Moguls & Movie Stars Giveaway

(About Moguls & Movie Stars)
TCM will tell the comprehensive story of the men and women who built the American film industry in this groundbreaking, seven-part documentary series. MOGULS & MOVIE STARS features rarely seen photographs and film footage; clips from memorable American movies; and interviews with distinguished historians and major Hollywood figures, including Sidney Lumet, Richard Zanuck, Samuel Goldwyn Jr., Peter Bogdanovich, Gore Vidal, Robert Osborne and Molly Haskell.
Spanning from the invention of the first moving pictures to the revolutionary, cutting-edge films of the 1960s, this ambitious production is an epic history of Hollywood, detailing the personalities,
inter-personal relationships, collaborations and conflicts that created an industry and an art form. The series also serves 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. MOGULS & MOVIE STARS is executive-produced by Bill Haber (TNT's Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King; Broadway's The History Boys and Monty Python's Spamalot) and written and produced by Jon Wilkman.



Turner Classic Movies is a Peabody Award-winning network that presents great films, uncut and commercial-free, from the largest film libraries in the world. Currently seen in more than 85 million homes, TCM features the insights of veteran primetime host Robert Osborne and weekend daytime host Ben Mankiewicz, plus interviews with a wide range of special guests. As the foremost authority in classic films, TCM offers critically acclaimed original documentaries and specials, along with regular programming events that include The Essentials, 31 Days of Oscar and Summer Under the Stars. TCM also stages special events and screenings, such as the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood; produces a wide range of media about classic film, including books and DVDs; and hosts a wealth of materials at its Web site, www.tcm.com. TCM is part of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company.


When the U.S. entered World War II, movies became a powerful means of promoting patriotism, not only through overt propaganda but through films that rallied support while also entertaining.  Some directors of the era, including Howard Hawks and Raoul Walsh, were as hard-bitten as their subject matter, while such filmmakers as Billy Wilder and Preston Sturges added an edge of humor and Orson Welles created his masterpiece, Citizen Kane (1941). Many male stars served in uniform while John Wayne seemed to be winning the war almost single-handedly onscreen. Directors such as George Stevens, John Ford and John Huston saw combat first-hand and created powerful documentaries, as did Frank Capra. When the war finally ended, producer Samuel Goldwyn and director William Wyler summed up the country's uncertain optimism with The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). A darker tone was conveyed by the shadowy world of film noir and the examination of such topics as anti-Semitism (Gentleman's Agreement, 1947) and racism (Home of the Brave, 1949). The business environment was also changing. Actress Olivia de Havilland challenged the studio contract system and won, and in 1948 the Hollywood moguls had to face the breakup of the old monopoly that allowed control of both film production and theaters. As the decade came to a close, a formidable new competitor loomed on the horizon.


The movies broke their silence in 1927, as Warner Bros. introduced the first major synchronized sound film, The Jazz Singer. Stage-trained actors were suddenly in demand, and among those to break though in the early sound era were James Cagney, Bette Davis, Clark Gable, Katharine Hepburn and Edward G. Robinson. For the most part, the movies were able to ride the storm of the Great Depression, as crowds flocked to escapist entertainments ranging from Mae West comedies to the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musicals. Most of the moguls toughed out the hard times, though some tumbled. Hungarian-born William Fox, after being a dominant force with his production company and chain of theaters, faced bankruptcy. Laemmle was forced to sell Universal in 1935. However, Harry Cohn prospered at low-budget Columbia Pictures, which gained new respect with director Frank Capra's Oscar®-winning It Happened One Night (1934). Darryl F. Zanuck, at 20th Century Fox, blossomed into one of the youngest moguls. A new generation of filmmakers from Europe included Ernst Lubitsch, William Wyler and Alfred Hitchcock, while homegrown genius Walt Disney created magic through the wonders of animation. As producer David O. Selznick capped the decade of the 1930s with his epic Gone With the Wind (1939), the great conflict of modern times was waiting in the wings.


The Hollywood studio system flowered in the 1920s, headed by strong-willed leaders -- most of them immigrants and small-time entrepreneurs and many of them Jewish. Each studio had its own house style. MGM, headed by Russian-born Louis B. Mayer with Irving Thalberg as his "boy wonder" production head, was super-glossy. Warner Bros., eventually to be led by brother Jack, provided grit, while Paramount, headed by Hungarian-born Adolph Zukor, lent glamour. Laemmle's Universal Pictures produced lavish spectacles and a series of fantastic dramas starring Lon Chaney. Hal Roach started a production company in 1915 and established Harold Lloyd as its comedy star. As Buster Keaton and Lloyd gave Chaplin competition, Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, Gloria Swanson and Greta Garbo joined the ranks of superstars. Chaplin, Fairbanks and Mary Pickford united with D.W. Griffith in 1919 to form United Artists. Around that same time, media mogul William Randolph Hearst formed Cosmopolitan Pictures to promote the career of his mistress, actress Marion Davies. The movies' influence grew more powerful, affecting real life in terms of fashion, attitudes and behavior. For some, the dreamscape of Hollywood seemed a threat to the nation's morals. Real-life scandals such as those involving Roscoe Arbuckle and director William Desmond Taylor spurred a demand for decency that eventually resulted in self-censorship by the film industry. In 1929 the first Academy Awards® were presented, with William Wellman's airborne adventure Wings sharing Best Picture with the drama Sunrise. Meanwhile, a new technology was about to revolutionize the film world.



In celebration of TCM's original series, MOGULS & MOVIE STARS, they have partnered with Zazzle  to create an inspired line of merchandise featuring quotes from Hollywood’s films and personalities. Create your own custom t-shirts, mugs, magnets and more in a variety of colors and styles and one winner will get to create a shirt of their own! To enter, you must follow my blog AND tell me your favorite movie quote.  Please please your response in a comment. This giveaway is open to the US only and will end on 12/7/10. 

***Please note I received no form of monetary compensation for this post-I was entered for a chance to win an iPad***