Searching for another backlot adventure, Brando and I decided to take a tour of what is now known as the Sony Pictures Studios. The studio has gone through a list of other names though, due to its repetitive buyouts.
In the early 1900’s it went under the name Triangle Film Corporation due to it’s three producers: D.W. Griffith, Thomas Ince, and Mack Sennett. By 1924 it was renamed to something a little more familiar – MGM Studios.
MGM pumped out some serious classics in it’s golden age. Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and Singin’ in the Rain to name a few. But by the mid 1980’s there was an ownerships shuffle which landed the studio in the hands of Sony Pictures. Sony had already bought out Columbia and TriStar Pictures, so the backlot became a hodgepodge/combination of all these studios.
Sony then dropped 100 million renovating the place to it’s current condition. Today, Sony’s backlot is known for having some of the best post-production facilities in the nation, and being home to classic shows like Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.
For anyone seriously interested in this backlot’s complex history:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Pictures_Studios
For anyone seriously bored with all of this text…. please continue.
Before we left on the tour they had many costumes and props on display in the lobby. The one above you may recognize from Spiderman 2.
For anyone that’s seen Men in Black 2:
The Social Network:
Near the entrance of the studio is a massive rainbow (paying tribute to The Wizard of Oz), which was unveiled just this past October.
Snagged this from Huffington Post to give you a better idea of it’s size:
This is one of the quaint walkways Sony uses for any small residential shots they need.
This is Sony’s “city street”. Clearly, Warner Brothers has a bit of a size advantage.
Next we passed by Adam Sandler’s headquarters for “Happy Madison Productions”.
Sandler is apparently known for driving these pimped-out golf carts around the studio.
Taking a step into the sound stage for Jeopardy…
At the time, the stage was under construction for next season, but they moved props and stage pieces to a section for us to gaze upon.
I always wondered what Alex Trebek’s cheat sheet looked like…
After that we went to a small lot where they had parked several cars from recent shows and films. One of which was the car from Breaking Bad…
(For anyone not familiar with Breaking Bad you may want to just skip the next 4-5 pictures. Also… shame on you.)
They also had the winnebago. I was freaking out a little.
Yup… bullet holes and all. They even let us take a peak inside.
We also saw some state-of-the art sound stages where they record the soundtracks to major motion pictures… tragically no pictures where allowed here though, so you’ll just have to use your…
At the end of the tour I took a quick look around the gift shop. I was amused by these Breaking Bad coffee mugs…
Coming up next… a night with the Dodgers!
Canon Goes Everywhere 