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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 September, 2008)
|
COMPANY |
Share of 1999-2007 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. |
truth® and California spots on all DVDs |
TW companies only, not production companies; covered
films and DVDs state" No person or entity
associated with this film received payment or
anything of value, or entered into any agreement,
in connection with the depiction of tobacco products.” |
No |
US only |
Sony* |
20% |
—
|
—
|
—
|
California
spots on youth-rated DVDs only
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
GE*
Read
policy
|
18% |
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” |
“Tobacco
labeling in certain distribution channels...may
appear” in “end credits, DVD content
and packaging, and marketing materials”
—
California
spots on youth-rated DVDs only |
Universal only, not production companies; no certification
|
Only
paid placement |
Ambiguous |
Disney*
Read
policy |
14% |
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. |
truth® and California spots on youth-rated
DVDs |
No |
No |
US only for “Disney” label; ex-U.S,
“seeks to discourage ...where appropriate
and practical.” |
Viacom* |
10% |
—
|
—
|
—
|
California
spots on youth-rated DVDs only |
—
|
—
|
—
|
News Corp.* |
8% |
Circa 2005 |
Not public |
Not public |
California spots on youth-rated DVDs only
|
Not public |
Not public |
Not public |
Lionsgate |
4% |
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
Weinstein |
<1% |
October 2006 |
DVDs only |
None |
truth® spots on DVDs |
No |
No |
Unknown |
“Indies”
|
<1% |
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
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. |
The real Hollywood map.
Who owns whom in the U.S. motion picture industry:
THE DISNEY COMPANY
2008 sales: $37.8 billion
CEO: Robert (Bob) Iger
• Walt Disney Studios
2008 sales: $7.3 billion
Chairman: Rich Ross; President: Alan Bergman
Walt Disney Pictures,
Touchstone, Miramax, Pixar
Also owns: ABC, ESPN (80%), A&E (37%), 80 TV/radio stations, theme parks.
Studio scorecard | Contact Disney
THE NEWS CORPORATION
2008 sales: $33 billion
CEO: K. Rupert Murdoch
• Fox Filmed Entertainment
2008 sales: $6.7 billion
Co-Chairs: James N. (Jim) Gianopulos, Thomas E. (Tom) Rothman
20th
Century Fox, Fox
2000, Fox Searchlight, 20th
Century Fox Animation
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
2008 sales: $89.6 billion
CEO: Sir Howard Stringer
• Sony Pictures Entertainment
2008 sales: $8.1 billion
Co-chairs: Michael Lynton and Amy Pascal
Sony Pictures, Sony Classics, Columbia Pictures, Columbia TriStar, MGM (dominant share)
Also owns: Consumer electronics units, PlayStation, music labels.
Studio
scorecard | Contact
Sony
TIME WARNER
2008
sales: $47 billion
CEO: Jeffrey L. (Jeff) Bewkes
• Warner Bros. Entertainment
2008 sales: $11.4 billion
CEO: Barry M. Meyer
Warner
Bros. Pictures, New
Line
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
2008
sales: $182.5 billion
CEO: Jeffrey R. (Jeff) Immelt
• NBC Universal (80%)
2008 sales: $15.4 billion
CEO: Jeff Zucker
Universal
Studios (2.1
billion, 2008; Pres: Ron Meyer)
Universal
Pictures, Focus Features
Also owns: NBC, Telemundo, Bravo, USA Network, Universal Parks & Resorts. Infrastructure, finance, and industrial interests.
Studio scorecard | Contact General Electric
VIACOM
(controlled by National Amusements, Inc.)
2008
sales: $14.6 billion
CEO:
Philippe P. Dauman
•
Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage,
MTV Films, Nickelodeon Movies, Marvel
(distribution
agreement)
2008 sales: $5.8 billion
CEO: Brad Grey
Also
owns: MTV Networks: Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Black
Entertainment Television (BET); Famous Music. Broadcasting
and publishing interests split off as CBS Corp.
Studio scorecard
| Contact
Viacom
Three
companies independent of the large media conglomerates
have a history of developing and distributing high-grossing
films:
DREAMWORKS
2008 Sales: (private)
CEO: Stacey Snider
Studio
scorecard | Contact
DreamWorks
LIONSGATE ENTERTAINMENT
2008 sales: $1.4 Billion
CEO: Jon Feltheimer
Lionsgate Films,
Trimark,
Artisan,
CinemaNow (30%), Roadside Attractions
Studio scorecard
| Contact
Lionsgate
THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY LLC
2008 box office gross: $150 million (total revenues not public)
Co-Chairs: Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein
The Weinstein Company,
Dimension, Genius
Studio scorecard | Contact The Weinstein Company
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