- Born
- Died
- Birth nameDavid Selznick
- Height6′ 1″ (1.85 m)
- David O. Selznick was a son of the silent movie producer Lewis J. Selznick. David studied at Columbia University until his father lost his fortune in the 1920s. David started work as an MGM script reader, shortly followed by becoming an assistant to Harry Rapf. He left MGM to work at Paramount then RKO. He was back at MGM in 1933 after marrying Irene Mayer Selznick the daughter of Louis B. Mayer. In 1936, he finally set up his own production company, Selznick International. Three directors and fifteen scriptwriters later, Gone with the Wind (1939) was released.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Steve Crook <steve@brainstorm.co.uk>
- After a basic introduction to the industry helping his father, Lewis, one of the early pioneers, his first real break came in 1926 when he secured a position at the grandest of the studios, MGM.. His initial brief was to read scripts and report on them, Hollywood at that time was ruled over by the 'moguls', the all powerful studio heads who ran the industry. Of them all none was more powerful and the highest paid than the head of MGM, Louis B Mayer, There was an uneasy relationship between LB and David but with the latter's exuberance and self confidence he soon found himself in the position of assistant supervisor. At that point he crossed swords with Irving Thalberg, head of production and Mayer;s right hand man. The two finally clashed over a production decision and David was forced to leave. Paramount snapped David up and during his 3 years there he rose to be assistant head of production, At that time the depression hit the box office and salary cuts were the order of the day but David went the other way demanding an increase which was refused so he decided to no longer work for a production unit which went for quantity over quality and he moved to RKO becoming Vice President in charge of production overseeing releases of King Kong and A Bill of Diivorcement which launched Katherine Hepburn's career, He was enticed back to MGM where he produced such classics as David Copperfield and A Tale of Two Cities. Finally in 1935 his dream of independence as realised and Selznick international Pictures was formed begining a period of creativity which would result in some of the greatest productions in Hollywods Golden Age, along with the launch of Technicolor, Selznick was a visionary and a showman and it was these qualities that put him above all, of the other Hollywood producers, For him it wasn't just a matter of bringing films to the screen on time and on budget he had to be a part of every aspect of the procedure which led to many confrontations over the years particularly when he dismissed John Huston from A Farewell to Arms. The subsequent director, Charles Vidor told him ;You don't want even want a first violinist, you want a piccolo player, Always an opportunist during the filming of Gone With the Wind he even enlisted the aid of Alfred Hitchcock on a scene while the actual director was working on a different scene,. Though mot the easiest in the business to work with, the very best did- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tonyman5
- SpousesJennifer Jones(July 13, 1949 - June 22, 1965) (his death, 1 child)Irene Mayer Selznick(April 29, 1930 - January 21, 1949) (divorced, 2 children)
- Children
- RelativesLillian Young(Aunt or Uncle)
- His ubiquitous memos.
- In 1936, he paid author Margaret Mitchell $50,000 for the movie rights to her novel "Gone With the Wind". Later, after Gone with the Wind (1939) became a blockbuster film, he realized he had underpaid Mitchell and gave her an additional $50,000.
- On May 11, 1976, Selznick's 22-year-old daughter Mary Jennifer (by his second wife Jennifer Jones) killed herself by jumping from the tallest building in Westwood (Los Angeles) while her psychotherapist was away on vacation. It was two days after Mother's Day and one day after what would have been her father's 74th birthday. Jennifer Jones subsequently became a therapist herself.
- Selznick was famed for his long, detailed and incredibly involved (and, to many of the people who received them, maddening) memos sent to many different people during the production of a film--not just the director or writer but cameramen, editors, and pretty much anyone who had anything to do with the picture. A publicist on one of his films once got a Western Union telegram from Selznick that ended up being more than 30 feet long and finished up with, "I have just received a phone call that pretty much clears up this matter. Therefore you can disregard this wire." These famed memos are the subject of an entire book, "Memo From David Selznick" edited by Rudy Behlmer. According to Behlmer, Selznick dictated his every thought to secretaries from 1916-65 in memos that filled 2,000 file boxes.
- When Selznick announced he was starting his own production company, Irving Thalberg called him to ask If he had any financing yet. Selznick replied, "Not a nickel." Thalberg, usually quite careful with money, said, "Well, me and Norma [wife Norma Shearer] would like to give you $250,000 to get on your feet." Thalberg thus became the first financier of Selznick Enterprises.
- Is the only producer winner back-to-back of the Academy Award for Best Picture for Gone with the Wind (1939) and Rebecca (1940).
- The way I see it, my function is to be responsible for everything.
- The difference between me and other producers is that I am interested in the thousands and thousands of details that go into the making of a film. It is the sum total of all these things that either makes a great picture or destroys it.
- I have never gone after honors instead of dollars. But I have understood the relationship between the two.
- Very few people have mastered the art of enjoying their wealth. I have mastered the art, and therefore spend time enjoying myself.
- [some examples of his philosophy] I don't want to be normal. Who wants to be normal?... Once photographed, life here is ended... It's somehow symbolic of Hollywood that Tara was just a facade, with no rooms inside... There might have been good movies if there had been no movie industry.
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