Custom term paper on The influence and dominance of the major Hollywood studios

In late 1930 the lives of ordinary Americans were not easy: in the era of the Great Depression even the biggest studios with difficulty managed to attract audience in cinema halls. One way of attracting of the public was the practice of double sessions. Now the film “A” – the main full-time film – was accompanied by a less expensive film “B” within a single session. Many films of Class “B” were produced by small cinema companies, which were nicknamed the “fraternity of beggars”. The most fortunate of them were of “Republic” and “Monogram”, that produced practically more than 40 films a year: they were mostly westerns, adventure films and thrillers.
1946 was for Hollywood’s biggest studios the year of greatest success in its history. However, a few months later, it plunged into the deepest crisis caused by the need to reorganize the system of film studios, the changes in audience preferences, as well as government investigation which went down in history as the Hollywood “witch hunt”. (Scott, 2005)

3. The foundation of the major Hollywood studios and their influence and dominance in the American filmmaking processes
“Paramount”
History of “Paramount Pictures” began in May 1912. The company’s founder and one of the first producers Adolph Zukor saw that the existing cinemas attract mostly migrants from the working class, so together with partners Daniel Frohman Charles Frohman, he decided to open the first cinema showing art films, which will focus on the middle class due to the fact that the pictures will be removed leading actors of that time. In the same year another producer Jesse Louis Lasky opened “Lasky Feature Play Company”. As the first employee company Lasky took on the work a theater director Cecil B. De Mille, who had at that time no experience in cinema. Since 1914, the company “Lasky” and the studio “Famous Players” mandated distribution of the pictures of the new company “Paramount Pictures”, that was founded earlier, in the 1914 by the owner of several theaters in Utah William Wadsworth Hodkinson, who had bought and merged a few smaller firms. (Scott, 2005)
Soon “Paramount Pictures” became the first successful film studio in the country. Until then, movies were distributed only in the territory of one state or region that was not effective.
One of the first slogans of the company was the motto “Famous Players in Famous Plays”. The company was signing contracts and raised many stars, like Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino and Wallace Reid. With the arsenal of the stars “Paramount” was unable to introduce such a thing as a “block booking”, which meant that if the cinema owner wishes to buy a film with good actors, it had to purchase another smaller films of “Paramount” for rental throughout the year. Such a system of relationships could, on the one hand, make “Paramount” a leader in this position in the 20-30’s, but on the other – to allow the Government to prosecute the company on the basis of competition law for more than 20 years.
During the 20-ies of the last century, Zukor managed to built a huge theatrical network of more than 200 screens, driving two filmmaking studios and became one of the first investors in the radio, getting a 50% stake in a newly created in 1928 “Columbia Broadcasting System”. By purchasing in 1926 a thriving cinema network “Balaban & Katz”, he hired Barney Balaban, who became president of “Paramount”, and Sam Katz, who ruled the cinema circuit “Paramount-Publix”. Zukor also hired independent producer BP Schulberg who was managing the studio “West Coast”. (Scott, 2005)
In 1927 the company “Famous Players-Lasky” changed its name to “Paramount-Famous Lasky Corporation”, and three years later, taking into account the importance of cinema “Publix”, was renamed to “Paramount-Publix Corporation”.(Scott, 2005)custom term paper
As before, the film company “Paramount” continued to focus on the stars: in the 20-ies they were Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino. By 30s of the last century many new talents appeared: Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, Gary Cooper, Claudette Colbert, the Marx Brothers, Dorothy Lamour, Carole Lombard, Bing Crosby, the famous Argentine tango dancer Carlos Gardel and many others. At this time “Paramount” really was called a factory of the production of film, which produced 60-70 films in a year. These were the benefits of a huge network of cinemas and the previously mentioned system of “block booking”.
Multiplication unit of the “Paramount” also had great success, thanks to two main characters: sailor Pop and Betty Boop. Studio “Fleischer Studios” produced cartoons with both heroes right up until 1942, when “Paramount” reorganized the company, made it “Famous Studios”, and gained control over the cartoons.
In 1940 “Paramount” agreed with the government decision to terminate the systems of “block booking” and “pre-selling” (practice of collecting money in advance for the rental of films, which are still in the stage production). Although a similar action in the company has been a serious reduction in production costs, nodding the bar from 60 to more moderate 20 films a year. However, with new stars Bob Hope, Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Paulette Goddard and Betty Hutton and an astronomical number of the movie in time of war, “Paramount” and other companies, who owned a combination of “studio-theater”, earned more than they had ever before.
That is why the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Justice Department decided to reopen the case against five companies owning such a combination. All this eventually led in 1948 to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that brought an end to the classical Hollywood studios system. Company “Paramount” was divided in two: “Paramount Pictures Corporation” was still involved in film production, including those intended for display in the 1500-screen cinemas.
Company «Paramount Pictures» was among the first followers of television in 1939, running in Los Angeles an experimental television station, later known as «KTLA», and station «WBBM-TV» in Chicago. The company also invested in innovative “DuMont Laboratories” and “DuMont Television Network”. However, due to aggravation of anti-trust control by the state after 1948 «Paramount» limited participation in the television network, and “DuMont” in the mid-50’s of the last century ceased to exist.
Animation and production of short films “Paramount” came into the possession of various television producers, who are mostly cartoons and shows acquired by “UM & M. T.V. Corp”. Animation about Popayán were sold “Associated Artists Productions”, “Superman” – “Motion Pictures for Television”, while the remaining cartoons were sold to the company «Harvey Comics».
In the beginning of the 1960’s the future of “Paramount” was a question: a risky movie business was not successful, cinema network was in the past, investments in “DuMont” and play TV turned to nothing. Despite tough times, “Paramount” released commercially successful pictures such as “The Odd Couple” (1968), “Love Story” (1970), “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968) and “Chinatown”. (Scott, 2005)
In the 80-90-s. of the last century, the successful promotion of “Paramount Pictures” in the field of “light” movie was even more intensive producing such hits as “Flashdance” (1983), “Friday the 13th”, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981) and its sequel “Beverly Hills COP” (1984), and of course film series with comedian Eddie Murphy and films series of “Star Trek”. Despite the fact that special attention was paid to commercial cinema, from time to time serious dramatic film were made, like “Atlantic City” (1980) and “Forrest Gump” (1994). At the same time in the collection of films “Paramount” more than usually degree began to appear remakes and television tapes based on the movies. Although sometimes they have been commercially successful, yet the studio had produced very few films of the same level which once made a “Paramount Pictures” a leader in the production of movies.
In 2005 “Paramount” announced the acquisition of the company “DreamWorks” for 1,6 billion U.S. dollars. This agreement did not include the unit “DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.”, which is the most profitable part of the company “DreamWorks”. However, “Paramount” got the right to hire and distribution of profitable animated pictures “DreamWorks”, which include Shrek Franchise.
The American company engaged in the manufacture and distribution of film production, “Paramount Pictures Corporation” is now located in Hollywood and now this company is the oldest American film studio. The place where it is now- is the historical centre of cinema production, and for many visitors with a newly renovated studio “Paramount” embodies Hollywood, and the tour to the studio attracts a large number of guests.