Fox vs. The full-length documentary Zukor - A Hollywood Story tells the story of the birth of Hollywood through the lives and rivalry of the two film moguls of Hungarian origin, Adolf Zukor, born in Ricsse, who founded the Paramount studio, and the eponymous studio founder of 20th Century Fox, William Fox, or Vilmos Fried, born in Tolcsva. his story.

- Although several up-and-coming producers from Central and Eastern Europe who emigrated to the United States also played a major role in the birth of Hollywood, we could mention many names known from the cinema screen: the Warner brothers, Carl Laemmle, Samuel Goldwyn, Marcus Loew or Louis B. Mayer, but it is indisputable , that Hollywood in today's sense could not exist without the two founders of Hungarian origin, Zukor Adolf and William Fox. They are the founders of the American feature film, the star system and the studio system, as well as the founders of the two iconic film studios, Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox. Our film presents the fantastic life story of Zukor and Fox, two self-made men with Hungarian, Jewish and Central European roots, while history comes alive in it - concluded Tamás Kollarik, associate professor of the Moholy-Nagy University of Arts, one of the film's creators, creative producer and co-director .

Although, according to a well-known American saying, when inventing the atomic bomb, the Hungarians committed only one greater crime: the founding of Hollywood, at the same time, it is indisputable that the history of Zukor, Fox and Hollywood is now of cultural importance not only in the United States, but also in Hungary, as perhaps the entire both in the world. 

Tamás Kollarik and Sándor Takó have been working for years to search for, collect, bring home and take care of the very special intellectual heritage of Hungarians in Hollywood.

They embarked on their mission with the aim of introducing Hungarian and international audiences to the extraordinary life of Hollywood creators of Hungarian origin through various genres, books, films, and soundtrack concerts. the Hungarians in Hollywood , they brought home previously unpublished biographies of artists such as three-time Oscar winner Miklós Rózsa, five-time Emmy winner Gábor Csupó, the biography of Oscar winner Imre Pressburger, or Zukor, known as the Hungarian founders of Hollywood The volumes of Adolf and Fried Vilmos, i.e. William Fox.

Adolf Zukor and William Fox

Adolf Zukor and William Fox, aka Vilmos Fried, the founders of Paramount and 20th Century Fox (Source: Wikimedia)

The two specialists have been preparing Fox vs. Zukor - A Hollywood Story full-length documentary about the founding fathers and the birth of American and Hollywood film through their life stories. Through the personal history and reminiscences of the two studio founders who emigrated to America, the film recalls their lives, their careers, the history of their sometimes open and sometimes hidden competition with each other, during which they laid the foundations of Hollywood film production: they produced the first American feature films, the first sound films, their studios won the film history its first Oscars, and last but not least, they made the film an inalienable part of American identity and global culture.

Our film is supported by prominent partners such as Oscar-winning Kevin MacDonald and BAFTA-winning Andrew MacDonald, who is also known as the producer of Trainspotting, among others. Our prominent partner is also our good friend Gábor Csupó, the five-time Emmy winner, who has produced worldwide hits for the Paramount and 20th Century Fox studios. We asked Ádám Tősér as co-director for the film, who has already proven his talent with several feature films and documentaries, as well as being at a sufficient distance from the subject of the film, Zukor and Fox, whose lives we have spent the last ten years researching with Tamas Kollarik

- said Sándor Takó, lecturer at Pázmány Péter Catholic University, producer and co-director of the film.

Fox vs. The production of the film Zukor – A Hollywood Story is realized with HUF 412.65 million support from the National Film Institute, and it can start on the 150th anniversary of the birth of Adolf Zukor. Tamás Kollarik and Sándor Takó are the scriptwriters and producers of the film, who also perform the task of co-director. The public is scheduled to see the film in early 2025.

Source: NFI / MTI

Cover image: The legendary Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles Photo: Sohrob Tahmasebi / Pixabay