Edison's mistake was that he felt that it did not matter who the performers were. It was the movie, the finished product, that was important, not the people in it. The general public was unfortunately not aware of this importance, preferring to follow their favorite stars. Edison underestimated the value of his performers and they abandoned him.
Compared to the situation today where all that matters is image and the finished product is an after thought
Slashdot Mirror
Compared to the situation today where all that matters is image and the finished product is an after thought