RETROSPECT: History of Paramount/Viacom (and a bit about today)

Paramount is now a subsidiary of Viacom's entertainment group. But Paramount Pictures dates back to 1905, when Adolph Zukor's New York penny arcade was converted into a nickelodeon theater that screened so-called "revolutionary" flicks. In 1912, Zukor secured American distribution rights to Sarah Bernhart's four-reel film 'Queen Elizabeth'. The film's opening on 12th July 1912 was the first full-length drama shown in the USA. Its huge success inspired Zukor to found the Famous Players Film Company which began to produce movies in New York, starting with 'The Prisoner of Zenda' and 'The Count of Monte Cristo'.

Paramount Pictures in its early days

The company got the Paramount name, which was first used by a film distribution company founded by William W. Hodkinson and other independent exhibitors in May 1914, after Paramount financed and distributed the product of Zukor's Famous Players, Jesse L. Lasky's Feature Play Company, and other producers. Zukor and Lasky knew a good thing when they saw it, and bought the controlling interest in Paramount in 1916. Zukor remained with the new company as president.

original entrance The Paramount logo was established in 1914 by W.W. Jodkinson, a former movie exhibitor from Utah who negotiated a deal with Adolph Zukor to distribute his "Famous Players in Famous Plays" motion pictures. On the way to a meeting in New York, Jodkinson passed a building complex bearing the name Paramount and doodled a star-crested mountain, possibly from memories of his childhood in the west, and that logo later became Paramount's trademark. Marathon Walk

Paramount was so successful that in 1926 Zukor and Lasky built their offices and vast studio space on Marathon Street, near Gower Street and Melrose Avenue, in Hollywood. The company continues to occupy those offices to this day. By 1927, the company was known as Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation, and in 1930 the name was changed to Paramount Publix Corporation. Paramount's early artists included directors Cecil B. DeMille and William S. Hart, and employed stars Mary Pickford, Rudolf Valentino and Clara Bow. Wings, the studio's 1928 release, received the very first Academy Award for Best Picture from the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Paramount went bankrupt in 1933, Lasky was forced out, and it was finally re-organised as Paramount Pictures Inc. The company suffered as the television era began and was forced to get rid of all its theatre holdings in the 1940s. Some of Paramount's memorable post-World War II films include 'The Ten Commandments', 'White Christmas', 'Shane', 'Psycho', 'True Grit', 'The Godfather' series, 'Saturday Night Fever', the 'Indiana Jones...' series, 'The Hunt for Red October', the Star Trek movies (of course), 'Forrest Gump' and 'Titanic'.

As the Paramount lot grew, it absorbed the adjoining RKO studio, which included Lucille Ball's DesiLu Studios. Star Trek, as [TOS], had begun under the aegis of Desilu Studios, which was a venture created by Lucille Ball out of her purchase of the old RKO Pictures facility. (The name "DesiLu" or "Desilu" combines the front part of the two names Desi Arnez, name and spelling to be checked, and Lucille Ball). That "lot" as such properties are known, was located at the corner of Gower Street and Melrose Avenue, stretching north along Gower for three or four city blocks. There it dead-ended up against a cemetery (giving rise to running jokes about this neighbour). Immediately to the east, and right up against the Desilu lot, was an intense competitor, Paramount Pictures. A wood and metal fence, in some places topped by barbed wire, separated the two rivals. When Gene Roddenberry first pitched his science-fiction series idea to Herb Solow, Desilu's executive in charge of production. In 1964, Desilu Studios was mostly a rental operation with its main claim to fame being the 'I Love Lucy' show, shot before a live audience every week on one of the studio's ten soundstages. Everything else was rented out to independent production companies. Hollywood studios have a long history of renting at least some space to the independents; Desilu had more under rental than most. In 1966 Desilu Studios was sold to Gulf & Western, an entertainment conglomerate that had also purchased Paramount Pictures. Eventually the fence was torn down and the two lots were combined into one sprawling facility covering roughly sixty acres.

On 11 March 1994, Paramount merged with Viacom Inc, under the leadership of Sumner Redstone, chairman of the board and chief executive officer. As at spring 2004, Mel Karmazin is president and chief operating officer; Jonathan Dolgen is chairman, Viacom Entertainment Group; Sherry Lansing is chairman, Paramount Motion Picture Group.

Today, Paramount Pictures, together with Paramount Television, CBS Television, Simon & Schuster Publishing, MTV Networks, Showtime Networks, Infinity, BET, UPN (Paramount's own tv network), Paramount Parks and Blockbuster Entertainment comprise the entertainment leader, Viacom Inc. Paramount has reduced its financial risks by forming strategic production partnerships with other companies such as Buena Vista, 20th Century Fox, and DreamWorks.

Paramount's desire to launch its own television network and place everything in-house was driven, as Poe describes it using a neat turn of phrase, by the twin engines of control and money. With a network of its own, the advertising revenues would likely go directly to Paramount. For Paramount, control and money working in tandem and bound together looked the best way to improve te 'bottom line'. When Viacom purchased control of Paramount, Poe comments that this philosophy only increased in intensity.

detail of map of Hollywood with Paramount Pictures marked as a red star

Paramount Pictures is a self-contained tv and film production centre. Pop-up details of services. It currently has produced 2,500 film titles. Pop-up statistics of Star Trek film revenue. Paramount Pictures has an extensive network for the domestic theatrical distribution of its motion pictures. International distribution of Paramount's feature films is generally handled by United International Pictures (UIP), in which Viacom has a 33% interest. Paramount Pictures distributes its motion pictures on video and DVD in the U.S. and Canada through Paramount Home Entertainment. Paramount is the only major tv and film production company in Hollywood, the others having moved.

The address of the Studio is: Paramount Pictures, 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90038, USA. website

As at spring 2004, due to heightened security, the Paramount Studio Tour is currently suspended. Enquiries after this date should be made to Paramount.

It used to be that Star Trek was prepared to look at scripts submitted by outside writers and/or fans, and indeed it was the perhaps the only major tv series to do so. However, this is no longer the case. To submit a television or feature film script to Paramount Pictures, one must go through an authorised agent or lawyer. No direct "spec" submissions are accepted by the Studio and indeed, are forwarded to the legal department to be returned without them ever being opened much less looked at by the tv show concerned. Therefore the address given in Poe for submissions no longer applies.