Compare and Contrast the Independent Model of the Australian Film Industry with the Hollywood Studio System.
You are required to compare and contrast the independent model of the Australian film industry with the Hollywood studio system. You will need to approach this in relation to finance/funding structures.
“Show me the money!”
When Tom Cruise’s character exclaims this in Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire, audiences can now look upon it with a slight sense of irony. One of the most notorious Hollywood catch phrases of our time can succinctly sum up the state of Hollywood’s production system in one line.
In comparison to Hollywood and its vast output of film media, Australia doesn’t appear to be a serious competitor. According to MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America, 2009), Hollywood was responsible for the release of 610 films in 2008, with Australian feature film releases totaling only 21. Even with the box office success of Baz Luhrmann’s Australia in 2008, Australian films captured only 3.8% of the Australian box office (Screen Australia, 2010). It’s important to take one major fact into consideration when comparing the structure of the Hollywood Studio System to the Australian Independent film industry; Hollywood has money. Lots of money. Money means marketing, and marketing has become integral to the success of feature films.
Throughout the decades, Hollywood’s production system has changed dramatically. After the rejection of the “Hollywood Studio System”, actors were liberated, freed from the shackles of the major studios. This paved the way for ‘New Hollywood’, movies such as Jaws, Star Wars and The Godfather, inspiring the birth of a new type of film… The blockbuster. (Film reference, 2010). Blockbuster. The simple word provokes thought of all that is quintessentially Hollywood. However, Blockbusters have become a commodity, one of which is no longer exclusive to just Hollywood. With financial incentives such as Australia’s “Producer-Offset”, many of Hollywoods feature films are being co-produced and financed overseas (Screen Australia, 2010).
“Show me the money!”
When Tom Cruise’s character exclaims this in Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire, audiences can now look upon it with a slight sense of irony. One of the most notorious Hollywood catch phrases of our time can succinctly sum up the state of Hollywood’s production system in one line.
In comparison to Hollywood and its vast output of film media, Australia doesn’t appear to be a serious competitor. According to MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America, 2009), Hollywood was responsible for the release of 610 films in 2008, with Australian feature film releases totaling only 21. Even with the box office success of Baz Luhrmann’s Australia in 2008, Australian films captured only 3.8% of the Australian box office (Screen Australia, 2010). It’s important to take one major fact into consideration when comparing the structure of the Hollywood Studio System to the Australian Independent film industry; Hollywood has money. Lots of money. Money means marketing, and marketing has become integral to the success of feature films.
Throughout the decades, Hollywood’s production system has changed dramatically. After the rejection of the “Hollywood Studio System”, actors were liberated, freed from the shackles of the major studios. This paved the way for ‘New Hollywood’, movies such as Jaws, Star Wars and The Godfather, inspiring the birth of a new type of film… The blockbuster. (Film reference, 2010). Blockbuster. The simple word provokes thought of all that is quintessentially Hollywood. However, Blockbusters have become a commodity, one of which is no longer exclusive to just Hollywood. With financial incentives such as Australia’s “Producer-Offset”, many of Hollywoods feature films are being co-produced and financed overseas (Screen Australia, 2010).
Bibliography: The Daily telegraph, Digital future and lack of funds to slash Hollywood film production, 2009 (viewed 10/4/09) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/6370560/Digital-future-and-lack-of-funds- to-slash-Hollywood-film-production.html Film Reference, Studio system, 2010 (viewed 10/4/10) The Guardian ‘We call it martian accounting’, 2001 (viewed 8/4/10) http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2001/aug/31/artsfeatures MPAA, Research and Statistics, 2009 (viewed 9/4/10) http://www.mpaa.org/researchStatistics.asp Screen Australia, Proportions of feature films in various budget ranges, 2009 (viewed 9/4/10) http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/gtp/mpfeatsbudget.html Screen Australia, Australia’s International Co-production Program, 2010 (viewed 7/4/10) http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/coproductions/default.asp Screen Australia, Production incentives overview, 2010 (viewed 8/4/10) http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/gtp/mptax.html Screen Australia, Share of the Australian box office for Australian feature films, 1977−2009, 2010 (viewed 8/4/10) http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/gtp/wcboshare.html Screen Australia, Summary of key data, 2009 (viewed 8/4/10)