Turner Classic Movies 10-Part
Moguls And Movie Stars: A History Of Hollywood
The true story behind the making of the American movie industry has as many ups and downs, twists and turns as the latest big-budget thriller, not to mention a cast of characters worthy of a shelf full of Oscars®. Above, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.
Now, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) tells the real story of the film industry in Moguls And Movie Stars: A History Of Hollywood (working title), an ambitious new 10-part documentary series co-produced by Bill Haber’s Ostar Productions and TCM. Haber (TNT’s Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King; Broadway’s The History Boys and Monty Python’s Spamalot) will serve as executive producer, while Jon Wilkman will write and produce. Wilkman is a veteran documentary filmmaker whose work has been honored with four Emmys® and numerous other international film and TV awards.
“TCM is known by lovers of great film as a destination for those who cherish the film industry’s cinematic legacy; no network is better positioned to tell Hollywood’s complete story than Turner Classic Movies,” said Michael Wright, executive vice president, head of programming for TCM, TBS and TNT. “This is an epic project that promises to be a landmark event for TCM.”
“More than just a check list of great movies, Moguls And Movie Stars: A History Of Hollywood is a rare, personalized look at the American film industry, featuring the remarkable men and women whose drive and ambition founded the ‘Dream Factory’ that became Hollywood,” Haber said. “At the heart of our story is a remarkable generation who, in a few short years, created an entertainment empire – among them such names as Mayer, Goldwyn, Warner, Fox, Zanuck and Selznick. Many began as impoverished immigrants and became among the wealthiest and most influential figures in American culture.”
“Our story will span more than 100 years of inventiveness and entertainment,” said Wilkman. “From Thomas Edison to Steven Spielberg, from Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford to Sean Penn and Kate Winslet, we’ll tell the stories of Moguls And Movie Stars: A History Of Hollywood, the lives they’ve lived, the movies they’ve made and the impact they’ve had on lives around the world.”
Set to premiere in 2010, Moguls And Movie Stars: A History Of Hollywood will consist of 10 one-hour documentaries, each focusing on a different era of American movie history, from the invention of the first photographs that moved to the astonishing, computer-driven imagery of the present. Each installment will feature rarely seen photographs and film footage, clips from memorable American movies and interviews with distinguished historians and major Hollywood figures.
At its heart, the documentary series will be a personal history of Hollywood, detailing the personalities, inter-personal relationships, collaborations and conflicts that created an industry and an art form. The series will also serve as a history of America, looking at how moviemakers responded to such major events as the Great Depression, World War II and the Civil Rights movement. As America has change, so has the movie industry, with the rise and fall of the studio system, the challenge of television and online media and the evolution of conglomerates and mega-producers.
