Every year for the last 77 years, Hollywood has celebrated its accomplishments with a big party at the annual Oscars ceremony. But behind the veil of glamor and glitz, claims author Edward Jay Epstein, is a big business that looks and operates unlike it did in Tinseltown’s heyday.
In a new book, Epstein explores how the six entertainment empires, including Viacom, Fox, Time Warner, and Sony, create and distribute intellectual property in today’s digital age entertainment. Movies rarely break even through theater revenues anymore, says Epstein, and the only real money is in the rush to DVD and television releases.
Hear a conversation with Epstein about the mega-corporations and the money trail behind the big screen of Hollywood.
Guests:
Edward Jay Epstein, author of “The Big Picture: The New Logic of Money and Power in Hollywood”
Jeanine Basinger, chair of film studies at Wesleyan University.
