![]() ![]() Laemmle broke with Edison's custom of refusing credit to actors. That company quickly evolved into the Independent Moving Picture Company, or IMP. Soon Laemmle and other disgruntled nickelodeon owners saw that a way to avoid paying Edison was to produce their own pictures, and in June 1909, Laemmle started the Yankee Film Company with partners Abe and Julius Stern. On the basis of Edison's patent on the electric motor used in cameras and projectors, along with other patents, the Trust collected fees on all aspects of movie production and exhibition, and also held a monopoly on distribution. For Laemmle and other such entrepreneurs, the creation in 1908 of the Edison-backed Motion Picture Trust meant that exhibitors were expected to pay fees for any Trust-produced film they showed. Within weeks of his Chicago trip, he gave up dry goods to buy the first of several nickelodeons. One story has Laemmle watching a box office for hours, counting patrons and calculating the take for the day. ![]() On a 1907 buying trip to Indianapolis, he was struck by the popularity of nickelodeons. ![]() The founder of Universal, Carl Laemmle, was a German Jewish immigrant who had settled in Wisconsin, where he managed a clothing store. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |