Hollywood Film Industry At A Glimpse

Film industry is an amalgamation of technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking. It generally consists of film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, actors, directors and film personnel.

Today the film industry is spread all around the world. In the present century the major business centers of filmmaking are concentrated in the United States, India and China. Hollywood is a district in Los Angeles, California, that is situated in west- northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and the cultural individuality of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metaphor for the cinema of the United States which is popularly known as Hollywood film industry.

The history of Hollywood film industry probably started in the hands of D.W. Griffith when the Biograph Company sent him and his crew. They started filming on a vacant lot in downtown Los Angeles in early 1910. Soon the company explored new territories to find that the region was quite friendly and very ideal for shooting. So, Griffith then filmed the first ever movie shot in Hollywood, titled In Old California. The movie company then stayed there for some months to shoot several of their films and then returned to New York.

Starting in 1913, this wonderful place came into the limelight when moviemakers started heading there. Thus Hollywood film industry took birth. The first feature film made in Hollywood was called The Squaw Man. Nestor Studio, founded in 1911, was the first movie studio in Hollywood. Fifteen other small studios also were established in Hollywood. Gradually Hollywood came to be so powerfully associated with the film industry that this term began to be used as a synonym for the entire industry.

During the First World War Hollywood became the movie capital of the world. By the year 1950, music recording studios and offices began moving to Hollywood, though much of the movie industry had already been moved there.

The world famous Hollywood Walk of Fame was constructed in the year 1958 and the first star was placed in 1960. The Walk of Fame was placed as a tribute to the artists working in the entertainment industry. It is embedded with more than 2,000 five pointed stars featuring the names of not only celebrities, but also fictional characters. Self financing Hollywood Historic Trust maintains this Walk of Fame. The first star to receive this honor was Joanne Woodward. An artist receives a star based on career and lifetime achievements in motion pictures, live theatres, radio, television, and music.

The famous Hollywood sign which originally read Hollywoodland, was constructed in the year 1923 as an advertisement of a new housing development. The sign was left to disuse until in 1949 the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce repaired and removed the last four letters. The sign, now located at Mount Lee, is now a registered trademark and hence cannot be used without the permission of the Chamber of Commerce.

The Hollywood film industry can be called the Mecca of film industries. Though geographically it is located in Hollywood, it resides in the hearts of millions of film lovers and film related persons. The Hollywood remains and will remain a king, without a scepter.

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The Star System Of Hollywood Movies

The method of creating and promoting film stars in Hollywood movies is known as the star system. Different studios would select talented actors and create roles for them, often inventing new names and even new backgrounds. Stars that went through this star system in Hollywood movies are Cary Grant, Joan Crawford and Rock Hudson. Star system of Hollywood movies puts an emphasis on the image rather than on real acting talents. However, acting, voice, and dancing form a part of the criteria.

There are rules and restrictions that these new budding actors have to follow. For instance, they are not allowed to leave the house without putting any makeup and wearing stylish clothes when it comes to female actors. On the other hand, the male actors are expected to be seen in public as gentlemen. The star system of Hollywood movies had a morality clause as well.

Just as the executives, public relations staffs, and the agents worked together with the actor to create a star character, so also they would work together to cover up the incidents or lifestyles which would prove disrespectful and that can damage or spoil the image of the actor in the eye of the public.

In the star system of Hollywood movies, performers are not identified in films due to two main reasons. One is that the stage performers were embarrassed to be seen in films. Initially, they were featured in silent films and it was considered pantomime, which is the art of conveying emotions, actions, and feelings, by gestures without speech. As one of the main skills of actors was their voice, they were afraid that appearing in films would ruin their reputation.

The other reason for the performers not being identified in films was because producers feared that actors would gain more prestige and power and the stars might demand more money. There were many incidents that have caused the star system of Hollywood movies to come into existence. Some of the main reasons can be traced out from the following incidents.

Thomas Edison and the Motion Picture Patents Company (in short the MPPC) forced the filmmakers to use their equipment and follow their rules, since they owned most of the patents of the motion picture equipment. And it is said that the MPPC did promote some actors during that time.

There was a change in the star system of Hollywood movies, and the main reason was that the public desired to know the real names of the actors. Film audiences constantly recognized a number of performers in movies that they liked. As the names of these stars was not disclosed, the audience would give them nicknames such as the Biograph Girl, Florence Lawrence, and the like.

The MPPC was gaining control over the movie industry until Carl Laemmle promoted the first film star. He was independent of the MPPC and used star promotion to fight the MPPC gaining control over the film industry. He got hold of Lawrence from Biograph and spread a rumor that she was killed in a car accident but then later combated this rumor and said she was doing fine and would be starring in the up-coming film produced by him.

Another reason that led to the establishment of the star system in Hollywood movies was the development of the film magazines that gave fans knowledge about the actors. This included the lifestyles of the actors outside their film roles. Some of the popular magazines of the time were the Motion Picture Story Magazine and Photoplay. They focused on stories of movies but later they began to focus more on the actors as it was advantageous economically. These are some of the main reasons for the introduction of the star system in Hollywood movies.

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A Guide For Downloading Movies Online

Movies have become one of the fastest growing sources of entertainment. It can nourish all sorts of emotions. It can depict circumstances real or purely fictional. Sometimes the real and the unreal get blurred and one wonders which is which. For many people watching movies is a way of unwinding, in order to relax and forget about other things of life.

Going to a cinema hall is not always convenient. For those who have a PC and Internet, downloading movies online is the perfect solution to this problem. It is the perfect key to happiness for techno savvy people. Internet gives a person great liberty to choose films from various categories, old or new. One can visit numerous sites for movies and choose from them. Usually there is a free trial period for a site for downloading movies online. After that most sites charge a little less than a dollar per day for endless download of your choice.

A user can create movies with advanced interactive features such as menus, chapters, subtitles and much more. Unlike watching a movie in a hall, here one has the option of changing a movie by simply flipping on to another. Also, he can always pause or postpone the viewing according to his work schedule.

This system of electronic entertainment has thrown open the door for competition among various service providers and a consumer can avail the best of services. In terms of pricing, and the quality of digital pictures and additional technologies, a consumer is truly the king here.

Downloading movies online gives the user freedom to know more about diverse cultures and different trends, which would not have been possible without the help of the Internet. But this access to various sites must be judicious. Especially in case of children, online movies can be more of a hazard than a convenience, as these may trespass on the morality and ethics of the user. Hence adults must monitor online movies for children and keep them away from indulging in adult sites.

Online movies also provide an eco-friendly form of entertainment, as there is no chance of pollution, packaging or disposal. Most importantly, this system of entertainment is both cheap and durable. It helps in saving time and money and gives the user a perfect platform for performing multi dimensional tasks at home or even during office hours. The access of movies online and their downloading has made it unnecessary for the user to write and store movie CDs.

Also, it is a perfect gift and absolute bliss for the connoisseurs of films who love to collect gleanings from the golden world of filmdom. It is truly a one-stop shop for enthusiastic movie lovers, spawning its charm on the young and the old alike, excelling in utility and consumer satisfaction. Hence the practice of downloading movies online can be looked upon as a cheap and effective way of recreation in today's world.

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Realistic Movies - The Craft Of Creative Minds

In this 21st century, entertainment is the one and only means of providing relaxation to the mind from worries. The most recent and the most popular mass medium for entertainment is cinema. The motion picture has grown much with the improvements in technology. With the advent of motion picture entertainment has taken the form of an industry.

The history of filmmaking goes back to the year 1895 when Lumiere brothers of Paris started projection of films for the Persian public. Earlier filmmakers in Europe and America concentrated more on producing commercial pictures. Up to 1910 films in U.K and Hollywood were meant only for entertainment. But films like City Light (1931), The Great Dictator and many more made by the great Charlie Chaplin, gave a new definition to the word cinema.

We remember Chaplin as a little man with a tight jacket and loose pants held up with a string; over size boots and undersized bowler hat. He was the only man who tried to portray the true picture of the underprivileged world. He tries to depict through comedy, a hard core of truth and painful experience of his life.

Changes were also seen in European films. In the Soviet-Union films were made on First World War. Russian films on Lenin and Russian Revolution tried to bring out in front of the audience the political scenario as well as the social scenario of Russia. Efforts of a few famous film makers of the first world to make films with the hard core realities from society and life gave birth to a new category of films, which later became world famous as realistic films.

In post war Europe, realism was in the air in its film cities, particularly in Italy and France. Writers who were professed leftists made new kinds of films, departing from the Hollywood tradition. To match the stories with reality, directors like De Sica, Lattuada and Castellani of Europe took their camera out into the streets and engaged non-actors to play leading roles. These films were shown in Indian cities also after their releases in Europe. These realistic films influenced many young aspirants.

The realistic films began their journey in India from Bengal. The internationally acclaimed filmmaker Satyajit Ray was the pioneer of realistic filmmaking. In his first film Pather Panchali (1955) he worked on the conflicts and issues of post independent India in the background of his state of Bengal. There were also a few other filmmakers like Mrinal Sen, and Ritwik Ghatok who were impressed by Italian, French and Japanese neo-realist films.

This trend of making off beat movies is also seen in other regional movies. The genre of realistic film has given birth to many ace filmmakers in the Indian film industry. Realistic films were made in almost all languages. Realistic films were made in Hindi as well as in South Indian languages from time to time. It was Shyam Benegal's debut Hindi film Ankur (1973) which started an offbeat wave. This genre of offbeat film was nourished by many big names of Indian film industry like Govind Nihalani, Basu Chatterjee, Ketan Mehta, Mahesh Bhatt, Kalpana Lajmi and Nabendu Ghosh. They pioneered a new path in filmmaking.

In the 21st century this trend of making realistic movies has been kept alive by filmmakers who believe that cinema is the art of the directors, not that of the artistes or technical experts. These offbeat films not only make us aware of the social and economic conditions prevailing in our society, but also show different aspects of life. The new Indian realistic cinema, for instance, has great social significance, presenting a modern, humanistic point of view in contrast to the fantasy world of popular cinema. We hope that in future the Indian creative minds will keep alive this genre of realistic movies.

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The Usefulness Of Movie Reviews

A movie review gives an indication as to whether or not others will find the movie worth watching. The purpose of most movie reviews is to help the reader in determining whether they want to watch, rent or buy the movie. The review should also give enough details about the movie so that the reader can make a right choice. For that the review must deal with all important aspects of the movie such as the plot or the story.

In this article, we will be discussing the guidelines, which should be followed while writing a movie review. Before starting to write a review, the writer should select the movie he is going to write about. Knowing the details of the movie, such as its director, actors, story and such things is important. Then the reviewer should formulate his own opinion in one sentence. Lastly, special scenes from the movie or other things that will support the writer's opinion have to be selected and given.

The first step in writing the review is to watch the movie. Most movie reviewers take notes as they watch the movie itself. Watching the movie a second time helps to absorb a lot more details about the movie. Most movie reviewers give their opinion of the movie only after watching it a second or third time. In all good journalism, the reviewer should always give impartial details, and allow the readers to make their own opinion about the film.

Reviewer's opinions should be explained to allow the reader to determine whether they would agree with his opinion. The reviewer also needs to consider the audience. Writing a movie review for children requires a different approach than writing for a general movie audience. The review should always be written keeping the targeted audience in mind. The main essence of the movie should be retained in an outlined sketch. But it should always be remembered not to give away any essential details like surprises or a sudden turn in the plot.

Details of actors, crew members, and directors should be mentioned. It should also be mentioned how well they have acted and how well the movie has been made technically. The technicalities are an important part of the movie review. Technicalities include art direction, music, editing, lighting, cinematography and the like.

Movie reviews even include a little bit of criticism if needed. Criticism says what could have been done to make the film better or what the weak points of the movie are. Though critical analysis is not always needed, a word or two in that manner can be very good at times.

A reviewer must always remember to give an outline of the whole story, but not give away details which hold surprises or the special essence of the film. It should be kept untold to keep the suspense. The movie review should be written keeping a note of the types of readers who would be reading the review. The language, presentation and the technicalities of writing would also depend on the types of readers. The medium in which the review will be published is also important, because if the review is published on the net the reviewer will get mostly young readers but if it is going to be published in a local language in a local daily the approach should be different.

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