Routledge United Artists (The Routledge Hollywood Centenary Series)

Established in 1919 by Hollywood's top talent United Artists has had an illustrious history, from Hollywood minor to industry leader to a second-tier media company in the shadow of MGM. This edited collection brings together leading film historians to examine key aspects of United Artists' centennial history from its origins to the sometimes chaotic developments of the last four decades. The focus is on several key executives – ranging from Joseph Schenck to Paula Wagner and Tom Cruise – and on many of the people making films for United Artists, including Gloria Swanson, David O. Selznick, Kirk Douglas, the Mirisch brothers and Woody Allen. Drawing on a wide range of primary sources, individual case studies explore the mutually supportive but also in places highly contentious relationships between United Artists and its producers, the difficult balance between artistic and commercial objectives, and the resulting hits and misses (among them The General, the Pink Panther franchise, Heaven’s Gate, Cruising, and Hot Tub Time Machine). The second volume in the Routledge Hollywood Centenary series, United Artists is a fascinating and comprehensive study of the firm’s history and legacy, perfect for students and researchers of cinema and film history, media industries, and Hollywood. About the Author Peter Krämer is a Senior Research Fellow in Cinema and TV in the Leicester Media School at De Montfort University, and a Senior Fellow in the School of Art, Media and American Studies at the University of East Anglia. He is the author or editor of ten academic books, including the BFI Film Classic on The General. Gary Needham is Senior Lecturer in Film and Media at the University of Liverpool. He is the author of a book on Brokeback Mountain and co-editor of collections on Queer TV and the films of Andy Warhol. He is currently writing a book on the Andy Warhol/Edie Sedgwick films for Bloomsbury and co-edits the Routledge Hollywood Centenary series with Yannis Tzioumakis. Yannis Tzioumakis is Reader in Film and Media Industries at the University of Liverpool. He is the author of five books, most recently of Acting Indie: Industry, Aesthetics and Performance (2020 with Cynthia Baron) and co-editor of five collections, including The Hollywood Renaissance: Revisiting American Cinema’s Most Celebrated Era (2018). He co-edits the Routledge Hollywood Centenary and the Cinema and Youth Cultures book series. Tino Balio is Professor Emeritus of Film in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of numerous books and articles on the American film industry, including two monographs on the history of United Artists: United Artists: The Company Built by the Stars (1976) and United Artists: The Company that Changed the Film Industry (1987). He is also the author of MGM (2018), part of the Routledge Hollywood Centenary series.