| Note to reader: Excuse the lack of structure of this short essay as it is simply a collage of thoughts and is meant only as an experiment for this site's master. Billy Speaks! THE BUSINESS SIDE When people talk about the entertainment industry, they often refer to the "business side" or the "creative side." Interviewer: So, what are your future goals? Heterosexual Interviewee: I'm interested in the business side of things. Interviewer: So, what are your future goals? Carnegie Mellon Grad.: I'm interested in the creative side(lisp intact). The truth is that there is no business side, but that entertainment is a business from top to bottom and is so like any other that it can be downright dissappointing to the Hollywood newcomer. One need only visit a major studio to discover that they are simply factories, complete with wherehouses, prop-builders, carpenters, technitions, security, crew, and lots of little golf carts. They crank out movies and television the way a soda factory produces bottles of pop or Ford produces cars. Studios are remarkably similar to the plants of any other industry, with the exeption of their "fake old time streets" and promotional water towers, but are regarded as glamourous, being where "all the magic happens." One might be shocked at the amount of paperwork, phone calls, and contract negotiations that go on to produce the most meaningless teleplay, one which has a 10% chance of becoming a pilot and a rediculously small chance of becoming a series. In fact, about 95% of "The Industry" consists of office related work(prod. companies, studios, agencies, etc.) "Business" practices don't end at the office elevator either. Producers hire line producers to oversee the physical production of a film and its budget. Production Assistants scurry to collect the day's paperwork on each shoot. Dreaded suits visit the set from time to time to make sure they're getting the product they expect. Financers extend like roots to all sectors of a production, leaving no one without their influence. Is there a creative side? Any creative side of entertainment is really just the creation of what is expected to be profitable. Any entertainment novice recognizes the abundance of poor movies as re-hashed predecessors that are banked on to make money. Are movies creative if they're based on the box office reciepts of yesteryear? The director of a film or show(unless they're named Speilberg or Kubrick) is at the mercy of their producer. The young filmmaker who anticipates an artistic career in the movie biz will meet with dissappointment. Movies are (usually) produced by a very utilitarian system, which "waters down" any one individual's vision so as to create a picture that will appeal to the masses and, in turn, will generate lots of moolah. Heads of production contemplate what the appeal of a film will be overseas, how it will be marketed, and the bankability of its stars long before it goes into production. These kinds of films have(undeservedly) been one of the main points of criticizm from Hollywood outsiders. Studios make movies that, they predict, will make them the most money. This is logical and fair. It is not my intention to denounce the Hollywood product. I wish only to show that movies and television are a business on every level of their conception, production, and commercial presentation. I will be addressing why films are so bad(look in the mirror America) in a future, and hopefully better, essay. Newcomers who seek a career in the entertainment industry must recognize the money making machine that is "Hollywood," especially those who wish to work away from a set(I suppose there is some element of creativity to the work of hair-stylists and make-up artitsts.) Growing up I marvelled at the names of Hollywood moguls like Michael Eisner, Jeffery Katzenberg, Ted Turner, and Michael Ovitz. These figures seemed celebrities in themselves, somehow living more "colorful" lives than the respective giants in other industries, due to their closeness to (primarily) movies. It is only after attaining an insider's view that I understood that the mystique that surrounds Hollywood's tycoons has nothing to do with them, but with the overexposure their industry receives. We know the names of Eisner, etc. because our fascination with their product is unsurpassed. Who cares who runs Hanes Underwear? Hollywood's giants are business men, like others in industries the world over, answering to investors, holding meetings, the only difference being the occasional lunch with a celebrity and a more-competetive-than-average road to the top. A biographical look at some of Hollywood's most influential players will reveal backgrounds from politics to education. They did not partake in some magical ride to Hollywood's elite. The movies are magic, and the moguls appear to be the magicians. Wannabee Hollywood suits shoud, rather than seek a position that is creative(few exist), seek a job where they can make decisions. So many in the biz are facilitators. Only a select few actually make decisions regarding what is to be made or done. Decisionmaking is the closest thing to creativity for most in Hollywood. Decisionmaking, however, is the desired responsibility in any business. Entertainment's no different. -Billy Six-Bears January 2, 2001 Unclear thoughts and spelling errors are due to Billy's family reunion which left him saturated with Wild Turkey and Hamm's Light. For old times' sake he fell out of a pick-up truck, played some basketball, and knocked up his sister. |
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