“Forgotten Hollywood”- A Twentieth Century Relic…

Posted on March 19, 2019 by raideoman1 | No Comments

Manny P. here…

“`The Walt Disney Co.’s $71.3 billion acquisition of 20th Century Fox is about to become a reality, reminding us that the Studio Era actually ended in the late 1960s. The demise of 20th Century Fox as a standalone studio is an epochal event in Hollywood, and it casts doubt over a movie industry grappling with new digital competitors from Silicon Valley.

“`The history of Hollywood has always included the revolving door of studio ownership; even Fox Film Corporation founder William Fox, during the Depression, lost control of the studio that still carries his name. This backlot, built in 1926 on a Century City ranch in Los Angeles, was enormous. Fox has often taken chances on longshots and technological experiments. It was the first studio built for sound.

“`Early on, this was the studio of Spencer Tracy and Loretta Young. Shirley Temple insured Fox’s solvency. Marilyn Monroe solidified her on-screen persona in big budget productions. The careers of Tyrone Power, Betty Grable, Carmen Miranda, Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, Alice Faye, Gene Tierney, and composer Alfred Newman flourished. And Fox was known for CinemaScope, Laura, All About Eve, CleopatraThe Sound of Music, the franchises of Planet of the Apes and Alien, and a couple versions of Titanic.

“`Fox Searchlight is expected to stay largely intact. They are the regular Oscars contender behind 12 Years a Slave, The Shape of Water and The Favourite, and could give Disney something it’s never had before: a Best Picture winner at the Academy Awards.

“`With consolidation, Disney will have more influence on the movies Americans and the rest of the world see than any company ever has. Plus,  less studios could potentially mean fewer films. And a piece of Hollywood history is about to disappear. Another consideration, with the sale, Disney is about to own all of Fox’s cinematic library.

“`The Magic Kingdom will add 20th Century Fox alongside labels like Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm. A major downside… Due to duplication with Disney staff, layoffs will be in the thousands. So much for the happiest place on earth.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 19th, 2019 at 8:13 pm and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


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