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Hollywood studios used to have producers, editors and property masters on staff and held directors, writers and actors under contract, like major league sports teams do their players. Many studios even owned their own national theater chains.
Now major studios are like a cross between property developers and wholesale distributors. Today, Hollywood agents assemble project teams of writers, directors and actors from their client rosters. If a studio “greenlights” a project, it will distribute the finished film, assuring the production financing. It then develops the project to fit into the larger corporate matrix of its parent company’s print, TV and cable franchises.
Who’s in charge here?
Studios commit as little of their own money as possible while maintaining maximum control. Studio-developed films depend on outside investors as much as small independent films do. And top directors and actors (who alone may account for $30-$40 million of the film’s cost) work for a deferred amount guaranteed by a share of the movie’s gross box office receipts. To manage cash flow, studios carefully balance expenses, such as advertising, against ticket income over the few short weeks of a movie’s theatrical life. The studios’ real payday comes later — on video and overseas revenue at least twice that from domestic (North American) ticket sales.
How closely do studios manage film productions? They specify the MPAA rating the delivered film should earn. They usually have the right to re-edit the film, before release, for commercial reasons — for length, “clarity,” even to change the ending. They can also replace key personnel on a production — writers, directors, actors. To cut their losses, they can decide to send a disappointing or ill-conceived project “direct to video” to save the costs involved in theatrical distribution and advertising.
Smoking on screen? The buck stops over there.
When shareholders challenged media companies to study the health impacts of on-screen smoking, the companies excused themselves to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), claiming that their executives have day-to-day charge of movie content, including tobacco content, and such “ordinary business” is off-limits to shareholder questions. At the same time, studios tell the public that smoking content is the purview of “independent” creative talent and they do not interfere out of “respect.” Both statements cannot be true.
The most important thing to know about the major studios is that none stands on its own. All are now part of gigantic, vertically-integrated media conglomerates with other brands and larger concerns. In fact, almost any movie studio, cable channel, TV network, theme park or video chain you can name is now owned by just five companies. The CEOs of these companies are ultimately responsible for what their studios do — and don’t do.
Media Company Policies on Smoking in Movies
(as of October 12, 2007)
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COMPANY |
Share of 1999-2006 tobacco impressions |
Date |
Films covered |
Policy exceptions |
Adds anti-tobacco messaging? |
Bars tobacco deals? |
Bars brand display? |
Markets covered |
Time Warner*
Read policy |
23% |
July 2005, revised July 2007 |
English-language G, PG and PG-13 films produced and/or distributed in US |
Youth-rated: “actual historical figure...compelling historical accuracy ... conspicuous anti-smoking reference.”
R-rated: “compelling creative reasons.”
Ex-US; co-productions; distribution only. |
No |
TW companies only, not production companies; no certification |
No |
US only |
GE*
Read policy
|
22% |
April 16, 2007 |
Films from Universal- owned labels released in U.S. with G, PG and PG-13 ratings
|
“Importance of incident,” “factual or creative” factor, “difficulty in removing” incident from film.
Co-productions; films acquired complete or in post-production; films distributed “on behalf of a third-party producer” |
“Health warning in certain distribution channels...may appear” in “end credits, DVD content and packaging, and marketing materials” — no examples by 10/07 |
Universal only, not production companies; no certification |
Only
paid placement |
Ambiguous |
Sony* |
21% |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Viacom* |
11% |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Disney*
Read policy |
7% |
October 26, 2004 |
“Disney” labeled (G/PG) |
“Creative vision” of directors, actors, etc. who believe smoking depiction is “important.”
“Limited circumstances” for Disney brand.
Touchstone and Miramax labels (PG-13 and R); produced outside U.S.; distribution only deals. |
Reportedly agreed to add DVD spots 7/07 but no details are public — no examples by 10/7 |
No |
No |
US only for “Disney” label; ex-U.S, “seeks to discourage ...where appropriate and practical.” |
News Corp.* |
5% |
Circa 2005 |
Not public |
Not public |
Not public |
Not public |
Not public |
Not public |
Lionsgate |
4% |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Weinstein |
4% |
October 2006 |
DVDs only |
None |
truth® spots |
No |
No |
Unknown |
“Indies” |
2% |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Policy Exceptions : Depending on definitions, the exceptions drawn among productions (co-productions, third-party productions, etc.) could exclude most studio releases from these policies.
Markets Covered: US films deliver an estimated two-thirds of their tobacco impressions to non-US audiences. The studios’ involvement in non-US “country films,” overseas, is also increasing.
*MPAA members.
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The real Hollywood map.
Who owns whom in the U.S. motion picture industry:
THE DISNEY COMPANY
2005 sales: $34.28 billion
CEO: Robert (Bob) Iger
• Walt Disney Studio Entertainment
2005 sales: $7.59 billion
CEO: Richard Cook
Walt Disney Pictures
Touchstone
Miramax
Also owns: ABC, ESPN (80%), A&E (37%), 80 TV/radio stations, theme parks.
Studio scorecard | Contact Disney
THE NEWS CORPORATION
2005 sales: $25.33 billion
CEO: K. Rupert Murdoch
• Fox Filmed Entertainment
2005 sales: $5.92 billion
Co-Chairs: James N. (Jim) Gianopulos, Thomas E. (Tom) Rothman
20th Century Fox
Fox Searchlight
Blue Sky
Also owns: Fox Broadcasting, Fox Cable, Fox Sports Networks, DIRECTV (35%), HarperCollins, The Times of London, New York Post, 35 TV stations in U.S., cable/satellite units on four other continents.
Studio scorecard | Contact News Corp.
SONY CORPORATION
2005 sales: $63.54 billion
Chair and Group CEO: Sir Howard Stringer
• Sony Pictures Entertainment
2005 sales: $6.86 billion
Chair and CEO: Michael Lynton
• SPE Motion Picture Group
Chair: Amy Pascal
Columbia Pictures
Screen Gems
Sony Pictures Classics
MGM (United Artists, etc.)
- dominant share
Also owns: Electronics units, Epic and Columbia music labels.
Studio scorecard | Contact Sony
TIME WARNER
2005 sales: $43.65 billion
Chair and CEO: Richard D. (Dick) Parsons
• Warner Bros. Entertainment
2005 sales: $11.7 billion
Chairman and CEO: Barry Meyer
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Independent
• New Line Cinema
Co-Chairs: Robert K. Shayne, Michael Lynne
Also owns: Time, Entertainment Weekly, Times Mirror Magazines, IPC Media (UK), Warner Books, America Online, Time Warner Cable (79%), HBO, UPN (co-owned), The WB TV Network, TNT, CNN, Atlanta Braves, DC Comics, etc.
Studio scorecard | Contact Time Warner
GENERAL ELECTRIC
2005 sales: $149.7 billion
Chair and CEO: Jeffrey R. (Jeff) Immelt
• NBC Universal (80%)
2005 sales: $14.69 billion
CEO: Jeff Zucker
Universal Pictures
Focus (merger of USA Films, Good Machine)
Also owns: NBC, Telemundo, Bravo, USA Network, Universal Parks & Resorts. Manufactures aircraft engines, appliances, lighting and electrical generation and distribution equipment, medical equipment, and nuclear reactors and technology. Insurance and financial services.
Studio scorecard | Contact General Electric
VIACOM (controlled by National Amusements, Inc.)
2005 sales: $9.6 billion
CEO: Phillipe P. Dauman
• Paramount Pictures
2005 sales: $2.89 billion
Chair and CEO: Brad Grey
Paramount Vantage
DreamWorks
Also owns: MTV Networks: Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Black Entertainment Television (BET); Famous Music. Broadcasting and publishing interests split off as CNS Corp.
Studio scorecard | Contact Viacom
Two companies not owned by larger media conglomerates develop, produce, and distribute high-grossing films on a regular basis:
LIONS GATE ENTERTAINMENT
2005 sales: $951.2 Million
CEO: Jon Feltheimer
Lionsgate Films
Trimark
Artisan
CinemaNow (30%), Image (19%)
Studio scorecard | Contact Lions Gate
THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY LLC
2006 box office gross: $138.2 million (sales not public)
Co-Chairs: Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein
The Weinstein Company
Dimension
Studio scorecard | Contact The Weinstein Company
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