Media Studies

1. Launched in 1998 as the Columbia Tristar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony. Its divisions at that time
were Columbia Pictures, Tristar Pictures, Triumph Film, Sony Pictures Classic and Sony Pictures
Releasing. In October 2013 its motion picture group was renamed to “Sony Pictures Motion Pictures
Group”. Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks were moved from Sony Pictures Digital
to its motion picture group. In 2014 Doug Belgrad was promoted as president of the SPMPG. On June 2,
2016, he had announced to step down from the post and will transition his role as producer at the studio.
Studio units:
Production: Columbia Pictures, Tristar Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics, Sony Pictures Animation, Screen
Gems, Tristar Productions, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions.
Distribution: Sony Pictures Releasing (International), Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Other: Triumph Films

2. Why would Sony make our film?
The studio has a small number of light-hearted movies, most of the
stories are about violence, destruction and human misdemeanours. This
fits with our plot of problematic human relationships and harm that close
people can cause.
E.g. Sony Pictures 2013 drama about ship crew
members held hostage by Somali pirates

3. What other movies did they make?
Sony Pictures produced hundreds of movies, so I will list only
some of them.
The company’s most known pictures:
Spectre (and the rest Daniel Kraig James Bond movies) The
Social Network, The Da Vinci Code, The Karate Kid, Men in Black
series, Hancock, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, District 9, etc.

4. How does the film fit the ethos of the institution?
Because Sony is a new company in
comparison with the rest of the Big Six (e.g.
Warner Bros - April 1923, Universal Pictures
- April 1912, 20th Century Fox - May 1935) it
proved to be more experimental with its
projects. It is unclear which of their movies
were trusted to first time directors, but they
do a lot to discover new talents. Their SPT
Diverse Directors programme is an example.
It is: “committed to helping talented artists of
diverse backgrounds build TV industry
relationships for a possible career path”.
Therefore there is a chance that the studio
will find our story interesting and give us a
chance to film.

5. How would they market your film?
A big company like Sony would have enough resources
to sufficiently use both traditional and new media. Film,
print, radio and internet would be used to raise
awareness and demand for the product.

6. Do they specialise in a genre?
As any major studio Sony Pictures make all sorts of films, but the majority of
them are thrillers and action. Movies of these genres are the most profitable
since they are the most appealing to the international market.
“Life” - Sony Pictures sci-fi
thriller coming this March

7. Do the studio have a particular target
audience?
All of Sony Pictures movies have the age limit of 15 years, which means that
most of their audience is over eighteen. They made many movies for viewers of
both genders. This fits with our target audience of 17 to 21 year old female.