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The Man Who Made the Movies: The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of William Fox

Product ID : 26060954


Galleon Product ID 26060954
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About The Man Who Made The Movies: The Meteoric Rise And

Product description A riveting story of ambition, greed, and genius unfolding at the dawn of modern America. This landmark biography brings into focus a fascinating brilliant entrepreneur—like Steve Jobs or Walt Disney, a true American visionary—who risked everything to realize his bold dream of a Hollywood empire. Although a major Hollywood studio still bears William Fox’s name, the man himself has mostly been forgotten by history, even written off as a failure. Now, in this fascinating biography, Vanda Krefft corrects the record, explaining why Fox’s legacy is central to the history of Hollywood. At the heart of William Fox’s life was the myth of the American Dream. His story intertwines the fate of the nineteenth-century immigrants who flooded into New York, the city’s vibrant and ruthless gilded age history, and the birth of America’s movie industry amid the dawn of the modern era. Drawing on a decade of original research, The Man Who Made the Movies offers a rich, compelling look at a complex man emblematic of his time, one of the most fascinating and formative eras in American history. Growing up in Lower East Side tenements, the eldest son of impoverished Hungarian immigrants, Fox began selling candy on the street. That entrepreneurial ambition eventually grew one small Brooklyn theater into a $300 million empire of deluxe studios and theaters that rivaled those of Adolph Zukor, Marcus Loew, and the Warner brothers, and launched stars such as Theda Bara. Amid the euphoric roaring twenties, the early movie moguls waged a fierce battle for control of their industry. A fearless risk-taker, Fox won and was hailed as a genius—until a confluence of circumstances, culminating with the 1929 stock market crash, led to his ruin. Amazon.com Review William Fox’s journey from Lower East Side immigrant to successful movie mogul is in many ways a classic tale, but for one exception—within fifteen years, he was out of the company that still bears his name. Fox’s rise and fall is thoroughly examined by journalist Vanda Krefft, leaving few stones unturned in this voluminous portrait. What emerges is the story of an historic character, who launched careers and built an empire, and who battled it out with other moguls throughout the roaring twenties, only to be taken down by circumstance and the historic crash of 1929. —Chris Schluep, The Amazon Book Review Review “Krefft captures both the culture of the origins of cinema as a business and the many fascinating personalities at play within the narrative. No longer Hollywood’s forgotten pioneer, William Fox now has the history he deserves.” ( Washington Post) “Life, ever unfair, had its way with the fantastic Mr. Fox. Yet Krefft reminds us, in this big, brassy production of a book, of his grand legacy.” ( USA Today (four stars)) “Whether Krefft is describing how Fox built his studio, ushered in the talkies, or weathered a litany of troubles—bankruptcy, jail time for trying to bribe a judge, and poor health—in his later years, her attention to detail makes for gripping storytelling.” ( Publishers Weekly) “Krefft’s thoroughly researched, engagingly written book shows this scrappy visionary to be an enabler of the best sort of talent.” (Huffington Post, Best Film Books of 2017) “Stunningly researched, lucidly told, and consistently illuminating, The Man Who Made the Movies is actually the story of America: the tale of an immigrant who rises high, a captain of industry capturing dreams, a visionary later forgotten after the forces he helped to broker bring him down.” (Brenda Wineapple, award-winning author of Ecstatic Nation and White Heat) “William Fox has been hiding in plain sight, and Ms. Krefft has done an extraordinary job of putting him in the spotlight through exhaustive research in archives and libraries across America. The book is an immensely valuable resource...simultaneously a great American success story and a shudder-provoking cautionary tale.” (The Wall Street Journal) “The most exciting new biography I have read in years. The rags-to-riches tale of William Fox, a fascinating though inexplicably neglected figure in our history, is as big and vibrant as the film industry he helped to found…. Rich in conflict, teeming with energy, and impossible to resist.” (John Matteson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Eden’s Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father) “A big dig of a book, a nuanced human portrait as well as a sweeping financial chronicle, excavating William Fox from ancient burial grounds and restoring his preeminence as the T-Rex and Volpone of American silent film.” (—Patrick McGilligan, author of Young Orson: The Years of Luck and Genius on the Path to Citizen Kane) “Krefft provides an in-depth overview of the early film industry and a lucid assessment of Fox’s role in advancing the technology, art, and business of making films.” (Kirkus Reviews) “a celebration of Fox’s spirit, his determination, and his lasting impact on the motion picture industry.” (Booklist) From the Back Cover A riveting story of ambition, greed, and genius unfolding at the dawn of modern america, this landmark biography brings into focus a brilliant entrepreneur—a true american visionary, the likes of steve jobs or walt disney—who risked everything to realize his bold dream of a hollywood empire. Although a major Hollywood studio still bears William Fox’s name, the man himself has been largely forgotten by history—even written off as a failure. Now, in this commanding biography, Vanda Krefft corrects the record, explaining why Fox’s legacy is central to the annals of Hollywood. At the heart of William Fox’s life is the myth of the American dream. His story intertwines the fate of the nineteenth-century immigrants who flooded into New York, the splendor of the city’s vibrant and ruthless Gilded Age, and the birth of America’s movie industry at the dawn of the modern era. Drawing on a decade of original research, The Man Who Made the Movies offers a rich, compelling look at a complex man emblematic of his time, one of the most fascinating and formative periods in American history. Growing up in the tenements of New York’s Lower East Side, the eldest son of impoverished Hungarian immigrants, Fox began his career selling candy on the street. That entrepreneurial ambition would eventually expand one small Brooklyn theater into a $300 million empire of deluxe studios and theaters that rivaled those of Adolph Zukor, Marcus Loew, and the Warner brothers, and would launch such stars as Theda Bara. Amid the euphoria of the Roaring Twenties, the early movie moguls waged a fierce battle for control of their industry. Fox, a fearless risk taker, won, and was hailed as a genius—until a confluence of circumstances, culminating with the 1929 stock market crash, led to his ruin. About the Author Vanda Krefft is a former magazine and newspaper journalist who has covered the entertainment industry for publications such as Elle, Redbook, Woman’s Day, and the Los Angeles Times. She has a BA in English and an MA in Communication, both from the University of Pennsylvania, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.