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54-952: Showcase Cinemas is a movie theater chain owned and operated by National Amusements . It operates in the United States , Brazil (under the name UCI Cinemas ), the United Kingdom , and Argentina . Showcase operates a total of 18 theaters in the United States: ten in the Greater Boston area within Massachusetts , and a further two in Rhode Island ; five in the New York City suburbs; and one in Springdale, Ohio . These theaters operate under

108-659: A True Grit remake, reaching the biggest box office totals in the storied careers of Martin Scorsese and the Coen Brothers , respectively. In addition, during Grey's tenure, Paramount launched its own worldwide releasing arm, Paramount Pictures International , and has released acclaimed films such as An Inconvenient Truth , Up in the Air , and There Will Be Blood . He also purchased Blockbuster Entertainment , which included Aaron Spelling 's production company and

162-475: A United States Army Signal Corps training program at Arlington Hall for Japanese translators and cryptanalysts , positions in need during World War II ; Redstone would be among Reischauer's students following the professor to Arlington Hall. Enlisting in the United States Army , Redstone became a second lieutenant in 1944 before being promoted to first lieutenant . He worked with a team at

216-401: A 72% stake in the then-named Entercom as of the spin-off. Sumner Redstone Sumner Murray Redstone ( né Rothstein ; May 27, 1923 – August 11, 2020) was an American billionaire businessman and media magnate . He was the founder and chairman of the second incarnation of Viacom , chairman of CBS Corporation (both companies merged in 2019 , a year before Redstone's death), and

270-550: A 9.7% equity stake and 79.9% voting interest in Paramount Global , and used to operate its predecessors, the second CBS Corporation and the second Viacom before their closure in 2019, both split from the also defunct First Viacom . The company may hold an unspecified stake in Audacy, Inc. , as part of the reverse Morris trust that spun CBS's radio assets off to that company; CBS Corporation shareholders overall held

324-590: A CBS O&O through a merger with Westinghouse four years before Viacom and CBS merged, and WSBK UPN 38 in Redstone's hometown, Boston. In 2023 the book Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Hollywood Media Empire was published in Cornerstone Press ( Penguin Books ), written by James B. Stewart and Rachel Abrams. The book tells the story of the Redstone dynasty. A longtime Democratic supporter, with

378-435: A chain of movie theaters in the region. In 1959, when the founder's son Sumner Redstone joined the company, it was renamed National Amusements, the present name. On June 10, 1987, the company became the majority owner of the original incarnation of Viacom , a former CBS subsidiary syndicating television programs to stations around the United States . Since the buyout, Viacom continued to expand through purchases from

432-630: A clerk with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit , a job that then paid $ 43 per week. While employed by the Ninth Circuit, Redstone also taught labor law courses in the evenings at University of San Francisco School of Law . Beginning in 1948, Redstone joined the United States Department of Justice Tax Division as a staff attorney with the appellate tax division, in the immediate aftermath of

486-467: A controversy over a story by Rather on 60 Minutes II about then-President George W. Bush 's military service . The New York Court of Appeals dismissed the case in 2009. Redstone's trusts made it clear that his daughter, Shari Redstone (vice-chairwoman of the board of Viacom and CBS as well as president of National Amusements), was set to assume his role upon his death. However, a November 22, 2006, New York Times article indicated that Redstone

540-441: A four-month hostile takeover , Redstone won voting control of Viacom for $ 3.4 billion on March 4, 1987. Redstone's next acquisition was Paramount Communications (previously Gulf+Western ), parent of Paramount Pictures , in 1994. Engaging in a bidding war with QVC president Barry Diller and TCI president John Malone , Redstone had to raise his bid at least three times from $ 7.5 billion to $ 10.1 billion. Some analysts at

594-413: A history of donating to many Democratic campaigns, including regular donations to Ted Kennedy , John Kerry , and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle , Redstone endorsed Republican George W. Bush over Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election , allegedly because he argued that Bush would be better for his company and the economy. Despite this public endorsement, he donated money to Kerry during

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648-411: A huge library of films, much of which has been merged into Paramount Pictures. Blockbuster has now been spun off into its independent entity. Redstone acquired CBS Corporation in 2000 and then spun it off as a separate company in 2005, taking with it all of Paramount's television shows and catalog. In December 2005, Paramount agreed to buy DreamWorks SKG for an estimated $ 1.6 billion. The acquisition

702-444: A lawsuit alleging that Redstone was mentally incompetent. The judge stated it was "not in dispute that Redstone suffers from either mild or moderate dementia." In addition, his speech was severely impaired due to a bout with aspiration pneumonia in 2014. Two weeks later, another such lawsuit was filed in Massachusetts . At the time of his death, Redstone owned over seventy percent of the voting interest of ViacomCBS. ViacomCBS

756-508: A merger with Redstone. On September 7, 1999, Redstone and Karmazin announced that Viacom would buy CBS for $ 37.3 billion, at the time the biggest media merger of the twentieth century; the newly merged Viacom/CBS would become the second largest media company behind Time Warner . Viacom had a wide range of assets such as the CBS and UPN broadcast networks; cable television networks including MTV , VH1 , Nickelodeon , Comedy Central , and BET ;

810-723: A process in which Skydance will acquire National Amusements for $ 2.4 billion, pay Paramount's Class A and Class B stockholders $ 4.5 billion in cash and shares, and then perform an all-stock merger between Paramount and Skydance. The company operates more than 1,500 movie screens across the Northeastern United States , the United Kingdom , and Latin America under its Showcase Cinemas , Showcase Cinema de Lux, Multiplex Cinemas, and Cinema de Lux . In Canada , National Amusements, through its 1994 acquisition of Viacom, also owned Famous Players ; individual cinemas from

864-491: The Northeastern United States (with the exception of one location in Ohio). The following year, National Amusements planned to sell $ 390 million of notes to refinance a large part of the company's bank owed debt. In 2019, it was announced that the multinational media conglomerates controlled by National Amusements — Viacom and CBS Corporation — would re-merge to form a new company named ViacomCBS. Viacom and CBS announced that

918-596: The Signals Intelligence Service that decoded Japanese messages. Despite leaving Harvard for the military, Redstone had completed enough credits that Harvard granted his Bachelor of Arts in the class of 1944 with a concentration in classics and government. After his military service, he attended Georgetown University Law Center before transferring to Harvard Law School and receiving his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1947. After completing law school, Redstone moved to San Francisco to become

972-585: The majority owner and chairman of the National Amusements theater chain. Until his death, Redstone was a majority voting shareholder of the media conglomerate ViacomCBS , the parent company of the Paramount Pictures film studio, the CBS television network, and various cable networks . According to Forbes , as of April 2020, he was worth US$ 2.6 billion. Redstone was formerly

1026-716: The pay television network Showtime , radio ( Infinity Broadcasting , which produced the Howard Stern radio shows ), Paramount Pictures , Paramount Television , and King World Productions . After CBS and Viacom split in 2005, Redstone remained chairman of both companies, but two separate CEOs were appointed for each company, Les Moonves for CBS and Tom Freston for Viacom . In 2007, former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather sued CBS and other parties such as Redstone in New York state court for breach of contract after CBS declined to renew his contract following

1080-921: The 1954 U.S. Supreme Court case Holland v. United States , Redstone represented the plaintiffs, a married couple of hotel owners convicted of tax evasion following a sudden rise in their net worth. Although the court would uphold their conviction, Redstone's argument that the government had the burden of proof in proving tax evasion in unusual increases in net worth would later become Internal Revenue Service policy. In 1954, he joined his father's theater chain Northeast Theatre Corporation, which then had fourteen drive-in theaters in five eastern states. The Redstone family re-incorporated Northeast Theatre Corporation and their other businesses as National Amusements in 1959 to access more money to finance expansion; Redstone would invest nearly $ 18,000 in stock and be named vice president. In 1964, Redstone

1134-449: The CBS merger (Viacom was a spin-off company of CBS to syndicate its programs, and the subsidiary bought the parent almost 30 years later). Succession creator Jesse Armstrong has stated that Redstone's biography A Passion to Win was an influence in creating the series. Viacom's broadcasting properties at the time of A Passion to Win ' s release included several radio stations and two TV stations: WBZ CBS 4 , which had just become

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1188-691: The Supreme Court case United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. when the government was actively combating anti-competitive practices among Paramount Pictures and other major film studios. After two years with the Justice Department, Redstone followed his supervisors to private practice in 1950. Then in 1951, Redstone became a partner of the firm Ford, Bergson, Adams, Borkland, & Redstone with two of his former Justice Department supervisors Herbert Bergson and Herbert Borkland, along with former Deputy Attorney General Peyton Ford . In

1242-562: The United Kingdom. National Amusements The company owns 71 theaters and 689 screens throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, and Latin America under several brands, such as Showcase Cinemas , Multiplex Cinemas, and Cinema de Lux. It is the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global . National Amusements was founded by Michael Redstone , and later passed to his son Sumner Redstone . After his 2020 death,

1296-481: The band the Electric Barbarellas . In the message, Redstone tells the reporter that "we're not going to kill" the source, adding "We just want to talk to him". The 87-year-old Redstone also told the reporter he would be "well rewarded and well protected" if he would reveal the source. Peter Lauria told NBC's Today show he would not do it. Viacom Inc. spokesman, Carl Folta confirmed to Today that it

1350-742: The brands Showcase Cinemas, Cinema de Lux, and (in the sole case of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts ) Showcase SuperLux. Several now-shuttered locations in New York City formerly operated under the name Multiplex Cinemas. The Cinema de Lux brand was established in 2008 to denote locations that offered in-theater dining options and full bars with seat delivery service. All locations are wheelchair accessible and offer assistance devices for hearing- and sight-impaired customers. Internationally, Showcase operates 8 theaters in Argentina, 29 in Brazil, and 16 in

1404-535: The company was passed to a trust led by his daughter Shari Redstone . After nearly 90 years of control by the Redstone family, in July 2024, David Ellison 's Skydance Media announced its intent to acquire National Amusements and perform an all-stock merger between it and Paramount Global. The company was founded by Michael Redstone in 1936 in the Boston suburb of Dedham as Northeast Theater Corporation , operating

1458-446: The digital/online arena, lack of contact with investors, and a lackluster upfront (coupled with falling viewership) at MTV Networks . In February 2016, at age 92, after a court-ordered examination by a geriatric psychiatrist whose findings were not publicly disclosed, Redstone relinquished the chairmanship of CBS to Moonves and the chairmanship of Viacom to Dauman. In May 2016, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Cowan dismissed

1512-839: The early 1980s. As a hedge against slow growth in movie theaters, Redstone began buying stock in Viacom International in 1985. Viacom spun off from CBS in 1971 after the FCC ruled at the time that television networks could not syndicate their own programs. Viacom initially syndicated CBS network shows such as Gunsmoke , Hawaii Five-O , and I Love Lucy . Viacom also owned MTV Networks (formerly known as Warner-AMEX Satellite Entertainment), which owned MTV and Nickelodeon . In addition, other properties included pay television networks Showtime and The Movie Channel . Viacom acquired MTV Networks in 1985 for $ 550 million from Steve Ross ' Warner Communications . After

1566-608: The early 1990s to the early 2000s, announcing plans to merge with Paramount Communications (formerly Gulf+Western ), parent of Paramount Pictures , in 1993 (which closed in 1994), buying the Blockbuster Video chain in 1994, merging with the original CBS Corporation in 2000, and acquiring BET Holdings (which became BET Media Group ) in 2001. In March 2005, due to Viacom's declining stock price, National Amusements announced that it would split its media subsidiary into two companies that would remain under its control, which

1620-512: The end of 2008, due to financial troubles, owners Sumner Redstone and Shari Redstone sold $ 400 million of nonvoting shares in National Amusements. In October 2009, the company sold almost $ 1 billion of its interest in the stock of CBS and Viacom and sold 35 theaters to Rave Motion Pictures . Today these theatres are owned by Cinemark , AMC , Alamo, or have closed. National Amusements now almost exclusively operates theaters in

1674-446: The executive chairman of both CBS and Viacom. In February 2016, at age 92, Redstone resigned both chairmanships following a court-ordered examination by a geriatric psychiatrist . He was ultimately succeeded by Les Moonves at CBS and Philippe Dauman at Viacom. Redstone was born Sumner Murray Rothstein in 1923 in Boston to Belle (née Ostrovsky) and Michael Rothstein . Sumner was a second-generation Bostonian; his father Michael

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1728-532: The first Star Wars film in 1977, Redstone directed National Amusements to buy a five percent stake in 20th Century Fox , distributor of Star Wars . Having bought Fox for $ 8 a share, National Amusements sold Fox at $ 60 after Marvin Davis bought the company. National Amusements' other investments in Columbia Pictures , Orion Pictures , and Paramount Pictures also had large returns on investment in

1782-487: The merger would close on December 4; following the official close, the company began trading on the NASDAQ the following day. In 2022, the company was renamed Paramount Global . Sumner Redstone , who was National Amusements' chairman, CEO and owner, died on August 11, 2020. His holdings were transferred to a trust led by his daughter Shari Redstone . In January 2024, it was reported that film producer David Ellison

1836-645: The name change, friends of the family attribute it more to Sumner. "Red stone" is the translation of the Yiddish name Rothstein. Michael Rothstein owned Northeast Theater Corporation in Dedham, Massachusetts , the forerunner of National Amusements , and the Boston branch of the Latin Quarter Nightclub . As a teenager, Sumner had summer jobs at his father's theaters but "had higher aspirations than

1890-530: The now-defunct chain are now owned by Cineplex Entertainment and Landmark Cinemas . In 2004, National Amusements acquired the Brazilian operations to cinema chain UCI, and revamped them so they could be more in line with their Showcase chain. They also share some of the corporate identities of Showcase and have XPlus & De Lux rooms in selected cinemas, as well as fully reclining seats. National Amusements owns

1944-492: The primaries. Redstone contributed over $ 150 million to various philanthropic causes. Redstone married Phyllis Gloria Raphael on July 4, 1947. They had two children: Brent Redstone and Shari Redstone . In 1999, they divorced when Phyllis Raphael served Sumner Redstone a 3 billion dollar divorce lawsuit which accused the mogul of adultery and cruelty. Sumner was seen with Hollywood producer Christine Peters in Paris and

1998-502: The second incarnation of Viacom. On September 5, 2006, Redstone removed Freston as president and CEO of Viacom and replaced him with director and former Viacom counsel Philippe Dauman . Redstone also brought back former CFO Tom Dooley. This was surprising to many, as Freston had been seen by many as Redstone's heir apparent, and Redstone had touted that Freston would run the company after he retired. Redstone publicly stated that he let Freston go because of Viacom's lack of aggressiveness in

2052-535: The studio lot the Sumner Redstone Building in a dedication ceremony attended by employees of Paramount Pictures and Viacom. One of Redstone's largest acquisitions came in the form of Viacom's former parent, CBS. After the FCC modified regulations in 1999 to allow companies to own two television stations in the same media market, CBS president and former Viacom President and COO Mel Karmazin proposed

2106-557: The team of Jonathan Dolgen and Sherry Lansing in 2004. After arriving at Paramount in 2005, chairman and chief executive officer Brad Grey led a return to fortune at the box office. He oversaw the creation or revitalization of several major franchises, including Transformers , Star Trek and Paranormal Activity . Paramount also forged productive relationships with top-tier filmmakers and talent including J. J. Abrams , Michael Bay and Martin Scorsese . The 2010 Paramount slate achieved much success with Shutter Island and

2160-462: The tens of millions of gifts that Redstone gave her", and "the wide-ranging agreement ends all litigation between the two sides, who have been battling in the courts since the fall of 2015 when Redstone kicked Herzer out of his Beverly Hills mansion, replaced her as his health-care agent and wrote her out of his estate planning." On August 11, 2020, Redstone died at his home in Los Angeles at

2214-539: The then-still-somewhat-déclassé world of theaters," wrote Keach Hagey. Redstone attended the Boston Latin School , from which he graduated in 1940 first in his class, and was accepted to Harvard College on scholarship. Among his coursework at Harvard was a Japanese course taught by Professor Edwin O. Reischauer , recommended to him by college administrators based on his study of Latin and Greek in high school. In 1943, Reischauer left Harvard to establish

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2268-614: The time estimated that Redstone overpaid by billions, and Viacom would accrue nearly $ 10 billion in debt after acquiring Paramount. However, the sale of certain assets such as Madison Square Garden to Cablevision and Simon & Schuster for $ 4.6 billion to Pearson PLC would eventually help Viacom improve financially, with its stock price in 1998 approaching $ 60, breaking its 1995 record high. Under Redstone's leadership, Paramount produced such popular, award-winning films as Saving Private Ryan , Titanic , Braveheart , Forrest Gump , and Mission: Impossible . Redstone replaced

2322-595: Was Redstone's voice on the message and said he had made a mistake. A Viacom source told the New York Post , "Sumner wants to be consequential. Sumner is really proud of what he did. This guy is loving it… He likes people to know he's still alive". In August 2015, Redstone split with his live-in girlfriend, Sydney Holland, after five years together. In January 2019, Redstone and his family settled with his former live-in companion Manuela Herzer. According to MarketWatch , "Herzer agreed to pay back $ 3.25 million of

2376-544: Was born in Boston in 1902 to Galician Jewish parents originally from Kozova , a shtetl in Austro-Hungarian land now in Ukraine . His mother Bella was also an American-born child of Jewish immigrants; her parents emigrated to the U.S. from Kyiv early in the 20th century. In 1940, at Sumner's behest, his father changed the family surname from "Rothstein" to "Redstone"; although Sumner credited his father for

2430-475: Was completed on December 31. The original Viacom became the second CBS Corporation as it kept CBS , Simon & Schuster , and Paramount Network Television (now CBS Studios ), among other assets, while MTV Networks , BET Media Group, and Paramount Pictures were spun-off to a sister company under the Viacom name. The second iterations of Viacom and CBS Corporation commenced trading on January 3, 2006. At

2484-477: Was completed on February 1, 2006. Subsequent financing brought Viacom's investment down to $ 700 million. The animation studio, DreamWorks Animation , was not included in the deal as it has been its own company since late 2004. However, Paramount had the rights to distribute films by DreamWorks Animation until 2013. On June 1, 2012, Paramount Pictures renamed the Administration Building on

2538-567: Was controlled by Redstone through National Amusements. Redstone sold his holdings of Midway Games , of over 89 percent, in December 2008. Redstone's autobiography, A Passion to Win (co-written with author Peter Knobler ), was published in 2001 by Viacom's Simon & Schuster . This book details Redstone's life from a young boy in Boston to the difficult takeover of Viacom and the problems he overcame in purchasing and managing both Blockbuster Video and Paramount Pictures. The book also recounts

2592-550: Was elected president of the Theater Owners of America, which would merge with a rival group to form the National Association of Theatre Owners , for which Redstone became chairman in 1965. Redstone became CEO of National Amusements in 1967. The company had 93 theater screens (52 drive-ins and 41 indoor) when Redstone took office; within 10 years, National Amusements had nearly 250 screens. After watching

2646-550: Was finalized on January 22, 2009. Redstone owned a house in the Beverly Park area of Los Angeles , which he purchased in 2002 for $ 14.5 million. On March 29, 1979, he suffered severe burns in a fire at the Copley Plaza hotel, in Boston, but survived after 30 hours of extensive surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital . Though he was warned that he might never be able to live a normal life again, eight years later he

2700-525: Was fit enough to insist on playing tennis nearly every day and to launch a hostile takeover of Viacom. Redstone discussed the story of surviving the fire as a reflection of his strong determination and will to live. In July 2010, Redstone was caught on tape trying to find the source of an embarrassing leak within MTV. Redstone offered money and protection to a journalist if he would give up his source. Redstone had been pushing MTV management to give more airtime to

2754-476: Was interested in buying National Amusements from the Redstones. If the acquisition would be closed, the company would be placed under Ellison's Skydance Media . On July 2, it was reported that Skydance had reached a preliminary agreement, and that it had been referred to a special committee of Paramount's board for approval. On July 7, Skydance officially announced its intent to acquire Paramount Global, under

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2808-519: Was number 2 to Karmazin at CBS; he was the former head of Warner Bros. Television and before that, Lorimar Television ) and Co-President and Co-COO Tom Freston (who had been president and CEO of MTV Networks since 1987 and had been with the company since the formation of MTV Networks' precursor company, Warner-AMEX Satellite Entertainment). After the Viacom split was approved by the board on June 14, 2005, Moonves headed CBS Corporation, and Freston headed

2862-543: Was quoted as saying at the time that he "wanted to spend the rest of his life with Christine." As a result of the divorce, Redstone moved to Los Angeles where he continued to romantically pursue Peters. Peters went on to produce the hit romantic comedy How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days in Canada. As Redstone's patience ran out, he married Paula Fortunato, a former primary school teacher 39 years his junior. Redstone filed for divorce from Fortunato on October 17, 2008. Their divorce

2916-713: Was reconsidering his daughter's role. In 2007, they feuded publicly over issues of corporate governance and the future of the cinema chain. Documents were made public which verify that, as part of a settlement from Sumner Redstone's first divorce, all of his stock was in irrevocable trusts that was to be left for his grandchildren. On March 1, 2010, Redstone publicly confirmed that all of his stock would be left for his five grandchildren (Brandon Korff, Kimberlee Korff, Tyler Korff, Keryn Redstone, and Lauren Redstone). Redstone made arrangements to step down as CEO of Viacom in 2006. After Mel Karmazin resigned in 2004, two heirs apparent were named: Co-President and Co-COO Les Moonves (who

#198801