Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Love the Eyeglasses

Saw an interesting documentary, "The Last Mogul" tonight. It's about the life of Lew Wasserman.

Imagine making a documentary about someone who not only left behind no on-camera interviews, but also never put anything in writing. Apparently he was so paranoid about his rivals understanding how he operated he kept nothing in writing.

The movie follows his ascent from a movie theater usher in East Cleveland to the pinnacle of power in Hollywood to the end of his life when he was basically shunted aside after his company was bought by the Japanese and then Seagram's (a Canadian company).

It deals with his involvement with the mob and how his career and Ronald Reagan's intertwined. It also shows how his wife, Edie, was a full partner in his career.

His life followed the arc of modern day Hollywood -- and there's no hype in saying we'll never see the likes of him again.

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