HOLLYWOOD STUDIO SYSTEM
The history of Hollywood and its studios is one that is interesting and unique. Hollywood started in around 1900 being a small company. In the early 1900s filmmakers began to move to the recently established Hollywood to get away from the restricting rules in New Jersey. The Picture Patents Company imposed by Thos Edison's Motion was suing independent film makers as Edison owned most of the moviemaking patents. To escape these rules and Edisons control they started moving to Hollywood due to the ideal weather and varied terrain. As well as being close to Mexico so that is Edisons agents came south they could escape in time.
The first motion picture studio was built in 1919 and was starting of Hollywood as we know it today. It was founded by filmmaker Al Christie in 1911. After this movie studios started to crop up all over Hollywood and soon it became the Hollywood Studio System. This was the start of the Goldern Age of Hollywood. There was five major companies that owned grand theatres, actors, studios and the equipment. The five different studios were Paramount, RKO, 20th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and finally Warner Brothers. The actors where bought by the company and then all your films that you stared in had to be for that company. Actors had little choice but to contract with the studios, however, in 1948 the landmark decision was made by the United States Supreme court that companies can't own the same theatres where they showed their own films as well as the can't own actors unless they have a exclusive contract. This landmark decision marked the end of the golden age for Hollywood as well as the introduction of TV meant that by the mid-1950 these studios started to diversify into TV and other platforms.
As well as the 'BIg 5' or the 'Studios' there was also the 'Little 3' which was smaller companies that owned none or little theatres to guarantee sales of their films viewing. These three where Universal Pictures, Columbia pictures and finally United Artists. These where the production companies that didn't have enough power and economic backing to become the 6th member of the main studios but where used for backing a distributing independent films. One of the main features about the big 5 is that they where huge companies that controlled not only the production of the film, but also the owned the means that distributed and exhibited the films. They own the theatres so therefore would only exhibit their own films and somwtimes films from the little 3.
The Big 5 and the Little 3 all had a role to play when it came to the Hollywood Studio System and here is what they all contributed.
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MGM
MGM is called Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and is a producer and distributer of films and television programs. Once the largest and most glamorous of the film studios, MGM was founded in 1924 when entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loewgained fused Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B Mayer Pictures. It has a bit of a rocky past as in 1971 it was announced that it would be merging with 20th Century Fox, a plan which never came into reality. Then over the next 30 years the company was bought and sold at various points in history until in 2010 when it became bankrupt. This did not last for long as within the same year the company emerged from bankruptcy due to Spyglass Entertainment becoming a subsidiary.
MGM was widely know for its musicals and produce a large proportion of their content as musicals. This trend started of a rocky road with several questions being asked about if the pitures would make money or even if they would be popular. This new type of pitures quickly caught on with MGM became famous for several musicals such as Singin in the rain, Wizard of Oz and finally Guys and Dolls. These where huge productions and are still loved by many today.
20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox are another key player in the studios of Hollywood. It is still in use to this day with a revenue stream of around 13.28 billion USA dollars. The Headquarters is located in Century City area of Los Angeles, just west of Beverly Hills. The studio used to be a subsidiary of News Corporation, however now it is being used as a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox. It is the worlds second largest major film studios, after Warner Bros. The huge company that all of us know today was formed on May 31, 1935 as a result of the merger between Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures.
Paramount
Paramount is a Studios that is still in use to this day. The logo is of a mountain with a set of stars around the summit in a circle. Paramount pictures started in 1912 as the Famous Players Film Company and then in 1914 changed its name to Paramount. It current revenue is 1.2 billion a year making it a key competitor in the Hollywood studios. Paramount is not just a motion picture distributer but is also a film studio as well as a television production company.
Paramount is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
Warner Brothers.
Saving the best till last. Warner Brothers is currently the biggest studios in the Big Five. There is up to 12.3 billion US dollars made in revenue making it the richest film producing company in the world. Warner brothers was founded by Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack Warner and started firstly in just film production and distribution. However, now it is a different story. Warner brothers expanded and differentiated into different platforms and subsidiary to own up to 10 huge companies consisting of: Warner Bros Pictures, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Home Video, New Line Cinema, Castle Rock Entertainment, DC Entertainment, and the former The WB Television Network. Warner Bros. owns half of The CW Television Network.
Warner Brothers are extreamly well know for there gangster films have made a lot of revenue from these productions. There are several films that are know as the old time classics from Warner brothers and they are Casablanca, Musketeers of Pig Alley, Dr. Mabuse and finally Scarface: The Shame of a Nation.
RKO
RKO or otherwise known as Radio-Keith-Orpheum is a film production and distribution company. Its former business was the KAO (Keith-Albee-Opheum) theater chains. Also The FBO (Film-Booking-Office Of America) where bought along with Radio Corporation of America to diversify the company so that there was several platforms. The original RKO pictures ceased production in 1957 and effectively dissolved two years later. In 1989, the business with its few remaining assets, the trademarks and remake rights to the old RKO classics was sold to a new owners who now operate a small independent company RKO Pictures LLC.
Universal pictures.
Universal Studios Inc. (also known as Universal Pictures), is an American film studio and similarly to Columbia has increased inside to become one of the "Big Six" film studios once RKO dropped out. Universal Studios is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, and Jules Brulatour. It's the world's third oldest major film studios.
United Artists
United Artists Media Group (UAMG), formerly known as United Artists Corporation (UA), is an American film and television entertainment company. The original studio using the name "United Artists" was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, with the intention of controlling their own interests rather than depending upon the powerful commercial studios.
The Little 3:
Columbia.
Columbia have managed to change its appearance in the public eye. It is now considered as part of the main studios and therefore forms the Big Six. It started off a small company founded in 1918 by brothers Jack and Harry Cohn and Joe Brandt. They released its first feature film in August 1922. It adopted the Columbia Pictures name in 1924 and went public two years later. In 1982, the studio was purchased by Coca-Cola. That same year it launched TriStar Pictures which Five years later when Coca-Cola spun off Columbia, meant that it was sold to Tri-Star to became Columbia Pictures Entertainment.
