Universal Pictures (sometimes called Universal City Studios or Universal Studios for short), a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is one of the six major movie studios.
Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle it is one of the oldest American movie studios still in continuous production. On May 11, 2004, the controlling stake in the company was sold by Vivendi Universal to General Electric, parent of NBC. The resulting media super-conglomerate was renamed NBC Universal, while Universal Studios Inc. remained the name of the production subsidiary. In addition to owning a sizable film library spanning the earliest decades of cinema to more contemporary works, it also owns a sizable collection of TV shows through its subsidiary NBC Universal Television Distribution. It also acquired rights to several prominent filmmakers' works originally released by other studios through its subsidiaries over the years.
Its production studios are at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California. Distribution and other corporate offices are in New York City. Universal Pictures is the second-longest-lived Hollywood studio; Viacom-owned Paramount Pictures is the oldest by a month.
Universal was founded by Carl Laemmle, a German-Jewish immigrant from Laupheim who settled in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where he managed a clothing store. On a buying trip in 1905 to Chicago, he was struck by the popularity of nickelodeons. One story has Laemmle watching a box office for hours, counting patrons and calculating the day's take. Within weeks of his Chicago trip, Laemmle gave up dry goods to buy the first of several nickelodeons. For Laemmle and other such entrepreneurs, the creation in 1908 of the Edison-backed Motion Picture Trust meant that exhibitors were expected to pay fees for Trust-produced films they showed. Based on Edison's patent for the electric motor used in cameras and projectors, along with other patents, the Trust collected fees on all aspects of movie production and exhibition, and attempted to enforce a monopoly on distribution. It was believed that the productions were meant to be used for another company but the firm turned Universal down. Soon Laemmle and other disgruntled nickelodeon owners decided to avoid paying Edison by producing their own pictures. In June 1911, Laemmle started the Yankee Film Company with partners Abe and Julius Stern. That company quickly evolved into the Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP). Laemmle broke with Edison's custom of refusing to give billing and screen credits to performers. By naming the movie stars, he attracted many of the leading players of the time, contributing to the creation of the star system. On June 8, 1912, Laemmle merged IMP with eight smaller companies to form the Universal Film Manufacturing Company—the first appearance of the word "universal" in the organization's name. The new Universal studio was a horizontally integrated company, with movie production and distribution capacity. The company was incorporated as Universal Pictures Company, Inc. in 1925.
In 1926, Universal opened a production unit in Germany, Deutsche Universal-Film AG, under the direction of Joe Pasternak. This unit produced three to four films per year until 1936.
Universal's Islands of Adventure is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. It opened May 28, 1999 as part of an expansion that, along with CityWalk Entertainment District, the Portofino Bay Hotel, and Hard Rock hotel, converted Universal Studios Florida into the Universal Orlando Resort. The park's overall theme is that of a journey of exploration, where guests depart from a main port to visit six islands, each having its own distinct theme, but all emphasizing adventure.
Like Universal Studios Florida next door, Islands of Adventure has not limited itself to Universal's own library. The park has licenced other characters from rival studios, many of whom did not operate theme parks themselves. Some of these include The Cat in the Hat (Dr. Seuss Enterprises), Harry Potter (Warner Bros.), Dudley Do-Right (Jay Ward Productions), Popeye the Sailor Man (Paramount Pictures) and Spider-Man (Marvel Comics, now part of The Walt Disney Company).
During the construction of the park, Universal opened a Preview Center (known as the Islands of Adventure Preview Center) at their adjacent Florida theme park. Opening 2 years before the new theme park, the Preview Center was designed to give guests a sneak peek at some of the themes and attractions for Islands of Adventure. The attraction was located in the Paradise Theater building located in the New York section of Universal Studios Florida, next to the Kongfrontation attraction. In the attraction, guests would walk through various rooms themed to the various "Islands" in the new park. The final room stated when the Islands of Adventure park would open, and showed guests Universal's future plans for the Universal Orlando Resort. The Preview Center was closed shortly after the opening of Islands of Adventure.
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