Greetings and...action! Chester County is still winterized with snow on all of the appropriate areas but with clear roads. Someone should be filming a movie for this coming Holiday Season. Do you hear that United Artists? This company was incorporated as a joint venture on this day in 1919 by four of the leading figures in early Hollywood: Mary Pickford, Charles Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and D,W. Griffith. Each held a 20% stake, with the remaining 20% held by lawyer William McAdoo. No, not the thick spectacled cartoon character! That was Mr. McGoo. The idea for the venture originated with Fairbanks, Chaplin, Pickford, and cowboy star William Hart a year earlier as they were traveling around the U.S. selling bonds to help the War effort. Already veterans of Hollywood, the four film stars began to talk of forming their own company to better control their own work as well as their futures. They were spurred on by established Hollywood producers and distributors making moves to tighten their control on star salaries and creative control, a process which would evolve into the rigid studio system. With the addition of Griffith, planning began, but Hart bowed out even before things had formalized. When he heard about their scheme, the head of Metro Pictures was said to have observed, "The inmates are taking over the asylum." The four partners, with advice from McAdoo (son-in-law and former Treasury Secretary of then-President Woodrow Wilson), then formed their distribution company. If you ever get a chance, Mary Pickford has a very interesting biography. As well as being a talented actor, she was savvy, smart and determined. My friends called me yesterday from beautiful and warm Naples, Florida and again I was thrilled to hear the weather report from down there. Work went extremely well yesterday with only one snafu that was fixed in a jiffy. Anyway, I wonder how hard it would be to run a movie company? Costs are huge and if a movie is a bomb it can really hurt the investors. Theatre of the absurd is included in this theory as on this day in 1958 a hydrogen bomb was lost by the U.S. Air Force off the coast of Georgia, never to be recovered. Other lost bombs include 'Charlie Bartlett' and 'Deception' made in 2008. I just heard from a long term client while I was writing this entry and they will be coming to visit me soon. I hope they bring those three little angels to the shop with them. I enjoy that about as much as hearing how warm it is on the beach in Florida! (this may or may not be true..actually it is.) Have a great day. Showcase your talents whenever possible and 'Don't Drop Bombs'!
