr.'s spending habits alarmed company stockholders. 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 Universal had borrowed money for a production in its 26-year history. Production problems^{[which?][citation needed]} 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. Universal's 1936 Show Boat, released a little over a month after Standard seized control, was a great success financially 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. Because the Laemmles had personally overseen the production, Show Boat was released, despite the takeover, with Carl Laemmle and Carl Laemmle Jr.'s names on the credits and the advertising campaign for the film.

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 that had been the company's main staples: westerns, melodramas, serials and sequels to the studio's horror pictures.

Producer Joe Pasternak, who had been successfully producing light musicals with young sopranos for Universal's German subsidiary, came to America and repeated his tried-and-true formula. Sensational teenage songbird Deanna Durbin starred in Pasternak's first American film, Three Smart Girls (1936). The film was a box-office success and restored the studio's solvency. The success of the film led Universal to offer her a contract, which for the first five years of her career produced her most successful pictures. As Pasternak stopped producing her pictures, and Durbin outgrew her screen persona and pursued more dramatic roles, the studio signed 13-year-old Gloria Jean for her own series of Pasternak musicals; she went on to star with Bing Crosby, W. C. Fields, and Donald O'Connor.

Another hit Universal film of the late 1930s was 1939's Destry Rides Again, starring James Stewart as Destry and Marlene Dietrich in her comeback role after leaving Paramount Studios.

Universal could seldom afford its own stable of stars, and often borrowed talent from other studios, or hired freelance actors. In addition to Stewart and Dietrich, Margaret Sullavan, and Bing Crosby were some of the major names that made a couple of pictures for Universal during this period. Some stars came from radio, including W. C. Fields, Edgar Bergen, and the comedy team of Abbott and Costello (Bud Abbott and Lou Costello). Abbott and Costello's military comedy Buck Privates (1941) catapulted the former burlesque comedians to worldwide success. Abbott and Costello soon became the biggest movie stars in America, surpassing Durbin's films in popularity and box office success.

During the war years Universal did have a co-production arrangement with producer Walter Wanger and his partner, director Fritz Lang, lending the studio some amount of prestige productions. Universal's customer base was still the neighborhood movie theaters, and the studio continued to please the public with low- to medium-budget comedies, musicals, adventures, westerns, and serials. The studio also fostered many series: The Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys action features and serials (1938–43), the comic adventures of infant Baby Sandy (1938–41), Hugh Herbert comedies (1938–42), horror thrillers with Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Invisible Man, and The Mummy (1931–45), Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in new Sherlock Holmes mysteries (1942–46), teenage musicals with Gloria Jean, Donald O'Connor, and Peggy Ryan (1942–43), and screen adaptations of radio's Inner Sanctum Mysteries (1943–45). Alfred Hitchcock was also borrowed for two films from Selznick International Pictures, both were made in 1942 and were considered early examples of film noir: Saboteur (released in 1942) and Shadow of a Doubt (released in 1943).

As Universal's main product had always been low-budget film, it was one of the last major studios to have a contract with Technicolor. The studio first made use of the new, three-color Technicolor process in 1942, when it released Arabian Nights, starring Jon Hall and Maria Montez. The following year, Technicolor was also used in Universal's remake of their 1925 horror melodrama, Phantom of the Opera with Claude Rains and Nelson Eddy. With the success of their first two pictures, a regular schedule of high-budget, Technicolor films followed, usually starring Montez and Hall.

Universal-International[link]

In 1945, the British entrepreneur J. Arthur Rank, hoping to expand his American presence, bought into a four-way merger with Universal, the independent company International Pictures, and producer Kenneth Young. The new combine, United World Pictures, was a failure and was dissolved within one year. Rank and International remained interested in Universal, however, culminating in the studio's reorganization as Universal-International. William Goetz, a founder of International, was made head of production at the renamed Universal-International Pictures Inc., which also served as an import-export subsidiary, and copyright holder for the production arm's films. Goetz, a son-in-law of Louis B. Mayer decided to bring "prestige" to the new company. He stopped the studio's low-budget production of B movies (films under 65 minutes), serials and curtailed Universal's famous "monster" and "Arabian Nights" series. Distribution and copyright control remained under the name of Universal Pictures Company Inc.

Universal-International Studio, 1955.

Goetz set out an ambitious schedule. Universal-International became responsible for the American distribution of Rank's British productions, including such screen classics as David Lean's Great Expectations and Laurence Olivier's Hamlet. Broadening its scope further, Universal-International branched out into the lucrative nontheatrical field, buying a majority stake in home-movie dealer Castle Films in 1947, and taking the company over entirely in 1951. For three decades, Castle would offer "highlights" reels from the Universal film library to home-movie enthusiasts and collectors.

Goetz licensed Universal's pre Universal-International film library to Jack Broeder's Realart Pictures for cinema re-release but Realart was not allowed to show the films on television.

The production arm of the studio still struggled. While there were to be a few hits like The Egg & I, The Killers, and The Naked City, Universal-International's new theatrical films often met with disappointing response at the box office. By the late 1940s, Goetz was out, and the studio reverted once more to the low-budget fare it knew best. The inexpensive Francis the Talking Mule and Ma and Pa Kettle series became mainstays of the new company. Once again, the films of Abbott and Costello, including Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, were among the studio's top-grossing productions. But at this point Rank lost interest and sold his shares to the investor Milton Rackmil, whose Decca Records would take full control of Universal in 1952. Besides Abbott and Costello, the studio retained the Walter Lantz cartoon studio whose product was released with Universal-International's films.

In the 1950s, Universal-International brought back a series of Arabian Nights films, many starring Tony Curtis. The studio also had a success with monster and science fiction films produced by William Alland with many directed by Jack Arnold. Other successes were big budget melodramas produced by Ross Hunter and directed by Douglas Sirk. Among Universal-International's stable of stars were Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, Jeff Chandler, Audie Murphy and John Gavin.

Though Decca would continue to keep picture budgets lean, it was favored by changing circumstances in the film business, as other studios let their contract actors go in the wake of the 1948 U.S. vs. Paramount Pictures, et al. case. Leading actors were increasingly free to work where and when they chose, and in 1950 MCA agent Lew Wasserman made a deal with Universal for his client James Stewart that would change the rules of the business. Wasserman's deal gave Stewart a share in the profits of three pictures in lieu of a large salary. When one of those films, Winchester '73 proved to be a hit, Stewart became a rich man. This arrangement would become the rule for many future productions at Universal, and eventually at other studios as well.

MCA takes over[link]

By the late 1950s, 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 Productions subsidiary. After a period of complete shutdown, a moribund Universal agreed to sell its 360-acre (1.5 km²) studio lot to MCA in 1958, for $11 million, renamed Revue Studios. Although MCA owned the studio lot, but not Universal Pictures, MCA was increasingly influential on Universal's product. The studio lot was upgraded and modernized, while MCA clients like Doris Day, Lana Turner, Cary Grant, and director Alfred Hitchcock were signed to Universal Pictures contracts.

The long-awaited takeover of Universal Pictures by MCA, Inc. finally took place in mid-1962 as part of MCA -Decca Records merger. The company reverted in name back to Universal Pictures. As a last gesture before getting out of the talent agency business, virtually every MCA client was signed to a Universal contract. In 1964 MCA formed Universal City Studios, Inc., merging the motion pictures and television arms of Universal Pictures Company and Revue Productions (officially renamed as Universal Television in 1966). And so, with MCA in charge, 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). But it was too late, since the audience was no longer there, and by 1968, the film-production unit began to downsize. Television carried the load, as Universal dominated the American networks, particularly NBC (which later merged with Universal to form NBC Universal; see below), where for several seasons it provided up to half of all prime time shows. An innovation of which Universal was especially proud was the creation in this period of the made-for-television movie.

Gate to Universal Studios, Hollywood

At this time, Hal Wallis, who had formerly worked as a major producer at Paramount, moved over to Universal, where he produced several films, among them a lavish version of Maxwell Anderson's Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), and the equally lavish Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), an original screenplay. Though neither could claim to be a big financial hit, both films received Academy Award nominations, and Anne was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor (Richard Burton), Best Actress (Genevieve Bujold), and Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Quayle). Wallis retired after making the film Rooster Cogburn at Universal in 1975. This was a sequel to the original True Grit, which Wallis had produced at Paramount. Rooster Cogburn starred John Wayne reprising his Oscar-winning role from True Grit, and co-starring for the first and only time with Katharine Hepburn. The film was only a moderate success.

Though Universal's film unit did produce occasional hits, among them Airport, The Sting, American Graffiti, Earthquake, 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 the film business was still hit-and-miss.

Universal Productions France[link]

In the early 1950s, Universal set up its own distribution company in France, and in the late 1960s, the company also started a production company in Paris, Universal Productions France S.A., although sometimes credited by the name of the distribution company, Universal Pictures France. Except for the two first films it produced, Claude Chabrol's Le scandale (English title The Champagne Murders) and Romain Gary's Les oiseaux vont mourir au Pérou (English title Birds in Peru), it was only involved in French or other European co-productions, the most noticeable ones being Louis Malle's Lacombe, Lucien, Bertrand Blier's Les Valseuses (English title Going Places), and Fred Zinnemann's The Day of the Jackal. It was only involved in some 20 film productions before being dismantled in the mid 1970s.^[8][9]

CIC and UIP[link]

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.

Matsushita and Vivendi[link]

Anxious to expand the company's broadcast and cable presence, longtime MCA head Lew Wasserman sought a rich partner. He located Matsushita Electric (AKA Panasonic), the Japanese electronics manufacturer, which agreed to acquire MCA for $6.6 billion in 1990. Around this time, the production subsidiary was renamed Universal Studios Inc. Matsushita provided a cash infusion, but the clash of cultures was too great to overcome, and five years later Matsushita sold an 80% stake in MCA/Universal to Canadian liquor distributor Seagram for $5.7 billion.^[10] Seagram sold off its stake in DuPont to fund this expansion into the entertainment industry. Hoping to build an entertainment empire around Universal, Seagram bought PolyGram in 1999 and other entertainment properties, but the fluctuating profits characteristic of Hollywood were no substitute for the reliable income stream gained from the previously held shares in DuPont.

Western set at Universal Studios Hollywood

To raise money, Seagram head Edgar Bronfman Jr. sold Universal's television holdings, including cable network USA, to Barry Diller. (These same properties would be bought back later at greatly inflated prices.) In June 2000, Seagram was sold to French water utility and media company Vivendi (which owns StudioCanal). The media conglomerate became Vivendi Universal. Afterward, Universal Pictures acquired the United States distribution rights of several of StudioCanal's films, such as Mulholland Drive (which received an Oscar nomination) and Brotherhood of the Wolf (which became the second-highest-grossing French-language film in the United States since 1980). Universal Pictures and StudioCanal also co-produced several films, such as Love Actually (an $40 million-budgeted film that eventually grossed $246 million worldwide).^[11]

NBC Universal[link]

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. After that deal, GE owned 80% of NBC Universal; Vivendi held the remaining 20%, with an option to sell its share in 2006. GE purchased Vivendi's share in NBCU^[12] in 2010 and in turn sold 51% of the company to cable provider Comcast.^[13] Comcast merged the former GE subsidiary with its own cable-television programming assets, creating the current NBCUniversal. Following FCC approval, the Comcast-GE deal was closed on Jan. 29, 2011.^[14]

In late 2005, Viacom's Paramount Pictures acquired DreamWorks SKG after acquisition talks between GE and DreamWorks stalled. Universal's long time chairperson, Stacey Snider, left the company in early 2006 to head up DreamWorks. Snider was replaced by then-Vice Chairman Marc Shmuger and Focus Features head David Linde. On October 5, 2009 Marc Shmuger and David Linde were ousted and their co-chairperson jobs consolidated under former president of worldwide marketing and distribution Adam Fogelson becoming the single chairperson. Donna Langley was also upped to co-chairperson.^[15]

Over the years, Universal has made deals to distribute and/or co-finance films with various small companies, such as Imagine Entertainment, Media Rights Capital, Amblin Entertainment, Morgan Creek Productions, Spyglass Entertainment, Working Title Films (and DreamWorks), StudioCanal, Relativity Media, Strike Entertainment, Shady Acres Entertainment, Mandalay Entertainment, Marc Platt Productions, Illumination Entertainment and Beacon Communications LLC. In 2012, Universal Studios is celebrating its 100th anniversary along with Paramount Pictures.

Universal's library[link]

Universal, like other major movie studios, owns a considerable library. It owns almost every feature and short produced by the company with the following exceptions:

• Most of Universal's silent film output (some under copyright, others in the public domain), are in the hands of other independent companies;
• The 1931 version of Waterloo Bridge and the 1936 version of Show Boat, which now belong to Warner Bros./ Turner Entertainment Co.;
• The television rights to The Last Starfighter (those rights are owned by Warner Bros. Television, successor-in-interest to production partner Lorimar) and 1941 (those rights now stand with Sony Pictures Television, whose sister company, Columbia Pictures, co-produced the film with Universal; Sony also owns digital distribution rights, as it can be seen on Sony-owned Crackle); Sony also owns the international releasing rights to the 1994 Street Fighter film, which Universal distributed in the US.
• The theatrical and television rights to Flower Drum Song, held by MGM by acquiring the holdings of former owners The Samuel Goldwyn Company--however, Universal (which produced and originally distributed the film) has retained the film's copyright and home video/DVD rights.

Through subsidiary NBCUniversal Television Distribution, it owns the following:

• Almost all TV shows and miniseries Universal and MCA made, except The Millionaire and My Three Sons (those rights now stand with CBS), and in regards to Centennial, it is mainly owned by the estates of James Michener, author of the original novel, and co-star Lynn Redgrave, as well as the series' producers—it is currently distributed by Warner Bros. Television, though Universal does own the video rights and the series' copyright;
• Almost all the pre-1950 sound features originally made by Paramount Pictures—these films came under Universal ownership in 1962, when MCA bought US Decca – MCA, in turn, had purchased the films in 1957 via its in-name only division EMKA, Ltd. (This library also includes the 1948 MGM film State of the Union, which was acquired by Paramount after its purchase of Liberty Films);
• Much of the post-1973 library of NBC's shows and made-for-TV movies;
• Most of the Jack Webb produced shows produced by Mark VII Productions, with the exception of Pete Kelly's Blues and The D.I., which are owned by Warner Bros.
• Some distribution rights to the 1957 Elvis Presley film Loving You, originally released by Paramount and owned by NBC (though video rights are currently owned by Lionsgate).

The company also owns and distributes the libraries of:

• Five Alfred Hitchcock features (Rear Window, The Trouble with Harry, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo and Psycho) originally released by Paramount. Universal owns Psycho outright; the remaining films are owned by Hitchcock's estate, with Universal handling distribution.
  • The only exception is To Catch a Thief, which is copyrighted by Paramount.
• Walter Lantz Productions (including Woody Woodpecker, Chilly Willy, and other characters).
• Smallfilms (including Ivor the Engine, Noggin the Nog, Pingwings and other short series).
• Focus Features' ancestors USA Films, October Films, and the 1996–1999 films by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (MGM owns most of the pre-1996 PolyGram library, though Universal owns a few films from that era as well such as Backbeat, An American Werewolf in London, and international rights to The Hudsucker Proxy) and its subsidiaries.

Via its 50% stake in StudioCanal, Universal part owns its library which consists of films (and TV Series) made by:

• Carolco Pictures (apart from films distrbuted by MGM, Warner Brothers and Universal itself)
• De Laurentiis Entertainment Group
• Embassy Pictures (apart from films made with Polygram Filmed Entertainment, Columbia Pictures, ITC^{[disambiguation needed ]} and Nepenthe Productions, along with all its television library)
• Alexander Salkind Productions (except films that are part of the Superman Film Series)
• Ealing Studios (incorporating the film library of Associated Talking Pictures)
• EMI Films (incorporating the film libraries of Associated British Picture Corporation, British International Pictures and British National Studios)
• Associated British Corporation (ABC) (including ABC shows made for Thames Television)
• British Lion Films (1919-1976 films only)
• Anglo-Amalgamated

StudioCanal also owns all distribution rights to the Miramax Films outside North America (Lionsgate owns all the North American distribution rights). However Universal only owns rights to distribute the StudioCanal library in Australia, New Zealand and other areas outside North America, with StudioCanal itself distributing it in UK, Ireland, France and Germany. In North America it is split under several companies

Theatrical Distribution:

• CBS Television Studios and Paramount Pictures (Carolco Pictures and De Laurentiis Entertainment Group)
• MGM (Embassy Pictures)
• Lionsgate (Alexander Salkind Productions, Ealing Studios, EMI Films, ABC, British Lion Films and Anglo-Amalgamated)

Television Distribution:

• CBS Television Studios and Paramount Pictures (Carolco Pictures and De Laurentiis Entertainment Group)
• Sony Pictures (Embassy Pictures)
• Lionsgate (Alexander Salkind Productions, Ealing Studios, EMI Films, ABC, British Lion Films and Anglo-Amalgamated)

Home Entertainment Distribution:

• MGM (Embassy Pictures)
• Lionsgate (Carolco Pictures, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, Alexander Salkind Productions, Ealing Studios, EMI Films, ABC, British Lion Films and Anglo-Amalgamated)

Internet Distribution:

• Lionsgate (Embassy Pictures, Carolco Pictures, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, Alexander Salkind Productions, Ealing Studios, EMI Films, ABC, British Lion Films and Anglo-Amalgamated)

It also owns the distribution rights to several films made by others, including some pre-1952 United Artists material, an Alfred Hitchcock feature originally released by Warner Bros. – Rope (later re-released in 1950 by Hitchcock's Transatlantic Pictures, with secondary re-release funding provided by MGM), and the UK distribution rights to most of the RKO Pictures library, as well as the UK distribution rights to the Republic Entertainment theatrical library and Twin Peaks. Through its Focus Features division, Universal handles home video distribution for The Return of the Pink Panther (originally a UA release).

Universal also owns the film rights (with Hanna-Barbera Productions) to the Hanna-Barbera films Jetsons: The Movie, The Flintstones, and The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, In addition to owning the rights to the footage used on the The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera ride. They also own a theme park license for Scooby-Doo and Shaggy Rogers, who appear at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida.

Universal also owns the DePatie-Freleng Enterprises Dr. Seuss specials which were previously owned by CBS.

Universal Studios Locations[link]

Universal Studios Hollywood[link]

Albert Dorskind had envisioned a theme park and film studio in Hollywood, California. He convinced Lew Wasserman, the Chairman of the MCA, to invest $4-million in developing this particular theme that focused on Universal Motion Pictures. After numerous improvements, a branch of Universal Studios opened in Los Angeles County, California in 1964.^[16] The entertainment value it brought to the city gave an up rise to its slogan “The Entertainment Capital of LA.” Since it embodies a film studio theme park, there are a lot of motion picture themes incorporated. Some films include Shrek in 4-D and Terminator 2 in 3-D. Themes from movies and television shows are integrated into the rides like The Simpsons Ride, Jurassic Park The Ride, and Revenge of the Mummy - The Ride. The theme park has live shows including The Special Effects Stage and Water World. It also has a carnival fun house called House of Horrors and most importantly, a studio tour that shows clips of popular movies like Jaws, Fast and the Furious, King Kong 3-D. Universal Studios Hollywood has a CityWalk which offers visitors numerous dining and shopping places.^[17] Hotels are available in the area including Hilton Universal City and Sheraton Universal City.

Universal Orlando Resort[link]

The Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida is a working film and television production facility that was opened on June 7, 1990. Universal Studios direct competition was Walt Disney World. These two corporations are in constant competition with one another. When Universal Studios Florida first opened, there were minor technical setbacks in rides such as Kongfrontation and Jaws. Another problem was found in the wait time to use the rides. These problems were fixed as soon as possible and lead to Universal's wish to update the park. Steven Spielberg, who assisted in the original making of the theme park, returned to help expand it in 1999.

Universal Orlando Resort, formerly known as Universal Studios Escape, is considered a resort with plenty of accommodated hotels, rides and attractions. It eventually turned into a complete resort with the addition of the upscale hotel, Portofino Bay Hotel. A second theme park called, Islands of Adventure, was also built. This area included the nighttime entertainment district, CityWalk. The Hard Rock Hotel was added in 2000, followed by the Royal Pacific Hotel in 2002.^[18]

Universal Studios Japan[link]

Universal Studios Japan is one of three theme parks that is owned by USJ Co., Ltd. It was opened on March 31, 2001 in Osaka, Japan. Within the first year, 11 million guests went to the theme park, the fastest any other theme park has achieved in a year’s time.^[19] Tourists all over Asia are the main guests in the Universal Studios Japan theme park. Tourists from other Asian countries - such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Philippines - visit Osaka, Japan to go to Universal Studios. The Japan location is very similar to the theme park in Orlando, Florida. It contains many similar rides and attractions, but added some characters that target the Asian market such as Hello Kitty. Hello Kitty Fashion Avenue is one of Universal Studios Japan’s popular sites.

Universal Studios Japan encountered problems just like the other locations. Environmental issues were one of their biggest issues. Parts of the theme park were built on top of contaminated environment - mud, laced with PCBs, heavy metals and other carcinogens.^[20] Sumitomo Metal Industries instructed their workers to dump metal wastes, cover it up with dirt, and build on top of the dirt knowingly that it was not protected from the elements that were placed earlier.^[20]

Universal Studios Singapore[link]

Universal Studios Singapore is located within the boundaries of Resorts World Sentosa on the island of Sentosa in Singapore, making it the second Universal Studios theme park in Asia after Universal Studios Japan. It was the first Universal Studios that was made in the 21st century, making it the latest instalment of the Universal Studios corporation. It first opened on March 18, 2010. When it first opened, it was only available to the faculty of Resorts World Sentosa and their families. The grand opening was on May 28, 2011. Universal Studios Singapore contains seven themed zones: Hollywood, New York, Sci-Fi City, Ancient Egypt, The Lost World, Far Far Away, and Madagascar. The Lost World is the zone that has the most similar features to the other Universal Studios theme parks through its water-based attractions like the Jurassic ParkThe Ride and Water World.^[21] In addition, this location of Universal Studios incorporates a theme parade in its variety of attractions. It is known as Universal Studios Singapore Hollywood Dreams Parade and includes a variety of floats, as well as performers. This parade made its debut on New Year's Eve 2011 and has continued to take place every Saturday and Sunday.^[22] There is also the option of a VIP Tour which offers several discounts, and access to rides and attractions. Furthermore, there is the added opportunity of taking photos with celebrity lookalikes. Night-time entertainment at the Universal Studios is commonly referred to as Hollywood After Hours and includes a pyrotechnics show known as The Lake Hollywood Spectacular. Hotels in the area include Crockfords Tower, Equarius Hotel, Festive Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, and Hotel Michael.^[21]

Universal Studios franchises[link]

See also[link]

• List of Universal Pictures films
• List of television shows produced by Universal Studios

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Universal Pictures at IMDB
• Universal Studios at IMDB
• Universal Pictures
• Universal Studios Animation at the Big Cartoon DataBase

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Scott Pilgrim is a series of graphic stories by Bryan Lee O'Malley. It consists of six digest size black-and-white volumes, released between August 2004 and July 2010, by Portland-based independent comic book publisher Oni Press. It was later republished by Fourth Estate, an imprint of HarperCollins^[1]. The series is about 23-year-old Canadian Scott Pilgrim, a slacker and part-time musician who lives in Toronto and plays bass guitar in the band Sex Bob-Omb. He falls in love with American delivery girl Ramona Flowers, but must defeat her seven evil exes^[2] in order to date her.

A film adaptation of the series titled Scott Pilgrim vs. the World starring actor Michael Cera in the title role was released in August 2010. A videogame of the same name developed by Ubisoft for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade was released the same month.

Development[link]

Bryan Lee O'Malley

Creator Bryan Lee O'Malley was inspired to create the series and eponymous character of Scott Pilgrim after listening to Canadian band Plumtree's 1998 single "Scott Pilgrim", a song then-Plumtree singer Carla Gillis describes as "positive, but...also bitter sweet."^[3] In particular, O'Malley was inspired by the lyric "I’ve liked you for a thousand years,".^[3]

O'Malley wanted to write a shōnen-style comic book series, but initially he had only read one series, Ranma 1/2; in the early 2000s the United States did not yet have a significant Japanese comic book industry. O'Malley gained inspiration from the book Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga by Koji Aihara and Kentaro Takekuma. In 2002 O'Malley's roommate, who worked in a comic book store, brought the book to him while O'Malley was working on Lost at Sea and was planning Scott Pilgrim. Upon reading the book O'Malley realized that, despite the satirical tone, it could be an effective guide on how the Japanese comic book industry worked.^[4]

To ink, O'Malley usually used brushes, including No. 2 and No. 3 brushes. He mostly used computers to build the screentone; he stated that he encountered difficulty finding screentone in North America. O'Malley himself created most of the Scott Pilgrim material. When production on Volume 6 had began, O'Malley had hired two assistants. The backgrounds in Volume 6 are more detailed than backgrounds in the previous volumes. O'Malley said that "[m]ost fans don't seem to notice the change".^[4]

O'Malley stated that he wanted to create a "hybrid" work that received inspiration from American and Japanese comics, and that he "wanted to reach towards the japanese [sic] comics from my own starting point."^[4] When asked if he considers Scott Pilgrim to be a manga, O'Malley responded by saying "Um… No, I think I was just thinking about that today. I guess I was just thinking about the whole OEL thing. I think it’s influenced… I like the term “manga-influenced comics,” but I only like it because no one else likes it."^[5]

O'Malley said that he expected Scott Pilgrim to sell around 1,000 copies. He did not expect the series to sell millions of copies and to produce a film adaptation. O'Malley cited the United States comics industry and how it differs from the Japanese comics industry; the United States comic book companies specialize in superhero comics and many newer concepts originate from underground comics. The United States also lacks weekly and monthly comic book magazines and American comic companies generally do not have the system of story editors and assistants that Japanese comic companies have.^[4]

To illustrate his reasoning for eventually ending the Scott Pilgrim series, O'Malley used a quote from famed Belgian comics writer and artist Hergé, creator, writer, and illustrator of the well-regarded The Adventures of Tintin comic book series, from 1929 until his death in 1983. Hergé told his wife "And right now, my work makes me sick. Tintin is no longer me. And I must make a terrible effort to invent (him)… If Tintin continues to live, it is through a sort of artificial respiration that I must constantly keep up and which is exhausting me." O'Malley said "If I was still doing Scott Pilgrim in ten years, I would be dead inside."^[6]

The cover of the third Japanese Scott Pilgrim volume, which includes content from the original volumes 5 and 6, was based on an illustration from Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Street Fighter Zero 2).^[7] On March 31, 2012, O'Malley announced the series will be released in full-color hardback editions beginning August 2012 and concluding sometime in 2014.^[8]

[edit] Plot summary

This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (October 2011)

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life (Volume 1)[link]

The series begins by introducing Scott Pilgrim, a 23-year-old Canadian slacker living in Toronto with his gay roommate Wallace Wells. He is the bass player for a band called Sex Bob-omb, along with his friends Stephen Stills "The Talent" (guitar) and Kim Pine (drums). He has recently started dating a 17-year-old Chinese-Canadian high-schooler, Knives Chau. Though his friends consider this somewhat scandalous due to her age, Scott doesn't see a problem, as all they ever do is talk. One night, Scott begins dreaming about a girl on rollerblades who he has never met before. He later glimpses her in real life and discovers that she is Ramona Flowers, a girl who has recently come to Toronto from New York after a rumored messy break-up with someone named Gideon. It is revealed that she can travel through an alternate dimension called "subspace" and that the purse she carries at all times is a portal to subspace as well. After Scott attempts to meet with her again, he receives an ominous email from someone named Matthew Patel, but Scott pays it little heed. Sex Bob-omb is preparing for a concert when Matthew Patel descends upon the stage and reveals himself as the first of Ramona's evil exes, who has mystical powers allowing him to summon "demon hipster chicks." Scott defeats him in a musical video-game-style battle, his final attack obliterating Matthew and leaving behind a handful of coins. Scott and Ramona decide to become a couple, provided that Scott agrees to defeat her six other evil-exes. When Scott asks if Gideon is one of them, Ramona's head glows.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Volume 2)[link]

Vs. The World opens with a flashback to seven years before the series begins. Scott and his friend Lisa Miller, high school students in Northern Ontario, want to start a band, but they need a drummer. This problem appears to be solved when Scott notices his classmate Kim's ability to play drums. When Scott finds out that Kim has been kidnapped by students from a rival school, he defeats the kidnappers and rescues her. Kim joins Scott and Lisa's band, and dates Scott until they break up when he moves to Toronto. In the present, Wallace tells Scott that actor and professional skateboarder Lucas Lee, Ramona's second evil ex-boyfriend, is filming a new movie in Toronto. Scott awkwardly breaks up with Knives after Wallace threatens to tell Ramona about her. Scott then meets Lucas at his filming location, where Lucas beats Scott up and tells him about the "League of Ramona's Evil Exes" who have organized themselves to come after Scott. Scott defeats Lucas by goading him into skateboarding down a dangerous set of rails, where he ends up going too fast and bursting into coins upon landing. Having discovered Ramona is dating Scott, a furious Knives gives herself a hipster makeover by dyeing her forelock and attacks Ramona at the library. Knives confirms that Scott was cheating on her and Ramona simultaneously, and takes off. Meanwhile, Scott gets a call from Envy Adams, another of his ex-girlfriends, who asks him to open for her band The Clash at Demonhead that weekend. Speaking with Envy reopens Scott's unresolved issues about their breakup. Nevertheless, Sex Bob-omb show up to see Envy's band. The book ends with an epic opening by The Clash at Demonhead, where Ramona identifies the band's bassist as her third evil ex-boyfriend, Todd Ingram.

Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness (Volume 3)[link]

The Infinite Sadness continues the night that The Clash at Demonhead performs. After the venue clears out, Envy invites Scott and his friends backstage. Disgusted by Envy's new personality, Scott blames Todd for changing her and tries to attack him, but is stopped by Todd's psychic vegan powers. A flashback reveals that Envy, formerly known as Natalie V. Adams, was a mousy girl who gradually bloomed into a confident musical talent. She broke up with Scott once their band started to get noticed. Two days later, Envy confronts Todd about his cheating on her with the band's drummer Lynette, but Todd strikes her with his powers, shocking everyone. Todd and Scott have a battle, which Todd almost wins until the Vegan Police show up and strip him of his powers for violating his vegan diet (by eating gelato). Scott headbutts the powerless Todd, who is reduced to a pile of coins, and receives an extra life in the process.

The Infinite Sadness also features extras, such as guest comics from Josh Lesnick, Alex Ahad, Andy Helms, John Allison, and David McGuire, as well as a map of the major characters illustrating their relations to each other. The title is a reference to the album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins.

Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together (Volume 4)[link]

Stephen asks Kim's new roommate Joseph to help Sex Bob-omb record an album. Meanwhile, on Ramona's recommendation, Scott gets a job at the restaurant where Stephen works. Over the next few days, Scott is attacked by a samurai, who he escapes via subspace portal, and a female "half-ninja", who is revealed to be Roxie Richter, Ramona's fourth evil ex. Ramona tells Scott that he can move in with her temporarily. Things go downhill when Ramona suspects Scott might be attracted to Lisa and kicks him out. Scott goes to Lisa's house to spend the night. After waking up from a dream infiltrated by Roxie in an attempt to kill him, Scott cannot remember the previous night, but learns from Lisa that nothing happened between them and that he confessed that he loved Ramona. The samurai is revealed to be Knives's father, who was not keen on Knives dating a white boy. When he attacks Scott again, Scott escapes via another subspace portal and ends up in Ramona's mind, where she is a slave to a shadowy figure. Ramona kicks Scott out of her head, telling him to forget what he saw, but before he can explain his true feelings, he sees that Roxie spent the night at Ramona's and his head begins to glow. Walking away, Scott encounters his dark self (the "NegaScott") and rejects it, rushing back to Ramona to find her being attacked by Mr. Chau. Scott lures him away and gets him to fight against Roxie. When Scott realizes that he has been cowardly, he confesses his love for Ramona, earning the Power of Love sword. Scott uses this to defeat Roxie, who warns him about "the twins" before dying. Mr. Chau leaves, having earned respect for Scott. Scott finally moves in with Ramona.

The back of Gets it Together features guest art from Steve Manale, Michael Comeau, Philip Bond, and Zander Cannon as well as a back cover illustrated by pixel artist Miguel Sternberg.