The Last Tycoon

Add The Last Tycoon to the likes of Firefly and The Tonight Show for shows that should never have been canceled. This show is on par with Boardwalk Empire, Mad Men, and Downton Abbey. It has a great core, with the ability to be a classic, but sadly it only got one season.

The Last Tycoon gives a look into a time and world completely missed by modern movies. Pre WWII Hollywood and the nuanced issues that comes with a world on the brink of war. Unbelievably talented cast, great writing, amazing costumes, and just the right amount of twist and drama. I'm incredibly disappointed that it was canceled. Each actor was made to play their character.

It's amazing how after one season Matt Bomer will forever be Monroe Star, Lilly Collins will forever be Cecilia Brady, and Dominique McElligot will always be Kathleen Moore. Amazon really screwed up with the decision to cancel.

I love the era, the costumes, sets, music and acting. The Last Tycoon has the potential to be an excellent series with a good life. Amazon has created a lush & romantic yet realistic portrait of Hollywood in the years prior to WW-2. Each of the characters are believable and theft story held my interest throughout the fast moving sixty minutes.

It's great to see Kelsey Grammarand Matt Bomerr again. There's a good love/hate relationship evident that will likely produce some excellent moments as the story develops.

The Last Tycoon is so much more enjoyable than the typical fare the networks are putting out. Carry on, Amazon. You've got a winner here.

Nothing has changed. We can believe that corporations have taken over Tinsel Town, but in this version of "The Last Tycoon" creativity has always been controlled by committee. So the filmmakers out there that think they are autonomous, without using your own money, it 'aint happening.

That aside, the story is of wunderkind Monroe Stahr (Matt Bomer) a ambitious young studio executive who is known to fix movies within the walls of Brady-American International, a fictional movie studio run by Pat Brady (Kelsey Grammer). During the depression, they both attempt to save the studio from outside forces including the rise of stars and divas, and dark secrets of actors, the dynamics of writers and producers and so forth. Coming into the story, we also have Brady's daughter Celia Brady (Lily Collins) who is at the edge of adulthood and fixated on making her own way into Hollywood, and also Brady's wife Rose Brady (Rosemarie DeWitt) who has a history with Monroe whilst Celia holds a burning crush on him.

Admittedly, I know very little about the book, which was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. But I've seen the late 70's version, and they both do really good things. The issue with the 70's version is that it gets TOO melancholic. This skates a very tragic line since Bomer's Monroe plays a little more buoyant and hopeful than DeNiro's Monroe, who plays it brooding and bullish.

The series has some great moments (somewhat predictable but still satisfying) and makes nods to Hollywood lore. Louis B. Mayer's (Saul Rubinek) close to making "Wizard Of Oz" a Shirley Temple reference, and also a curious one with Margo Taft (Jennifer Beals) whom I can only assume is suppose to be Merle Oberon. Any way, this does suck you in. And I loved the production design. The characters have their intentions known and fascinating when they cut between the stories. You can keep up.

IF you are interested in old Hollywood, this is a great series to remind you that movie worlds were once made by people who really cared about the content.

Just a quick review, as I see many of the stream services shows (except the big ones like Netlfix superhero series and such) do not get many opinions. I have seen the whole season and my feelings are mixed. I mean, it is slow. Very slow. Scenes are basically beautiful people talking about movies of the golden era of Hollywood - from the production side of view. I often found myself wondering what was the point of all of it, and yet... it kept me interested. However, I love classic musicals from the era depicted, and seen and enjoyed most if not all Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Danny Kaye, etc movies, so visiting the period again from a modern perspective is appealing to me. It might not be for all, and I would completely understand if we do not get another season. I have not read the source material the show is based on, and I am unfamiliar with Fitzgerald writings. I will say, nonetheless, that this show requires some patience if great visuals are not enough for you. If on a time constraint and still wanting to see the "whole show", I can safely say that if you just see episode 1 (the pilot), maybe 2 to get to know the characters, and then skip ahead to 7, 8 and 9 you would actually not miss much, as the "central" conflict really just begins at the end of episode 7 (the "big" story reveal for one of the characters). I enjoyed my time watching the rest, however, so the quality is still there... it is just very personal, so I would say you will either like it or not based on the pilot. There are no major changes to the formula after that, so see for yourself and decide :)

Saw this great pilot on Amazon. I'm a Fitzgerald fan and I was curious how they would treat this show, given that the author never got a chance to complete and expand on the book. I'm impressed with the way this show gave life to so many things only alluded to in the book. Nazis during that time must have definitely had a lot of influence on the Hollywood politics in those days, just as some other power groups have it today. Glad the show is addressing that angle. Monroe Stahr, the protagonist, played amazingly well by Matt Bomer is a fascinating character. He is kind of a prodigy when it comes to the movie making business, a self made man, yet emotionally tortured, and of a weak heart due to congenital heart disease. The other characters, such as Kelsy Grammar as Pat Brady, Lily Collins as Cecilia Brady were great in their roles. The show has quite a few interesting characters. Really hope it gets picked up and we get to see more of this interesting story.