Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., or
MGM, is an American
media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur
Marcus Loew gained control of
Metro Pictures,
Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and
Louis B. Mayer Pictures.
[Eyman, Scott. Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2005. ISBN 0-7432-0481-6][Balio, Tino. The American Film Industry. 2d rev. ed. Madison, Wisc.: University of Wisconsin Press, 1985. ISBN 0-299-09874-5]
Overview
The studio's official
motto, "Ars Gratia Artis", is a
Latin phrase meaning "
Art for art's sake".
[Costanzo, Linda Cahir. Literature Into Film: Theory and Practical Approaches. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2006. ISBN 0-7864-2597-0; Naremore, James and Brantlinger, Patrick. Modernity and Mass Culture. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1991. ISBN 0-253-20627-8][Wayne, Jane Ellen. The Golden Girls of MGM: Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, and Others. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2003. ISBN 0-7867-1303-8][Berliner, Barbara; Corey, Melinda; and Ochoa, George. The Book of Answers: The New York Public Library Telephone Reference Service's Most Unusual and Entertaining Questions. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992. ISBN 0-671-76192-7] It was chosen by
Howard Dietz, the studio's chief publicist, in 1924.
[Sheed, Wilfrid. The House That George Built: With a Little Help from Irving, Cole, and a Crew of About Fifty. Reprint ed. New York: Random House Publishing Group, 2008. ISBN 0-8129-7018-7][Silvester, Christopher. The Grove Book of Hollywood. Reprint ed. New York: Grove Press, 2002. ISBN 0-8021-3878-0] The studio's logo is a roaring lion surrounded by a circle inscribed with the studio's motto. The logo, which features "Leo the Lion", was created by Dietz in 1916 for Goldwyn Pictures and updated in 1924 for MGM's use.
[Fricke, John. "For 70 Years, MGM Has Produced the Lion's Share of Classic Films and Hollywood Talent." Billboard. July 30, 1994; Flexner, Stuart Berg. Listening to America: An Illustrated History of Words and Phrases From Our Lively and Splendid Past. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1982. ISBN 0-671-24895-2; Rowsome, Frank. They Laughed When I Sat Down: An Informal History of Advertising in Words and Pictures. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1959.][Crabb, Kelly Charles. The Movie Business: The Definitive Guide to the Legal and Financial Secrets of Getting Your Movie Made. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2005. ISBN 0-7432-6492-4] Dietz based the logo on his
alma mater's
mascot—the
Columbia University lion.
[Fordin, Hugh. M-G-M's Greatest Musicals: The Arthur Freed Unit. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press, 1996. ISBN 0-306-80730-0; Scarfone, Jay and Stillman, William. The Wizardry of Oz: The Artistry and Magic of the 1939 M-G-M Classic. Rev. ed. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation, 2004. ISBN 1-55783-624-8] Originally silent, the sound of Leo the Lion's roar was added to films for the first time in August 1928.
The studio's informal motto is "more stars than there are in heaven", a reference to the large number of
A-list movie stars under contract to the company in the 1930s.
[Doherty, Thomas Patrick. Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema, 1930-1934. Paperback ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-231-11095-2; Hark, Ina Rae. American Cinema of the 1930s: Themes and Variations. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 2007. ISBN 0-8135-4082-8; Pitt, Dale. Los Angeles A to Z: An Encyclopedia of the City and County. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1997. ISBN 0-520-20530-8] This second motto was also coined by Deitz,
[Dardis, Tom. Keaton, the Man Who Wouldn't Lie Down. 2d ed. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation, 1996. ISBN 0-87910-117-2; Walker, Alexander. Elizabeth. Reprint ed. New York: Grove Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8021-3769-5; Fleming, E.J. The Fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling, and the MGM Publicity Machine. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2004. ISBN 0-7864-2027-8; Dietz, Howard. Dancing in the Dark. San Antonio, Tex.: Quadrangle, 1974. ISBN 0-8129-0439-7] and was probably first used in 1932.
[Carey, Gary. All the Stars in Heaven: Louis B. Mayer's MGM. New York: Dutton, 1981. ISBN 0-525-05245-3]
