Schatz - The genius of the system: Hollywood filmmaking in the studio era

The research for The Genius of the System took me to various archives, libraries, and depositories around the country, all of which are listed in the bibliographical section at the end of this book. I would like to acknowledge those institutions here at the outset, and to thank various individuals for the generous and able assistance I received on this project.

I am deeply indebted to Leith Adams and to Ned Comstock of the Department of Special Collections, University of Southern CaliforniaLeith for his help with the Warners materials and Ned for his help with the MGM and Universal files. They also provided valuable ideas and advice as this project took shape. At the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Margaret Herrick Library, my research was arranged and assisted by Sam Gill. Anne Schlosser helped me access and sort through the George B. Seitz Collection in the American Film Institutes Louis B. Mayer Library. At the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theatre Research, I was assisted by Harry Miller and Maxine Fleckner.

The support I received from the University of Texas and its Humanities Research Center while researching and writing (and rewriting) this book was enormous. I am especially grateful to W. H. (Deacon) Crane, Ray Daum, Paul Bailey, and Prentiss Moore for their assistance in the Hoblitzelle Theatre Arts Library at the Humanities Research Center, and also to Thomas Staley, Director of the HRC. Permission to quote from materials in the Selznick Collection at the HRC was granted by Selznick Properties, Limited. Jeffrey L. Selznick and David Thomson were gracious enough to review this manuscript and offer constructive suggestions for revisions. My thanks also go out to Dean Robert Livingston of the University Research Institute for financial support during the early stages of my research, and to Dean Robert Jeffrey of the College of Communication for similar assistance. I am most indebted, finally, to Bob Davis and Horace Newcomb, who as my friends and colleagues, and as successive chairs of the Radio-TV-Film Department, were upbeat and supportive throughout the five-year life span of this project. I would also like to thank my graduate students at the university for their support, encouragement, and patience, with special thanks to Chris Anderson for his research and editorial assistance.

Many other individuals helped in many different ways, and I am particularly grateful to Edwin Sharpe, Kathryn Burger, Greg Beal, Joann Lammers, Don Hartack, and Hilary Radner. Id also like to acknowledge Dudley Andrew and Bruce Gronbeck of the University of Iowa for providing me a place to hole up while I began work on the manuscript.

MY deepest gratitude goes to Sara Bershtel, my editor. This book would not have been taken on without her encouragement, and it would not be even half what it is now without her counsel and tireless assistance. Sara commented throughout this project on the similarities between book publishing and moviemaking, and indeed she played the role of creative producer from its inception to the final cut. Thanks also to Peter Biskind, a leading film writer and editor in his own right, who first suggested that I take on this subject and who monitored it from a distance.