Hearst animation studio International Film Service began in December 1915, and brought Hearst cartoonists to the screen. McCay was initially listed as one of them, but the studio never produced anything either by his hands or featuring his creations. McCay derived satisfaction from doing the work himself. Begun in 1916, "The Sinking of the Lusitania" was his follow-up to "Gertie". The film was not a fantasy but a detailed, realistic recreation of the 1915 German torpedoing of the RMS "Lusitania". The event counted 128 Americans among its 1,198 dead, and was a factor leading to the American entry into World War I.