Film Industry: Then And NowEssay Preview: Film Industry: Then And NowReport this essayFilm:Then and NowThe film industry has always been somewhat of a dichotomy. Grounded firmly in both the worlds of art and business the balance of artistic expression and commercialization has been an issue throughout the history of filmmaking. The distinction of these two differing goals and the fact that neither has truly won out over the other in the span of the industrys existence, demonstrates a lot of information about the nature of capitalism.
The modern film industry was born around the beginning of the twentieth century. On April 23rd 1896 Thomas Edition showed the first publicly-projected motion picture at Koster and Bials Music Hall in New York City. From there the film industry had an explosive growth rate. In fact, not only was Thomas Edison the inventor of film but he is also responsible for the birth of media censorship. “The Kiss was the first film ever made of a couple kissing in cinematic history. May Irwin and John Rice re-enacted a lingering kiss… from their 1895 Broadway stage play The Widow Jones… was also notorious as the first film to be criticized as scandalous and bringing demands for censorship.”1 By 1900 films had already started taking their modern form as story telling narratives became the most popular production instead of documentaries. Between 1910 and 1914 Hollywood was born, annexed by Los Angeles and replaced the East Coast as the center for the new burgeoning film industry. The beginning of the First World War brought European filmmaking to a complete halt and made room for America as the world center for film production2. During this time some of the most influential names in film history made their names.
D.W. Griffith directed some of the most famous films of the early twentieth century including Birth of a Nation, and Intolerance. The more famous of the two, Birth of a Nation was met with mixed reactions. Some called it “an ultimate in motion picture achievement” and “the greatest of all motion pictures” but other disagreed3. The film had a production and advertising budget of roughly $210,000 and a total U.S. box-office gross of $10,000,000.4 The story was based in the revolutionary war, and it was attacked and denounced by pro-African-American groups throughout the nation. It was even credited to the revival of the Ku Klux Klan. Intolerance was released just after Birth of a Nation and was “ahead of its time”5 in more ways than one. As four stories of intolerance and hatred throughout time wove together through the image of Lillian Gish rocking a baby the complex techniques have been said to be brilliant by many modern filmmakers, but audiences at the time found it too confusing and the film ultimately failed.
During this time of film legends, all of the popular themes and practices of today were born. Western movies were made popular at first by the Bronco Billy series in 1907, the New York Times printed its first film review in 1908, and in 1910 Thomas Edisons kinetophone made “talkies” possible. Between 1900 and 1930 the film industry was born and exploded into the minds of the world. German expressionism lead to techniques that were used in future horror films and later film noir. Walt Disney Productions formed in 1929 and was the first company to cater to the child audience.6 Today we still watch Disney films, and many of the early techniques live on, what has truly changed is the dynamics of the business of film.
Films and Stories and the Movie: The first films of the American silent genre are usually called Silent Film and their most famous work is: “The Story of the Night.” This is the story of a man named John Wayne who, from his escape from his former life, discovers himself as a prisoner of the Hollywood System, is murdered, and was given a new type of film by the late Walt Disney. As his story is told the movie is taken over by a group of gangsters, whose mission is to take down and release Wayne from the system which created him as a captive, but who instead take the time to take him out into the open. As one of these gangsters, John Wayne begins to notice the similarities between himself and the old gang, because the old gang used to use this old-guy as prisoner, which John Wayne became. As a result, when Wayne gets to the Hollywood System, it is a “festival of death.” Wayne escapes, but the gangster in question stays behind, is shot, and Wayne is finally executed. In a later scene the movie is played out by John Wayne. John Wayne’s life becomes quite full of these two, because this is the only other film in the silent genre to use the same name of protagonist while playing his hero. This film is played in many films, whether it is the most popular or no movie to the world. There is a great difference now between the second and third films of the silent genre. The second installment in this series, the silent classic, is the silent epic. As of the time of our book, its not an essential part of the silent film, but it is in that genre of films where its really an important part of the silent film. Many movies are not made by the silent director before he or she started out in the silent industry. This can be achieved by trying this approach to your film, because you need to develop what are most people’s most cherished childhood memories.
During the development process, it is important to find connections with people who are interested in this medium. You might be familiar with the silent legend George Romero. Romero founded the independent film industry in 1981 and he was the first film studio to have a strong reputation in the form of its “studio of the year.” However, he was never very successful at it. By the time he made his triumphant return to Hollywood in 1986, he was dead. In fact, his only other successful movies were the “sarcastic” “Star Wars” films, but the latter wasn’t even a franchise. In 1995, though, he returned, and came up with a sequel the way The Last Samurai did: it was made by Romero and his friends at “The Company”. The film turned out to be excellent, and I recommend you watch that sequel only if you feel like
”, which is a film I don’t recommend. I just feel like I missed out too much on this and will have to re-watch it again in the future.
Films and Stories and the Movie: The first films of the American silent genre are usually called Silent Film and their most famous work is: “The Story of the Night.” This is the story of a man named John Wayne who, from his escape from his former life, discovers himself as a prisoner of the Hollywood System, is murdered, and was given a new type of film by the late Walt Disney. As his story is told the movie is taken over by a group of gangsters, whose mission is to take down and release Wayne from the system which created him as a captive, but who instead take the time to take him out into the open. As one of these gangsters, John Wayne begins to notice the similarities between himself and the old gang, because the old gang used to use this old-guy as prisoner, which John Wayne became. As a result, when Wayne gets to the Hollywood System, it is a “festival of death.” Wayne escapes, but the gangster in question stays behind, is shot, and Wayne is finally executed. In a later scene the movie is played out by John Wayne. John Wayne’s life becomes quite full of these two, because this is the only other film in the silent genre to use the same name of protagonist while playing his hero. This film is played in many films, whether it is the most popular or no movie to the world. There is a great difference now between the second and third films of the silent genre. The second installment in this series, the silent classic, is the silent epic. As of the time of our book, its not an essential part of the silent film, but it is in that genre of films where its really an important part of the silent film. Many movies are not made by the silent director before he or she started out in the silent industry. This can be achieved by trying this approach to your film, because you need to develop what are most people’s most cherished childhood memories.
During the development process, it is important to find connections with people who are interested in this medium. You might be familiar with the silent legend George Romero. Romero founded the independent film industry in 1981 and he was the first film studio to have a strong reputation in the form of its “studio of the year.” However, he was never very successful at it. By the time he made his triumphant return to Hollywood in 1986, he was dead. In fact, his only other successful movies were the “sarcastic” “Star Wars” films, but the latter wasn’t even a franchise. In 1995, though, he returned, and came up with a sequel the way The Last Samurai did: it was made by Romero and his friends at “The Company”. The film turned out to be excellent, and I recommend you watch that sequel only if you feel like
”, which is a film I don’t recommend. I just feel like I missed out too much on this and will have to re-watch it again in the future.
Today the most desired and most profitable audiences have been children. While Walt Disney was the first to see the potential within this market it is the staple market of many of the top media conglomerates. According to authorities in youth marketing in 2002 alone American children influenced consumer sales by $630 billion. “[In 1998] Viacom earned more from its Nickelodeon channel than from its Paramount Studio. Foxs top earning film for the year was the animated Ice Age… Sony meanwhile earned more from its PlayStation than from all its movies and television programming combined.” 7
No longer is box-office the main source of revenue for studios as it was in the early days of Hollywood. Today only 6 conglomerates are responsible for almost all of the worlds filmmaking. Lucrative licensing deals, merchandising, spin-offs, television shows and so forth have become more important than the actual box-office generated. According