David Selznick, Doc Holliday and Blogging
This Week
David O.Selznick – The Early Years
Facts about Doc Holliday
Writers Notebook: On Blogging
David O. Selznick:
David Selznick was a staunch advocate of transferring literature as it was written to film. David was an avid reader and grew up with the classics including Dickens and Tolstoi. As a film producer Selznick is remembered best for his production of Gone With the Wind and if that was his only accomplishment he would have had a successful career. However, that was not the case and as Al Jolson said in The Jazz Singer, 'You ain't seen nothin' yet.'
David Selznick was born on May 10, 1902, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the youngest of three sons born to Lewis and Florence Selznick. The boys Howard, Myron and David grew up in New York City. Their father was in the early motion picture business. Myron and David would follow their father into the movie business. Their older brother Howard had health issues and he didn't take part in the business.
David's world revolved around his father and the motion picture business, everyday after school, he went to his father's office in Times Square and worked with his father.David skipped school every chance he got believing it was more important to learn the movie business and analyze actors for his father than it was to follow tradition and attend school every day.
Father and sons worked hard at the business until 1923 when the bottom fell out of their world. The Selznick Pictures business model didn't work, and when Lewis Selznick determined that he was unable to compete, he filed for bankruptcy and sold all the family possessions. That was a setback for the family yet David was not about to give up, he was certain that he could and would be a success in the motion picture business.
It was quite a come down for the Selznick's as they were forced to move out of a huge Park Avenue apartment, with servants, to a three room flat. However, they all took it in stride, especially the mother. Florence Selznick set the tone by doing the cooking and house cleaning without a whimper. His mother's strong will had apparently rubbed off on David and he began to think of ways to rehabilitate his and the family image. When he looked around at successful motion picture executives he was drawn to men like Cecil B. DeMille and Louis B. Mayer. He looked close at those names in print and at that moment decided that adding a middle initial to his name might be helpful, so he added an O and became David O. Selznick.
David was a natural born promoter and entrepreneur. As he looked back at his father's business career he recognized some of the mistakes. Cost was never an issue with his father and it was obvious to David that Selznick Production's spent far too much on advertising and not enough on content and product development.
Starting out with no budget David had to find a low cost project with potential high end results. During his search for a project he came up with the idea of using a boxing match with a title 'Will he Conquer Dempsey?' He would make a two-reeler using the prize fighter Luis Firpo in training for his fight with Jack Dempsey.
David figured it would cost about two thousand dollars to make the film. He spent a couple of weeks promoting the idea and when he came up with the cash he approached Firpo and told him he'd give him a thousand dollars a day for his work.
Firpo agreed and David scouted locations all over Manhattan Central Park, the Battery, street scenes and rooftop boxing rings. He worked out the shooting schedule and just after dawn they began to shoot the star. David ran the fighter ragged from one location to the next using nothing but natural light. At the end of the day David announced that the film was finished.
Firpo got his thousand dollars, but just how many hours were actually in that day we'll never know. Apparently it was enough because when David edited and put the film together he had his first film in the can. The two-reeler sold and made a profit for the investors and for David O. Selznick.
David ran across his next project quite by accident. He read that Rudolph Valentino was not working because of a dispute with Paramount and of course the public wanted to see him. David seized on the idea of making Valentino a judge at an upcoming beauty pageant. He went to the pageant people and asked if they would like to use Rudolph Valentino as one of their judges. They were interested from the start and once Valentino agreed all David had to do was take advantage of the situation and get as much film as he could of the star.
It worked to perfection, David got the film and made a two-reel film of the great lover. The cost of the film and lights at Madison Square Garden were all the expenses he had – he made a cool $15,000.00 dollars profit.
His next film was called Roulette, which featured an all star cast including several stars he engaged for only an hour or two. Roulette didn't do nearly as well as Judge Valentino but you couldn't count it a loss because of the practical knowledge David got from the experience.
Myron Selznick had moved to Hollywood and urged his brother to come out and join him. David obliged and his first job in Hollywood was with Associated Exhibitors to scout around and find two-reelers that the company could release. David found several, unfortunately though Associated Exhibitors went out of business before the deals could be acted on, which left him without a paycheck.
Using some of his father's contacts he talked himself into a $75.00 dollar a week job at MGM. He was hired as a reader for producer Harry Rapf and not only did he read during those first few weeks he did something that might have been the precursor to his memo writing. There was a suggestion box at the studio and as it worked out it might just have been his lifeline. David stuffed that box with suggestions every day and it apparently got someones attention because within a couple of weeks he was promoted from reader to Manager of the Writers Department. That was a title without distinction, although it did get him some recognition and in a short time he was moved up to story editor. Next he became one of Harry Rapf's assistants. (They were called stooges at the time.)
David Selznick had proved his worth at every level and was very effective as an assistant to Producer Rapf. His next move came as an unexpected surprise when he was asked to produce Tim McCoy westerns simply because the McCoy producer got tired of the format and wanted out.
David accepted the job with some trepidations thinking how in the world can I make a reputation producing westerns?
It was a stepping stone though and he did a good job. After he made several films he could see a way to make two films for the price of one. By using two scripts and two leading ladies they could shoot two different films using the same setups. As it turned out it worked and with that innovation David had won his spurs as a producer.
(To be continued)
In the coming weeks we'll look at many David Selznick memos and films as well as some of the careers he launched: Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones and writer producer Alfred Hitchcock.
Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone
False accusations and outright lies Aimed to darken the Holliday legend were not lost on journalist, Lucy Caldwell and producer, Bobby Anderson. They were convinced that the true Holliday legend was hidden beneath a veneer that Dime Store novels had drawn and Hollywood perpetuated. Lucy and Bobby work independently, searching for the real Doc Holliday, but success comes only after they join forces and fully explore the love story involving his cousin, Mattie Holiday.
The storybook romance between John Henry and Mattie is cut short by disease and family strife. The young dentist is forced by circumstance and failing health to abandon Mattie for a life in the West. And by using his gambling skills and caustic wit, Doc Holliday plays out the hand life had dealt him.
On the road to Tombstone Doc encounters some familiar names Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Eddie Foy and Kate Elder to name a few.
In a card game at Ft. Griffin Doc, when forced to defend himself, kills a card cheater. The cheaters pals want retribution, but Kate plans and executes a daring escape from the hostile mob. Doc owes his life to Kate and even as they forge a salty and sometimes tumultuous relationship, he would never forget her act of heroism at Ft. Griffin.
Doc’s courage and loyalty are tested when he rushes in to save Wyatt Earp from a gang of drunken cowboys and a hangman’s noose at Dodge City. Three years later he once again shows his true character when he stands with the Earp’s in the shootout, at the Ok Corral. Doc survives the gunfight, but death from tuberculosis is never far away.
Mattie, desperate in her loneliness, writes Doc that she has returned to St. Vincent’s Academy, become a nun, and has taken a new name -- Sister Mary Melanie. Doc is stung by the news, but is quick to realize that it was his own neglect, of the girl he left behind, that had placed Mattie in the nunnery.
“...Doc Holliday’s Road to Tombstone is splendid. And it has the best telling of the gunfight at the OK Corral that I’ve ever read. I wish I’d written it.” --Martin Meyers, author of the Patrick Hardy mysteries, co-author of The Dutchman Series.
Writers Notebook:
On Internet Blogging:
Think of blogging as a community bulletin board.
Simply put; you blog to share information with others and you can blog about anything Aunt Suzie’s favorite recipes, politics, pop art, gardening or fly-fishing.
The political classes are having a field day in the blog world.
My ‘RocktheTower’ blog reflects many of my personal experiences including writing, acting and my 1945 season with the original Navy Hurricane Hunters.
Most writers have files filled with stuff (and some is just that – stuff) we’ve written in the past articles, essays etc. If you’ve written a book you’re in good shape because you have lots of material to fall back on. Use excerpts to promote your book or make a point.
You set your own schedule and deadline to post. My idea is to work with consistency in order to make that deadline. One of the incentives I use is that at the end of the day I will have accumulated enough material to edit into a book about storytelling on the blog.
Twitter is something you might look into, it will give you another way to generate new ideas and feed your blog: something to think about.
Tom Barnes -- Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter.
Check out my website for books, blogs, western legends, a literary icon, reviews and interviews. Also my novels Tungee's Gold, The Goring Collection and Doc Holliday’s Road to Tombstone along with a non fiction remembrance of The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
Facebook and Twitter
http://thehurricanehunter.blogspot.com
www.tombarnes39.com
David O.Selznick – The Early Years
Facts about Doc Holliday
Writers Notebook: On Blogging
David O. Selznick:
David Selznick was a staunch advocate of transferring literature as it was written to film. David was an avid reader and grew up with the classics including Dickens and Tolstoi. As a film producer Selznick is remembered best for his production of Gone With the Wind and if that was his only accomplishment he would have had a successful career. However, that was not the case and as Al Jolson said in The Jazz Singer, 'You ain't seen nothin' yet.'
David Selznick was born on May 10, 1902, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the youngest of three sons born to Lewis and Florence Selznick. The boys Howard, Myron and David grew up in New York City. Their father was in the early motion picture business. Myron and David would follow their father into the movie business. Their older brother Howard had health issues and he didn't take part in the business.
David's world revolved around his father and the motion picture business, everyday after school, he went to his father's office in Times Square and worked with his father.David skipped school every chance he got believing it was more important to learn the movie business and analyze actors for his father than it was to follow tradition and attend school every day.
Father and sons worked hard at the business until 1923 when the bottom fell out of their world. The Selznick Pictures business model didn't work, and when Lewis Selznick determined that he was unable to compete, he filed for bankruptcy and sold all the family possessions. That was a setback for the family yet David was not about to give up, he was certain that he could and would be a success in the motion picture business.
It was quite a come down for the Selznick's as they were forced to move out of a huge Park Avenue apartment, with servants, to a three room flat. However, they all took it in stride, especially the mother. Florence Selznick set the tone by doing the cooking and house cleaning without a whimper. His mother's strong will had apparently rubbed off on David and he began to think of ways to rehabilitate his and the family image. When he looked around at successful motion picture executives he was drawn to men like Cecil B. DeMille and Louis B. Mayer. He looked close at those names in print and at that moment decided that adding a middle initial to his name might be helpful, so he added an O and became David O. Selznick.
David was a natural born promoter and entrepreneur. As he looked back at his father's business career he recognized some of the mistakes. Cost was never an issue with his father and it was obvious to David that Selznick Production's spent far too much on advertising and not enough on content and product development.
Starting out with no budget David had to find a low cost project with potential high end results. During his search for a project he came up with the idea of using a boxing match with a title 'Will he Conquer Dempsey?' He would make a two-reeler using the prize fighter Luis Firpo in training for his fight with Jack Dempsey.
David figured it would cost about two thousand dollars to make the film. He spent a couple of weeks promoting the idea and when he came up with the cash he approached Firpo and told him he'd give him a thousand dollars a day for his work.
Firpo agreed and David scouted locations all over Manhattan Central Park, the Battery, street scenes and rooftop boxing rings. He worked out the shooting schedule and just after dawn they began to shoot the star. David ran the fighter ragged from one location to the next using nothing but natural light. At the end of the day David announced that the film was finished.
Firpo got his thousand dollars, but just how many hours were actually in that day we'll never know. Apparently it was enough because when David edited and put the film together he had his first film in the can. The two-reeler sold and made a profit for the investors and for David O. Selznick.
David ran across his next project quite by accident. He read that Rudolph Valentino was not working because of a dispute with Paramount and of course the public wanted to see him. David seized on the idea of making Valentino a judge at an upcoming beauty pageant. He went to the pageant people and asked if they would like to use Rudolph Valentino as one of their judges. They were interested from the start and once Valentino agreed all David had to do was take advantage of the situation and get as much film as he could of the star.
It worked to perfection, David got the film and made a two-reel film of the great lover. The cost of the film and lights at Madison Square Garden were all the expenses he had – he made a cool $15,000.00 dollars profit.
His next film was called Roulette, which featured an all star cast including several stars he engaged for only an hour or two. Roulette didn't do nearly as well as Judge Valentino but you couldn't count it a loss because of the practical knowledge David got from the experience.
Myron Selznick had moved to Hollywood and urged his brother to come out and join him. David obliged and his first job in Hollywood was with Associated Exhibitors to scout around and find two-reelers that the company could release. David found several, unfortunately though Associated Exhibitors went out of business before the deals could be acted on, which left him without a paycheck.
Using some of his father's contacts he talked himself into a $75.00 dollar a week job at MGM. He was hired as a reader for producer Harry Rapf and not only did he read during those first few weeks he did something that might have been the precursor to his memo writing. There was a suggestion box at the studio and as it worked out it might just have been his lifeline. David stuffed that box with suggestions every day and it apparently got someones attention because within a couple of weeks he was promoted from reader to Manager of the Writers Department. That was a title without distinction, although it did get him some recognition and in a short time he was moved up to story editor. Next he became one of Harry Rapf's assistants. (They were called stooges at the time.)
David Selznick had proved his worth at every level and was very effective as an assistant to Producer Rapf. His next move came as an unexpected surprise when he was asked to produce Tim McCoy westerns simply because the McCoy producer got tired of the format and wanted out.
David accepted the job with some trepidations thinking how in the world can I make a reputation producing westerns?
It was a stepping stone though and he did a good job. After he made several films he could see a way to make two films for the price of one. By using two scripts and two leading ladies they could shoot two different films using the same setups. As it turned out it worked and with that innovation David had won his spurs as a producer.
(To be continued)
In the coming weeks we'll look at many David Selznick memos and films as well as some of the careers he launched: Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones and writer producer Alfred Hitchcock.
Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone
False accusations and outright lies Aimed to darken the Holliday legend were not lost on journalist, Lucy Caldwell and producer, Bobby Anderson. They were convinced that the true Holliday legend was hidden beneath a veneer that Dime Store novels had drawn and Hollywood perpetuated. Lucy and Bobby work independently, searching for the real Doc Holliday, but success comes only after they join forces and fully explore the love story involving his cousin, Mattie Holiday.
The storybook romance between John Henry and Mattie is cut short by disease and family strife. The young dentist is forced by circumstance and failing health to abandon Mattie for a life in the West. And by using his gambling skills and caustic wit, Doc Holliday plays out the hand life had dealt him.
On the road to Tombstone Doc encounters some familiar names Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Eddie Foy and Kate Elder to name a few.
In a card game at Ft. Griffin Doc, when forced to defend himself, kills a card cheater. The cheaters pals want retribution, but Kate plans and executes a daring escape from the hostile mob. Doc owes his life to Kate and even as they forge a salty and sometimes tumultuous relationship, he would never forget her act of heroism at Ft. Griffin.
Doc’s courage and loyalty are tested when he rushes in to save Wyatt Earp from a gang of drunken cowboys and a hangman’s noose at Dodge City. Three years later he once again shows his true character when he stands with the Earp’s in the shootout, at the Ok Corral. Doc survives the gunfight, but death from tuberculosis is never far away.
Mattie, desperate in her loneliness, writes Doc that she has returned to St. Vincent’s Academy, become a nun, and has taken a new name -- Sister Mary Melanie. Doc is stung by the news, but is quick to realize that it was his own neglect, of the girl he left behind, that had placed Mattie in the nunnery.
“...Doc Holliday’s Road to Tombstone is splendid. And it has the best telling of the gunfight at the OK Corral that I’ve ever read. I wish I’d written it.” --Martin Meyers, author of the Patrick Hardy mysteries, co-author of The Dutchman Series.
Writers Notebook:
On Internet Blogging:
Think of blogging as a community bulletin board.
Simply put; you blog to share information with others and you can blog about anything Aunt Suzie’s favorite recipes, politics, pop art, gardening or fly-fishing.
The political classes are having a field day in the blog world.
My ‘RocktheTower’ blog reflects many of my personal experiences including writing, acting and my 1945 season with the original Navy Hurricane Hunters.
Most writers have files filled with stuff (and some is just that – stuff) we’ve written in the past articles, essays etc. If you’ve written a book you’re in good shape because you have lots of material to fall back on. Use excerpts to promote your book or make a point.
You set your own schedule and deadline to post. My idea is to work with consistency in order to make that deadline. One of the incentives I use is that at the end of the day I will have accumulated enough material to edit into a book about storytelling on the blog.
Twitter is something you might look into, it will give you another way to generate new ideas and feed your blog: something to think about.
Tom Barnes -- Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter.
Check out my website for books, blogs, western legends, a literary icon, reviews and interviews. Also my novels Tungee's Gold, The Goring Collection and Doc Holliday’s Road to Tombstone along with a non fiction remembrance of The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
Facebook and Twitter
http://thehurricanehunter.blogspot.com
www.tombarnes39.com
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Tom's 'RocktheTower' Blog
I do a variety blog and post every Wednesday. I am an actor, writer and hurricane hunter and my subjects are generally written about those fields. During Hurricane Season I do at least one story every
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