The Hollywood Economist: The Hidden Financial Reality Behind the Movies

5 Responses to “The Hollywood Economist: The Hidden Financial Reality Behind the Movies”

1. Richard Stoyeck says:

   April 7, 2010 at 5:12 pm

   Let me tell you up front, I find Hollywood and all that it entails absolutely fascinating. I am selective about what I read, because there is so much to read. You need a name to help you separate the fantastic books from the okay ones, and Epstein has written another fantastic book about an industry that could only have been born in America. People do not like to reflect about it or judge it, but all of American culture is the creation of Hollywood and television. Now perhaps that will change in the next several years as the Internet takes on greater importance, and additional forms of media come into play.

   For now but, Hollywood packs a disproportionate punch and influenced over the American agenda. If you want to know how this incredible industry operates, who runs it, and how the spoils are divided up, Epstein is your go to guy. This is just his latest foray into this industry that he knows so well. There is no need to read his earlier books. He tends to incorporate what is vital in his previous works into his latest works.

   Very simply what you will learn here is that the box office revenues you constantly hear about through television and newspapers are probably the least vital aspects of the revenue stream. We have all heard the expression “Hollywood accounting”, through the years. This book is devoted to the detail of just what that means. It is incredible that Epstein was able to ferret out the appealing details of just where revenues come from, and where they go. You will find fascinating how the right financial facts of the movies are kept from the stars. Now this is constantly changing, but still, it doesn’t look like the stars are in the know as to just how much money the studios and the mega corporations behind the studios are building off their work.

   Every page will hold your attention. The leader names household names and the dollars linked with them. If you have an interest in Hollywood, you will not place this book down, and you will read it take in to take in.

   Richard Stoyeck
   
   Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
2. MrMoe says:

   April 7, 2010 at 8:06 pm

   This book is a excellent primer for Emerging film makers wanting to become part of Hollywood. Edward Jay Epstein does a excellent job at breaking down the misconceptions of the business and gives appealing insight into the financial workings of movie building. Fascinating, but yet sad to see Hollywood become a system that no long makes new thoughts, but rather sells salt, sugar & services. This book may break the spirit and moral of new tale tellers but hopefully will make a smarter breed of film makers. Coach potatoes are the new movies goers. I loved it and recommend The Hollywood Economist to all persons how dare to chase the dream of apt a Hollywood player.
   Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
3. Derek VanDyke says:

   April 7, 2010 at 10:50 pm

   As a name who works in the videogame industry — among movies, television, internet, and composition all competing for people’s hard-earned time and money — I was interested to get an inside view of how the film industry really works. Gaming is still a nascent medium compared to movies, and though highly successful in its own right, it is increasingly being called on to mimic Hollywood in order to really grow as an industry. Since “The Hollywood Economist” was being publicized as an inside look into “the hidden financial reality behind the movies” I thought it would be excellent to see just what videogames had to do to follow in Hollywood’s footsteps.

   What I learned was a series of “best practices” the film industry uses to ensure financial success. Epstein covers – in to some extent loose past order – what the movie business has done to make sure it permanently come out a winner (even when it loses). While the “mogul” era of controlling nearly all means of production and distribution gets a quick once-over, the present day system is broken down in fantastic detail. From hedging its own risk through complex financial shell games and lopsided tax incentives and foreign investment, to “making” audiences through targeted multi-million dollar ad campaigns, you get the (perhaps humdrum) feeling that not only are the movies built on fantasy and deception, but so is its business.

   On the flipside, Epstein shows how all these tricks by the huge six studios (Warner Bros., Fox, Paramount, Sony, Disney, and Universal) not only hurt smaller players with far less leverage, but also place themselves at risk, as consumer’s watch fewer movies, and persons they do watch are increasingly downloaded from the internet. Couple this demographic change with a severe economic turndown, and there’s blood in the water. Sorry to say, there’s small mention as to how Hollywood will adapt to these changes or the future of film-building, additional than to suggest an increasing reliance on licensing deals and sure-fire franchise hits. No doubt, Mr. Epstein is saving that material for his own sequel.

   Ultimately, “The Hollywood Economist” reveals a lot about the complex inner-workings behind the glitzy curtain of one of America’s most iconic industries. And as a name who works in a trade increasingly fond of Hollywood’s business model, this book helps make the costs as apparent as the benefits.
   Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
4. K. Davis says:

   April 8, 2010 at 12:15 am

   The Hollywood Economist is a fantastic collection of Epstein’s journalistic writings concerning the insane machinations of Hollywood. How does the money work? Who gets paid what? How much does a movie cost? Why is Canada now America? All these questions are answered, and the more you read, the more questions you have. Epstein’s helps deconstruct the film industry with clear writing and copious appealing examples. This books take up film from officially authorized, financial, and creative angles, so it has something for anyone.

   As an aspiring screenwriter, I establish this book very helpful. I would certainly recommend this for anyone seriously considering commercial screenwriting. In it you will learn savvy tricks such as a the Walmart Rule and the Canada Rule. I feel that I have a better and deeper understanding of the financial underpinnings of Hollywood, as well as a reasonable expectation of where the writer falls in Hollywood.

   Overall, it’s intriguing, appealing, and enlightening.
   Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
5. Hubert Shea says:

   April 8, 2010 at 2:00 am

   The leader cogently describes Hollywood as a representation of how a galaxy of moguls, indie producers, distributors, theater chain owners, financiers, insurers, directors, and stars has sustained and grown this movie business and made their staggering chance under endogenous and exogenous market metamorphosis such as declining number of regular movie attendance (P.32) and increased size of couch potato population (P.183), momentous technological shift from palatial size theaters to homes with pay-TV, video, HD-DVD, internet, and digital recorders. Through the so-called ingenious `three-act formula’ (P.202) of reinvention for the previous eight decades, Hollywood not only keeps the movie business alive and make it central to the world’s entertainment economy but also produces a key cultural wealth that defines the spirit of capitalist innovation and the phenomenon of American culture to the world at large.

   What makes this book valuable to read is that the leader peels away the façade of Hollywood to present how different players in the movie business innovate the arcane art of studio financing (P.102) such as pre-sales in the overseas markets and tax shelter negotiation (P.105) and how they generate box-office and additional back-end revenue streams such as audience-creation film production and marketing tactics (P.54, P.173, P.49), package deal with (cash or barter) with premium brand owners (P.115), sale of snack foods in multiplex chains (P.34), revenue share of DVD sale (P.88), pay-TV licensing (P.123), and movie download fee via the internet (P.196). The leader also clarify, in plain details, how superstars such as Tom Cruise (P.149) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (P.91) structure and negotiate their fixed and contingent compensation/profit participation with studio owners. The appendix section of the book contains revenue and expense details of a movie in which readers can know how studio owners in Hollywood can generate their staggering chance via different innovative financial and marketing tactics.

   This book is significant to readers who are keen to know how the movie business can sustain long-run growth in the presence of innovation-based entrepreneurship.
   
   Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5