Nikki (Unit 26) - Task Two

There were six major studios that ruled during the Golden Age of Hollywood: These are Universal, Paramount, MGM, Warner Bro’s, 20th Century Fox and RKO. These studios operated using production line methods and stars were contracted to studios for lengthy periods of time, meaning that studios also had control over the stars, deciding how they looked, what roles they got and how they lived. Hollywood was successful during this era because they organised around vertical integration which meant that if cinema’s wanted to book a main feature they also had to book other films from the studio, leaving little room for independents, this is called block booking. Hollywood in this era was a very controlled industry that maximised profits from minimised risks, such as developing a classic narrative that audiences loved and came to expect. In 1948 the Paramount Decree announced that it was banning both vertical integration and block booking. This is when Hollywood started becoming a nicer industry to be involved in because stars rebelled against long term contracts so the De Havilland Decision was made to release them from these. Directors in Hollywood also started to ask for more artistic freedom in the films they made. After this, Hollywood began to change. MGM, Universal and Paramount started to rent out equipment and studio lots to independent directors like Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, which gave way for films like Jaws and Close Encounters. These films also proved that audiences can and would accept change from the classic Hollywood narrative. The New Hollywood is now organised around the blockbuster film meaning that one film is released with a high budget to create a lot of buzz for the studio and get the most amount of profit. These films are generally marketed as a ‘product’ and will rarely be a single entity, coming along with video games, toys and merchandise. Actors and Directors are no longer contracted to a studio but instead have agents who keep their interests at heart and search for roles for the actors. This means that actors have more freedom in what they choose to do, for example they can star in a Hollywood blockbuster and an independent film. This also allows for actors to request a high fee for starring in the film. This ‘New Hollywood’ is still very successful because the studios have a lot of influence and are efficient in distributing films across the world. Because these studios are well established they also have access to huge budgets which means they are able to continue to create well made, creative films with well known actors. Hollywood is also starting to market their films towards cultures outside of the western region by hiring actors like Jackie Chan, Jet Lee and Jennifer Lopez. Hollywood will continue to be successful as long as people watch Hollywood films, for example, in the UK, Hollywood takes 80% of the Box Office as opposed to British films who take the remaining 20%.

In terms of Hollywood, Financial Determinants are a main factor in the production of films. There is a lot more money to spend on films now than there has been in the past which allows for filmmakers to have more flexibility in the films that they create for Hollywood, however, the bigger the budget on a film also means that there may be less of a profit made. This is why Hollywood tend to rely on existing products to ensure that a film they make will make a huge profit. For example, The Hunger Games has been one of the biggest movie releases in recent years and most of its success is down to the fact that there was an existing audience for The Hunger Games already. Other examples of this are the new Star Wars films, Harry Potter and Mad Max. This could also be a reason why the Hollywood remake of Oldboy was made, the 2003 version had won many awards and people seemed to love the film, this inspired Hollywood to make a profit from this and create a version that perhaps would reach a wider audience than the original, independent version. This brings me to the distribution of the films, in terms of Hollywood this refers to where the film has been shown and marketed. For example, whether the film was seen more in independent cinemas or cinemas known for showing Hollywood movies. The distribution of a film is one of the biggest factors in how well it does in the box office. Oldboy (2003) was distributed by Show East (Korea) and Tartan Films (US, UK). This film was also shown in countries like Japan, France and the Netherlands. The Box Office Budget for the original version of Oldboy was $3,000,000 and made the gross amount of $2,181,290. However, the Hollywood version of Oldboy (2013) was distributed by FilmDistrict. It’s budget was the same as the 2003 version at $30million but instead made $4,861,022 worldwide taking over 50% of the foreign box office. This shows that despite the bad feedback that the Hollywood remake received, it made a larger amount of money in the box office because of the distribution. There are many trends that we see in Hollywood films, these trends are usually to ensure that a film makes a profit at the box office, this is because trends are usually tried and tested as films that audiences love. Examples of trends in Hollywood are Biopics such as The Theory of Everything (2014), The Imitation Game (2014), Mr. Turner (2014), Diana (2013), Saving Mr. Banks (2013); Dystopia films like The Hunger Games (2012-2015), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), The Divergent Series (2014-2016), The Maze Runner (2014) and The Giver (2014); Action movies are also a huge trend in Hollywood allowing for speed chases that tend to generate a lot of revenue. Examples of these action movies are Inception (2010), The Expendables (2010), Mission Impossible (2011), 21 Jump Street (2012), Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013), Olympus Has Fallen (2013), Edge of Tommorow (2014). Another trend in Hollywood that picks up a lot of money in the box office because of it’s wide target audience is the Superheroes trend. There have been countless films that involve superheroes in the last few years including: Thor (2011), X-Men (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Avengers (2012), The Amazing Spiderman (2012), Man of Steel (2013), The Wolverine (2013), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Ant-Man (2015), Deadpool (2016), Batman VS Superman (2016), Captain America: Civil War (2016). A trend in Hollywood  that seems to have really helped the U.S. version of Oldboy along is that of the Classic Remake. This is a trend that takes a classic, world renowned and award winning film and reboots it for a mainstream, hollywood audience. There are many other films that have been remade by Hollywood such as: Peter Pan (2003), War Of The Worlds (2005), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Sweeney Todd (2007), Let Me In (2010) and True Grit (2010). These remakes tend to gather a lot of revenue in the cinemas because people have already seen and loved the classic movies which sparks an interest in both the younger generation and the older. Stars are also a huge part of any Hollywood film, audiences love to watch actors that they know and love so are more likely to go to see a film that has a familiar actor in. This could be a reason why the Hollywood remake generated a bigger profit in the box office because the western audiences in particular knew what to expect from actors like Samuel L. Jackson, Elizabeth Olsen and Josh Brolin as opposed to eastern audiences who might more recognise the actors in the original Oldboy: Choi Min-Sik, Kang Hye-Jung and Yoo Ji-Tae. Vertical Integration in terms of Hollywood is when, for example, a studio like Warner Bros not only owns the film studio itself, but also rights to the distribution of the films and some of the cinemas where the films are shown. This is so that the control over the film and how it is made, produced and distributed is always in the company's hand. However, Horizontal Integration is when a big company takes over a smaller company in the same business in order to maximise profits. An example of this would be when Disney bought Marvel so that any money Marvel would get from it’s franchises would go into the Disney company too, this keeps both companies from going bankrupt and also allows them to release movies at the same time without competition. Hollywood used to run on Vertical Integration during the Golden Era, however New Hollywood now uses Horizontal Integration this means that they can produce films that can be promoted alongside other media texts, for example: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise are now a computer game, toys a TV programme and now have two Hollywood produced films. Synergy in Hollywood essentially means that big companies need to work together with smaller companies in order to make the most amount of money. For example, if Disney wanted to promote their film Big Hero 6, they might pair up with a magazine that can write about the new Disney release, this will then direct people to a trailer for the film which will lead to people seeing the film in a cinema if they enjoyed the trailer. This chain of events will generate money for Disney from the promotion in the magazine, the trailer on the website and then the box office money. Synergy is vital in the promotion of films in order for it to reach the maximum target audience possible.These factors all affect a film that is produced in the Hollywood system because they are all aimed at producing a film that will generate the maximum amount of profit, this is both a good and a bad thing, because it allows for Hollywood to keep making movies that audiences know, love and will willingly see again, but many film-lovers believe that the hollywood system is taking the soul and creativity out of filmmaking. Despite the criticism, films made in the hollywood system are all set up to do well and continue to do well because of factors such as financial determinants, distribution, trends, stars and horizontal integration.This means that films like The Avengers, The Hunger Games and Mission Impossible will always be produced by their studios, however, it also means that independent films such as the original Oldboy may continue to be overlooked.

In Spike Lee’s version of Oldboy, it changes many parts of the film’s context in order to appeal to a western audience, however, the film also tries to leave many references to South Korean culture in order to still appeal to the international audience. This version of Oldboy is different to the Korean version, in that instead of trying to take inspiration from the Japanese Manga they based their film on the film that had already been made, this is because Hollywood may have felt this would reach a bigger audience internationally because the eastern audience had already known and loved the film but the Manga may have been unfamiliar. Spike Lee’s version also changes many qualities of the main character, Joe Doucett, in order to appeal to a much wider, worldwide audience. Joe Doucett is immediately shown as a man who is an alcoholic, doesn’t attempt to be a good father to his daughter and who belittles and disrespects his wife by flirting with other women. During his imprisonment, Joe realises that he was an awful man and vows to become a better, rehabilitated person. This speaks to the western audience’s need and want to have a character that has redeemed themselves instead of trying to come to terms with perhaps feeling bad for someone who is not a nice person. Hollywood has also changed Spike Lee’s version so that instead of having revenge as a primary factor in Joe’s rehabilitation, it is the promise of finding his daughter when he is released. However, the most important change that we see in this adaption is that while Dae-Su chose to forget that Mi-Do was his daughter, presumably so that he did not have to live with the guilt and continue on their sexual relationship, Joe Doucett chooses to imprison himself once again in the hopes that he will be able to redeem himself. This is further proof that Hollywood caters to the mainstream audience’s need for a happy, understandable ending that shows a character who was unlikeable at first as someone who could possibly fit the role of a ‘hero’.

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