| 1 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_gems_2014.png]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:350:And don't ask if the gems are rubies or diamonds. They're emeralds.]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | Screen Gems is the name of several businesses owned by [[Creator/SonyPictures Sony]]/Creator/ColumbiaPictures over the film studio's history. |
| 5 | |
| 6 | The original incarnation of Screen Gems was founded in 1940, as an in-house animation unit for Columbia, taking over from the outsourced work from Charles Mintz's studio (though the name dated back to the mid 1920s, as Columbia's slogan of the time, "Gems of the Screen"; this was itself a reference to a popular song, "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean"). It lasted until 1946 (although its product kept coming out as late as 1949). For more information on this era, see Creator/ColumbiaCartoons. |
| 7 | |
| 8 | Columbia wasn't done with the Screen Gems name yet, however. In 1948, two years after the name was stripped of its cartoon studio status, the name returned to use as the name for Columbia's television unit. It started off distributing Columbia films on TV, but later began making its own series, such as ''Series/TheDonnaReedShow'', ''Series/{{Bewitched}}'', ''Series/IDreamOfJeannie'', ''Series/TheMonkees'' and ''Series/ThePartridgeFamily''. It also distributed most of the early shows from Creator/HannaBarbera (most notably ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones''). During this time, Screen Gems gave birth to its iconic {{Vanity Plate}}s. The first came to be known as the Dancing Sticks, a collection of animated straight lines of different colors. The second was the S filmstrip. The version used during this era was notorious for being NightmareFuel, giving it the nickname, the "S From Hell". |
| 9 | |
| 10 | The big reason for the Screen Gems name being used for Columbia's TV shows was because the then-new novelty had a negative stigma from the then-floundering movie studios, most of which wanted no part in the potentially threatening medium; before Columbia, only [[Creator/{{Paramount}} Paramount Pictures]] had actually dipped its toes into the novelty. For that reason, they used a different name to obscure the relationship to the movie studio; [[Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios Twentieth Century Fox]] did a similar thing by calling their TV department "TCF Television Productions, Inc." until 1958. However, by 1974, virtually all of the fear of TV by the studios had been dead for almost two decades, and they had made their own TV production departments (and even before then, two of the logos that predated the "S from Hell" featured the Torch Lady herself, making the link with Columbia very obvious, despite the different name). This meant that the Screen Gems name had little purpose anymore, and Columbia decided it was time to retire the Screen Gems name... |
| 11 | |
| 12 | ...that was, until 1999. By this point, Columbia/SPE had given rise to three additional brand names for film production: Creator/TriStarPictures, Triumph Films (by that point relegated to direct-to-video fare), and art-house unit Creator/SonyPicturesClassics. Deciding that three brands wasn't enough, the company decided to revive the Screen Gems name for "films that fall between the wide-release movies traditionally developed and distributed by Columbia Pictures and those released by Sony Pictures Classics," mostly of the action/thriller genre. They are essentially Sony/Columbia's answer to Creator/{{Miramax|Films}}[=/=]Creator/TheWeinsteinCompany's Creator/DimensionFilms. Under this new regime, Screen Gems enjoys a healthy lifestyle, releasing several successful films, including the ''Film/{{Underworld|2003}}'' series and [[Film/ResidentEvilFilmSeries films]] based on ''Franchise/ResidentEvil''. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | Thanks to its successes, it can be assured that the Screen Gems name is back and here to stay. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | There's also the matter of ''EUE/Screen Gems'' -- back in 1959, Columbia purchased EUE, one of the first production companies devoted entirely to creating TV commercials. This unit was then merged into Screen Gems, becoming known as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EUE/Screen_Gems EUE/Screen Gems]]. Under Columbia ownership, EUE/Screen Gems expanded from commercial production into the just-as-lucrative field of owning and renting studio facilities for films and television. After Columbia was bought by Coca-Cola in the early 1980s, longtime division head George Cooney purchased the EUE assets and turned it into a separate company (albeit still using the Screen Gems name and logo); as an independent company, EUE/Screen Gems is one of the biggest names when it comes to studio space, filming and the infrastructure necessary to create media (owning studios in Miami, Atlanta and Wilmington, NC; the latter was previously Dino De Laurentiis' studio lot, then got purchased by Creator/CarolcoPictures after DEG went under...then passed into EUE's hands after Carolco themselves went under). |
| 17 | |
| 18 | ---- |
| 19 | !!Notable films released by Screen Gems (for products from the past two eras, see Creator/ColumbiaCartoons and Creator/ColumbiaPictures): |
| 20 | [[index]] |
| 21 | * ''Film/AboutLastNight'' (2014) |
| 22 | * ''Film/AnacondasTheHuntForTheBloodOrchid'' (2004) |
| 23 | * ''Film/ArlingtonRoad'' (1999) |
| 24 | * ''Film/{{Armored}}'' (2009) |
| 25 | * ''Film/AttackTheBlock'' (2011) |
| 26 | * ''Film/BattleOfTheYear'' (2013) |
| 27 | * ''Film/{{Black and White|1999}}'' (1999) |
| 28 | * ''[[Film/Boogeyman2005 Boogeyman]]'' (2005) |
| 29 | * ''Film/{{Brightburn}}'' (2019) |
| 30 | * ''Film/TheBrothersSolomon'' (2007) |
| 31 | * ''Film/{{Burlesque}}'' (2010) |
| 32 | * ''Film/{{Carrie|2013}}'' (2013) |
| 33 | * ''Film/TheCave'' (2005) |
| 34 | * ''Film/CountryStrong'' (2010) |
| 35 | * ''Film/TheCovenant'' (2006) |
| 36 | * ''Film/DeliverUsFromEvil'' (2014) |
| 37 | * ''Film/DearJohn'' (2010) |
| 38 | * ''Film/DeathAtAFuneral'' (2010) |
| 39 | * ''[[Film/{{DEBS}} D.E.B.S.]]'' (2004) |
| 40 | * ''Film/DontBreathe'' (2016) |
| 41 | ** ''Film/DontBreathe2'' (2021) |
| 42 | * ''Film/EasyA'' (2010) |
| 43 | * ''Film/TheExorcismOfEmilyRose'' (2005) |
| 44 | * ''Film/FiredUp'' (2009) |
| 45 | * ''Film/FirstSunday'' (2008) |
| 46 | * ''Film/TheForsaken'' (2001) |
| 47 | * ''Film/FriendsWithBenefits'' (2011) |
| 48 | * ''Film/GhostsOfMars'' (2001) |
| 49 | * ''Film/{{Girlfight}}'' (2000) |
| 50 | * ''Film/{{The Grudge|2020}}'' (2020) |
| 51 | * ''Film/HalfPastDead'' (2002) |
| 52 | * ''Film/{{Hostel}}'' (2005) |
| 53 | * ''Film/InTheCut'' (2003) |
| 54 | * ''Film/{{Insidious}}'': ''The Red Door'' (2023) |
| 55 | * ''Film/KeepWatching'' (2017) |
| 56 | * ''Film/LakeviewTerrace'' (2008) |
| 57 | * ''Film/{{Legion}}'' (2010) |
| 58 | * ''Film/LoneStarStateOfMind'' (2002) |
| 59 | * ''Film/LoveAgain'' (2023) |
| 60 | * ''Film/{{The Machine|2023}}'' (2023) |
| 61 | * ''Film/TheMedallion'' (2003) |
| 62 | * ''Film/TheMessengers'' (2007) |
| 63 | * ''Film/{{Missing|2023}}'' (2023) |
| 64 | * ''Film/MonsterHunter2020'' (2020) |
| 65 | * ''Film/TheMortalInstrumentsCityOfBones'' (2013) |
| 66 | * ''Film/TheMothmanProphecies'' (2002) |
| 67 | * ''Film/NickAndNorahsInfinitePlaylist'' (2008; with Creator/LionsGate) |
| 68 | * ''Film/{{No Good Deed|2014}}'' (2014) |
| 69 | * ''Film/{{Obsessed}}'' (2009) |
| 70 | * ''Film/ThePerfectGuy'' (2015) |
| 71 | * ''Film/ThePopesExorcist'' (2023) |
| 72 | * ''Film/PrideAndPrejudiceAndZombies'' (2016) |
| 73 | * ''Film/{{Priest|2011}}'' (2011) |
| 74 | * ''Film/{{Prom Night|2008}}'' (2008) |
| 75 | * ''Film/{{Quarantine|2008}}'' (2008) |
| 76 | * Franchise/ResidentEvil: |
| 77 | ** ''Film/ResidentEvilFilmSeries'': |
| 78 | *** ''Film/{{Resident Evil|2002}}'' (2002) |
| 79 | *** ''Film/ResidentEvilApocalypse'' (2004) |
| 80 | *** ''Film/ResidentEvilExtinction'' (2007) |
| 81 | *** ''Film/ResidentEvilAfterlife'' (2010) |
| 82 | *** ''Film/ResidentEvilRetribution'' (2012) |
| 83 | *** ''Film/ResidentEvilTheFinalChapter'' (2016) |
| 84 | ** ''Film/ResidentEvilWelcomeToRaccoonCity'' (2021) |
| 85 | * ''Film/TheRoommate'' (2011) |
| 86 | * ''Film/{{Searching}}'' (2018) |
| 87 | * ''Film/{{Slackers}}'' (2002) |
| 88 | * ''Film/SlenderMan'' (2018) |
| 89 | * ''Film/{{Snatch}}'' (2000) |
| 90 | * ''Film/TheStepfather'' (2009) |
| 91 | * ''Film/StompTheYard'' (2007) |
| 92 | * ''Film/{{Straw Dogs|2011}}'' (2011) |
| 93 | * ''Film/SweptAway'' (2002) |
| 94 | * ''Film/{{Takers}}'' (2010) |
| 95 | * ''Film/ThinkLikeAMan'' (2012) |
| 96 | * ''Film/ThisChristmas'' (2007) |
| 97 | * ''Film/TwoCanPlayThatGame'' (2001) |
| 98 | * ''Film/Ultraviolet2006'' (2006) |
| 99 | * The ''Film/{{Underworld|2003}}'' franchise (2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2016) |
| 100 | * ''Film/{{Untraceable}}'' (2008) |
| 101 | * ''Film/{{Vacancy}}'' (2007) |
| 102 | * ''Film/TheVow'' (2012) |
| 103 | * ''Film/TheWeddingRinger'' (2015) |
| 104 | * ''Film/WhenAStrangerCalls'' (2006 remake) |
| 105 | * ''Film/WhenTheBoughBreaks'' (2016) |
| 106 | * ''Film/YouGotServed'' (2004) |
| 107 | |
| 108 | [[/index]] |
| 109 | ---- |
| 110 | !!Tropes applying to their oeuvre and the company: |
| 111 | * CriticProof: While many of their films get negatively panned by critics and audiences, and NotScreenedForCritics, the box office gross can be more successful. Some films like ''Don't Breathe'' and ''Searching'' are the exception, while [[SleeperHit their box office performances are very high]]. |
| 112 | * LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek: Obviously for the notorious case, such as the thriller films. |
| 113 | * NotScreenedForCritics: Exactly. |
| 114 | * ProductionPosse: Not only was former Screen Gems exclusive Glenn S. Gainor mostly involved in the company films, but he also served as unit production manager often. |
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