Table of Contents

List of Figures viii

List of Tables xii

Acknowledgments xiii

Notes on Contributors xiv

Introduction: The New Contours of the Hollywood Film Industry 1
Paul McDonald and Janet Wasko

Part I The Structure Of The Industry 11

1 The Studio System and Conglomerate Hollywood 13
Tom Schatz

2 Financing and Production: Creating the Hollywood Film Commodity 43
Janet Wasko

3 Distribution and Marketing in Contemporary Hollywood 63
Philip Drake

4 Theatrical Exhibition: Accelerated Cinema 83
Charles Acland

5 Ancillary Markets – Television: From Challenge to Safe Haven 106
Eileen R. Meehan

6 Ancillary Markets – Video and DVD: Hollywood Retools 120
Frederick Wasser

7 Ancillary Markets – Video Games: Promises and Challenges of an Emerging Industry 132
Randy Nichols

8 Ancillary Markets – Recorded Music: Charting the Rise and Fall of the Soundtrack Album 143
Jeff Smith

Part II Industry Dynamics 153

9 Labor: The Effects of Media Concentration on the Film and Television Workforce 155
Susan Christopherson

10 The Star System: The Production of Hollywood Stardom in the Post-Studio Era 167
Paul McDonald

11 Hollywood and the State: The American Film Industry Cartel in the Age of Globalization 182
Manjunath Pendakur

12 Hollywood and Intellectual Property 195
Ronald V. Bettig

Part III International Territories 207

13 Hollywood and the World: Export or Die 209
John Trumpbour

14 Britain: Hollywood, UK 220
Paul McDonald

15 France: A Story of Love and Hate – French and American Cinema in the French Audiovisual Markets 232
Joel Augros

16 Germany: Hollywood and the Germans – A Very Special Relationship 240
Peter Krämer

17 Italy: The Rise and Fall of the Italian Market 251
Krishna P. Jayakar and David Waterman

18 Latin America: How Mexico and Argentina Cope and Cooperate with the Behemoth of the North 264
Tamara L. Falicov

19 East Asia: For Better or Worse 277
John A. Lent

20 India: Hollywood’s Domination, Extinction, and Re-animation (with thanks to Jurassic Park) 285
Nitin Govil

21 Australia and New Zealand: Expats in Hollywood and Hollywood South 295
David Newman

Index 307

About the Author

Paul McDonald is Professor in Film and Television Studies at the University of Portsmouth, UK. He is the author of Video and DVD Industries and The Star System: Hollywood’s Production of Popular Identities and co-editor for the International Screen Industries series from the British Film Institute.

Janet Wasko is the Knight Chair in Communication Research at the University of Oregon. She is the author of How Hollywood Works, Understanding Disney: The Manufacture of Fantasy, and Hollywood in the Information Age: Beyond the Silver Screen. She also edited A Companion to Television and Dazzled by Disney? The Global Disney Audience Project.

Reviews

“Covers all levels of motion pictures from a business perspective … .This book examines the industry in contemporary marketing terms, and each essay clearly explains another aspect of American film as a business. THE CONTEMPORARY HOLLYWOOD FILM INDUSTRY is a truly indispensable book, and a pioneering effort in understanding cinema’s business aspects. It’s thorough study of the financial side of motion pictures, complete with full lists of sources after each insightful essay, is fascinating, enlightening, and instructive.” (RogueCinema.com, December 2008)