The Big Picture: Money and Power in Hollywood

This book is an astute analysis of the film business by someone outside the motion picture business. Many books are written about the movie business by insiders or entertainment reporters but often these writers are too close to the subject or in awe of the subject and as a result miss the mark. Mr. Epstien gives an astute analysis of the current state of the business using sources that normally are not available to the public. An example is the confidential disclosures by the six major studios to the Motion Picture Association Of America (MPAA), which are then compiled into an industry compendium disclosing studios sources of revenue. Mr. Epstein confines his analysis to the six major studios, Disney, Sony, Universal, Warners, Paramount and Fox, which dominate the motion picture and ancillary entertainment businesses world wide.Once a movie's theatrical release was the primary source of a studios income and indeed in the beginning the only income. Now however the theatrical release is just the beginning of income to the studios that now earn more income from video/DVD sales and rentals than the initial theatrical release. Also particular types of movies that lend themselves to action figures, promotional tie-ins, theme park rides and sequels are the major earners for the studios. Examples of these are Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Batman. These movies are easy to understand, involve multiple spectacular action scenes and cater to a young demographic who go to movies, buy the action figures and memorabilia associated with a movie and after seeing it more than once in the theatres may buy the DVD or video of the movie.While the cost of making and advertising the theatrical release may exceed box office receipts the picture will make money for the studio over the years in rentals, sales of the movie, leasing to television, pay per view, income from licensing toys and other products associated with the movie.Mr. Epstein has described the historical development of the studios from creators of films shown in wholly owned theatrical chains to vast clearing houses greenlighting and financing producers to distributing, selling, licensing movies and related products world wide.This book was a profound look at the business side of the entertainment business and the people who control and profit from it. Ever wonder why there is such a paucity of quality entertainment for persons older than twenty-five? Because in order to have a mega blockbuster that generates billions of dollars in income over the years it must be geared toward the 12 to 24 year old audience, with a story line that can be easily understood even it all the audience doesn't speak the language of the movie well. This means action movies with a simplistic story line of good triumphing over evil.This was an excellent book and after reading it you will understand why the major studios no longer care about making quality-sophisticated entertainment. Edsopinion.com

I like books on business in general and also read many books on the movie business. This is an exceptional book to understand the current-day economics of the movie business which has changed drastically. Much in this book has already been covered of the original movie business starting from an Eastern Jewish influence to the West Coast. Fortunate to have a business with complete control of the talent through the studio system it was a "win-win" controlling the talent as well as what movies were shown in the theaters they owned. But laws soon outlawed owning the theaters and by the 60s the studio system completely crumbled allowing directors and stars to now bid their pay to incredible wealth.Where this book really excels is not in the history of the business, where a fine job was done, but in the current discussion of the economics of the business. There are specific examples but probably the most telling is concerning the film, "Gone in Sixty Seconds", a typical car crash film starring Nicolas Cage. Most would probably assume this was not a profitable movie but he explains how movies are generally not profitable from ticket sales but through licensed video games, DVD sales and other promotions. This movie was hugely profitable but only when considering this ancillary income.The example is carried further in explaining the mystic behind "net" and "gross" points. The known fact in Hollywood is always to get your points in "gross", prior to expense allocation. That's easier said than done. He goes through the whole math of the clearing house. As a former CPA it's an excellent explanation on what is "behind the curtain" in Hollywood accounting that leads to so many lawsuits.Overall, I consider this on of the best books ever written about Hollywood. But this reads somewhat like a college textbook full of thought provoking information. This is not a light, fun read but a business book which should be required reading for anyone considering entering the business side of Hollywood. I strongly recommend this book if you want to "study" the finance/accounting side of the business.

Good history and current account of the movie industry. Well worth the read. It helps you to understand movies better.It helped me to understand why Valerian flopped. These sorts of movies need a big action scene within the first 15 minutes. This didn't have any big action scenes until about 1/2 hour or so. Also, the boy/girl duo lacked chemistry. But, read the book to understand this industry and the movies they produce.

This book was a fascinating read. It is perhaps the most comprehensive investigation and analysis of the business of movie-making I have ever read. I enjoyed every page.The curtain gets pulled back -- read "The Big Picture" to learn the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the motion picture business from the late 19th century all the way to today, plus a somewhat disheartening peek at where it is probably headed.Author Edward Jay Epstein did years of research for this book and his sources are exhaustive (although he inaccurately refers to the movie "Tron" as a "space adventure" in Chapter Ten). He is also a big fan of the word "ineluctable" and its derivative form "ineluctably" -- he uses those words about 20 times in this book.Those two non-critical comments aside, I have nothing but praise for this book. Its detail is beyond meticulous. This site's other reviews will cover much of the same ground I wish to cover here, so I won't bore you with repetition.Very highly recommended.

It was informative and a page turner. Often these types of books can be dry and hard to stay interesting.