Page "Mary Pickford" Paragraph 34

An astute businesswoman, Pickford became her own producer within three years of her start in features.

According to her Foundation, " she oversaw every aspect of the making of her films, from hiring talent and crew to overseeing the script, the shooting, the editing, to the final release and promotion of each project.

" Pickford first demanded ( and received ) these powers in 1916, when she was under contract to Adolph Zukor's Famous Players In Famous Plays ( later Paramount ).

He also acquiesced to her refusal to participate in block-booking, the widespread practice of forcing an exhibitor to show a bad film of the studio's choosing in order to also show a Pickford film.

In 1916, Pickford's films were distributed, singly, through a special distribution unit called Artcraft.