WATCHSCHEDULETOPICSABOUT FRONTLINESHOPTEACHER CENTER
FRONTLINEthe monster that ate hollywood
homewhat's wrongindiesbroadbandthe monsterdiscussion
what's wrong with this picture?
How do today's Hollywood pictures get made? Why do they get made? Who makes the decisions? And why are so many big-budget Hollywood movies so disappointing? In interviews with FRONTLINE over the past six months, studio executives, producers, filmmakers, industry analysts, and critics have shared their insights into how the movie business, and movies themselves, have changed -- and whether the new business model makes sense.

corporate town

Have risk-averse conglomerates squelched Hollywood's creativity? How has the culture of Hollywood changed since the last "golden age" of the late 1960s and early 1970s? Here are excerpts from FRONTLINE's interviews with Variety editor Peter Bart; entertainment journalist Michael Cieply; actor and producer Michael Douglas; longtime studio executives Lucy Fisher, Peter Guber, and Bill Mechanic; independent producer David Kirkpatrick; New York Times film critic Elvis Mitchell; Los Angeles Times reporter Richard Natale; and Sony Corporation of America's chief executive, Howard Stringer.
open big, open wide

What's behind the opening-weekend box-office mania? Does marketing hold too much power over the fate of a film? Here are excerpts from FRONTLINE's interviews with Mandalay's chairman, Peter Guber; Bob Levin, president of worldwide marketing and distribution for MGM; journalist Richard Natale; longtime studio executive Lucy Fisher; actor and producer Michael Douglas; Sony Corporation of America's chief executive, Howard Stringer; and Bill Mechanic, former Fox studio chief.
Does This Business Make Sense?

"Could [these companies] screw up? The main way they can screw up is simply that the gambles get so outrageous that it just doesn't make sense anymore. And we're well on our way." So says Variety editor and Hollywood studio veteran Peter Bart. Here are excerpts from FRONTLINE's interviews with Bart; former Fox studio chief Bill Mechanic; Los Angeles Times reporter Richard Natale; industry analyst Larry Gerbrandt; veteran studio executive Lucy Fisher; and entertainment journalist Michael Cieply.

home · 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

web site copyright WGBH educational foundation
anatomy of a monster: A closer look at the business of Hollywood today, and how it got that way

jaws: the monster that ate hollywood

Steven Spielberg's mechanical shark and the summer that changed everything [with video excerpt]
meet the new boss

Introducing Hollywood's major players -- and their corporate masters
a small piece of a big pie

How much do the studios contribute to the conglomerates that own them?
now playing ... and playing ... and playing

In its lifetime, a movie passes through several "windows of exhibition," from theaters to home video to television. Here's how it works.
SUPPORT PROVIDED BY