Long before the Disney/Fox merger of 2019 created 20th Century Studios, there was 20th Century Fox. One of the original big five studios, 20th Century Fox was founded as 20th Century Pictures in 1935 by Joseph Schenck and Darryl F. Zanuck. The latter of the two was a former Warner Bros. executive and noted pervert, who, as The Daily Beast has pointed out, was one of the chief architects of the notorious casting couch culture that produced so much of the murk in which golden age Hollywood operated. But despite what The New York Times has described as his "well documented" proclivity for flashing women, he also seemed to be pretty good at running a studio — at least for most of his career.

One particular aspect of his personality that helped in that regard was his attention to detail, as described in Scott Eyman's 2021 book "20th Century Fox -- Darryl F.