Cinema Drops # 007: The Truth Behind 'Power Hunger'

Ever wonder if the phrase “based on real facts” is true or just bullshit? For the Curious Mega brought the Drops of Cinema column to answer your questions and show the truth behind the movies inspired by real facts. Come check with us!

The movie "Hunger for Power" was released in 2017 and tells the story of visionary Ray Kroc, showing the path that led to the founding of one of the world's most famous fast food chains, McDonald's.

Ray Kroc was a milkshake vendor who changed his business and turned the McDonald brothers' diner into a national fever. He eventually took over the multibillion-dollar business, leaving his brothers out of the game, and was recognized as the true founder of the restaurant chain.

What changed from reality to the movie?

The McDonald brothers might not be as ambitious as Ray Kroc showed, but they sure had good ideas. As portrayed in the feature film, they started their business as a drive-in; that is, taking the trays to the cars. But in 1948 they adopted a much faster system, that same style of assembly used in McDonald's networks to date - and it was a success!

It was this innovation that made Ray Kroc want to participate in the business of brothers Maurice and Richard McDonald. He arrived there as a milkshake vendor, showed interest, and with his extremely proactive manner found his way into the venture.

The beginning and taking of an empire

Despite being a great visionary, opening franchises was not Ray's idea, but the McDonald brothers themselves, who had already tried to start about 20 when he showed up. What the former salesman did was expand and manage the business as the brothers were unwilling to do so on their own.

Credit for innovations, in turn, is divided. The golden arches that we see on every McDonald's facade to this day have sprung from Richard McDonald's creative mind, but all the systematic discipline so well known by the company's employees has been introduced by Kroc.

He eventually became president of the company in 1955, as a partner himself, but he and his brothers kept arguing about the decisions Kroc made; he wanted to globalize the business, while the brothers preferred to keep it closer to home and with old traditions. Thus, with the money he had, he bought the brothers' shares in 1961, and in 1977 to assume the position of senior president. From then on, McDonald's was his.

As shown in the movie, the original restaurant was not in the contract and still belonged to Richard and Maurice. What Kroc did was use the legal weapon to make sure they had to change their names, then becoming The Big M, and then simply opened a McDonald's a block away, eventually bankrupting the brothers.

Kroc's emotional side

It has an emotional side, doesn't it? There really was a Joan Smith in Kroc's life, who helped him with some ideas and was also an audacious dreamer. But things were not as fast as the movie shows. Unlike what is shown, Joan was not married to Jim Zien, but to the man who worked as manager of Zien's McDonald's franchise.

Kroc fell in love with Joan and divorced shortly after meeting his beloved. But Joan, who felt the same way about Kroc, remained married for another 8 years. In the meantime, Kroc remarried a girl named Jane, but the bond lasted only until he learned of his beloved Joan's divorce.

The deal that never worked

After years of effort opening hamburger franchises and two divorces, Ray Kroc now had everything he wanted except for the original McDonald brothers restaurant. His idea was to make a gentlemen's agreement whereby the brothers would give him the original restaurant in exchange for 0.5% in royalties per year. That may seem like a good enough percentage, but considering what McDonald's sells, by the late 1970s that would mean around $ 15 million - imagine today.

Since the restaurant was never sold to Ray, so were the royalties, and the brothers ended up not seeing a penny of the money. In addition, both had to see him be considered the greatest founder of the franchise that bears their names.

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