INDUSTRY RESEARCH HOLLYWOOD

When the average Friday night cinema-goer sits down to watch a film in this country they would most probably be waiting to see the latest Hollywood blockbuster projected onto the screen. This seems to have been the norm for decades now but it wasn't always the case. Cinema was born in France with the introduction of motion pictures from the Lumière brothers; Auguste and Louis. The first presentation of motion pictures and the Lumière Cinématographe (a combined camera, printer and projector) was to the Society for the Promotion of Industry (Société d'Encouragement a l'industrie Nationale) on March 22, 1895.

  LA was a small Mexican town that changed little in 3 decades after 1848 when California became part of the US. After the completion of Santé Fe Railroad line from Chicago to LA in 1885, immigrants flooded in especially white protestants from mid-west. LA had a strong economic base in farming, oil, tourism, real estate & movies. Hollywood made the city world famous & WW II brought new industry especially high-tech aircraft construction.

HISTORY OF THE TOWN

New ethnic groups especially from Mexico & Asia have transformed the demographic base since 1960 old industries have declined but Tourism, Entertainment & High-tech remain strong. It was incorporated as city of Hollywood in 1903 but merged into LA in 1910. In 1980 LA’s population was 3,005,072 surpassing Chicago as 2nd in the whole nation.

1886 land-owners Harvey & Daeida Henderson Wilcox name their ranch Hollywood after Daeida met a woman in Ohio whose country house was called “Hollywood” for English Holly & Wood. In 1900 Jewish movie makers from New York found the sunny, temperate weather more suitable for year around location shooting. It boomed into the cinematic heart of the United States. In 1902 The Electric Theater, the first movie theater built for that purpose, by Thomas Lincoln Tally in downtown Los Angeles.

The name Hollywood was coined by H.J.Whitley the (Father Of Hollywood) who bought 500 acre from Harvey & Daeida (Mother Of Hollywood). In 1907, The first film crew from the Selig polyscope company, films in LA with occidental Studios as founder Hobart Bosworth starring. In 1912, Thomas Tally shows the first color movie at the electric theater in Hollywood founded universal studio.

Hollywood Today The Cinema of US, generally referred as Hollywood has had a profound effect on

cinema across the world since early 20th century. French Lumiere brothers are generally credited with the birth of modern cinema. Hollywood is some time separated into four main periods. The Silent Film Era, Classical, Hollywood Cinema, New Hollywood. Since 1920’s the American film industry has grossed more money every year than that of any other country.

The next logical step for this new industry was to integrate sound with the images. In 1927 Warner Brothers released The Jazz Singer, the first ‘talkie' feature film to be widely distributed. This invention practically caused the death of the Silent Era as audiences demanded sound with their films and heralded the ‘Golden Age' of cinema. But once again it was not an industry completely dominated by Hollywood. The French idea of commercial movie houses became the international model, and entrepreneurs scurried to build impressive movie houses across North America and Europe including theatres to seat up to 5,000 people, rather than relying on the storefront Nickelodeons from the turn of the century. Birmingham born businessman Oscar Deutsch opened his first Odeon cinema in the UK in Perry Barr, Birmingham in 1920. By 1930 the Odeon was a household name and to this day there is still an Odeon in the prime location of British cinema exhibition, Leicester Square.

This ability to adapt to the market is an early demonstration of why Hollywood is still the market leader in feature films. From these early years it was evident that the studio system was going to be at the forefront of film production. The 1930's and 1940's were to prove to be the beginning of the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema with the introduction of colour films and the release of such popular films as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney 1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood (Warner Bros 1938), Gone with the Wind (MGM 1939), The Wizard of Oz (MGM 1939), and Citizen Kane (RKO 1941). When the United States entered the Second World War in 1941 the Hollywood machine was utilised by the government to produce propaganda films for the American public. Within one year of the attack on Pearl Harbour, nearly one third of Hollywood's feature films were war related, as were the vast majority of its newsreels and documentaries (Nowell-Smith 234). Yet again Hollywood was flexible enough to meet the demands of the public and due to the nature of the audiences at home and most notably abroad (the UK), Hollywood's foreign revenues reached record levels. Like the Depression before it, even the Second World War could not stop Hollywood.

The next period of Hollywood cinema came in the 1960's and continues today. This is regularly referred to as Modern Cinema and saw the power of the studios sway towards the director (often regarded as the auteur). In his book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls author Peter Biskind highlights Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde (Warner Bros 1967) as the first of the new breed of films, “Bonnie and Clyde was a movement movie; like The Graduate, young audiences recognized that it was ‘theirs'” (Biskind 49). This ‘new' Hollywood saw new players attract new audiences. The new kids on the block included George Lucas (THX 1138, American Graffiti, Star Wars), Steven Spielberg (Jaws, ET, Jurassic Park), Martin Scorsese (Mean Streets, Raging Bull, The Aviator) and Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, Dracula). The power of the director was affirmed when George Lucas's 1977 film Star Wars was released and confirmed that a single film could earn its studio huge profits and turn a poor year into a very successful one. Star Wars had a production budget of around $13 million (imdb.com) and has (as of the end of June 2005) grossed nearly $798 million. (thenumbers.com) While the American film industry had always looked abroad for sources of revenue, the global focus of Hollywood was also amplified in this period. Overseas theatrical and video markets exploded during the second half of 1980's; between 1984 and 1986, Hollywood's European exports alone jumped 225 percent to reach $561 million annually. In some major European markets, Hollywood movies accounted for 45-65 percent of total box-office receipts. 

British Film Industry and Hollywood The British film industry has historically always been the poorer cousin to Hollywood, or

as Robert Murphy suggests, “British cinema has been despised and disparaged for much of its existence” (Murphy 5). While Hollywood was experimenting with and developing the dramatic narrative of feature films in the early 1910's, Britain did not realise the potential of the longer film format; and one of the only company's releasing fictional drama, albeit single reel films, was Hepworth who produced films such as Rescued by Rover (1905), Faust (1911) and A Fisherman's Love Story (1912). As late as 1925 Joseph Schenck commented on the inferiority of British cinema saying that “You have no personalities to put on the screen. The stage actors and actresses are no good on the screen. Your effects are no good, and you do not spend nearly so much money.” (Schenck). 

Hollywood has been the dominant force in the global film market since the turn of the twentieth century. It has learned to accept change and develop it into a product that the public wants. This change is not a single entity. It covers technology, artistry, society and money.

The changes in technology have forged the film industry into what it is today; from the very first days of the Lumieres' Cinématographe projecting employees leaving a factory in 1895, to the introduction of sound in The Jazz Singer, to the beginning of colour film in the 1930's, to the ability to watch films in your own home with video and DVD. Every time there has been an advancement in technology Hollywood has adapted, researched, developed and exploited it. There have been some technological breakthroughs that have been left at the wayside; 3-D productions, for example, but it is this willingness to take a risk that has enabled Hollywood to remain at the forefront of all film producing nations.

 Today American film studios collectively generate several hundred movies every year making US the third most profilic producer of films in the world after the Indian & Nigerian cinema. Hollywood is considered the best film industry when it comes to the sound quality, computer graphics, story and direction skills & has produced CG films like Avatar & Tron: Legacy. Due to Hollywood achievements since 20th century every year several new directors, actors aspire to achieve great fame like their predecessors in Hollywood.

Production Companies Hollywood is the home of some of the greatest production companies

of all time I.E: Warner Bros. Entertainment & Warner Bros. Animation is considered the biggest production house of US/Canada & has market share of 17.1%. It has produced films like Batman Trilogy, Gravity & Matrix.

The Walt Disney, Pixel & Walt Disney Animation studios is Second biggest Production house with 15.9% share & has produced films like The Jungle Book, Star Wars & Bambi.

Colombia Pictures & Sony Animation is considered 4th with 11.2% share and has produced films like It Happened One Night, The Amazing Spider Man & The Smurfs 2.

Fox Filmed Entertainment (21st Century Fox) & Blue Sky studios has 10.8% share and has produced hit films like Avatar, X-Men: Days Of Future Past & Alien.

Paramount Pictures & Paramount Animation hold a share of 8.94% share in Hollywood Industry & had produced block busters like The God Father, The Transformers & The Adventures Of Tintin.

Actors and Directors There are many famous actors & Directors in Hollywood which make the Hollywood what it is

today some of them are; John Wayne was born Marion Robert Morrison in Winterset in 26 may 1906 and was famous for Slow talk and distinctive gravelly voice & distinctive cat-like walk.

James Dean was born in 1931 & raised on a farm by his aunt & uncle in Fairmount was famous for his “Rebel without a cause”.

Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeanne Mortenson on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, California. Her mother was a film-cutter at RKO Studios she was famous for her Lisp, breathless voice, Platinum blonde hair, Voluptuous figure.

Jack Nicholson, an American actor, producer, screenwriter & director, is a three-time Academy Award winner and 12 time nominee.

Meryl Streep Considered by many critics to be the greatest living actress, Meryl Streep has been nominated for the Academy Award an astonishing 18 times, & has won it three times.

Martin Charles Scorsese was born on November 17, 1942, in New York, to Italian-American parents. He directed all time hit movie “Goodfellas” and is on top of imdb’s director’s list.

James Francis Cameron was born on August 16, 1954 in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada. He moved to the United States in 1971. And has Directed & Produced top hit films like Avatar & titanic.

Tim Burton was born in 1958 California. His early film career was fueled by almost unbelievable good luck, It’s his talent & originality that kept him at the top of the Hollywood tree.

Block Busters Hollywood has created many block busters since the 20th century some of its biggest block-buster are: Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane (1941) is frequently cited in critics polls as the greatest film of all time. Victor Fleming’s Gone with the Wind held the record of highest

grossing film for 25 years, & adjusted for inflation has earned more than any other film.

Titanic (1997) by James Cameron inspired by the true incident is considered best film for the decade and is on 2nd highest grossed film of all time.

Avatar which is directed & written by James Cameron is an Animated Fantasy film released in (2009) is the 1st highest grossed film of all time due to its sceneries & CG (Computer Graphics).

Animated Films Animated Films holds became famous in Hollywood especially in late 20th century to until now Animated Movies make a lot of revenue some of the greatest animated films of all time are: Frozen (2013) by Jennifer Lee story of a winter queen and her sister. The Lion

King (1994) by Roger Allers about a Lion cub and future king Simba searches for his identity.

Wall-E (2008) by Andrew Stanton In the distant future, a small waste collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey & will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.

Grave Of The Fireflies (1988) by Isao Takahata about a tragic film covering a young boy and his little sister's struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.

Toy Story 3 (2010) by Pixar, lee Unkrich. The toys mistakenly delivered to a day-care center instead of the attic before Andy leaves, & it's up to Woody to convince the other toys that they weren't abandoned & to return home.

Spirited Away (2001) by Hayao Miyazaki, A 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches & monsters where humans change into animals.

Hollywood Walk of FameThe Hollywood Walk of Fame comprises more than 2,500 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood,California. The stars are permanent public monuments to achievement in the entertainment industry, bearing the names of a mix of actors, musicians, directors, producers, musical and theatrical groups, fictional characters, and others. The Walk of Fame is administered by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and maintained by the self-financing Hollywood Historic Trust. It is a popular tourist destination, with a reported 10 million visitors in 2003.

Awards Organizations and festivals that recognize achievements in cinema, usually

by awarding various prizes. The awards sometimes also have popular unofficial names (such as the 'Oscar' for Hollywood's Academy Awards).

Awards have been divided into three major categories: critic's awards, voted on (usually annually) by a group of critics; festival awards, awards presented to the best film shown in a particular film festival; and industry awards, which are selected by professionals working in some branch of the movie industry.

US celebrate academy awards every year. Golden Globe Awards which are held in the Beverly Hotel every year since

1961. The Academy Awards or Oscars it was first televised in 1953. The Oscars is

also the oldest entertainment awards ceremony, its equivalents, the Emmy Awards for television, the Tony Awards for theatre, and the Grammy Awards for music and recording, are modeled after the Academy Awards.

The MTV Movie Awards is a film awards show presented annually on MTV.

Reference • www.wikipedia.com • www.hollywoodfilmoffice.org • www.imdb.com • www.filmsite.org • www.rottentomatoes.com • www.express.co.uk