Hollywood's Road To Riches

by Waterman, David

• ISBN13: 9780674019454
• ISBN10: 0674019458
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-10-30
• Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr

Summary

Combining historical and economic analysis, this book shows how, beginning in the 1950s, a largely predictable business has been transformed into a volatile and complex multimedia enterprise now commanding over 80 percent of the world's film business. At the same time, the book asks how the economic forces leading to this success--the forces of audience demand, technology, and high risk--have combined to change the kinds of movies Hollywood produces.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables	ix
Preface	xiii
Introduction: American Success	1	(14)
The Players	15	(18)
Television: A Parting of the Ways	33	(31)
The Pay Media: A Shower of Money	64	(54)
Controlling the Release Sequence	118	(37)
Rising American Dominance	155	(50)
What Has Hollywood Done with the Money?	205	(46)
Hollywood's Digital Future	251	(74)
Appendixes
A. Market Shares of Domestic Box Office/Rentals and Video Revenues	281	(3)
B. Stability of World Theatrical Rentals, 1948--1975	284	(4)
C. U.S. Distributor Revenue by Source	288	(5)
D. Prices, Distributor Revenue, and Viewing Estimates, 1948, 1975, and 2002	293	(2)
E. Video Windows, 1988--2002	295	(4)
F. Comparative Analysis of Movie Industries and Trade in the United States and the EUJ5 Countries, Statistical Data, 1950--2003	299	(8)
G. Determinants of U.S. Box Office Market Shares in the EUJ5, 1950--2003	307	(6)
H. Movie Production Costs and Animated Movie Data	313	(3)
I. Motion Picture Industry Employment	316	(2)
J. Credits Analysis, Top Ten Movies, 1971 and 2001	318	(2)
K. Movie Genre Analysis	320	(5)
Notes	325	(58)
Index	383