(Paramount only owned the international distribution rights to Little Fockers, whereas Universal Pictures handled domestic distribution). In February 2016, Viacom CEO and newly appointed chairman Philippe Dauman announced that the conglomerate is in talks to find an investor to purchase a minority stake in Paramount. It became a subsidiary of Viacom in 1994. In March 2015, following waning box office returns, Paramount shuttered Insurge Pictures and moved its operations to the main studio. Reports say that CBS and Viacom reportedly set August 8 as an informal deadline for reaching an agreement to recombine the two media companies. Under the plan, CBS Corp. would comprise CBS and UPN networks, Viacom Television Stations Group, Infinity Broadcasting, Viacom Outdoor, Paramount Television, KingWorld, Showtime, Simon and Schuster, Paramount Parks, and CBS News. Eventually, Zukor shed most of his early partners; the Frohman brothers, Hodkinson and Goldwyn were out by 1917 while Lasky hung on until 1932, when, blamed for the near-collapse of Paramount in the Depression years, he too was tossed out. [71] Even as DreamWorks switched distribution of live-action films not part of existing franchises to Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Paramount continues to own the films released before the merger, and the films that Paramount themselves distributed, including sequel rights such as that of Little Fockers (2011), distributed by Paramount and DreamWorks. The recently refurbished studio has come to symbolize Hollywood for many visitors, and its studio tour is a popular attraction. Some editions of the logo bear a striking resemblance to the Pfeifferhorn,[99] another Wasatch Range peak. Lasting eleven years before being merged with The WB network to become The CW in 2006, UPN would feature many of the shows it originally produced for other networks, and would take numerous gambles on series such as Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise that would have otherwise either gone direct-to-cable or become first-run syndication to independent stations across the country (as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: The Next Generation were). In the early 21st century, a struggling Viacom split into two separate companies: Viacom and CBS Corporation. The new company Lasky and Zukor founded, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, grew quickly, with Lasky and his partners Goldwyn and DeMille running the production side, Hiram Abrams in charge of distribution, and Zukor making great plans. In 1916, film producer Adolph Zukor put 22 actors and actresses under contract and honoured each with a star on the logo. The logo began as a somewhat indistinct charcoal rendering of the mountain ringed with superimposed stars. Operating under a waiver from the antitrust law, the studios combined under the leadership of Paramount Chief Operating Officer Tom McGrath to develop technical standards for the eventual introduction of digital film projection – replacing the now 100-year-old film technology. Script error: No such module "main". Operating under a waiver form the anti-trust law, the studios combined under the leadership of Paramount Chief Operating Officer Tom McGrath to develop technical standards for the eventual introduction of digital film projection – replacing the now 100-year-old film technology. In 1916 Zukor and Lasky merged their companies to form the Famous Players–Lasky Corporation and acquired Paramount to distribute their films. Paramount was also one of the first Hollywood studios to release what were known at that time as "talkies", and in 1929, released their first musical, Innocents of Paris. The deal had been planned as early as 1989 when the company was still known as Gulf and Western. The studio's backlot set, "New York Street", features numerous blocks of façades that depict a number of New York locales: "Washington Square" (where some scenes in The Heiress, starring Olivia de Havilland, were shot), "Brooklyn", "Financial District", and others. Publix continued Balaban's wonder theater development in its home area.[8]. In 1951, Paramount bought a stake in International Telemeter, an experimental pay-TV service that operated with a coin inserted into a box. Paramount went on to produce a number of classic series, notably The Brady Bunch (1969–74), Taxi (1978–83), Happy Days (1974–84), Cheers (1982–93), and Frasier (1993–2004). During this period, Paramount and its related subsidiaries and affiliates, operating under the name "Viacom Entertainment Group" also included the fourth largest group of theme parks in the United States and Canada which in addition to traditional rides and attractions launched numerous successful location-based entertainment units including a long-running "Star Trek" attraction at the Las Vegas Hilton. On August 25, 1983, Paramount Studios caught fire. [60] In March 2015, following waning box office returns, Paramount shuttered Insurge Pictures and moved its operations to the main studio. Because Zukor believed in stars, he signed and developed many of the leading early stars, including Mary Pickford, Marguerite Clark, Pauline Frederick, Douglas Fairbanks, Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, and Wallace Reid. In 1938, Paramount bought a stake in television manufacturers DuMont Laboratories. Brad Grey(Chairman & CEO) The text. The new company Lasky and Zukor founded, Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, grew quickly, with Lasky and his partners Goldwyn and DeMille running the production side, Hiram Abrams in charge of distribution, and Zukor making great plans. Even as DreamWorks switched distribution of live-action films not part of existing franchises to Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and later Universal Pictures, Paramount continues to own the films released before the merger, and the films that Paramount themselves distributed, including sequel rights such as that of Little Fockers (2010), distributed by Paramount and DreamWorks. Some claim that Utah's Ben Lomond is the mountain Hodkinson doodled and that Peru's Artesonraju is the mountain in the live-action logo, while others claim that the Italian side of Monviso inspired the logo. One Fleischer series, Screen Songs, featured live-action music stars under contract to Paramount hosting sing-alongs of popular songs. Its first film was Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth, which starred Sarah Bernhardt. Subsidiary The Fleischers, veterans in the animation industry, were among the few animation producers capable of challenging the prominence of Walt Disney. Paramount Pictures Soros Strategic Partners and Dune Entertainment II soon afterwards acquired controlling interest in live-action films released through DreamWorks, with the release of Just Like Heaven on September 16, 2005. [35][36], When Charles Bluhdorn died unexpectedly, his successor Martin Davis dumped all of G+W's industrial, mining, and sugar-growing subsidiaries and refocused the company, renaming it Paramount Communications in 1989. It is the fifth oldest surviving film studio in the world, the second oldest in the United States, and the sole member of the "Big Five" film studios still located in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Hollywood. Paramount owned distribution rights to the DreamWorks Animation library of films made before 2013, and their previous distribution deal with future DWA titles expired at the end of 2012, with Rise of the Guardians. At this, the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department decided to reopen their case against the five integrated studios.