On getting things done:
When producing a movie, everything stems back to this box: IDEA. In the 1940s, these were the sources of ideas: “Play,” “Short Story or Novel,” “Newspaper Story or Current Event,” “Original Story,” “Magazine Article,” or “Historical Incident.” Way off on the left, however, there’s one additional source that’s not shown above: “Vice President in Charge of Production.” If you want something unoriginal done that isn’t in print or in the history books, go talk to the VP, he’ll get it done.
Some of the roles are wonderful to see, reminding us of how much has changed and stayed the same since the 1940s when it was created: “Typewriter Equipment and Maintenance,” “Telephone Dictograph,” “Mimeograph,” and “Fan Mail.”
Recently, Paola Antonelli talked about how ideas develop at MoMA, “The security guards always have the best ideas.”
[Image: 1940s Studio Organization, 20th Century Fox. Full set of diagrams scanned from original book here.]
