Paramount Studios

Paramount Studios just may be a glutton for punishment. See, they produced Sunset Boulevard, but they also starred in the flick—as the main production company featured within the movie itself. We guess they didn't mind the possible hit to their rep.

Joe Gillis writes screenplays for Paramount, and when Norma Desmond wants to make her comeback, she drives to Paramount's studio to track down Cecil B. DeMille, an actual, famous director for the studio. So it's kind of cool, in a way, that Paramount was willing to go along with this crazy joke, having its own stars and big-shots figure largely in a movie that criticizes the illusions of Hollywood.

Billy Wilder's writing partner, Charles Brackett, is credited as the producer of the movie. The way he remembers it, they only ever considered Gloria Swanson for the role of Norma Desmond. But Billy Wilder disputes this version of their casting decision. He claims that he considered other silent-screen stars, like Mary Pickford and Pola Negri, along with Mae West, before finally settling on Swanson. Additionally, they originally cast Montgomery Clift as Joe Gillis, before he dropped out and needed to be replaced with William Holden.

Prime Production

Paramount Pictures back in 1950—and even today—is pretty much the cream of the crop when it comes to production companies. They're in every corner of the movie industry, and they're also the oldest game on the block. Yep, that's right: Paramount started in 1912—over a century ago. We bet you've seen that famous logo—the mountain surrounded by a halo of stars—at the start of just about a billion movies: Transformers, The Godfather, Indiana Jones. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.