The Studio Era

I recently read a really interesting book all about the studio system. The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era by Thomas Schatz was fascinating. I was familiar with the studio era -- the so-called “Golden Era” of filmmaking from the 20s through the late 40s and early 50s – but I really only knew one studio, MGM. And of course, my favorite studio executive, Irving Thalberg, who was really cute.

But this book opened my eyes to more than just MGM -- there was Warner Brothers, RKO, David O. Selznick, etc. It seems like Irving was probably the most skilled at working the studio system in order to get quality product out of it, but he was not the only person capable of running the studio.

The book covers the filmmaking process in parts, but definitely looks at it from more of a business perspective. I had never really thought of filmmaking as a business before. Obviously, there is the obsession with box-office grosses now, but first and foremost, I think of filmmaking as a kind of art. But apparently that is more of a modern idea -- I believe it came from the idea of the director as auteur and sole creator of a film. After reading this book, I realized that there is definitely a lot of input and restrictions and advice by others than appears on the surface.

I don’t know that this book would be a good read if you weren’t interested in the business aspect of filmmaking, or wanted a more in-depth look at the mechanics behind the stars, but I found it very interesting. It seems rare to have a look at the moguls who financed and made the mechanics of filmmaking work.

But if you agree that Irving Thalberg is cute, I would suggest reading this. It shows that he was both a cute creative guy with a shrewd sense of business.