Y200 Politics and Film

1. Y200Politics and Film September 13, 2011

2. MPPDA and the Production Code • 1922 Formation of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors Association of America (MPPDA) under Will Hays • 1930 Adoption of the Hollywood Production Code • 1934 Formation of the Production Code Administration (PCA) under Joseph Breen

3. Will Hays Postmaster General during the Warren G. Harding administration. Born in Sullivan, Indiana. Headed the MPPDA from 1922 to 1945. Responsible for inventing the Hays Production Code and promoting the motion picture industry globally.

4. From McCarthyism to Multimedia Mergers • 1950-54 McCarthyism and the Blacklist • 1968 End of the Production Code • Hollywood reacts to the political movements of the 1960s (civil rights, the anti-war movement) • 1970s Rise of the “movie brats” and the new blockbuster films • 1980s Multimedia Mergers and the rise of the new infotainment industry

5. Jack Valenti Jack Valenti, formerly an advisor to President Lyndon B. Johnson was selected head of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) in 1963. He resigned in 2004 and was replaced by former Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman. Valenti created a voluntary rating system to replace the Production Code in 1968.

6. Richard Heffner: Joseph Breen’s Successor 1974 to 1994 he served as Chairman of the Board and Administrator of the motion picture industry's voluntary film classification and rating system

7. Dan Glickman: Valenti’s Successor • Secretary of Agriculture 1995-2001 (Clinton Administration) • US Representative from Kansas for 18 years prior to that • 2004 Appointment as President and CEO of the MPAA

8. Average Weekly Attendance (in Millions) and Ticket Prices, 1929-1993 Source: Gene Brown, Movie Time; Motion Picture Association. (http://www.mpaa.org)

9. Studio Economic Strategies • Repackage and resell material in as many forms as possible. • Combine phased marketing with price differentiation to maximize revenues from film rentals, VCR rentals, and tape sales. • Diversify into retailing, theme parks, etc. • Integrate upstream by building multi-cinemas, retail stores, etc.

10. Financing a Film • The producer puts up “front money” to assemble a script, a cast, and a film crew • “First money” comes from one set of financiers (often banks); “second money” may come from other sources • The studio assembles the financial package and often compensates the producer by giving him/her a percentage of the “gross”

11. What Factors Influence Film Making? • Economics • availability of financing • box office potential • return on investment • reducing uncertainty • Judgment of peers • Values of film makers • Fears of controversy leading to censorship

12. The Rise of the Blockbuster • Budgets in the tens of millions; Revenues in the hundreds of millions • Examples • The Godfather (1972) • Jaws (1975) • Star Wars (1977)

13. Number of Films Released in the US, 1950-2005 Source: Motion Picture Association. (www.mpaa.org)

14. Ratings of Films by Rating, 1968-2005 Source: Motion Picture Association. (www.mpaa.org)

15. Domestic Gross Box Office, 1991-2005, in billions of current dollars Source: Motion Picture Association. (www.mpaa.org)

16. MPAA Average Negative Costs, 1980-2005, in $million Source: Motion Picture Association

17. US Motion Picture Employment, in thousands, 1988-2000 Source: Motion Picture Association

18. Total Number of U.S. Screens (in thousands) Source: Motion Picture Association.

19. US Theaters by Number of Screens, 2000