control of the movies and the way was opened for the foreign ownership of Hollywood properties - mostly by the Japanese. United Artists merged with MGM in 1981 to form MGM/UA, which was subsequently acquired by Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., in 1986. A number of the studios were taken over by multi-national conglomerates as their entertainment divisions: Paramount by Gulf Western in 1989 - re-named Paramount Communications, Inc.; 20th Century Fox by an oil tycoon in 1981 and then a shared ownership with publisher Robert Murdoch in 1985; Columbia Pictures by Coca-Cola in 1982; and MCA/Universal by Matsu*censored*a in 1990. In 1989, Sony purchased Columbia and Tri-Star Pictures from Coca-Cola for $3.4 billion, naming itself Sony Pictures Entertainment. Walt Disney Productions appeared to be one of the few studio-era survivors. Because costly film decisions were more in the hands of people making the financial decisions, not the film makers. Movies were made only if they could guarantee financial success, thereby leaning towards well-known star names attached to film titles without as much attention paid to intelligent scripts. With this kind of pressure, film stars demanded higher salaries, up front, as well as a percentage of the film's gross take, earning as much as $20 million. Budgets and actors salaries skyrocketed out of control, and powerful agents negotiated outrageous deals.In 1988 technical breakthroughs were accomplished in Robert Zemeckis' innovative Who Framed Roger Rabbit - it seamlessly blended animated cartoon characters and live action in a hard-boiled, 1940s-style Hollywood murder mystery. The film was a collaboration between Steven Spielberg and the Walt Disney Studio. Earlier, in 1964, Disney had married animation and live-action in the 60s hit Mary Poppins. In 1989 Disney Studios returned to its old-fashioned film values with Honey, I Shrunk the Kids - an inventive, special-effect-filled comedy about a father/scie...
