简介：ADarlowSmithsonproductionforBBCTWO. HollywoodInc.takesyouinsidethedreamfactorythatistheAmericanfilmindustry,andrevealstheprocessthattakesafilmfromconcept,throughproduction,toopeningweekend-blockbuster…orbust.Box-officeprofitsandlucrativespin-offhavemadeHollywooda£20billion-a-yearindustryandinevitablyeveryonewantsapieceoftheaction.HollywoodInc.explorestheelusiverecipeforsuccesstodiscoverwhysomanyfilmsfail. Thisthree-partseriesstripsawaytheglossoftheopeningnightandexposesthestruggles,infightinganddeterminationrequiredtoseeafilmthroughtocompletion.InterlacedwithfilmextractsareexclusiveinterviewswithHollywood’smajorplayers,includingRidleyScott;PierceBrosnan;OliverStone,BillMechanic,FoxStudioChief1996-2000;BryanSinger,directorofTheUsualSuspectsandX-Men;WilliamNicholson,writerofGladiatorandShadowlands;WesCraven;DenzelWashington;JohnMalkovich;PeterGuber,formerHeadofSonyandproducerofBatmanandBatmanReturns;DeanDevlin,producerofIndependenceDayandGodzilla;AkivaGoldsman,writerofABeautifulMind;andTimBurton. ShutitDown ShutitDownexaminesthenightmareofmovieproduction,lookingattherolesofthekeyplayersintheproductionprocess-thestar,thewriter,theproducer,thedirector.Makingmoviesisoneofthemostdangerousinvestmentswithonlyonefilmintensucceeding,anditisinproductionthatitismostlikelytofail.Ifastudiohastoclosedownamovie,thenheadswillroll.FromTitanictoCharlie'sAngels,GladiatortoDrDolittle,X-MentoScreamandJurassicPark,ShutitDownexplorestheproductionprocesswithexclusivefirsthandaccountsbythosewhowerethere. Manyfilmsmarchintoproductionbeforetheyareready-withoutacompletedscriptasillustratedbyGladiator;orinthecaseofBryanSinger'sX-Men,withoutaleadingactor.Oncesetshavebeenbuiltandextrasrecruited,thejuggernautisontheroadandthestudioislosinghundredsofthousandsofdollarsbytheday.Thepressureisthenonthedirectortoworkthroughandproduceahit.RidleyScott,withtheaidofwriterWilliamNicholson,wasabletodojustthatinthefaceofgreatadversityonthesetofGladiator. Thestudiosoftenusestarsasinsurance,theycanmeanthedifferencebetweenahitoraflop.Oftenitisthestar'snamethatgottheprojectgreen-litinthefirstplace.Howevertheirinvolvementcancausemultipleproblems.FortheremakeofDrDolittlewithEddieMurphy,Foxwerepresentedwithanunusualproblem:"ThefirstthingthatwefindoutisthatEddie'safraidofanimals…wehavehalfthismoviewherehe'sinsceneswithanimals…soalotoftheanimalsthatheinteractswitharen'treal,andthere'salotofcutaways,"saysBillMechanic,former-HeadofFox. Behindthescenesdifficultiesarisewithdisagreementsbetweenthestudiosanddirectors;bothsidesthreateningclosureofthesetinawarbetweenboxofficecertaintyandartisticintegrity.ThehitmovieScreamwasnotwithoutitsproductionproblems:BobWeinstein,MirimaxStudioChief,objectedtotheuseoftheghostfacemask-nowsynonymouswiththefilm'ssuccess-insistingthatthatWesCravenre-shoottheopeningsceneswithsevendifferentmasksuntilhedecidedontheonehelikedbest. "Ijustsaidhowdareyoubesodisrespectfultothemanwhobasicallyinventedthe(horrorfilm)genre?…Here’sanotheridea.Wecuttogetherthefirstsequenceofthemovieandsendittoyou.Andifyouthinkwesuckafterthatyoucanfireusall,"saysCathyKonrad,ProducerofScream.OnreceivingthefootageWeinsteinwasthrilledandgraciousinhissanctioningoftheproduction. LightninginaBottle "MoreandmorenowI’llgetthescriptbeforethefilmmakerwillgetitorI'llbeinvolvedinhiringthefilmmaker.Iguessthemoreyoumoveuptheladderthemoretheycometotheactorfirst.IjustgotanofferlastnightonafilmforParamount,andthere'snodirectorattachedandtheywanttositdownwithmeandseewhoI'minterestedin,"DenzelWashington. TheprimaryruleinHollywoodisthatstarssellmovies.ThesecondpartofHollywoodIncexaminestheimpactthatbignamescanhave.Producersrevealhowtheirchoiceshaveshapedfilms,andhowtheydiscoverthemajorleagueplayersoftomorrow. Everyyearthestudiospursueahandfulofstarstofronttheirmajorsummerblockbusters.However,evenwiththisfirepower,successisnotguaranteed.ColumbiachanceditsluckonCharlie'sAngelswhich,inadditiontoatopcast,wasarecognisablebrandduetotheiconictelevisionseries.Theproblemsbeganinpre-productionwiththesurprisingappointmentofanunknownpop-promomakerasdirector,McG,whohadneverbeforeworkedonthisscale.Rumoursaboundedofsquabblesonsetamongsttheleads,andwith18writersaddedtothemix,theoutlookwasnotgood.Thataside,Columbiathrewmoneyintotheadvertisingcampaign,andthemoviewassaved. AsauthorandjournalistKimMastersobserves:"Whenyouseethatmanywritersyousortofgo,woo,something'swrong.Andyettheypulleditout,whichonlyprovesthepointthatHollywoodisaninsanebusinesswhichiscompletelyunpredictable.Imeanthere'sthisgoofymoviethatsoundedsodumb,andhadsomanyproblemsandsomanywriters.Andcommerciallyitreallyworked." Whenconfrontedwithafailure,astudiowillquietlyreleasethemovieandburyitafewweekslater.AnotoriousexampleofthisisTownandCountrywithWarrenBeatty.Failure,thoughrarelydiscussed,hitseveryoneinHollywood."It'samassiverejectionandyoudopersonaliseit,especiallyguyslikemewhoareverypassionate,we’resuckersforthat,"saysOliverStone. Withoutawinningstory,evenastarcannotmakeafilmshinebrightly.Toguardagainstthis,film-makerstendtolookforestablishedsourcematerial-books,comics,videogames,televisionshows-onwhichtobasetheirscripts. Thesecondmostsuccessfulanimationfilmofalltime,Shrek,waspresentedtoJohnH.WilliamsatDreamWorksbyhisyoungson.Itisatthisstage,thepitch,thatwritersandproducershavetopersuadestudiostopartwithmillionsofdollarstorealisetheirdreams.Thereareoccasionswhentheperfectscriptarrivesattheirdoor-AlanBall’sscriptforAmericanBeautyatDreamWorks;andyetotherinstanceswhenevenmultiplewriterscannotsalvagethestory-ParamountplumbedthedepthsofscripthellwithLaraCroft:TombRaider. BillMechanicrecountsthehighsandlowsofhistimeasStudioChiefatFoxwhenheoversawsomeofthemostsuccessfulmoviesofrecentyears,butthiswastoendwithFightClub.Itbeganlifeasalowbudgetartmovie,onwhichheandtheproducerLauraZiskintookarisk-theyknewifitweretofailthatwouldspelltheendoftheirtimeatthestudio.Afightwasonagainstbudget,andtheirboss'sdisapprovalofthesubjectmatter.Itprovedaboxofficeflop,andthewritingwasonthewall. "Itreallymademeconsciousofthefactthateverymovieyoumakeyoumaygetsacked,soyoumayaswellgetsackedforsomethingyoubelievein,"saysBillMechanic. BattleoftheBlockbusters ThemeasureofsuccessofanyHollywoodfilmisitsopeningweekend.BattleoftheBlockbustersexamineshowcareerscanbelost,andfortunesmade,injusttwodays.Withsomuchatstake,millionsofdollarsarespentreleasingeachstudiopicture. "YoustarttogetnumbersbackfromtheEastCoastaboutmiddayonFriday.Andyouknowrightthen.It'scrazyhowearlyyouknowifyou’reingoodorbadshape.Youspendtwoyearswriting,prepping,working,shooting,cutting,designingthisfilm.Andthenit'samatteroftwoorthreehoursandyouknowifyouhaveahitoraturkey,"saysMcG,directorofCharlie'sAngels. Itisthesummerblockbusterswherethispressureismostintense-thesefilmsareseenasfundingfortherestofthestudio'soutputeachyear,andfailureisnotanoption. "Hollywoodisaveryruthless,competitivejungleandifyouperformwellandyourfilmperformswelleverybodylovesyou,butthesecondyoufailyouarespatoutlikeeverybodyelse.Itisalotofpressure,butthat'swhyIlikeitinaway-there'sakindofadrenalineaboutriskingeverythingonahugebudget,"saysSimonWest,directorofTombRaiderandConAir. Thefinalprogrammeexploresthemarketingcampaignforthesereleases.Followingthetesting,star-studdedpremières,merchandising,andparties,HollywoodIncillustratesthelengthsthatthestudioswillgotoensurethattheirmoviehitsnumberoneattheboxoffice. "Marketinggeniusesatthestudioswilltellyou(that)youcanabsolutelybuyanopeningweekendifyou’rewillingtopayforit,"saysCharlesFleming,author. Testingisakeypartoftheproductionprocessbeforeafilmemergesfullyinthepublicdomain.RonaldBass,scriptwriterofRainManandEntrapment,acknowledgesthebenefitsofthisprocess,particularlyinlightofhisexperiencewithMyBestFriend'sWedding:"Alotofwritersareveryhostiletothetestingprocess-andIwasforyears.TheolderIgetthemoreIlikethetestingprocess,becausethemoreIlearnhowmuchsmartertheaudienceisthantherestofus…(Theresultsofthetestingforthefilm)weren’tbad,butnotlikewewerehopingfor.Wewerehopingforthismonster,fabulousmoviethateverybodywouldadore.MyGod,wehadJuliaRoberts,howcouldwehopeforanythingless?"Thetestaudiencereactionprecipitatedchangesbeingmadeandscenesadded,whichledtoMyBestFriend'sWeddingbeingahugehit. Onceafilmisreadyforrelease,aglitteringpremièreisstaged.WithPearlHarbor,Disneyleftnothingtochance…"Sothey’llsendyouafirstclassticketandinviteyoutogotoHawaii,PearlHarbor…Whatdidtheyspendonthat?Wasit$5mjustonthepublicityjunket?Imeanthatusedtobewhatyoupaidforamovie…Itwasoutrageous.Buttheyexpectsomethingbackforit,"saysMikeWalker,columnistforTheNationalEnquirer. OtherhighlightsofthefinalprogrammeincludeRidleyScottviewingtheHannibalpostersforthefirsttime;RobertRodriguezexplainingthebenefitsofafastfoodchainbackingforhisfilmSpyKids;whatwentwrongwiththecampaignforTheMexicanstarringBradPittandJuliaRoberts;andhowfilmsandstarsweatherthereviews. Toaccompanytheseries,BBCiFilmsshowsexclusiveclipsoftheprogramme’sintervieweesalongsideaninterviewwiththeseriesproducer/directorPhilDay.Otherhighlightsincludetopblockbusterfilmfactsandinformationontheseries. http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2002/04_april/22/hollywoodinc.shtml…