During the heyday of the studio system spanning the 1930s; lsquo;40s; and lsquo;50s; virtually all the American motion picture industryrsquo;s money; power; and prestige came from a single activity: selling tickets at the box office. Today; the movie business is just a small; highly visible outpost in a media universe controlled by six corporationsndash;Sony; Time Warner; NBC Universal; Viacom; Disney; and NewsCorporation. These conglomerates view films as part of an immense; synergistic; vertically integrated money-making industry. In The Big Picture; acclaimed writer Edward Jay Epstein gives an unprecedented; sweeping; and thoroughly entertaining account of the real magic behind moviemaking: how the studios make their money. Epstein shows how; in Hollywood; the only art that matters is the art of the deal: major films turn huge profits; not from the movies themselves but through myriad other enterprises; such as video-game spin-offs; fast-food tie-ins; soundtracks; and even theme-park rides. The studios may compete with one another for stars; publicity; box-office receipts; and Oscars; their corporate parents; however; make fortunes from cooperation (and collusion) with one another in less glamorous markets; such as cable; home video; and pay-TV. But money is only part of the Hollywood story; the social and political milieusndash;power; prestige; and statusndash;tell the rest. Alongside remarkable financial revelations; The Big Picture is filled with eye-opening true Hollywood insider stories. We learn how the promise of free cowboy boots for a producer delayed a major moviersquo;s shooting schedule; why stars never perform their own stunts; despite what the supermarket tabloids claim; how movies intentionally shape political sensibilities; both in America and abroad; and why fifteen-year-olds dictate the kind of low-grade fare that has flooded screens across the country. Epstein also offers incisive profiles of the pioneers; including Louis B. Mayer; who helped build Hollywood; and introduces us to the visionariesndash;Walt Disney; Akio Morita; Rupert Murdoch; Steve Ross; Sumner Redstone; David Sarnoffndash;power brokers who; by dint of innovation and deception; created and control the media that mold our lives. If you are interested in Hollywood today and the complex and fascinating way it has evolved in order to survive; you havenrsquo;t seen the big picture until yoursquo;ve read The Big Picture.From the Hardcover edition.
#563022 in eBooks 2005-02-15 2005-02-15File Name: B000FCJZH2
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Needs Expansion; Less JargonBy CustomerUsually Routledge prints high quality materials; but in this case I found Susan Bakers book Sustainable Development to be an exception to the ruleThe book begins in good spirits with a theoretical overview of sustainable development; which includes its basic origins; history (e.g. Brundtland report); what sustainable development means; and basic definitions of common terms. However; the remaining sections of the book are less appealing for the reason that Baker needlessly mingles her prose with the kind of "socio-economic" jargon that causes our heads to spin. As an intro text; I would assume the concepts broached could be handled in a more introductory and down to earth fashion. Perhaps I am alone in this view; but whenever I witness such jargon laden prose; I interpret it as the mark of poor writing trying to masquerade as good writing. Moreover; to intentionally use acrolectic jargon when simpler terms could be used is just plain irritating--why? Because jargon obscures and veils meaning; and is being used simply to "talk-up" what the writer otherwise fears might sound banal and plain. Baker suffers from this tendency throughout and it makes for difficult (and ultimately mediocre) writing that obscures the importance and seriousness of its subject.This isnt to say; however; that we cannot learn from Bakers text. Surely we can; but my point is that she hasnt eased the transition and exchange of dialogue between the important concepts and the reader.Even though the lack of breadth and brevity with which things are presented leaves much to be desired; we shouldnt blame Baker for all the books shortcomings. When I say this isnt Bakers fault I am being sincere; since a) this is a relatively new book and area of academic research; and b) she appears to have worked alone on the book without help from others. I assume that as further editions are printed; revisions and additions will be added in order to create a more complete work.So; can we blame Baker for not being completely right the first time around? Absolutely not; since she does do some things well (historical surveys; terminological overviews; and relevance to the present). But we still ought to be aware of certain irritating tendencies (jargon laden prose) and oversights (lack of breadth; if not depth) that commonly appear throughout the work.