Adolph Zukor Quotes, born January 7, 1873, in Ricse, Hungary, was a Hungarian-American film mogul who founded Paramount Pictures and revolutionized the motion picture industry. Arriving in the U.S. in 1889 as a poor immigrant, he rose from the fur trade to become a pioneer of feature films, establishing Famous Players Film Company in 1912 and producing America’s first feature-length film, The Prisoner of Zenda (1913). His innovative block booking and vertical integration transformed Hollywood, and he served as Paramount’s chairman until 1976, dying at 103. These 15 quotes—sourced from his autobiography The Public Is Never Wrong (1953), interviews, and public statements—reflect his insights on filmmaking, business, and audience trust, capturing his visionary and pragmatic spirit.
15 Adolph Zukor Quotes
- “The public is never wrong.” (The Public Is Never Wrong, 1953)
- “Rather than lose the public because television is here, wouldn’t it be smart to adopt television as our instrument?” (The Public Is Never Wrong, 1953)
- “I believed active photography a possible art—and they laughed at me.” (Quoted in Julian Johnson, 1917)
- “The big subjects shape the future of the industry; in this we put our faith and our money, and sometimes we ate only once a day on account of it.” (Quoted in Julian Johnson, 1917)
- “I believe in the best pictures for picture theatres. In the future my companies will make nothing which is not intended for motion picture audiences in motion picture theatres, directly.” (Quoted in Julian Johnson, 1917)
- “The man who lets his achievements in 1916 be his mark in 1917 must fail.” (Quoted in Julian Johnson, 1917)
- “In the eyes of The [Edison] Trust, I was an outlaw.” (The Public Is Never Wrong, 1953)
- “I had no father and no mother, and I had nobody that lay awake at night to figure out how to educate me … I was alone.” (The Public Is Never Wrong, 1953)
- “If I’d known how old I was going to be I’d have taken better care of myself.” (Quoted in SearchQuotes, 2023)
- “There is no such thing as an empty theatre when the picture is good.” (The Public Is Never Wrong, 1953)
- “Stars are the lifeblood of the industry; without them, the screen is just shadows.” (Interview, Variety, 1920)
- “The exhibitor knows what programs best please his patrons and if they’re obtainable, he gets them.” (Quoted in Julian Johnson, 1917)
- “We built an empire by giving the people what they wanted, not what we thought they should have.” (The Public Is Never Wrong, 1953)
- “A pioneer opens the way for others, but he must be ready to go hungry first.” (The Public Is Never Wrong, 1953)
- “The motion picture is not just entertainment; it’s a mirror of the human soul.” (Interview, The New York Times, 1930)
Adolph Zukor’s quotes are a dynamic blend of entrepreneurial grit, faith in the audience, and a vision for cinema’s potential, inspiring you to innovate boldly and trust the public’s taste. Which quote fuels your ambition? Share it below and keep Zukor’s trailblazing legacy alive!
Emma Thompson
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