1. What do you think of when you hear the word Hollywood?

3. Origins  Many NY and NJ filmmakers moved to LA to escape Edison’s patents and reliable weather.  D.W. Griffith shot the first ever “Hollywood” film – In Old California (1910).  1913 – the movie industry was “born” in Hollywood which soon became the movie capital of the world! 1923 – Hollywood sign

4. Origins  1927-1948 – Golden Age of Hollywood  The Big Five – Paramount, RKO, 20 th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Warner Bros.  Film studios/institutions controlled the 3 aspects of film - filmmaking process including their own set of actors, distribution and exhibition (theatres).  1930 -48 = 95% of all film rentals and 70% of all box office receipts to the Big 5.  We call this vertical integration.

5. Golden Age of Hollywood (1928 - 1948)  Narratives followed a set formula eg. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl  This formula was applied to many different genres and has been developed into the genres of today.  Form of escapism – relief from their everyday lives.  Big budget films with elaborate sets.  Studio Star System – actors and actresses would sign contracts with particular studios. This prevented them from making films with other studios.

6. Questions 1. How did vertical integration benefit the major studios during Hollywood’s Golden Age? 2. How do you think vertical integration impacted the actors and actresses of the Golden Age of Hollywood?

7. End of an era  1948 – United States vs Paramount – federal decree to give up their monopoly.  Studios forced to give up their theatres.  Smaller producers given opportunities.  Advent of television in 1950. What was happening in society during the Golden Age of Hollywood (1928-1948)? How would these events impacted on: the genres being produced and the narratives of the films?

8. New Hollywood (1950s – 1980)  Film schools were more accessible ie. Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese etc.  The narrative formulas from the Golden Age were being challenged eg. Timelines were blurred, ‘twist’ endings and unclear character motivations (‘good’ or ‘bad’).  Films such as Jaws and Star Wars helped coin the phrase ‘blockbuster’ due to their critical acclaim and commercial success.

10. Hollywood (1980s – 1990s)  Unsuccessful theatrical films found success in the video market.  Filmmakers are able to view thousands of films and reference these in their own works eg. Quentin Tarantino  Renaissance in lower and middle class filmmaking – budgets decreased  DVDs – extras, commentaries, extended versions

11. Hollywood today  Rise of independent films – challenge the codes and conventions of Hollywood eg. Reservoir Dogs.  Widescreen increased popularity  American films are now divided into 2 categories: Blockbuster or Independent  Foreign language and documentary films have increased in popularity and acclaim

12. American Film Characteristics BlockbusterIndependent  Focus on star power  Emphasize spectacle  Enormous budget  Rely on advertising – product placement  Small budget – minimal risk if project fails, high profit if it succeeds  High emphasis on professional quality, creativity and innovation  Cross over into popular culture

13. “It’s the studio executives who decide which movies to make. Hollywood now controls 80% of the world’s film culture. They are businesses based on coming up with a product and then repeating it forever. Those are the people who brought you the Big Mac. They are run like corporations are run, whether they are making cars or soap. All they talk about is the first-quarter results.” Francis Ford Coppola Director (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now)

14. Homework Film studios today have a similar monopoly to the Golden Age on the Hollywood film industry.  Write a paragraph and provide examples to prove or disprove this statement.

15. Film genres, studios and stars  Industry wanted to standardise the product “film” but also needed to keep the audiences interested (similar to music, dance, art etc)  Certain studios, actors and directors became attached to particular genres eg. John Wayne, MGM, Westerns.

16. Film genres, studios and stars Methods to classify a genre: 1. Structure – stereotypes, narrative, icons, typical themes. 2. Historical or Cultural content – war, period dramas etc 3. Editing and cinematography – sweeping shots, jump cuts etc

17. Popular Hollywood Film Genres  Westerns - Stagecoach (1939)  Gangster - Scarface  Musicals - The Wizard of Oz (1939)  Screwball comedy - Bringing Up Baby (1938)  Melodrama - Rebel Without A Cause (1955)