A report on Paramount Pictures and Trading Places

Theatrical release poster
Dan Aykroyd pictured in 2009. Paramount Pictures saw Aykroyd's success as tied to his partnership with the late John Belushi, and the studio did not want to cast him, but his previous work with director John Landis helped him to secure the role
Paramount Pictures' first logo, based on a design by its co-founder William Wadsworth Hodkinson, used from 1914 to 1967.
The Curtis Institute of Music pictured in 2010. The building was used as the exterior of the Heritage Club where Winthorpe and Valentine first meet.
Winthorpe, Valentine, Ophelia, and Coleman retire with their gains to a tropical beach. The scene was shot on location in St Croix in the United States Virgin Islands.
Lasky's original studio (a.k.a. "The Barn") as it appeared in the mid-1920s. The Taft building, built in 1923, is visible in the background.
Jamie Lee Curtis pictured in 2018. She was dismissed as only a horror film star before her critically well-received breakthrough performance in Trading Places.
Detail of Publix Theatre logo on what is now Indiana Repertory Theatre.
Eddie Murphy pictured in 2010. His successes with 48 Hrs. and Trading Places elevated him to film superstardom.
Paramount Pictures ad in The Film Daily, 1932
A drawing from the 1882 novel The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain. Trading Places is seen as a modern retelling of that story and Twain's 1893 short story The Million Pound Bank Note.
Artist Dario Campanile poses with a picture Paramount commissioned him in 1986 to paint for its 75th anniversary. The company later used the painting as a basis for its new logo. That logo was introduced as a prototype in the 1986 film The Golden Child; the 1987 film Critical Condition was the first to feature the finalized version of the logo. 1999's South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut was the first to use an enhanced version of the logo, which was last used on 2002's Crossroads.
For its 90th anniversary, Paramount adopted the logo shown here. In 2012, it was used in tandem with the current one. This picture shows the 2010 modification of the logo, which includes Viacom's revised byline introduced in 2006. The first film to use the revised Viacom byline was Iron Man 2.
Paramount Showman's Pictures advertisement, 1925

Landis also cast Curtis, against the intent of the studio, Paramount Pictures; she was famous mainly for her roles in horror films, which were looked down upon at the time.

- Trading Places

Other examples are the Star Trek film series and a string of films starring comedian Eddie Murphy like Trading Places, Coming to America and Beverly Hills Cop and its sequels.

- Paramount Pictures

2 related topics with Alpha

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Murphy at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival

Eddie Murphy

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American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer.

American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer.

Murphy at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival
Murphy in 1988
Murphy's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Murphy has received Golden Globe Award nominations for his performances in 48 Hrs. (1982), the Beverly Hills Cop series (1984–present), Trading Places (1983), The Nutty Professor (1996), and Dolemite Is My Name (2019).

By this time, Murphy's near-exclusive contract with Paramount Pictures rivaled Star Trek as Paramount's most lucrative franchise.

Theatrical release poster illustrated by Drew Struzan

Coming to America

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1988 American romantic comedy film directed by John Landis and based on a story originally created by Eddie Murphy, who also stars in the lead role.

1988 American romantic comedy film directed by John Landis and based on a story originally created by Eddie Murphy, who also stars in the lead role.

Theatrical release poster illustrated by Drew Struzan

After a dinner date with Lisa is thwarted when Semmi furnishes their apartment with a hot tub and other luxuries, Akeem confiscates his money and donates it to two homeless men.

Released on June 29, 1988, by Paramount Pictures in the United States, it was a commercial box-office success, both domestically and worldwide.