The Big Picture

"[The Big Picture is] an unprecedented, all-encompassing, and thoroughly entertaining account of the Hollywood business. Acclaimed writer Edward Jay Epstein reveals the real magic behind moviemaking: how the studios make their money.

Knowing the nuances of the Hollywood economy is helpful for aspiring Hollywood writers.

Epstein shows that in Hollywood, the only art that matters is the art of the deal: major films turn huge profits not from the movies themselves but through myriad other enterprises, from video-game spin-offs and soundtracks to fast-food tie-ins, and even theme-park rides. The studios may compete for stars and Oscars, but their corporate parents challenge one another in less glamorous markets such as cable, home video, and pay-TV."

Money, though, is only a small part of the Hollywood story; the social and political milieus–power, prestige, and status–tell the rest. Alongside its remarkable financial revelations and incisive profiles of the pioneers who helped build Hollywood, The Big Picture is filled with eye-opening insider stories. If you are interested in Hollywood today and the complex and fascinating way it has evolved in order to survive, you have’ t seen the big picture until you’ve read The Big Picture.

-Penguin Random House

This book is a comprehensive investigation and analysis of the business of movie-making, and its detail is on the far side meticulous. How profitable your work is may change where it is accepted. The Big Picture is a useful resource for helping make your work profitable and delivering it to the big screen.