Sumner Redstone died on August 11 at the age of 97. The media mogul built Viacom into a television empire. In 1994, he bought Paramount Studios in a hostile takeover. Sherry Lansing ran Paramount from 1992 to 2004, giving Redstone three Oscar winners (Forrest Gump, Braveheart en Titanic).
Paramount was on the roll in the 90s and early 21st century with movies that we still talk about today, or at least that we should. Here are some of the other Paramount movies released under Redstone’s ownership, some fun stuff, exciting action and a few other awards.
The ‘Brady Bunch’ films combined Paramount and Viacom for Sumner Redstone
The original Brady Bunch series was already produced by Paramount Television, so with Redstone it all became part of the Viacom family. The two films that the studio made in the 90s are one of the best examples of adapting classic shows in feature films.
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From 1995 Brady Bunch Movie transported the family ’60s into the’ 90s for a satirical culture clash. With that set up, 1996s A very Brady sequel took it further and explored classics Brady episodes such as Jan’s fake friend, Greg and Marcia’s funny feelings and the family trip to Hawaii.
‘Clueless’ would have made Sumner Redstone a hit with the kids
1995 saw Paramount perhaps the 90s definitive film of the 1990s, just celebrating its 25th anniversary. Clueless was a high school adaptation of Emma that probably got more children to read Jane Austen a year later than the Gwyneth Paltrow movie (though that was a good one, too). It proved that Alicia Silverstone was a movie star and popularized catchphrases like “like” and “I’m audi.”
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The ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise continues to Sumner Redstone
In 1996, Paramount turned her classic CBS TV show into an action movie franchise starring Tom Cruise. That franchise is still going strong this year with a seventh and eighth film coming back to production this year.
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‘Beavis and Butt-Head’ served America and conquered Hollywood
Another TV adaptation, Paramount added Beavis and Butt-Head film when the series was still airing on Viacom’s MTV. Three deed structures worked for the 14-year-old slackers. Initially, her TV was stolen and Beavis turned up in Cornholio by taking caffeine pills. Thus established a cross-country road trip that culminated in Cornholio traversing the White House.
RELATED: Comedy Central brings back ‘Beavis and Butt-Head’ from the ’90s
Beavis and Butt-Head return to Viacom. Comedy Central has announced a new season of animated episodes featuring creator Mike Judge.
‘Breakdown’ is a smalltown thriller
Burglary is an example of the kind of solid film that Paramount was able to produce in the 1990s. Kurt Russell plays a man whose car breaks down in the middle of the desert, and must rescue his wife (Kathleen Quinlan) from the ‘good Samaritan’ (JT Walsh) who gave her a ride back into town.
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The kidnappers first try to convince Russell that they have never met him or his wife. Then they try to move him for money he does not have. The tension is palpable in the city, away from crab comfort and authority figures, and many large rig truck chases.
‘Face / Off’ should be the fatter in Sumner Redstone’s cap
At a 2019 Q&A before a screening of his Hong Kong classic The killer, Discussed John Woo making Face on / off for Paramount. Woo said Lansing protected him from studio notes, saying she just wanted a John Woo movie. She sure knew one and Redstone should be proud.
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Face on / off would in any case be an amazing action movie under Woo, but what makes it really transcendent is how seriously it takes its absurd premise. No, you can not change faces, but if you could, maybe Sean Archer (John Travolta) would start well in the family of Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage), and maybe Troy would be a good father to Archer’s daughter (Dominique Swain).
‘Hard rain’ is the wettest high concept
When disaster movies were the rage, Paramount tried to get to the top Twister en Volcano with a flood movie. She calmed down with Die Hard in a flood when Christian Slater had to flood and evacuate bound thieves and corrupt policemen in a city. It was even called The flood originally but they went wise with the more bombastic title Hard reindeer.
‘The Truman Show’ should mean more Oscars for Sumner Redstone
Fans and critics acknowledged The Truman Show although the Academy only nominated it for three awards: Ed Harris, director Peter Weir and screenwriter Andrew Niccol. Nothing for Jim Carrey. The Truman Show was premiered at the beginning of reality TV and has only become more cautious because people voluntarily document their entire lives without needing elaborate domains.
‘A Simple Plan’ was a simple drama
Bombastic horror director Sam Raimi showed he could do a movie without his bag of tricks. A simple plan is the story of two brothers (Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton) who discover a descending treasury plane. Their plan to keep the money ends their families and friends apart.
‘Jackass: The Movie’ made every Viacom show a movie
MTV had success with the Jackass TV series, so they gave the gang a budget to make a movie. There were three theatrical releases, the best of which is the masterpiece Jackass Number Two, with a fourth en route.
The second and third films had enough removed pranks and stunts to release extra spinoffs on home video. Mock if you will, but the Jackass team put creativity and skill into each of their stupid shenanigans.
‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days’ became a classic rom-com
The 90s had Sleepless In Seattle en Four weddings and a funeral. The ’00s had How can you lose a man in 10 days?. It established Kate Hudson as a movie star after the liability she received Almost famous, and solidified Matthew McConaughey as a leading man.
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Hudson plays Andie Anderson, a journalist working on a story about the mistakes women make to drive men away. They bet they can drive any man away in 10 days. Meanwhile, Ben (McConaughey) pays to be able to love any woman, no matter what. Not only does hilarity arise, but this elaborate scam reveals that they actually have feelings for each other.
‘Mean Girls’ was Sumner Redstone’s next ‘Clueless’
Nine years later Clueless, there was already a new generation of teenagers who needed their own teen movie. Common girls proved to be just that. Tina Fey’s adaptation of Queen Bees and Wannabes introduced the world to The Plastics (Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried and Lacey Chabert), the Heathers of the new millennium.
Cady (Lindsay Lohan) was the outsider on his way to The Plastics. The film carried such phrases as “stop trying to get it” and rose Wednesday to society. It also spawned a stage musical.
