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 Culver/Motor Gate entrance to Sony Pictures Studios | |
  Location within Western Los Angeles | |
| Location | Culver City, California, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Address | 10202 West Washington Boulevard |
| Coordinates | 34°01′02″N118°24′06″W / 34.017222°N 118.401667°W /34.017222; -118.401667 |
| Opening date | 1912; 113 years ago (1912) (as Inceville Studios) |
| Developer | Thomas H. Ince |
| Owner | Sony Pictures (Sony) |
| No. of tenants | 15 |
Sony Pictures Studios is an American television and film studio complex located inCulver City, California, at 10202 West Washington Boulevard and bounded byCulver Boulevard (south),Washington Boulevard (north), Overland Avenue (west) and Madison Avenue (east). Founded in 1912, the facility is currently owned bySony Pictures and houses the division's film studios, such asColumbia Pictures,TriStar Pictures, andScreen Gems. The complex was the original home ofMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1924 to 1986 andLorimar-Telepictures from 1986 to 1988.
In addition to films shot at the facility, several television shows have been broadcast live or taped there. The lot, which is open to the public for daily studio tours, currently houses a total of sixteen separatesound stages.
The studio complex also housesSony Pictures Television Kids' California-based operations, as well as the Culver City offices of sister Sony companiesCrunchyroll, LLC,Sony Music andSony Music Publishing.
DirectorThomas H. Ince built his pioneeringInceville studios inPacific Palisades, Los Angeles, in 1912. While Ince was filming atBallona Creek in 1915,Harry Culver, the founding father of Culver City, persuaded Ince to move Inceville to Culver City. During that time, Ince co-foundedTriangle Film Corporation and the Triangle Studios was opened in the form of a Greekcolonnade – 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 partnersD. W. Griffith andMack Sennett. Ince relocated down the street and built theCulver Studios at that location. In 1918, Triangle Studios was sold to film producerSamuel Goldwyn. Goldwyn also added a few sound stages before selling his shares in Goldwyn Studios.
In 1924,Loew's PresidentMarcus Loew organized themergers and acquisitions of three film companies—Metro Pictures,Goldwyn Pictures andLouis B. Mayer Pictures—to formMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer, occupying the Goldwyn production facilities.[citation needed]
In theClassic Hollywood cinema, MGM Studios was responsible for shooting 52 films a year, from screenepic films such asBen-Hur (1959) andMutiny on the Bounty (1962), to drawing-room dramas such asGrand Hotel (1932) andDinner at Eight (1933). But it was theTechnicolor musical films, includingThe Wizard of Oz (1939) andSingin' in the Rain (1952) 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 ofThe Wizard of Oz.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
However, theUnited States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. antitrust case of 1948 severed MGM's connection with Loews Theaters, and it struggled through its affairs.
On August 10, 1965, amassive fire destroyed Vault #7 in Lot 3, resulting in the loss of hundreds of silent-era films, among themLon Chaney's 1927 filmLondon After Midnight, though the majority of MGM's silent film stock survived the fire. In 1969, millionaireKirk 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 to construct hisMGM Resorts hotel chain.[citation needed]
In 1981, Kerkorian'sTracinda acquiredUnited Artists and merged it with MGM to become MGM/UA Entertainment Co. He then sold MUEC toTed Turner in 1986, who after 74 days, sold MGM/UA back to Kerkorian while retaining the pre-1986 MGM film library. In 1986, the studio lot was sold toLorimar-Telepictures. 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 and 2003 moves to Santa Monica and Century City and finally settling in Beverly Hills from 2011 onwards.[1]
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In 1988,Warner Communications acquired Lorimar-Telepictures two years before merging withTime Inc. to become Time Warner (nowWarner Bros. Discovery). The following year,Sony hired producersJon Peters andPeter Guber to run the company's newly acquired Columbia Pictures Entertainment unit, even though they had a contract withWarner Bros. To resolve this issue, Warner sold their Lorimar lot to Columbia, among other deals. Columbia Pictures had been sharing with Warner Bros. their studio lot inBurbank, California, in a partnership calledThe Burbank Studios starting in 1972. Sony sold its interest in The Burbank Studios as a result of the Guber-Peters issue.[2]
Sony acquired the property, first renamed Columbia Studios, in poor condition and thereafter invested $100 million to renovate the studio complex. The property underwent a three-year comprehensive plan as it transitioned to the 45 acres (0.18 km2) Sony Pictures Studios complex. The buildings, many of which still bore the names of MGM film actors such asClark Gable,Judy Garland, andBurt Lancaster, were painted and upgraded. New walls were erected around the lot and the ironwork gates were restored. Jerry Bradley recently stated the project would be overseen by Nett Construction Inc. Nostalgicart deco and false fronts on Main Street were added, as well as hand-painted murals of Columbia film posters. The MGM logo was removed from the Filmland Building in late 1992.[1]
The long-running television game showsJeopardy! (Stage 10, renamed "TheAlex Trebek Stage" in July 2021) andWheel of Fortune (Stage 11), along with their spin-offs, have been taped at Sony Pictures Studios since the mid-1990s.
TheBarbra Streisand Scoring Stage, named after actress Barbra Streisand, has been a large orchestra recording space since the 1930s, spanning 600 square meters, and is one of the world's largest recording studios.[3] It is also equipped with a 96 Channel AMS Neve 88VR mixing console, compatible with those used in theNewman Scoring Stage on the Fox Studio Lot, andAbbey Road Studios in London.[4]
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34°1′2″N118°24′6″W / 34.01722°N 118.40167°W /34.01722; -118.40167
