Sony Pictures Studios facts for kids
Motor Gate entrance to Sony Pictures Studios
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 Location in Western Los Angeles
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| Location | Culver City, California, U.S. |
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| Address | 10202 West Washington Boulevard |
| Coordinates | 34°01′02″N 118°24′06″W / 34.017222°N 118.401667°W |
| Opening date | 1912 (as Inceville Studios) |
| Developer | Thomas H. Ince |
| Owner | Sony Pictures (Sony) |
| No. of tenants | 15 |
The Sony Pictures Studios is a famous place in Culver City, California, where movies and TV shows are made. It's located at 10202 West Washington Boulevard. This studio started way back in 1912. Today, it's owned by Sony Pictures and is home to big film companies like Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, and Screen Gems.
Before Sony, this complex was the main studio for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) from 1924 to 1986. It was also used by Lorimar-Telepictures for a short time. Many films and TV shows have been made here. You can even take tours of the studio! It has sixteen separate sound stages, which are special rooms for filming.
Contents
The History of Sony Pictures Studios
How the Studio Began (1912–1924)
A director named Thomas H. Ince built his first studio, called Inceville, in 1912. In 1915, he was filming near Ballona Creek. Harry Culver, who founded Culver City, convinced Ince to move his studio there.
Ince then helped start Triangle Film Corporation. Their new studio, Triangle Studios, had a grand Greek-style entrance with columns. These columns are still there today on Washington Boulevard and are a historical landmark in Culver City.
Ince added more stages and an office building. Later, he sold his share to his partners, D. W. Griffith and Mack Sennett. Ince then built another studio nearby, called the Culver Studios. In 1918, Triangle Studios was sold to film producer Samuel Goldwyn. Goldwyn also added more sound stages before selling his part of Goldwyn Studios.
The Famous MGM Studios (1924–1990)
In 1924, a company called Loew's brought together three film companies: Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures. They formed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and used the Goldwyn studio facilities.
MGM Studios became very famous during the "Golden Age" of Hollywood. They made about 52 films each year! These included huge movies like Ben-Hur and Mutiny on the Bounty. They also made classic dramas like Grand Hotel.
MGM was especially known for its colorful musical films. These include The Wizard of Oz, Singin' in the Rain, and Gigi. MGM grew to have six studio areas, covering more than 180 acres. They had twenty-eight soundstages. Stage 15 is the second largest sound stage in the world! Stage 27 was even used as "Munchkinland" in The Wizard of Oz.
MGM also had two large outdoor filming areas called backlots. Lot 2 was across the street from the main studio. Lot 3 was the biggest backlot. An important office building, named after Thalberg, was opened in 1938.
However, in 1948, a court case changed how film studios could work. This made things harder for MGM. In 1965, a big fire destroyed many old silent films in Vault #7. Luckily, most of MGM's silent films were saved.
In 1969, a rich businessman named Kirk Kerkorian bought MGM. He started to sell off parts of the studio. Many famous movie items were sold in a huge auction. About 38 acres of the studio's backlots were sold. Lot 3 was completely torn down, and houses were built on Lot 2. Kerkorian used the money to build his MGM hotel chain.
In 1986, the studio lot was sold to Lorimar-Telepictures. The MGM logo was removed from the studios.
Sony Pictures Studios Today (1990–present)
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In 1988, Warner Communications bought Lorimar-Telepictures. The next year, Sony hired two producers, Jon Peters and Peter Guber, to run their new Columbia Pictures Entertainment company. These producers had a contract with Warner Bros. To fix this, Warner sold their Lorimar lot to Columbia. Columbia Pictures had been sharing a studio lot with Warner Bros. in Burbank since 1972. Sony then sold its share of that studio.
Sony bought the studio lot, which was then called Columbia Studios. It was not in good shape, so Sony spent $100 million to fix it up. The studio complex, which is about 45 acres, was completely renovated over three years. Many buildings were named after famous MGM actors like Clark Gable and Judy Garland. These buildings were painted and improved. New walls were built around the lot, and the old iron gates were fixed. They also added cool art deco designs and painted murals of Columbia film posters.
Today, many popular TV shows are filmed at Sony Pictures Studios. The long-running game shows Jeopardy! (filmed in Studio 10, now called "The Alex Trebek Stage") and Wheel of Fortune (filmed in Studio 11) have been taped here since the mid-1990s.
TV Shows Filmed Here
Talk Shows
- Donny & Marie (1998–2000)
- The Queen Latifah Show (2013–2015)
- Chelsea (2016–2017)
Game Shows
- Wheel of Fortune (1995–present, Studio 11)
- Jeopardy! (1994–present, The Alex Trebek Stage)
- Wheel 2000 (1997–1998, Studio 11)
- Jep! (1998–1999, Studio 11)
- Rock & Roll Jeopardy! (1998–2001, Studio 11)
- Hollywood Showdown (2000–2001, Studio 11)
- Pyramid (2002–2004)
- American Gladiators (2008 revival, Season 1 only)
- Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? (2010–2011)
- Sports Jeopardy! (2014–2016, The Alex Trebek Stage)
- Snoop Dogg Presents The Joker's Wild (2017–2019)
- Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (2020–2021)
- The Celebrity Dating Game (2021)
Sitcoms (Comedy Shows)
- The King of Queens (1998–2007)
- Living with Fran (2005–2006)
- Married... with Children (1994–1997)
- That's My Bush! (2001)
- Cavemen (2007)
- Rules of Engagement (2007–2013)
- 'Til Death (2006–2010)
- The Goldbergs (2013–2023)
- Dr. Ken (2015–2017)
- One Day at a Time (2017–2020)
- Live in Front of a Studio Audience (2019, 2021)
Dramas (Serious Shows)
- Close to Home (2005–2007)
- The Guardian (2001–2004)
- Joan of Arcadia (2003–2005)
- Las Vegas (2003–2008)
- Party of Five (1994–2000)
- Ray Donovan (2013–2020)
- Insecure (2016–2021)
Reality Shows
- Shark Tank (2014–2020)
- The Gong Show (2017–2018)
See also
In Spanish: Sony Pictures Studios para niños
