Editing Paramount Pictures (section)

===Famous Players–Lasky===
{{Main|Famous Players–Lasky}}

In 1916, Zukor engineered a three-way merger of his Famous Players, the Lasky Company, and Paramount. Zukor and Lasky bought Hodkinson out of Paramount, and merged the three companies into one. The new company Lasky and Zukor founded on June 28, '''[[Famous Players–Lasky]] Corporation''', although it continued to use the name "Paramount", as well. As a result, it became the largest film company at the time with a value of {{US$|12.5|link=yes}}{{nbsp}}million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US-GDP|12.5|1916|r=1}}{{nbsp}}million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}).<ref>{{Cite news|date=June 29, 1916|title=$12,500,000 MERGER OF FILM COMPANIES; Famous Players and Jesse L. Lasky Feature Unite in a New Corporation. ADOLPH ZUKOR, PRESIDENT Consolidate to Meet Present Conditions;- 84 Pictures a Year to be Distributed by Paramount.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1916/06/29/archives/12500000-merger-of-film-companies-famous-players-and-jesse-l-lasky.html|access-date=August 26, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110131413/https://www.nytimes.com/1916/06/29/archives/12500000-merger-of-film-companies-famous-players-and-jesse-l-lasky.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The corporation was able to grow quickly, with Lasky and his partners Goldwyn and DeMille running the production side, Hiram Abrams in charge of distribution, and Zukor making great plans. With only the exhibitor-owned [[First National Pictures|First National]] as a rival, Famous Players–Lasky and its "Paramount Pictures" soon dominated the business.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lasky-company-merges-with-famous-players-later-to-become-paramount|title=Lasky Company merges with Famous Players, later to become Paramount – Jun 28, 1916 – HISTORY.com|work=HISTORY.com|access-date=August 10, 2017|archive-date=August 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810170251/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lasky-company-merges-with-famous-players-later-to-become-paramount|url-status=live}}</ref> The fusion was finalized on November 7, 1916.<ref>{{cite book |title=Federal Trade Commission Decisions, Volume 11 |date=1930 |publisher=United States. Federal Trade Commission |location=Washington, D. C. |page=202 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DQw9V6KsgGgC&dq=paramount+1914+may+15&pg=PA202 |access-date=January 10, 2022 |language=en-US |archive-date=March 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319083254/https://books.google.com/books?id=DQw9V6KsgGgC&dq=paramount+1914+may+15&pg=PA202 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:GrangeLasky-DeMille1913.jpg|thumb|left| Lasky's original studio (a.k.a. "The Barn") as it appeared in the mid-1920s. The Taft building, built in 1923, is visible in the background.]]
Because Zukor believed in stars, he signed and developed many of the leading early stars, including [[Mary Pickford]], [[Marguerite Clark]], [[Pauline Frederick]], [[Douglas Fairbanks]], [[Gloria Swanson]], [[Rudolph Valentino]], and [[Wallace Reid]]. With so many important players, Paramount was able to introduce "[[block booking]]", which meant that an exhibitor who wanted a particular star's films had to buy a year's worth of other Paramount productions. It was this system that gave Paramount a leading position in the 1920s and 1930s, but which led the government to pursue it on [[antitrust]] grounds for more than twenty years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cobbles.com/simpp_archive/ftc-case_into.htm|title=The Famous Players–Lasky Antitrust Case|website=www.cobbles.com|access-date=August 10, 2017|archive-date=August 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806062645/http://www.cobbles.com/simpp_archive/ftc-case_into.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

By the mid-1920s, the old Lasky-DeMille barn property was not big enough to handle all of the studios' West Coast productions.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stephens |first1=E.J. |last2=Christaldi |first2=Michael |last3=Wanamaker |first3=Marc |title=Early Paramount Studios |date=2013 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |location=Mount Pleasant, South Carolina |page=56 |isbn=9781439643679 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hw07BAAAQBAJ&dq=Robert+Brunton+Studios+1926+hollywood+new+york+times&pg=PA54 |access-date=January 22, 2022 |language=en-US |archive-date=March 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319083255/https://books.google.com/books?id=hw07BAAAQBAJ&dq=Robert+Brunton+Studios+1926+hollywood+new+york+times&pg=PA54 |url-status=live }}</ref> On January 5, 1926, Lasky reached an agreement to buy the Robert Brunton Studios, a 26-acre facility owned by United Pictures and located at 5451 Marathon Street, for $1.0{{nbsp}}million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US-GDP|1|1926|r=1}}{{nbsp}}million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.paramount.com/node/7664 |title=1926: THE NEW STUDIO &#124; Paramount Pictures |publisher=Paramount.com |access-date=October 28, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111114001735/http://www.paramount.com/node/7664 |archive-date=November 14, 2011}}</ref> On March 29, the company began an eight-month building program to renovate the existing facilities and erect new ones.<ref>{{cite web |title=Paramount Pictures. Historic Assessment Technical Report (Appendix F) |url=https://planning.lacity.org/eir/Paramount/FEIR/files/App_F.pdf |publisher=Los Angeles City Planning |access-date=January 22, 2022 |location=Los Angeles, California |page=19 |language=en-US |archive-date=January 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122153034/https://planning.lacity.org/eir/Paramount/FEIR/files/App_F.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> On May 8, Lasky finally moved operations from the Sunset and Vine lot to the new building. At present, those facilities are still part of the Paramount Pictures headquarters. Zukor hired independent producer [[B. P. Schulberg]], an unerring eye for new talent, to run the new West Coast operations.

[[File:Spanish Paramount logo (Distribuida Pela Paramount), circa 1929.ogv|thumb|left|The logo, with Portuguese captions: ''Distribuida Pela Paramount''.]]
On April 1, 1927, the company name was changed to '''Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation'''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McDonald |first1=Paul |last2=Carman |first2=Emily |last3=Hoyt |first3=Eric |last4=Drake |first4=Philip |title=Hollywood and the Law |date=2019 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |location=London |isbn=9781838716196 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bwn8DwAAQBAJ&dq=Paramount+Famous+Lasky+Corporation+1927+april+change&pg=PT172 |access-date=January 9, 2022 |language=en-UK |archive-date=March 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319083256/https://books.google.com/books?id=bwn8DwAAQBAJ&dq=Paramount+Famous+Lasky+Corporation+1927+april+change&pg=PT172 |url-status=live }}</ref> In September 1927, the Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation studio in Astoria (New York City) was temporarily closed with the objective of equipping it with the technology for the production of [[sound film]]s.<ref name="SilentEra">{{cite web| url=http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/companies/F/famousPlayersLaskyCorp.html| title=Famous Players–Lasky Corporation| publisher=SilentEra.com| access-date=April 16, 2009| archive-date=March 29, 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090329114122/http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/companies/F/famousPlayersLaskyCorp.html| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=PARAMOUNT STUDIOS, BUILDING N0.1 (MAIN BUILDING) |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0977.pdf |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |access-date=January 9, 2022 |location=New York City |page=2 |language=en-US |date=March 14, 1978 |archive-date=November 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119020450/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0977.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In the same year, Paramount began releasing ''[[Inkwell Imps]]'', animated cartoons produced by [[Max Fleischer|Max]] and [[Dave Fleischer]]'s [[Fleischer Studios]] in New York City. The Fleischers, veterans in the animation industry, were among the few animation producers capable of challenging the prominence of [[Walt Disney]]. The Paramount newsreel series [[Paramount News]] ran from 1927 to 1957. Paramount was also one of the first Hollywood studios to release what were known at that time as "talkies", and in 1929, released their first musical, ''[[Innocents of Paris]]''. [[Richard A. Whiting]] and [[Leo Robin]] composed the score for the film; [[Maurice Chevalier]] starred and sang the most famous song from the film, "[[Louise (Maurice Chevalier song)|Louise]]".

====Publix, Balaban and Katz, Loew's competition and wonder theaters====
The driving force behind Paramount's rise was Zukor. He built a chain of nearly 2,000 screens, ran two production studios (in [[Astoria, New York]], now the [[Kaufman Astoria Studios]], and [[Hollywood, California]]), and became an early investor in radio, acquiring for the corporation a 50% interest in the new [[CBS|Columbia Broadcasting System]] in 1928 (selling it within a few years; this would not be the last time Paramount and CBS crossed paths).

By acquiring the successful [[Balaban & Katz]] chain in 1926, Zukor gained the services of [[Barney Balaban]] (who would eventually become Paramount's president in 1936), his brother [[A. J. Balaban]] (who would eventually supervise all stage production nationwide and produce talkie shorts), and their partner Sam Katz (who would run the Paramount-Publix theatre chain in New York City from the thirty-five-story Paramount Theatre Building on [[Times Square]]).

[[File:Publix theatre Indiana Repertory Theatre.jpg|thumb|Detail of Publix Theatre logo on what is now [[Indiana Repertory Theatre]]]]
Balaban and Katz had developed the Wonder Theater concept, first publicized around 1918 in Chicago. The Chicago Theater was created as a very ornate theater and advertised as a "wonder theater". When Publix acquired Balaban, they embarked on a project to expand the wonder theaters, and starting building in New York City in 1927. While Balaban and Public were dominant in Chicago, [[Loew's]] was the big player in New York City, and did not want the Publix theaters to overshadow theirs. The two companies brokered a non-competition deal for New York City and Chicago, and Loew's took over the New York City area projects, developing five [[Loew's Wonder Theaters|wonder theaters]]. Publix continued Balaban's wonder theater development in its home area.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Kings Is Dead! Long Live the Kings! |date=March 11, 2007 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/11/realestate/11SCAP.html?pagewanted=all |last=Gray |first=Christopher |access-date=December 9, 2013 |work=The New York Times |department=Real Estate / Streetscapes |archive-date=December 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213095239/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/11/realestate/11SCAP.html?pagewanted=all |url-status=live }}</ref>

On April 24, 1930, Paramount-Famous Lasky Corporation became the '''Paramount Publix Corporation'''.<ref>{{cite news |title=PARAMOUNT CHANGES NAME; To Be Known Hereafter as the Paramount Publix Corporation. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/04/25/archives/paramount-changes-name-to-be-known-hereafter-as-the-paramount.html |access-date=January 9, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=April 25, 1930 |page=20 |language=en-US |archive-date=January 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109215014/https://www.nytimes.com/1930/04/25/archives/paramount-changes-name-to-be-known-hereafter-as-the-paramount.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Blair |first1=John M. |last2=Reeside |first2=Arthur |title=Investigation of Concentration of Economic Power |date=1940 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |page=59 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YIRLAQAAMAAJ&dq=paramount+publix+april+1930&pg=RA2-PA59 |access-date=January 9, 2022 |language=en-US |chapter=Appendix I |archive-date=March 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319083257/https://books.google.com/books?id=YIRLAQAAMAAJ&dq=paramount%20publix%20april%201930&pg=RA2-PA59 |url-status=live }}</ref>