any directors and presidents of these studios were mainly businessmen from the East Coast who operated the financial market perfectly. They had set up their empires with a means to make money at exhibition in their cinemas and theatres. However, what they needed was a new type of executive to deliver more product. They needed someone with an understanding of finance, marketing and filmmaking. They needed Producers. These were the new breed of second generation Hollywood. These were the players who dominated and built the Hollywood Studio System.
             The three most influential players in Hollywood during the studio system and its 'Golden Age' were Irving Thalberg (MGM), Daryl Zanuck (Warners, 20th Century- Fox) and David O. Selznick.
             As a student filmmaker I find great importance in studying filmmaking of the past. By studying what has happened before I can better prepare myself for the future. I also find it vital to understand who played what function and how they operated. My future aspirations lie in producing independent films. As such I take an interest in individuals who have previously undertaken this challenge, both successfully and not. However, it is one man who stands head and shoulders above any of his contemporaries, the original modern independent producer, David O. Selznick.
             Born in 1902, Selznick began his film career working for his father's production companies. In 1926 he joined MGM as a reader and quickly rose to assistant producer. Two years later he left to become executive assistant at Paramount. Whilst at Paramount he proposed two important ideas. First, he saw the importance of a formulaic way to produce films based on a budget, star and genre. Second, he envisioned the role of the modern Line Producer:
             ...