Behind The Scenes With Hollywood Producers

We know what actors do. We know what writers do. But what does a movie producer do, other than arrange financing for films and accept Academy Awards? Featuring in-depth interviews with 14 top movie producers, including eight who have won Oscars for Best Picture, this book describes how they nurture a project from concept to casting to screen. They are entrepreneurs, essentially creating a new business every time they start work on a film. They possess an array of skills and talents and the resilience and the fortitude to not take “no” for an answer. The interviewees are Marc Abraham, Tony Bill, Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa, Clint Eastwood, Taylor Hackford, Mark Johnson, Arnold Kopelson, Alan Ladd, Jr., Michael London, Fred Roos, Paula Wagner, Jim Wilson and Janet Yang.

We know what actors do. We know what writers do. But what does a movie producer do, other than arrange financing for films and accept Academy Awards? Featuring in-depth interviews with 14 top movie producers, including eight who have won Oscars for Best Picture, this book describes how they nurture a project from concept to casting to screen. They are entrepreneurs, essentially creating a new business every time they start work on a film. They possess an array of skills and talents and the resilience and the fortitude to not take "no" for an answer. The interviewees are Marc Abraham, Tony Bill, Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa, Clint Eastwood, Taylor Hackford, Mark Johnson, Arnold Kopelson, Alan Ladd, Jr., Michael London, Fred Roos, Paula Wagner, Jim Wilson and Janet Yang.

This volume explores and clarifies the complex intersection of race and media in the contemporary United States. Due to the changing dynamics of how racial politics are played out in the contemporary US (as seen with debates of the "post-racial" society), as well as the changing dynamics of the media itself ("new vs. old" media debates), an interrogation of the role of the media and its various institutions within this area of social inquiry is necessary. Contributors contend that race in the United States is dynamic, connected to social, economic, and political structures which are continually altering themselves. The book seeks to highlight the contested space that the media provides for changing dimensions of race, examining the ways that various representations can both hinder or promote positive racial views, considering media in relation to other institutions, and moving beyond thinking of media as a passive and singular institution.

In the film world today, there is extraordinary attention paid to actors, actresses and directors, yet the producers who gave many of them their first breaks and helped mold their careers have managed to remain outside the limelight. This work covers producers who gave early breaks to actors and actresses like Al Pacino and Demi Moore, directors like Steven Spielberg and Todd Haynes, and writers like Aaron Sorkin. These legends may never have become known if not for their producers' behind-the-scenes insight and ability to recognize talent. Interviewees include David Brown (Jaws, A Few Good Men), Martin Richards (Chicago, The Shining), Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson (Goldeneye, Die Another Day), Dino DeLaurentiis (La Strada, Hannibal), Michael Phillips (Taxi Driver, The Sting), Martin Bregman (Serpico, Scarface), Lauren Shuler Donner (You've Got Mail, X-Men), Robert Chartoff (Rocky, Raging Bull), Mace Neufeld (The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games), Paula Wagner (Vanilla Sky, Mission: Impossible), and many, many more!

Budding filmmakers, television producers, directors, writers, and students get a crash course on the independent production scene in this riveting account of the business and its key players. Now revised to reflect the latest production trends in the entertainment industry, this book is packed with never-before-revealed secrets about the challenging and exciting role producers play in bringing a film or television pilot to the screen, told by two veteran, award-winning producers. Readers will learn what skills and traits they need to succeed as the mastermind behind an independent production, including insider tips on how to assemble and manage a talented ensemble of writers, directors, actors, and crew-members. The book also includes up-to-date contact information for film festivals and foreign distributors, as well as sample budgets, film partnership proposals, and other forms. Aspiring film and television artists will find the practical understanding and insight vital to success.

When it comes to Hollywood, Christians too quickly wash their hands of popular culture and leave this immensely influential media to unbelievers. In truth, the industry is listening. There is a church in Hollywood, but too often their work is unrecognized. Behind the Screen offers a glimpse of Hollywood insiders who, through their jobs on movie sets, behind TV shows, and in radio broadcasts, work together to give glory to God. With contributions from the writers and producers of such productions as Joan of Arcadia, Mission Impossible, Batman Forever, That '70s Show, and others, believers everywhere are encouraged to join with the church in Hollywood and do their part in closing the gap between Christianity and culture.

Between 1917 and 1941, Hollywood studios, gossip columnists and novelists featured an unprecedented number of homosexuals, cross-dressers, and adulterers in their depictions of the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle. Actress Greta Garbo defined herself as the ultimate serial bachelorette. Screenwriter Mercedes De Acosta engaged in numerous lesbian relationships with the Hollywood elite. And countless homosexual designers brazenly picked up men in the hottest Hollywood nightclubs. Hollywood's image grew as a place of sexual abandon. This book demonstrates how studios and the media used images of these sexually adventurous characters to promote the industry and appeal to the prurient interests of their audiences.