2ND UPDATE: Fox gave me this statement Wednesday night: "Contrary to implications, we are passionate about film history and about our fox history in particular. That's why we maintain one of the best and most costly photo archive departments in the business and keep comprehensive prop, art and film item archives from our films. It's why we organized the benefit for the motion picture home a couple years ago with Swann curating even our old contracts. That, however, is not what the research library is. Rather, it contains a number of general reference, broad interest books and periodicals, like a public library. That collection will be donated to a proper, curated library at a university or a guild, etc., where the public will have even greater access than they do now. The material will be taken care of in a first-class manner. As to the nostalgia that people feel for the days when studios were in many such non-movie specific businesses, we share it, too, and wish the world were still that way, but it's a muddling of points to lump this change into laments about lost film history, as it's not what it is."
UPDATE: I'm receiving a lot of emails and comments from Hollywood folks who say that, contrary to 20th Century Fox's claims, the studio's film research library was constantly in use by both Fox personnel and outsiders. I hear Clint Eastwood is unhappy, too, because research for his Flags Of Our Fathers was done there. Also, Warner's research library is said to still be alive and well and open.
EXCLUSIVE: I have confirmed that 20th Century Fox is very quietly shutting its film research library after 85 years in existence, the second-to-last such facility at a Hollywood studio making available books, drawings, photographs, scrapbooks, samples, and other one-of-a-kind materials. (Most of the other studio libraries have been closed or sold off except for the Samuel Goldwyn Research Library, owned and managed by Lillian Michelson, and housed on the DreamWorks Animation lot, and Warner's studio library.) "This is film history used and recycled everyday and also Los Angeles history," an insider tells me. "Once this goes, it's gone." 
I'm especially surprised by this decision not only because Fox Filmed Entertainment chairman Tom Rothman considers himself something of a film historian, but also because I'm told the cost of keeping the library open is negligible. But what the film community loses is priceless access to archive material by art directors, costume designers and film historians. "I cannot tell you how serious this is to the below-the-line people and creatives around town," another source tells me. "There used to be wonderous film reference libraries at each studio. A designer could walk in, ask about damask curtains and get reams of data. Now there is none. I implore you to take up this matter." Still another insider complains, "I guess Fox has to tighten its belt -- or is it a noose?" However, 20th is claiming that the library is not used enough to justify its cost, and its "contents should be transferred to a more public resource so these materials are available to the entire film community rather than just confined to those on the Fox lot".
welcome to the world of 4-5 companies owning everything in this town.
Comment by troy — July 1, 2008 @ 3:55 pm
Just more proof these Studios don’t know what we do for a living…they don’t understand the word “creative” or pride in our past history. Idiots!
Comment by BTL TEAMSTER — July 1, 2008 @ 4:06 pm
These studio chiefs are soulless cretins.
When they die, their obits should be a litany of all their soulless, evil worthless acts.
Comment by worthless execs — July 1, 2008 @ 4:52 pm
I used to work next door to Lillian at DWA; what a wonderful, kind person (and a dead ringer for Ann-Margret)! I sure hope DW treats her well.
I don’t think any of the studios think research departments are worthwhile, but then again I don’t think much of their creative output is worthwhile either. Maybe there’s a correlation there.
Comment by Tom — July 1, 2008 @ 4:58 pm
This is just the reality of Hollywood, people. These companies don’t care about filmmaking, they only care about moneymaking. It’s sad that money makes people lose sight of what’s really important
Comment by Michael Dobrofsky — July 1, 2008 @ 5:14 pm
Let me guess. There’s no money in operating a film library?
Comment by Vince — July 1, 2008 @ 5:29 pm
I know first-hand how awesome the library is and how valuable it is to the community, a place that runs for half of what it cost Fox (the makers of such fine films as SPACE CHIMPS) to drive that fucking Eddie Murphy head cross-country. I’m sure some bean-counter in accounting knocked this out on a spreadsheet and didn’t think twice. The only way this could actually work out is if the Academy Library on La Cienega took control of the colleciton. This a short-handed, dim-minded travesty– typical FOX.
Comment by Jack Burton — July 1, 2008 @ 5:47 pm
I can understand it if all the studios had decided to pool their library resources into one more manageable complex, not only for their costume and production design staff but for outside scholars and historians, but I’m not getting that vibe from this decision. Hell, they probably could land some tax breaks for letting the outside scholars in.
I would like to see a resource like that be available because it would be a shame for it to go. Hollywood’s fascination with “the next big thing” is causing it to forget that you need to know a lot about the past to get the “next big thing” done right.
Comment by Furious D — July 1, 2008 @ 6:32 pm
Unbelievable - that there is no nurturing, caretaking of archival
materials as a source for now and the future. How shortsighted and
part of the ‘defining deviancy down ‘ syndrome that reflects our Culture: we can see where that has brought us to date.
If only a small percentage of $ from any and all film budgets were designated for historical archives as a matter of course, perhaps we would start to reclaim our integrity as filmmakers in a greater sense and not simply ‘ but it’s only business, nothing personal…’.
Comment by Linda Grimes — July 1, 2008 @ 7:09 pm
So what happened when the other studios closed their research libraries? Where did the library collections go to?
Comment by AC — July 1, 2008 @ 7:45 pm
George Lucas bought up the Paramount and Universal libraries (in 1988 and 2000 respectively) and moved those collections up to Skywalker Ranch. Who knows, maybe he’ll grab Fox’s.
Comment by Erik — July 1, 2008 @ 8:32 pm
What a stupid decision. People from all over town used that library, not just Fox - film and TV productions. I worked on a non-Fox show that used it. One of the most welcoming places in any studio I’ve ever been to. You could go in there with a laundry list of stuff and the staff would pull it together with really quick turnaround and boom, you’re done. You could get stuff there that you could not get anywhere else and you could get it fast. After using the Fox library a few times I wondered why every studio didn’t have a facility like this. Well now we know. They had them and were too short-sighted to keep them.
Don’t it always seem to go/that you don’t know what you got till its gone.
Comment by lapland — July 1, 2008 @ 8:46 pm
Sell it on E-bay.
Comment by Brian — July 1, 2008 @ 9:05 pm
This is one of the worst and soulless decisions made by studio execs in the history of Hollywood. This library is an amazing resource and the amount of money for its yearly running costs probably doesn’t come close to equaling the salary of one A list star or director per film. This is disgusting.
Comment by Dana — July 1, 2008 @ 9:22 pm
This library was not just for Fox employees or only those on the Fox lot. As a writer I used it many times, all I needed was a drive on and I could walk right in and it was one of the greatest libraries I’ve ever been to. It wasn’t that big, but picture a library with all the non-creative stuff taken out. No fiction books, nothing but amazing research books of all kinds. And an incredibly helpful and knowledgeable research staff. And many of the books are LONG out of print.
Some of the other studio libraries that were shuttered had their material donated piece meal to places like the burbank public library etc.. So my fear is that Fox’s collection will never exist as a large research collection again. Fox never made enough use of this library. Most of my fellow writers never knew about it. I would gladly have paid a fee to use it if they had just asked. Maybe if they had done that over the years they wouldn’t need to close it now.
Hmmm, maybe the WGA could buy this collection if the Academy doesn’t…
Comment by Manny — July 1, 2008 @ 9:29 pm
Idiots. Fools. As a writer on a TV show that works out of the Fox lot I have used that library to research countless episodes. It’s an amazing, amazing resource. I never fail to tour guests there (and I do it with great pride) and they are always blown away. It’s astounding to me the utter disregard these companies have for history and for the creative process. How the hell do they think we get anything done? We look, we read, we inspire ourselves to put out their product. Let’s just hope George Lucas buys the collection and preserves this gem.
Comment by EB — July 1, 2008 @ 9:45 pm
I realize that Fox and all the other studios are money making entities first. But this is such BS I can’t even write this email without shaking.
First, to the idea that “nobody” goes to the library and therefore it should be closed, BS! I work there and each and everytime I walk in there are always people there. Not just peon Fox workers like myself but VP’s and above, browsing around and taking in the history contained in those walls.
Second, I find their priorities to be completely out of whack. Right, I know, a major media company with priorities out of whack…. No major news there. But while they are closing the library, they are spending the money to have an on lot dry cleaning service, car wash service and all sorts of other cool benefits that while nice, don’t hold a candle to the history and life that the library contains. I cannot, for the life of me, fathom how we have nearly 300 Vice Presidents and above in the television division alone but they can’t find a few dollars to save this national treasure.
And to the arguement that the contents should be more accessible to the public, well let me pose this simple question: How publically accessible are the contents of the other studios libraries now that they are gone? My guess is that they have disappeared into the void. If Fox’s real intention was to make the contents of the library more accessible then I think it could be accomplished very simply by setting up a system for outsiders (non Fox employees) to get easier access to the library. And that wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to create.
I really hope that anyone reading these comments with any kind of cache in this town will do what they can to pressure Fox into reversing their decision. This happened once before a few years back. But public and private pressure changed the studio’s mind. PLEASE!!! I beg all of you to do what you can.
HoopersX
Comment by HoopersX — July 1, 2008 @ 10:55 pm
An invaluable resource bites the dust because clueless MBA’s with no pride, vision, imagination or sense of history are in charge. What else is new.
The cost of maintaining that library was probably less than many studio executives’ annual cocaine bills.
Comment by Deb — July 1, 2008 @ 11:02 pm
When I first came out here in 1987, there were several libraries like this. Libraries in studios, for studios. Remember these great collections were assembled when giants ran the studios, the Mayers, Thalbergs, Warners, Wassermans, Cohns (yes) ans Zukors. Today, studios are run by nervous former accountands and, damn it, soulless lawyers.
And it gets worse. Remember the great bookstores on Hollywood and San Fernando Road? All gone.
There is so little left beyond the library system.
I’d suggest UCLA’s library system, but the books there are slowly being razor-bladed to death by the guys who sell “prints” at antique shows. ALL THOSE “PRINTS” USED TO BE IN THE BOUND MAGAZINES IN LIBRARIES.
Don’t take my word for it. Go to a library and try to find a color photo of a movie star in a 1930 bound set of periodicals.
It’s vomitously disgusting, whether you steal a print or turf a library.
Comment by anotherWGAwriter — July 1, 2008 @ 11:03 pm
I am so sorry to hear this. Have used this library many times; the people who worked there were amazing.
Another great resource gone. Thanks, studios.
Comment by Kitty — July 1, 2008 @ 11:09 pm
I just found out about this– it’s totally appalling. I didn’t know about the library until a few years ago, but it’s an incredible, invaluable resource. Whoever at the top who okayed this decision deserves no less than the firing squad. It’s just as bad as those stories you hear of MGM junking warehouses full of prints and trims back in the 1980s I’ve never seen an industry milk its history and shit on it at the same time like “showbiz” does.
Comment by Fielding Mellish — July 1, 2008 @ 11:14 pm
Its b.s. that outsiders can’t use the fox library. it’s extremely easy to do. the library staff always makes time for outside fox productions, all you have to do is call.
maybe fox could look into getting other companies to pay some of the upkeep in exchange for access if they are really so worried about counting pennies.
Comment by lapland — July 1, 2008 @ 11:21 pm
I know that the library is used by many departments on the lot, not just the art directors. It also serves as business support.
Comment by jamesina — July 2, 2008 @ 12:21 am
Yo, check it out. These fine peeps over @ the Fox Research Library helped me out on countless occasions when I was researching stuff for my writings. I’ve been on some weak-ass shows over there, and I’ve done stuff for indie projects, didn’t matter, ladies hooked me up with mad info. For real. Fox can bite it, they don’t know what they are doing, look at the films they are releasing this summer. Rothman will be gone in a few years, the point of a studio is that people come & go, the institutions on the lot are supposed to be eternal. Way to screw yourself and this town, dork!
Comment by bob belleton — July 2, 2008 @ 12:55 am
Warner Bros. still has an extensive research library and archive, although it’s horribly mismanaged.
Comment by a. smithee — July 2, 2008 @ 2:35 am
Well, as long as the executives get their big fat bonuses and keep their nannies and housekeepers happy, the working classes of this world will be more than happy to support their whims.
If you don’t learn from history you’re destined to repeat it, folks. Have a clue. Really.
Comment by sowhatelseisnew — July 2, 2008 @ 5:19 am
As someone who worked at Fox and is very familiar with the Library, I can tell you that any statement that “…the library is not used enough to justify its cost, and its ‘contents should be transferred to a more public resource so these materials are available to the entire film community rather than just confined to those on the Fox lot’” is so much hooey.
First, those on the Fox lot involved in this decision are not users of the library, nor do they have any idea how much others use it. I invite you to ask any of the division presidents at Fox if they knew about this decision before it leaked out. I guarantee you none of them did.
Second, the library is open to anyone in the film community - for a quite reasonable fee. Indeed, Flags of our Fathers did a great deal of its production research there - a film which Fox had no role in producing or releasing. Sony has used the facility for research on videogames. Indeed, anyone who called with a legitimate project was welcome to come in.
This is borne out by the fact that the library’s catalog is publicly available on the world wide web - in part to support Fox producers on the lot, but also, in part, to make the library a resource available to everyone in the film community. See FAQ here:
In addition, the library was a resource for people beyond the film production units. Fox sports, TV Production, and even, on occasion, business units made use of its incredibly varied resources, which range from Harpers magazines, bound dating back to before Lincoln’s assassination (and yes, the library has that issue) to Peggy Hoyt Fashion books from the 1920’s - some of which were used in Fox’s animated film, Anastasia. The TV show Bones makes use of the libraries collection of medical texts to create realistic forensic scenarios for their show.
The library also provided to Fox employees free DVD rentals - all they needed to do was get a library card. This was, as you might imagine, an incredibly popular feature. Their DVD collection went far beyond Fox titles.
Those of us who were involved with the library were keenly aware that it was the last of a dying breed, and worked very hard to make its resources widely available. It would be easy for someone to fall into the cynic’s trap of understanding the cost of the library while both ignoring or dismissing its historical value and not having any clue as to its real, substantive daily contribution to the studio.
Comment by Ex-Fox — July 2, 2008 @ 7:41 am
I actually used to work in this lovely library and I can personally testify to its constant use, even by production managers, costumers, art directors and cinematographers from rival studios! I can remember writers for “The Simpsons” hanging out there, stars coming by to research pet projects, and more. Almost anything you’d need, from a period project to modern day stuff, can be found in the Fox research library. It is a priceless resource. And if only they would apply a little creative thinking, with so many documentary series on so many cable channels, the library could be the go-to place for research, documentary film shoots, interviews, and so much more. Hey, Fox, this really could be a moneymaker for you! But even so, some things simply have a value higher than money. Even Uncle Rupert understands that.
Comment by FilmTurtle — July 2, 2008 @ 7:46 am
What took them so long?
This has been going on for decades. Will all these resources have to disappear before anything is done to stop this stupidity?
The Library of Congress (LoC)has a huge, international collection of old films. At one time, they had a restoration group in Dayton, Ohio at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB).
In the mid-90’s, the government was shutting down Gentile Air Station, located about 10 miles from WPAFB. The government asked for reuse proposals.
The Greater Dayton Film Commission (GDFC) proposed that the Gentile base be turned into a National Film Museum (not to be confused with National Film Museum, Inc.).
Gentile looked just like a miniature Warner Brothers. It was a completely self-sustaining site. Basically a small city with all the services, fired department, electric plant, hospital, restaurants, movie theater, railroad, etc.
The proposal was to move the LoC films, since they were going to be moved to another base on the East coast, to Gentile and create the museum. This would become a national repository for all film eras, with the idea that it would be available to film personnel and the general public.
Old sets, costumes, scripts, film clips, cinemas for each era would be on the site. Streets would be converted to backlots, so actual film work could be done. We planned on a New York street, an Old West street, you get the idea.
GDFC lost the battle, the city of Kettering got the site. They also got about $22 million US Tax dollars to bulldoze the site and make it into an industrial park. Which has failed, now the site is used by the city.
How do I know about this? I was on the Film Commission in Dayton at the time.
Where are the old films now? In a vault, on a military base. Where you probably will never get to see them.
They have Edison’s first film in the collection. I’ve seen you, up close, in person.
You probably never will have the chance. Which is a pity, because it’s an important piece of American film history.
A history which should be available to all of us.
Time to turn this situation around. We have to protect our heritage.
Comment by Tom Segerson — July 2, 2008 @ 8:12 am
Fox’s research library was an invaluable resource to both Fox film and television productions. It is sad that Tom doesn’t see it as useful or necessary; which is strange because he brags constantly that he started out as an educator.
I hope that everyone there moves on to better places where they are appreciated.
Comment by Paul — July 2, 2008 @ 8:13 am
“Fox Filmed Entertainment chairman Tom Rothman considers himself something of a film historian”
HA! I’m glad he considers HIMSELF “something of a flim historian” because after this BS decision, NO ONE ELSE WILL.
This is a crock. I have information that this library’s ANNUAL COSTS are “about 1/3 the cost of one hour of network television.” TWENTY MINUTES OF TV????? They’re closing a priceless library for the cost of TWENTY MINUTES OF TV?????
Here’s an idea FOX, take one of your crap Reality TV shows off, create something decent and charge a bit more for your shows! Ridiculous.
Comment by Stephen Prosapio — July 2, 2008 @ 9:09 am
Lisa Fredsti and her staff were the nicest people in the business who knew SO much. It’s a shame.
Comment by Michael Bloom — July 2, 2008 @ 9:10 am
Erik’s comment about George Lucas buying Paramount and Universal’s libraries gives me a chill. Information being concentrated in the hands of only those who can afford it is sad and bad for the film industry. This collection is valuable for the access it provides to many people…not just Fox’s people.
Comment by Redzilla — July 2, 2008 @ 9:32 am
I was very saddened indeed to read about the potential closure of Fox’s excellent research library. However, I’m not sure how useful or trustworthy this information really is because despite what this article asserts, the similarly venerable Warner Bros. Research Library is intact and open to the public as it has been, more or less continuously, for over 70 years. Encompassing the original Warner studio collection, as well as the MGM and Hanna-Barbera libraries — and probably some other arcane collections as well, the Warner Research Department contains a mouth-watering, jaw-dropping and awe-inspiring collection of books, magazines, physical objects, photography and clipping files, dating back, seemingly to before the Stone Age. The staff there happily accommodates both in-house and outside productions, as well as writers, historians, costumers, art directors, design firms and researchers. They are open weekdays by appointment at 818-977-5050. A visit to the Warner Library is always a treat and is highly recommended. I think you guys owe them a plug in exchange for slighting them in your otherwise excellent and heartfelt article.
Comment by Pogo — July 2, 2008 @ 10:10 am
I’m stunned. Fox, you’ve made some mind-numbingly stupid misjudgements before, but to eat your feet to save the cost of shoes like this is a new low, even for you.
Every time I’ve gone to the library, Lisa Fredsti and her staff have been so amazing: knowledgeable and helpful. I can’t imagine that that they’re even thinking of losing such a treasure house. Very sad, very stupid.
Comment by Kilt — July 2, 2008 @ 11:07 am
I have the best idea of what to do.
We dump Rupert Murdoch and Peter Chernin into a giant vat of shit. And then ask them, “How does it feel to bathe in your business decisions?”
Comment by Paul Day — July 2, 2008 @ 11:18 am
This is indeed horrible news about the Fox Research Library closing. It is sad that these resources are disappearing from L.A. However, there seems to be some misinformation posted here about other film research libraries. George Lucas RESCUED the Paramount and Universal Research Libraries and has made them available to film and TV production personnel throughout the industry, not just for Lucasfilm employees. Both of these collections would have been sold off piece-meal if it wasn’t for him. Lucas also started his own research library back in the late 1970s, and employs a staff of full-time research librarians. All of the library collections housed at Lucasfilm are available to the filmmaking community, and have been for years -– these materials have been used by many film, TV and stage productions. George Lucas is a huge advocate of libraries, and should be commended for his efforts in preserving these studio collections which would have otherwise languished or disappeared altogether.
Comment by The Anarchivists — July 2, 2008 @ 11:23 am
Peter Chernin… there was a great line in The Exorcist that describes Peter perfectly, and how he REALLY feels about the movie business. Let’s see, how did it go?
“Bastard. Scum! Faithless slime!”
Yep, that about sums up the Peter I work with very nicely.
How much better this company would be if he was hit by an attack of the mumps or chickpox and laid up in bed for a year. Make that two years…
Comment by Fox business executive — July 2, 2008 @ 11:25 am
I was the researcher for the first two seasons of “Bones,” and I can truly say that my job was made infinitely easier and more rewarding by the knowledge and support of the Fox librarians and their collection. They found and ordered books, shared lessons from previous shows, and pointed me in many useful directions.
They were also always in the middle of researching numerous history, design, and location ideas for other series, features, and passion projects, originating both on and off the lot. No question but that library was one of the best creative sources Fox has had.
This is a goddamn stupid shame.
Comment by researcher — July 2, 2008 @ 11:28 am
Quick - Will SOMEONE notify George Lucas about this so he can buy the library and keep it intact?
He’s got money up the wahzoo and this would be a great way to up his prestiege in the business (even more than it already is) and in the process save a valuable, esteemed institution for generations to come. It certainly is the kind of thing that would definitely appeal to him.
Anyone know George’s number? Call him!
Comment by Paul Day — July 2, 2008 @ 11:29 am
I have a better idea.
Instead of writing pithy comments here on Deadline Hollywood Daily about how to torture Fox executives, why don’t you do something constructive to try to save the Fox Research Library? I don’t know if it’s possible, but it’s still there - I visited it this morning.
There are a lot of creative, powerful, and connected people that read this blog. Maybe if enough people took a few minutes to write a letter, or send an email, or make a phone call, or even visit the Fox Research Library NOW, while it’s still intact and open, maybe it could be saved.
Why not take a chance and try? Jericho got seven more episodes because a lot of loyal fans sent peanuts to CBS. In the long run, I think that the Twentieth Century Fox Frances C. Richardson Research Library is more valuable than that mini season of Jericho.
It’s probably a long shot, but the ole girl isn’t cold and blue just yet. Try some CPR before you order that bouquet of flowers.
Comment by LW — July 2, 2008 @ 12:24 pm
I just linked to and posted about this on my own blog (which is animation-centered but it’s a dark day for the entire industry when another one of these shuts down). Years and years ago I worked at Larry Edmunds; at some point they’d acquired the entire Selznick research library, and I own several books with their studio’s stamp inside. The books ran the gamut, but most were long out of print and some were extremely rare. Seeing that stamp of “ownership” made me inexpressively sad; what was lost when that collection was disbanded? And all the others? They simply can’t be replaced at any cost, yet it’s cheap to keep them together.
Thanks, Nikki, for posting about this.
Comment by Blackwing Jenny — July 2, 2008 @ 12:25 pm
Sadly, this is nothing new. But it doesn’t have to end badly. The Library has been in this spot before…
I was proud to be a staff researcher at Fox’s Frances C Richardson Research Center for nearly a decade.
-and I was there at the ‘beginning of the end’ last time around, a freelance researcher & independent contractor hired to help box up and inventory the collection, when it was in danger of being broken up sold off & sent away in 1994.
For months, several forward thinking and if I may say, visionary people at Fox petitioned the powers that be to save this singular and yes, irreplaceable collection. I was glad of the chance to do research for a job I was bidding while we packed things away, and thanks to the wonderful quality research materials I found in the Fox collection, I was hired & got to a film in Europe. I went away thinking I’d never see the collection again, but glad I’d had the chance to make use of it one last time.
Here’s the thing. Even as the books, periodicals, picture & clip files sat packed in boxes awaiting their fate, the library was not dead, nor even dormant. And all the while a single, dedicated researcher
(Now deservedly the library’s Director) continued to do the work that collection was meant for.
As a result the art department of Nicholas Hytner’s “The Crucible” was the grateful recipient of an exceptional production ‘bible’
that saw extensive use, saving the film both time and money & aiding their efforts at authenticity.
At the same time, & thanks to a widespread petition signed by producers, creative execs, writers, technicians etc. common sense prevailed within the studio, and the library was saved,
And just in time, as Library was available to be at the forefront what has been arguably a new golden era of production research & art direction, starting with TITANIC, and continuing to this day.
All the nifty CG that we see used to transport the viewer back in time, or to some impossible to build location? They become little more than meaningless window dressing without the visual reference & written information to base those nifty images on.
We at the library saw it become not only a haven for art directors, costumers, prop masters, location scouts & writers, but for film & TV directors, producers… even actors who wanted to research aspects of their characters.
The Library has been able to be there for filmmakers and their projects from literally before the first pitch meeting… to the actual production, (sometimes delivering the goods to set during filming) all the way through clipping and filing the review for that same film, and finally putting the cataloged DVD release into circulation.
The Library actively cooperated with and helped with the growth of sister departments like the Fox studio archives, Photo collection and Music department.
But best of all, the library’s service has extended far beyond mere ‘above & below the line’ considerations.
It has been open to virtually all studio employees & contractors. People from every level and department of Fox including food service, valet and janitorial are welcome to sign up for a card use the collection.
The Fox library maintains a small but vibrant rotating fiction collection, not to mention audio books and music.
Then there is the video collection…A carefully assembled and wildly diverse DVD & VHS collection, film and TV alike. Ready for any production need. From helping a creative exec argue for -or more rarely, against- a remake, by providing 3 earlier incarnations of the same story, to having handy a perfect moment from ‘All about Eve’ for the Simpsons to reference in a joke.
Certainly every member of the staff has experienced the pleasure of taking kids from the mail room, who only knew Michael Bay-esque actioners, and introducing them to the likes of Ford, Lubitsch, Reed, Kurasawa & more.
But it all goes far beyond entertainment. The Library cooperates with the UC system, Interns have gone on to bigger, better things in both the library and the production fields. I can’t begin tell you how many studio employees have come in to do personal research, let alone homework. There have been several who used the library resources on the road to getting their degrees. Others come to better themselves on so many levels, with books on philosophy, art, history….the examples are as varied as the library’s catalog.
The collection’s doors have been open to anyone for years since the library went public. Professionals from commercial houses, ad agencies and every studio in town have come to use the Fox library, happily paying what is a very reasonable rate for the resource. Whoever says the Library isn’t getting any, let alone enough use, has clearly NOT been down there during business hours.
(Especially during pilot season!)
The research team there has always tried to be a cut above, most if not all of them having had the benefit of actual on set production experience.
They understand production schedules, budgets and deadlines because they’ve had to deal with them personally.
Ask nearly any professional who has dealt with this library in the last 13 years. They’ll tell you all about (as have many people posting already) getting top-notch service from a dedicated, supremely knowledgeable and hard working staff.
And anyone who relies on the kind of research that quality production requires will tell you, the internet alone just doesn’t cut it. Never has, Never will. Wikipedia, LexisNexis & Corbis only get you so far.
If you’re going to do it right, you have to crack a book or periodical… view a disc… dig out a nifty obscure tidbit from a clip file.
But if it is internet you need, the researchers at Fox are virtuosos at finding & saving what you need if you don’t have the time.
Am I cheerleading? Damn straight. And not a word of it is unjustified.
After I moved on from Fox and became a regional film commissioner, I got to use the library as a professional again, and the resources of the collection were a treasure trove of information not just about my new home in Humboldt county, but about the films that had been shot there as well.
I used to proudly tell people the research library was one of the absolute perks to working for & with Fox, and that our staff was without equal in the industry.
I also used to quote the motto of Fox’s 4077 MASH to clients when I sent them off with their research:
“Best care… anywhere!”
It was true then, its true now.
Hopefully common sense will carry the day again as it did back in 1995.
If you’re a Professional, on the Fox lot or off, who hasn’t used the library before, get down there & check it out. Building 89, Room 105.
If you haven’t used it in awhile? Get down there and do so. Show the powers that be how much this place matters. find out who to write, of if you’re able to call. (just be sure its hands free)
Spread the word… The Library has been saved before, So there is no reason it can’t be saved again.
Comment by B Thomas — July 2, 2008 @ 12:56 pm
This is one of the worst “business” decisions Fox could do. That library has enabled many films to “get it right” including several of mine.
How shortsighted!
Comment by independant producer — July 2, 2008 @ 12:58 pm
As a professional who has made a living as a documentary researcher, I have won awards for well researched stories. While I had way too much fun doing so, I couldn’t have done any of it, without someone else’s deep and entrenched care for details. Have we come so far from Marcus Aurielius who claimed, “It loved to happen….!” to realize research is the bedrock of writing, which is the bedrock of true entertainment?
Please stop the creative carnage of ‘throwing things out’.
Mar Sulaika Levasseur
CBC Television
Comment by Sulaika Levasseur — July 2, 2008 @ 1:01 pm
Peter Chernin seems like the putziest of the putzes
Comment by Hedge Fund — July 2, 2008 @ 1:10 pm
Maybe Speilberg, Geffen or Eastwood can take some loose change in their pockets and save the library! Call it Dreamworks Research.
Comment by John — July 2, 2008 @ 1:15 pm
Wesleyan University Film Department should come to the rescue and add the good stuff from the Fox library to its already impressive collection. Clint Eastwood already made the right choice.
Comment by D — July 2, 2008 @ 1:24 pm
There was a plan some years ago with the Art Directors Guild consolidating the still-extant studio research libraries into one accesible facility, but I don’t know what happened to that–lack of funds, I suppose.
Does anyone remember where/why that plan fell apart?
Comment by Past and current researcher — July 2, 2008 @ 1:58 pm
There is nothing sadder for a Hollywood writer than finding a wonderful volume of bound periodicals in a used bookstore (when you can find a well-stocked used book store) and open it up to see the “Property of Paramount Pictures Library” stamp and realize that there used to be a whole set of these books - often titles no public library or University has - and now they have been scattered to the winds.
I was lucky enough to acquire the entire 1930s run of the amazing “Stage Magazine” from the Paramount Library at an - honest-to-God, porno magazine bookstore on Hollywood Blvd. (Come for the boobs, stay for the collectibles).
I would also draw attention to the amazing upcoming sale of “Hollywood Collectibles” the great book/photo/poster store run by Malcolm Willets at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. Soon, Profiles in History is going to sell off thousands of Hollywood magazines including full runs, probably from these great studio libraries.
That Governor Arnold doesn’t step in and help save the history of this industry that made him rich and famous is yet another California Disappointment
Comment by anotherWGAwriter — July 2, 2008 @ 2:51 pm
Aww man. The staff is awesome! Being a PA, I recently found out about the library and have been renting DVD’s there for the last month. Damn, it was nice because every penny I could save really helped, and tiny perks like that are great. Well, that just blows.
Comment by shaun — July 2, 2008 @ 3:00 pm
‘Wesleyan University Film Department should come to the rescue and add the good stuff from the Fox library to its already impressive collection.’
The Fox library should keep its entire collection together, on the lot, not portion it out piecemeal. It’s all ‘good stuff.’ A lot of time and care went into assembling this collection and it deserves to stay where it is, in one piece.
Comment by dana — July 2, 2008 @ 3:04 pm
Wow, these comments are freaking me out. I’ve never used the library but obviously it’s such a great resource, it would be a travesty to lose it. I thought it was just a “film” library. I didn’t know you could get so much other info there. Studios waste so much money, they couldn’t find a way to fund this? How abouts six months worth of Starbucks expenditures for the VPs? No hookers for a few weeks? A little less cocaine or vicodine? Come on, let’s put on our thinking caps.
Comment by peggy — July 2, 2008 @ 3:20 pm
Thanks, Nikki, for getting the word out on this.
These are the kind of stories the LAT should be doing, instead of another tired tally of which agency has which client.
Comment by Thanks — July 2, 2008 @ 3:43 pm
I wonder how much it costs per year to run it? If it’s just the money, there’s got to be something that we can do to save the Research Library.
I’d pay for a “membership”. It’d be worth it to me to sacrifice my Starbucks and Netflix. Heck, I’d even choose the Library over a new pair of shoes, and that’s saying a lot!
Comment by LW — July 2, 2008 @ 5:02 pm
A long time a ago when I gave up my pursuit of a MSLIS to write screenplays, plays and other things I believed that libraries were a necessity.
But most universities have gotten rid of their magazine stacks, gone digital and said what the hell with books/ archives etc. Why have print when you can download the book and look at the pretty pictures.
What Fox did is wrong, but maybe right too.
Perhaps they should have scanned everything or sent it to the national archives. Perhaps that act would show the true value of the collection. After all once I handled an Einstein letter with plastic gloves. Did it send chills up my spine? Yes for a moment. Then I realized who saves a letter. Perhaps that’s what the Fox dept. thought when they decided to close/sell their collection.
Anyway If I had gotten that MSLIS to preserve film etc. I would now be getting a lay off letter or pink slip from Fox.
History, smistery, as someone in the movie biz once said if it aint paying it aint worth producing or saving. Libraries are redundant until you need them. Which reminds me my books are overdue.
Comment by writerdjb — July 2, 2008 @ 5:04 pm
I am a writer on a FOX show and I use the library all the time. The librarians down there bend over backwards to help you find the right books, articles and old, dusty magazines. When I first got to the lot, I walked over every day because in those dusty stacks, there’s actually a sense of history, community and continuity. It’s an amazing resource.
Nikki — many shows are on hiatus right now. Typical FOX to get rid of the library while people are off the lot. Let us know if there’s anyone we can talk to/write to to express our outrage!
Comment by JL — July 2, 2008 @ 5:09 pm
Very sad our friends at Fox are possibly having to close. Warner Bros. does have a Research Library…though I beleive even that is on a part time basis. We need to make a bigger stink to keep these open and accessible to everyone!
Comment by Rebelwriter — July 2, 2008 @ 5:20 pm
LISA, BRIAN, CAT AND EVERYONE ELSE IN THE LIBRARY…THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP, LAUGHTER AND KNOWLEDGE YOU SHARED WITH US OVER THE YEARS. PLEASE KEEP IN TOUCH. WE WISH YOU THE BEST, STEVE MEERSON AND PETER KRIKES.
Comment by PETER KRIKES — July 2, 2008 @ 5:49 pm
Nikki,
It is so sad, I met the head of the Fox library two weeks ago working on the Fox lot. Every day we would speak to each other, he even gave me a lot history lesson by telling me that the city never zoned Fox to be a motion picture lot in the first place. It was zoned for housing and oh, yes - it was an old field. Wow, I was shocked. Fox isn’t even a film lot? It never got any variances or approvals from the state planning commission back in the day.
This was all an eye opener. I was actually afraid to talk to him for a while because the wise man knew too much about the history of Fox and the city of Los Angeles. He is the Hugh Houser of the Fox lot.
I pray that his job will remain intact. I know that Fox will do the right thing and reverse their decision.
Comment by anonymous — July 2, 2008 @ 5:57 pm
I work on the lot as well.
The selection is fantastic. There are whole binders filled with the final research of previous FOX films. Go-to starting points. Old magazines. Complete sets, decades…
Look. Gas is at $140/barrel, not $20, Rupe. News Corp stock is at $15. They just spent billions on a newspaper brand, and sold off an important pipe (DirecTV) to divorce from John Malone. There’s nothing new here with this decision. Just part of the metaphor.
Comment by MisterEight — July 2, 2008 @ 10:06 pm
Fox’s “statement” is just more double-talk. That something as vital as this is stuck on a budget line to be dismantled is a great disservice to the film community. And as for a public library, “anotherWGAWriter’s” fears above about prints getting razor-bladed out and sold at antique shows and ebay are all too true. At the very least, keeping the library at Fox guarantees its safety and preservation, particularly in the good hands of its respected curators. Elsewhere? Who knows? This is such a disgrace. The “laments about lost film history” are incredibly germane here, as Fox seems all-too-eager to dump on its own.
Comment by Jack Burton — July 3, 2008 @ 12:44 am
When I used to work at Fox, I loved to go down to the library and just look around - it was so inspiring and a really unique experience. To characterize it as just “like a public library” seems to me to be a bit disingenuous, as there is no way I have seen anything like this at a public library. The first time I visited, I remember looking at Harpers from the 1800’s, Fox’s publicity notes from the ’40s and clip files that were fascinating - don’t get me started on the WWII photos! At the time I thought that the collection was one of the coolest things I had seen - especially the original production research binders. They were created for each film and if you’ve never seen them, you really should - they date back from the ’30s to the present and are basically a blueprint for the production of each film… like I said, nothing I’ve ever seen at a public library. I know it sounds dorky, but it made me feel proud to work at Fox. Anytime friends visited LA, I always made sure that the research library was on their tourist itinerary, as it is such a one-of-a-kind experience - I can’t think of any visitor who did not walk away impressed and with a sense of Fox’s history. I always steer my writer friends there too.
My only other comment would be that the collection should remain in LA where the studios are and not be moved up north to Lucas or back East or anywhere else that is not easily accessible to the film/tv production people that will actually USE it.
I could not be more sorry to hear about this and I am a little angry that Fox is choosing to characterize the research library as so insignificant, non-historical and “nostalgic.” To be honest, it wouldn’t surprise me to hear that the photo archives (which Fox makes such a point of mentioning above as the best and “most costly”) or the prop archives are next on the chopping block…
Comment by Miles in LA — July 3, 2008 @ 1:28 am
Dear Hollywood,
WAKE UP PEOPLE!
This has become standard operating procedure throughout the country.
As long as you can’t check the facts, as written, you’ll be told what you need to hear. Truth not necessarily included.
Going completely digital is bullshit. How will you know that the files haven’t been tampered with? What do you do during a ‘rolling blackout’? Stare at a blank screen?
We must maintain all the old records, in their original form.
All societies are based on their history. Once you start throwing out your history, you destroy your society.
Look at what they are doing in Boston:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/02/26/city_gets_a_say_on_bpl_trusts/
The city is trying to gain complete control over the $50+ million that was donated to the library.
If you read the article, you might notice the “anti-intellectual” comment.
Who saves a letter? Someone who realizes the value of it’s contents.
Hollywood, here’s another chance to take the lead and help turn this country around. It will mean people becoming actively involved, not just casting votes or commenting on blogs.
Get out and do something in the community, for the good of all.
Comment by Tom Segerson — July 3, 2008 @ 6:04 am
What did we expect to hear from someone with such utter disregard for the human condition as Rupert Murdoch?
The man is perhaps the worst of the frankly swinish Australian newspaper barons (and of course, baron equals scumbag).
These are the same guys who go around removing every second lightbulb in their buildings and keeping their workers toiling in gloom while the live in football-stadium-sized New York penthouses.
The entertainment barons of old were no better as human beings; they just lavished money on their studios and their human resources.
Louis B. Mayer used to say “All of MGM’s greatest assets walk out the front gate every evening.”
Apparently, Murdoch seems to believe that statement ends with the words, “good riddance, assholes.”
Comment by anotherWGAmember — July 3, 2008 @ 8:04 am
“That, however, is not what the research library is. Rather, it contains a number of general reference, broad interest books and periodicals, like a public library.”
Excuse me? Has the person who issued the above statement ever been to the Fox Research Library? If so, he/she should be ashamed of such a blatant untruth. If not…ahem…they need to do their research.
Comment by Diana — July 3, 2008 @ 8:58 am
I worked at this wonderful facility for 2 years and Fox management’s assertion that the collection does not contain any materials related to the studio’s history is ridiculous. I don’t know of any public library where I could go to access Fox film production notes, books, periodicals, photographs, and newspaper/magazine clippings, as well as the specific art and production materials that the library has. This is a special library in which the collection is utilized by a large population from both inside and outside the Fox community and continues to be a thriving resource.
Fox management is being incredibly short-sighted in this case, of course, and does not even realize the value of the collection and the staff, who go beyond the norm in fulfilling research requests, organizing the collection, and answering reference questions.
Rather than accepting the library’s closure I urge everyone to contact the powers-that-be at Fox and express your opinion and disgust with this plan. Management attempted to close the library in the mid-1990s, but it was fortunately saved. Let’s make it known that the library needs to continue to exist as a resource to the film and television community.
Comment by Mark Holmes — July 3, 2008 @ 10:30 am
“That, however, is not what the research library is. Rather, it contains a number of general reference, broad interest books and periodicals, like a public library.”
Are they freaking kidding? What an ignorant moron!!!
Comment by Rebelwriter — July 3, 2008 @ 11:06 am
I think the Fox spokesperson quoted in the 2nd update needs a tour of the Twentieth Century Fox Frances C. Richardson Research Library. Obviously, they’ve never wandered too far into the Library. Here’s a little virtual tour, just in case the spokesperson’s office is too far away from building 89, room 105.
Walk down the stairs, follow the hallway hung with old movie posters (”The Diary of Anne Frank” and “Laura”) to the door, read the gold placard on the right proclaiming “since 1924″. Walk through the door past the computers. Go straight; don’t turn right to the video/DVD section, or left to the circulation desk. Walk past the current periodical display, past the music CD’s, past the audio books, and the “beach reading” shelves. Walk into stacks of reference books and pause for a moment and breathe in the smell of old books. Now just start exploring.
No public library that I have ever been in has had such treasures like these! Smile at the booklet listing the wise sayings of Charlie Chan. Feel the bulk of the large MASH binders as you leaf through that show’s history. Wonder what the heck Colorforms are doing on the shelf - and if they even make Colorforms today.
Replace the binder, and continue to the back wall, to the counter where history is bound in brown and beige. Search out the picture albums with photo’s of the Fox Lot BEFORE Cleopatra and be amazed at how big it used to be. Read the bound Fox newsletters from WWII and see that era through new eyes.
Feel your eyes well up with tears as you realize that this will all be gone way too soon, and you’ll never be able to explore it the way that you would like to.
Remember that Twentieth Century Fox had a LONG history before “American Idol” and “Meet Dave”. Now try to justify disposing of the tangible evidence of that history.
The Fox spokesperson probably can justify it. I can’t.
Comment by LW — July 3, 2008 @ 11:45 am
The trend in this country appears to be away from storehouses of knowledge, especially unique ones. What can regular folk do to save the film library and all the history, culture, and work it represents?
Comment by Jess Lourey — July 3, 2008 @ 2:49 pm
Well said, LW
I was there with every step you described. Thank you for conveying in just a few words, the tip of a very large archival iceberg.
That said, I didn’t plan on posting a second time, feeling I’d been more than comprehensive with my first offering. But the …new statement from the unnamed rep who has been put forward to speak for the studio,
this ‘clarification’ if one may call it that, needs to be addressed by knowledgeable sources.
Further note to the drafter of the statement : You definitely ought to come visit the library and have a personal tour given by the staff.
In fact, I’m certain the Director will be more than accommodating with a fun, informative walk round that will change your conception of the library for the better. If not the Director, then the Manager. Every bit as good. In fact, ANY member of the staff should be readily able to show you things that will not only disprove your earlier statements, - but with all due respect, but make you regret having committed them to print.
I mean it. Come get a tour. I gave dozens of them in my tenure there, and even now, 3 years absent from Fox, I could give one that should prove to you, or anyone without a doubt that this statement:
“… is not what the research library is. Rather, it contains a number of general reference, broad interest books and periodicals, like a public library”
…is flat out WRONG.
Whoever wrote it, or helped shape it or whatever…
has failed to take into account any number if things that make this library so unique.
If you read my last post, then consider this a warning of sorts… or in the words of Margo Channing:
“Fasten your seatbelts, its going to be a bumpy night!”
Lets start with the hundreds of custom assembled production research books and binders, dating back to the 1930s, each assembled from painstaking photostatic and emulsion picture copies.
-Not to mention production notes, facts, articles, lists. Each customized and relevant to the individual feature. Each feature a piece of Fox History.
These books are often held together by the sheer attention of the staff, carefully repairing decades old folds and tears, smoothing moisture curled pages.
or carefully separating photos that had stuck together following years of non temperature controlled storage.
Recopying fading mimeographs & age darkened pages so their information isn’t lost for good
These old research books are a treasure.
Then there are the modern versions, in the form of
dozens of 3 ring binders. Chock full of individual tabbed subsections filled with gorgeously arranged color xeroxes & print ups, pinpointed articles, whole chapters from select volumes, specially highlighted and placed for maximum relevance.
These ‘Modern’ research books by the way, also deal almost exclusively with Fox (and their affiliated production company’s) projects.
Not to mention the customized ‘pitch books’ for films that either did or didn’t see the light of day, but had fantastic graphic and information representation, that elevated meetings well beyond some pacing, gesticulating artist, or creative exec trying heroically to shepherd a project through ‘the process’.
When a project is passed on, or goes into turnaround, the book goes back to the library to wait for when its needed again, either when the project is resurrected or more often, when the materials are relevant to some new research request. -Saving by the way, valuable work hours, not just for library staff, but for the people over at the production company. Countless are the times the library staff hears:
“Already? WOW! that was quick!”
Quick it may be sometime, but not magic. hundreds, thousands of hours of prep and organization have gone –often by people long dead and gone- into making someone’s wild request a hard copy reality inside of an hour.
Why? Because virtually every page of most of these books is sourced back to the magazine, the book, the clip file that was used to create the greater whole.
Whats that? You need more than just that page about the Sioux courtship protocol? Right there on the back. There, see? Book title, author, page number. Next thing you know, ten rows down
on the right and you’re holding the very volume that was referenced. ( and very likely finding half a dozen other great illustrations and passages while you’re at it)
Like I said, not magic. Research books require time and due diligence, painstaking organization and sourcing.
And when you fail to do it, it comes back to haunt you.
So these books are not the result of taking the easy route.
If it were easy everybody would do it. Everybody who valued a research library and trained staff, that is.
As a freelance researcher, you have to charge the client handsomely to assemble such a book. At Fox, you cant check these books out, but you can copy or scan the pages, or even arrange to have much of the book reproduced down the hall. It’ll cost you, but not nearly what it would to do it yourself.
Just ask the Last Samurai’s art department, when the movie jumped from Fox to Warner Brothers.
They knew the goods when they saw them.
Speaking of ‘the goods’…
Its worth a mention that the old books had plain covers, just typed labels. A lot of modern ones have simple labels too, or a xeroxed image to show the subject.
However, many (if not most) of these modern research and pitch books are adorned with custom created covers that reflect the theme, content and more important… the heart and soul of the projects contained within.
Some of these covers are simple, others… I don’t mind saying, are works of art. Staff members - sometimes on their own time- would spend hours finding the perfect Image, font, color card stock spines and backing. There are examples of hand pasted/collaged covers, others that are masterpieces of photoshop.
I know I used to do it just for the reward of that
“For me?” look on an Execs face, or the moment when a filmmaker weighs the book in their hand, and whistles low, and appreciatively.
And I wasn’t alone. The library manager often made time to come up with great covers. Not because it was her job. She cared enough
to make these books special outside as well as in.
These are custom coffee table books. Not available in any store. And they are created by researchers who often feel as passionately about the projects as the artists who conceive and produce them for Fox.
Tangent? Perhaps, but it demonstrates – in detail- that no public library has anything to compare.
Then there are the review files, so comprehensive that only the Academy library, or AFI could rival them - and only because they have larger staffs to continually clip and file them.
That reminds me… The collection of clip files housed in rows of mobile shelving. I often refer to them as the backbone of the Research Library. Thousands of folders containing clipped articles on any and every subject, from periodicals far and wide, or rescued from partially destroyed books. Ephemera like bus transfers, campaign buttons, velvet covered menus, speeding tickets, grocery specials clipped from newspapers long extinct, religious tracts bumper stickers, whoopie cushions, greeting cards, proclamations, schedules, maps, tide charts, chewing gum wrappers NASA launch schedules. Auto dealership brochures, “Most improved runner up” green award ribbons…
You get the idea.
Its worth mentioning that the Library namesake
Frances C. Richardson continued to save articles and collect items of interest for the clip files well into her retirement years at the Motion Picture home.
In that light, how could the staff do anything but contribute to this endless and painstaking process?
Which they do… clipping, sorting, heading & eventually filing the wealth of minutiae that can help a writer, or save an art department emergency.
“LW” mentioned a stretch of the collection affectionately called “Fox Land” There is also a huge section of the clip files dealing with Fox film and TV projects
Not to mention an impressive array of press kits & media, the happy legacy of the library once being neighbors with advertising and publicity.
The library also has a comprehensive collection of fiction titles that Fox purchased the rights to with an eye to future production, as well as novelizations and adaptations from Fox films and TV shows.
Not to mention specialized magazines and comics from Fox franchises like The Simpsons, Lost in Space, Planet of the apes. The library still even has a small but impressive STAR WARS collection, from back in the day when it was still Fox’s baby. Not to mention a whole array of MASH books,(right down to the MASH cookbook.)
And Biographies? Well, if they were a Fox star, or director, or executive, the library has a place for that book or article about them.
Then there are the hidden gems, the ones that even the staff are shocked to find now and then.
A checkout slip signed to Otto Preminger, used as a bookmark in a volume of Belgian history.
The JANES Aircraft of the World circa 1964, where someone…
(Frank Tallman or Paul Mantz?) drew in pencil -over the aircraft schematic- how to reduce a full sized C-82 to create ‘the Phoenix’ for “Flight of the Phoenix”
(yes, we discourage that sort of thing in libraries, but really… how COOL a discovery is that when you’re doing research for the 2004 remake? )
A note in the circulation file NOT to check out any more Playboys to Russ Meyer -until he returns the one he has overdue.
I mention these little details for a very good reason.
There are still dozens, hundreds, maybe a thousand such surprises, delights… histories still hidden away. Just waiting for someone to take down the right book, turn the page, & value the experience.
& maybe even make a damn fine movie in the process, or at least have a story to tell next time cocktails are poured.
Possibly the next step is that someone may and offer up
some variation on this compromise: “How about we keep the Fox related stuff then, and jettison the public library type everyday crap”
Not a good idea at all. they’re too co-mingled. Also, these seemingly separate aspects belong just where they are.
At Fox, or at least as part of Fox. If off lot, then fully funded, protected and supported. Not just supported, but valued for the truly priceless ever surprising, ever renewing…resource that the Library represents. A resource, Id like to say in closing… that holds the key to making fair projects good, good ones great, great ones classics.
That points to how the greats were made, and chronicles missteps
so they can be hopefully avoided in the future…
Look at Fox’s most storied films and the Library was there for, part of for so many of them. And not just classics, but blockbusters… moneymakers.
The Research Library has always been there for Fox, for you.
Do the right thing. Preserve it, preferably where it is, definitely as part of Fox.
I didn’t mean to go on this long, but it needed to be said. ( though Margo did warn you )
Still, Thanks for reading & as the ad-pub kids say every spring:
“For your consideration”
Comment by B Thomas — July 3, 2008 @ 4:29 pm
Talk about a press release full of inaccuracies and misinformation! Let’s start at the top. The release says that Fox is passionate about their own history and even had a benefit “with Swann curating even our old contracts.” This refers to the auction in 2006 conducted by Swann Galleries in New York. Someone at Fox had the great idea to pilfer the contracts in the legal archives and sell them to raise money. All of Marilyn Monroe’s contracts, Judy Garland’s last contract for “Valley of the Dolls,” Natalie Wood’s contract for “The Miracle on 34th Street,” and contracts for Jayne Mansfield, Jimmy Stewart, Rita Hayworth, Cary Grant and every other big name star contract was sold. If it was big name autograph on any piece of paper, it went up for auction. And how much did they raise? $270,000 - the cost of 30 second spot on “American Idol.” How anyone could say that auctioning off your company’s legal contracts as “curating” is beyond me. That’s how passionate Fox is about its history. If Fox was passionate about its history it would realize that the Research Library is the repository for a lot of that history. The Libraryhas irreplaceable Fox history items like press releases and press kits for Fox films dating back to the 1930s, clippings files for Fox films backs to the 1920s, in-house Fox publications, every booko that has been turned into a Fox film, research binders for Fox films dating back tot he 1930s, biographies of William Fox and Darryl Zanuck, and books on Fox history (including auction catalgos of things they have sold off), just to name a few items. You destroy the Research Library and you destroy your own lot history because there will be no place for it to go. That’s passion.
The accusation that the Research library is just like any public library with general interest reference material is ridiculous. You will not find a public (or private)library in Los Angeles that has complete run of Sears Catalogs, a complete run of Photoplay, a complete run of TV Guide or clippings files on bathing suits from the 1890s. The collection of ephemera (stuff that is usually thrown away) is amazing. This is not general reference material and it is not available anywhere else. It is a highly specialized collection that is unique and irreplaceable. There is not a public library that has dedicated staff that does things like going through every picture book and cataloging every picture for ready reference. (By the way, the Fox library completely cataloged every picture in every magazine from 1924 to 1966 - a resource unparalleled).
And to the statement that this is a “non-movie specific business,” is ludicrous. Last time I checked “Titanic,” “Minority Report,” “Flags of Our Fathers,” “Bones,” ” House,” “X-FIles,” and dozens and dozens of TV shows are film-related. How can you get more movie specific than doing research for Kate Winslet’s dress on “Titanic”? Research is an essential part of filmmaking. The Research Library is not a silly little reading room for employees to check out Danielle Steele books, it is an intensely used and heavily relied resource that benefits the whole studio.
The importance of the Library was demonstrated the other day when someone from “House,” upon learning that the Library was closing, came down and tried to take the books they used. She said that if Fox was going to close the Library, they would just start their own. (By the way, she was not allowed to take the books ; hopefully she will complain to her boss.)
The most shocking thing is the manner in which this was all handled. Someone made an executive decision without consulting anyone in production or at the library. They were arbitrarily given notice without the chance to make a case for themselves. The whole process denotes a completely misinformed, horribly uneducated and completely oblivious understanding of the filmmaking process. To whomever made that decision, I would suggest visiting a library and learning a little about the movie business.
Comment by Good Grief — July 3, 2008 @ 6:17 pm
Obviously the same care went into making the decision to close the library that did to craft this asinine, inaccurate and insulting statement.
The books and magazines that are in the library were what was used to make all of those great 20th Century Fox Films. All Above Eve, How Green Was My Valley, Patton, MASH, on up to the present day. Those were the reference materials that created the blueprint for those films: the scripts, the sets, the costumes. They were an integral part of the filmmaking process - and still are. If that doesn’t somehow relate to “film history,” then I don’t know what does.
I swear our industry becomes emptier and more soulless with each passing day.
Comment by w5 — July 4, 2008 @ 9:57 am
What can you expect from a company owned by one of history’s great Philistines - Rupert Murdoch?
Comment by Jude Estlin — July 4, 2008 @ 10:24 am
This unique library can’t just be give to any university. It HAS to be UCLA or USC, and only if there is access. It CAN’T go to some university in Texas or Oklahoma as so much Hollywood paper has before it.
And if it goes to a university, it will take YEARS for them to catalogue it - all the wile the industry cannot access this rich trove.
Leave it where it is, you cretinous Australian slimebucket.
Finally, after all the sleaze you’ve slathered on this country, after the tabloidism you have inflicted on America, do one thing that is decent and noble and pro-Hollywood.
Comment by anotherWGAmember — July 4, 2008 @ 11:26 am
I’m reminded of the image of the last scene of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” You know it: the U.S. government finally gets its hands on the Ark, they box it up and stick it in a huge warehouse with the millions of other valuable but boxed, discarded and forgotten artifacts…never to be seen again (at least until the 1950s, but that’s another rant/story). I defy anyone with a soul to go into the Fox Research Library and not be blown away by its contents. But we’re talking about people who have no soul. Based on this most recent statement about the Fox Research Library, I’d gather that the folks who made this decision never set foot in it. Moreover, I’d bet that they never set foot in a general public library (“ewww, look at all of these, non-industry…people!”). I’d assume that they might’ve accidentally stumbled into a university library, just to write various term papers. Of course, my highly biased opinions of these folks would lead me to believe that they probably paid for somebody else to write their term papers, thus avoiding a visit to a university library altogether. So, of course, these people are perfect for making a decision about a studio library – they’re made for Hollywood. None of them give a shit about the history of the town or their own studio, so any artifacts about the studio mean nothing to them. And we know about how much these creatures respect the contemporary creative community, so why give a fuck about their creative needs? These suits have no clue about the actual process of making films and TV shows. I love how their concern for the public is allegedly what’s driving them to close the library. These are people who are making the decisions for what types of projects entertain the public, and they don’t have a clue as to how the projects are even made. The library can be saved if those powerful creative types speak up against this erasing of Hollywood’s history, its present and its future. It’s the creative people in Hollywood who will suffer the most if this library is closed…which means the valued public that these “suits” are looking out for will suffer too.
Comment by jamesina — July 4, 2008 @ 1:29 pm
Sounds like a typical short-sighted corporate decision. “Bottom line uber alles”.
Comment by Shanghi Slim — July 6, 2008 @ 1:40 am
Thank you for raising public awareness of this important issue. My suggestion is that the studio designate one of the better research universities in L.A. (UCLA or USC) or another institution to assume the overhead costs for the research library and operate it as it stands, where it stands. This would address some of the issues others raised, such as the burdens of recataloging the materials and keeping them safe from desecration. Several presidential libraries (LBJ, Bush ‘41) are university-affiliated and its worked out pretty well. The only studio objection I can think of to this would still tie up the space on their lot, and I imagine that it could be purchased/rented somehow if this is a major concern.
Comment by Anonymous — July 6, 2008 @ 5:39 pm
I agree, put it on Ebay!
Comment by esb — July 6, 2008 @ 11:41 pm
ESB, go screw yourself.
I really, seriously hope you are not a member of the Writer’s Guild.
Flippant remarks like that are exactly what corporate slimebags want to hear.
Go away and take the side order of snideness with you.
Comment by anotherWGAwriter — July 7, 2008 @ 3:16 pm
I worked at Fox in the legal department from the late nineties till 2005. As part of that experience I gained a lot of insight into who Tom Rothman really is.
For those who don’t know him (and, believe me, given the choice you’d rather not), Tom sucks up all the oxygen in a room. He makes myopic decisions in the vacuum he calls a brain and then doesn’t allow for anyone else to get a word in. He is horribly insecure and is scared to death of the day when the axe finally falls on him. He lives by the motto that if the ship is going down, he’s going to be captaining it. Thus, no matter whether we’re talking polishing a script, designing a one-sheet, directing a picture, producing a trailer, writing a score or CUTTING COSTS, NOBODY CAN DO IT BETTER THAN ROTHMAN! NOBODY!
His ceaseless meddeling is the reason such franchise titles as Planet of the Apes and Eragon were “one and done.” The overall quality of films created under his watch speaks volumes to how few actually have created long term library value for the studio.
In a word, Tom Rothman’s legacy is SHAMEFUL. The decision to close the library is yet another slap in the face to the genuine stewards of Fox’s history that have held the Chairman title before him. He is a fraud. When he is no longer the Chairman of Twentieth Century Fox, may he be comforted in his old age that he did more to destroy Fox’s history than any Chairman before him and, in all likelihood, any Chairman that follows. Heck, if he stays in that slot much longer, there won’t be much more to wreck. That is your legacy Tom even if you pretend it isn’t. Time is running out on your chance to change it.
Comment by Tom Rothman's Biographer — July 7, 2008 @ 10:58 pm
anotherWGAwriter took the words right outta my mouth - but then, he/she is a writer! And I am but a cog in the production machinery.
esb is a flippant ass. I don’t know whether he/she is serious or just part of the idiotic internet culture that likes to slag everything, because they lack the critical skills and/or morals to speak with passion and sincerity about anything that’s actually important.
Sad, that.
Comment by w5 — July 8, 2008 @ 12:05 am
I am so happy I escaped the Hell on Pico Blvd, ruled from the tower of shit on Ave of the Stars. Fox is a terrible company run by incompetent if not terrible people. Employees are commodities at best, disposable annoyances at worst. All of the hyperbole about Rupert Murdoch being evil and News Corp, Fox News, etc, ruining the country? 100% TRUE.
Comment by Ex-FEG and Proud — July 9, 2008 @ 12:45 am
By the way, there are several historic buildings on the lot that Fox is required, BY LAW, to maintain and preserve. The library’s contents are at the very least just as important as all of those buildings.
This is the same company, captained by idiots, that canceled Futurama, Firefly, Family Guy (now one of its biggest moneymakers) and Arrested Development. It is a company run on fear and doubt, with few redeeming qualities.
Comment by Ex-FEG and Proud — July 9, 2008 @ 1:02 am
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/foxlibrary/
An online petition to save the library. Please circulate this link. I’m going to post it on all three articles here in the comments section.
Comment by Diana Garrett — July 11, 2008 @ 10:15 am