Origins of studio names?

[Pirate]

I thought it might be fun to explore the roots of studio names. I know that some are self explanatory like “Universal”, but where did the other names come from?

I know that Lions Gate is named after after a Vancouver landmark, Lions Gate Bridge.


-PH

[Maximum Jonah]

MGM and Warners are very easy; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and the Warner Brothers.

My favourite studio is RKO, but I'm not sure about how that came about.

Oh, and UA was started by actors and actresses, hence "United Artists".

[NotaNumber]

Wikipedia sez RKO:

The company was formed in 1928 as a combination of the Keith-Albee-Orpheum (KAO) theater chains, Joe Kennedy's Film Booking Office (FBO) studio, the small American studio of Pathé, and the Radio Corporation of America's Photophone division. Kennedy had bought FBO in 1925, and taken control of KAO and its subsidiary, American Pathe, in 1927. RCA approached Kennedy about using Photophone for FBO pictures; from this came further talks, and the creation of Radio-Keith-Orpheum, announced in October, 1928.

Short History of movie studios 1920's

[LeCercleRouge]

DreamWorks SKG

I thought for a long time SKG was some kind of acronym for a secret Zionist conspiracy , but come to find out it was just the initials of the founders, Spielberg, Katzenberg, and some loser named George.

[1138]

Geffen, as in Geffen Records.

I'm more curious about the miriad of production companies.

[tazer floyd]

Miramax - named after Bob and Harvey Weinstein's parents, Mira and Max.

[bembol]

Great thread....interesting

[Pirate]

Miramax - named after Bob and Harvey Weinstein's parents, Mira and Max.

Thats cool!

-PH

[Pirate]

American Zoetrope:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

American Zoetrope is the name of the studios founded by Francis Ford Coppola, and George Lucas, named after a collection of zoetropes Coppola was given in the late 1960s by filmmaker and collector of early motion picture making equipment, Mogens Skot-Hansen.

-PH

[Maximum Jonah]

Not really a studio, but Bryan Singer's production company "Bad Hat Harry" is taken from "Jaws".

"That's some bad hat, Harry..." spoken by Roy Schieder.

[tomdkat]

What about Paramount, Universal, FOX, and New Line?

Peace...

[papibear]

Originally Posted by tomdkat

What about Paramount, Universal, FOX, and New Line?

Peace...

Well, the name "Paramount Pictures", as a company name, simply follows along the lines of several businesses in a variety of industries that proclaim themselves the very top or ultimate within that field - the names "Acme" and "Ajax" are similar to "Paramount", in that they describe the top or peak of a mountain - http://thesaurus.reference.com/search?q=paramount

"Universal" was chosen for the company name no doubt to reflect the business aspirations of its founder, Carl Laemmle -

Universal's rich entertainment legacy can be traced back to 1906, when 39 year-old Bavarian immigrant Carl Laemmle (pronounced LEM-lee) opened his first nickelodeon theater in Chicago. From exhibitng short silent movies in one theater, Laemmle later moved to movie distribution and production. In June 1909, he formed the New York based Independent Moving Picture Company of America, or IMP, not only produce his own films, but to defy the monopolistic Motion Picture Patents Company that charged a license fee to all independent theater operators. Laemmle's first production in 1909 was Hiawatha, a one-reel adaptation of Longfellow's poem.

In 1911, Laemmle expanded his film production to the West Coast by purchasing the Nestor Studio in Hollywood. On June 8, 1912, Laemmle first incorporated the name "Universal" when he formed the Universal Film Manufacturing Company in New York. The new Company consisted of the former IMP and five other Motion Picture Companies. With studios operating on both coasts, Laemmle decided to centralize all his operations, and ordered his western manager, Isadore Bernstein, to buy more property in the Los Angeles area. For $165,000 in March 1914, Bernstein chose a 230-acre ranch, just across the road from where Mexican General Andre Pico and U.S. Colonel John Fremont signed the Treaty of Cahuenga in 1846. This site was to become "the entertainment center of the world" - Universal City.

20th Century-Fox was so named because it was the result of a 1935 merger of former Warner Bros. production head Darryl F. Zanuck's Twentieth Century Pictures and William Fox's Fox Film Corporation. (The first Wikipedia article I linked to provides a LOT of interesting info on the early days of the company.)

New Line Cinema was originally founded by current co-Chairman and co-CEO Robert K. Shaye in 1967 as a distributor of independent art house films. One of its early successes was its distribution of Reefer Madness, which became a cult hit on college campuses in the early 1970s. I don't think the name has any particular significance, but what Shaye started up in '67 was definitely a new line of motion picture distribution, which is probably what inspired the name.

[NotaNumber]

Originally Posted by tomdkat

What about Paramount, Universal, FOX, and New Line?

Peace...

See the link in my post above.

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by NotaNumber

See the link in my post above.

Why are you gonna make me read some other site?

Peace...

[NotaNumber]

Originally Posted by tomdkat

Why are you gonna make me read some other site?

Peace...

So's yous can look at da pitchers