492 lecture 0205

The film industry and its players: movies as (big) business; motion picture as product: 

The film industry and its players: movies as (big) business; motion picture as product February 5, 2007

Sunset Boulevard: 

Sunset Boulevard How did the film’s “signifying systems” contribute to its meanings and messages? camera lighting sound and silence acting and pantomime mise-en-scène editing special effects stars

What was the nature of the relationship between Norma and Joe?: 

What was the nature of the relationship between Norma and Joe? Norma to Betty: “Do you know where he lives? Do you know how he lives? Do you know what he lives on? . . .” Joe to Betty: “This is an enormous place...It's lonely here, so she got herself a companion. A very simple set-up. An older woman who is well-to-do and a younger man who is not doing too well. Can you figure it out yourself?”

The movie business: 

The movie business Yes, it is a business One that had a rough year in 2005 And recovered only slightly in 2006 What happened that year?

What contributed?: 

What contributed? The studios’ “big guns” of the ’80s and ’90s are gone, replaced by executives from TV biz Movies reflect “a world that is now governed by the wants and needs of 17-year-old boys on any given Saturday night” (David Carr, media critic for New York Times) What does this mean? (Has anyone been to the Wynnsong lately—or simply driven past the marquee outside the mall?)

Carr (ctd.): 

Carr (ctd.) Rather than huge movies that “preoccupied the cultural conversation,” we have stupid little movies More concern with product placement and other ancillary revenue than making a cultural or artistic statement

Carr (ctd.): 

Carr (ctd.) “The people who built the current version of Hollywood did so by coming up with movies that people felt compelled to see—not as a matter of marketing, but as a matter of taste. “What was once magic, creating other worlds in darkened rooms, has become just one more revenue stream.”

And the audience is reacting: 

And the audience is reacting Disappointed with the crap filling the cinemas, they stay home and rent DVDs or watch cable

Some recent statistics (MPAA): 

Some recent statistics (MPAA) http://www.mpaa.org/researchStatistics.asp

Overview of movie business: 

Overview of movie business Production Distribution Exhibition What do these mean?

Production: 

Production The making of the movies Writing Casting Directing Photography (production) Editing (and other post-production craft) Scoring Sound Etc.

Exhibition: 

Exhibition The part that most directly involves YOU!

Exhibitors: theaters (chains): 

Exhibitors: theaters (chains) Carmike Cinemark AMC/Loews Cineplex Odeon Regal Entertainment

Exhibition: theatrical vs. non-theatrical: 

Exhibition: theatrical vs. non-theatrical Theatrical distribution sites Movie theaters (cinemas) Non-theatrical distribution sites All other places where movies are shown: Schools, libraries, hospitals Homes (home video)

Theatrical exhibition: 

Theatrical exhibition Surprisingly unimportant economically! Most films DON’T make profit in theatrical release Most break even only after cable/satellite/ home video release Only 34% of moviegoers attended 1+ movies/month in 2005 Yet this group accounts for 80% of total admissions Many more people see (many more) movies at home

The declining $ importance of movie-going: 

The declining $ importance of movie-going % of Hollywood’s revenue that comes from theatrical distribution (a/k/a cinema attendance or “box office”) 1948: 100% 1980: 55% 2005: < 15%

So why is theatrical release (still) important?: 

So why is theatrical release (still) important? Public attention “Event” Criticism (journalism) All these things are the “launching pad” for the REAL economic focus Home video! (rentals, purchases, broadcast & cable TV) And merchandising! And cross-promotion!

Key concerns of exhibitors: 

Key concerns of exhibitors Getting to show “tentpole” films Blockbusters that drive moviegoing Selling food Refreshment sales contribute more profit than ticket sales!

Distribution: the seat of power: 

Distribution: the seat of power Distributors: the big “players” today Warner Bros. Paramount Disney/Buena Vista Columbia 20th-Century Fox Universal Responsible for 95% of US/Canada ticket sales And 50% of overseas sales

What distributors do: 

What distributors do Determine which films to buy from production companies And, in many cases, produce their own films So much for 1948 Paramount Decision Market/promote the films Rent films to exhibitors (theater chains) Schedule release dates Make prints of films Make trailers (what are these?)

What else distributors do: 

What else distributors do License intellectual property to merchandisers T-shirts, toys, lunchboxes, fast-food tie-ins Cross-promotion: CDs, novelizations, partnerships with other industries (food)

What else distributors do: 

What else distributors do Determine ancillary market strategy Typical strategy for post-theatrical release: order Hotel TV systems Airlines (in-flight movies) Pay-per-view TV Cable TV DVD/videocassette Network broadcast

What else distributors do: 

What else distributors do Sell their properties overseas! US-made films released in 2005 US revenues $9.0 billion (down from ’04) International revenues $23.2 billion (down from ’04)

And keep vast majority of box-office revenue!: 

And keep vast majority of box-office revenue! Distributors keep up to 90% of first week’s grosses (but less with each successive week) So a movie that dies quickly makes no money for the exhibitor (cinema) And little goes back to the production company (producer, director, actors, crew)

Movie distributors: 

Movie distributors Are all components of major international conglomerates With fingers in many other media and entertainment industries

Time-Warner: 

TELEVISION Networks WB Network HBO Cinemax Time Warner Sports Comedy Central CNN TBS TNT Cartoon Network Turner Classic Movies Court TV Production New Line Television Turner Original Productions Warner Bros. Television Looney Tunes Hanna-Barbera Cable Systems Time Warner Cable PUBLISHING Books Time Life Books Book-of-the-Month Club Little, Brown & Co. Bulfinch Press Back Bay Books Warner Books Oxmoor House Magazines Time Life Fortune Sports Illustrated People Entertainment Weekly In Style Ski Travel & Leisure Popular Science DC Comics Mad Magazine MUSIC The Atlantic Group Rhino Records Elektra Entertainment Grp. London-Sire Records Warner Bros. Records Warner Music International Time Life Music Columbia House Giant (Revolution) Records Maverick Qwest Records RuffNation Records Sub Pop Records Tommy Boy Records FILM Warner Bros. Studios Castle Rock Entertainment New Line Cinema Fine Line Features INTERNET AOL Compuserve Netscape AOL Moviefone Digital City Mapquest.com RECREATION Sports Atlanta Braves Atlanta Hawks Atlanta Trashers Turner Sports World Championship Wrestling Goodwill Games Time-Warner

Viacom: 

TELEVISION Networks CBS UPN MTV Networks Nickelodeon Nick-at-Nite TV Land CMT TNN (Spike TV) VH1 Showtime Networks The Movie Channel Sundance Channel FLIX BET Production Paramount Spelling Entertainment Big Ticket Television Viacom Productions King World Productions PUBLISHING Books The Free Press MTV Books Nickelodeon Books Simon & Schuster Pocket Books Scribner Touchstone RADIO Networks Infinity Broadcasting (manages Westwood One Radio networks) Metro Networks Stations Infinity Broadcasting (owns and operates over 180 radio stations) FILM Production Paramount Pictures MTV Films Nickelodeon Movies Theater Operations United Cinemas Intl. Paramount Theaters Famous Players Video Blockbuster INTERNET MTVi Group CBS Internet Group Nickelodeon Online BET.com Contentville.com OTHER Famous Music Publishing (copyright owners) Theme Parks Paramount Parks Infinity Outdoors/ TDI Worldwide (the largest outdoor Advertising group in US) Star Trek franchise Viacom

Walt Disney Company (what was in today’s news?): 

TELEVISION Networks ABC The Disney Channel SoapNet ESPN A&E The History Channel Lifetime E! Production Buena Vista Television Touchstone Television Walt Disney TV, Animation RADIO ABC Radio Networks Radio Disney ESPN Radio 27 Radio Stations PUBLISHING Books Walt Disney Co. Books Hyperion Books Talk/Miramax Books Magazines Discover, Disney ESPN, US Weekly (50%) Daily Newspapers County Press (MI) Oakland Press and Reminder (MI) Narragansett Times St. Louis Daily Record MUSIC Buena Vista Music Group Hollywood Records Lyric Street Records Mammoth Records INTERNET Buena Vista Internet Group: ABC.com, ABCNews.com Oscar.com, Disney.com Family.Com ESPN Internet Group NFL.com NBA.com NASCAR.com Soccernet.com (60%) Infoseek (43%) Toysmart.com (majority stake) FILM Walt Disney Pictures Touchstone Pictures Hollywood Pictures Caravan Pictures Miramax Films Buena Vista Home Entertainment RECREATION Sports Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Anaheim Angels Theme Parks Disneyland Walt Disney World Disney-MGM Studios EuroDisney , Disneyland Japan, Epcot, Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's California Adventure, Disney Cruise Line Theater Walt Disney Theatrical Productions Walt Disney Company (what was in today’s news?)

News Corp.: 

TELEVISION Networks - U.S. FOX Broadcasting Company FOX News Channel FOX Kids Network FOX Sports (partial in some markets) The Health Network FX National Geographic's cable channel (50%) Golf Channel TV Guide Channel (44%) Stations 22 Fox affiliated stations PUBLISHING Books HarperCollins General Book Group Regan Books Amistad Press William Morrow & Co. Avon Books Magazines TV Guide (partial ownership) The Weekly Standard Maximum Golf Newspapers New York Post (U.S.) The Times (U.K.) The Sun (U.K.) News of the World (U.K.) The Australian (Australia) The Herald Sun (Australia) The Advertiser (Australia) RADIO Fox Sports Radio Network SPORTS Los Angeles Dodgers New York Knicks (partial ownership) New York Rangers (partial ownership) Los Angeles Kings (partial ownership) Los Angeles Lakers (partial ownership) Dodger Stadium Staples Center (partial ownership) Madison Square Garden (partial ownership) INTERNET TheStreet.com (partial ownership with New York Times Co.) Healtheon/WebMD Corp. (partial ownership) FILM Twentieth Century Fox Blue Sky Studios Fox Searchlight Pictures News Corp.

GE NBC Universal: 

TELEVISION Production/Distribution Universal Television Group Multimedia Entertainment Brillstein-Grey Entertainment (partial owner) USA Networks Inc. (partial owner) Canal+ (Europe) FILM Production/Distribution Universal Studios October Films (partial owner) United International Pictures (partial owner) Cinema International BV (partial owner) MUSIC Universal Music Group: MCA Records Polygram Island/Def Jam Motown Decca Records Geffen/DGC Records Universal Records Interscope Records Rising Tide INTERNET Universal Studios New Media Group VivendiNet Vizzavi (European multi-access portal) PUBLISHING Havas Press (France) TELECOMM Cegetel (a leading private French wireless operator) Vivendi Telecom International GE NBC Universal

The “studio system”: 

The “studio system” How Hollywood became what it is today For better or worse

The so-called studio system today: 

The so-called studio system today Nothing like what it was in the 1930s and ’40s (“Hollywood’s Golden Age”) Now, 6 major studios control distribution Disney (Walt Disney Corporation) Paramount Pictures (Viacom) Sony Pictures (Sony) Twentieth Century Fox (News Corp.) Universal Pictures (Vivendi Universal) Warner Bros. (Time-Warner)

In the good (?) old days: 

In the good (?) old days Studios controlled all 3 phases Production Distribution Even exhibition

Results of studio system: 

Results of studio system Established collaborative mode of production still in place today TEAMS of people involved with each production Producers, director, cast, crew, editors Industrial model: films made as if in factories Prolific and profitable

The system in the golden age: 

The system in the golden age Studios “owned” all the talent Directors Writers Actors No such thing as “free agent” If you were an MGM actor, you only made MGM films Studios owned cinemas (exhibition) Studio lots were self-contained worlds

Co-existence of independent production: 

Co-existence of independent production Not all production (actual movie-making) was owned or controlled by the major distributors (studios) Even during 1930s and ’40s Walt Disney owned his own studio and distribution company (Buena Vista) Other producers owned their own studios but distributed films through the major studios (e.g., RKO)

The decline of the studio system: 

The decline of the studio system Late 1940s-early 1950s Rise of TV Actors, producers, and directors freeing themselves from studio “ownership” Supreme Court decision (1948) forcing studios to sell off their cinemas Exhibition arm no longer part of studios’ revenue stream Focus now on distribution

But ultimately…: 

But ultimately… Paramount Decree only had so much power Because in 1980s-’90-’00s world of mega-mergers and corporate consolidation Movie distributors (studios) are now owned by mega-corporations whose holdings include cinema chains! So, the old-style “vertical integration” is back again!

The star: 

The star Important component of Hollywood’s marketing machine Build movies around stars Build studios (in the studio-system days) around stars “Create” stars Craft their public personae Manage/control their personae Present—and “sell”—stars to public as “package”

Film as product: 

Film as product Movies are big business Costs (US average since 2000) over $60MM to produce over $30MM to market Thus, in industry, movies are commodities Product to be sold Product that will make profit or lost money Where is art in all this?

But film isn’t only a commercial “product”: 

But film isn’t only a commercial “product” It’s also an art, a craft On the production side, a hugely collaborative effort

3 phases of production: 

3 phases of production Pre-production: preparation and planning Production: shooting Post-production: assembly, marketing, distribution

Production: 

Production Terminology: a bit confusing The entire process (preproduction, shooting, postproduction) is known as production But the central (shooting) phase is also called production. (Oy!) This central phase is also sometimes known as principal photography or simply the shoot

Pre-production: 

Pre-production Planning and preparation Producers develop idea Or obtain script Involves contracting for and purchasing rights Producers arrange financing And line up key personnel Director, primarily

Pre-production: the director: 

Pre-production: the director Discusses script with screenwriter Works alone or with team (possibly including writer) to figure out how to translate printed words on page into movie Often changes script radically Or re-interprets writer’s intentions Key interim process: storyboarding

Pre-production: other key tasks: 

Pre-production: other key tasks Location scouting and booking Set design Set construction Art direction: designing “look” of settings Equipment purchase/rental Props (properties) purchase/rental Wardrobe planning: purchase/rental Casting Rehearsing

Key people during pre-production phase: 

Key people during pre-production phase Producers Directors And everyone they oversee Note: during pre-production, producer(s) and director work very closely together, mapping out creative aspects of film within context of business and logistical realities (budget, location, stars, etc.)

Producers: 

Producers Financial and organizational managers May be person who acquired rights to script Work out budgets—and many creative aspects, working with director Oversees many hiring decisions Often including the director Liaison between studio and director (and often writer) Griffin Bell in The Player

Director: 

Director Oversees all aspects of turning script into film Works with writer (or at least with script!) Works with DP, location scouts, effects experts, casting people, wardrobe people, art directors, set designers, construction crew, lighting designer/crew, actors Goal: marshal all technical/craft aspects so that all match with director’s creative vision for the film: what it will feel/look like

Key people in central production phase (the shoot): 

Key people in central production phase (the shoot) Director: oversees all goings-on on the set Rehearses actors Gives actors direction before camera rolls Yells “action!” and “cut!” And decides if a take was good Works closely with DP (director of photography = cinematographer = “cameraman”) on lighting and setting up each shot

Other important people at the shoot: 

Other important people at the shoot Script supervisor (“script girl” until a few decades ago) Maintains “continuity” Keeps track of each scene’s length, visual element, lighting, camera movement, actors’ positions/movement Ensures that continuity is maintained from scene to scene Why might this be so crucial?

Other important people at the shoot: 

Other important people at the shoot Assistant director (AD) Serves as director’s lieutenant/traffic cop Barks out orders to camera and sound people Coordinates all “on the ground” logistics (and production assistants) Keeps track of time (work day) Alerts all crew members to what’s going on Shooting/recording Cutting Meal breaks

Other important people at the shoot: 

Other important people at the shoot DP (cinematographer) Expert in camera technology, film technology, lighting The photographic aspects of filmmaking May actually be sitting behind the camera (with eye in eyepiece) Or may be supervising camera operators (“focus pullers”)

What does DP do?: 

What does DP do? Works with/under director to determine camera movements, camera angles Works with/under director to determine lighting effects, feel Directly responsible for film, lens, lighting choices Supervises grips (people who carry and arrange cameras, some lighting equipment, props) Supervises gaffers (electricians)

Still more people at shoot: 

Still more people at shoot Producer’s crew Includes various “levels” of producers (line producer, associate producer(s), production manager(s) People in charge of logistics of shooting day: budget, work start/stop times, food, payroll Note: at the shoot, producers are present, and are important, but the director pretty much takes over, runs the show

Some more key shoot-related terms: 

Some more key shoot-related terms Sync sound: recording sound (esp. dialogue) as the visuals are being recorded Isn’t always used Sometimes it’s preferable to not record sound while shooting Why? Boom: microphone suspended from long, handheld pole (and the pole itself)

What does a shoot look (and sound) like?: 

What does a shoot look (and sound) like? Let’s watch one (sort of): sequence from Living in Oblivion (1994; dir. Tom DiCillo) See if you can identify Director Assistant director Cinematographer Focus puller Script supervisor

Today’s feature film: 

Today’s feature film The Player (1992; dir. Robert Altman) Screenplay by Michael Tolkin, based on his own novel Satirical comedy-drama about contemporary Hollywood And one that, like Sunset Boulevard, did not make the movie industry happy! Among other things, famous for its opening (about 8.5 minutes) sequence Which is one continuous take!

About Altman: 

About Altman Directing since early 1950s Died in late 2006 Was one of the darlings of independent cinema in 1970s Huge, almost epic films Huge casts, often including many big stars Multiple, often-intersecting storylines But his own “star” fell during the ’80s

Other important Altman films: 

Other important Altman films M*A*S*H* (1970) McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) Nashville (1975) A Wedding (1978) Short Cuts (1993) Ready to Wear (1994) Gosford Park (2001) A Prairie Home Companion (2006)