
Audio only
Starmaker
David O. Selznick and the Production of Stars in the Hollywood Studio SystemBy Milan HainNarrated by Brian TroxellLength9h 37m
About this audiobook
David O. Selznick (1902–1965) was one of the most prominent film producers of the Hollywood studio era, responsible for such artistic and commercial triumphs as
King Kong, David Copperfield, Anna Karenina, A Star Is Born, Gone with the Wind, Rebecca, Spellbound, and
The Third Man. However, film production was not his only domain. Starting in the late 1930s, he built an impressive stable of stars within his own independent company, including Ingrid Bergman, Vivien Leigh, Joan Fontaine, Jennifer Jones, and Gregory Peck.
In
Starmaker: David O. Selznick and the Production of Stars in the Hollywood Studio System, author Milan Hain reveals the mechanisms by which Selznick and his collaborators discovered and promoted new stars and describes how these personalities were marketed, whether for financial gain or symbolic recognition and prestige. Using a wide range of archival materials, the book significantly complements and reshapes our understanding of Selznick's celebrated career by focusing on heretofore neglected aspects of his creative and business activities. It also sheds light on the US film industry during the Golden Age of Hollywood studios and in the postwar period when the established order began to break down. By structuring the book around Selznick and his role as a starmaker, Hain demonstrates that star production and development in the Hollywood studio system was a highly organized and systematic activity, though the respective strategies and procedures were often hidden from the public eye.
Audiobook details
GenreOther, Biography and Memoir
Length9 hrs 37 mins
Narrated byBrian Troxell
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateDec 8, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Opening Credits
74. From Model Teenager to Teenage Mother: Shirley Temple as Selznick's Contract Star in the 1940s
2Prologue: A Star Is Born as the Quintessential Hollywood Myth
85. Selznick (Goes) International: Selznick's Studio and International Stars after 1945
3Introduction
96. The Most Faithful of Them All: Jennifer Jones after The Song of Bernadette
41. The Construction of Naturalness: Ingrid Bergman and Intermezzo: A Love Story
10Conclusion. The Selznick Brand: In the Tradition of Quality and Prestige
52. Producing Prestige: Loan-Outs of Selznick's Female Stars in the First Half of the 1940s
11Acknowledgments
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63. While They Were Fighting: The Development of Male Stars during World War II
12Closing Credits