[Edward Jay] Epstein shows how the super-corporations—Viacom, Disney, News Corporation, Time Warner, General Electric—now own what remains of the old Hollywood studios. Running them with an eye toward a global audience, they concentrate on objectives that supersede the idea of making entertaining flicks that can both turn a profit and every so often aspire to quasi-art. Their main production model was discovered long ago by Walt Disney: find a niche audience (children, in Disney’s case) and be astute about licensing the rights to toys, books, cartoons, and other products that spin off the original movie. George Lucas’s Star Wars has acted on that model, and created an empire that has struck back again and again—struck the cash register, that is—through lucrative licensing agreements.

# posted by Gerry Canavan @ 12:12 PM  |