That's the kind of morning memo that can give employees whiplash and put a CIO out of the running for Boss of the Year. When a company sends a portion of itself, such as the IT department, to work for another enterprise as part of an outsourcing deal, employees necessarily enter uncertain territory. To help them as much as possible, CIOs need to make sure someone is guiding them every step of the way until they safely complete the transition. If you send the emotional equivalent of the above memo, you may find your hallways littered with employee roadkill.
The key to orchestrating a successful transition for the IT staff from old company to new is being straightforward about what is going to happen and providing support for employees who are affected. Everything from preparation to the big goodbye should be done with the knowledge that whatever you do will inevitably cause stress within the department -- and that those same folks will still be working for your organisation, only under a different flag.
"Even though they will not be your employees, they will continue to do your work," says Gwen Barker, human resources consultant and principal of Logenii, a Minneapolis company that provides IT workforce transformation support to Fortune 500 companies. And no company wants to send bitter employees to an outsourcer.
In any outsourcing deal there are bound to be glitches, but advance planning can help minimise the problems. Rick Sayers, a managing director of human resources for business process outsourcing at Price Waterhouse LLP in Cleveland, works with companies to keep their loyal troops happy as they send them off to toil for another. He recommends holding a mock Q&A session to help the CIO and his or her boss anticipate questions that will come up when management decides to break the news about an outsourcing deal and working to formulate the thoughtful answers employees deserve. Sometimes, he says, he runs into a corporate mind-set that wants to clamp down on the information going to employees before anything is signed because "it's not a deal till it's a deal".
That's just the kind of mind-set that makes employees edgy, says Rita Terdiman, vice president and research director for the Gartner Group's External Service Providers practice in the US. "Don't think that you can keep it a secret at all," she says. It's best to avoid the "surprise party" method of breaking the news, mostly because attempts at hiding the news will be unsuccessful. Someone will have a friend whose sister is involved with the deal, and word is bound to slip. Terdiman recalls that employees at one company learned some behind-the-scenes information after one vendor -- oops -- left the original of a critical document in the photocopier.
Ideally, the same day the company selects an outsourcer, employees affected by the deal should be told a deal has been made. People will figure that something is up when the rumour mill lets out that a parade of lawyers was seen heading into the conference room. "You have to at least move at the letter-of-intent stage," Sayers says. At that point, company officials need to let employees know how the outsourcing process works and provide them with a rough timetable of what comes next, even if the vision of the future remains uncertain.
Choosing an outsourcer to supply services should take no more than about nine months, Barker says. Assuming that most employers let their staff know that outsourcers are being considered, nine months is about the point at which employees get antsy. No one wants to wait around staring at the writing on the mouse pad. With a strong economy and great job market, valuable employees will take control of their own destinies and bolt. CIOs should keep an eye on their calendars, or they're likely to find themselves in an empty office.
Once the deal has been sprung, the transition period officially begins, and dispensing information -- complete, accurate information -- becomes vital.
Bethlehem Steel for example, made a point of being open about the details of its outsourcing deal with Electronic Data Systems from day one. About six years ago, the Pennsylvania-based company began a 10-year, $700 million outsourcing contract with Texas-based EDS not only to save money and streamline its IT department but also to expose its IT people to better training and a wider variety of technologies. Roughly 400 company IT employees and 250 contract workers were affected by the decision, and the deal had a ripple effect on dozens of other Bethlehem departments, such as public affairs, legal, labour relations and consulting, as well as the company's suppliers and customers.
From the beginning, employees yearn for clarity. They will be clamouring for any morsel of information that transition managers can offer them, and companies typically use everything in their pantry to sate this craving. The proven style of the company will decide how that information gets to them, whether it's via e-mail, meetings or carrier pigeon. "The culture is really the driver of what's going to succeed," says Logenii's Barker.
Bethlehem Steel used both a structured and an ad hoc approach to keeping employees up to date during its initial transition and afterward, says Thomas Conarty, director of IT. Meetings represented the structured approach. A general meeting hosted early on by current managers for affected employees addressed issues like benefits and insurance that were common to everyone.
Within two weeks, similar scenes played out on increasingly smaller scales, first with the subgroups of different employee categories and finally with separate teams, small working units and even individual employees. At these meetings employees and their managers talked about transition issues specific to their own departments.
The ad hoc approach covered the "lesser" concerns of the information spectrum.
The transition team set up an internal telephone number that workers could call to leave messages about issues great and small or to access the latest information about timetables or their new jobs. People were also invited to send their questions and concerns to an e-mail service. Open-door management sessions and a program that paired old managers with new ones taught managers all they needed to know, giving them information about major issues like new company policies as well as advice about finer points such as how to order a pencil. Employees had periodic town hall meetings with both Bethlehem and EDS execs, and employees even published a four-issue mini newspaper that dealt solely with transition topics.
At Bethlehem, managers "certainly wanted to eliminate unhealthy forms of conflict," Conarty says. Translation: stifling the dreaded rumour mill that invariably accompanies any outsourcing deal. That's when Betty from operations knows someone in her carpool who overheard someone say that for sure the new company will cut benefits, make people do more work and require employee ID tags to be tattooed on everyone's forehead.
Everyone knows that rumours are always more interesting than facts. Through communal e-mail postings and voice mail, Bethlehem's transition team made sure they flushed out as many juicy rumours as possible and then either confirmed or denied them.
Other companies have found ways to make the rumour mill actually work to their benefit, Barker says with a certain delight. In one company, rumours were running rampant that a particular vendor had been selected. When focus groups met, coordinators would talk pointedly in general terms about the pros and cons of the various vendors still being considered, knowing full well that their ambiguous comments would circulate and give workers the truthful impression that no decision had yet been made. "It was a way to work through the rumour mill," Barker says. "But it was factual." Answer the Questions Once an approach for distributing information has been established, Sayers says CIOs can begin addressing their employees' most basic concerns: Do I have a job, and for how long? What are my benefits? What is my compensation? After that come the "softer" but no less important issues that vary from person to person: Does the new employer offer day care? Will we work in offices, open spaces or cubicles? When dealing with the onslaught of questions, CIOs should be committed to honesty. Never fudge an answer that you don't know or that hasn't been determined, Sayers says. Instead, give the questioner a timetable for when an answer will be available and track those to-be-answered questions to make sure none gets neglected. Ignoring even one question can be damaging. "Credibility is certainly more important than an expedient answer," Sayers says. "When we give an answer, it's etched in stone."No matter how frivolous they may sound, all questions should be taken seriously. Terdiman once received a phone call from a couple of employees who had a question about the host of companies that were lined up as potential employers: "They wanted to know who would allow them to dress down on Fridays," she says. Such seemingly superficial concerns should never be trivialised because if that's what's important to employees, then that's what CIOs need to make sure the company that wins the outsourcing contract addresses. And if an outsourcing deal involves 500 people, then be prepared for 500 different combinations of issues. "If a vendor doesn't get that that's important," Barker says, "it can really put a twist into how people view that outsourcer." Confidence Building Employees need consistent in-person support from the CIO and his or her delegates in the early stages of the outsourcing deal to remind employees that someone is available to help them. For example, CIOs at the old company can invest in events designed to foster trust and camaraderie in the new managers.
Special get-to-know-us affairs or off-site happenings with both the new and old companies remind employees that they're still a team during the transition process.
Once major topics have been hashed out and comparatively minor announcements are not likely to spark a flurry of new questions, both company and contractor still need to monitor any changes in the effectiveness of the way employees receive their information. If new information seems to be emerging hourly, photocopied memos likely won't keep up with word-of-mouth and could signal that it's time for a move to e-mail or some other instant delivery system. The sure-fire information-delivery method that works just fine today may be the wrong approach for tomorrow. "It's hard to categorise any one silver bullet because the silver bullet for weeks one or two might not be the best thing for years one or two," Bethlehem's Conarty says.
CIOs can raise workers' confidence levels by stressing the positive aspects of the transition and reinforcing just how significant their new jobs will be. At the old company they were just one important cog in a giant machine. Now, they are the machine. That's a big selling point in getting people to switch, says Sayers, and one new employers can use to rally their adopted workforce: "You've never been on the front line. You've always been in the back office. This is the front line of this company. This is what we do." CIOs should also make sure the IS staff doesn't have any major surprises on the first day at their new jobs. Continuity of work is key: on the first day at the new company, employees should do exactly what they did for the old company.
"Whatever [they did] yesterday, they're doing today," Sayers says.
After that, the new employer can build on the employees' confidence to add new skills and training until they get to the point where they're serving more clients than just their old employer. On top of that, employees will notice that these new skills make them more marketable and therefore more valuable.
Back at the old company, the job for the CIOs and the other top managers is far from over. They must be careful not to neglect the people who are left behind after the outsourced folks take off, whether they're in the same department or another. "The remaining organisation flips into shock mode," Barker says.
"They're going to be thinking, 'Are we next?'" Maybe, maybe not. The employees will be focused on the recent past, but CIOs can refocus them on their current work and keep them posted about any future changes.
Sometimes people forget that even under the most uncertain and stressful times, employees still have a business to run. No matter what the terms of the outsourcing deal, keeping people informed benefits employers in ways they might not have realised initially. The outsourcer also benefits when its future staff has a flood of timely, accurate information because it imparts a confidence that will help build an energised, enthusiastic workforce.


Today we witness the gradual entrenchment of policies and practices in a number of European states that run counter to the foundational tenets upon which the very idea of Europe as a political project rest. The limits and capacities of European intergovernmental institutions to respond to systemic violations of human rights, the decay in the rule of law and the weakening of democracy are being tested. The Council of Europe (CoE) and the European Union (EU) appear to be unprepared, ill-equipped or reluctant to produce rapid and effective responses.


On a 20x5 rectangular right screw thread the screw made of Nylon 66 is exactly the same as the female thread made of Ck60 steel. The radial gaps of the two threads are all 0.1mm and the total thread height 2.7mm. As is common in all plastic threads, the screw has a slightly greater thread thickness, ie 2.51 mm instead of 2.5 mm with the hole. Considering the elasticity measures of the laminar material E1 = 3.2GPa and the steel E2 = 205GPa, calculate the torque required to screw and unscrew 7 coils from the thread. As a friction factor, consider 0.08 in all positions.


The unique opportunity to consult entrepreneurial firms for six month, and the amount of extra-curricular activities if offers, which is unparalleled to any other center in any other program, make me sure that I could gain skills..
Features That Make Our Writers Special. If you know what kind of essay you are required to complete and are able to write it by yourself, take our congratulations: you are really a bright student and you..
suffers a punishment that exceeds his crime -an amenable misjudgement this misfortune is not wholly deserved. Many scholars would stake claim to Antigone possessing all the necessary characteristics of a true tragic hero, but many others would argue that Creon holds many qualities as well. In Sophocles' Antigone, most people probably believe Antigone to be the tragic heroine, even after they have finished watching the play. In the prologue, he has incorporated heroic lines meanwhile referring to her fearless opinions and brave nature as she expresses the view that those of noble birth (a tragic hero is often of noble birth) should show superior moral qualities and that it is noble. However, this is not the case. This is one of the key characteristics of a tragic hero. Continue Reading Creon As Tragic Hero of Sophocles Antigone Essay 836 Words 4 Pages Creon As Tragic Hero of Sophocles Antigone Since the plays inception, there has always existed a contention concerning the true hero of Sophocles Antigone. He desired to be successful and achieve everything he wanted but he ended up committing Continue Reading Creon The Tragic Hero 1005 Words 5 Pages A tragic hero is defined in most cases as a literary character of great stature whose moral defect leads.
This chapter also contains critical information on Sophocles and the play Oedipus. This proves to be his downfall for not deciding to kill the king until the very end. In Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone follows her own beliefs by giving her brother a proper burial, even if she has to break the law of King Creon. It is a widely held belief that Antigone must be the main character simply because she and the drama share name. On the other hand, Creon is shaped to be imperfect resembling an average human, though he is pre-eminently great in a superficial glance. As it is the way of the gods Antigone found it fit to bury her brother causing her to disobey the law Continue Reading Creon is the Tragic Hero in Sophocles' definition essay forgiveness Antigone Essay 627 Words 3 Pages Creon is the Tragic Hero of Antigone When.


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Irving Grant Thalberg (May 30, 1899 – September 14, 1936) was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and ability to select scripts, choose actors, gather production staff, and make profitable films, including Grand Hotel, China Seas, A Night at the Opera, Mutiny on the Bounty, Camille and The Good Earth. His films carved out an international market, "projecting a seductive image of American life brimming with vitality and rooted in democracy and personal freedom", states biographer Roland Flamini.

He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and as a child was afflicted with a congenital heart disease that doctors said would kill him before he reached the age of thirty. After graduating from high school he worked as a store clerk during the day and to gain some job skills took a night class in typing. He then found work as a secretary with Universal Studios' New York office, and was later made studio manager for their Los Angeles facility. There, he oversaw production of a hundred films during his three years with the company. Among the films he produced was The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923).

In Los Angeles, he partnered with Louis B. Mayer's new studio and, after it merged with two other studios, helped create Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). He was made head of production of MGM in 1925, at the age of twenty-six, helping MGM become the most successful studio in Hollywood. During his twelve years with MGM, until his premature death at the age of 37, he produced four hundred films, most of which bore his imprint and innovations, including story conferences with writers, sneak previews to gain early feedback, and extensive re-shooting of scenes to improve the film. In addition, he introduced horror films to audiences and coauthored the "Production Code", guidelines for morality followed by all studios. During the 1920s and 1930s, he synthesized and merged the world of stage drama and literary classics with Hollywood films.

Thalberg created numerous new stars and groomed their screen images. Among them were Lon Chaney, Ramon Novarro, Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Lionel Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery, Spencer Tracy, Luise Rainer, and Norma Shearer, who became his wife. He had the ability to combine quality with commercial success, and was credited with bringing his artistic aspirations in line with the demands of audiences. After his death, Hollywood's producers said he had been the world's "foremost figure in motion-picture history". President Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote, "The world of art is poorer with the passing of Irving Thalberg. His high ideals, insight and imagination went into the production of his masterpieces." The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, given out periodically by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 1937, has been awarded to producers whose body of work reflected consistently high-quality films.

Early years
Thalberg was born in Brooklyn, to German Jewish immigrant parents, William and Henrietta (Haymann). Shortly after birth, he was diagnosed with "blue baby syndrome", caused by a congenital disease that limited the oxygen supply to his heart. The prognosis from the family's doctor and specialists was that he might live to the age of twenty, or at most, to thirty.

During his high school years in Brooklyn, he began having attacks of chest pains, dizziness and fatigue. This affected his ability to study, though until that time he was a good student. When he was 17 he contracted rheumatic fever, and was confined to bed for a year. His mother, in order to prevent him falling too far behind other students, brought him homework from school, books, and tutors to teach him at home. She also hoped that the schoolwork and reading would distract him from the "tantalizing sounds" of children playing outside his window.

With little to entertain him, he read books as a main activity. He devoured popular novels, classics, plays, and biographies. His books, of necessity, replaced the streets of New York, and led to his interest in classical philosophy and philosophers, such as William James.

When Thalberg returned to school, he finished high school but lacked the stamina for college, which he felt would have required constant late-night studying and cramming for exams. Instead, he took part-time jobs as a store clerk, and in the evenings, to gain some job skills, taught himself typing, shorthand and Spanish at a night vocational school. When he turned 18, he placed an advertisement in the local newspaper hoping to find better work:

Career as producer

Universal Studios
He found work as an office secretary at Universal Pictures' New York office, and later became personal secretary to the studio's founder and president, Carl Laemmle. Among Thalberg's duties were transcribing and editing notes that Laemmle had written during screenings of his films. He earned $25 weekly, becoming adept at making insightful observations, which impressed Laemmle.

Laemmle took Thalberg to see his Los Angeles production facility, where he spent a month watching how movie production worked. Before returning to New York, Laemmle told Thalberg to remain and "keep an eye on things for me." Two months later, Laemmle returned to California, partly to see how well Thalberg was able to handle the responsibilities he was given. Thalberg gave him suggestions, and thus impressed Laemmle by his ability to understand and explain problems.

Thalberg suggested, "The first thing you should do is establish a new job of studio manager and give him the responsibility of watching day-to-day operations." Laemmle immediately agreed: "All right. You're it." In shock, Thalberg replied, "I'm what?" Laemmle told him to take charge of the Los Angeles studio, which he did in early 1919. When aged 20, Thalberg became responsible for immediately overseeing the nine ongoing film productions and nearly thirty scenarios then under development.

In describing the rationale for this early appointment as studio manager, film historian David Thomson writes that his new job "owed nothing to nepotism, private wealth, or experience in the film industry." He reasons that despite "Thalberg's youth, modest education, and frail appearance ... it is clear that he had the charm, insight, and ability, or the appearance of it, to captivate the film world."

Thalberg was one among the majority of Hollywood film industry workers who migrated from the East Coast, primarily from New York. Some film actors, such as Conrad Nagel, did not like the five-day train trip or the sudden warmth of the California climate. Neither did Marion Davies, who was not used to such "big wide spaces". Samuel Marx, a close friend of Thalberg's from New York, recalled how easily Thalberg adapted to Southern California, often standing outside his doorway during moments of contemplation to enjoy the scenery. "We were all young", said comedian Buster Keaton. "The air in California was like wine. Our business was also young—and growing like nothing ever seen before."

Confrontation with Erich von Stroheim
He quickly established his tenacity as he battled with well-known director Erich von Stroheim over the length of Foolish Wives (1922). Biographer Roland Flamini notes that the film was Universal's most expensive "jewel" ever in production, and its director and star, von Stroheim, was taking the film far over budget. Thalberg, now Universal's general manager, was forced to have the director quickly finalize production before the studio's working capital was used up. Flamini describes the situation:

Thalberg had von Stroheim come to his office, which he did still wearing his film costume as a Russian Imperial Guard and escorted by members of his production team. Thalberg calmly told him, "I have seen all the film and you have all you need for the picture. I want you to stop shooting", to which von Stroheim replied, "But I have not finished as yet." "Yes, you have", said Thalberg. "You have spent all the money this company can afford. I cannot allow you to spend any more."

Thalberg quietly explained that the director worked under the producer, and it was his responsibility to control costs. Von Stroheim, surrounded by his assistants, then confronted Thalberg: "If you were not my superior, I would smash you in the face." Thalberg, unflinching, said "Don't let that stop you." The result was that Thalberg soon afterward removed the cameras from von Stroheim's studio and took over editing. The uncut footage was pared down from five-and-a-half hours to three hours, to von Stroheim's deep dissatisfaction.

A similar problem developed with von Stroheim's next film, Merry-Go-Round (1923). Although he had promised Thalberg to remain within budget this time, he continued production until it went to twice the agreed length and was not yet near completion. Flamini speculates why this happened:

Thalberg again called von Stroheim to his office, handed him a long letter written and signed by himself, describing the problems, and summarily fired von Stroheim as of that moment. Thalberg's letter stated among the reasons,

 totally inexcusable and repeated acts of insubordination ... extravagant ideas which you have been unwilling to sacrifice ... unnecessary delays ... and your apparent idea that you are greater and more powerful than the organization that employs you.

His dismissal of von Stroheim was considered an "earthquake in movie circles", notes Flamini. Producer David O. Selznick said that "it was the first time a director had been fired. It took great guts and courage ... Von Stroheim was utterly indifferent over money and could have gone on and spent millions, with nobody to stop him". The opinion was shared by director Rouben Mamoulian, who said that the "little fellow at Universal", in one bold stroke, had "asserted the primacy of the studio over the director" and forever altered the balance of power in the movie industry.

Effects of his young age

According to Flamini, his youth was a subject of conversation within the movie community. Executives from other studios, actors, and film crew, often mistook him to be a junior employee. Movie columnist Louella Parsons, upon first being introduced to him, asked, "What's the joke? Where's the new general manager?" After five minutes of talking to Thalberg, however, she later wrote about "Universal's Boy Wonder": "He might be a boy in looks and age, but it was no child's mind that was being asked to cope with the intricate politics of Universal City." Novelist Edna Ferber responded the same way, writing that "I had fancied motion-picture producers as large gentlemen smoking oversized cigars. But this young man whose word seemed so final at Universal City ... impressed me deeply."

The male actors in the studio had a similar reaction. Lionel Barrymore, who was nearly twice his age, recalled their meetings:

Thalberg likewise gained the respect of leading playwrights, some of whom also looked down on him due to his youth. George S. Kaufman, co-author of Dinner at Eight, several Marx Brothers films, and two George Gershwin plays, came from New York to meet with Thalberg. Afterward he confided to his friend, Groucho Marx: "That man has never written a word, yet he can tell me exactly what to do with a story. I didn't know you had people like that out here."

Actress Norma Shearer, whom he later married, was surprised after he greeted her at the door, then walked her to his office for her first job interview: "Then you're not the office boy?" she asked. He smiled, as he sat himself behind his desk: "No, Miss Shearer, I'm Irving Thalberg, vice-president of the Mayer Company. I'm the man who sent for you."

His younger-than-normal age for a studio executive was usually mentioned even after he left Universal to help start up MGM. Screenwriter Agnes Christine Johnson, who worked with Thalberg for years, described his contribution during meetings:

The same quality was observed by director and screenwriter Hobart Henley: "If something that read well in conference turns out not so good on the screen, I go to him and, like that—Henley snaps his fingers—he has a remedy. He's brilliant." Another assistant producer to Thalberg explains:

His youth also contributed to his open-mindedness to the ideas of others. Conrad Nagel, who starred in numerous Thalberg films, reported that Thalberg was generally empathetic to those he worked alongside: "Thalberg never raised his voice. He just looked into your eyes, spoke softly, and after a few minutes he cast a spell on you." Studio attorney Edwin Loeb, who also worked to create AMPAS, explained that "the real foundation of Irving's success was his ability to look at life through the eyes of any given person. He had a gift of empathy, and almost complete perspective." Those opinions were also shared by producer Walter Wanger: "You thought that you were talking to an Indian savant. He could cast a spell on anybody."

His talent as a producer was enhanced by his "near-miraculous" powers of concentration, notes film critic J. Hoberman. As a result, he was never bored or tired, and supplemented his spare time with reading for his own amusement, recalls screenwriter Bayard Veiller, with some of his favorite authors being Francis Bacon, Epictetus, and Immanuel Kant.

Film projects at Universal

Biographer Bob Thomas writes that after three years at the studio, Thalberg continually proved his value. Universal's pictures improved noticeably, primarily due to Thalberg's "uncanny sense of story." He took tight control over many key aspects of production, including his requirement that from then on scripts were tightly constructed before filming began, rather than during production. Thomas adds that he also "showed a remarkable capacity for working with actors, casting them aptly and advising them on their careers."

After producing two films that were in production when he began work at Universal, he presented Laemmle with his idea for a film based on one of his favorite classic stories, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Rather than just a horror picture, Thalberg suggested turning it into a spectacle which would include a replica of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. He had Lon Chaney play the hunchback. The film became Universal's most profitable silent film and established Chaney's career as a top-flight star.

After nearly three years with Universal, Thalberg had supervised over a hundred movies, reorganized the studio to give more control to the managers, and had "stopped the defection" of many of their leading stars by offering them better, higher-paying contracts. He also produced a number of Universal's prestige films, which made the company profitable. However, he decided it was time to find a studio in Los Angeles more suitable to his skills, and spread word that he was available.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Cecil B. DeMille was the first who wanted to hire him, telling his partner Jesse Lasky, "The boy is a genius. I can see it. I know it." Lasky opposed the hire, stating, "Geniuses we have all we need." Thalberg then received an offer from Hal Roach, but the offer was withdrawn because Thalberg lacked experience with slapstick comedy films. In late 1922, Thalberg was introduced to Louis B. Mayer, president of a small but dynamic and fast-growing studio. At that first meeting, Thalberg "made a deep, immediate impression on Mayer", writes Flamini. After Thalberg had left, Mayer said to studio attorney Edwin Loeb: "Tell him if he comes to work for me, I'll look after him as though he were my son."

Although their personalities were in many ways opposite, Mayer being more outspoken and nearly twice the younger man's age, Thalberg was hired as vice president in charge of production at Louis B. Mayer Productions. Years later, Mayer's daughter Irene Mayer Selznick recalled that "it was hard to believe anyone that boyish could be so important." According to Flamini, Thalberg was hired because, although Mayer was an astute businessman, "what he lacked was Thalberg's almost unerring ability to combine quality with commercial success, to bring artistic aspiration in line with the demands of the box office." Mayer's company subsequently merged with two others to become Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), with the 24-year-old Thalberg made part-owner and accorded the same position as vice president in charge of production. Three years after the merger, MGM became the most successful studio in Hollywood.

During his twelve years at MGM, Thalberg supervised the production of over four hundred films. Although Thalberg and his colleagues at MGM knew he was "doomed" to not live much past the age of 30 due to heart disease, he loved producing films. He continued developing innovative ideas and overseeing most of MGM's pictures. Under Thalberg's management, MGM released over 40% more films yearly than Warner Brothers, and more than double Paramount's releases. From 1924 until 1936, when Thalberg died at the age of 37, "almost every film bore Thalberg's imprint", wrote Mark Vieira.

Production innovations

Thalberg's production techniques "broke new ground in filmmaking", adds Vieira. Among his contributions at MGM was his innovation of story conferences, sneak previews and scene retakes. He introduced the first horror films and coauthored the Production Code, the set of moral guidelines that all film studios agreed to follow. Thalberg helped synthesize and merge the world of stage drama and literary classics with Hollywood films.

MGM thereby became the only movie studio to consistently show a profit during the Great Depression. Flamini explains that the equation for MGM's success depended on combining stars, a Broadway hit or popular classic, and high standards of production. This combination at the time was considered a "revolutionary approach" in the film industry, which until then assumed a star was all that was needed for success, regardless of the story or production quality. The other studios began following MGM's lead with that same formula.

Production techniques
Thalberg generally followed a system in managing his productions. According to one of his assistants, Lawrence Weingarten, who later became a producer, "Thalberg directed the film on paper, and then the director directed the film on film."

Thalberg was generally opposed to location shooting overseas where he could not oversee production and control costs, as happened with Ben Hur. Thus, he kept hundreds of back-lot carpenters at work creating realistic sets, as he did for fifteenth-century Romeo and Juliet (1936), or with China Seas (1935), to replicate the harbors of Hong Kong.

Vieira points out that Thalberg's "fascination with Broadway plays" often had him create and present stories visually. For China Seas, for instance, he described for the screenwriters, director and others, exactly how he wanted the film to appear on screen:

To be certain of achieving the desired effects, Thalberg made sure his cinematographers were careful in their use of light and shadow. Vieira observes that "more than any other producer or any other studio, Thalberg and MGM manipulated lenses, filters, and lighting instruments to affect the viewer." As a result, he notes, "most of Thalberg's films contain moments such as these, in which cinematic technique transcends mere exposition and gives the viewer something to treasure."

Thalberg was supported by most of the studio in these kinds of creative decisions. "It was a big family," notes Weingarten. "If we had a success, everybody—and I mean every cutter, every painter, every plasterer—was excited about it, was abuzz, was in a tizzy about the whole idea of picture making."

Taking risks with new subjects and stars

In 1929, MGM released fifty films, and all but five showed a profit. Of those that failed, Hallelujah was also a gamble by Thalberg. When King Vidor, the film's producer and director, proposed the idea to Thalberg of a major film cast, for the first time, exclusively with African Americans, he told Thalberg directly, "I doubt that it will make a dollar at the box office." Thalberg replied, "Don't worry about that. I've told you that MGM can afford an occasional experiment."

By the early 1930s, a number of stars began failing at the box office, partly due to the Great Depression that was now undermining the economy, along with the public's ability to spend on entertainment. Thalberg began using two stars in a film, rather than one, as had been the tradition at all the studios, such as pairing Greta Garbo with John Gilbert, Clark Gable with Jean Harlow, and William Powell with Myrna Loy. After experimenting with a few such films, including Mata Hari (1931), which were profitable, he decided on a multi-star production of another Broadway play, Grand Hotel (1932). It had five major stars, including Garbo, Joan Crawford, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, and Wallace Beery. "Before Thalberg," writes Vieira, "there was no Grand Hotel in the American consciousness." The film won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1932.

Thalberg went against consensus and took another risk with The Great Ziegfeld (1936), costarring Luise Rainer. Although Louis B. Mayer did not want her in the role, which he felt was too minor for a new star, Thalberg felt that "only she could play the part", wrote biographer Charles Higham. Shortly after shooting began in late 1935, doubts of Rainer's acting ability emerged in the press. However, despite her limited appearances in the film, Rainer "so impressed audiences with one highly emotional scene" that she won the Academy Award for Best Actress.

After her winning role in The Great Ziegfeld, Thalberg wanted her to play a role that was the opposite of her previous character, for The Good Earth (1937). For the part as a Chinese peasant, she was required to act totally subservient to her husband, being perpetually huddled in submission, and barely spoke a word of dialogue during the entire film. Rainer recalls that Mayer did not approve of the film being produced or her part in it: "He was horrified at Irving Thalberg's insistence for me to play O-lan, the poor uncomely little Chinese peasant." However, she again won the Oscar for Best Actress, becoming the first actress to win two consecutive Oscars, a feat not matched until Katharine Hepburn's two Oscar wins thirty years later.

Grooming new stars
Besides bringing a distinctive high quality "look" to MGM films and often recreating well-known stories or plays, Thalberg's actors themselves took on a characteristic quality. Thalberg wanted his female actors to appear "cool, classy and beautiful," notes Flamini. And he strove to make the male actors appear "worldly and in control." In general, Thalberg movies and actors came to be "luxurious," "glossy," and "technically flawless." By doing so, he made stars or boosted the careers of actors such as Lon Chaney, Ramon Novarro, John Gilbert, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Helen Hayes, Jean Harlow, Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore and Luise Rainer.

Greta Garbo
In 1925, a young Greta Garbo, then twenty, and unable to speak any English, was brought over from Sweden at Mayer's request, as he saw how she looked in still photos. A Swedish friend thought he would help her by contacting Thalberg, who then agreed to give her a screen test. According to author Frederick Sands, "the result of the test was electrifying." Thalberg was impressed and began grooming the new starlet the following day: "the studio arranged to fix her teeth, made sure she lost weight, and gave her an English tutor."
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford's first role was a Thalberg production at MGM and she became one of their leading stars for the next thirty years. Crawford was somewhat jealous of Norma Shearer as she thought she was given the better material by her husband Thalberg out of nepotism. Nevertheless, she felt that his contribution to MGM was vital to the film industry. Not long after his early death, she recalls her concerns: "Thalberg was dead and the concept of the quality 'big' picture pretty much went out the window."
Marie Dressler
Thalberg also realized that old stars few had heard of could be made into new ones. Marie Dressler, a fifty-nine-year-old early vaudeville and movie star, who had played the top-billed lead, above Charles Chaplin and Mabel Normand), in the first feature-length comedy, Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914), was unable to get any roles in films after leaving show business for some years, finally working as a maid. MGM screenwriter Frances Marion suggested to Thalberg that she might fit well in a starring role for a new film, and was surprised that he knew of her prior successes. Thalberg approved of using her without a screen test and offered his rationale:

By 1932, shortly before she died, Dressler was the country's number one box office star.
Wallace Beery
Marie Dressler was paired twice, in Min and Bill (1930) and Tugboat Annie (1933), with Wallace Beery,  another major silent star who had been struggling to get work in sound pictures until Thalberg cast him. Beery had enjoyed a hugely successful silent film career dating back to 1913, but had been fired by Paramount shortly after sound pictures appeared. Thalberg cast him in the role of "Machine Gun Butch," which had been meant for recently deceased Lon Chaney, in The Big House (1930), an energetic prison picture that became a huge hit. Beery was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, and his burgeoning career at MGM had transformed him into the studio's highest paid actor within two more years, during which time he won the Oscar for The Champ and had become a phenomenal box office draw as a result of Thalberg's foresight.

Getting audience feedback and reshooting
According to Vieira, MGM had few failures during this period, and numerous blockbusters. Among the reasons was Thalberg's unique system of developing a script during story conferences with writers before filming began, and later giving "sneak previews" followed by audience feedback through written questionnaires. Often, where he felt improvement was needed, he arranged for scenes to be reshot. As Thalberg once stated, "The difference between something good and something superior is often very small."

Bad decisions and missed opportunities
Thalberg felt he had his "finger on the pulse of America. I know what people will do and what they won't do," he said. His judgment was not always accurate, however. Thalberg's bringing Broadway productions to the screen to develop higher picture standards sometimes resulted in "studied" acting or "stagey" sets, notes Flamini. In 1927, after the successful release of the first full-length talking picture, The Jazz Singer (1927), he nevertheless felt that talking pictures were a fad. Thalberg likewise did not think that color would replace black-and-white in movies.

When an assistant protested against a script that envisioned a love scene in Paris with an ocean background, Thalberg refused to make changes, saying "We can't cater to a handful of people who know Paris." A more serious distraction to Thalberg's efforts was his obsession with making his wife Norma Shearer a prominent star, efforts which sometimes led to "overblown and overglamous" productions. Thalberg himself admitted to his obsession years later when he told a fellow producer: "You're behaving like I did with Norma. I knew positively that she could play anything. It's a kind of romantic astigmatism that attacks producers when they fall for an actress."

Important films at MGM

Ben Hur (1925)

One of the first pictures he took charge of, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, was inherited and already in production by another studio when MGM was formed. The film was turning into a disastrous expense with cost overruns already in the millions due to its lavish sets and location shooting in Rome. Most studio executives chose to terminate the film to cut their losses. Thalberg, however, felt differently, and thought the film would affect movie audiences, due to its classic literary source, and would highlight MGM as a major new studio.

He therefore discarded much of the original footage shot in Italy and recreated the set on MGM's back lots in Culver City, which added more millions to the production, yet gave him more control over production. The new set also included a replica of Circus Maximus for the dramatic chariot race scenes. Flamini notes that Thalberg's "gamble paid off," drawing international attention to MGM, and to Thalberg within the movie industry for his bold action.

Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
Mutiny on the Bounty was the studio's next most expensive film after Ben Hur, with some now calling it "Thalberg's masterpiece." He initially had difficulty convincing Mayer that he could make the film without making heroes of the mutineers. He achieved that by instead making a hero of the British Royal Navy, whereby the officers and shipmates would from then on display their mutual respect. Thalberg also had to convince Clark Gable to accept the role against his will. He pleaded with Gable, eventually promising him that "If it isn't one of your greatest successes, I'll never ask you again to play a part you don't want." The film's other main stars were Charles Laughton and Franchot Tone. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Actor, and winning it for Best Picture. Thalberg accepted the award as producer from Frank Capra.

Thalberg and Mayer partnership
At first, Thalberg and studio chief Louis B. Mayer got along splendidly; however, they had different production philosophies. Thalberg preferred literary works, while Mayer preferred glitzy crowd-pleasing films. A clash was inevitable, and their relationship grew decidedly frosty. When Thalberg fell ill in the final weeks of 1932, Mayer took advantage of the situation and replaced him with David O. Selznick and Walter Wanger. Thalberg's reputation by that time for working long hours was widely known, and rumors about the related strain on his fragile health had become front-page news in entertainment trade publications. The Hollywood Reporter in January 1933 updated its readership about his condition and addressed growing concerns that he might be forced, despite his young age, to quit the business:

Once Thalberg recovered sufficiently from his bout with the "flu" and was able to return to work later in 1933, it was as one of MGM's unit producers, albeit one who had first choice on projects as well as preferential access to all the studio's resources, including over casting its stars. Thalberg's good relationship with Nicholas Schenck, then president of Loew's Incorporated, proved to be an ongoing advantage for him. Loew's was the corporate parent of MGM, so Schenck was the true power and ultimate arbiter at the studio; and he usually supported Thalberg's decisions and continued to do so whenever disagreements about projects or production needs arose. As a result, Thalberg also continued to produce or coproduce some of MGM's most prestigious and critically acclaimed ventures in this period, such as The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934) starring his wife Norma Shearer, China Seas (1935), A Night at the Opera (1935), San Francisco (1936), and Romeo and Juliet (1936).

Personal life
During his few years with Universal while living in New York, Thalberg had become romantically involved with Carl Laemmle's daughter, Rosabelle. Still in his early twenties and later spending most of his time in Los Angeles, his feelings toward her were no longer as strong. Flamini suspects that this may have affected his position at Universal and partly caused his decision to leave the company. "The Laemmles prayed that Irving would marry Rosabelle", notes Flamini. "They wanted their sons to be educated and their daughters to marry nice Jewish boys."

Less than a year after he and Mayer took charge of the newly created MGM studios, and still only twenty-five years old, Thalberg suffered a serious heart attack due to overwork. Mayer also became aware of Thalberg's congenital heart problems and now worried about the prospect of running MGM without him. Mayer also became concerned that one of his daughters might become romantically involved, and told them so:

Thalberg, aware of Mayer's feelings, made it a point of never giving too much attention to his daughters at social events.

One of Thalberg's traits was his ability to work long hours into the night with little sign of fatigue. According to Vieira, Thalberg believed that as long as his mind was active in his work and he was not bored, he would not feel tired. Thalberg, who often got by with only five hours of sleep, felt that most people could get by with less than they realized. To keep his mental faculties at peak, he would read philosophical books by Bacon, Epictetus, or Kant. "They stimulate me. I'd drop out of sight in no time if I didn't read and keep up with current thought—and the philosophers are brain sharpeners."

During the early 1930s, Thalberg was ambivalent about political events in Europe. While he feared Nazism and the rise of Hitler, he also feared Communism. At the time, notes Vieira, "given a choice between communism and fascism, many Americans—including Thalberg—would prefer the latter." Thalberg stated his opinion:

When others suggested that many Jews could die in Germany as a result of Nazi anti-Semitism, he replied that in his opinion "Hitler and Hitlerism will pass." On one occasion, Catholic Prince Löwenstein of Germany, who himself had almost been captured before fleeing Germany, told him: "Mr. Thalberg, your own people are being systematically hunted down and rooted out of Germany." Thalberg suggested that world Jewry should nevertheless not interfere, that the Jewish race would survive Hitler. Within a few years, American film distribution was "choked off" in Germany. Led by Warner Brothers, all American studios eventually closed their German offices.

Thalberg began dating actress Norma Shearer a few years after he joined MGM. Following her conversion to Judaism, they married on Thursday, September 29, 1927, in a private ceremony in the garden of his rented house in Beverly Hills. Rabbi Edgar F. Magnin officiated at the event, with Shearer's brother Douglas Shearer giving the bride away, and Louis B. Mayer serving as best man. The couple drove to Monterey for their honeymoon and then moved into their newly constructed home in Beverly Hills.

After their second child was born, Shearer considered retiring from films, but Thalberg convinced her to continue acting, saying he could find her good roles. She went on to be one of MGM's biggest stars of the 1930s. Their two children were Irving Jr. (1930–1987) and Katharine (1935–2006).

Death
Thalberg and Shearer took a much-needed Labor Day weekend vacation in Monterey, California, in 1936, staying at the same beachfront hotel where they spent their honeymoon. A few weeks earlier, Thalberg's leading screenwriter, Al Lewin, had proposed doing a film based on a soon-to-be published book, Gone with the Wind. Although Thalberg said it would be a "sensational" role for Gable, and a "terrific picture," he decided not to do it:

Besides, Thalberg told Mayer, "[n]o Civil War picture ever made a nickel". Shortly after returning from Monterey, Thalberg was diagnosed with pneumonia while on the set of A Day at the Races. His condition worsened steadily, and he eventually required an oxygen tent at home. He died on September 14, at the age of 37.

Sam Wood, while directing A Day at the Races, was given the news by phone. He returned to the set with tears in his eyes and told the others. As the news spread, "the studio was paralyzed with shock", notes Thomas. "Work stopped and hundreds of people wept", with stars, writers, directors, and studio employees "all sharing a sense of loss at the death of a man who had been a part of their working lives", states Flamini.

His funeral took place two days later, and when the services began the other studios throughout Hollywood observed five minutes of silence. Producer Sam Goldwyn "wept uncontrollably for two days" and was unable to regain his composure enough to attend. The MGM studio closed for that day.

Services were held at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple that Thalberg had occasionally attended. The funeral attracted thousands of spectators who came to view the arrival of countless stars from MGM and other studios, including Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, the Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplin, Walt Disney, Howard Hughes, Al Jolson, Gary Cooper, Carole Lombard, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, among the screen luminaries. The ushers who led them to their seats included Clark Gable, Fredric March, and playwright Moss Hart. Erich von Stroheim, who had been fired by Thalberg, came to pay his respects. Producers Louis B. Mayer, the Warner brothers, Adolph Zukor, and Nicholas Schenck sat together solemnly as Rabbi Magnin gave the eulogy.

Thalberg is buried in a private marble tomb in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, lying at rest beside his wife, Norma Shearer Thalberg Arrouge (Thalberg's crypt was engraved "My Sweetheart Forever" by Shearer).

Over the following days, tributes were published by the national press. Louis B. Mayer, his co-founding partner at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, said he had lost "the finest friend a man could ever have", while MGM president Nicholas Schenck stated that "Thalberg was the most important man in the production end of the motion-picture industry." Leading producers from the other studios also expressed their feelings in published tributes to Thalberg:

David O. Selznick described him as "beyond any question the greatest individual force for fine pictures." Samuel Goldwyn called him "the foremost figure in the motion-picture industry ... and an inspiration." M. H. Aylesworth, Chairman of RKO, wrote that "his integrity, vision and ability made him the spearhead of all motion-picture production throughout the world." Harry Warner, president of Warner Bros., described him as "gifted with one of the finest minds ever placed at the service of motion-picture production." Sidney R. Kent, president of Twentieth Century Fox, said that "he made the whole world richer by giving it the highest type of entertainment. He was a true genius." Columbia president Harry Cohn said the "motion picture industry has suffered a loss from which it will not soon recover...". Darryl F. Zanuck noted, "More than any other man he raised the industry to its present world prestige." Adolph Zukor, chairman of Paramount, stated, "Irving Thalberg was the most brilliant young man in the motion picture business." Jesse Lasky said, "It will be utterly impossible to replace him."

Among the condolences that came from world political leaders, President Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote, "The world of art is poorer with the passing of Irving Thalberg. His high ideals, insight and imagination went into the production of his masterpieces."

Among the pictures that were unfinished or not yet released at the time of his death were A Day at the Races, The Good Earth, Camille, Maytime, and Romeo and Juliet. Groucho Marx, star of A Day at the Races, wrote, "After Thalberg's death, my interest in the movies waned. I continued to appear in them, but ... The fun had gone out of picture making." Thalberg's widow, Norma Shearer, recalled, "Grief does very strange things to you. I didn't seem to feel the shock for two weeks afterwards. ... then, at the end of those two weeks, I collapsed."

Legacy in the movie industry

Thalberg's legacy to the movie industry is "incalculable", states biographer Bob Thomas. He notes that with his numerous production innovations and grand stories, often turning classic literature and Broadway stage productions into big-screen pictures, he managed to keep "American movies supreme throughout the world for a generation". Darryl F. Zanuck, founder of 20th Century-Fox said that during Thalberg's brief career, he had become the "most creative producer in the history of films". Thomas describes some of his contributions:

Most of MGM's major films in the 1930s were, according to Flamini, "in a very real sense", made by Thalberg. He closely supervised the making of "more pictures than any other producer in Hollywood's history", and was considered the "archetype of the creative producer", adds Flamini. Upon his early death, aged 37, an editorial in The New York Times called him "the most important force" in the motion picture industry. The paper added that for the film industry, he "set the pace and others followed ... because his way combined style, glamour, and profit." He is described by Flamini as having been "a revolutionary in a gray flannel suit".

Thalberg refused to take credit as producer, and as a result, his name never appeared on the screen while he was alive. Thalberg claimed that "credit you give yourself is not worth having". He also said "If a picture is good, they'll know who produced it. If it's bad, nobody cares." His final film, released after he died, was The Good Earth (1937), which won numerous Academy Awards. Its opening screen credit was dedicated to Thalberg:

In 1938, the new multimillion-dollar MGM administration building in Culver City was named for Thalberg. The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, also named for him, awards producers for consistently high production achievements.

Cultural legacy

The Last Tycoon
In October 1939, American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald began writing The Last Tycoon, a fictionalized biography of Thalberg, naming the protagonist Monroe Stahr to represent Thalberg. "Thalberg has always fascinated me", he wrote to an editor. "His peculiar charm, his extraordinary good looks, his bountiful success, the tragic end of his great adventure. The events I have built around him are fiction, but all of them are things which might very well have happened. ... I've long chosen him for a hero (this has been in my mind for three years) because he is one of the half-dozen men I have known who were built on a grand scale."

Thomas notes that among the reasons Fitzgerald chose to write a book about a Thalberg-like character, was that "throughout his literary career, Fitzgerald borrowed his heroes from friends he admired, and inevitably a bit of Fitzgerald entered the characterizations." Fitzgerald himself writes that "When I like men, I want to be like them ..." Fitzgerald and Thalberg had real-life similarities: both were prodigies, both had heart ailments, and they both died at early ages.

According to biographer Matthew J. Bruccoli, Fitzgerald believed that Thalberg, with his "taste and courage, represented the best of Hollywood. ... [and] saw Thalberg as a model for what could be done in the movies." Fitzgerald died before the novel was completed, however. Bruccoli writes of Fitzgerald's book:

Although parallels between Monroe Stahr in the novel and Thalberg were evident, many who knew Thalberg intimately stated that they did not see similarities in their personalities. Norma Shearer said that the Stahr character was not at all like her former husband.

In the 1976 film version, directed by Elia Kazan, Monroe Stahr was played by Robert De Niro. Kazan, in his pre-production notes, described the Stahr character as he saw him:

In the 2016 television series based on the novel, Monroe Stahr is played by Matt Bomer.

Others
Fitzgerald also based his short story "Crazy Sunday", originally published in the October 1932 issue of American Mercury, on an incident at a party thrown by Thalberg and Shearer. The story is included in Fitzgerald's collection Taps at Reveille (1935).

Thalberg was portrayed in the movie Man of a Thousand Faces (1957) by Robert Evans, who went on to become a studio head himself.

Thalberg was portrayed by Bill Cusack in Young Indiana Jones and the Hollywood Follies (1994), a TV film based on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, in which Indiana Jones is depicted as taking part in Thalberg's conflict with Erich von Stroheim over Foolish Wives.

In 2020, Thalberg is played by Ferdinand Kingsley in the David Fincher film Mank. Max Minghella portrays him in Damien Chazelle's 2022 film Babylon.

Filmography

Producer

 Reputation (1921)
 The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
 Merry-Go-Round (1923)
 His Hour (1924)
 He Who Gets Slapped (1924)
 The Unholy Three (1925)
 The Merry Widow (1925)
 The Tower of Lies (1925)
 The Big Parade (1925)
 Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
 Torrent (1926)
 La Bohème (1926)
 Brown of Harvard (1926)
 The Road to Mandalay (1926)
 The Temptress (1926)
 Valencia (1926)
 Flesh and the Devil (1926)
 Twelve Miles Out (1927)
 The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927)
 London After Midnight (1927)
 The Crowd (1928)
 Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928)
 White Shadows in the South Seas (1928)
 Show People (1928)
 West of Zanzibar (1928)
 The Broadway Melody (1929)
 The Trial of Mary Dugan (1929)
 Voice of the City (1929)
 Where East Is East (1929)
 The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1929)
 The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929)
 Hallelujah (1929)
 His Glorious Night (1929)
 The Kiss (1929)
 Anna Christie (1930)
 Redemption (1930)
 The Divorcee (1930)
 The Rogue Song (1930)
 The Big House (1930)
 The Unholy Three (1930)
 Let Us Be Gay (1930)
 Billy the Kid (1930)
 Way for a Sailor (1930)
 A Lady's Morals (1930)
 Inspiration (1931)
 Trader Horn (1931)
 The Secret Six (1931)
 A Free Soul (1931)
 Just a Gigolo (1931)
 Menschen hinter Gittern (1931), German-language version of The Big House (1930)
 The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931)
 The Guardsman (1931)
 The Champ (1931)
 Possessed (1931)
 Private Lives (1931)
 Mata Hari (1931)
 Freaks (1932)
 Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)
 Grand Hotel (1932)
 Letty Lynton (1932)
 As You Desire Me (1932)
 Red-Headed Woman (1932)
 Smilin' Through (1932)
 Red Dust (1932)
 Rasputin and the Empress (1932)
 Strange Interlude (1932)
 Tugboat Annie (1933)
 Bombshell (1933)
 Eskimo (1933)
 La Veuve Joyeuse (1934) French-language version of The Merry Widow
 Riptide (1934)
 The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934)
 The Merry Widow (1934)
 What Every Woman Knows (1934)
 Biography of a Bachelor Girl (1935)
 No More Ladies (1935)
 China Seas (1935)
 Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
 A Night at the Opera (1935)
 Riffraff (1936)
 Romeo and Juliet (1936)
 Camille (1936)
 Maytime (1937)
 A Day at the Races (1937)
 Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937)
 The Good Earth (1937)
 Marie Antoinette (1938)

Writer
 The Trap (1922)
 The Dangerous Little Demon (1922)

Awards

Academy Awards

Notes

Further reading

Books
 Flamini, Roland. Thalberg: The Last Tycoon and the World of M-G-M (1994)
 Marx, Samuel. Mayer and Thalberg: The Make-believe Saints (1975)
 Thomas, Bob. Thalberg: Life and Legend (1969)
 Vieira, Mark A. Irving Thalberg's M-G-M. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2008.
 Vieira, Mark A. Irving Thalberg: Boy Wonder to Producer Prince. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009.

Articles
 Starman, Ray. "Irving Thalberg", Films In Review, June/July 1987, p. 347–353

External links

 Irving Thalberg at TCM
 Cinemagraphe Review of the Roland Flamini biography of Thalberg: The Last Tycoon and the World of MGM

 Irving Thalberg at Virtual History
 Irving Thalberg profiled in Collier's Magazine (1924)

Videos

1899 births
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American film producers
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Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award
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American male screenwriters
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Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences founders
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text:
20 Epic Facts About The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
BY Rebecca Pahle
New Line Productions
Between on-set injuries, extensive script changes, and one whopper of a casting process, at various points in the life of The Lord of the Rings trilogy it seemed as if director Peter Jackson might have bitten off more than he could chew. The trilogy that changed the face of fantasy films tackled a number of challenges along the way, but it all worked out in the end. In celebration J.R.R. Tolkien's birthday, here are 20 facts about the Oscar-winning trilogy.
1. IT WENT THROUGH A TON OF SCRIPT REVISIONS.
When The Lord of the Rings started out, it was originally going to be two movies. Later, concerned about the ballooning budget, producers tried to persuade Jackson to condense the movie into a single film. At various points in the scripting process, Arwen, not Éowyn, was the one to dress up as a man, ride into the Battle of Pelennor Fields, and kill the Witch-king; and Rohan and Gondor were combined into one kingdom. Miramax also suggested that the one-movie version be presented as a flashback, with an older Frodo "covering [the entire Mines of Moria sequence in Fellowship] by saying something like, 'So then we went on a dangerous journey through the Mines of Moria and lost Gandalf!,'" recalled Jackson.
2. SEAN CONNERY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPT.
Sean Connery read for the role of Gandalf but admitted that, "I never understood it. I read the book. I read the script. I saw the movie. I still don't understand it … I would be interested in doing something that I didn't fully understand, but not for 18 months." Connery's deal, if he had taken the role, would have been for a small fee plus 15 percent of the films' income. Incidentally, the entire trilogy went on to earn just shy of $3 billion worldwide.
3. ARAGORN WAS AN EXTREMELY DIFFICULT ROLE TO CAST.
Nicolas Cage was offered the role of Aragorn, which he turned down due to "family obligations." Famously, the role then went to up-and-coming Irish actor Stuart Townsend, who you probably don't remember seeing in the final trilogy: "I was there rehearsing and training for two months, then was fired the day before filming began," the actor later recalled. In need of an older actor, Jackson went to Viggo Mortensen, who took the role at the urging of his son Henry, who was a fan of the books.
4. RUSSELL CROWE WAS A POTENTIAL BACKUP FOR ARAGORN.
Had Mortensen turned down the role of Aragorn, there were two other actors Jackson had in mind as replacements: Jason Patric and Russell Crowe. "We sent [Crowe] a script and he did read it and was fascinated," said Jackson. "I remember getting the phone call from his agent and being told that he had just finished another film which involved him having to have a sword and armor—Gladiator! Russell was flattered by the approach, but he had other films he was committed to and it obviously wasn't going to work out."
5. VIGGO MORTENSEN TOOK SEVERAL BEATINGS.
A variety of injuries beset the cast during production, but Mortensen had it particularly hard: in The Two Towers, that scream he let out upon kicking a helmet after discovering the burnt corpses of the Orcs who abducted Merry and Pippin might have something to do with the fact that he had just broken two of his toes. "Normally, an actor would yell 'Ow!' if they hurt themselves," noted Jackson. "Viggo turned a broken toe into a performance." Elijah Wood remembered Mortensen "getting half of his tooth knocked out during a fight sequence, and his insistence on applying superglue to put it back in to keep working."
6. JAKE GYLLENHAAL AUDITIONED TO PLAY FRODO.
Jake Gyllenhaal had a less-than-successful audition for the role of Frodo. "I remember auditioning for The Lord of the Rings and going in and not being told that I needed a British accent. I really do remember Peter Jackson saying to me, 'You know that you have to do this in a British accent?'" Gyllenhaal later recalled. "We heard back it was literally one of the worst auditions."
7. VIN DIESEL, LIAM NEESON, AND UMA THURMAN WERE UP FOR ROLES.
Among other could-have-beens in the casting department: Vin Diesel auditioned for Aragorn; Jackson called his performance "very compelling" but said that it didn't "feel like Aragorn." Jackson approached Richard O'Brien, best known as Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (which he also wrote), for the role of Gríma Wormtongue, but his agents turned it down, believing the films would be unsuccessful. Liam Neeson passed on the role of Boromir.
There were also "discussions," recalls Jackson, about then-married couple Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman playing Faramir and Éowyn; "Ethan was a huge fan of the books and was very keen to be involved. Uma was less sure and rightly so, because we were revising how we saw Éowyn's character literally as we went. In the end, Ethan let it go—with some reluctance."
8. IAN HOLM HAD PLAYED FRODO BAGGINS YEARS EARLIER.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy marked a return to the Shire for Bilbo actor Ian Holm, who played Frodo in a 1981 radio dramatization of The Lord of the Rings, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4. His performance in that factored into Jackson's decision to offer him the Bilbo role.
9. CHRISTOPHER LEE WANTED TO PLAY GANDALF.
The late Christopher Lee was a The Lord of the Rings superfan who actually met J.R.R. Tolkien ("I was very much in awe of him, as you can imagine," he told Cinefantastique) and wanted to robe up as Gandalf, a role that eventually went to Sir Ian McKellen. (Lee himself admitted that, by the time the movies came around, he was "too old" for the action-heavy role.) Lee even played a wizard in the TV series The New Adventures of Robin Hood specifically "to show anyone who was watching that I could play a wizard and that I would be ideal casting for The Lord of the Rings." He sent Jackson a picture of himself in wizard duds, though "it was more in the nature of a joke, really. It wasn't me putting myself forward at all, because I think Peter had already made up his mind" to cast him as the wizard Saruman.
10. THE PRODUCER REALLY WANTED TO KILL A HOBBIT.
Early on in the development process, before it found its eventual home at New Line Cinema, The Lord of the Rings trilogy was being made at Miramax. As Peter Jackson would later recall, Bob Weinstein really, really thought one of the four main Hobbits should die: "'Well, we can't have [all of them surviving],' he said, 'we've got to kill a Hobbit! I don't care which one; you can pick—I'm not telling you who it should be: you pick out who you want to kill, but we've really got to kill one of those Hobbits!' In situations like that, you just nod and smile and say, 'Well, that's something we can consider.'"
11. SEAN BEAN TREKKED UP A MOUNTAIN IN COSTUME.
Sean Bean typically opted against taking a helicopter up to some of The Fellowship of the Ring's mountain filming locations, instead climbing to sets himself in full Boromir gear. "I used to be a bit terrified of flying," he said, so "I had to walk the whole way, really. I was two hours behind everybody else on top of this mountain because I just didn't want to get into any helicopters."
12. FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS'S BRET MCKENZIE MADE A CAMEO.
Flight of the Conchords's Bret McKenzie makes a brief appearance in The Fellowship of the Ring, playing an unnamed Elf during the Council of Elrond scene. Fan Iris Hadad latched onto the extra, naming him Figwit (short for "Frodo is great… who is that?") and creating the fansite Figwit Lives in his honor. Peter Jackson, responding to the grassroots support for the character, added him to The Return of the King as "Elf Escort" and even gave him a line, "just [as] fun for the fans." (In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, McKenzie plays an elf named Lindir. He's not the same character as Figwit, the actor noted, because the two have "slightly different ears.")
13. AN ENTIRE ACTION SCENE WAS DESTROYED BY A FLOOD.
The end of The Fellowship of the Ring originally featured a scene where the heroes are ambushed by a band of Orcs as they row through rapids on the Anduin river. "We had all kinds of action planned with boats flipping over … and Legolas's boat afloat as it bucks and tosses, while the Elf—standing with a foot on each of the gunwales—would be firing arrows at the attackers," Jackson shared. But Mother Nature had other ideas, and a massive flood—in addition to causing a state of emergency in Queenstown, New Zealand—washed the entire ambush set down the river.
14. BILL THE PONY WAS TWO PEOPLE IN A HORSE COSTUME.
Sam's pony Bill was, in Fellowship's Midgewater Marshes scene, actually a "panto pony," due to the difficulty of working with a live animal in a swamp. Not sure what a "panto pony" is? Well, that's a fancy way of saying Bill was a pony suit with one person in the front half and one person in the back. It wasn't exactly easy to work with, either. "We had a terrible struggle to get the pony to walk through the marshes because the performers were completely blind, buried in this costume and up to their waists in a real swamp," shared Jackson. "Bill would try to walk and then would start to wobble and everyone would have to rush in and catch him before he fell over! There was one hilarious moment where the front legs moved without the back legs and Bill got stretched into a sort of long sausage dog!"
15. SEAN BEAN WAS READING HIS SCRIPT DURING THE COUNCIL OF ELROND SCENE.
Jackson and his co-writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens were constantly in the process of revising the script, even during production; the actors would frequently get new dialogue to memorize the night before a particular scene was scheduled to shoot. That was the case with Boromir's famous speech in The Fellowship of the Ring's Council of Elrond scene. Look closely and you'll see the actor occasionally lowering his eyes to look at the new script page, which was taped to his knee.
16. WOMEN IN BEARDS WERE USED AS EXTRAS.
A good chunk of the Riders of Rohan in The Two Towers and The Return of the King were actually women outfitted with fake beards. "There are some very good women riders in New Zealand, and it'd be silly not to take advantage of them," Mortensen said in The Two Towers Extended Edition extras.
17. THE URUK-HAI AT HELM'S DEEP ARE NEW ZEALAND CRICKET FANS.
In the Battle of Helm's Deep in The Two Towers, the chanting of the vicious Uruk-hai army was provided by a stadium full of New Zealand cricket fans. "There's this Black Speech battle cry the Uruk do," said executive producer Mark Ordesky. "We wrote it out phonetically on the Diamond Vision screen and Peter [Jackson] directed 25,000 people going 'Rrwaaa harra farr rrara!"'
18. A SCENE WHERE ARAGORN FIGHTS SAURON IS IN THE RETURN OF THE KING … SORT OF.
Jackson filmed a scene for the end of The Return of the King where Aragorn goes toe-to-toe with the physical version of Sauron, in a sort of updated version of the Sauron-Isildur battle from the prologue of The Fellowship of the Ring. "By the time we had got to post-production," Jackson remembers, the scene "no longer felt right," so they cut it. But they did still use the footage: In the final battle, Aragorn can be seen battling a giant cave troll that was digitally superimposed over what was originally meant to be Sauron.
19. ONE OF THE MOST EMOTIONAL SCENES WAS SHOT OVER THE SPAN OF ONE YEAR.
It's well known that all three Lord of the Rings movies were shot in one long stretch. As with most movies, the shoot wasn't consecutive, meaning on any given day the schedule included scenes from all over the trilogy. Possibly the most extreme example of this has to do with the scene in The Return of the King where Frodo, urged by Gollum to think Sam has betrayed him, orders his loyal sidekick to go home. First Sam's part was filmed, then Frodo's … a year later. "Every time we cut to and fro between Frodo and Sam we are actually jumping back and forth across a year-long gap," Jackson explained.
20. FRODO ORIGINALLY "STRAIGHT-OUT" MURDERED GOLLUM.
The final confrontation between Frodo and Gollum in The Return of the King was originally going to end with Frodo pushing Gollum off the ledge into Mount Doom; "straight-out murder," Jackson admitted, "but at the time we were OK with it because we felt everyone wanted Frodo to kill Gollum. But, of course, it was very un-Tolkien, because it flew in the face of everything that he wanted his heroes to be." Years later, the scene was re-shot as it ended up in the film.
Additional Sources:
Peter Jackson: A Film-Maker's Journey, by Brian Sibley
Peter Jackson: From Prince of Splatter to Lord of the Rings, by Ian Pryor
This article originally appeared in 2016.
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Inauguration of the JEM-ARM200F in Leuven
You are kindly invited to the Res Metallica symposium "Advanced Electron Microscopy and Spectroscopy for Deep Insight of Materials" on Wednesday May 9, 2018 at 13:00 in the "Aula van de Tweede Hoofdwet", Kasteelpark Arenberg 41, 3001 Leuven. The symposium is organised by the Department of Materials Engineering, KU Leuven and sponsored by JEOL and by FWO Science Research Network (WOG).
Recent advancements in electron microscope instrumentation have provided new possibilities for high resolution characterization of materials. Especially, the successful implementation of aberration-correction in a (scanning) transmission electron microscope (S)TEM has yielded possibilities far beyond the lateral resolution. In this symposium, two experts in this field will present the benefits of these advances with reference to several materials systems for gaining deeper understanding of materials properties. Two additional speakers, from university and from an industrial research environment, will highlight the role of (S)TEM for their research.
This symposium will be combined with the inauguration of the JEOL ARM200F STEM installed at the Corelab "Leuven NanoCentre". The ARM200F was acquired via a Hercules Foundation project led by a consortium of KU Leuven (Materials Engineering, Physics, Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis, Dental Materials) and supported by the group Science, Engineering and Technology of KU Leuven and JEOL. The ARM200F is an atomic resolution analytical electron microscope, with a STEM Cs corrector and cold field emission gun providing a STEM-HAADF resolution of 78 pm and full analytical capabilities using EDX and EELS.
To register, please visit: https://www.mtm.kuleuven.be/Events/ResMetallica/res-metallica-2018
April 16, 2018 By Arnold Kruize Event Inauguration, TEM, Transmission Electron Microscope 0 0 Comment Read More »
Release of the JEM-F200, a multi purpose TEM
JEOL's latest addition to its suite of Transmission Electron Microscopes is the versatile JEM-F200, also nicknamed "F2", the only advanced analytical, high throughput 200kV S/TEM in its class to offer a Cold Field Emission Gun and dual Silicon Drift Detectors.
The combined boost in probe current from the Cold FEG with the dual EDS makes this TEM stand out in its class.The 'F2' employs the newest in JEOL innovations in an easy-to-use, extremely stable, high resolution imaging and analytical TEM.
The F2 incorporates many new features:
Smart- design, with a new intuitive user interface
Quad-lens condenser system, the new 4-stageprobe-forming optical system, Quad-Lens condenser system, controls the electron beam intensity and the convergence angle independently to respond to different research requirements.
Advanced Scan system,which is capable of scanning the electron beam in the image forming system (optional) , in addition to the standard scanning system for the probe-forming system. This accomplishes wide field STEM-EELS.
Pico Stage Drive, which is capable of driving the stage in pico meter steps without a piezo drive, and moving the area of view in a wide dynamic range from an entire sample grid to atomic order images.
Specporter, an auto holder loading/unloading device.
Improved coldFEG, Guaranteeing high stability, high brightness, and high energy resolution, the cold field emission electron gun enables chemical bonding analysis by EELS, speeds up the analytical process by the high brightness electron beam, and minimizes chromatic aberrations from the electron source for enabling high resolution imaging.
Dual SDD, for very fast EDS analysis and minimal sample damage.
Environmental friendly, the instrument can be switched to ECO mode when not in use, to reduce its energy consumption.
Main specification: TEM point to point: 0.19 nm STEM-HAADF: 0.14 nm (using Cold FEG and UHR polepiece)
February 15, 2016 By Arnold Kruize General 3d EDX, Cold FEG, Ease of use, EDX, FEG-TEM, In-situ, JEOL, TEM, Transmission Electron Microscope 0 0 Comment Read More »
New TEM for Naturalis
The Naturalis Biodiversity Center, a research institute and natural history museum in Leiden, has recently acquired the state-of-the-art JEM-1400Plus Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) from JEOL.
"Thanks to this TEM we are able to study the biodiversity of plants and species in the smallest details." According to Kees van den Berg, Senior Analyst at Naturalis. "For the acquisition of the new 120kV TEM the JEM-1400Plus from JEOL was selected because of its performance, ease-of-use and proven stability of the system. The excellent service track record of JEOL also played an important role in the evaluation."
"We used to have a JEOL JEM-1010 from 1992. Even though it was still working well, it no longer fit in our new organization structure where digitalization of our collection and data has become a priority. Additionally, the new TEM is also fully compatible with our Windows 7 based network. The JEM-1010 will go to a new owner who will certainly benefit from the microscope for years to come."
Since the introduction of the JEM-1400 in 2007 and the JEM-1400Plus in 2012, already more than 600 microscopes of this type have been installed worldwide. The strength of this system lies in the flexibility of the system to be able to work in a great variety of research fields, for example: Biological sections, polymers, nanomaterials and asbestos analysis, all in both room temperature and under cryo conditions.
November 11, 2015 By Arnold Kruize General 120kV, Biology, screening, TEM, Transmission Electron Microscope 0 0 Comment Read More »


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Head Coach Lisa Bluder
Hawkeyes in the WNBA *Coming Soon
Contact the Coaches
Recruit Info
2020-21 Media Guide (PDF)
2020 Golf Extravaganza
Hawk Talk Schedule
Women's Basketball / November 30, 2018
No. 14 Hawkeyes Stumble in ACC/Big Ten Challenge
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Game #1
Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | Hawk Talk Monthly — November | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2018-19 | Hawk Talk Daily links | Photo Gallery | Box Score (PDF) | Boxscore
By DARREN MILLER
hawkeyesports.com
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The University of Iowa women's basketball team survived a 43-percent shooting performance against West Virginia on Nov. 23. The Hawkeyes couldn't get away with 42-percent shooting against No. 1 Notre Dame on Thursday.
No. 14 Iowa (4-2 overall) trailed by 11 in the first quarter and couldn't dig out against the defending national champion Irish (7-0). A basket by senior center Megan Gustafson with 3:30 left before halftime brought the Hawkeyes within seven points (41-34), but that was as close as they would get during a 105-71 setback in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Purcell Pavilion.
"The film is going to show plenty of things to work on, so we have that," Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. "Lots of good examples of things we need to work on and improve. I don't think a lot was gained by this game at all for us. We have to get better; we have to continue to work to get better and maybe this is the awakening that we need to do so."
Gustafson made 11-of-16 field goals and finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Other Hawkeyes scoring in double figures were senior Tania Davis (15), senior Hannah Stewart (12), and junior Makenzie Meyer (10). Sophomore Alexis Sevillian handed out six assists.
Iowa trailed 45-34 at the break, then Notre Dame scored the first 12 points of the third quarter. The Irish outscored Iowa, 34-14, in the third quarter.
Iowa shot well from the line, making 8-of-9, but that total paled in comparison to Notre Dame's 17-of-22. The Hawkeyes were 26-of-69 from the field and just 5-of-25 from 3-point.
Notre Dame was led by Arike Ogunbowale with 30 points and Brianna Turner with 11 rebounds.
QUOTING COACH BLUDER
"We got off to a slow start, but we really battled back in the second quarter. I felt we were doing good things and felt we had good momentum going into halftime. Then the third quarter comes around, we come out of the locker room and just get shellacked. We made immediate turnovers and gave them momentum right off the bat."
STATISTICS OF THE GAME
Notre Dame scored 54 points in the paint, 16 more than the Hawkeyes. The Irish also enjoyed a rebounding advantage of 13 (49-36) with 25 offensive rebounds.
After playing three straight games away from home, the Hawkeyes return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday against Robert Morris. The Colonials (1-5) have dropped four in a row.
"It would be great to have a wonderful crowd come out and support us after losing two in a row," Bluder said. "After being gone three games in a row, it would be wonderful to have a terrific home court advantage against Robert Morris."
Iowa is 4-0 in the all-time series, including am 81-60 win on Dec. 9, 2016.
Late Run Propels Hawkeyes Past Boilermakers
Women's Basketball / January 18, 2021 Late Run Propels Hawkeyes Past Boilermakers
Final 5-Minute Flurry Lifts Iowa Past Purdue
Women's Basketball / January 18, 2021 Final 5-Minute Flurry Lifts Iowa Past Purdue
PHOTOS: Iowa Women's Basketball vs Purdue - 1.18.21
Women's Basketball / January 18, 2021 PHOTOS: Iowa Women's Basketball vs Purdue - 1.18.21


Tens of millions of Americans have more than $1.5 Trillion in outstanding student loans. This is how to pay them off sensibly, or have them forgiven entirely. "Good Money" is a series about making sense of your finances. Join host Shahien Nasiripour as he meets people with an obsession to beat the system and never leave money on the table.


High-velocity plunging jets, issuing from ood release structures of dams, may result in scouring of the rocky riverbed and even endanger the foundation of the dams. Assessment of the scour extent is essential to ensure the safety of the dam and appurtenant structures as well as to guarantee the stability of its abutments. The existing near-prototype scaled experimental facility developed at the Laboratory of Hydraulic Constructions (LCH) of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) has been modified to study the complex interaction between pressures fluctuations acting inside a cylindrical plunge pool and inside a full interconnected 3-dimensional fissure. The present facility allows to simulate near-prototype jets in terms of velocity, turbulence and aeration. A movable highly instrumented block, simulating an "artificial rock block" founded in a fissured rock mass with one degree of freedom (along the vertical axis), has been inserted in the existing facility. The block and the measured box (new set-up), simulating the fissured rock mass, represent a sophisticated installation allowing to perform several measurements simultaneously. The block, having a cubic shape of 200 mm side and a density similar to in-situ rocks, is equipped with pressure, displacement and acceleration transducers. It is embedded in an artificially created surrounding rock mass equipped as well by pressure transducers. Between the block and the measurement box a 3-dimensional fissure of 1 mm thickness has also been created. The plunge pool and the new experimental set-up have been impacted by high-velocity jets to generate different loading conditions (core, transition or developed jets impacts). The purpose of the research project is to study the behavior of a single rock block separated from its surroundings by a 3-dimensional fissure and impacted by a high-velocity impinging water jet subjected to a natural aeration. Pressure fluctuations (pressure field) and block responses (displacements and accelerations) are recorded simultaneously for several jet impacts positions on the block upper face (at the plunge pool bottom level), for different water depths (Y/D ratio between 0 and 9.7) and near prototype jet velocities (2.5 - 27.0 m/s). The influence of the jet solicitations (symmetrical or asymmetrical jet impacts related to the block center) have been analyzed for several parameters: pressure field surrounding the block, dynamic block impulsion, natural and passive air entrainment, fissure geometries, block degree of freedom and block rotations in the fissured rock mass. The main conclusions coming from these analyses display interesting results. The pressure field acting on the block upper face follows the distribution found in literature (exponential distribution) whereas the pressures acting inside the 3-dimensional fissure are quite constant. The extreme pressures (positive and negative values) are attenuated inside the fissure. No transient phenomena have been observed inside the fissure. For the first time, the computation of the dynamic block impulsion has shown the relevance of the added mass and its different behavior whether the block is loaded by a symmetrical or an asymmetrical jet impact. When a body immerged in a fluid is subjected to accelerations, the surrounding fluid must accelerate as well. The inertia of the entrained fluid is the added mass. It influences the amplitudes of the vertical displacements. The added mass values obtained experimentally using the LCH facility are different from the literature values determined for different test conditions (a body moving in a quiet fluid and laterally confined). The highly instrumented block is strongly confined in the measurement box: it is surrounded on five of its six faces by the measurement box with a distance of 1 mm and it is directly loaded by high-velocity jets on its free surface. These conditions may explain this difference between observed and literature values. Theoretical block uplift shows good similitude with the measured uplift when the added mass is integrated in the computation of the dynamic block impulsion. Only the amplitude of the vertical displacements could not be always simulated exactly by the theoretical uplift, but the vertical fluctuations could be well reproduced. The maximum uplift was observed for a jet impacting on a corner of the block (∼160 mm for a block side of 200 mm). The air entrainment generated by a suction-based passive aeration system, together with the natural jet aeration, seems influence the extreme pressures (maximum and minimum) but not the block responses (displacements) related to a jet only naturally aerated. The influence of the air entrainment needed a more accurate investigation. To define the geometry of the fissure surrounding the block and to limit the block degrees of freedom to one, two type of lateral guides, fixed on the block lateral faces, have been tested. If the block is loaded symmetrically no differences have been observed, whereas for an asymmetrical jet impact for the same jet impact but on another block side some differences in the block responses (displacements) have been observed. The degree of freedom of the block influences strongly the pressure field generated inside the 3-dimensional fissure. When the block is fixed inside the measurement box, the pressures increase the hydrodynamic loading generating the propagation of the fissure networks in the rock mass. This pressure increase may reach some Bars of difference between the block free to move or fixed. The largest differences have been observed for a jet impacting on a corner of the block.


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London Met Police Seize Record-Breaking $250M Worth of Crypto
In what is believed to be one of the largest law enforcement investigations globally, the London Metropolitan Police, called the "Met," has seized nearly £180 million ($249.7 million) worth of cryptocurrencies.
This is the second significant seizure in recent weeks after the Met confiscated £114 million ($158 million) worth of crypto late last month.
The amount of the seized crypto over the two hauls totals £294 million (nearly $408 million).
As per the Met's statement published on Tuesday, the seizures were carried out by the Met's Economic Crime Command and form part of an ongoing investigation into international money laundering.
Commenting on the matter, Detective Constable Joe Ryan described the investigation as "complex and wide-ranging," adding that it "will continue for months to come as we hone in on those at the center of this suspected money laundering operation."
A 39-year-old woman allegedly involved in the money laundering network was arrested on June 24 and interviewed about the recent seizures.
Cash is still the king, says Met
While the Met has once again emphasized that "cash still remains king in the criminal world," the task force also said that "as digital platforms develop we're increasingly seeing organized criminals using cryptocurrency to launder their dirty money."
According to Deputy Assistant Commissioner Graham McNulty, just years ago crypto was a "fairly unchartered territory," however, currently the law enforcement has "highly trained officers and specialist units working hard in this space to remain one step ahead of those using it for illicit gain."
In its annual National Strategic Assessment of Serious Organized Crime, which was published this May, the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) said it was worried by the increasing adoption of cryptocurrencies and technological advances in this field, which make it easier to launder criminal money.
"Those linked to this money are clearly working hard to hide it," said McNulty, adding that the law enforcement "will stop at nothing to disrupt the transfer and identify those involved."
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