Mikes Film Talk

Kensington Books has announced the September 24, 2024 publication of MOGULS: The Lives and Times of Hollywood Film Pioneers Nicholas and Joseph Schenck.

The book, by Michael Benson and Craig Singer has got it all: “It’s got chills, thrills, romance, comedy, intrigue, and danger; it’s equal parts The Last Tycoon and Horatio Alger, except this story is real. Hell, somebody should make a movie out of this.” This is from the forward by Terence Winter, Writer of The Sopranos,Boardwalk Empire, and The Wolf of Wall Street.

The Names

People of love film have heard of the studio heads who built Hollywood into a he global entertainment empire: The legendary power wielding super stars who made and killed careers. Goldwyn,Mankiewicz,Laemmle,Mayer,Loews, Cohn. But it was The Schenck Brothers; a ruthless pair of Bowery boys, who worked their way up to invent the Hollywood studio system.These men created a lasting legacy of star creation, creating while simultaneously breaking all the business rules.

Twice as powerful as the Warner Brothers,the Schencks were immigrants who quietly ran Hollywood out of the spotlight,bringing film into a world of blazing color. They were as American as jazz and baseball,as flashy as Gatsby, as cunning as gangsters.They controlled a third of the motion picture industry at the height of their careers. They were also two of the richest men in America. MOGULS (on sale September 24, 2024)is a noirish, incredible Hollywood history.

The Schenck brothers held controlling interests in three major studios: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),Twentieth Century-Fox, and United Artists (UA). But chances are you’ve never heard of them because they preferred to run their global empire behind closed doors. Nick was Louis B. Mayer’s boss.

Think Mank meets Chinatown and LA Confidential,with a large dose of Hail, Caesar! and The Godfather II(Of course!).

Visionaries

The Schencks were responsible for metamorphosing film, from production and distribution to its starpower. Distribution via glitzy movie theatres. Manipulating the headlines and celebrity narratives,and even how films were sourced, shot, and regarded by the public. They infused mystique, money, glamour,danger, sex, and romance into film. They were there at the fledgling start of “talkies.”

The Schencks were responsible for growing the celluloid industry into a multi-million dollar empire right through the Great Depression. One can draw a straight line from the efforts of the Schencks to today’s mega movie stars (Hi,Tom Cruise!). MOGULS features incredible movie morsels: The Schenck brothers created the Motion Picture Academy and the Oscars. The brothers were involved in the launching of United Artists, MGM, and Twentieth Century Fox.

They helped to launch the mammoth Loew’s chain and its opulent theatres around the country. They halted a Nazi takeover of the movie industry and a shakedown by the Mob in the 1930s. Marilyn Monroe was Joe’s “special friend,” and he was responsible for her fantastic rise to stardom.

Joe did four months in the fed pen for tax evasion(one of his deductions involved a menage atrois). Their pals included William Randolph Hearst,Lillian Gish,Jacob Paley, John Huston, Fatty Arbuckle,Douglas Fairbanks,Irving Thalberg,Irving Berlin,and TV’s Superman George Reeves (whose mysterious suicide is linked to the brothers-see page 252). And so much more. MOGULS is a rollicking, entertaining romp through Hollywood’s unstoppable trajectory and its glitzy,sordid highs and lows, seen through the exploits of two brothers who made cinema history.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Michael Benson (Brooklyn, NY) is the author of more than sixty books, including the nonfiction history and crime titles Gangsters vs Nazis, Betrayal in Blood,Killer Twins,Mommy Deadliest,Who’s Who in the JFK Assassination, and The Devil at Genesee Junction.

He is the co-author, along with Frank Dimatteo, of the acclaimed American Mafia history books Carmine the Snake, Mafia Hit Man,and Lord High Executioner. He regularly appears on ID: Investigation Discovery channel and is the recipient of the Academy of American Poets Award. Benson lives in New York and is on Facebook@authorMichaelBenson.

Craig Singer (Red Bank, NJ)is an Emmy-nominated director, producer, writer and filmmaker. A Former Disney executive, he directed and produced the films A Good Night to Die(2003),DarkRide(2006),Perkins’ 14(2009) and Animal Room(1995). His latest film,6:45,earned multiple awards,including Best Feature, Paris Independent Film Festival; Best Feature, Hollywood on the Tiber Film Awards; Best Horror Feature, Hong Kong Indie Film Festival; and Best Director, Catalina Film Festival.

He was nominated for an Emmy in the interactive fiction category in 2008 and his series have been honored many times by the Telly’s and Webby’s.

MOGULS by Michael Benson & Craig Singer On Sale:September 24, 2024.