Anita Loos
& the women who built hollywood
I recently picked up a screenwriting book written by Anita Loos called How to Write Photoplays.
It's apparent after reading her book, which was published in 1915, that Anita Loos was a force in the history of American film.
Loos' contribution was also one of the first screenplays commissioned and went on to write over 200 photoplays (movies) including massive hits like His Picture in the Papers (1916), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and DW Griffiths great epic Intolerance.
Loos wasn't the only pioneer in Hollywood. Women used to played vital roles in this new industry that was growing fast in the desert of Los Angeles.
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Frances Marion was the highest-paid screenwriter in the 1920s, Lois Weber directed over 100 films, Mary Pickford co-founded United Artists, and June Mathis became the first female executive at Metro Pictures (now MGM).
It seems that the current inequality in female and minority representation in the industry only came about after the Hollywood ratified itself into the rigid studio system we know today.
Reading about Anita Loos and all the women who built hollywood in it’s early days should remind us that to bring back the vibrant storytelling and creativity of cinema's golden age, we have to strive for better representation of women and minorities across the entire industry.
Anita Loos and her history not only helps us understand the past but also provides a blueprint for how diverse perspectives and experiences actuall does elevate our art and stories and can offer a compelling cinematic experience for audiences.
The pioneers who built Hollywood understood this intuitively, and it's time the modern industry rediscovers this fundamental truth.
It's apparent after reading her book, which was published in 1915, that Anita Loos was a force in the history of American film.
Loos' contribution was also one of the first screenplays commissioned and went on to write over 200 photoplays (movies) including massive hits like His Picture in the Papers (1916), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and DW Griffiths great epic Intolerance.
Loos wasn't the only pioneer in Hollywood. Women used to played vital roles in this new industry that was growing fast in the desert of Los Angeles.
Frances Marion was the highest-paid screenwriter in the 1920s, Lois Weber directed over 100 films, Mary Pickford co-founded United Artists, and June Mathis became the first female executive at Metro Pictures (now MGM).
It seems that the current inequality in female and minority representation in the industry only came about after the Hollywood ratified itself into the rigid studio system we know today.
Reading about Anita Loos and all the women who built hollywood in it’s early days should remind us that to bring back the vibrant storytelling and creativity of cinema's golden age, we have to strive for better representation of women and minorities across the entire industry.
Anita Loos and her history not only helps us understand the past but also provides a blueprint for how diverse perspectives and experiences actuall does elevate our art and stories and can offer a compelling cinematic experience for audiences.
The pioneers who built Hollywood understood this intuitively, and it's time the modern industry rediscovers this fundamental truth.
12 March 2025