While the classic Hollywood era is often seen as a glamorous and wholesome time, that’s not quite the case. Behind the glossy surface of the studio system were no shortage of scandals, and that’s the backdrop of the Coens‘ upcoming "Hail, Caesar!" Speaking with NPR, star Josh Brolin, who plays a Hollywood fixer in the movie, illustrates how the industry has changed.
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"I think it’s much more corporate now, and I don’t think there is the cultivation of a movie star, per se. I mean, there were stories of Louis B. Mayer‘s secretary, who actually found Clark Gable. And he had bad teeth and big ears, and Mayer didn’t respond to him at all. And the secretary was the one that said, ‘there’s something. If we just put him in acting school and if we take him to fencing school, movement school, whatever it is, I think this guy’s going to be the next big thing.’ And you don’t really hear that very often," the actor said. "There’s something about that time where you were cultivating a product that was called a movie star. And [there was] something more mythological about it. It was fun, even though it was totally controlled, totally manipulated, totally corrupt and completely debauched."
Nonetheless, Hollywood created some very light and heartwarming fare during the classic era, and the Coens’ have created a movie musical redolent of the era within "Hail, Caesar!" A new clip shows Channing Tatum in sailor gear, singing "No More Dames."
Check it out below, along with another clip featuring Brolin and Scarlett Johansson, the NPR interview and a new featurette. "Hail, Caesar!" opens on Friday.