Hollywood in the Information Age

This is a major new assessment of the American movie industry in the 1990's, focusing on the development of new communication technologies such as cable and home video and examining their impact on the production and distribution of motion pictures. 1. Introduction: Hollywood and the Culture Industry.

2. The Way We Were: An Historical Look at Hollywood and Technology.

3. Film Production: In the Information Age.

4. The Big Boys: The Hollywood Majors.

5. The Wired Nation and the Electronic Super Highway: Cable Television, Pay Cable, Pay-Per-View and Beyond.

6. Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution: Home Video.

7. The Silver Screen: Theatrical Exhibition in the Information Age.

8. Hollywood Meets Madison Ave: The Commercialization of U. S. Films.

9. Around the World in Nanoseconds: International Markets for Filmed Entertainment.

10. Hooray for Hollywood: Moving into the 21st Century.

Index.

'This book is a timely contribution to the debate on the Information Super Highway and the globalization of media markets. Full of up-to-date information, it is essential reading for all those studying current developments in the media.' Nicholas Garnham, University of Westminster

'Looking for a rudder to steer through the shifting currents of moviedom in the information age? Wasko's ... treatise may be just the thing.' Box Office

'Wasko provides a full analysis of the major ways the Hollywood movie business is maintaining its monopoly on film making. This is an important look at the lucrative business of big movie making. Recommended.' The Reader's Review

Janet Wasko is the author of many books and articles including, Movies and Money, The Political Economy of Information (editor with Vincent Mosco, University of Wisconsin Press, 1988) and Communications and Democracy (editor with Slavko Splichal, Ablex Publishing Corp., 1993). This book is a major new assessment of the American movie industry in the 1990s. Wasko focuses on the development of new communication technologies, such as cable and home video, and examines their impact on the production and distribution of motion pictures - the traditional foundation of Hollywood entertainment. How have the structures and strategies of corporate Hollywood changed in response to these technological developments? Who is making the decisions about which new technologies will be introduced, and what products will be delivered by them? And is the public being offered more choice and better quality entertainment, or just more of the same?

To answer these questions, Wasko offers a brief historical account of the development of the Hollywood entertainment industry and then concentrates on the impact of technological developments from the 1970s to the 1990s. She examines in detail the impact of new technologies in the spheres of production, distribution and exhibition, using case studies to illustrate these technologies in action. Hollywood's marketing and merchandising strategies are detailed, and its global activities are discussed. The result is a wide-ranging, up-to-date account of the transformation which is taking place in what remains one of the most important entertainment industries in the world today.

This book will appeal to anyone interested in the current state of the film industry, and it will become a key text for students in media and film studies.