The Contemporary Hollywood Film Industry

by Paul McDonald (Editor), Janet Wasko (Editor)

Overview

The Contemporary Hollywood Film Industry is a collection of essays by leading scholars that examines the state of the U.S. film industry, from the l980s to present day.

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• Includes important discussions of the industry’s labour and star systems, as well as intellectual property and state relations
  
• Considers the role of independent producers, the global marketplace for Hollywood product, corporate changes, and various new media windows, including video, DVD to cable, satellite, and online channels of delivery
  
• Brings together an international team of leading film scholars
  
• Offers a balanced and fresh approach to this important contemporary period in Hollywood

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781405133876
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	02/11/2008
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.98(d)

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.

Table of Contents

About the Contributors.

Figures and Tables.

Preface.

Introduction.

Part I: The Structure of the Industry.

1. The Studio System and Conglomerate Hollywood.

Tom Schatz.

2. Finance and Production: Creating the Film Commodity.

Janet Wasko.

3. Distribution and Marketing in Contemporary Hollywood.

Philip Drake.

4. Theatrical Exhibition: Accelerated Cinema.

Charles Acland.

5. Ancillary Markets – Television: From Challenge to Safe Haven.

Eileen R. Meehan.

6. Ancillary Markets — Video and DVD: Hollywood Retools.

Frederick Wasser.

7. Ancillary Markets — Video Games: Promises and Challenges of an Emerging Industry.

Randy Nichols.

8. Ancillary Markets – Recorded Music: Charting the Rise and Fall of the Soundtrack.

Jeff Smith.

Part II: Industry Dynamics.

9. Hollywood Labor Relations: The Effects of Media Concentration on the Film and Television Workforce.

Susan Christopherson.

10. The Star System: Producing Hollywood Stardom in the Post-Studio Era.

Paul McDonald.

11. Hollywood and the State: The American Film Industry Cartel in the Age of Globalization.

Manjunath Pendakur.

12. Hollywood and Intellectual Property.

Ronald V. Bettig.

Part III: International Territories.

13. Hollywood and the World: Export or Die.

John Trumpbour.

14. Britain: Hollywood UK.

Paul McDonald.

15. France: A Story of Love and Hate.

Joel Augros.

16. Germany: A Very Special Relationship.

Peter Kramer.

17. Italy: The Rise and Fall of the Italian Market.

Krishna P. Jayakar and David Waterman.

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

Tamara L. Falicov.

19. East Asia: For Better of Worse.

John A. Lent.

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

Nitin Govil.

21. Australia and New Zealand: Expats in Hollywood and Hollywood South.

David Newman.

Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Expertly organised and sharply focused, this collection gives its readers a clear and comprehensive introduction to how Hollywood has reorganised itself for its second century as the dominant global entertainment machine."
–Richard Maltby, Flinders University

"The Contemporary Hollywood Film Industry does well to highlight the evolving 'global Hollywood,' the American film industry’s truly multinational scale and scope. Of particular interest are the book’s several essays on so-called ancillary industries like videogames and music, which give readers a good, long look at a film industry that today concerns itself with a lot more than just making movies."
–Jon Lewis, Professor, Oregon State University

Editorial Reviews

"Its purpose is to explain the Hollywood 'industry' with industrial-strength clarity. Mission accomplished." (CHOICE)

From the Publisher