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- Paramount Pictures is an original
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- Hollywood landmark. Since 1912,
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- the studio has produced thousands
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- of films and television shows, and
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- is the only major motion picture
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- studio still located in Hollywood.
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- The current 63 acres of sound
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- stages and screening rooms
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- includes such historic sites as
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- the Commissary, the New York
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- streets backlot, the Bronson Gate,
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- and the former sites of RKO and Desilu Studios.
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- The tradition of Paramount movie-making
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- began when Cecil B. DeMille shot the first
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- movie on location in Hollywood. During the
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- twenties, as technological capabilities
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- increased, so did the roster of Paramount
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- stars. The silent film era saw Douglas
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- Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Rudolph Valentino,
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- and Clara Bow become major stars in the
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- newly emerging medium of film. With the
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- rise of films with sound, new stars were
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- born. The Paramount roster included such
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- Hollywood legends as the Marx Brothers,
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- W.C. Fields, Mae West, Cary Grant, Marlene Dietrich, Ernst
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- Lubitsch, Claudette Colbert, Gary Cooper, Fred Astaire, Ginger
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- Rogers, Olivia de Havilland, Gloria Swanson, Burt Lancaster, Bing
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- Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Billy Wilder, Barbara
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- Stanwyck, Dean Martin, and Jerry Lewis. Throughout the years,
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- the Paramount Commissary served as a meeting place for these
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- Hollywood stars, writers, producers and directors. It was used as
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- a rehearsal space for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and is
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- where Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz met in 1940.
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-
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- Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz bought the
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- former RKO studios in the fifties. Desilu
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- was formed, and the television revolution
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- began. Lucy and Desi produced the Star
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- Trek series, Mission Impossible, as well
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- as I Love Lucy. Paramount bought Desilu
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- in 1967 and continued to produce television
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- shows. Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley,
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- The Odd Couple, The Brady Bunch and
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- later, Taxi, Family Ties and Cheers were
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- all filmed at Paramount. The tradition of
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- excellence continues with hits such as Frasier and Star Trek
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- Voyager, currently in production on the lot.
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- The standard of excellence for Paramount Pictures continued into
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- the seventies, when the studio released The Godfather Trilogy.
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- Scenes from the Godfather were shot on the New York street
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- backlot. Some other hits from the seventies include Love Story,
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- Chinatown, Saturday Night Fever and Grease.
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- The Studio expanded in 1993 when Paramount built a seven
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- million-dollar state of the art theatre. The Paramount Theatre is
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- used for premieres and screenings of some modern hits such
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- as Forrest Gump, Braveheart and Titanic. Paramount�s motto has
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- remained true throughout the years - "If it�s a Paramount Picture,
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- it�s the best show in town."