<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Universal Pictures (formerly Universal-International) and Universal Studios are the motion picture and studio operations of NBC Universal, located in Universal City, California.

Founder Carl Laemmle opened his first nickelodeon theater in 1906. Three years later, he established the Independent Moving Picture Company of America, thus becoming involved in all three phases of film: production, distribution, and exhibition. On March 15, 1915, Laemmle officially opened the gates to Universal City, the world's first self-contained community dedicated to moviemaking.

Universal released its first "talking picture," Melody of Love, in 1928. In 1931, Universal released Dracula starring Bela Lugosi, and Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff, beginning a long period of leadership in the horror genre, culminating with Psycho in 1960.

Universal's science fiction, fantasy, and horror output includes Steven Spielberg's made-for-TV movie thriller Duel (1971) and his theatrical releases Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Always (1989), Jurassic Park (1993), and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997).

Recent genre titles from Universal include The Mummy (1999), The Mummy Returns (2001), The Scorpion King (2002), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Van Helsing (2004), Joss Whedon's Serenity (2005), Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005), and Slither (2006).