Written for working and aspiring filmmakers, directors, producers and screenwriters, The Marketing Edge for Filmmakers walks through every stage of the marketing process - from concept to post-production - and illustrates how creative decisions at each stage will impact the marketability of a film. In this book, marketing experts Schwartz and MacDonald welcome you behind the curtain into the inner workings of Marketing department at both the studios and independents. They also track films of different budgets (studio, genre, independent and documentary) through the marketing process, examining how each discipline will approach your film. Featuring interviews with both marketers and filmmakers throughout, an extensive glossary and end-of-chapter exercises, The Marketing Edge for Filmmakers offers a unique introduction to film marketing and a practical guide for understanding the impact of marketing on your film.

From films that claim the status of harsh realism to others which embody aspects of the tradition of modernism or the poetic, art cinema encompasses a variety of work from across the globe. But how is art cinema positioned in the film marketplace, or by critics and in academic analysis? Exactly what kinds of cultural value are attributed to films of this type and how can this be explained? This book offers a unique analysis of how such processes work, including the broader cultural basis of the appeal of art cinema to particular audiences. Geoff King argues that there is no single definition of art cinema, but a number of distinct and recurrent tendencies are identified. At one end of the spectrum are films accorded the most 'heavyweight' status, offering the greatest challenges to viewers. Others mix aspects of art cinema with more accessible dimensions such as uses of popular genre frameworks and 'exploitation' elements involving explicit sex and violence. Including case studies of key figures such as Michael Haneke, Pedro Almodovar and Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, this is a crucial contribution to understanding both art cinema itself and the discourses through which its value is established.

"If I had a talent for anything, it was a talent for knowing who was talented."

Mike Medavoy is a Hollywood rarity: a studio executive who, though never far from controversy, has remained well loved and respected through four decades of moviemaking. What further sets him apart is his role in bringing to the screen some of the most acclaimed Oscar-winning films of our time: Apocalypse Now, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus, The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, and Sleepless in Seattle are just some of the projects he green-lighted at United Artists, Orion, TriStar, his own Phoenix Pictures.

"The ultimate lose-lose situation for a studio executive: to wind up with a commercial bomb and a bad movie."

Of course, there are the box office disasters, and the films, as Medavoy says, "for which I should be shot." They, too, have a place in his fascinating memoir -- a pull-no-punches account of financial and political maneuvering, and of working with the industry's brightest star power, including Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Sharon Stone, Michael Douglas, Meg Ryan, and countless others.

"Putting together the elements of a film is a succession of best guesses."

Medavoy speaks out on how movie studio buyouts have stymied the creative process and brought an end to the "hands-off" golden age of filmmaking. An eyewitness to Hollywood history in the making, he gives a powerful and poignant view of the past and future of a world he knows intimately.

This book explores why word of mouth is the most important determinant of a movie's success. Beginning with a discussion of the enduring appeal of movies, and why the box office has survived the disruption of television and will likely survive the disruption of streaming services, Owen Eagan goes on to discuss the unpredictable nature of movies and ways to mitigate their risk. His astute analysis sheds light on the role of film festivals, film critics, Oscar campaigns, and word of mouth in influencing a film's success. Eagan concludes with a summary of why word of mouth is the most influential among all the variables that affect a film's outcome. Expertly synthesizing quantitative analyses of box office data with illuminating insights from industry experts, this concise and engaging book presents findings with important implications for scholars, industry insiders and marketing professionals alike.

In this book, film scholars, anthropologists, and critics discuss star-making in the contemporary Hindi-language film industry in India, also known as "Bollywood." Drawing on theories of stardom, globalization, transnationalism, gender, and new media studies, the chapters explore contemporary Hindi film celebrity. With the rise of social media and India's increased engagement in the global economy, Hindi film stars are forging their identities not just through their on-screen images and magazine and advertising appearances, but also through an array of media platforms, product endorsements, setting fashion trends, and involvement in social causes. Focusing on some of the best-known Indian stars since the late 1990s, the book discusses the multiplying avenues for forging a star identity, the strategies industry outsiders adopt to become stars, and the contradictions and conflicts that such star-making produces. It addresses questions such as: What traits of contemporary stars have contributed most to longevity and success in the industry? How has filmmaking technology and practice altered the nature of stardom? How has the manufacture of celebrity altered with the recent appearance of commodity culture in India and the rise of a hyper-connected global economy? By doing so, it describes a distinct moment in India and in the world in which stars and stardom are drawn more closely than ever into the vital events of global culture. Hindi films and their stars are part of the national and global entertainment circuits that are bigger and more competitive than ever. As such, this is a timely book creates opportunities for examining stardom in other industries and provides fruitful cross-cultural perspectives on star identities today. "Grounded in rigorous scholarship as well as a palpable love of Hindi cinema, this collection of 19 essays on a dizzying array of contemporary Hindi film stars makes for an informative, thought-provoking, illuminating, and most of all, a joyful read. Pushing boundaries of not only global Star Studies but also film theory as a whole, this de-colonised and de-colonising volume is a must read for film scholars, students and cinephiles!" Dr. Sunny Singh, Senior Lecturer - Creative Writing and English Literature, Sir John Cass School of Art, Architecture & Design, London Metropolitan University "A wide-ranging overview of Hindi cinema's filmi firmament today, focussing on its most intriguing and brightest-burning stars. The variety of approaches to stardom and celebrity by both established and upcoming scholars reveals a web of interconnecting stories and concerns that provide fascinating new insights into the workings of today's Hindi film industry, while shining fresh light on contemporary India and the world we live in." Professor Rosie Thomas, Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media (CREAM), College of Design, Creative and Digital Industries, University of Westminster

This book gives a panoramic view of the rise and growth of Nollywood, Nigeria's movie and home video entertainment industry, into the second largest and most prolific movie-producing industry in the world. It offers an analysis of Nollywood's influence as a local and global cultural force. Scholars from Africa, the African Diaspora and beyond examine the factors that have shaped Nollywood's unique story-telling, production, and distribution system. The volume shows how internal and external economic, social, cultural and technological changes intersect to define Nollywood's film-making and entertainment ethos. It is grounded in sound theoretical perspectives that help readers understand the texts and subtexts of the industry's emergence, transformation, and impact. The range of subjects covered span Nollywood's historical roots in Nigeria pre-colonial traveling/community theatre to colonial era film-making, and its contemporary spin-offs and inspired cousins across Africa and in Europe. It illuminates the interface of artistic, business, cultural and technological innovation and creativity at the heart of Africa's local and global pop culture explosion.

A New York Times bestseller, now updated with an afterword and exclusive new material From the #1 bestselling author behind acclaimed oral histories of Saturday Night Live and ESPN comes "the most hotly anticipated book [in decades]" (Variety): James Andrew Miller's irresistible insider chronicle of the modern entertainment industry, told through the epic story of Creative Artists Agency (CAA)-the ultimate power player that has represented the world's biggest stars and shaped the landscape of film, television, comedy, music, and sports. Started in 1975, when five bright and brash upstarts left creaky William Morris to form their own innovative talent agency, CAA would come to revolutionize Hollywood, representing everyone from Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, and Steven Spielberg to Jennifer Lawrence, J.J. Abrams, Will Smith, and Brad Pitt. Over the next decades its tentacles would spread aggressively into sports, advertising, and digital media. Powerhouse is the fascinating, no-holds-barred saga of that ascent. Drawing on unprecedented and exclusive access to the men and women who built and battled with CAA-including co-founders Michael Ovitz and Ron Meyer and rivals like Ari Emanuel of William Morris Endeavor-as well as the stars themselves, Miller spins a unique and unforgettable tale of brilliance, ambition, betrayal, and outrageous success.

Audiences love the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, but beyond the red carpet and behind the velvet curtain exists a legion of individuals who make showbiz work: agents. Whether literary, talent, or indie film, agents are behind the scenes brokering power, handling mediation, and doing the deal-making that keeps Hollywood spinning. In Representing Talent, Violaine Roussel explores the little-known but decisive work of agents, turning the spotlight on how they help produce popular culture. The book takes readers behind the scenes to observe the day-to-day activities of agents, revealing their influence on artistic careers and the prospects of Hollywood's forthcoming projects. Agents are crucial to understanding how creative and economic power are intertwined in Hollywood today. They play a key role in the process by which artistic worth and economic value are evaluated and attributed to people and projects. Roussel's fieldwork examines what "having relationships" really means for agents, and how they perform the relationship work that's at the heart of their professional existence and success. Representing Talent helps us to understand the players behind the definition of entertainment itself, as well as behind its current transformations.

In "Hollywood 1938," Catherine Jurca brings to light a tumultuous year of crisis that has been neglected in histories of the studio era. With attendance in decline, negative publicity about stars that were poison at the box office, and a spate of bad films, industry executives decided that the public was fed up with the movies. Jurca describes their desperate attempt to win back audiences by launching Motion PicturesOCO Greatest Year, a massive, and unsuccessful, public relations campaign conducted in theaters and newspapers across North America. Drawing on the records of studio personnel, independent exhibitors, moviegoers, and the motion pictures themselves, she analyzes what was wrongOCoand rightOCowith Hollywood at the end of a heralded decade, and how the industryOCOs troubles changed the making and marketing of films in 1938 and beyond.

This book is about how to work with people in the film industry, about who they are, what they do, and what they need. Most importantly for the reader, it is also about how to become one of them. Need to know who the real players are and how to network with them? Or, ten ways to keep a script out of the trash? This book offers the reader rare advice on how to anticipate and navigate both, the business and politics of the film business. With a down-to-earth, tell it like it is approach, the author offers insight through relatable, real-world experience and one- on-one interviews with working professionals who are already at the top of their game. Having an insider's understanding of the entire filmmaking process from start to finish, fundraising to distribution, is imperative to finding success in the industry.

This volume offers an up-to-date analysis of film and television co-production in Europe. It brings together the voices of policy professionals, industry practitioners and media industry scholars to trace the contours of a complex practice that is of increasing significance in the global media landscape. Analysis of the latest production statistics sits alongside interviews with producers and the critical evaluation of public film policies. The volume incorporates contributions from representatives of major public institutions-Eurimages, the European Audiovisual Observatory and the European Commission-and private production companies including the pan-European Zentropa Group. Policy issues are elucidated through case studies including the Oscar-winning feature film Ida, the BAFTA-winning I am not a Witch and the Danish television serial Ride Upon the Storm. Scholarly articles span co-development, co-distribution and regional cinemas as well as emerging policy challenges such as the digital single market. The combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches, and the juxtaposition of industry and scholarly voices, provides a unique perspective on European co-production that is information-rich, complex and stimulating, making this volume a valuable companion for students, scholars, and industry professionals.

Tricia Jenkins and Tom Secker deliver a highly original exploration of how the government-entertainment complex has influenced the world's most popular movie genre-superhero films. Superheroes, Movies, and the State sets a new standard for exploring the government-Hollywood relationship as it persuasively documents the critical role different government agencies have played in shaping characters, stories, and even the ideas behind the hottest entertainment products. Jenkins and Secker cover a wide range of US government and quasi-governmental agencies who act to influence the content of superhero movies, including the Department of Defense, the National Academy of Sciences' Science and Entertainment Exchange and, to a lesser extent, the FBI and the CIA. Superheroes, Movies, and the State deploys a thematic framework to analyze how five of the key themes of our time-militarism, political radicalism and subversion, the exploration of space, the role of science and technology, and representation and identity-manifest in the superhero genre, and the role of the government in molding narratives around these topics. The book includes interviews with both producers and influencer insiders and covers a wide range of superhero products, from 1970s TV shows up to the most recent movie and TV releases, including the first major analysis of the hit Amazon show The Boys. In addition, it is the first deep exploration of NASA's Hollywood office and the first detailed account of the role of the Science and Entertainment Exchange, which has worked on thousands of products since its creation in 2008 but is little known outside of the industry. Superheroes, Movies, and the State offers an innovative blend of research methods and interpretive frameworks, combining both production histories and deep readings of superhero texts to clearly reveal how the government-entertainment complex works in the world of blockbuster cinema to shape public perceptions of the United States, war, science, and much, much more.

Florian Kumb provides a comprehensive review of the current state of the international literature on the motion picture industry and then applies a mix of appropriate quantitative and qualitative research methods in three empirical studies. He enters uncharted research territory examining the effects that major film characteristics cause in the post-theatrical exhibition, he identifies key factors that influence public film funding decisions, and then forecasts the future market development of a European film-financing network. The author shows that the characteristics of local movies, public film funding, and the local film financing network are major reasons for the low international competitiveness of Germany's motion picture industry.

Histories of women in Hollywood usually recount the contributions of female directors, screenwriters, designers, actresses, and other creative personnel whose names loom large in the credits. Yet, from its inception, the American film industry relied on the labor of thousands more women, workers whose vital contributions often went unrecognized. Never Done introduces generations of women who worked behind the scenes in the film industry - from the employees' wives who hand-colored the Edison Company's films frame-by-frame, to the female immigrants who toiled in MGM's backrooms to produce beautifully beaded and embroidered costumes. Challenging the dismissive characterization of these women as merely menial workers, media historian Erin Hill shows how their labor was essential to the industry and required considerable technical and interpersonal skills. Sketching a history of how Hollywood came to define certain occupations as lower-paid ""women's work"" or ""feminized labor,"" Hill also reveals how enterprising women eventually gained a foothold in more prestigious divisions like casting and publicity. Poring through rare archives and integrating the firsthand accounts of women employed in the film industry, the book gives a voice to women whose work was indispensable yet largely invisible. As it traces this long history of women in Hollywood, Never Done reveals the persistence of sexist assumptions that, even today, leave women in the media industry underpraised and underpaid.

Regarded as the undisputed Bible of the movie industry, Ephraim Katz's "The Film Encyclopedia" is the most comprehensive one-volume encyclopedia on film available. This all new seventh edition includes up-to-date additions, and features more than 8,000 A-Z entries on the artistic, technical, and commercial aspects of moviemaking, including: directors, producers, stars, screenwriters, and cinematographers, styles, genres, and schools of filmmaking, motion picture studios and film centers; film-related organizations and events; industry jargon and technical terms; inventions, inventors, and equipment; and, an index of Academy Award winning films and artists, top grossing films, and much, much more. The editors have updated every single page, giving more thorough coverage to independent films, and adding new entries for all the latest stars and trends, from Sofia Coppola (director, "Lost in Translation" and "The Virgin Suicides") to Johnny Depp (Oscar nomination for "Pirates of the Caribbean") to "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy ("Return of the King" won a record-tying eleven Oscars). With the abundance of movies available through standard and electronic channels, this is the essential sourcebook every film buff, student, aspiring artist, and armchair movie lover needs.

The works of Shakespeare and Dante or the figures of George Washington and Moses do not often enter into popular conceptions of the silent cinema, yet, between 1907 and 1910, the Vitagraph Company frequently used such material in producing "quality" films that promulgated "respectable" culture. William Uricchio and Roberta Pearson situate these films in an era of immigration, labor unrest, and mainstream American xenophobia, in order to explore the cultural views promoted by the films and the ways the audiences--the middle classes as well as workers and immigrants--related to what they saw. The authors associate the production of quality films with a top-down forging of cultural consensus on issues such as patriotism and morality, and reveal the surprising bottom-up negotiations of these films' "meanings.". Devoting chapters to the literary, historical, and biblical subjects used by Vitagraph, this book draws upon plays, pageants, school textbooks, and even product advertisements to illuminate the conditions of cinematic production and reception. It provides a detailed look at one aspect of the film industry's transformation from "despised cheap amusement" to the nation's dominant mass medium, while showing how cultural elites engaged in a struggle similar to that of today's American academy over the literary canon and national value systems. Originally published in 1993. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Starting with 1964's Goldfinger, every James Bond film has followed the same ritual, and so has its audience: after an exciting action sequence the screen goes black and the viewer spends three long minutes absorbing abstract opening credits and a song that sounds like it wants to return to 1964. In The James Bond SongsR authors Adrian Daub and Charles Kronengold use the genre to trace not only a changing cultural landscape, but also evolving conceptions of what a pop song is. They argue that the story of the Bond song is the story of the pop song more generally, and perhaps even the story of its end. Each chapter discusses a particular segment of the Bond canon and contextualizes it in its eras music and culture. But the book also asks how Bond and his music reflected and influenced our feelings about such topics as masculinity, race, money, and aging. Through these individual pieces the book presents the Bond song as the perfect anthem of late capitalism. The Bond songs want to talk about the fulfillment that comes from fast cars, shaken Martinis and mindless sex, but their unstable speakers, subjects, and addressees actually undercut the logic of the lifestyle James Bond is sworn to defend. The book is an invitation to think critically about pop music, about genre, and about the political aspects of popular culture in the twentieth century and beyond.

Flickering Empire tells the fascinating yet little-known story of how Chicago served as the unlikely capital of American film production in the years before the rise of Hollywood (1907-1913). As entertaining as it is informative, Flickering Empire straddles the worlds of academic and popular nonfiction in its vivid illustration of the rise and fall of the major Chicago movie studios in the mid-silent era (principally Essanay and Selig Polyscope). Colorful, larger-than-life historical figures, including Thomas Edison, Charlie Chaplin, Oscar Micheaux, and Orson Welles, are major players in the narrative-in addition to important though forgotten industry titans, such as "Colonel" William Selig, George Spoor, and Gilbert "Broncho Billy" Anderson.

East Germany's film monopoly, Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft, produced a films ranging beyond simple propaganda to westerns, musicals, and children's films, among others. This book equips scholars with the historical background to understand East German cinema and guides the readers through the DEFA archive via examinations of twelve films.

Hollywood's Film Wars with France examines how Hollywood was able to establish a permanent dominance over the French market for motion pictures by using monopolistic trade practices and diplomatic pressure. Hollywood's Film Wars with France examines how Hollywood was able to establish a permanent dominance over the French market for motion pictures. This history of American film policy towards France is documented by a wealthof diplomatic correspondence, which reveals that American exports were promoted through close collaboration between the State Department, the United States Embassy in France, the Department of Commerce, and the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America [MPPDA]. It is based on hitherto unstudied documents from these institutions. While European film production was at a standstill after World War I, Hollywood companies flooded the European marketwith hundreds of films at very low prices. Hollywood's dominant position should not be considered as solely the result of successful collaboration between corporate capitalism and the federal government in Washington, but also asthe failure of the French government to provide proper assistance to its film industry. The support French film producers obtained from their government did not begin to compare with the whole-hearted support Hollywood received from the MPPDA. This book shows how Hollywood has upheld its dominant position in France by using monopolistic trade practices and diplomatic pressure. Hollywood's prominence must be considered the result of manipulations of the international political economy involving the interplay of economics and politics in the world arena. Jens Ulff-Moller is in the Department of Film and Media Studies at the University of Copenhagen.

Gain a comprehensive understanding of the business of entertainment and learn to successfully engage in all aspects of global production with the revised and updated 4th edition of The Producer's Business Handbook. Learn how to cultivate relationships with key industry players including domestic and foreign studios, agencies, attorneys, talent, completion guarantors, banks, and private investors.

This edition has been updated to include the latest opportunities presented by changing technology and their impact on the producer’s ability to brand, monetize, finance and globally release content. Also included is new information on audience, earning, distribution and funding opportunities created by the explosive growth of VR, AR, 360 and gaming, as well as the rapid conversion to OTT.

Additional features include:

Completely updated production financing worksheets – an essential tool for producers;

Expanded information for low-budget independent producers, internationally-based producers, producers using government funding, and film school students alike;

Coverage of China’s changing entertainment landscape, including their entertainment consumption, their commitment to produce content for the big global territories, and more;

New, full-color illustrations and graphics that provide a visual representation of complex topics.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Industry

U.S. Theatrical Distributors

International Territories

DIY Distribution

Ancillary Windows, Rights, & Products

Production Financing

Production Incentives

Guarantors

Attorneys

Talent Agents & Managers

Company Structure

Development Funding

The Team

Operations

Producers Business

Resources

Glossary

This practical guide teaches readers the skills and business acumen required to build a career in the film industry from the ground up. While countless books and classes teach newcomers the creative aspects of the film industry, many fail to properly prepare readers for the reality of how to navigate a freelance film career today. From creating a business model, dealing with taxes and funding, finding and managing clients, networking, investing, cashflow, and planning for the long-term, Business and Entrepreneurship for Filmmakers provides real-world, pragmatic advice on navigating a freelance film career, whether you're a recent film school graduate looking to take the next step or a seasoned professional hoping to start a production company. Moreover, the skills taught here apply across the industry, from corporate media and commercials to music videos and feature films. Interviews with filmmakers, innovators, and business experts are included throughout the book to offer further expertise and examples.

The story of Eastmancolor's arrival on the British filmmaking scene is one of intermittent trial and error, intense debate and speculation before gradual acceptance. This book traces the journey of its adoption in British Film and considers its lasting significance as one of the most important technical innovations in film history. Through original archival research and interviews with key figures within the industry, the authors examine the role of Eastmancolor in relation to key areas of British cinema since the 1950s; including its economic and structural histories, different studio and industrial strategies, and the wider aesthetic changes that took place with the mass adoption of colour. Their analysis of British cinema through the lens of colour produces new interpretations of key British film genres including social realism, historical and costume drama, science fiction, horror, crime, documentary and even sex films. They explore how colour communicated meaning in films ranging from the Carry On series to Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979), from Lawrence of Arabia (1962) to A Passage to India (1984), and from Goldfinger (1964) to 1984 (1984), and in the work of key directors and cinematographers of both popular and art cinema including Nicolas Roeg, Ken Russell, Ridley Scott, Peter Greenaway and Chris Menges.