Juan Monroy — American Film Industry: Class 12, Wasserman, MCA, and the Blockbuster

1 Two trends of the American Film Industry
- 1.1 Diversification
- 1.2 Conglomeration
2 Moguls and Pioneers
- 2.1 Adolf Zukor
  - Feature films
  - Movie star system
  - Affluent audiences
  - Run zone clearance
  - Block booking
  - Blind bidding
- 2.2 Lew Wasserman
  - Talent agent
  - New payment model for actors
  - Television production
  - Diversification
  - Media conglomerate
3 Wasserman
- 3.1 Born in Ohio, 1913
- 3.2 Began as an agent for MCA, 1936
- 3.3 Represented musicians working in clubs in Chicago
- 3.4 Became president of MCA, 1948
- 3.5 Began representing Hollywood screen actors
  - Bette Davis
  - Henry Fonda
  - Ronald Reagan
    - Helped him become president of the Screen Actors Guild, 1947
4 Important clients
- 4.1 James Stewart
  - MCA client
  - Capital gains vs. Wages
  - First actor to receive points
    - Winchester ’73
  - Revived career with…
- 4.2 Alfred Hitchcock
  - MCA client
  - hosted television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents, 1955–1958
  - signed contract with Universal Pictures
    - Rear Window (1958)
    - Psycho (1960)
5 Revue Productions
- 5.1 Began as a radio production company
- 5.2 Received waiver from Screen Actors Guild
- 5.3 Formed MCA Television in 1948
  - became top supplier for network television
  - Acquired pre–1948 sound film catalog from Paramount
- 5.4 Famous programs
  - Leave it to Beaver
  - Alfred Hitchcock Presents
6 Universal Pictures
- 6.1 Sold Universal City Studio lot to Revue in 1958
- 6.2 Merged with Decca Records, 1962
- 6.3 89% of Universal Pictures
- 6.4 MCA dissolved talent agency to comply with anti-trust laws
7 Diversification
- 7.1 Paramount
  - Gulf and Western, 1966
  - Later owned by Viacom
- 7.2 Warner Brothers
  - Seven Arts, 1967
  - Kinney National, 1969
  - Warner Communications, 1971
- 7.3 MGM
  - Edgar Bronfman, 1967
  - Kirk Kerkorian, 1969
  - MGM-UA, 1980s
8 Modern Media Conglomerate
- 8.1 Universal City Studios
- 8.2 Universal Television, formerly Revue
- 8.3 Universal Studio Tour, 1964
- 8.4 MCA Records, 1972
- 8.5 G P Putnam, 1975
9 What happened to MCA-Universal
- 9.1 Purchased 50% of USA Television
- 9.2 Sold to Matsushita, 1990
- 9.3 Sold to Seagrams, 1997
- 9.4 Merged with Vivendi to form Vivendi Universal, 1999
- 9.5 Acquired by GE, NBC Universal, 2005
- 9.6 Acquired by Comcast, 2009
10 Blockbuster
- 10.1 term originally from nuclear warfare
- 10.2 Bombing metaphor apt for release and marketing of such films
- 10.3 Premised on abundance of the film’s availability rather that scarcity
11 Jaws
- 11.1 Creative Artists Agency
- 11.2 Richard Zanuck and David Brown, producers
- 11.3 Peter Benchley, novelist and screenwriter
- 11.4 Steven Spielberg, director
12 Marketing Jaws
- 12.1 Variety reported on a “blockbuster buy for three days of TV spots.”
- 12.2 Opened June 20, 1975
- 12.3 Summer release was unusual for a major studio motion picture
- 12.4 Opened on 500 screens
13 Financial success
- 13.1 Cost $8 million to produce
- 13.2 $36 million after three weekends
- 13.3 Grossed $200 million is US theatrical release
14 The next big change
- 14.1 Videocassette recorder
- 14.2 BetaMax
- 14.3 Feared by the movie industry
- 14.4 Universal Pictures sued Sony to block recording of television programming