Tom Rothman Gives Archive Tour Amid 100 Anniversary

On a current July afternoon, the ever-mercurial Tom Rothman arrives in good spirits for a tour of Columbia Pictures’ archives in honor of the studio’s one centesimal anniversary. “Ask a whole lot of questions, as a result of after this, I have to return to work,” says Rothman, Sony Footage Movement Image Group chairman. “That is far more enjoyable than getting yelled at by brokers.”

Naturally, Rothman — one among Hollywood’s longest-running studio chiefs, who’s been in his present gig since 2015 and has overseen essentially the most worthwhile interval in Columbia’s current historical past — begins off by noting the costumes from marquee franchise Spider-Man. By his calculation, the gathering homes greater than 30 superhero fits on the archive from numerous Spider-Man films.

“I acknowledge this very properly — it was price $2 billion on the field workplace to us,” says Rothman, pointing to a swimsuit worn by Tom Holland in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Approach Residence. Each that movie and 2017’s field workplace hit Spider-Man: Homecoming had been made and launched throughout his tenure in tandem with Marvel and Rothman’s onetime Sony predecessor, producer Amy Pascal. 

“Now we have by no means put one [suit] out to public sale. However clearly Spider-Man is likely one of the most culturally iconic characters that exists within the historical past of films and can be very precious. Sometime we could,” says Rothman. “We see a whole lot of gadgets which have gone lacking from the top of a shoot that seem on-line, and the worth could be very important. I just lately noticed some Star Wars memorabilia being supplied; it relies upon how iconic the film and the merchandise throughout the film was.”

Spider-Man is the tip of the iceberg of a long time’ price of props, costumes, sneakers, posters and images that, mixed, chart the story of how a scrappy studio based by brothers Harry and Jack Cohn with enterprise accomplice Joe Brandt in 1924 was remodeled right into a Hollywood hitmaker that’s now one of many final 4 majors nonetheless standing. 

The archives are housed in a nondescript Sony outpost a number of miles from the primary studio lot in Culver Metropolis that was beforehand residence to MGM. Close to the doorway is an ornate gold-painted, crimson velvet-covered throne from The Da Vinci Code. In one other room is a sprawling mannequin of the mountain utilized by director Steven Spielberg for panning photographs in Shut Encounters of the Third Sort. 

The archives are a captivating work-in-progress. Little of the studio’s historical past had been saved by the point Japanese electronics large Sony purchased Columbia in 1989 after a string of householders (see timeline under). Sony instantly launched a marketing campaign to retrieve what it may, and right now, greater than one million artifacts from the studio’s previous are being fastidiously preserved for historical past. About half are posters and photographs nestled in packing containers lining rows and rows of cabinets. Wandering across the climate-controlled bunker, the movie chief is sort of a child in a sweet retailer. “Here’s a very little-known film referred to as Rocket Gibraltar. I’ve labored on over 500 movement photos as a studio government, and this was my first one,” says Rothman, who arrived on the studio in 1987 underneath the tutelage of the extensively admired Daybreak Metal, who that 12 months was named president of Columbia Footage, the primary feminine studio head in that place. “It’s a beautiful little household movie which completely nobody noticed, however which I extremely suggest. It was additionally Macaulay Culkin’s first and Burt Lancaster’s final movie. And it was Kevin Spacey’s first movie, however that’s for an additional story.”

Rothman pokes round field after field of memorabilia from such classics as The Approach We Have been, Shampoo, Taxi Driver, A River Runs By It and A Few Good Males, pausing wistfully on the contents of 1 lengthy drawer. Inspecting a poster for David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia — the film that made him wish to work in Hollywood within the first place — the studio chair says, “I noticed the film after I was 12 and thought I had seen the hand of God. ‘If solely someway I might be a part of that magic.’ ”

Since its inception, Sony has amassed 12 greatest image Oscars, a document for a Hollywood studio, starting with Frank Capra’s It Occurred One Night time. The romantic screwball comedy, which debuted in 1934, put the Cohns’ foundering studio on the map. “With out three individuals, there can be no Columbia: Frank Capra, Rita Hayworth and Harry Cohn,” Rothman says.

Hayworth’s presence looms giant over the archives. Framed movie posters and photographs of the star are scattered about on cabinets and partitions. In Could, Rothman organized for a restored print of Gilda — her breakout 1946 movie co-starring Glenn Ford — to be proven on the Cannes Movie Competition as a part of a one centesimal anniversary celebration. 

For years, Harry Cohn had been unable to get prime stars on contract and must borrow them from different studios, prompting MGM’s Louis B. Mayer to nickname Columbia “Siberia” and to ship stars there as punishment. All that modified with the appearance of Hayworth, Cary Grant (His Woman Friday) and Jimmy Stewart (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington). 

Like Cohn, Rothman has developed shut relationships with prime stars and filmmakers. He gained a fierce bidding conflict for Quentin Tarantino’s As soon as Upon a Time in Hollywood. “It was one of many biggest working relationships I’ve ever had making a film,” says Tarantino. “So far as I’m involved, they’re the one recreation on the town. He’s the one studio government on the market dedicated to the theatrical expertise and getting asses in seats. Additionally, I really like the legacy of Columbia and their library of movies.” 

On the archives, Rothman is particularly happy to see the unique proton pack from the primary Ghostbusters movie, a franchise he efficiently revived. There’s additionally paraphernalia from the primary Jumanji film, one other collection rebooted throughout Rothman’s tenure. Different wins embrace persevering with the juggernaut Unhealthy Boys franchise. 

Any main studio is all the time on the hunt for IP. As such, guardian firm Sony Footage Leisure, led by Tony Vinciquerra, and private-equity agency Apollo had been among the many bidders for Paramount World. They had been in it for the library, interval. “That was our objective and that was the one factor we needed out of the deal. We might have offered or traded or bartered or executed one thing with the remainder of the corporate,” Vinciquerra says. “It simply acquired too sophisticated for us. Shari [Redstone] determined she didn’t wish to break it up.”

Vinciquerra agrees that Sony will in all probability by no means have the breadth of IP that Disney does. “However we’re agile and we transfer extra shortly. And from what everybody tells us, we’re essentially the most steady studio within the enterprise proper now,” he says.

Columbia can also be the one main studio with out a normal leisure streaming service, some extent of nice delight for Rothman and Vinciquerra. (Disclaimer: They do have a profitable output take care of Netflix.) “That was categorically the proper strategic resolution, as a result of these companies have been horrible for many. Aside from Netflix, everyone has misplaced billions with a capital B,” Rothman says. “Our product is extra precious within the world market than it has ever been as a result of it could promote to the very best bidder.” Rothman can also be a proponent of maintaining a theatrical window of a minimum of 31 or 32 days, the brand new business customary, versus going to premium VOD or a streaming service any earlier. 

At tour’s finish, Rothman is requested whether or not he’s heartbroken that a lot historical past was misplaced till Sony got here in and employed archivists to scour public sale websites and work with different studios (Warner Bros. just lately returned a number of decades-old costumes belonging to Sony movies). “Sure,” says Rothman, “however what it does is give us resolve.” 

This story first appeared within the July 31 problem of The Hollywood Reporter journal. Click here to subscribe.