Sony Pictures Studios Information
The Sony Pictures Studios are a television and film studio complex located in Culver City, California at 10202 West Washington Boulevard and bounded by Culver Boulevard (south), Washington Boulevard (north), Overland Avenue (west) and Madison Avenue (east). The facility is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment and houses the division's film companies Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures.
Several television shows have been broadcast live or taped at the facility. The lot, which is open to the public for daily studio tours, currently houses a total of sixteen separate sound stages.
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Early history
Photograph of original colonnade of Triangle Studios. c. 1916While director Thomas H. Ince was filming at Ballona Creek in 1915, Harry Culver, the founding father of Culver City, persuaded Ince to move his studio "Inceville" from Pacific Palisades to Culver City. During that time, Ince co-founded Triangle Film Corporation and the Triangle Studios was opened in the form of a Greek colonnade – the entrance to the studios. The colonnade still stands fronting Washington Boulevard and is a Culver City historical landmark.
Ince added a few stages and an Administration Building before selling out to his partners D.W. Griffith and Mack Sennett. Ince relocated down the street and built the Culver Studios at that location. In 1918, Triangle Studios was sold to film producer Samuel Goldwyn. Goldwyn also added a few sound stages before selling his shares in Goldwyn Studios.
The Historic MGM Studios
Aerial shot of MGM Studios c. 1922 Main article: Metro-Goldwyn-MayerIn 1924, Loews Theatres President Marcus Loew organized the merger of three film companies – The Metro Pictures Corporation, Goldwyn Studios and Louis B. Mayer Productions to form Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and occupying the Goldwyn production facilities.
In the Golden Age of Hollywood, MGM Studios was responsible for shooting 52 films a year, from screen epics such as Gone with the Wind (although it was shot in the Culver Studios), Ben-Hur, and Mutiny on the Bounty, to drawing-room dramas such as Grand Hotel, Dinner At Eight, and Anna Karenina. But it was the Technicolor musicals, including The Wizard of Oz, Singin' in the Rain and Gigi that MGM was best known for. MGM’s success led to six working studio complexes, more than 180 acres (0.73 km2) including twenty-eight soundstages – Stage 15 is the second largest sound stage in the world, and Stage 27 served as "Munchkinland" in the production of The Wizard of Oz.
In addition to the main production building, MGM added two large backlot facilities – Lot 2 located opposite the main studio across Overland Avenue. Lot 3 entered the corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Overland Avenue and was MGM’s largest backlot. The administration building was inaugurated in 1938 and was named for Thalberg.
However, the United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. anti-trust case of 1948 severed MGM's connection with Loews Theaters, and it struggled through its affairs. In 1969, millionaire Kirk Kerkorian bought MGM and proceeded to dismantle the studio. MGM’s film memorabilia was sold through an 18-day auction, and 38 acres (150,000 m2) of the studio’s backlots were sold. Lot 3 was razed while Lot 2 was sold to housing developments. Kerkorian used the money into constructing his hotel chain, the MGM Grand Hotels.
In the 1980s, Kerkorian acquired United Artists and sold MGM/UA Entertainment Co. to Ted Turner who, after 74 days, sold MGM/UA back to Kerkorian while retaining the pre-1986 MGM film library. In 1986, the studio was sold to Lorimar Productions. During that time, the MGM logo was removed from the studios and moved across the street to the Filmland Building (now known as Sony Pictures Plaza) before their 1992 move to Santa Monica and finally settling in Century City.
Sony Pictures Studios
After Warner Bros. acquired Lorimar in 1990, Sony purchased the MGM Studios from Warner Bros. The property underwent a three-year comprehensive plan as it transitioned to the 45 acres (0.18 km2) Sony Pictures Studios complex.
Sony acquired the property, first renamed Columbia Studios, in poor condition and thereafter invested $100 million to renovate the studio complex. They painted and upgraded the buildings, many of which still bore the names of film luminaries such as Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Rita Hayworth and Burt Lancaster. They erected new walls around the lot and restored the ironwork gates. They also added nostalgic art deco and false fronts on Main Street, plus hand-painted murals of Columbia film posters.
The Sony Pictures Studios has one of the best post-production facilities available and is open to the public for tours. The studio continues to record TV sitcoms such as Rules of Engagement. The long-running game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune and its spin-offs are taped at Sony. The revival of American Gladiators was also taped there.
Taped programs
Game shows
- Wheel of Fortune (1995–present)
- Jeopardy! (1994–present)
- Wheel 2000 (1997–1998)
- Jep! (1998–1999)
- Rock & Roll Jeopardy! (1998–2001)
- Pyramid (2002–2004)
- Russian Roulette (2002–2003)
- American Gladiators (2008 revival, Season 1 only)
Sitcoms
- Cavemen (2007)
- The King of Queens (1998–2007)
- Living With Fran (2005–2006)
- Married... with Children (1994–1997)
- Rules of Engagement (2006–present)
- 'Til Death (2006–2010)
Dramas
- Close to Home (2005–2007)
- Party of Five (1994–2000)
- Las Vegas (2003–2008)
External links
- Sony Pictures Studios
- Studio Lot History
- SPE Post Production
- Las Vegas at the Internet Movie Database
- Sony Pictures Studios at TV.com
Coordinates: 34°1′2″N 118°24′6″W / 34.01722°N 118.40167°W
Categories: Sony Pictures Entertainment | American film studios | Television studios in the United States | Companies based in Culver City, California
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