Hidden Talent : The Emergence of Hollywood Agents / Tom Kemper.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kemper, Tom, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Motion picture industry--California--Los Angeles--History--20th century.

Motion picture industry.

Theatrical agencies--California--Los Angeles--History--20th century.

Theatrical agencies.

Theatrical agents--California--Los Angeles--History--20th century.

Theatrical agents.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (313 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley, CA : University of California Press, [2009]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Katharine Hepburn, John Wayne, Lauren Bacall-behind each of these stars was a hidden force: the talent agent. In this first-ever history of Hollywood agents, Tom Kemper mines agency archives to present an insider's view on their tooth-and-claw rise to power during the studio era. It's a tale of ambitious characters, savvy calculation, muckraking, financial ruin, and ultimate triumph, and establishes the agent's vital role in the Hollywood business world. Existing studies characterize agents as a product of the 1950s, but Kemper revises the record to show how agents emerged from the primordial film industry during the late 1920s and carved themselves a permanent niche. Through case studies of key figures like Myron Selznick and Charles Feldman, we see that the agent's character and social relationships functioned within a business structure-a good reputation and powerful connections were his most precious assets. With wit and precision, Kemper locates Hollywood agents at the crossroads of talent and profit, and captures their central and enduring role in the burgeoning film industry.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. City of Agents: The Power of Place

2. Revenge of the Agent: Myron Selznick

3. A Percentage of Power: Small Agents

4. Charisma and Contracts: Charles Feldman

5. Numbers and Niches: Boutique Agencies

6. Sealing the Deal: The Contract Industry

7. My Man Myron: Power and Persuasion

8. What Made Myron Run?: The Whole Equation

9. Tall in the Saddle: Agents in the Producer's Chair

10. The Deal Factory: New Fortunes in the Forties

Epilogue. The Corporate Era: Changing Channels

Abbreviations

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9786612556180

9781282556188

1282556185

9780520944749

0520944747

OCLC:

613205921