Film Lumineux

[INDISTINCT CHATTERING] TO MODERATE OUR SESSION THIS AFTERNOON, WE'VE ASKED MY GOOD FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE AND THE CHAIRMAN OF MY DEPARTMENT AT USC IN HISTORY, STEVE ROSS, TO JOIN US. STEVE AND I HAVE BEEN GOOD FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES FOR... A WHILE. AND--YEAH. AND-- [LAUGHTER] HAVE BEEN COLLEAGUES AT USC OVER THE LAST 4 YEARS OR SO, SINCE I JOINED THAT HISTORY DEPARTMENT. STEVE IS A SCHOLAR OF AMERICAN SOCIAL HISTORY, A DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR OF THE 20th CENTURY. PARTICULAR INTERESTS OF STEVE ARE LABOR HISTORY AND SOCIAL HISTORY OF THE PRE-WORLD WAR II ERA. AND HE'S PROBABLY BEST KNOWN TO THE MEMBERS OF OUR AUDIENCE FOR HIS WORK ON HOLLYWOOD, PARTICULARLY THE LABOR STORY OF HOLLYWOOD, AN INTRICATE AND COMPLEX STORYBOOK IN FRONT OF AND, PARTICULARLY, PERHAPS, BEHIND THE CAMERA. AND STEVE'S THE PERFECT PERSON TO MODERATE THIS PANEL. SO I'M VERY GRATEFUL TO HIM. AND I'LL TURN THINGS OVER TO STEVE TO INTRODUCE THE PANELISTS AND BEGIN THIS SESSION DEVOTED TO THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES. PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING STEVE ROSS AND THE PANEL. [APPLAUSE] THANK YOU. LET ME JUST GIVE YOU A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF HOW WE'RE GOING TO RUN THINGS TODAY. WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE ACADEMY'S HISTORY. SID GANIS WILL TALK ABOUT THE ACADEMY, ITS LONG HISTORY AND MISSION. BARBARA HALL IS GOING TO FOCUS ON THE FIRST ACADEMY AWARDS IN 1929 AND SOME OF ITS KEY MOMENTS IN THE THIRTIES. EMILY THOMPSON WILL EXAMINE THE IMPORTANT ROLE THE ACADEMY PLAYED IN MANAGING THE TRANSITION FROM SILENT TO SOUND PICTURES IN THE LATE TWENTIES AND THIRTIES. AND I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE BACKSTORY BEHIND THE ACADEMY'S CREATION, HOLLYWOOD, AND THE LABOR PROBLEM. BUT LET ME INTRODUCE OUR PANELISTS. IT'S MY PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE OUR FIRST SPEAKER, WHO'S GOING TO BE--I'LL INTRODUCE ALL OF THEM, AND THEN, THEY'LL COME UP AND DO THEIR THING. SID GANIS, WHO IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES. AND SID FOUNDED OUT OF THE BLUE ENTERTAINMENT IN 1996 FOLLOWING A DISTINGUISHED CAREER AS AN EXECUTIVE AT SEVERAL MAJOR STUDIOS. BASED AT SONY STUDIOS IN CULVER CITY, OUT OF THE BLUE MOST RECENTLY PRODUCED THE FEATURE FILM AKEELAH AND THE BEE. BEFORE JOINING SONY, MR. GANIS SERVED FOR 5 YEARS AT PARAMOUNT PICTURES, AND AS PRESIDENT OF THE MOTION PICTURE GROUP, HE GREENLIT THE BOX OFFICE HIT GHOST AND PURCHASED THE RIGHTS TO WINSTON GROOM'S NOVEL FORREST GUMP, WHICH WENT ON TO WIN 6 ACADEMY AWARDS. PRIOR TO THAT, MR. GANIS SERVED AS A SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AT LUCASFILM, WORKING CLOSELY WITH GEORGE LUCAS ON THE PRODUCTION AND MARKETING OF THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, AND OTHER FILMS. HIS OWN COMPANY, OUT OF THE BLUE ENTERTAINMENT, FOUND BOX OFFICE SUCCESS WITH ITS FIRST 2 PRODUCTIONS, COLUMBIA PICTURES' BIG DADDY AND TOUCHSTONE'S DEUCE BIGALOW: MALE GIGOLO. [LAUGHTER] OUR SECOND SPEAKER, BARBARA HALL--IF YOU--FOR THOSE OF YOU OUT THERE WHO LIKE TO READ FILM BOOKS, IF YOU READ THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT SECTION OF THOSE BOOKS, YOU'LL FIND PROBABLY THE MOST FREQUENTLY CITED NAME IS BARBARA HALL. IN FACT, ANYONE DOING ARCHIVAL RESEARCH KNOWS THAT IT'S PEOPLE LIKE BARBARA WHO MAKE OUR SUCCESS POSSIBLE WHILE TAKING LITTLE CREDIT FOR HELPING US DO SO. BARBARA'S OFFICIAL TITLE IS RESEARCH ARCHIVIST AT THE ACADEMY'S MARGARET HERRICK LIBRARY, BUT HER UNOFFICIAL TITLE IS GRAND DAME OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS. [LAUGHS] ANYONE WHO WANTS TO KNOW WHERE TO LOOK, WHICH COLLECTIONS TO CONSULT, OR, MOST IMPORTANT, WHERE TO BEGIN YOUR RESEARCH, TALKS TO BARBARA. SHE IS THE HISTORIAN OF THE HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS. A SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NATIVE, BARBARA ATTENDED USC AND THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA, AND SHE'S BEEN ON THE ACADEMY STAFF FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS. AND IN ADDITION TO WORKING WITH THE LIBRARY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, SHE WAS ONE OF THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING AND RUNNING THE ACADEMY'S ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM, A PROGRAM FOUNDED IN 1989 WITH THE GOAL OF DOCUMENTING THE LIVES AND CAREERS OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE WORKED IN VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE FILM INDUSTRY. TO DATE, BARBARA AND THE OTHER INTERVIEWERS HAVE CONDUCTED OVER 50 ORAL HISTORIES ON SUBJECTS RANGING FROM ART DIRECTION, EDITING, CENSORSHIP, AND GENERAL ACADEMY HISTORY. EMILY THOMPSON IS PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY WHERE SHE'S A HISTORIAN OF TECHNOLOGY WHO STUDIES EARLY 20th CENTURY AMERICA. AND SHE LOOKS IN PARTICULAR AT THE CULTURAL HISTORY OF SOUND, MUSIC... [STATIC] [LAUGHTER] EMILY, CAN YOU HELP US OUT TECHNOLOGICALLY? [LAUGHTER] IF IT WAS A 1929 VITAPHONE SYSTEM, I MIGHT BE ABLE TO. [LAUGHTER] I'LL DO THE BEST I CAN. ANYWAY, SHE'S THE AUTHOR OF THE SOUNDSCAPE OF MODERNITY: ARCHITECTURAL ACOUSTICS AND THE CULTURE OF LISTENING IN AMERICA, 1900-1933.EMILY TOOK A DIFFERENT KIND OF PATH TO FILM HISTORY IN THAT SHE WAS AN UNDERGRADUATE IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND PHYSICS AT ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, AND AFTER GRADUATING, SHE WORKED AS AN ENGINEER--AH, OK, IN THE BELL LABS IN HOLMDEL, NEW JERSEY, WHERE SHE DESIGNED INTEGRATED CIRCUITRY FOR USE IN VIDEO CONFERENCING. EVENTUALLY, AFTER A FEW YEARS, SHE SAW THE LIGHT AND DECIDED TO GO BACK TO GRADUATE SCHOOL, WHERE SHE EARNED A Ph.D. IN HISTORY FROM PRINCETON. AND DURING HER CAREER, SHE HAS TAUGHT AT SEVERAL UNIVERSITIES AND CURRENTLY IS BACK WHERE SHE STARTED, AT PRINCETON. ALONG THE WAY, SHE HAS HELD A NUMBER OF SCHOLARSHIPS. IN PARTICULAR, SHE'S ONE OF THE RECENT RECIPIENTS OF THE ACADEMY'S FILM SCHOLAR AWARD. HER CURRENT RESEARCH FOCUSES ON THE TRANSFORMATION OF TECHNICAL WORK DURING THE TRANSITION FROM SILENT TO SOUND MOTION PICTURES, AND HER BOOK IN PROGRESS, SOUND EFFECTS, WILL EXAMINE THE WORKING LIVES OF SOUND ENGINEERS, EDITORS, MUSICIANS, PROJECTIONISTS, AND EVERYONE ASSOCIATED WITH SOUND PRODUCTION 1925 TO 1933. SO, THOSE ARE OUR SPEAKERS. AND IT'S MY PLEASURE TO START OFF BY INTRODUCING SID GANIS. [APPLAUSE] [INDISTINCT] AM I ON? NO. HELLO? YES, I AM NOW. HEY, STEVE? DEUCE BIGALOW: MALE GIGOLO HAS A MESSAGE. YOU JUST HAVE TO KIND OF LOOK AROUND IN THERE FOR IT, BUT IT'S THERE. [LAUGHTER] THE PANEL--THE PREVIOUS PANEL, WHICH I SAW THE END OF, TALKED ABOUT A COUPLE OF THINGS. I JUST WANT TO MAKE A NOTE THAT THERE'S A MOVIE BOOK OUT RIGHT NOW, BRAND-NEW ONE, THAT ACTUALLY IS SENSATIONAL AND A JOY TO READ, AND, YOU KNOW, TALKS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF A CERTAIN ERA IN THE WORLD OF MOVIES AND THE ACADEMY, FOR THAT MATTER. AND IT'S WALTER MIRISCH'S BOOK. AND THE TITLE-- IT'S PRETTY BRAND-NEW. AND ITS TITLE IS I THOUGHT-- LET'S SEE, WHO KNOWS THE TITLE? I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO-- MOVIES, NOT ART.YEAH. AND ITS-- NOT HISTORY. AND IT'S AN EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT WORK. SO I CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO IT. AND PART OF THE REASON I'M HERE TODAY AND BARBARA IS HERE TODAY IS BECAUSE THE ACADEMY EXISTS BECAUSE OF WHAT RICHARD SCHICKEL WAS TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW. WE WERE THOUGHT OF--I DON'T EVEN THINK-- IN THOSE DAYS, WHEN IT WAS FOUNDED IN 1927, THAT WE WERE THOUGHT OF AS A SECOND-CLASS ART. WE WERE MAYBE A THIRD- OR FOURTH-CLASS ART. AND THEREFORE, SOME BRIGHT GUYS HAD A BRIGHT IDEA ABOUT WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT. SO FIRST OF ALL, OF COURSE, I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE WITH THIS DISTINGUISHED GROUP OF SCHOLARS AND RESEARCHERS. AS STEVE SAID, I'M NEITHER OF THOSE. I'M A FILMMAKER AND A PRODUCER, AND BEFORE THAT, A STUDIO AND MARKETING EXECUTIVE. I'VE BEEN AROUND THIS MOTION PICTURE BUSINESS NOW FOR SO VERY MANY YEARS, AND I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER THAT I SPENT THE MAJORITY OF MY LIFE IN THE WORLD OF THE ART OF FILM. I'M ALSO THE 30th PERSON TO SERVE AS THE ACADEMY PRESIDENT--A GROUP THAT, OVER THE PAST 81 YEARS, HAS INCLUDED ACTORS LIKE KARL MALDEN AND BETTE DAVIS AND GREGORY PECK AND DIRECTORS LIKE ROBERT WISE AND FRANK CAPRA AND PRODUCERS LIKE WALTER MIRISCH AND ARTHUR FREED AND WRITERS--FRANK PIERSON, FAY KANIN, DAN TARADASH, CHARLES BRACKETT, AND ENOUGH OTHERS TO MAKE UP A GROUP OF 30 PRESIDENTS. I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW PROUD I AM TO BE PRESIDENT OF THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES. WE BEGAN IN 1927, CONCEIVED OF, FROM THE VERY START, AS A MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZATION DESIGNED TO BENEFIT FILM ART AND THE FILM INDUSTRY, BOTH THE ART OF FILM AND THIS INDUSTRY THAT WAS REALLY COOKING IN THOSE DAYS, AND COMPRISED OF ONLY THE MOST ACCOMPLISHED PRACTITIONERS OF THE VARIOUS FILMMAKERS' ARTS AND CRAFTS. WE STARTED OUT WITH 5 BRANCHES-- ACTORS, DIRECTORS, PRODUCERS, WRITERS, AND TECHNICIANS. NOW, WE HAVE 15 BRANCHES AND ABOUT 6,000 MEMBERS AROUND THE WORLD-- NOT JUST IN LOS ANGELES, NOT JUST IN THE U.S., BUT AROUND THE WORLD. WE ARE AN ORGANIZATION FOR THE WORLD-WIDE ART OF FILM. BUT THE FOUNDING PHILOSOPHY ABOUT MEMBERSHIP CONTINUES TO THIS DAY. OUR MEMBERS ARE THE VERY BEST AT WHAT THEY DO. I'M SURE THAT WHEN EMILY AND BARBARA AND STEVE GET GOING, WE'LL HEAR MORE ABOUT THE TIMES IN THOSE 20-- IN THE TWENTIES, WHEN WE WERE FOUNDED. IT WAS A TURBULENT AND VERY DYNAMIC TIME. AND WHILE THE MOVIE BUSINESS WAS THRIVING, TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES AND LABOR DISPUTES WERE THREATENING TO DISRUPT THE MACHINERY OF THE INDUSTRY. BY 1927, MANY IN THE INDUSTRY FELT THAT MOVIES DESERVED LEGITIMACY--WE WERE A SECOND- TO THIRD-CLASS ART-- AND GREATER RESPECT, ACCORDING TO ITS FOUNDERS, FROM SOCIETY AT LARGE. SO BY FORMING THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES, INDUSTRY LEADERS SUCH AS LOUIS B. MAYER AND DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS AND MARY PICKFORD, OUR 3 FOUNDERS, SOUGHT TO ADDRESS THESE CONCERNS. THEY HAD BIG AMBITIONS FOR THE NEW ACADEMY. AMONG THEM WERE--AND NOW, I'M GOING TO QUOTE THE ACADEMY'S FIRST PRESIDENT, DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS. HE SAID, "TO PROMOTE HARMONIOUS RELATIONS, TO CONCILIATE DIFFERENCES AND RECONCILE DIVERSE AIMS." I HAVE A FEELING THAT STEVE ROSS WILL GO ON ABOUT THIS SUBJECT AT GREATER LENGTH. BUT FOR ME, AS SOMEONE WHO'S BEEN A MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY SINCE 1971 AND ON THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS ON AND OFF FOR ABOUT 21 YEARS, IT'S STILL AMAZING TO ME THAT THIS ACADEMY WAS SO HEAVILY INVOLVED IN LABOR RELATIONS IN THOSE EARLY YEARS. OUR FOUNDERS--YOU KNOW, THEY HAD GREAT VISION, AND THEY HAD VERY HIGH MOTIVES. BUT IN THIS AREA, I'M SO GLAD THAT THEY DECIDED TO GET OUT OF THE LABOR BUSINESS. RIGHT AFTER--WITHIN A VERY FEW YEARS AFTER THE FOUNDING OF THE ACADEMY--IF WE WERE STILL IN THE LABOR RELATIONS, YOU KNOW, BUSINESS, I WOULD NOT BE HERE TODAY. I'D BE SOMEWHERE AROUND THE SCREEN ACTOR'S GUILD TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, HOPEFULLY, SUCCESSFULLY, WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT MONTH AS THEY DEAL WITH THE STUDIOS AND THEIR OWN PROBLEMS. BUT NOT ALL OF THE ORIGINAL GOALS OF THE ORGANIZATION PROVED TO BE AS SHORT-LIVED AS THE LABOR RELATIONS AREA. BY 1928, THE ACADEMY PUBLICATIONS WERE TALKING MORE ABOUT ADVANCING THE ART OF MOTION PICTURES AND LESS ABOUT SERVING AS THE MIDDLE PERSON, THE MIDDLE MAN, IN EMPLOYEE-WORKER RELATIONS. AND I HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF THAT, A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES. THE ACADEMY WAS GRAPPLING, IN THOSE DAYS, WITH TECHNICAL ISSUES OF THE DAY. BY STUDYING WHETHER INCANDESCENT LIGHTING WAS SUITABLE REPLACEMENT FOR ARC LIGHTING--IN THOSE DAYS, A VERY, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE, IN TERMS OF STANDARDS OF MOVIE PRESENTATION. SO THE ACADEMY WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT AND ALSO TEACHING WORKSHOPS IN NEW SOUND TECHNOLOGIES, WORK THAT HAS ITS PARALLELS TODAY IN THE EFFORTS OF OUR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL, WHO ARE KIND OF DOING THE SAME THING THAT THEY WERE DOING BACK THEN BY LOOKING INTO THE WORLD OF DIGITAL PRESERVATION AND HAVING RECENTLY PUBLISHED A VERY IMPORTANT PAPER, NON-PARTISAN PAPER, ABOUT EXACTLY WHAT CAN BE DONE IN THE WORLD OF DIGITAL PRESERVATION, NOT ONLY IN MOVIES BUT IN INDUSTRY GENERALLY. SO, BY THAT TIME, IN THE LATE TWENTIES, 1928, THAT YOUNG ACADEMY HAD ALSO PUT INTO PLACE PLANS TO PRESENT AWARDS OF MERIT FOR THE MOST OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MOTION PICTURES. THE FIRST AWARD, WHICH WOULDN'T COME TO BE KNOWN AS OSCAR FOR A FEW MORE YEARS, WERE HANDED OUT FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME IN MAY OF 1929. ANOTHER MAJOR INTEREST OF THE ACADEMY, ALMOST FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, WAS INTRODUCING THE STUDY OF MOTION PICTURES INTO COLLEGE CURRICULA. THERE WERE 2 MOTIVATING REASONS BEHIND THE INITIATIVE. THE FIRST, THE--AND IT IS SELF-SERVING BUT VERY REAL. THE INDUSTRY WANTED COLLEGE-EDUCATED INDIVIDUALS TO KNOW THAT THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY WAS A VIABLE PROFESSION--"COME ON AND GIVE IT A TRY"--AND TO PROVIDE TRAINING TO THOSE STUDENTS WHO ARE INTERESTED. AND, JUST AS IMPORTANTLY, THE ACADEMY WANTED THE MOTION PICTURE ART FORM TO BE APPRECIATED THROUGHOUT SOCIETY AS AN EQUAL WITH OTHER ART FORMS. GETTING IT RECEIVED THAT WAY AT THE UNIVERSITY LEVEL WAS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THAT CAMPAIGN. SO THE YOUNG ACADEMY WORKED CLOSELY WITH USC THROUGHOUT 1928, AND BY THE SPRING OF '29, THE SCHOOL WAS PRESENTING THE VERY FIRST COURSE IN FILM. IT WAS CALLED AND OUR RECORDS AND OTHERS INDICATE THAT 72 STUDENTS TOOK THE COURSE, WHICH FEATURED A NUMBER OF GUEST LECTURERS, A VISIT TO THE PARAMOUNT LOT, AND A SCREENING OF CLASSIC MOVIES--PRETTY MUCH WHAT YOU WOULD DO THIS VERY DAY WITH NEW STUDENTS. AND BY THE WAY, THE SUBJECT IT COVERED IS--IT COVERED EXTENSIVELY--IS COVERED EXTENSIVELY IN ONE OF OUR FILM SCHOLAR, DANA POLAN'S EXCELLENT BOOK CALLED SCENES OF INSTRUCTION: THE BEGINNING OF THE U.S. STUDY OF FILMS. SO ONE COULD ARGUE THAT THE IMPULSE THAT LED TO THE ACADEMY'S INVOLVEMENT IN FILM STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY LEVEL ALSO LED TO THE ACADEMY'S ROLE AS A LEADING FORCE IN PRESERVING THE HISTORY OF THE ART FORM AND SUPPORTING FILM CULTURE IN A WIDE VARIETY OF WAYS. THAT IMPULSE AND THAT DESIRE TO TAKE THE ART AND SCIENCE OF MOTION PICTURES BEYOND THE WALLS OF THE INDUSTRY CAN BE SEEN AT WORK TODAY IN OUR MARGARET HERRICK LIBRARY, ONE OF THE JEWELS OF THE ACADEMY BUSINESS, THE ACADEMY FILM ARCHIVE, AND IN OUR STUDENT ACADEMY AWARDS, OUR NICHOLL FELLOWSHIP IN SCREENWRITING AWARDS, AND OUR SCIENCE AND TECHNICAL COUNCIL, TO NAME JUST A FEW OF WHAT WE DO ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS IN ADDITION TO PRESENTING THE OSCARS FOR EXCELLENCE IN FILM. THE SAME IMPULSE IS ALSO REFLECTED IN A PROGRAM WHICH STEVE ROSS, EMILY THOMPSON, DANA ARE QUITE FAMILIAR WITH. IT'S OUR ACADEMY'S SCHOLARS PROGRAM WHICH ANNUALLY AWARDS TWO $25,000 GRANTS TO ESTABLISHED FILM SCHOLARS TO AID IN THE RESEARCH AND THE COMPLETION OF PROPOSED WORKS. ALL OF THEM--ALL OF THOSE I JUST NAMED ARE RECIPIENTS OF THAT PRIZE, AND THE ACADEMY, OF COURSE, IS PROUD TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THEM. THE PANEL IS GOING TO GO ON ABOUT OUR ACADEMY, SO I THINK I WILL NOW THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTION AND TURN IT OVER TO STEVE. [APPLAUSE] BARBARA HALL WILL BE OUR NEXT PERSON UP. SO TODAY, I'M GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE FIRST ACADEMY AWARDS. IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A CIRCUITOUS EVOLUTION, AND I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE INTERESTING TO LOOK AT IT IN-DEPTH. AT THE ACADEMY'S ORGANIZATIONAL BANQUET IN MAY OF '27, MOST OF THE DISCUSSION CENTERED ON INDUSTRIAL UNITY AND COOPERATION AMONG THE BRANCHES OF THE MOVIE BUSINESS, AS WELL AS ON PLANNED ACTIVITIES LIKE A CONCILIATION COMMITTEE TO HANDLE GRIEVANCES, THE GOAL OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO LOUIS B. MAYER AND THE OTHER PRODUCERS WHO WERE LOOKING TO CLAMP DOWN ON THE BURGEONING LABOR MOVEMENT IN HOLLYWOOD. IN ITS FORMATIVE STAGES, HOWEVER, AS SID HAS MENTIONED, THE ACADEMY'S FOUNDERS ALSO TALKED ABOUT INCREASING THE PRESTIGE OF THE INDUSTRY, SPECIFICALLY SAYING THAT THE ORGANIZATION WOULD ENCOURAGE THE IMPROVEMENT AND ADVANCEMENT OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCES OF THE PROFESSION BY THE INTERCHANGE OF CONSTRUCTIVE IDEAS AND AWARDS--IDEAS AND BY AWARDS OF MERIT FOR DISTINCTIVE ACHIEVEMENT AND EMPHASIZING THAT ONLY THE BEST PRODUCERS, DIRECTORS, ACTORS, WRITERS, AND TECHNICIANS WOULD BE INVITED INTO ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP. IN ADDITION TO GIVING THE ACADEMY LOFTY IDEALS TO BUILD ON, THESE STATEMENTS AND OTHERS LIKE THEM WERE SMART MOVES ON THE PART OF THE FOUNDERS, WHO RECOGNIZED THAT RAISING THE ARTISTIC PROFILE OF THE MOVIE BUSINESS WAS A WISE STRATEGY AS ACCUSATIONS OF IMMORALITY ON THE SCREEN AND DEMANDS FOR CENSORSHIP INCREASED IN THE 1920s, THREATENING BOX OFFICE RETURNS. IT COULD ONLY BENEFIT THE INDUSTRY TO POSITION MOTION PICTURES AS NOT JUST A BUSINESS, BUT AS AN ART FORM TO BE ADMIRED AND EMULATED. IN THIS CONTEXT, IT MAKES SENSE THAT IN ADDITION TO DEALING WITH ECONOMIC AND EMPLOYMENT ISSUES, THE EARLY ACADEMY PLANS INCLUDED ENDEAVORS LIKE COLLEGE COURSES ON FILM APPRECIATION, AS SID HAS MENTIONED, A LIBRARY, A BENEFIT MOTION PICTURE, AN ELEGANT MAGAZINE, AND THE AWARDS OF MERIT. THE AWARDS OF MERIT COMMITTEE FIRST TOOK SHAPE IN--MAY 19, JUST 8 DAYS AFTER THE ORGANIZATIONAL BANQUET WHEN DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS APPOINTED THE FIRST COMMITTEE MEMBERS, INCLUDING CEDRIC GIBBONS, D.W. GRIFFITH, AND BESS MEREDYTH. HOWEVER, THE ACADEMY MEMBER--THE ACADEMY FOUNDER WHO SEEMED MOST INTERESTED IN THE IDEA OF GETTING THE AWARDS OFF THE GROUND WAS FRANK WOODS, A 67-YEAR-OLD WRITER AND INDUSTRY VETERAN WHOSE WORK DATED BACK, I THINK, TO 1908, WHO WAS ALSO SERVING AS THE ACADEMY SECRETARY AND DE FACTO ADMINISTRATOR. WOODS CALLED SEVERAL MEETINGS OF THE AWARDS OF MERIT COMMITTEE THAT SUMMER, BUT CLEARLY, HE WAS DISAPPOINTED IN THE LACK OF PROGRESS, NOT TO MENTION THE TURNOUT, COMPLAINING TO GIBBONS ABOUT THE DIFFICULTY OF OBTAINING A QUORUM OF THE AWARDS OF MERIT COMMITTEE. WOODS DID FORMULATE A PRELIMINARY PLAN, BUT NOTHING WAS DECIDED. AND BY NOVEMBER, HE WAS CORRESPONDING WITH WARNER BROTHERS PRODUCER DARRYL ZANUCK, WHO HAD RECENTLY BEEN APPOINTED TO THE COMMITTEE APPARENTLY AT WOODS' URGING IN HOPES THE AWARDS PROJECT COULD BE JUMP-STARTED. ZANUCK'S RESPONSE TO THE NEWS THAT HE HAS BEEN APPOINTED TO THE COMMITTEE SHOWS THAT THE IDEA OF AWARDS FOR MOTION PICTURES WAS FAR FROM UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED. JOKING THAT ARGUING ABOUT THE AWARDS MIGHT BE A GOOD WAY TO DISTRACT PEOPLE FROM MORE SERIOUS ISSUES, LIKE THE SALARY CUT THAT DOMINATED THE ACADEMY AGENDA THE PREVIOUS SUMMER, ZANUCK HUMOROUSLY ILLUSTRATES THAT HE THINKS PARTISANSHIP WILL RULE THE SELECTIONS, NOMINATING HIMSELF AND FELLOW WARNER BROTHERS EMPLOYEES FOR VARIOUS ACCOMPLISHMENTS. [LAUGHTER] WOODS' RESPONSE TO ZANUCK, ON THE OTHER HAND, SHOWS AN IMPRESSIVE FAR-SIGHTEDNESS. WRITING THAT HE IS ASHAMED TO CONFESS THAT "THE ENTIRE IDEA IS MY OWN," WOODS EXPLAINS THAT HE HAD A VISION OF AN ACADEMY OF SUCH DISTINCTION THAT ITS AWARDS EACH YEAR WOULD BE COVETED AND WOULD BECOME VALUABLE DISTINCTION. HE GOES ON TO SAY, "IF THERE COULD BE DEVELOPED A REAL COMPETITION FOR QUALITY IN THIS BUSINESS, IT WOULD CERTAINLY HAVE SOME EFFECT ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE PRODUCT. DESPITE THIS LETTER, ZANUCK DID WRITE BACK AND ASK TO BE REASSIGNED TO A DIFFERENT COMMITTEE, SAYING THAT HE IS NOT IN SYMPATHY WITH THE COMMITTEE "UPON WHICH I HAVE BEEN APPOINTED." AS 1927 GAVE WAY TO 1928, THE ACADEMY BECAME MORE INVOLVED IN COMPLEX LABOR ISSUES, WHICH I'M SURE STEVE WILL TOUCH ON IN HIS PRESENTATION--PARTICULARLY THE NEGOTIATION OF A FREELANCE CONTRACT FOR ACTORS, WHICH LED TO BLISTERING ATTACKS FROM ACTORS EQUITY. DURING THIS TIME, THE IDEA OF GIVING AWARDS OF MERIT WAS APPARENTLY TABLED, AND IT WAS PROBABLY CONSIDERED MORIBUND BY MOST OF THE MEMBERSHIP. AT THE BOARD MEETING ON MAY 28, HOWEVER, A STEERING COMMITTEE WAS APPOINTED, AND ONE OF THE COMMITTEE'S SUGGESTIONS WAS THE "REVIVAL" OF THE IDEA OF MERIT AWARDS, MOST LIKELY AS A WAY TO UNITE THE MEMBERSHIP AND BRING POSITIVE ATTENTION TO THE SOMEWHAT-BELEAGUERED ORGANIZATION. BY THE END OF JUNE, THE AWARDS OF MERIT PLAN HAD QUICKLY TAKEN SHAPE AND, HAVING BEEN APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, WAS PRESENTED TO THE MEMBERSHIP IN THE JULY ISSUE OF THE MONTHLY ACADEMY BULLETIN. THE ARTICLE EXPLAINED THAT THE ENTIRE MEMBERSHIP WOULD SUBMIT NOMINATIONS IN 11 CATEGORIES, INCLUDING MANY THAT WE STILL AWARD NOW, BUT ALSO SOME OTHERS, LIKE COMEDY DIRECTING, ENGINEERING EFFECTS, AND MOST UNIQUE AND ARTISTIC PICTURE. THOSE SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE FORWARDED TO A BOARD OF JUDGES FOR EACH BRANCH, WHO WOULD BE CHARGED WITH NARROWING THE LIST DOWN TO 3, WITH THE WINNERS TO BE DETERMINED BY A CENTRAL BOARD OF JUDGES--A CENTRAL BOARD OF JUDGES. ACCORDING TO THE BULLETIN, THE AWARDS WOULD BE PRESENTED AT THE ACADEMY'S NEXT ANNUAL MEETING, WHICH WOULD TAKE PLACE IN LATE OCTOBER 1928, ABOUT 3 OR 4 MONTHS OFF FROM HERE. VERY SOON... VERY SOON AFTER THIS PLAN APPEARED, THE BOARD RECEIVED AN IMPASSIONED PLEA FROM AN INDUSTRY VETERAN AND ACADEMY MEMBER NAMED JOSEPH FARNHAM. AS A MEMBER OF THE GROUP CALLED THE TITULAR BISHOPS, A FRATERNAL ORGANIZATION OF MOVIE TITLE WRITERS, FARNHAM MADE A CASE FOR AN AWARD TO BE PRESENTED FOR THE BEST-WRITTEN FILM TITLES. THE ARRIVAL OF SOUND WAS ANOTHER ISSUE THAT THE ACADEMY WAS DEALING WITH AT THIS TIME. AND AS YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, IT HAD RECENTLY BEGUN TO SPONSOR MEETINGS FOR MEMBERS TO DISCUSS ISSUES RELATED TO VOICE AND SOUND. NEVERTHELESS, MOST OF THE FILMS BEING CONSIDERED FOR AWARDS WERE SILENT FILMS WITH TITLES. AND SO, AN AWARD FOR TITLING WAS ADDED TO THE PLANS. PERHAPS NOT COINCIDENTALLY, THE FIRST AND ONLY AWARD IN THAT CATEGORY EVENTUALLY WENT TO NONE OTHER THAN THE AUTHOR OF THE LETTER-- [LAUGHTER] JOSEPH FARNHAM. IN AUGUST, A REMINDER LISTED ELIGIBLE FILMS RELEASED BETWEEN AUGUST 1, 1927 AND AUGUST 1, 1928 WAS PUBLISHED, AND SO-CALLED NOMINATION PAPERS WERE SENT TO THE MEMBERSHIP. THE NOMINATION FORMS WERE SIGNED, SO THE ACADEMY KNEW WHO HAD AND HAD NOT SENT IN THEIR CHOICES. AND LESTER COWAN, THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY AND--I'M ASSUMING HE GOT THIS JOB BECAUSE HE WAS THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK--WAS DISPATCHED TO COLLECT NOMINATION PAPERS FROM MEMBERS AT THE VARIOUS STUDIO LOTS. ON AUGUST 3, JACK WARNER, DARRYL ZANUCK'S BOSS AT WARNER BROTHERS, SUBMITTED THIS BALLOT POPULATED WITH WISECRACKING SUGGESTIONS LIKE RIN TIN TIN FOR BEST ACTOR AND NANETTE, RINTY'S FRAU, AS BEST ACTRESS, ECHOING ZANUCK'S DISREGARD FOR THE IDEA OF RECOGNIZING MOTION PICTURES FOR THEIR ARTISTIC MERIT. SO YOU CAN SEE, EVERY SINGLE NOMINATION HAS AN X THROUGH IT. SO THEY WERE ALL--YOU KNOW, THEY WERE ALL JUST JOKES. LUCKILY--LET'S SEE. LUCKILY, A NUMBER OF ACADEMY MEMBERS DID JOIN IN THE SPIRIT OF THE VOTING, HOWEVER. IT APPEARS, FROM THE ARCHIVES, FROM WHAT I'VE BEEN ABLE TO FIND, THAT 92 ACADEMY MEMBERS, OR ABOUT A QUARTER OF THE MEMBERSHIP, RETURNED THEIR NOMINATION FORMS. AND WOODS REPORTED TO THE BOARD THAT MORE THAN 1,000 NAMES WERE SUBMITTED ONCE THE DEADLINE WAS EXTENDED TWICE FROM AUGUST 15th TO AUGUST 20th, AND THEN TO SEPTEMBER 15th, PARTLY TO GET MORE VOTES AND PARTLY TO ALLOW RE-VOTING AFTER SOME FILMS HAD TO BE DISQUALIFIED FROM CONSIDERATION. IN LATE SEPTEMBER, THE JUDGES FOR THE 5 BRANCHES WERE APPOINTED. ONE QUALIFICATION WAS THAT THEY NOT BE AMONG THOSE WHO HAD RECEIVED ENOUGH VOTES TO BE IN THE RUNNING FOR AN AWARD. THEY WERE PROVIDED WITH THE RESULTS OF THE NOMINATIONS, AND IN MOST CASES, HE DID THEM CAREFULLY, THOUGH THEY WERE NOT NECESSARILY BOUND TO CHOOSE THE 3 THAT HAD RECEIVED THE MOST VOTES FROM THE MEMBERSHIP. DESPITE THE BOARD'S HOPES THAT THE AWARDS WOULD BE PRESENTED THAT FALL, THE COMMITTEES TOOK THEIR TIME RENDERING THEIR DECISIONS. 2 OF THE COMMITTEES DELIVERED THEIR VERDICTS IN OCTOBER, ONE IN NOVEMBER, AND ONE IN DECEMBER, WHILE THE PRODUCERS DIDN'T RENDER THEIR FINAL DECISION UNTIL FEBRUARY 12, 1929, 5 MONTHS AFTER THE NOMINATIONS DEADLINE. [LAUGHTER] SO IF YOU'VE EVER WONDERED WHY THE AWARDS WERE GIVEN OUT IN 1929 FOR FILMS THAT WERE MADE SO MUCH EARLIER, THAT'S THE REASON. AT THAT POINT, THE CENTRAL BOARD OF JUDGES LEAPT INTO ACTION. BY FEBRUARY 15th, THEY HAD REACHED THEIR DECISION, AND THE WINNERS WERE ANNOUNCED ON FEBRUARY 17, 1929. IN ADDITION TO CHOOSING IN THE AGREED-UPON CATEGORIES, THE JUDGES HAD ALSO DECIDED TO PRESENT 2 SPECIAL AWARDS, ONE TO WARNER BROTHERS FOR THE JAZZ SINGER AS A PIONEERING SOUND MOTION PICTURE AND THE OTHER TO CHARLIE CHAPLIN FOR WRITING, DIRECTING, PRODUCING, AND ACTING IN THE CIRCUS. THE WINNERS WERE NOTIFIED BY LETTER ON FEBRUARY 19th, AND SOON, THEIR RESPONSES BEGAN ARRIVING AT THE ACADEMY OFFICES. THE PRESS RELEASE STATED THAT THE AWARDS WOULD BE PRESENTED IN A CEREMONY TO BE HELD IN A MONTH. BUT AGAIN, THESE PLANS FELL THROUGH, AND EVENTUALLY, IT WAS DECIDED THAT THE AWARDS WOULD BE PRESENTED AT THE ACADEMY'S SECOND ANNIVERSARY BANQUET, WHICH WOULD BE HELD IN MAY. MEANWHILE, ANOTHER IMPORTANT PART OF THE AWARDS WAS TAKING SHAPE. ON JULY 26th, FRANK WOODS ASKED CEDRIC GIBBONS TO TAKE CHARGE OF THE MATTER OF SELECTING AN ARTIST TO CREATE A STATUETTE THAT WOULD SERVE AS THE AWARD OF MERIT. WOODS WROTE THAT "THE COMMITTEE, IN DISCUSSING THE MATTER, FELT THAT THE DESIGN ORIGINALLY PREPARED BY YOU FOR THE ACADEMY--" "FOR THE ACADEMY EMBLEM SHOULD BE FOLLOWED IN SUCH MANNER OR WITH SUCH MODIFICATIONS AS YOU MIGHT THINK MOST ARTISTIC AND ADVISABLE." IT'S NOT KNOW HOW MANY ARTISTS GIBBONS CONSIDERED. BY THE WAY, THIS IS THAT LOGO THAT GIBBONS DESIGNED, AND THIS IS THE ACADEMY'S MAGAZINE, WHICH APPEARED VOLUME I, NUMBER ONE, AND THE ONLY ONE, FROM NOVEMBER 1927 CALLED MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES. AND THAT'S THE LOGO THAT ALSO WAS USED ON ALL THE ACADEMY'S STATIONERY. SO IT'S NOT KNOWN HOW MANY ARTISTS GIBBONS CONSIDERED, BUT HE SOON SELECTED A YOUNG LOCAL SCULPTOR NAMED GEORGE STANLEY WHO HAD NO AFFILIATION WITH THE MOVIE INDUSTRY BUT WHO HAD BEEN CHAMPIONED BY THE LOS ANGELES TIMES ART CRITIC ARTHUR MILLIER. THOUGH THERE ARE ONLY ANECDOTAL ACCOUNTS OF BETWEEN GIBBONS AND STANLEY, IT'S CLEAR THAT THEY WORKED RELATIVELY QUICKLY. BY MID-OCTOBER, STANLEY, WHO WAS PAID $500 FOR HIS WORK, DELIVERED A CLAY MODEL OF THE STATUETTE TO GUIDO NELLI, THE MASTER CRAFTSMAN AT THE CALIFORNIA BRONZE FOUNDRY. IN DECEMBER, WOODS WROTE TO THE ACADEMY TREASURER ABOUT THE COST FOR MANUFACTURING THE AWARD, CONTRASTING THE 2 BIDS THE FOUNDRY HAD PROVIDED FOR GOLD-PLATED FINISH VERSUS A BRONZE PATINA. LUCKILY, AFTER SEEING A GOLD-PLATED PROTOTYPE, THE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE APPROVED BOTH THE STATUETTE AND THE FUNDING NEEDED TO PRODUCE THEM, WHICH CAME TO ABOUT $76.50 PER STATUE, NOT INCLUDING GOLD PLATING AND THE MARBLE BASE, WHICH WAS PURCHASED FROM THE HILTH MARBLE WORKS AT A COST OF ABOUT $9.00 APIECE. SOMETIME IN THE SPRING OF 1929, KARL STRUSS, THE MASTERFUL CINEMATOGRAPHER WHO HIMSELF WAS A WINNER OF AN AWARD FOR HIS WORK ON SUNRISE, WAS ENLISTED TO MAKE SOME "ART" PHOTOGRAPHS OF SEVERAL OF THE RECIPIENTS POSING WITH A NEWLY-MINTED GOLD-PLATED STATUETTE. BLOW-UPS OF THESE PHOTOGRAPHS WERE PROMINENTLY DISPLAYED AT THE AWARDS BANQUET IN MAY, WHICH IS HOW WE KNOW THAT THEY WERE SHOT IN ADVANCE OF THE EVENT. THESE PHOTOS STILL STAND AS SOME OF THE MOST STRIKING IMAGES EVER TAKEN OF THE STATUETTE. THOUGH JANET GAYNOR--OOPS. THOUGH JANET GAYNOR AND OTHERS MAY HAVE BEEN THE FIRST TO POSE WITH ONE OF THE GOLDEN STATUES, THE FIRST TO ACTUALLY RECEIVE ONE WAS A CELEBRATED GERMAN ACTOR EMIL JENNINGS, WHO HAD BEEN VOTED THE FIRST AWARD FOR HIS OUTSTANDING WORK IN THE LAST COMMAND AND THE WAY OF ALL FLESH. AS THIS LETTER INDICATES... [IN GERMAN ACCENT] "I THEREFORE ASK YOU TO KINDLY HAND ME NOW ALREADY THE STATUETTE AWARDED TO ME." [LAUGHTER] [CHUCKLES] [IN NORMAL ACCENT] JENNINGS WAS PRESENTED WITH HIS STATUETTE IN LATE APRIL, SHORTLY BEFORE HE LEFT FOR EUROPE. PARAMOUNT HAD ANNOUNCED THAT JENNINGS WAS JUST TAKING A LEAVE OF ABSENCE FROM HIS CONTRACT, BUT IN FACT, THE ACTOR, A GIFTED SILENT FILM PERFORMER WHO WAS NOT SEEN TO HAVE MUCH OF A FUTURE IN TALKIES, NEVER RETURNED TO HOLLYWOOD--INSTEAD, STAYED IN GERMANY AND JOINED THE NAZI PARTY. [AUDIENCE LAUGHS AND EXCLAIMS] [CHUCKLES] IN MARCH, PLANS BEGAN TO DEVELOP FOR THE ANNIVERSARY BANQUET, WHICH WAS PUT TOGETHER BY LESTER COWAN AND THE SMALL ACADEMY STAFF UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE. ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED FOR MAY 9th, ONLY 2 DAYS SHY OF THE ACTUAL ANNIVERSARY OF MAY 11th, THE DINNER WAS ACTUALLY--WAS FINALLY SET FOR MAY 16th. SOMETIME DURING THIS PERIOD, THE ACADEMY GATHERED THE WINNERS WITH DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS FOR A SERIES OF PHOTOS AT THE UNITED ARTISTS STUDIO. ALONG WITH STRUSS' ARTISTIC SHOTS AND ONE SHOT OF THE BANQUET, WHICH I'LL SHOW YOU LATER, THESE PHOTOS ARE THE ONLY VISUAL RECORD OF THE FIRST YEAR'S WINNERS. OH, I'M SORRY. GO BACK. ALTHOUGH HAD BEEN VOTED A SPECIAL AWARD, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, AS THE PIONEER OUTSTANDING TALKING PICTURE THAT REVOLUTIONIZED THE INDUSTRY, NONE OF THE OTHER FILMS THAT WERE GOING TO BE HONORED AT THE AWARDS WERE TALKIES. BUT BY MAY 1929, THE ACADEMY, LIKE THE REST OF THE INDUSTRY, WAS WELL AWARE THAT SOUND FILMS WERE NOW THE STANDARD. AND AS THIS FLIER SHOWS--THIS REMINDER FLIER ABOUT REMEMBERING TO COME TO THE SHOW, OR TO THE BANQUET-- PLANS WERE MADE TO BEGIN THE EVENING WITH AN HOUR OF SPECIAL SOUND FILM SCREENINGS IN THE ACADEMY'S LOUNGE, WHICH HAD JUST BEEN EQUIPPED WITH THE LATEST SOUND PROJECTION EQUIPMENT. AS THE NIGHT OF THE BANQUET APPROACHED, THE STAFF WORKED ON ARRANGING THE SEATING OF THE 270 GUESTS, AS SHOWN HERE BY THIS TABLE LIST AND ACTUAL SEATING PLAN FROM THE ACADEMY'S ARCHIVES. THE EVENT WAS HELD IN THE BLOSSOM ROOM OF THE ROOSEVELT HOTEL, WHICH HAD BEEN THE HOME OF THE ACADEMY'S OFFICES AND LOUNGE SINCE SHORTLY AFTER THE HOTEL OPENED IN THE FALL OF 1927. A TABLE AT THE BACK WAS RESERVED FOR THE PRESS--MOSTLY REPORTERS FROM LOS ANGELES PAPERS. THE DINNER WAS FREE TO MEMBERS AND HONORED GUESTS AND $5.00 FOR OTHERS, WHICH EXPLAINS WHY FRANK BORZAGE ONLY HAD TO PAY $20 FOR A TABLE OF 9. ON THE EVENING OF MAY 16th, AFTER ENJOYING A DINNER--HERE'S A MENU--OF FILLET OF SOLE AND HALF-BROILED CHICKEN ON TOAST, DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS STEPPED TO THE PODIUM TO WELCOME THE GUESTS AND INTRODUCE WILLIAM deMILLE, THE HOST FOR THE EVENING. THE AWARDS PRESENTATION PROCEEDED SMOOTHLY. FEW SPEECHES WERE MADE BY THE RECIPIENTS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF, IRONICALLY, DARRYL ZANUCK, WHO ACCEPTED ON BEHALF OF THE JAZZ SINGER. THE HONORABLE MENTIONS IN EACH CATEGORY WERE ALSO RECOGNIZED AND CAME FORWARD TO RECEIVE DIPLOMAS. THE CLIMAX OF THE PRESENTATION WAS A SPECIALLY MADE TALKING FILM SHOWING ADOLPH ZUKOR, THE HEAD OF PARAMOUNT, ACCEPTING THE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION FROM ACADEMY PRESIDENT DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS. THE REEL ARRIVED IN LOS ANGELES FROM NEW YORK 2 DAYS BEFORE THE BANQUET, AND IT WAS ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EVENT WHEN IT WAS SHOWN IN THE BLOSSOM ROOM USING PORTABLE SOUND EQUIPMENT PROVIDED BY ELECTRICAL RESEARCH PRODUCTS, INC. THE LAST PORTION OF THE PROGRAM FEATURED IMPROMPTU REMARKS BY VARIOUS-- "IMPROMPTU" REMARKS BY VARIOUS SPECIAL GUESTS. ALTHOUGH THE LAST BULLETIN BEFORE THE BANQUET HAD ASSURED THE MEMBERS THAT THE COMMENTS WERE GOING TO BE SHORT AND SNAPPY, A TRANSCRIPT OF THE EVENT INDICATES THIS WAS A VERY OPTIMISTIC CLAIM. [LAUGHTER] ONE THING THAT IS CLEAR IS THAT THE ROSTER OF SPEAKERS WAS CAREFULLY PLANNED TO LINK THE AWARDS TO THE ACADEMY'S EDUCATIONAL AND IDEALISTIC AND ARTISTIC ENDEAVORS. AFTER MARY PICKFORD MADE A PLEA FOR THE MOTION PICTURE FUND, PROFESSOR W.R. MILES OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY AND DEAN CARL WAUGH OF USC EACH EXPOUNDED AT LENGTH ON THE ARTISTIC MERITS OF STUDYING MOTION PICTURES IN THE UNIVERSITY AND LAUDED THEIR PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE ACADEMY. THEY WERE FOLLOWED BY MRS. EDWARD JACOBS OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF WOMEN'S CLUBS, WHO THANKED THE ACADEMY FOR REGULARLY ACCOMMODATING HER GROUP IN ITS SCREENING ROOM, EXPLAINING THAT HER ORGANIZATION'S POLICY WAS TO CREATE AN INTEREST IN BETTER FILMS, OR AS SHE PUT IT, "TO BOOST THE BEST AND IGNORE THE REST." OTHER SPEAKERS INCLUDED THE BRITISH AUTHOR WHO NO ONE'S EVER HEARD OF NOW, SIR GILBERT PARKER, ACADEMY PIONEERS LOUIS B. MAYER, CONRAD NAGEL, AND MILTON SILLS AND CECIL B. DeMILLE. THE EVENING ENDED WITH SOME ENTERTAINMENT FROM AL JOLSON, WHO, IT WAS REPORTED IN THE BULLETIN, DELIVERED "WITTY PERSONAL REMARKS." ONE OF THEM, I THINK, WAS SOMETHING ABOUT-- HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT JACK WARNER WOULD DO WITH AN OSCAR BECAUSE IT CAN'T SAY "YES." I THINK. [LAUGHTER] I THOUGHT OF THAT THIS MORNING WHEN PAT BROSKY SAID THAT THE MOGULS DIDN'T LIKE TO HEAR THE WORD "NO." A FEW WEEKS LATER, THE PROCEEDINGS WERE REPORTED IN SOME DETAIL IN THE ACADEMY BULLETIN. IT INCLUDED THE TEXT OF MANY OF THE LAUDATORY TELEGRAMS THAT WERE SENT TO THE ACADEMY FOR THE OCCASION FROM WINNERS, INDUSTRY PIONEERS, AND MEMBERS ALIKE. ONE THAT WAS NOT REPRINTED IN THE BULLETIN, HOWEVER, WAS THE TELEGRAM THAT ARRIVED THE MORNING OF THE BANQUET FROM BEN HECHT, THE WINNER OF THE FIRST AWARD FOR ORIGINAL STORY. HECHT WROTE, "THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE EVER RECEIVED OR BEEN PROMISED A STATUE, AND I HARDLY KNOW HOW TO COPE WITH SO WEIRD AN HONOR. YOUR AWARD FILLS ME WITH A GREAT DEAL OF GRATITUDE. THE EXISTENCE OF YOUR ACADEMY AND ITS ACTIVE CONCERN FOR CLASSY MOVIES POINTS AGAIN TO THE FACT THAT HOLLYWOOD IS BECOMING LESS AND LESS AN OUTHOUSE ON PARNASSUS." [LAUGHTER] [CHUCKLES] I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH BEN HECHT WOULD APPRECIATE MY USING HIS TELEGRAM TO TALK ABOUT THE ACADEMY AWARDS TODAY, BUT I DO THINK, IN A WAY, HE MADE A GOOD POINT. WHAT THE FIRST AWARDS DID, INDEED, ACCOMPLISH FOR THE ACADEMY AND, IN A LARGER SENSE, FOR HOLLYWOOD, WAS THAT THEY FOSTERED THE IDEA THAT EXCELLENCE AND ARTISTIC MERIT IN FILMMAKING COULD BE RECOGNIZED AND CELEBRATED, NOT JUST BY UNIVERSITIES, CINEMA CLUBS, OR NON-PROFIT GROUPS LIKE THE NATIONAL WOMEN'S CLUBS OR THE NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW, BUT ALSO BY THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY ITSELF THROUGH THE PRESENTATION OF ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS, AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE ACADEMY HAS CONTINUED TO DO TO THIS DAY. THANK YOU. [APPLAUSE] THANK YOU, BARBARA. AND WE'LL HAVE OUR NEXT SPEAKER, EMILY THOMPSON. THANK YOU. I'D LIKE TO THANK BILL AND TAYLOR, THE ICW, AND THE ACADEMY FOR THIS INVITATION TO ATTEND THIS WEEKEND'S CONFERENCE. AND I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK BARBARA HALL AND LINDA MAYER AT THE HERRICK LIBRARY FOR PROVIDING ACCESS TO THE ACADEMY'S OWN ARCHIVES. I'M JUST DIVING INTO THE WONDERFULLY RICH MATERIAL THAT THEY'VE MADE AVAILABLE TO ME, AND I'LL JUST SKETCH OUT A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT I'VE FOUND SO FAR IN MY COMMENTS TODAY. ON JULY 19, 1927, JUST A FEW MONTHS AFTER THE ACADEMY WAS FOUNDED, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ORGANIZATION'S PRODUCERS BRANCH MET WITH MEN FROM THE TECHNICIANS BRANCH TO DISCUSS THE INCREASINGLY TECHNICAL NATURE OF FILMMAKING AS WELL AS THE NEED FOR, AS THEY PUT IT, ECONOMIES IN MOTION PICTURE PRODUCTION. THE TECHNICIANS NOTED THEIR NEED TO SHARE INFORMATION ACROSS STUDIO BOUNDARIES, AND THE PRODUCERS AGREED THAT A NEW ERA WITH UNPRECEDENTED TECHNICAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEMANDS HAD CLEARLY DAWNED. BOTH GROUPS BELIEVED THAT THE ECONOMY COULD SERVE A VITAL FUNCTION AS AN INDUSTRY-WIDE CLEARING HOUSE FOR HELPING FILMMAKERS ADAPT TO THEIR NEW CONDITIONS, AND THE MEN BEGAN TO PROPOSE WAYS TO EXPEDITE THIS ADAPTATION. AS THE MEETING DREW TO A CLOSE, JESSE LASKY COMPARED THE FRUITFUL DISCUSSION THAT HAD JUST OCCURRED WITH THE PRODUCERS' MEETING THE PREVIOUS EVENING WITH THE ACTORS BRANCH OF THE ACADEMY. AT THAT PRIOR MEETING, NOT EVEN A QUORUM OF ACTORS HAD BOTHERED TO ATTEND, WHEREAS ON THIS NIGHT, LASKY CLAIMED, "I FELT AS IF I HAD SAT IN ON AN EPIC, HISTORICAL-MAKING OCCASION. I AM THINKING OF MY WORDS, AND I TRULY BELIEVE THAT AN HOUR OR 2 TONIGHT HAVE BEEN THE MOST MOMENTOUS OF MY 15 YEARS' EXPERIENCE IN THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY." A FEW YEARS LATER, IN LATE 1929, AT THE THIRD ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ACADEMY, DIRECTOR FRED NIBLO SIMILARLY NOTED THAT "THE TECHNICIANS ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO HAVE TAKEN PROPER ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITY WHICH THE ACADEMY OFFERS US ALL." AND PRESIDENT WILLIAM deMILLE AGREED THAT THE TECHNICIANS SERVED AS THE MODEL FOR THE OTHER BRANCHES OF THE ACADEMY IN SHARING IDEAS AND WORKING TOGETHER. SO, WHAT HAPPENED DURING THOSE INTERVENING YEARS TO KEEP THE TECHNICIANS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE NEW ORGANIZATION? SIMPLY PUT, SOUND HAPPENED. SOUND MOVIES, AND THE TECHNICIANS WHO MADE THEM, PLAYED A VITAL ROLE IN GIVING THE ACADEMY A PURPOSE AND AN AGENDA IN ITS EARLIEST YEARS. AND IN EXCHANGE, THE ACADEMY PLAYED A CRUCIAL ROLE IN ENABLING THE RAPIDITY AND SUCCESS OF THE INDUSTRY'S TRANSITION FROM SILENT TO SOUND FILM. SO PERHAPS IT'S A BIT UNFAIR--OR MAYBE JUST HISTORICALLY INAPPROPRIATE-- THAT WE CELEBRATE THE ACTORS AT THE OSCARS EVERY SPRING ON PRIME TIME TV AND HARDLY NOTICE THAT SNIPPET OF CANNED FOOTAGE OF THE PREVIOUSLY PRESENTED TECHNICAL AWARDS THAT ARE ALWAYS HANDED OUT SOMEWHERE OFFSITE BY EACH YEAR'S OBLIGING YOUNG STARLET. FOR THIS REASON, AND WITH APOLOGIES TO ALL THOSE ACTORS, INCLUDING THAT CLOONEY GUY, I WOULD LIKE TO BRING THE TECHNICIANS BACK TO CENTER STAGE AND GIVE THEM THEIR MOMENT OF PRIME TIME HERE TODAY. [CLAPPING] [CHUCKLES] [APPLAUSE] WHAT DID THE ACADEMY TECHNICIANS AND SOUND MOVIES DO FOR EACH OTHER IN THE YEARS BETWEEN 1927 AND 1930? MEMBERS OF THE TECHNICAL BRANCH ALMOST IMMEDIATELY BEGAN IDENTIFYING AND DISCUSSING THE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH SOUND PRODUCTION, PROBLEMS WITH WHICH ALL THE STUDIOS WERE THEN GRAPPLING. ACADEMY MEETINGS PROVIDED A PLACE WHERE TECHNICIANS FROM DIFFERENT STUDIOS COULD LEARN FROM EACH OTHER AS WELL AS LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT EACH TECHNICAL SUBFIELD FACED WITH THE COMING OF SOUND. NOT ONLY COULD PARAMOUNT CONVERSE WITH WARNER BROTHERS AND UNIVERSAL TALK WITH MGM, BUT EDITORS COULD TALK TO SOUND ENGINEERS, AND SET DESIGNERS COULD TALK TO CAMERAMEN IN WAYS THAT WERE NOT EASILY PRACTICAL ON THE HIGH PRESSURE, TIME-IS-MONEY ATMOSPHERE OF THE NEW HOLLYWOOD SOUND STAGES. AND IT WAS ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY, EVEN, TO BRING TOGETHER THE DIFFERENT TECHNICAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT WERE ALL DEALING WITH THE NEW SOUND TECHNOLOGY--THE SOCIETY OF MOTION PICTURE ENGINEERS, THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA, THE AMERICAN PROJECTION SOCIETY--ALL THESE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS OF TECHNICAL EXPERTS, ALSO, NEEDED TO GET TOGETHER AND BASICALLY SWAP NOTES, AND THEY DID THIS UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE ACADEMY. SURVEYS OF STUDIO AND THEATER PRACTICE COLLECTED INFORMATION ON A WIDELY VARYING AND--MOST PEOPLE WOULD SIMPLY CALL IT CHAOTIC--A WIDELY VARYING RANGE OF STANDARDS AND PRACTICES ASSOCIATED WITH A WHOLE RANGE OF ISSUES THAT HAD TO BE RESOLVED TO MAKE THE TRANSITION TO SOUND: FILM FORMAT, PROJECTION APERTURES, CAMERA SILENCERS, SOUNDSTAGE DESIGN, AND SET CONSTRUCTION, TO NAME JUST A FEW. SURVEY RESULTS WERE DISSEMINATED, AND IN SOME CASES, ADDITIONAL RESEARCH ON PARTICULAR PROBLEMS WAS ORGANIZED AND SPONSORED. TECHNICAL BRANCH MEETINGS ALSO BROUGHT IN SCIENTISTS AND EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS TO EDUCATE ACADEMY MEMBERS ON THE FUNDAMENTALS OF SOUND AND THE TOOLS THAT CAPTURED IT. AND I WANT TO NOTE HERE THAT THE SOUND TECHNOLOGY CAME FROM OUTSIDE THE FILM INDUSTRY. IT WAS NOT DEVELOPED WITHIN. THESE TECHNOLOGIES CAME FROM THE PHONE COMPANY AND THE RADIO INDUSTRY-- AT&T AND RCA, PRIMARILY. AND THEY BROUGHT IT IN AND COULDN'T SELL IT, AT FIRST, UNTIL WARNER BROTHERS AGREED TO KIND OF TAKE A GAMBLE IN THE WAY THAT WE HEARD A BIT ABOUT EARLIER. ALL RIGHT. SO, ALMOST FROM THE START, TOO, THE TECHNICAL BRANCH BEGAN TO ARGUE FOR A SPECIAL COURSE ON SOUND TO BE TAUGHT--NOT JUST TO THE TECHNICIANS, BUT ALSO TO THE CREATIVE ADMINISTRATIVE WORKERS IN THE STUDIOS WHOSE OWN WORK WAS ALSO TRANSFORMED BY THE NEW MATERIAL CONDITIONS OF THE SOUND MEDIUM. THIS COURSE WAS FIRST OFFERED IN THE FALL OF 1929. OVER 1,000 APPLICATIONS WERE RECEIVED TO TAKE IT, AND THESE CAME FROM MEN AND WOMEN, ACTORS, WRITERS, AND PRODUCERS, AS WELL AS THE RANGE OF STUDIO TECHNICIANS. AND ALMOST 600 PEOPLE WERE ADMITTED TO A 10-WEEK COURSE THAT TAUGHT THE PHYSICAL AND ELECTRICAL FUNDAMENTALS OF SOUND IN SOUND FILM, EXPLORE THE ARTISTIC POSSIBILITIES OF THE NEW MEDIUM, ALWAYS EMPHASIZING PRACTICAL MATTERS, INCLUDING STUDIO VISITS AND FILM DEMONSTRATIONS. THE COURSE WAS REPEATED THE FOLLOWING SPRING, AND THE LECTURES WERE PUBLISHED SO THAT THOSE UNABLE TO ATTEND COULD BENEFIT INDIRECTLY. NOW, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO MEASURE THE ACTUAL IMPACT OF THIS COURSE, BUT WHEN ONE CONSIDERS THE RAPIDITY WITH WHICH SUCH A FUNDAMENTAL RETOOLING OF THE ART AND INDUSTRY OF FILMMAKING TOOK PLACE IN HOLLYWOOD, I THINK IT'S SAFE TO SAY THAT THE COLLABORATIVE DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION THAT CONSTITUTED THE ACADEMY'S COURSE ON SOUND MUST HAVE BEEN CRUCIAL. DIRECTOR HARRY RAPF MAY HAVE BEEN SPEAKING HYPERBOLICALLY WHEN HE CALLED THE COURSE "THE MOST PROGRESSIVE STEP THAT THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY HAS TAKEN IN YEARS." BUT I THINK THIS COURSE REALLY MADE A DIFFERENCE. FOR THOSE NOT WILLING OR ABLE TO COMMIT 2 OR MORE HOURS WEEKLY FOR THE 10 WEEKS' DURATION OF THE COURSE, THE ACADEMY ALSO PRESENTED LESS TECHNICAL LECTURES ON THE NEW CONDITIONS OF SOUND FILM PRODUCTION TO ITS GENERAL MEMBERSHIP, AND THESE MEETINGS, AS BARB MENTIONED, ON TOPICS LIKE THE VOICE IN CONNECTION WITH TALKING PICTURES OR DUBBING, THESE DREW CAPACITY CROWDS WHENEVER THEY WERE OFFERED. WHILE THE DEGREE OF OPENNESS, THE SHARING OF TECHNICAL INFORMATION THAT TOOK PLACE UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE ACADEMY IS NOTABLE, I DON'T WANT TO GIVE THE IMPRESSION THAT IT WAS ALL OPENNESS AND LIGHT. KEEP IN MIND KNOWLEDGE EQUALS POWER. IT WAS CLEAR TO MANY IN THE INDUSTRY THAT WITH THE RUPTURES THAT CAME IN THE WAKE OF SOUND, THE OLD STUDIO POWER STRUCTURE WAS NOW UP FOR GRABS. EDUCATING, YOU'RE SAFE--EXCUSE ME. EDUCATING YOURSELF ABOUT THE NEW CONDITIONS WAS AS MUCH AN EXERCISE IN SELF-PRESERVATION AS IT WAS IN THE ACADEMIC EXCHANGE OF IDEAS. IT'S ALSO THE CASE THAT THE PARTICIPANTS IN THESE DISCUSSIONS WERE CONSTANTLY AWARE OF THE NEED TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE, WHOSE DISSEMINATION ONLY HELPED THE INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE, AND STUDIO SECRETS, WHOSE MAINTENANCE WAS CRUCIAL IN A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT. FOR EXAMPLE, ONE TOPIC RAISED BUT APPARENTLY NEVER PURSUED WAS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A SHARED LIBRARY OF SOUND EFFECTS THAT ALL STUDIOS COULD DRAW UPON WHEN EDITING AND COMPOSING SOUNDTRACKS FOR THEIR MOTION PICTURES. THIS POSSIBILITY WAS MENTIONED IN EARLY--IN JULY OF 1929, BUT NO FOLLOW-UP IS EVIDENT IN THIS CASE. IN FACT, EACH STUDIO JEALOUSLY GUARDED THE SOUND OF ITS SOUND EFFECTS. IN SOME CASES, SOUND EFFECTS WERE GENERATED BY MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL DEVICES THAT SIMULATED THE SOUNDS OF SUBWAYS, WINDSTORMS, THUNDER, AND OTHER SONIC OBJECTS. OTHER STUDIOS SENT SOUNDMEN OUT INTO THE FIELD TO RECORD THE ACTUAL SOUNDS OF SUBWAYS, WINDSTORMS, THUNDER, ET CETERA, AND THEN DEPLOYED THESE RECORDINGS VIA SOUND EDITING TECHNIQUES INTO ANY FILM WHOSE NARRATIVE REQUIRED THEM. A THIRD APPROACH WAS EXEMPLIFIED BY JACK FOLEY AT UNIVERSAL, WHEREBY SOUND EFFECTS WERE GENERATED BY MEN WHO PERFORMED IN REAL TIME TO ACCOMPANY PREVIOUSLY FILMED FOOTAGE. IN ALL CASES, THE SOURCES OF THESE SOUNDS, THEIR MEANS OF GENERATION, WERE HIDDEN AS VALUABLE TRADE SECRETS, AND I'VE ENCOUNTERED NO EVIDENCE OF STUDIOS SHARING SOUND, EVEN FOR A PRICE, IN THE WAY THAT THEY WERE OFTEN WILLING TO SHARE THEIR STARS. UNIVERSAL WAS FAMOUS FOR BEING THE ONLY STUDIO WITH AN ACTUAL RECORDING OF A PERFECT PEAL OF THUNDER. THEY USED THIS SINGLE THUNDERCLAP FOR YEARS IN DOZENS OF FILMS, WHILE ALL THE OTHER STUDIOS WERE STILL STUCK WITH FAKE-SOUNDING THUNDER SHEETS AND RAIN MACHINES. SO THERE WERE LIMITS TO WHAT THE STUDIOS WERE WILLING TO SHARE. NONETHELESS, I STILL THINK IT'S REMARKABLE HOW THESE COMPETITORS WERE ABLE TO COME TOGETHER SO QUICKLY AND SO EFFECTIVELY TO IDENTIFY, INVESTIGATE, AND TO SOLVE MANY OF THE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS AND ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRANSITION TO SOUND FILM. WITHOUT THE ACADEMY TO SERVE AS A CLEARINGHOUSE, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE TRANSITION TO SOUND WOULD HAVE SOUNDED VERY DIFFERENTLY. AND WITHOUT THE TRANSITION TO SOUND, THE ACADEMY, TOO, MAY HAVE FLOUNDERED IN ITS EARLY YEARS, FAILING TO DRAW A QUORUM, STRUGGLING TO FIND AN ISSUE AROUND WHICH TO REALIZE ITS AMBITIOUS AGENDA FOR THE INDUSTRY. WE'D STILL HAVE OSCAR, I SUSPECT, BUT HE MIGHT LACK THE GRAVITY, THE HEFT, THAT MAKES HIM SUCH A PRIZED AND SUBSTANTIAL AWARD TODAY. THANK YOU. [APPLAUSE] [CLEARS THROAT] WELL, I WANT TO START BY SUGGESTING THAT THE GREATEST ACTOR IN HOLLYWOOD IN THE LATE TWENTIES AND THIRTIES WAS NEVER NOMINATED FOR AN OSCAR--IN FACT, NEVER APPEARED IN A MOVIE. BUT LOUIS B. MAYER, WHO COULD CRY AT THE DROP OF A KLEENEX WAS THE MAN MOST RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING THE ACADEMY. AND LOUIS B. MAYER WAS A MAN WHO NEVER DID ANYTHING THAT WASN'T IN HIS BEST INTEREST. FOR HIM, A.M.P.A.S. WAS A WAY TO FORESTALL THE SERIOUS UNIONIZATION OF HOLLYWOOD. TO FULLY GRASP THE REAL STORY BEHIND THE FORMATION OF THE ACADEMY, I NEED TO TELL YOU A BACKSTORY. AND THAT IS, DURING THE EARLY DECADES OF THE 20th CENTURY, LOS ANGELES WAS THE MOST ANTI-UNION CITY IN THE ENTIRE NATION LARGELY BECAUSE OF THE EFFORTS OF HARRISON GRAY OTIS AND HIS SUCCESSOR HARRY CHANDLER, THE PUBLISHERS OF THE L.A. TIMES. OTIS WAS SUCH AN OUTSPOKEN CRITIC OF UNIONS THAT THE TIMES BUILDING WAS BOMBED IN 1910 BY 2 UNIONISTS, JOHN AND JAMES McNAMARA BROTHERS, LEADING TO WHAT WOULD BE KNOWN AS THE CRIME--THE FIRST CRIME OF THE CENTURY-- [LAUGHTER] WITH FAMED ATTORNEY CLARENCE DARROW DEFENDING THE BROTHERS. WELL, LABOR UNIONS WERE VERY SLOW TO ORGANIZE THE MOVIE INDUSTRY BEFORE WORLD WAR I. INDEED, AS LATE AS 1911, THE INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE OF THEATRICAL AND STAGE EMPLOYEES, I.A.T.S.E., WHICH WAS THE MAIN THEATRE UNION IN THE COUNTRY, DECIDED AT ITS CONVENTION THAT IT WASN'T GOING TO BOTHER ORGANIZING THE MOVIES BECAUSE IT DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD LAST MORE THAN A FEW YEARS. [AUDIENCE CHUCKLES] WELL, THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR BEGAN ITS CONCERTED EFFORTS TO ORGANIZE MOTION PICTURES IN 1916, WHEN PRESIDENT SAMUEL GOMPERS SENT OUT HIS PRIME ORGANIZER JIM GRAY. 25 OF THE LARGEST FILM COMPANIES RESPONDED BY CREATING THE MOTION PICTURE PRODUCER ASSOCIATION IN 1916, THE INDUSTRY'S FIRST ANTI-UNION OPEN-SHOP ORGANIZATION. WELL, THE PERIOD BETWEEN 1916 AND 1922 SAW THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL EFFORTS AT UNIONIZING ALL ASPECTS OF THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY. WELL, YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT NEAL GABLER TALKED EARLIER ABOUT THE REASON THE MOGULS CAME OUT--OR MANY OF THE PEOPLE CAME OUT WAS TO AVOID THE UNION. THAT'S THE OLD STORY. BUT THAT'S REALLY ONLY PARTIALLY TRUE. THE REAL REASON THEY CAME OUT WAS FOR BUSINESS. WITH WORLD WAR I, EUROPEAN FILMMAKING WAS BASICALLY SHUT DOWN, AND AMBITIOUS ENTREPRENEURS UNDERSTOOD THAT THEY COULD CAPTURE THE WORLD MARKET IF THEY COULD SIMPLY CREATE MORE FILMS AND PUT THEM OUT, AND THAT'S WHY THEY MOVED OUT WEST, BECAUSE THEY COULD SHOOT FOR OVER 300 DAYS A YEAR IN EVERY POSSIBLE KIND OF SETTING FOR A FILM. BY 1919, 90% OF THE FILMS SHOWN THROUGHOUT MOST OF THE WORLD WERE MADE IN THE UNITED STATES, AND THE VAST BULK OF THOSE FILMS WERE MADE IN LOS ANGELES. STUDIOS, BY 1919, WERE WELL-FUNDED BY WALL STREET BOND OFFERINGS AND WERE CLOSER IN THEIR BUSINESS PRACTICES TO GENERAL MOTORS, FORD, AND UNITED STATES STEEL THAN THEY WERE TO THE MODEST MOVIE COMPANIES OF A DECADE EARLIER. AND SO, TOO, WERE THEIR LABOR PROBLEMS. HOLLYWOOD'S HEIGHTENED EMPHASIS ON EFFICIENCY AND COST-CONSCIOUSNESS CAUSED WIDESPREAD DISCONTENT AMONGST EMPLOYEES. THE STUDIO CRAFT UNIONS FORMED BY THE I.A. BEFORE THE WAR WERE STILL THE DOMINANT UNIONS, BUT NOW, ACTORS, MOVIE EXTRAS, CAMERAMEN AND FILM LAB TECHNICIANS WERE ALSO FORMING ORGANIZATIONS. THE WAR HELPED CREATE UNIONS, AS IT LED TO SEVERE LABOR SHORTAGES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. THE I.A.T.S.E. LOCAL 33 APPOINTED A NEW MILITANT BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVE, ROY STEPHENSON, WHO GOT IN THE FACE OF THE STUDIO EXECUTIVES ON A DAILY BASIS. AND, INDEED, WITHIN A FEW MONTHS OF STEPHENSON TAKING OVER, UNION MEMBERSHIP IN THAT KEY ASSOCIATION ROSE FROM 87 MEMBERS IN JANUARY 1918 TO OVER 1,600 BY THE END OF 1919. AND WHEN 11 STUDIO HEADS TRIED TO IMPLEMENT A DRASTIC SET OF WAGE CUTS IN JULY 1921, ANGRY WORKERS LED BY STEPHENSON AND THE I.A. CALLED FOR AN INTERNATIONAL BOYCOTT OF THE FILMS MADE BY THOSE STUDIOS. SUCH A BOYCOTT WAS NOT GOOD FOR BUSINESS. WELL, THE STUDIOS RESPONDED IN 1922 BY ORGANIZING THE MOTION PICTURE PRODUCERS AND DISTRIBUTORS ASSOCIATION AND HIRING FORMER POSTMASTER GENERAL AND REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN WILL HAYS AS ITS HEAD. THEY BECAME--THE MOTION PICTURE PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION BECAME THE INDUSTRY'S CHIEF BARGAINING AGENT, AND BY 1926, STUDIO CRAFT UNIONS AND THE MUSICIANS UNION MADE SERIOUS HEADWAY INTO THE INDUSTRY BY SIGNING THE BASIC STUDIO AGREEMENT, WHICH RECOGNIZED UNIONS AND-- PRODUCERS RECOGNIZED UNIONS AND AGREED TO NEGOTIATE WITH THEM. WELL, BY THE END OF THE 1920s, IT WAS CLEAR THAT THE-- MOVIE INDUSTRY NEEDED A BETTER WAY TO APPROACH LABOR RELATIONS, AND IN 1927, THE GREATEST FEAR AMONG STUDIO MOGULS WAS THAT THE CREATIVE TALENT--WRITERS AND ESPECIALLY ACTORS--WOULD ORGANIZE UNIONS. AND IN AN EFFORT TO FORESTALL THAT UNIONIZATION, LOUIS MAYER AND HIS FRIENDS ORGANIZED THE ACADEMY WITH 5 BRANCHES REPRESENTING THE MOST IMPORTANT DIVISIONS WITHIN THE INDUSTRY-- PRODUCERS, WRITERS, DIRECTORS, ACTORS, AND TECHNICIANS. WELL, ONE OF A.M.P.A.S.'S KEY TASKS WAS TO NEGOTIATE LABOR CONTRACTS WITH ITS 5 CONSTITUENT BRANCHES, AND EACH DIVISION ELECTED ITS OWN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, AND THAT GROUP FUNCTIONED AS THE GOVERNING VOICE IN LABOR NEGOTIATIONS. WELL, STUDIO HEADS REFUSED TO BELIEVE THAT WRITERS AND ACTORS REALLY NEEDED HARDCORE INDEPENDENT UNIONS. AS MGM'S IRVING THALBERG QUIPPED, "PLUMBERS MAY NEED UNIONS, BUT NOT ARTISTS." ACTORS WERE VERY SLOW TO ORGANIZE IN PART BECAUSE MANY OF THEM SHARED THALBERG'S SENSE THAT THEY WERE SOMEHOW ABOVE UNIONIZATION. AN ACTORS EQUITY ASSOCIATION WAS ESTABLISHED BY STAGE ACTORS ON THE EAST COAST IN 1913 BUT HAD LITTLE IMPACT IN THE FILM INDUSTRY. HOWEVER, AFTER A SUCCESSFUL BROADWAY STRIKE IN 1919, EQUITY TURNED THEIR EYES TOWARD HOLLYWOOD, AND BY 1926, EQUITY BEGAN HOLDING MASS RALLIES THROUGHOUT LOS ANGELES, CALLING UPON ACTORS TO JOIN THEIR BROADWAY BRETHREN IN UNIONIZING. WELL, LOUIS MAYER AND MANY OF THE FOUNDERS ENVISIONED A.M.P.A.S. AS A COMPANY UNION THAT WOULD SUBVERT THE EFFORTS OF EQUITY. AND THE FIRST THING THEY DID TO FOIL EQUITY'S EFFORTS WAS TO PERSUADE PRODUCERS TO POSTPONE A 10% SALARY CUT FOR ACTORS. IN JULY 1927, ACADEMY PRESIDENT DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS ANNOUNCED THAT THE PRODUCERS PLANNED A UNIFORM CONTRACT FOR ACTORS, WRITERS, AND DIRECTORS, AND ACADEMY LEADERS PROCEEDED TO NEGOTIATE A CONTRACT THE FOLLOWING DECEMBER. HOWEVER, THAT CONTRACT WAS WIDELY CRITICIZED BY ACTORS EQUITY AS A SWEETHEART DEAL THAT SHORT-CHANGED THE ACTORS. ON THE OTHER HAND, SOME ACTORS, WHILE PUSHING FOR UNIONIZATION, DIDN'T WANT TO BE REPRESENTED BY AN ORGANIZATION THAT WAS ESSENTIALLY 3,000 MILES AWAY AND MORE FAMILIAR WITH THE PROBLEMS OF STAGE ACTORS THAN FILM ACTORS. WELL, THE UPSHOT WAS THAT THE 1927 ACADEMY CONTRACT OFFERED ENOUGH TO TAKE THE STEAM OUT OF THE EQUITY DRIVE. AND OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS, THE ACTORS REMAINED WITHIN A.M.P.A.S. AS THE DIVISION'S EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE HAMMERED OUT NEGOTIATED CONTRACTS FOR ITS VARIOUS BRANCHES. WELL, THE INTRODUCTION OF SOUND IN 1927 BROUGHT BIG CHANGES TO THE ACADEMY AND TO LABOR, FOR LOTS MORE--MANY MORE MILITANT ACTORS LEFT BROADWAY AND HEADED WEST TO STAR IN FILMS. INDEED, EQUITY LEADER FRANK GILMORE CAME TO LOS ANGELES TO TAKE CHARGE OF THE ACTORS' STRIKE IN JUNE 1929. WELL, THE STRIKE ULTIMATELY FAILED, AND EQUITY LEADERS RETURNED TO NEW YORK, LEAVING THE ACADEMY THE MOST POWERFUL LABOR POSITION. YET BY 1929, 70% OF THE ACTORS INVOLVED IN TALKIES WERE ALSO MEMBERS OF ACTORS EQUITY. IN ALL FAIRNESS, IT HAS TO BE SAID THAT WHILE THE ACADEMY WAS A VIRTUAL COMPANY UNION, IT DID OFFER BENEFITS TO WORKERS. WHILE THOSE BENEFITS WERE NOWHERE NEAR AS GENEROUS AS A STRONG UNION CONTRACT, THE ACADEMY'S ADJUSTMENT COMMITTEE NEGOTIATED A SERIES OF AGREEMENTS THAT OFFERED ACTORS SOME PROTECTION AGAINST THE WORST ABUSES BY STUDIO HEADS AND GUARANTEED THEM AN 8-HOUR DAY WITH OVERTIME PAY. WELL, LOUIS MAYER ALSO GRASPED THAT MAX FABER UNDERSTOOD HOLLYWOOD MUCH MORE THAN KARL MARX DID-- THAT IS, STATUS MORE THAN MONEY IS WHAT DROVE MANY INDUSTRY PERSONNEL, AND THAT ONE WAY TO CO-OPT ACTORS, AS WELL AS POTENTIALLY MILITANT DIRECTORS AND WRITERS, AND KEEP THEM IN THE ACADEMY WAS TO GIVE THEM AWARDS. AS MAYER WROTE, "I FOUND THE BEST WAY TO HANDLE MOVIE-MAKERS WAS TO HANG MEDALS ALL OVER THEM." [LAUGHTER] "IF I GOT THEM CUPS AND AWARDS, THEY'D KILL THEMSELVES TO PRODUCE WHAT I WANTED. THAT'S WHY THE ACADEMY AWARD WAS CREATED." WELL, IT'S CLEAR THAT BY MARCH 1933, SHORTLY AFTER FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT CLOSED THE BANKS IN AN EFFORT TO SHORE UP PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN THE NATION'S FINANCIAL SYSTEM, COLUMBIA AND UNITED ARTISTS RESPONDED TO THE BANK HOLIDAY BY TEMPORARILY SHUTTING DOWN, UNIVERSAL SUSPENDED ALL CONTRACTS, AND FOX ANNOUNCED THAT NO ONE WOULD BE PAID UNTIL THE BANKS REOPENED. WELL, LOUIS B. MAYER WENT A STEP FURTHER. HE ASKED EVERYONE IN HIS STUDIO TO TAKE A VOLUNTARY 50% PAY CUT TO KEEP MGM OPEN, A MOVE THAT THE ACADEMY QUICKLY RECOMMENDED BE IMPLEMENTED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY. WELL, LET ME GET BACK TO MAYER'S ACTING ABILITY. ON MARCH 8, 1933, LOUIS MAYER WALKED INTO MGM'S LARGEST PROJECTION ROOM TO ADDRESS THE STUDIO FAITHFUL. HIS EYES WERE RED, HIS FACE UNSHAVEN, AND WITH TEARS IN HIS EYES, HE MANAGED TO SAY "MY FRIENDS," AND THEN HE CHOKED UP, AND HE WAS UNABLE TO SPEAK. AFTER HE RECOVERED, HE TOLD THEM THAT EVERY STUDIO WAS ON THE VERGE OF CLOSING UNLESS THOSE PAY CUTS WERE ACCEPTED. LIONEL BARRYMORE, PROBABLY IN A DRUNKEN STUPOR-- [LAUGHTER] SHOUTED OUT, "DON'T WORRY, L.B.! WE'RE WITH YOU!" AND THEY AGREED TO THE CUTS. MAYER, AGAIN IN TEARS, GUARANTEED THAT THE CUTS WOULD NOT LAST MORE THAN 8 WEEKS, AND HE WOULD FIND A WAY TO GIVE THEM EVERY PENNY BACK ONCE PROSPEROUS TIMES RETURNED. AND AGAIN, HE BROKE DOWN. WELL, WHEN THE MEETING WAS OVER AND EVERYONE LEFT THE ROOM, LOUIS MAYER--SUDDENLY TOTALLY COMPOSED--TURNED TO BEN [INDISTINCT] AND SAID, "HOW'D I DO?" [LAUGHTER] THE CUTS LASTED 6 TO 8 WEEKS, BUT NONE OF THE MONEY WAS EVER RETURNED. MOREOVER, MGM TURNED A PROFIT FOR THAT '32-'33 SEASON OF OVER 4 MILLION AND THE NEXT YEAR EARNED ALMOST 6 MILLION, IN PART FROM THE MONEY THEY SAVED FROM THE CUTS. WELL, ALTHOUGH THOSE WAGE CUTS VIOLATED THE TERM OF THE ACTORS' CONTRACTS FORGED EARLIER BY THE ACADEMY COMMITTEES, THE ACADEMY DID NOT INTERVENE. CONSEQUENTLY, MANY ACTORS, WRITERS, AND DIRECTORS INCREASINGLY FELT THAT THE ACADEMY WAS USELESS IN PROTECTING THEIR INTERESTS. AND ANGER OVER CUTS AND PROFITS LED ACTORS AND WRITERS TO BREAK AWAY FROM ACADEMY BRANCHES SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT THEM AND TO FORM THEIR OWN ORGANIZATIONS. AS SCREENWRITER ALBERT HACKETT SAID OF MAYER, "HE CREATED MORE COMMUNISTS THAN KARL MARX." [LAUGHTER] ACTORS WITHDREW FROM THE ACADEMY AND ORGANIZED THE SCREEN ACTORS GUILD IN MARCH 1933, AND WRITERS FOLLOWED A MONTH LATER AND ORGANIZED THE SCREEN WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA. WITHIN A FEW WEEKS, S.A.G. MEMBERSHIP ROSE FROM A FEW DOZEN TO OVER 3,000. THE ACADEMY ABANDONED LABOR NEGOTIATIONS IN 1937, AND ITS FOCUS BECAME CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL, WITH THE PUBLIC KNOWING IT LARGELY FOR THE OSCARS. NOW, WHY LOUIS B. MAYER WOULD WANT TO INVOLVE HIMSELF IN THE ACADEMY IS A STORY WORTH TELLING, BUT IT'S A STORY FOR ANOTHER DAY. THANK YOU. [APPLAUSE] IF I CAN ASK SID TO COME UP AND JOIN US, WE HAVE 10 MINUTES--A LITTLE MORE THAN 10 MINUTES TO FIELD QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE. [INDISTINCT WHISPERING] OK. HI. I'M WONDERING IF YOU COULD EXPLAIN TO ME TECHNICALLY HOW SOUND GOT ONTO THE MOVIES. IS IT A MAGNETIC PROCESS? IS IT VISUAL? I UNDERSTAND PEOPLE TALK IN A MICROPHONE LIKE THIS, AND THERE'S AN ELECTRICAL CHARGE. AND THEN, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE ELECTRICAL CHARGE? AND HOW DOES IT GET BACK AND COME OUT OF A SPEAKER? WELL, IT'S PROBABLY NOT THE BEST FORUM TO GIVE A LITTLE PHYSICS LECTURE, BUT I'LL JUST MENTION THAT THERE WERE ACTUALLY SEVERAL DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO SOLVING THE SOUND PROBLEM. THE VITAPHONE SYSTEM THAT WARNER BROTHERS FIRST DEPLOYED, WHERE THE TECHNOLOGY CAME FROM, THE PHONE COMPANY INITIALLY RECORDED THE SOUNDTRACK ONTO PHONOGRAPH RECORDS, AND THE CHALLENGE WAS TO PROVIDE A WAY TO SYNCHRONIZE THE RECORDING AND THEN THE REPRODUCING OF A RECORD WITH THE CAMERA AND THEN THE PROJECTOR AND TO HAVE A SUFFICIENT SYSTEM OF AMPLIFICATION SO THAT THE OUTPUT OF A RECORD PLAYER WOULD BE LOUD ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE IN A LARGE THEATER TO HEAR. AND THAT WAS PARALLELED BY A DIFFERENT APPROACH THAT AN INDEPENDENT INVENTOR HAD PURSUED AND THEN DEVELOPED IN ASSOCIATION WITH WILLIAM FOX, AND THEN ALSO THE APPROACH TAKEN BY RCA, WHICH WAS TO CREATE AN OPTICAL RECORD OF SOUND--NOT TO USE A PHONOGRAPH RECORD, BUT TO USE VARIOUS TECHNOLOGIES THAT I WON'T DESCRIBE HERE TODAY TO CREATE A PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD, SORT OF A BLACK-AND-WHITE SQUIGGLE, THAT REPRESENTS THE SOUND WAVE FORM, AND THEN THAT INSCRIPTION WOULD BE PLACED DIRECTLY ONTO THE FILM ITSELF. SO SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT HAD TO BE SOLVED WAS SIMPLY CHOOSING. IS SOUND ON DISC BETTER THAN SOUND ON FILM? WHAT ARE THE DISADVANTAGES AND ADVANTAGES OF EACH? AND THEN, FOR SOUND ON FILM, THE FOX SYSTEM AND THE RCA SYSTEM WERE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT, AND SO, THERE WERE ISSUES TO RESOLVE THERE AND REALLY TRY AND DEFINE STANDARDS SO THAT EVERYBODY COULD SORT OF BE ON THE SAME PAGE. THE SOUNDTRACK ON FILM TOOK CELLULOID REAL ESTATE AWAY FROM THE IMAGE. IT CHANGED THE SHAPE OF THE PICTURE THAT YOU SAW ONSCREEN, AND THAT CREATED PROBLEMS FOR CINEMATOGRAPHERS, FOR PROJECTIONISTS. DIFFERENT STUDIOS WERE CREATING DIFFERENT-SHAPED FILMS. SO THERE WERE A RANGE OF DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES, TECHNIQUES, TO GET THE SOUND AND TO SYNCH IT UP WITH THE IMAGE. AND THE IMPLICATIONS OF ALL THESE DIFFERENT APPROACHES ARE THE ACTUAL CONTENT OF THE DISCUSSIONS THAT I JUST GENERALLY REFERRED TO, THAT THEY ARE THE PROBLEMS THAT THE ACADEMY SERVED AS A CLEARINGHOUSE TO DEAL WITH AND START TO FIGURE OUT. AND EMILY, I WOULD SAY, TO THIS DAY, THE ACADEMY IS STILL IN THE BUSINESS OF DISCOVERING STANDARDS IN THE CONTEMPORARY, YOU KNOW, STUFF OF THE DAY. NEXT QUESTION. YEAH. I WANT TO THROW IN THAT I'M AN ACADEMY MEMBER WHO'S ALSO WRITTEN ABOUT HOLLYWOOD LABOR, AND I JUST THOUGHT IT'D BE FUN JUST TO THROW ONE OF THE OLD DOROTHY PARKER QUOTE--IT'S SLIGHTLY OFF-COLOR. BUT AT ONE POINT, THE ACADEMY CONSIDERED DOING A--LIKE, AN OMBUDSMAN SORT OF PANEL WHERE YOU COULD TAKE-- EMPLOYEES COULD TAKE GRIEVANCES TO THE ACADEMY, AND THEY WOULD BE LISTENED TO BY THE STUDIO HEADS. AND WHEN DOROTHY PARKER HEARD THIS, SHE SAID, "GOING TO THE ACADEMY WITH YOUR GRIEVANCES IS LIKE TRYING TO GET LAID IN YOUR MOTHER'S HOUSE." [LAUGHTER] "SOMEONE'S ALWAYS PEEKING THROUGH THE CURTAINS." [LAUGHTER] I'M THE STAFF HISTORIAN FOR THE WRITER'S GUILD, AND I JUST WANTED TO ADD ONE LITTLE THING TO WHAT STEVE SAID, WHICH IS THE BIG MISTAKE THAT LOUIS B. MAYER MADE WAS SAYING "HOW'D I DO?" IN FRONT OF SAM MARX, WHO WAS THE STORY EDITOR, WHO IMMEDIATELY WENT BACK TO THE WRITERS AND SAID, "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE WHAT I JUST HEARD." [LAUGHTER] AND THAT'S WHY THE WRITER'S GUILD EXISTS. [LAUGHTER] I HAVE A QUESTION THAT HAS TO DO WITH WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST. HE USED TO WRITE A DAILY COLUMN--THIS WAS LATE IN HIS LIFE, 1940, 1941--HE WAS WRITING A DAILY COLUMN FOR HIS PAPERS CALLED "IN THE NEWS," AND SOMETIMES HE WOULD GET REMINISCENT, AND HE WOULD BE RECALLING EPISODES OF HIS OWN LIFE AND CAREER. AND ONE TIME, HE JUST, OUT OF THE BLUE, WROTE ABOUT THE FOUNDING OF THE ACADEMY, AND HE MENTIONED HOW HE WAS IN SANTA MONICA. HE WAS AT SOME FILM STAR'S HOUSE. HE DIDN'T SAY WHOSE, AND I WONDERED, DOES HE MEAN MARION DAVIES? I ALSO WONDERED, DID HE MEAN MAYER? BUT IT WAS SOMEWHERE THERE IN SANTA MONICA, THE GOLD COAST AREA WHERE THE STARS HAD THEIR BEACH HOUSES, AND HE DESCRIBED THE SITUATION. HE MENTIONED SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE. HE WAS SOMEWHAT EVASIVE AND POETICAL ABOUT IT. BUT HIS WHOLE POINT WAS, YOU KNOW, THIS MARVELOUS THING WAS FINALLY LAUNCHED ON THAT BEAUTIFUL EVENING. I THINK HE REFERRED TO THE SPRING OF 1927. SO I'M JUST WONDERING, WHAT ACTUAL SETTING WOULD HE HAVE HAD IN MIND? CAN I TAKE THAT ONE? THE STORY GOES--AND I WAS READING THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL BANQUET, AND IT WAS--THIS STORY WAS RECOUNTED WITH MUCH FLOURISH BY, I BELIEVE, CONRAD NAGEL--IS THAT IT STARTED AT LOUIS B. MAYER'S BEACH HOUSE WITH A GROUP OF 4 PEOPLE HAVING DINNER: CONRAD NAGEL, L.B. MAYER, FRED NIBLO, AND FRED BEETSON. AND THEY THEN CAME--WELL, LOUIS B. MAYER HAD THE IDEA, AND THE OTHER 3 GUYS SAID, "YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT IDEA." AND LOUIS B. MAYER CAME UP WITH THE IDEA OF BRINGING TOGETHER A SMALLER GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT LATER BECAME KNOWN AS THE FOUNDERS. AND I THINK IT WAS A GROUP OF ABOUT 30 OR 35 PEOPLE-- 36. 36 PEOPLE WHO MET ABOUT A WEEK LATER IN JANUARY OF 1927. NOW, I DON'T RECALL IF HEARST WAS ONE OF THE PEOPLE AT THAT MEETING OR NOT, BUT IF HE WAS, I WOULD THINK THAT'S WHAT HE WAS REFERRING TO. HOW DOES ONE BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY? AHA. WELL, IF, YOU KNOW--AS I SAID IN MY LITTLE INTRODUCTORY REMARKS, IT HAS TO DO WITH BEING THE VERY BEST IN THE FIELD, THE PARTICULAR FIELD THAT YOU'RE INVOLVED IN IN THE ART OF MOTION PICTURES. SO EACH OF THE 15 BRANCHES HAS THEIR OWN QUALIFICATIONS, BUT ALL OF THEM HAS TO DO WITH EXCELLENCE IN THE ART AND, IN ADDITION TO THAT, A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TENURE, HAVING WORKED IN THE FIELD FOR A CERTAIN NUMBER OF YEARS. AND YOU KNOW, IT FALLS INTO THAT CATEGORY--THOSE CATEGORIES, GENERALLY. WELL, HOW DOES A PERSON'S NAME COME FORWARD? IS IT NOT BY NOMINATION OF YOUR PEERS? THE--MEMBERSHIP TO THE ACADEMY IS BY INVITATION. WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT EACH OF THOSE 15 BRANCHES MEET SEPARATELY. THERE'S AN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF EACH OF THOSE BRANCHES. AND THAT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CONSIDERS 2 THINGS-- THOSE WHO THEY KNOW HAVE REACHED THAT PLACE OF EXCELLENCE AND ARE THEN INVITED BY THE BRANCH. THAT'S ONE WAY. THE SECOND WAY, THE OTHER WAY, IS BY APPLICATION TO INVITATION. SO 2 MEMBERS OF EACH OF THOSE BRANCHES HAVE TO PUT FORTH THE NAME OF SOMEBODY FROM THAT DISCIPLINE TO THEN BE CONSIDERED BY THE WHOLE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE BRANCH. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE THINKING, "BOY, WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT TO BE AN ACADEMY MEMBER?" I JUST REMIND YOU OF THE PAULINE KAEL LINE THAT "HOLLYWOOD IS THE ONLY PLACE YOU CAN DIE OF ENCOURAGEMENT." [LAUGHTER] WELL, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR SID AND BARBARA, WHICH IS, HOW RESPONSIBLE DO YOU THINK THE FIRST OSCARS CEREMONIES, THE FIRST SEVERAL, WERE FOR REALLY FASHIONING HOLLY--OF LINKING HOLLYWOOD AND GLAMOUR AND ACTORS AND ACTRESSES AND CEREMONY IN A WAY IT HAD NEVER BEEN BEFORE THE OSCARS? GO AHEAD, BARBARA. GO AHEAD. WELL, THE FIRST FEW YEARS, THE EVENT WAS MORE LIKE A PRIVATE PARTY, SO THEY CERTAINLY--YOU DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING LIKE WHAT YOU HAVE NOW WITH THE RED CARPET, OF PEOPLE ARRIVING AND FANS LINING UP. WE HAVE SOME PICTURES IN THE ARCHIVES SHOWING PEOPLE ARRIVING AT THE HOTELS. AS I SAID, THE BLOSSOM ROOM WAS ONLY USED THE FIRST YEAR. AND AFTER THAT, IT ALTERNATED BETWEEN THE AMBASSADOR AND THE BILTMORE HOTELS. SO IT WAS REALLY MORE OF A PRIVATE BANQUET OR DINNER. IT WAS CERTAINLY REPORTED IN THE PRESS AND, AS THE THIRTIES WENT ON, BECAME MORE AND MORE OF AN ANNUAL EVENT. BUT I DON'T KNOW IF IT HAD ANYWHERE NEAR THE GLAMOROUS DIMENSIONS TO IT THAT IT DOES NOW. AND TODAY, WE LIVE IN THIS SCHIZOPHRENIC WORLD OF, NUMBER ONE, AWARDING OSCARS FOR MERIT, ON THE ONE HAND, AND ON THE OTHER HAND, OF COURSE, EXTOLLING THE GLAMOUR OF THE WORLD THAT WE LIVE AND WORK IN. AND THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE TELEVISION SHOW AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO PUT ON A TELEVISION SHOW. SO PART OF OUR--WHAT WE'RE SADDLED WITH IS THAT TELEVISION SHOW, VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THE EXISTENCE OF THE ACADEMY IN THAT A GIGANTIC AMOUNT OF OUR OPERATING REVENUE COMES FROM THAT TELEVISION. WE HAVE TO PUT ON A GOOD SHOW, AND PUTTING ON A GOOD SHOW IN HOLLYWOOD INVOLVES GLAMOUR, TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN PROVIDE IT. I WASN'T ABLE TO BRING AS MANY PICTURES AS I WOULD HAVE LIKED, BUT THERE ARE SOME PICTURES FROM THE BANQUET IN THE THIRTIES WHERE IT REALLY LOOKS LIKE MARGARET GLEDHALE AND THE OTHER PEOPLE FROM THE STAFF KIND OF WENT IN AND DECORATED THE WAY YOU WOULD AT THE PROM OR SOMETHING. [LAUGHTER] I MEAN, IT WAS NOT A SUPER FANCY EVENT. THEY HAD A HEAD TABLE WITH MAYBE SOME FLOWER THINGS ON IT LIKE THIS AND THE OSCARS SITTING THERE. AND THEN, YOU WOULD HAVE AN ORCHESTRA AND HAVE DANCING. BUT ALSO, IF YOU'VE EVER SEEN SOME OF THE PICTURES OF SOME OF THE DRESSES THAT THE LADIES WORE IN THE THIRTIES, IT CERTAINLY HAD NOT REACHED THE GLAMOUR LEVEL THAT IT HAS NOW. ESPECIALLY, I THINK, BETTE DAVIS ONE YEAR WORE A DRESS THAT JUST LOOKED LIKE SOMETHING YOU WOULD WEAR TO GO TO THE GROCERY STORE. I MEAN, IT WAS NOT A FANCY DRESS THE SAME WAY THAT PEOPLE DID THAT LATER. AND BARBARA, OF COURSE, WE WORRY ABOUT THAT. IT'S NOT-- RIGHT. IN OUR BEST INTEREST TO FOCUS ON THE DRESSES. WHAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON, OF COURSE-- RIGHT. ARE THE AWARDS. BUT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT. RIGHT-- WASN'T IT BROADCAST ON RADIO AT ONE POINT? YES. SO DO YOU KNOW WHAT YEAR THAT STARTED. I DON'T KNOW FOR SURE. I THINK IT WAS ABOUT 1931, WAS THE FIRST YEAR. AND WE STARTED ON TELEVISION, EMILY, I BELIEVE IT WAS 1953. I THINK IT WAS 1953 THAT WE HIT TELEVISION. THAT'S WHEN I STARTED WATCHING IT AS A KID. YEAH. WHEN THE SHOW WENT ON TELEVISION, THAT WAS A HUGE-- A HUGE THING FOR THE ACADEMY, WHICH, UP TO THAT POINT, WAS HAVING SOME FINANCIAL PROBLEMS. AND OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT THE TIME, MARGARET HERRICK, WAS THE ONE WHO NEGOTIATED THE FIRST TELEVISION DEAL. AND THAT COMPLETELY TRANSFORMED THE ACADEMY BECAUSE IT GAVE US THAT ANNUAL INCOME. WELL, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR EMILY. AND YOU TALKED ABOUT HOW THE FIRST SOUND ENGINEERS CAME IN FROM OUTSIDE THE MOVIE INDUSTRY. I'M JUST CURIOUS--DID THEY SEE THEMSELVES AS ENGAGED IN SCIENCE, ENGAGED IN ART, ENGAGED IN SOMETHING IN BETWEEN? WELL, I'M TRYING TO FIGURE THAT OUT, ACTUALLY, BECAUSE I THINK I CAME INTO THIS PROJECT ASSUMING THAT THERE WERE THE GUYS FROM THE PHONE COMPANY WHO ARE SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS, AND THEN, THERE ARE FILMMAKERS, WHO ARE ARTISTIC, CREATIVE PEOPLE. AND IT'S ALL ABOUT THIS CLASH OF CULTURES. AND THAT'S WHERE THE DRAMA COMES FROM. BUT I'M FINDING THAT DRAWING THAT BOUNDARY IS PART OF THE PROBLEM, AND, AT A CERTAIN POINT, I THINK THE SUCCESS IS ACHIEVED WHEN THE PEOPLE INVOLVED STOP WORRYING ABOUT IT AND ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE ARE MAKING ALL SORTS OF CONTRIBUTIONS, TECHNICAL AND CREATIVE. AND THERE ARE LOTS OF SORT OF NEW HYBRID ROLES THAT COME IN WHERE YOU REALLY CAN'T CHARACTERIZE THESE PEOPLE OR WHAT THEY'RE DOING AS ENGINEERING OR ART. AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY WHERE AND HOW IT HAPPENS. WELL, I WANT TO THANK MY PANELISTS FOR PARTICIPATING TODAY. I WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU FOR COMING OUT. BILL, DO YOU WANT TO MAKE SOME CLOSING ANNOUNCEMENTS? SURE. OK. PLEASE JOIN ME IN THANKING THE PANEL. [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] I CAN'T RESIST. I'D LIKE TO THANK THE ACADEMY. [LAUGHTER] [APPLAUSE] THANK YOU, SID. THANK YOU, BARBARA.