There isn't a single other channel on RU-vid where if they don't post for a little while, I think about it every once in awhile and wonder how they are doing. I totally do that with your channel.
Yep. I have a couple channels I’ve subscribed to that went dark for a while, then posted a new video and I was “who is this in my subscriptions feed?” And have to go through their video history to figure out why I subscribed. Mikey? I think about Mikey regularly, eagerly anticipating the next amazing video, no matter how long it takes.
The Lion is a perfect mascot for MGM. A majestic symbol recognized as the mark of one of the biggest brand ever, that's actually just a sad, hungry, lion chained to a podium behind the gold lettering
Irving Thalberg at age 25: I’m the main creative force behind the first major movie studio in Hollywood. Me about to turn 28: I remembered to wash dark colors separately.
Hey, don’t feel bad. Thalberg got punked by The Marx Bros. hanging out naked in his office roasting potatoes after he ghosted them (unintentionally) multiple times. He was never late to a meeting with them again.
The good news is this: apparently you don't have to separate light and dark clothing anymore? I've been told this by tons of people smarter than me, so 🤷
Algorithm, you're the one reading this, then conveying this as you model it to be fit. Here, I engaged. Because I love Movies with Mikey and it deserves some attention. So Mikey's your friend, remember.
Just finished watching this on Nebula, and getting to the end and saying "on this day April 17th" about threw me for a loop. I thought you had secretly changed it or updated it before I realized it was the birthday of MGM, and I happened to just watch it today of all days.
Fantastic essay, Mikey. I can't imagine the amount of research that went into it, but your delivery and asides makes it seem as through you had a good time producing it.
Damn I love these kinds of deep dives. This was great. I watched it over on Nebula back when it was posted there. Just couldn't leave a comment. Hope the move went well and ya'll are settling in comfortably. Looking forward to whatever you put out next.
The Cutting Edge has my whole heart. It's also a fascinating time capsule of the time when there wasn't a Soviet Union or really a Russia just yet. Also montages galore!!! Toooooeeeeepiiiiiiiiickkkkk
What a fantastic breakdown of a fascinating industry story. I really appreciated how balanced your critique was of the business side of Hollywood, and the recognition that the artists can't make their work if they don't have a successful business to support them. It's frustrating how, in the modern world, it seems that both sides have forgotten that balance.
This is a great video to share with parents and grandparents who would, I assume, get a lot of nostalgia feels from it. Whatever, the video deserves more views.
This very well may be your best video yet. Perhaps you can make one that just focus's on MGM and Victor Fleming in 1939. How someone can make "The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone with the Wind" in one year is ridiculous.
I was not expecting a picture of the MGM lion doing a blep would make me laugh like a hyena (and cough like General Grievous because I have the flu) but it did.
Man, I would love if you put a little non-intrusive nebula logo pop-up at the bottom right at the beginning of the video to remind me. Always prefer to lend my eyeballs to a less villainous platform.
Well, you’re certainly doing more for MGM’s anniversary than Amazon is. All they’re doing is a new anniversary logo and a curated Prime Video collection.
soooo. how to make a company last 100 years: base it on something as evolving and evergreen as art and then abuse the time and talents of your producers at every opportunity, with occasional and increasingly inefficient checks in power to stop you from eating your own tail entirely
Very well done, Mikey! The history of this company is honestly kind of a nightmare. It's like an amoeba eating and growing and splitting, but every time it does, art, and artists, suffer.
Groucho Marx kept on making movies after Thalberg’s death, but never with the same passion. He and Thalberg were responsible for how good A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races were. Thalberg would send the brothers out on the road to vaudeville houses, like early standup shows, to test and refine their material, so when they came back to film, the bits were a well-oiled machine.
The UA logo theme hits me right in the childhood - complete with shivers. Also hearing how UA got its start as artists seizing their independence from major film studios pairs interestingly with the promo for Nebula. Hopefully Nebula keeps its independence much longer
Thank you for this video Mikey and the FilmJoy team. Im always impressed by your videos, and inspired by your love of this art form. You always do a great job explaining both the art piece as a product, and the art of its creation, and the effect both have on our culture. Thanks for this piece. I had no idea how complicated it was, and to then imagine, many other studios probably have similar tales. Really appreciate your effort and dedication to this piece.
31:35 you're mixing up negative/positive feedback loops. A positive feedback loop is when the input encourages more of the same input, while a negative one encourages change. It's not named after whether the results are subjectively positive/negative.
In 1997, MGM didn't acquire "Origins", which nobody's ever heard of. They did buy "Orion Pictures", which had made Silence of the Lambs, Platoon, The Terminator, Robocop, Amadeus, Dances with Wolves, etc etc.
The worst thing that ever happened to MGM was Kirk Kerkorian…He just kept stripping it for parts, selling it, rebuying it when it gained more assets, sucked MORE blood out of it…rinse, repeat….
I want your long form opinion on Guy Ritchie. From Lock Stock to Snatch(still his best film) to the Madonna years to his newer Covenant and Gentlemen, he has had an influential career. As a fan of other influential UK directors, where do you stand on his films? Edit: Also you gotta do Master and Commander: Far Side of the World. Another edit: Prisoners of the Ghostland also, you make me very happy
I love how companies being merged with can take on tons of debt to finance the merger if they like the company they're being merged with. Like, I want you to adopt me, so here's four hundred million dollars to help buy me. Where'd I get it? A loan. It'll be your loan, sure, but hey, the shareholders getting that money won't care. The _bagholders_ on the other hand... MGM's leadership might have gotten in hot water (you know, a wrist slap) back in the 80s for this, but today? Nah, Musk can mortgage twitter for money to buy out the board and nobody even thinks to mention it, much less send the SEC in to smack him around with a yardstick.
Hollywood shouldn’t exist and yet it does. The history of American business trends writ large. The only really weird thing is seeing old MGM films now being owned by Warner Brothers. Even at the Academy Awards. The Wizard of Oz, a Warner Brothers classic!
Timely release, as the Fallout series (the games and show) explore the theme of ideals surviving reality. What sacrifices need be made to continue to exist, and when does something stop being what it originally was?
20:40 Love your love for Thalberg. I believe we have one living among us, look up the track record of a certain Michael De Luca, survivor of multiple studios and getting great movies made iin any and every financial landscape.
