FRONTLINE - www.pbs.org/frontline/support from earthlinkNPR
the monster that ate hollywood: it's a scary story, with alien invaders, greedy villains, and heroic underdogs. will it have a happy ending?">
introduction
what's wrong with this picture? indies are dead. long live the indies. dreaming in broadband anatomy of a monster">
Have risk-averse MBAs killed Hollywood's magic? Studio executives, producers, filmmakers, and critics talk about how the movie business, and movies themselves, have changed.
John Pierson, the man behind many an indie, takes stock of what's "independent" today. Plus, interviews with Elvis Mitchell, Allison Anders, Kevin Smith, and Michael Douglas.
The Atlantic Monthly's Charles C. Mann on what Hollywood has learned from Napster. Plus, industry insiders discuss how digital technology and the Internet may transform filmmaking.
A closer look at the business of movies, including the story of how Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" gave birth to the summer blockbuster and changed Hollywood forever.
interviewslinks & readingsdiscussionvideo excerpts
press reactiontapes & transcriptsprivacy policycredits

PBS LogoFunding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers.Additional national sponsorship for FRONTLINE is provided by EarthLink and NPRearthlinknpr

Support thought-provoking independent journalism like FRONTLINE by making a pledge to your local PBS station today. Support thought-provoking independent journalism like FRONTLINE by making a pledge to your local PBS station today.

introduction · what's wrong with this picture · indies are dead... · dreaming in broadband · anatomy of a monster
interviews · links & readings · discussion · video excerpts
press reaction · tapes & transcripts · privacy policy · credits
frontline · wgbh ·  pbs online

photo of "jaws" copyright ©2000 universal studios
web site copyright WGBH educational foundation

The Monster that Ate Hollywood

The box office is booming. New international markets are opening weekly. Amazing advances in technology hold the promise of new delivery systems. Yet there's trouble bubbling just below the surface in Hollywood today as movie industry creative types struggle to adapt to new business realities. On the eve of one of the biggest weekends for new movie releases, FRONTLINE explores the changing Hollywood, revealing how once-fiercely independent studio bosses must now answer to the megacorporations that have swallowed the industry whole.

published nov. 2001