Overview

In this book, Alexander Ross highlights how creative entrepreneurs saved the Hollywood studios in the 1970s by establishing the calculated blockbuster, consisting of key replicable markers of success, as Hollywood's preeminent business model. Ross demonstrates how visionary individuals such as Coppola, Spielberg, Lucas, and Zemeckis helped create the modern, calculated blockbuster business model (BBM). However, with the rise of streaming giants such as Netflix and the studios struggling to compete, many consumers of entertainment now elect to partake from the comfort of their homes, making the difference between “cinema” and “television” anachronistic. Revisiting the history of those pioneering 1970s blockbusters, Ross offers distinct analysis about whether or not the calculated blockbuster can continue to lead, or whether the streamers will continue to generate their own content and, eventually, fully control the dissemination process. Scholars of film studies, screenwriting, and popular culture will find this book of particular interest

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9781666911084

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Reviews

Alexander Ross outlines in extensive and unique detail how studios make money not just on blockbusters, but also eventually from all movies, as he uses his vast experience, inside knowledge, and scholarly expertise to lay out both the successes and the mistakes of the 'blockbuster era.' I highly recommend this book to scholars in film studies and business, film school students working toward a career in the film industry, and budding film producers and studio executives. --Hal Liberman, Former Head of Production at Universal Pictures In these case studies, Ross debunks many myths. His case studies demonstrate the relentless attention of studio executives to the possibilities of generating revenue. He captures this practice and, in so doing, provides a valuable contribution to the hard-nosed worldview of Hollywood. --John Sedgwick, Oxford Brookes University Ross helps to bridge a gap between scholars and industry practitioners by analyzing a key stage in the industry's history and the impact of innovative developments over that period. Only by taking more multidisciplinary approaches to research, exemplified in this book, can we better appreciate the ever-changing nature of this fascinating industry. --Fiona Lettice, University of East Anglia You are holding a volume which, to my relatively seasoned mind, adds a unique contribution to text-based cinema studies. This book is a persuasive, rigorously researched study of the evolution of the contemporary Hollywood blockbuster. --Paul Sammon, independent author

"""Alexander Ross outlines in extensive and unique detail how studios make money not just on blockbusters, but also eventually from all movies. He uses his vast experience, inside knowledge, and scholarly expertise to lay out both the successes and the mistakes of the 'blockbuster era.' I highly recommend this book to scholars in film studies and business, film school students working toward a career in the film industry, and budding film producers and studio executives."" ""In these case studies, Alexander Ross debunks many myths. His case studies demonstrate the relentless attention of studio executives to the possibilities of generating revenue. He captures this practice and, in so doing, provides a valuable contribution to the hard-nosed worldview of Hollywood."" ""Ross helps to bridge a gap between scholars and industry practitioners by analyzing a key stage in the industry's history and the impact of innovative developments over that period. Only by taking more multidisciplinary approaches to research, exemplified in this book, can we better appreciate the ever-changing nature of this fascinating industry."" ""This book provides an original and welcome contribution to the literature about Hollywood. Building on his years of experience in the film industry, insights from prominent industry actors, and rigorous research, Alexander Ross offers a compelling account of the rise of the modern blockbuster business model through detailed case studies of seminal movies, and of its viability in the streaming video-on-demand age. A valuable read for cinema students, scholars and professionals."" ""You are holding a volume which, to my relatively seasoned mind, adds a unique contribution to text-based cinema studies. This book is a persuasive, rigorously researched study of the evolution of the contemporary Hollywood blockbuster."""

In these case studies, Alexander Ross debunks many myths. His case studies demonstrate the relentless attention of studio executives to the possibilities of generating revenue. This book captures this practice and, in so doing, provides a valuable contribution to the hard-nosed worldview of Hollywood. --John Sedgwick, Oxford Brookes University This book helps to bridge a gap between scholars and industry practitioners by analyzing a key stage in the industry's history and the impact of innovative developments over that period. Only by taking more multidisciplinary approaches to research, exemplified in this book, can we better appreciate the ever-changing nature of this fascinating industry. --Fiona Lettice, University of East Anglia This book outlines in extensive and unique detail how studios make money not just on blockbusters, but also eventually from all movies, as Alexander Ross uses his vast experience, inside knowledge, and scholarly expertise to lay out both the successes and the mistakes of the 'blockbuster era.' I highly recommend it to scholars in film studies and business, film school students working toward a career in the film industry, and budding film producers and studio executives. --Hal Liberman, Former Head of Production at Universal Pictures

Author Information

Alexander Ross is a visiting scholar in the faculty of history at the University of Oxford.

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