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I love anything dealing with Hollywood history, so I enjoy Tom Rothman's historical monologue Fox Legacy on the Fox Film Channel. But, surprisingly, today's New York Times profile on the Fox Filmed Entertainment co-chairman's cable show didn't mention the closing of the 20th Century Fox film research library since it seems relevant. So I've learned the original article did report on the library's fate, but that portion was trimmed for space. The article says, "Mr. Rothman writes the monologues himself, doing much of his own research... For Edward Scissorhands he pored through Fox archival material." 
So does that mean Rothman uses the film research library, too? If so, sad that it won't be there much longer. Meanwhile, I've heard it costs between $750,000 to $1 million a year to keep the library open. Now let's get creative. Fox Legacy could embrace the facility and maybe even shoot the show there to help underwrite it. That's a win-win situation for all concerned.
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I guess they figure Google’s cheaper.
It does sound like a win-win plan, but modern studio executives seem to love the path of least resistance, and that is usually to cut something that isn’t bringing in revenue, than to expend the effort necessary to find a way to make it work financially.
I would have had all the studios put their collections into one archive/library facility available to not only movie-folk, but scholars, students, and interested tourists (who have to pay) and call it a non-profit “historical society” and squeeze some tax breaks out of the government.
This is surprising how? The only things more blood-curdling to the average corporate studio exec than truly creative ideas and dedicated artists are facts and history.
everyone in L.A. wants to be on tv
lawyers, doctors, even studio heads
it’s really quite pathetic
Well, sure, Google’s cheaper, but Wikipedia is where it’s at. And I would put a winkie face after that comment, but it seems to be all too true these days.
750 to 1M to upkeep?!?!?! shit, they have maybe 3 girls working it. where’s all that money going? I bet those 3 girls don’t make more than 40k each.
Nikki,
I was shocked that the Grey Lady left out the library closing in this context and especially since they haven’t reported on it, as far as I’ve noticed. How many words was this piece and art?! No space? C’mon… What a bunch of suck ups!
Judging how few clips from the Golden Age of Hollywood make the montages at the Oscars, I’d say moguls and execs. claim to love Hollywood history, but don’t want their piece o’crap films judged against films from that era.
Doing the research himself usually means he gives a PA a list and the PA gives it to the archivists.
I’m sad that Tom Rothman doesn’t understand the amazing resource that he has just yards away from his office. I’ve been to the Fox Research library many times. From this NYT account, Rothman seems to love films and film history – his own company library would be a treasure trove to him.
I don’t get it. I really don’t. The costs of this amazing resource are trivial to a company the size of Fox. The value the library adds is incalculable.
There aren’t many places left on film lots that have soul, and this is one of them.
Tom, it’s not too late. Take a look at what you’re throwing away before you toss it in the dumpster. It’s your kind of place.
Dear Hollywood,
May I make a suggestion?
Consider the background and impact of the library. It’s both historical and economic. It’s of benefit and concern to the public.
Fox has admitted that they no longer want, nor need it. Their plan is to get rid of it.
Get the state of California to seize the library, all buildings and land by using ‘eminent domain’.
Turn it into a non-profit corporation, funded by 1/2 of 1 percent of the gross receipts of all films and TV shows that use the library for research or storage.
Thank Fox for their contribution to film history.
Smile at the studio execs as California slices off a chunk of the Fox lot.
Enjoy the use of the library and expand it.
Give the stuff to the Academy library on Fairfax, then everyone could still use them and they would be protected
“I would have had all the studios put their collections into one archive/library facility available to not only movie-folk, but scholars, students, and interested tourists (who have to pay) and call it a non-profit “historical society” and squeeze some tax breaks out of the government.”
But isn’t the main objection to the closure that the collection would leave the studio lot in the first place?
Nikki, I love how beneath your cynical hard shell you actually, deep down, love movies. Thanks for getting that without artists, visionaries, craftspeople, technicians and most of all – HISTORY – all the Hollywood suits wouldn’t have “product” to exploit. Keep up the good fight.
From what I understand from people who worked on the film, MASTER AND COMMANDER was Tom Rothman’s baby. Does he have ANY idea how much research for this movie was done at the Fox Research Library? How many hours of intensive work was put in by the staff there? Sadly, the facetious comments regarding Google and Wikipedia may be more accurate than not, at least in terms of what these idiots who are closing the library think is ‘good research.’ Maybe the Fox representative who made the statement comparing the resources at the Fox library to those of any general public library did his or her research on Wikipedia. After all, he/she can always go in and change the fact to suit their statement.
Dear Hollywood,
May I make a suggestion?
Consider the background and impact of the library. It’s both historical and economic. It’s of benefit and concern to the public.
Fox has admitted that they no longer want, nor need it. Their plan is to get rid of it.
Get the state of California to seize the library, all buildings and land by using ‘eminent domain’.
Turn it into a non-profit corporation, funded by 1/2 of 1 percent of the gross receipts of all films and TV shows that use the library for research or storage.
Thank Fox for their contribution to film history.
Smile at the studio execs as California slices off a chunk of the Fox lot.
Enjoy the use of the library and expand it.
(Second time posted, guess the first time scared someone?)
I remember the library back in the late 90s when they were just starting to soar after nearly being shut down back then
around that time when the whole vibe at the Pico lot was getting all downon outside venders The library was a cool place where everybody was welcome and wild stuff was always brewing.
The staff were a mix of some super hardcore dedicated people who dug movies and understood the biz, and that made it a super cool place that attracted cool, smart people.
Only thing wrong with the place is that evidently some people don’t know enough about it. Like the genius who wants to close it. — Hey YOU! How much of a year’s end bonus are you expecting for selling out this department?
(Betchya its not your first one either, huh?)
Ever hear the term “Blood Money?” You might want to visit the library and look it up. BEFORE ITS TOO LATE.
Closing the library is proof of mismanagement. The cost of running the library is — or should be — assigned to the budget of the pictures or TV shows that use it, not to studio overhead. The trick in running a studio is to write off as many general operations as possible on the budget of projects in various stages of production. I call it “feeding the brontosaurus” because it relates to maintaining a beast on a constant basis. An annual maintenance cost of $750,000 to $1 million is consistent with the way studios gouge producers with inflated turnaround figures, “expenses,” and other fees, plus cross-collateralized real estate taxes, insurance, climate control and physically preserving the materials. But it’s not an overhead item! It’s as assignable as department head salaries, landscaping, and other regularly occurring costs. Or it should be.
In fact, films produced by Fox were charged a nominal amount in their budgets (as one of the many studio charges Santayana mentions above), and TV production contributed an amount. So the total hit to the film group was closer to $500k – of which half is studio rent (so not a cash expense). That’s why it’s so baffling, and further evidence that this decision was not well thought out on any level.
And yes – many of Tom Rothman’s favorite projects made substantial use of the library – but he would have been – and, indeed was – completely unaware of that use, until, perhaps, now.
Gee, no wonder Mainstream Media is dying a slow, agonizing death. Let’s see, the New York Times publishes a long press release—er, profile of Rothman and his passion for researching his own projects, and yet the paper has no room in the advertorial–um, article to actually discuss the closing of the Research Library? Shouldn’t the publicist—oops, reporter have asked Rothman about how would he be able to conduct such magnificent research without an actual Research Library? I guess it would be too much to ask if the flack—that is, journalist even bothered to call anyone at the library to see what it was like to work with such a brilliant researcher. Oh, well.
Isn’t this just another sad step in the process of taking anything human and real out of the movies being produced today? People are passionate, they have opinions, sometimes they’re imperfect. They’re interesting. Easier to look stuff up on Google? Maybe, but there’s nothing left to color a movie today, to distingish one from another. The images are all corporate, they have no weight, sense of history. They have no soul.
As a professional historian, it is always sad to see history erased or made inaccessible (or much harder to access) for scholars or the public, just to save a buck. Modern corporations have vast wealth compared to most people on this planet, or most people throughout history, and though it isn’t popular to say, I will say it: they have a moral obligation to give something back to the community that makes their fortune possible. Conservatives at FOX might do well to seriously ask What Would Jesus Do…fund a library for the people and the benefit of the world community (at a cost to them that amounts to hardly more than a widow’s mite), or save a buck by scattering it? I seem to recall Jesus was all about the rich giving something back. Or is their idea of Jesus not into libraries?
By all means, the library needs to stay open!
Over 80 of all silent films are already lost. A huge percentage of films made before 1950 are lost. All films libraries, not just the one at Fox, need to be kept open if we are to preserve our cinematic heritage. Let there be no excuses.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/foxlibrary/
An online petition to save the library. Please circulate this link. I’m going to post it on all three articles here in the comments section.
I like to think that Fox will come to its senses. The film research library is a treasure worth considerably more than a million a year. Closing it would be a display of extreme short-sightedness on their part.
It takes a great man or woman to admit making a mistake and taking the steps to fix it. Mr. Rothman, prove you’re a great man and allow the library to stay on the lot.
This may be closest some of us will ever come to knowing what it felt like to lose one of the great libraries in ancient days. Let’s pray it doesn’t come to that. Let’s do better than pray–raise our voices: Spend whatever bucks it takes to keep this great treasure alive.
The Research Libray is a sanctuary on the Fox lot, with a knowledgeable and friendly staff. This is a huge loss for Fox, and the entire creative community.
The 20 Century Library is a wonderful library and it needs to stay open!