Universal Pictures

**Universal City Studios LLC** or **Universal Studios**, doing business as **Universal Pictures** or simply **Universal** is an American film production and film distribution company owned by NBCUniversal, which is a division of Comcast.

Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane, and Jules Brulatour, Universal is the oldest surviving film studio in the United States; the world's fifth oldest after Gaumont, Pathé, Titanus, and Nordisk Film; and the oldest member of Hollywood's "Big Five" studios in terms of the overall film market. Its studios are located in Universal City, California, and its corporate offices are located in New York City.[*citation needed*] In 1962, the studio was acquired by MCA, which was re-launched as NBCUniversal in 2004.

Universal Pictures is a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and was one of the "Little Three" majors during Hollywood's golden age.

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### Formerly

Universal Film Manufacturing Company (1912–1923)Universal Pictures Corporation (1923–1936)Universal Productions, Inc. (1936–1937)Universal Pictures Company, Inc. (1937–1963)Universal Pictures, Inc. (1963–1990)Universal Studios, Inc. (1990–2014)

### Founder(s)

Carl LaemmlePat PowersDavid HorsleyWilliam SwansonMark DintenfassCharles BaumannRobert H. CochraneAdam KesselJules Brulatour

### Headquarters

10 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, United States

### Key people

Donna Langley (Chairman,Universal Filmed Entertainment Group)Peter Cramer (President)

### Divisions

Focus FeaturesIlluminationUniversal Animation StudiosUniversal Pictures Home Entertainment

### Subsidaries

Amblin Partners (minority)Back Lot MusicCarnival FilmsDreamWorks AnimationMakeready (co-backing with Entertainment One only, film and television production company run by Brad Weston)NBCUniversal Entertainment JapanOTL ReleasingRede Telecine (12.5%)United International Pictures (50%)Working Title Films

### Website

universalpictures.comuniversalstudios.com

## Logo

The identity of the film concern Universal is directly related to the name. In English, this word has several basic meanings: “universal” and “universe.” Both are conveyed in the logo. This is an independent world of creative fantasies and dreams, without which humanity cannot exist on planet Earth.

To signify the independence of their MCU, the management chose a custom Universal Serif font for the emblem. Its author is designer Khiam Mincey. The latter uses the same typeface but sans serifs. The color of the logos depends on the place of their application and purpose. For example, in movie splash screens, the emblems are mostly navy blue with gold lettering. And in their usual form, they are black and white.

## Trivia

* This logo was animated and designed by Universal Title and Optical (commonly known as "Universal Title"), who was also responsible for the animation for the Universal Television logos and handled the titles and optical effects for all Universal films and television series until 1990. The globe was hand-painted on a rubber ball by Eyvind Earle, who did the space background and the Van Allen belts as well.

* The 75th anniversary may refer to the anniversary of Universal City Studios' opening in 1915, rather than Universal Pictures itself.
* The studio broadcasts to the entire planet, say the Universal logo.
* Universal is one of the world's first major film studios, alongside Gaumont Film Company, Pathé, Titanus, Nordisk Film and Nikkatsu Corporation, and the very first major film studio in Hollywood. Currently, its logos are credited at the end of every film that is produced by Universal.