Norma Desmond: I am big. It’s the pictures that got small.
~Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Director, Billy Wilder, on the set of Sunset Boulevard (1950). This 1920′s house existed on Wilshire Boulevard.
Sunset Boulevard Stars: Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) and Joe Gillis (William Holden)
A scene from Sunset Boulevard
In this film scene, Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) arrives to the Paramount studio backlot
“Sunset Boulevard” Cecil B.DeMille and Gloria Swanson behind the scenes 1950 Paramount
It is this year, 2012, that Paramount Pictures celebrates its 100th anniversary. Founded on 8th May, 1912, it is the only remaining major studio in Hollywood.
Wishing Happy Birthday to the force behind such epic movies, and renowned TV shows that might have you taking a trip down memory lane, including:
Raiders of the Lost Ark, Chinatown, Sabrina, To Catch a Thief, The Ten Commandments, The Godfather, Saturday Night Fever (go Brooklyn!), Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, MacGyver, Crocodile Dundee, Family Ties, She’s Having a Baby (Kevin Bacon!), Days of Thunder, Mission Impossible… I could go on, and on, and on….
Fact is, Paramount Pictures is a consistently top-grossing studio and you can see why.
“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”: Tom Cruise hanging from the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, 1700 feet above the ground.
If you’d like to visit the Paramount Pictures headquarters in Hollywood, then head to 5555 Melrose Avenue and grace the studio with a birthday wish. The Paramount Pictures Studio Tour runs daily.
Paramount Studios, today ~ Photograph Marina Chetner
Did you know? Studio 13 doesn’t exist because of a long standing superstitious belief. I wonder what the reason is behind that? I might have to plan another trip to Hollywood and find out.
In celebration, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Film Independent is screening “two stylish crime classics starring Michael Caine: The Italian Job and the steely Cold War thriller Funeral in Berlin” on May 17. I wish I could teleport myself there for the day.
Remembering LACMA: Urban Lights exhibit ~ Photograph Marina Chetner
You may find this interesting…
In December 2011, in celebration of the company’s 100th anniversary, a new logo was animated by Devastudios, Inc. The studio’s first logo, a symbol of a rugged, snow-covered peak from the Wasatch mountain range, was created in 1916; the new logo includes a surrounding mountain range and the sun shining in the background.
Paramount will use the logo throughout its centennial year in 2012. Beginning in 2013, the wording about the 100th anniversary will be removed from the logo, with the rest of the design remaining in use.
The first film to introduce the 100th anniversary logo was Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.
(Sources: Collider and Wikipedia)
