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122-525: The design of Saint Pablo Tour featured a "first-of-its-kind floating stage" which was composed of a main stage and an auxiliary stage that had an intricate system of pulleys and tracks designed to be connected to the frame of each arena. The floating main stage had lights on the edge as well as on the bottom portion, which would occasionally shine on the audience. The second stage was composed of four rectangular portions which would move and provided ambient light for each song. The stages could then be manipulated to

244-586: A meteor shower in New Jersey . At age 18, Spielberg completed the full-length science fiction film Firelight . Many scenes from Firelight were incorporated in Close Encounters on a shot-for-shot basis. In 1970, he wrote the short story "Experiences" about a lovers' lane in a Midwestern farming community and the "light show" a group of teenagers see in the night sky. In late 1973, after completing work on The Sugarland Express , Spielberg developed

366-402: A perfectionist . Douglas Trumbull was the visual effects supervisor , and Carlo Rambaldi designed the extraterrestrials. Trumbull joked that the visual effects budget of $ 3.3 million could have been used to produce an additional film. His work helped lead to advances in motion control photography . The mothership was designed by Ralph McQuarrie and built by Greg Jein . The look of

488-595: A "chariot of fire", akin to Roy boarding the UFO. Climbing Devils Tower behind the faltering Jillian, Roy exhorts Jillian to keep moving and not to look back, a contrast to Lot's wife , who looked back at Sodom and turned into a pillar of salt. Spielberg explained, "I wanted to make Close Encounters a very accessible story about the everyday individual who has a sighting that overturns his life, and throws it into complete upheaval as he starts to become more and more obsessed with this experience." Roy's wife Ronnie attempts to hide

610-481: A New Dress ," " 30 Hours ," „Gold Digger“ and " All Falls Down ." The architectural website ArchDaily stated: There are few artists, if any, who do as much for the sake of art as Kanye West. ... Kanye West has transformed Stage Design and Performance Architecture, with each live performance now redefining the way we envision and experience the medium, much in the same way his idols, Steve Jobs and Walt Disney , transformed their respective fields. The Yeezus Tour

732-452: A deal with Columbia Pictures for a science-fiction film. 20th Century Fox had previously turned down the offer. Julia and Michael Phillips signed on as producers. Spielberg first considered doing a documentary or low-budget feature film about people who believed in UFOs . He decided "a film that depended on state-of-the-art technology couldn't be made for $ 2.5 million." Borrowing

854-556: A financial stake in Columbia Pictures Industries and Alan Hirschfield was appointed CEO, succeeding Leo Jaffe who became chairman. Stanley Schneider, son of Abe Schneider (who became honorary chairman before leaving the board in 1975) was replaced as head of the Columbia Pictures studio by David Begelman , who reported to Hirschfield. Some years later Begelman was involved in a check-forging scandal that badly hurt

976-498: A flawless wonder, such that it might be the first film ever made" calling it "a tribute to the richness of human imagination" and "as close to a mystical experience as a major film has come, but it's the mysticism of common sense... The movie could have been naive and sentimental—it was inspired by Disney—but Spielberg never relinquishes his practicality and his eye for everyday detail." Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. , commonly known as Columbia Pictures ,

1098-492: A group of United States Navy Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers that went missing over the Bermuda Triangle on December 5, 1945. The planes are in perfect condition, but without any occupants. An elderly witness nearby claims "the sun came out at night, and sang to him". Near Indianapolis , air traffic controllers watch two airline flights narrowly avoid a mid-air collision with an unidentified flying object . At

1220-413: A healthier balance-sheet (due in large part to box office hits like Kramer vs. Kramer , Stir Crazy , The Blue Lagoon , and Stripes ) Columbia was bought by beverage company The Coca-Cola Company on June 22, 1982, for $ 750 million. Studio head Frank Price mixed big hits like Tootsie , Gandhi , The Karate Kid , The Big Chill , and Ghostbusters with many costly flops. To share

1342-538: A live-action feature. Columbia was the last major studio to employ the expensive color process. Columbia's first Technicolor feature was the western The Desperadoes , starring Randolph Scott and Glenn Ford . Cohn quickly used Technicolor again for Cover Girl , a Hayworth vehicle that instantly was a smash hit, released in 1944, and for the fanciful biography of Frédéric Chopin , A Song to Remember , with Cornel Wilde , released in 1945. Another biopic, 1946's The Jolson Story with Larry Parks and Evelyn Keyes ,

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1464-560: A motif for childlike innocence and openness in the face of the unknown. Spielberg also compared the theme of communication as highlighting that of tolerance: "If we can talk to extraterrestrials in Close Encounters of the Third Kind , why not with the Reds in the Cold War ?" Sleeping is the final obstacle to overcome in the ascent of Devils Tower. Roy, Jillian, and a third invitee, Larry Butler, climb

1586-575: A mountain shape, often making models of it. Jillian, meanwhile, also becomes obsessed, sketching the unique mountain image. Soon after, she is terrorized in her home by a UFO which descends from the clouds. She fights off violent attempts by the UFO and unseen beings to enter the home, but in the chaos, Barry is abducted. Lacombe, Laughlin, and a group of United Nations experts continue to investigate increasing UFO activity and strange, related occurrences. Witnesses in Dharamsala , Northern India report that

1708-455: A natural and expected outcome of human development and indication of health and growth. Other critics found a variety of Judeo-Christian analogies. Devils Tower parallels Mount Sinai , the extraterrestrials as God, and Roy Neary as Moses . Cecil B. DeMille 's The Ten Commandments is on television at the Neary household. Some found close relations between Elijah and Roy; Elijah was taken into

1830-511: A new management team was brought in. In 1972, Columbia and Warner Bros. formed a partnership called The Burbank Studios, in which both companies shared the Warner studio lot in Burbank . In 1971, Columbia Pictures established sheet music publisher Columbia Pictures Publications, with vice president and general manager Frank J. Hackinson , who later became the president. In 1973, Allen & Co took

1952-542: A phrase from the ending of The Thing from Another World , he retitled the film Watch the Skies , rewriting the premise concerning Project Blue Book and pitching the concept to Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz . Katz remembered, "It had flying saucers from outer space landing on Robertson Boulevard [in West Hollywood, California ]. I go, Steve, that's the worst idea I ever heard." Spielberg brought Paul Schrader to write

2074-676: A reorganization of the various Columbia Pictures legacy labels (Colpix, Colgems , and Bell), Davis introduced Columbia Pictures' new record division, Arista Records , in November 1974, with Davis himself owning 20% of the new venture. Columbia maintained control of the label until 1979, when it was sold to Ariola Records . In addition, Columbia sold its music publishing business (Columbia-Screen Gems) to EMI in August 1976 for $ 15 million. Both would later be reunited with Columbia Pictures under Sony ownership. In December 1976, Columbia Pictures acquired

2196-445: A rural home outside Muncie, Indiana , three-year-old Barry Guiler wakes to find his toys operating on their own. He starts to follow something outside, forcing his mother, Jillian, to chase after him. Large-scale power outages begin rolling through the area, forcing electric utility lineman Roy Neary to investigate. While he gets his bearings, Roy experiences a close encounter with a UFO, and when it flies over his truck, it lightly burns

2318-514: A total of 34 years, one of the longest tenures of any studio chief ( Warner Bros. ' Jack L. Warner was head of production or CEO longer but did not become CEO until 1956). Even in an industry rife with nepotism, Columbia was particularly notorious for having a number of Harry and Jack's relatives in high positions. Humorist Robert Benchley called it the Pine Tree Studio, "because it has so many Cohns". Brandt eventually tired of dealing with

2440-488: Is an American film production and distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group , a division of Sony Entertainment 's Sony Pictures , which is one of the "Big Five" film studios and a subsidiary of the multinational conglomerate Sony Group Corporation . On June 19, 1918, brothers Jack and Harry Cohn and their business partner Joe Brandt founded

2562-459: Is one of the peerless moments in movie history—spiritually reassuring, magical, and funny at the same time. Very few movies have ever hit upon this combination of fantasy and amusement— The Wizard of Oz , perhaps, in a plainer, down-home way." Jean Renoir compared Spielberg's storytelling to Jules Verne and Georges Méliès . Ray Bradbury declared it the greatest science fiction film ever made. David Thomson wrote that " Close Encounters had

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2684-466: Is the longest version, combining Spielberg's favorite elements from both previous editions but removing the scenes inside the mothership. The film was later remastered in 4K and was then re-released in theaters in 2017 for its 40th anniversary. In the Sonoran Desert , French scientist Claude Lacombe, his American interpreter, cartographer David Laughlin, and other researchers discover Flight 19 ,

2806-771: The Hallroom Boys (the vaudeville duo of Edward Flanagan and Neely Edwards ), and the Charlie Chaplin -imitator Billy West . The start-up CBC leased space in a Poverty Row studio on Hollywood's famously low-rent Gower Street . Among Hollywood's elite, the studio's small-time reputation led some to joke that "CBC" stood for "Corned Beef and Cabbage". CBC was reorganized as Columbia Pictures Corporation by brothers Harry and Jack Cohn and best friend Joe Brandt on January 10, 1924. Harry Cohn became president in 1932 and remained head of production as well, thus concentrating enormous power in his hands. He would run Columbia for

2928-756: The Mickey Mouse cartoon series from 1929 to 1932. The studio is presently headquartered at the Irving Thalberg Building on the former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (currently known as the Sony Pictures Studios ) lot in Culver City, California since 1990. Columbia Pictures is a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA), under Sony Pictures Entertainment, and is currently one of six live-action labels of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group,

3050-597: The 50th Academy Awards , 32nd British Academy Film Awards , the 35th Golden Globe Awards and the 5th Saturn Awards , and has been widely acclaimed by the American Film Institute . In December 2007, it was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry . A Special Edition

3172-562: The Amazon rainforest , but the idea was changed to the Sonoran Desert . Spielberg also took 7.5 minutes out from the preview. The film score was composed, conducted, and produced by John Williams , who had previously worked on Spielberg's Jaws . Williams included the ominous two note phrase of the Jaws theme delivered by the mothership. Williams wrote more than 300 examples of the iconic five-tone motif , to be used by scientists to communicate with

3294-578: The Matt Helm series with Dean Martin . Columbia also produced a James Bond spoof, Casino Royale (1967), in conjunction with Charles K. Feldman , which held the adaptation rights for that novel . By 1966, the studio was suffering from box-office failures, and takeover rumors began surfacing. Columbia was surviving solely on the profits made from Screen Gems, whose holdings also included radio and television stations. On December 23, 1968, Screen Gems merged with Columbia Pictures Corporation and became part of

3416-568: The United States Department of Justice filed an antitrust suit against Kerkorian to block him from holding a stake in Columbia while controlling MGM. On February 19, 1979, Columbia Pictures Television acquired TOY Productions; the production company founded by Bud Yorkin and writers Saul Turteltaub and Bernie Orenstein in 1976. In May, Kerkorian acquired an additional 214,000 shares in Columbia, raising his stake to 25%. On August 2,

3538-423: The visual effects supervisor , while Carlo Rambaldi designed the extraterrestrials. Made on a production budget of US$ 19.4 million , Close Encounters was released in a limited number of cities on November 16 and 23, 1977, and expanded into wide release the following month. It was a critical and financial success, eventually grossing over $ 300 million worldwide. It received numerous awards and nominations at

3660-484: The 1930s, Columbia signed Jean Arthur to a long-term contract, and after The Whole Town's Talking (1935), Arthur became a major comedy star. Ann Sothern 's career was launched when Columbia signed her to a contract in 1936. Cary Grant signed a contract in 1937 and soon after it was altered to a non-exclusive contract shared with RKO . Many theaters relied on westerns to attract big weekend audiences, and Columbia always recognized this market. Its first cowboy star

3782-487: The 1934 Oscars, put Columbia on the map. Until then, Columbia's business had depended on theater owners willing to take its films, since it did not have a theater network of its own. Other Capra-directed hits followed, including the original version of Lost Horizon (1937), with Ronald Colman , and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), which made James Stewart a major star. In 1933, Columbia hired Robert Kalloch to be its chief fashion and women's costume designer. He

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3904-535: The Cohn brothers, and in 1932 sold his one-third stake to Jack and Harry Cohn, who took over from him as president. Columbia's product line consisted mostly of moderately budgeted features and short subjects including comedies, sports films, various serials, and cartoons. Columbia gradually moved into the production of higher-budget fare, eventually joining the second tier of Hollywood studios along with United Artists and Universal . Like United Artists and Universal, Columbia

4026-534: The Government was opposed to the film. If NASA took the time to write me a 20-page letter, then I knew there must be something happening." Early in pre-production, Spielberg hired film title designer Dan Perri to design a logotype . Perri, who had previously worked on The Exorcist (1973) and Taxi Driver (1976), produced a logotype in Handel Gothic typeface, with only a script to work from. Delighted with

4148-580: The Magician (1939), The Shadow (1940), Terry and the Pirates (1940), Captain Midnight (1942), The Phantom (1943), Batman (1943), and the especially successful Superman (1948), among many others. Columbia also produced musical shorts, sports reels (usually narrated by sportscaster Bill Stern ), and travelogues. Its " Screen Snapshots " series, showing behind-the-scenes footage of Hollywood stars,

4270-482: The President of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1959, until his death a year later. Columbia could not afford to keep a huge roster of contract stars, so Jack Cohn usually borrowed them from other studios. At Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , the industry's most prestigious studio, Columbia was nicknamed "Siberia", as Louis B. Mayer would use the loan-out to Columbia as a way to punish his less-obedient signings. In

4392-497: The Schrader/Hill script during post-production on Jaws , reflecting that "they wanted to make it like a James Bond adventure". David Giler performed a rewrite; Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins , friends of Spielberg, suggested the plot device of a kidnapped child . Spielberg then began to write the script. The song " When You Wish upon a Star " from Pinocchio influenced Spielberg's writing style. "I hung my story on

4514-504: The Stooges, Keaton, Charley Chase , Shemp Howard , Joe Besser , and Joe DeRita subjects have been released to home video. Columbia incorporated animation into its studio in 1929, distributing Krazy Kat cartoons, taking over from Paramount . The following year, Columbia took over distribution of the Mickey Mouse series from Celebrity Productions until 1932. In 1933, The Mintz studio

4636-621: The Third Kind by Steven Spielberg . West began the Saint Pablo Tour in Indianapolis , Indiana on August 25, 2016, introducing his new stage design to the public, impressing the attending audience. On October 2, 2016, West cut his performance short at Citi Field in New York City following news of his wife Kim Kardashian being robbed at gunpoint in Paris . Two tour dates were also cancelled

4758-527: The U.S. military converge on Wyoming. The United States Army evacuates the area, planting false reports in the media that a train wreck has spilled a toxic nerve gas, while actually preparing a secret landing zone for the UFOs and their occupants. Meanwhile, Roy's increasingly eccentric behavior causes Ronnie to abandon him, taking their three children with her. When a news program about a supposed train wreck near Devils Tower airs on television, Roy and Jillian recognize

4880-450: The UFO mystery, and it certainly catches the flavor of the phenomenon. Spielberg was under enormous pressure to make another blockbuster after Jaws , but he decided to make a UFO film. He put his career on the line." USAF and NASA declined to cooperate on the film. NASA reportedly sent a twenty-page letter to Spielberg, telling him that releasing the film was dangerous. In an interview, he said: "I really found my faith when I heard that

5002-413: The UFOs make distinctive sounds: a five-tone musical phrase in a pentatonic scale. Scientists broadcast the phrase to outer space, but are mystified by the response, a seemingly meaningless series of numbers (104 44 30 40 36 10) repeated until Laughlin, with his background in cartography , recognizes it as a set of geographical coordinates, which point to Devils Tower near Moorcroft, Wyoming . Lacombe and

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5124-765: The UPA deal was terminated, Columbia distributed the Hanna-Barbera cartoons, including Loopy De Loop from 1959 to 1965, which was Columbia's final theatrical cartoon series. In 1967, the Hanna-Barbera deal expired and was not renewed. According to Bob Thomas' book King Cohn , studio chief Harry Cohn always placed a high priority on serials. Beginning in 1937, Columbia entered the lucrative serial market and kept making these weekly episodic adventures until 1956, after other studios had discontinued them. The most famous Columbia serials are based on comic-strip or radio characters: Mandrake

5246-476: The United States and Canada, and $ 171.7 million in foreign countries, for $ 288 million worldwide. It was the most successful Columbia Pictures film at that time. Released in conjunction with Close Encounters of the Third Kind was a novelization of the film, credited solely to Steven Spielberg but largely ghostwritten by Leslie Waller . Spielberg later explained to Starlog magazine, It

5368-547: The arcade game company D. Gottlieb & Co. for $ 50 million. In 1978, Begelman was suspended for having embezzled money from Columbia. Hirschfield was forced out for his refusal to reinstate him. Begelman later resigned and was replaced by Daniel Melnick in June 1978. Fay Vincent was hired to replace Hirschfield. Frank Price became president of production in 1978. In March 1979, he would become president of Columbia Pictures, succeeding Melnick. During Price's tenure he

5490-423: The budgets of his films, and the studio got the maximum use out of costly sets, costumes, and props by reusing them in other films. Many of Columbia's low-budget "B" pictures and short subjects have an expensive look, thanks to Columbia's efficient recycling policy. Cohn was reluctant to spend lavish sums on even his most important pictures, and it was not until 1943 that he agreed to use three-strip Technicolor in

5612-411: The climax. On Sneak Previews , Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert highly recommended the film. Siskel praised the message of not being "afraid of the unknown", said Dreyfuss was "perfectly cast", and described the ending as "a wonderful scene, combining fantasy, adventure and mystery". However, he mentioned that the story got "bogged down" by a subplot in the middle. Ebert said "the last 30 minutes are among

5734-550: The company as an office boy out of high school and become a director in 1929, rising through the financial side of the business. In 1963, Columbia acquired music publisher Aldon Music . By the late 1960s, Columbia had an ambiguous identity, offering old-fashioned fare such as A Man for All Seasons and Oliver! along with the more contemporary Easy Rider and The Monkees . After turning down releasing Albert R. Broccoli 's Eon Productions James Bond films, Columbia hired Broccoli's former partner Irving Allen to produce

5856-770: The company's shows until 1967, when Hanna-Barbera was sold to Taft Broadcasting . In 1960, the animation studio became a publicly traded company under the name Screen Gems, Inc., when Columbia spun off an 18% stake. By 1950, Columbia had discontinued most of its popular series films ( Boston Blackie , Blondie , The Lone Wolf , The Crime Doctor , Rusty , etc.) Only Jungle Jim , launched by producer Sam Katzman in 1949, kept going through 1955. Katzman contributed greatly to Columbia's success by producing dozens of topical feature films, including crime dramas , science-fiction stories, and rock'n'roll musicals. Columbia kept making serials until 1956 and two-reel comedies until 1957, after other studios had abandoned these mediums. As

5978-577: The computer", suggesting that Roy Neary's boarding the spaceship represents Spielberg's wish to be reunited with his parents. The director had not consciously intended this aspect. In a 2005 interview, Spielberg stated that he made Close Encounters when he did not have children, and if he were making it today, he would never have had Roy leave his family and board the mothership. Communication and language issues constitute additional themes as noted by Andrew Johnston in Time Out New York : "Throughout

6100-409: The cover, and I usually avoid it at bookstores. Actually, I've never bought a copy. Jonathan Rosenbaum refers to the film as "the best expression of Spielberg's benign, dreamy-eyed vision". A.D. Murphy of Variety magazine gave a positive review but wrote that Close Encounters "lacks the warmth and humanity" of George Lucas's Star Wars . Murphy found most of the film slow-paced, but praised

6222-648: The director's cut and in the special edition of the end titles on the 1998 Collector's Edition of the soundtrack. The score was recorded at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California . Williams was nominated for two Academy Awards in 1978, one for his score to Star Wars and one for his score to Close Encounters . He won for Star Wars , though he later won two Grammy Awards in 1979 for his Close Encounters score (one for Best Original Film Score and one for Best Instrumental Composition for " Theme from Close Encounters "). Film critic Charlene Engel observed: Close Encounters suggests that humankind has reached

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6344-440: The dozens, by using light and sound on a large electrical billboard. An enormous mothership eventually lands to release many abductees from different eras: World War II pilots, Cotopaxi sailors, adults, children, and animals. Barry also returns and reunites with Jillian. The government officials hastily prepare Roy for inclusion in its select group of potential visitors to the mothership. The extraterrestrials finally emerge from

6466-477: The early 1980s, Columbia and Tri-Star Pictures set up a film partnership with Delphi Film Associates and acquired an interest in various film releases. In 1984, Delphi Film Associates III acquired an interest in the Tri-Star and Columbia film slate of 1984, which would make a $ 60 million offering in the financing of film production. Also that year, Columbia Pictures had bought out the rights to Hardbodies , which

6588-406: The earthlings are ready with a console, and they greet the great craft with an oboe solo variation on the five-note theme; the craft answers in deep, tuba tones. The dialogue becomes blissfully garrulous. And with light flooding out from the windows of this omniscient airship—it’s like New York’s skyscrapers all lighted up on a summer night—there is a conversational duet: the music of the spheres. This

6710-481: The effects footage would still appear clear and sharp though having lost one generation's worth of visual fidelity. A test reel using computer-generated imagery was created for the UFOs, but Spielberg found it would be too expensive and ineffective because CGI was in its infancy in the mid-1970s. The small extraterrestrials in the final scenes were played by fifty local six-year-old girls in Mobile, Alabama . That decision

6832-449: The end of the second week of national release it had grossed $ 24,695,317. It made a record $ 3,026,558 on December 26, 1977, and set a one-week record of $ 17,393,654 from December 26 to January 1. The film opened internationally on February 24, 1978, and grossed $ 27 million by the end of March from 19 countries. Close Encounters received mostly positive reviews and became a certified box office success, grossing $ 116.39 million in

6954-416: The extraterrestrial mothership. Spielberg initially included Cliff Edwards 's original "When You Wish upon a Star" from Pinocchio in the closing credits , but after a Dallas preview where several members of the audience audibly snickered at the inclusion, the song was dropped and replaced with Williams's orchestral version. Phrases from "When You Wish Upon a Star" are included in the final sequence in

7076-445: The extraterrestrial that communicates via hand signals near the end of the film. Close Encounters is the first collaboration between film editor Michael Kahn and Spielberg. Their working relationship has continued for the rest of Spielberg's films. Spielberg said that no film he has ever made since has been as hard to edit as the last 25 minutes of Close Encounters and that he and Kahn went through thousands of feet of film to find

7198-436: The film, there are many scenes that anticipate themes Spielberg would explore in subsequent projects, but his execution of these ideas here is usually more interesting and subtle. In Amistad , for example, he devotes much time to illustrating the language barrier separating Africans from both their captors and their potential saviors. It's an essential plot point, but it's so belabored that the story gets bogged down. In CE3K ,

7320-685: The following week. Kanye's returning concert following Kim Kardashian's incident was performed in his hometown of Chicago at the United Center on October 7, 2016, where he arrived on stage an hour and a half past schedule and "made no mention of his wife or the incident, in a show in which he barely spoke to the crowd at all". In San Jose, California during his November 17 performance, West spoke about American politics and stated "If I would have voted, I would have voted for Trump ", with some fans booing and throwing items on stage. In Sacramento on November 19, 2016, West performed three songs before he diverted

7442-704: The former toll booth at the Vincent Thomas Bridge , San Pedro , California. The Sonora Desert sequence was photographed at the Dumont Dunes , California, and the Dharmsala-India exteriors were filmed at the small village of Hal near Khalapur , 35 kilometres (22 mi) outside Mumbai , India. The hangars in Alabama were six times larger than the biggest sound stage in the world. Various technical and budgetary problems occurred during filming. Spielberg called

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7564-529: The government is to ridicule and debunk flying saucers." Schrader continued: "One day he has an encounter. He goes to the government, threatening to blow the lid off to the public. Instead, he and the government spend 15 years trying to make contact." Spielberg and Schrader experienced creative differences, hiring John Hill to rewrite. At one point, the main character was a police officer . Spielberg "[found] it hard to identify with men in uniform. I wanted to have Mr. Everyday Regular Fella ." Spielberg rejected

7686-651: The idea. Filming took place in Burbank, California ; Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming ; two abandoned World War II airship hangars at the former Brookley Air Force Base in Mobile, Alabama ; and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad depot in Bay Minette, Alabama . The home where Barry is abducted is located outside the town of Fairhope, Alabama . Roy Neary's home is on Carlisle Drive East in Mobile. The UFOs fly through

7808-478: The increasing cost of film production, Coke brought in two outside investors whose earlier efforts in Hollywood had come to nothing. In 1982, Columbia, Time Inc. 's HBO and CBS announced, as a joint venture, "Nova Pictures"; this enterprise was to be renamed Tri-Star Pictures . In 1983, Price left Columbia Pictures after a dispute with Coca-Cola and went back to Universal. He was replaced by Guy McElwaine . In

7930-415: The language problem is illustrated concisely by a quick scene in which an interpreter translates Spanish into English for Laughlin so he can turn around and translate it into French for Lacombe. Since Spielberg doesn't ram the language problem down our throats, the extraterrestrials' solution—using music to communicate with humanity—seems more elegant and natural." The film was to be released in mid-1977 but

8052-446: The larger studios declined in the 1950s, Columbia's position improved. This was largely because it did not suffer from the massive loss of income that the other major studios suffered from the loss of their theaters (well over 90 percent, in some cases). Columbia continued to produce 40-plus pictures a year, offering productions that often broke ground and kept audiences coming to theaters. Some of its significant films from this era include

8174-529: The largest studios. The studio soon replaced RKO on the list of the "Big Five" studios. In 1946, Columbia dropped the Screen Gems brand from its cartoon line, but retained the Screen Gems name for various ancillary activities, including a 16 mm film-rental agency and a TV-commercial production company. On November 8, 1948, Columbia adopted the Screen Gems name for its television production subsidiary when

8296-423: The late 1920s, spurred by a successful association with director Frank Capra . With Capra and others such as the most successful two reel comedy series, The Three Stooges , Columbia became one of the primary homes of the screwball comedy . In the 1930s, Columbia's major contract stars were Jean Arthur and Cary Grant . In the 1940s, Rita Hayworth became the studio's premier star and propelled their fortunes into

8418-456: The late 1950s. Rosalind Russell , Glenn Ford and William Holden also became major stars at the studio. It is one of the leading film studios in the world, and was one of the so-called " Little Three " among the eight major film studios of Hollywood 's Golden Age . Today, it has become the world's third largest major film studio. The company was also primarily responsible for distributing Disney 's Silly Symphony film series as well as

8540-411: The model, and his gradual loss of contact with his wife, mimic the events in the short story " Dulcie and Decorum " (1955) by Damon Knight . Close Encounters studies the form of "youth spiritual yearning". Barry Guiler, the unfearing child who refers to the UFOs and their paraphernalia as "toys" (although that was unscripted, with the child being drawn to smile by being shown toys offstage), serves as

8662-466: The mood the song created, the way it affected me personally." During pre-production , the title was changed from Kingdom Come to Close Encounters of the Third Kind . J. Allen Hynek , who worked with the United States Air Force on Project Blue Book , was hired as a scientific consultant. Hynek said that "even though the film is fiction, it's based for the most part on the known facts of

8784-452: The most marvelous things I've ever seen on the screen" and that the film was "like a kid's picture...in its innocence". Pauline Kael similarly called it "a kid's film in the best sense". Kael wrote that "Spielberg is the son of an electrical-engineer, sci-fi-addict father and a classical-pianist mother, and in the climax of the film he does justice to both. Under the French scientist’s direction,

8906-466: The mothership and select Roy to join their travels. As Roy enters the mothership, one of the extraterrestrials pauses for a few moments with the humans. Lacombe uses Curwen hand signs that correspond to the five-note extraterrestrial tonal phrase. The extraterrestrial replies with the same gestures, smiles, and returns to its ship, which takes to the sky. The film's inspiration arose in director Steven Spielberg 's childhood, when he and his father watched

9028-477: The mountain pursued by government helicopters spraying sleeping gas. Larry stops to rest, is gassed, and falls into a deep sleep. In his interview with Spielberg on Inside the Actors Studio , James Lipton suggested Close Encounters has another, more personal theme for Spielberg: "Your father was a computer engineer; your mother was a concert pianist, and when the spaceship lands, they make music together on

9150-422: The needs of the tour, incorporating the audience into the experience at each concert as visitors would be able to engage with Kanye West. Each show had three sections separated by two intermissions, with uses of light increasing as the performance progresses. Some of the portions appeared to be influenced by various themes in popular culture, such as the show's intermissions which were similar to Close Encounters of

9272-621: The newly formed Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. for $ 24.5 million. Schneider was chairman of the holding company and Leo Jaffe president. Following the merger, in March 1969, CPI purchased Bell Records for $ 3.5 million (mainly in CPI stock), retaining Larry Uttal as label president. Nearly bankrupt by the early 1970s, the studio was saved via a radical overhaul: the Gower Street Studios (now called " Sunset Gower Studios ") were sold and

9394-473: The others being TriStar Pictures , Affirm Films , Screen Gems , Sony Pictures Classics , and Stage 6 Films . Columbia's most commercially successful franchises include Spider-Man , Jumanji , Bad Boys , Men in Black , The Karate Kid , Robert Langdon , and Ghostbusters , and the studio's highest-grossing film worldwide is Spider-Man: No Way Home with box-office of $ 1.92 billion. The studio

9516-480: The performance and spoke about Facebook , Jay Z , Hillary Clinton , Beyoncé , and then proceeded to walk off stage, later cancelling further dates of the tour due to stress and exhaustion while ticketholders were given a refund. This set list is an example of one typically performed from the Boston show onwards. Songs included in the five prior shows' setlists not included further include " FML ," " Amazing ," " Devil in

9638-497: The point where it is ready to enter the community of the cosmos. While it is a computer which makes the final musical conversation with the extraterrestrial guests possible, the characteristics bringing Neary to make his way to Devils Tower have little to do with technical expertise or computer literacy. These are virtues taught in schools that will be evolved in the 21st century. The film also evokes typical science fiction archetypes and motifs. The film portrays new technologies as

9760-476: The production of Close Encounters "twice as bad and twice as expensive [as Jaws ]". Matters worsened when Columbia Pictures experienced financial difficulties. In his original 1973 pitch to Columbia, Spielberg claimed production would cost $ 2.7 million, although he revealed to producer Julia Philips that he knew the budget would have to be much higher; the final budget came to $ 19.4 million. Columbia studio executive John Veich remembered, "If we knew it

9882-463: The production schedule because he was continually adding new scenes. Zsigmond previously turned down the chance to work on Jaws . In her 1991 book You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again , producer Julia Phillips wrote highly profane remarks about Spielberg, Zsigmond, and Truffaut, because she was fired during post-production due to a cocaine addiction . Phillips blamed it on Spielberg being

10004-634: The productions of the English studio Warwick Films (by producers Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli ), as well as many films by producer Carl Foreman , who resided in England. Columbia distributed some films made by Hammer , which was also based in England. In December 1956, Jack Cohn, co-founder and executive vice-president, died. In 1958, Columbia established its own record label, Colpix Records , initially run by Jonie Taps, who headed Columbia's music department, and later Paul Wexler and Lester Sill . Colpix

10126-412: The publishers that unless it was cleaned up I wouldn't let my name go out with the book. So I sat down and spent less than a week – I wouldn't say rewriting the novel – but polishing it, and taking a lot of the plot and twisting it back into the direction of the screenplay. All told, there's about 20 percent of me in the book. I wish I could say there was more, but there's not. I cringe when I see my name on

10248-476: The reincarnation of Rastar Pictures, which was acquired by Columbia Pictures in February 1980. Columbia Pictures also reorganized its music and record divisions. Clive Davis was hired as a record and music consultant by Columbia Pictures in 1974 and later became temporary president of Bell Records . Davis's real goal was to revitalize Columbia Pictures' music division. With a $ 10 million investment by CPI, and

10370-533: The remaining 19% in 1985. Around this time, Columbia put Steven Spielberg 's proposed follow-up to Close Encounters of the Third Kind , Night Skies , into turnaround . The project eventually became the highest-grossing film of the time, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial . Columbia received a share of the profits for its involvement in the development. On May 17, 1982, Columbia Pictures acquired Spelling-Goldberg Productions for over $ 40 million. With

10492-788: The result, Spielberg applied the logo to all production stationery and crew shirts. Unusual in filmmaking, Spielberg carried enough influence to maintain creative control over the film's entire branding and asked Perri to design the advertising campaign and title sequence based on his logo. Perri later designed titles for many other major Hollywood pictures, including Star Wars (1977), Raging Bull (1980), and Airplane! (1980). Principal photography began on May 16, 1976, though an Associated Press report in August 1975 had suggested filming would start in late 1975. Spielberg did not want to do any location shooting because of his negative experience on Jaws and wanted to shoot Close Encounters entirely on sound stages , but eventually dropped

10614-425: The right shots for the end sequence. When Kahn and Spielberg completed the first cut of the film, Spielberg was dissatisfied because "there wasn't enough wow-ness". Pick-ups were commissioned but cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond could not participate due to other commitments. John A. Alonzo , László Kovács , and Douglas Slocombe worked on the pick-ups. Lacombe was originally intended to find Flight 19 hidden in

10736-426: The right to make the film any way he wanted. Schrader submitted his script, which Spielberg called "one of the most embarrassing screenplays ever professionally turned in to a major film studio or director" and "a terribly guilt-ridden story not about UFOs at all". Titled Kingdom Come , the script's protagonist was a 45-year-old Air Force officer named Paul Van Owen who worked with Project Blue Book. "[His] job for

10858-456: The same mountain they have been visualizing. They, along with other travelers experiencing similar visions, set out for Devils Tower in spite of the public warnings about toxic gas. Most of the travelers are apprehended by the Army, but Roy and Jillian reach the site just as UFOs appear in the night sky. The government specialists at the site begin to communicate with the UFOs, which gradually appear by

10980-454: The script in December 1973 with principal photography to begin in late 1974. To discuss the script, Spielberg visited the home where Schrader lived with his brother Leonard. However, Spielberg started work on Jaws in 1974, delaying Watch the Skies . With the financial and critical success of Jaws , Spielberg was able to negotiate a high degree of creative control from Columbia, including

11102-431: The script, he was assisted by Paul Schrader , John Hill , David Giler , Hal Barwood , Matthew Robbins , and Jerry Belson , all of whom contributed to the screenplay in varying degrees. The title is derived from Ufologist J. Allen Hynek 's classification of close encounters with extraterrestrials, in which the third kind denotes human observations of extraterrestrials or "animate beings". Douglas Trumbull served as

11224-449: The ship was inspired by an oil refinery Spielberg saw at night in India. Instead of the metallic hardware look of Star Wars , the emphasis was on luminescence of the UFOs. One of the UFO models was an oxygen mask with lights attached to it, used because of its irregular shape. As a subtle in-joke, Dennis Muren (who had just finished working on Star Wars ) put a small R2-D2 model onto

11346-569: The side of his face with its lights. The UFO takes off with three others in the sky, as Roy and three police cars give chase. The spacecraft fly off into the night sky but the metaphysical experience leaves Roy mesmerized. The researchers are similarly baffled to find the SS ; Cotopaxi in the middle of the Gobi Desert , intact and completely empty. Roy becomes fascinated by UFOs to the dismay of his wife, Ronnie. He obsesses over subliminal images of

11468-419: The signature melody into the score at Spielberg's behest, just before Roy Neary turns to board the mothership. The synthesizer playing the five notes is an ARP 2500 . Vice President of Engineering at ARP Instruments , Phillip Dodds , was sent to install the unit on the film set and was subsequently cast as Jean Claude, the musician who plays the sequence on the huge synthesizer in an attempt to communicate with

11590-585: The space shuttle orbiter Discovery in the Smithsonian Institution 's Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Annex at Washington Dulles Airport in Chantilly, Virginia . Close Encounters was filmed anamorphically and the visual effects sequences were shot on 70 mm film , which has greater resolution than the 35 mm film used for the rest of the production, so that when the miniature effects were combined with full-sized elements through an optical printer ,

11712-476: The story of Roy Neary, an everyday blue-collar worker in Indiana , whose life changes after an encounter with an unidentified flying object ; and of Jillian, a single mother whose three-year-old son was also abducted by a UFO. Close Encounters was a long-cherished project for Spielberg. In late 1973, he developed a deal with Columbia Pictures for a science-fiction film. Though Spielberg received sole credit for

11834-1075: The studio acquired Pioneer Telefilms, a television commercial company founded by Jack Cohn's son, Ralph. Pioneer had been founded in 1947, and was later reorganized as Screen Gems. The studio opened its doors for business in New York on April 15, 1949. By 1951, Screen Gems became a full-fledged television studio and became a major producer of sitcoms for TV, beginning with Father Knows Best and followed by The Donna Reed Show , The Partridge Family , Bewitched , I Dream of Jeannie , and The Monkees . On July 1, 1956, studio veteran Irving Briskin stepped down as manager of Columbia Pictures and formed his own production company Briskin Productions, Inc. to release series through Screen Gems and supervise all of its productions. On December 10, Screen Gems expanded into television syndication by acquiring Hygo Television Films (a.k.a. "Serials Inc.") and its affiliated company United Television Films, Inc. Hygo Television Films

11956-418: The studio as Cohn-Brandt-Cohn (CBC) Film Sales Corporation . It adopted the Columbia Pictures name on January 10, 1924 (operating as Columbia Pictures Corporation until December 23, 1968) went public two years later and eventually began to use the image of Columbia , the female personification of the United States, as its logo. In its early years, Columbia was a minor player in Hollywood, but began to grow in

12078-524: The studio signed the Three Stooges in 1934. Rejected by MGM (which kept straight-man Ted Healy but let the Stooges go), the Stooges made 190 shorts for Columbia between 1934 and 1957. Columbia's short-subject department employed many famous comedians, including Buster Keaton , Charley Chase , Harry Langdon , Andy Clyde , and Hugh Herbert . Almost 400 of Columbia's 529 two-reel comedies were released to television between 1958 and 1961; to date, all of

12200-584: The studio's adaptation of the controversial James Jones novel From Here to Eternity (1953), On the Waterfront (1954), and The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) with William Holden and Alec Guinness , all of which won the Best Picture Oscar . Another significant film of the studio was the free adaptation of George Orwell 's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1956). Columbia also released

12322-448: The studio's image. On May 6, 1974, Columbia retired the Screen Gems name from television, renaming its television division to the name of Columbia Pictures Television . The name was suggested by David Gerber , who was then president of Columbia's television division. The same year, Columbia Pictures acquired Rastar Pictures , which included Rastar Productions, Rastar Features, and Rastar Television. Ray Stark then founded Rastar Films,

12444-443: The sunburn caused by Roy's exposure to the UFOs and wants him to forget his encounter with them. She is embarrassed and bewildered by what has happened to him and desperately wants her ordinary life back. The expression of his lost life is seen when he is sculpting a huge model of Devils Tower in his living room, with his family deserting him. Roy's obsession with an idea implanted by an extraterrestrial intelligence, his construction of

12566-567: The trial began; on August 14, the court ruled in favor for Kerkorian. In 1979, Columbia agreed with Time-Life Video to release 20 titles on videocassette . On September 30, 1980, Kerkorian sued Columbia for ignoring shareholders' interest and violating an agreement with him. Columbia later accused him on October 2, of scheming with Nelson Bunker Hunt to gain control of Columbia. In 1981, Kerkorian sold his 25% stake in Columbia back to CPI. Columbia Pictures later acquired 81% of The Walter Reade Organization , which owned 11 theaters; it purchased

12688-412: The underside of the mothership and a pea-sized TIE fighter to the end of one of the structures extending from the mothership. Model makers also included a mailbox, great-white shark, Volkswagen bus, and a small graveyard. The model also included alien figures moving in the windows of the miniature, though were not very visible in the final film. The mothership model is on permanent display steps away from

12810-458: The visiting spaceship as a mathematical language , before Spielberg chose the one incorporated into the film's signature theme. Williams decided on five notes because "it has to be somewhere between a fragment ... which is four notes, and a song ... which is seven notes, so he decided, mathematically, it would be five notes" Spielberg called Williams's work " When You Wish Upon a Star meets science fiction". Incidentally, Williams briefly included

12932-493: Was Buck Jones , who signed with Columbia in 1930 for a fraction of his former big-studio salary. Over the next two decades Columbia released scores of outdoor adventures with Jones, Tim McCoy , Ken Maynard , Jack Luden , Bob Allen ( Robert (Tex) Allen ), Russell Hayden , Tex Ritter , Ken Curtis , and Gene Autry . Columbia's most popular cowboy was Charles Starrett , who signed with Columbia in 1935 and starred in 131 western features over 17 years. At Harry Cohn's insistence,

13054-755: Was a Columbia perennial that the studio had been releasing since the silent-movie days; producer-director Ralph Staub kept this series going through 1958. In the 1940s, propelled in part by the surge in audiences for their films during World War II , the studio also benefited from the popularity of its biggest star, Rita Hayworth . Columbia maintained a long list of contractees well into the 1950s; Glenn Ford , Penny Singleton , William Holden , Judy Holliday , The Three Stooges , Ann Miller , Evelyn Keyes , Ann Doran , Jack Lemmon , Cleo Moore , Barbara Hale , Adele Jergens , Larry Parks , Arthur Lake , Lucille Ball , Kerwin Mathews and Kim Novak . Harry Cohn monitored

13176-604: Was a feat in terms of design and production, but the Saint Pablo Tour is a feat in terms of engineering—and few artists can say they’ve created a transcendent experience that goes beyond what is expected of a “concert.” Close Encounters of the Third Kind Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 American science fiction drama film written and directed by Steven Spielberg , starring Richard Dreyfuss , Melinda Dillon , Teri Garr , Bob Balaban , Cary Guffey , and François Truffaut . The film depicts

13298-451: Was a horizontally integrated company. It controlled production and distribution; it did not own any theaters. Helping Columbia's climb was the arrival of an ambitious director, Frank Capra . Between 1927 and 1939, Capra constantly pushed Cohn for better material and bigger budgets. A string of hits he directed in the early and mid 1930s solidified Columbia's status as a major studio. In particular, It Happened One Night , which nearly swept

13420-435: Was active until 1966 when Columbia entered into a joint agreement with RCA Victor and discontinued Colpix in favor of its new label, Colgems Records . Shortly after closing their short subjects department, Columbia president Harry Cohn died of a heart attack in February 1958. His nephew Ralph Cohn died in 1959, ending almost four decades of family management. The new management was headed by Abe Schneider, who had joined

13542-595: Was delayed to November because of the various production problems. Close Encounters premiered at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City on November 16, 1977, and continued there and at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles, grossing $ 1,077,000. Its national release was December 14, in 270 theaters and grossing $ 10,115,000 in one week with a per-screen average of $ 37,460. On December 21, 301 more theaters were added. By

13664-508: Was founded in 1951 by Jerome Hyams, who also acquired United Television Films in 1955 that was founded by Archie Mayers. In 1957, two years before its parent company Columbia dropped UPA, Screen Gems entered a distribution deal with Hanna-Barbera Productions , which produced classic animated series such as The Flintstones , The Quick Draw McGraw Show , The Huckleberry Hound Show , The Yogi Bear Show , Jonny Quest , The Jetsons and Top Cat among others. Screen Gems distributed

13786-581: Was founded on June 19, 1918, as Cohn-Brandt-Cohn (CBC) Film Sales by brothers Jack and Harry Cohn and Jack's best friend Joe Brandt , and released its first feature film More to Be Pitied Than Scorned on August 20, 1922. The film, with a budget of $ 20,000, was a success, bringing in $ 130,000 in revenue for the company. Brandt was president of CBC Film Sales, handling sales, marketing and distribution from New York along with Jack Cohn, while Harry Cohn ran production in Hollywood. The studio's early productions were low-budget short subjects: Screen Snapshots ,

13908-599: Was going to cost that much, we wouldn't have greenlighted it because we didn't have the money." Spielberg hired Joe Alves , his collaborator on Jaws , as production designer . In addition, the 1976 Atlantic hurricane season brought tropical storms to Alabama. A large portion of the sound stage in Alabama was damaged because of a lightning strike . Columbia raised $ 7 million from three sources: Time Inc. , EMI , and German tax shelters. Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond said that, during shooting, Spielberg got more ideas by watching films every night, which in turn extended

14030-634: Was once premiered on The Playboy Channel . Columbia Pictures expanded its music publishing operations in the 1980s, acquiring Big 3 Publishing (the former sheet music operations of Robbins, Feist , and Miller ) from MGM/UA Communications Co. in 1983, Belwin-Mills Publishing from Simon & Schuster in 1985, and Al Gallico Music in 1987. On June 18, 1985, Columbia's parent acquired Norman Lear and Jerry Perenchio 's Embassy Communications, Inc. (including Embassy Pictures , Embassy Television, Tandem Productions , and Embassy Home Entertainment), mostly for its library of television series such as All in

14152-684: Was re-established under the Screen Gems brand; Columbia's leading cartoon series were Krazy Kat , Scrappy , The Fox and the Crow , and (very briefly) Li'l Abner . Screen Gems was the last major cartoon studio to produce black-and-white cartoons, producing them until 1946. That same year, Screen Gems shut down but had completed enough cartoons for the studio to release until 1949. In 1948, Columbia agreed to release animated shorts from United Productions of America ; these new shorts were more sophisticated than Columbia's older cartoons, and many won critical praise and industry awards. In 1957, two years before

14274-483: Was released theatrically in 1980. Spielberg agreed to create this edition to add more scenes that they had been unable to include in the original release, with the studio demanding a controversial scene depicting the interior of the extraterrestrial mothership. Spielberg's dissatisfaction with the altered ending scene led to a third version, the Director's Cut on VHS and LaserDisc in 1998 (and later DVD and Blu-ray ). It

14396-406: Was requested by Spielberg because "girls move more gracefully than boys". Puppetry was attempted for the extraterrestrials, but the idea failed. However, Rambaldi successfully used puppetry to depict two of the extraterrestrials, starting with a marionette (for the tall extraterrestrial that is the first emerging from the mothership in what was originally a test shot) and an articulated puppet for

14518-520: Was responsible for turning out 9 of the top 10 grossing films in Columbia's history. In the fall of 1978, Kirk Kerkorian , a Vegas casino mogul who also controlled Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , acquired a 5.5% stake in Columbia Pictures. He then announced on November 20, that he intended to launch a tender offer to acquire another 20% for the studio. On December 14, a standstill agreement was reached with Columbia by promising not to go beyond 25% or seeking control for at least three years. On January 15, 1979,

14640-515: Was started in black-and-white, but when Cohn saw how well the project was proceeding, he scrapped the footage and insisted on filming in Technicolor. In 1948, the United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. anti-trust decision forced Hollywood motion picture companies to divest themselves of the theater chains that they owned. Since Columbia did not own any theaters, it was now on equal terms with

14762-533: Was the first contract costume designer hired by the studio, and he established the studio's wardrobe department. Kalloch's employment, in turn, convinced leading actresses that Columbia Pictures intended to invest in their careers. In 1938, the addition of B. B. Kahane as vice president would produce Charles Vidor 's Those High Grey Walls (1939), and The Lady in Question (1940), the first joint film of Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford . Kahane would later become

14884-424: Was very early on when we made the deal with Dell ... It included an advance with a promise that I was going to have direct writing input into the book. But post-production on the movie became so impossible that I had to get somebody else to write it. I didn't write the first, second, or third drafts. Those were written, based on my screenplay, by Leslie Waller, a very good writer. When I read his drafts, though, I told

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