In Hollywood business often clashes with art. And when it does business usually wins. It's tough to fight Hollywood's corporate powers. Even if you are Rocky and Rambo combined.
Still, it's hard to feel pity for Sylvester, or for other Hollywood artists who complain about the pressure of the profit-oriented Hollywood system. They are paid too well to pity. Also they are free to indulge their artistic visions in films that they finance themselves. If they choose to be part of the established Hollywood order, they become part of a system that functions extraordinarily well. No other American industry performs so spectacularly against foreign competition. To a large extent, Hollywood films are the world's films.
The fact is that the number of workers in the US film industry is quite small. All the money goes into relatively few pockets. The entire industry occupies only a few square kilometers around Los Angeles, and comprises only eight major filmmaking studios. There are only three large talent agencies that represent artists in their business negotiations. There are fewer than 50 major film directors. The competition to be one of these select few is fierce, but it is also generally fair. Despite occasional charges of nepotism, or of trading sexual favors for career advancement, Hollywood remains a meritocracy. The stakes are simply too high to allow untalented people to advance. Therefore, anyone with talent is welcome in Hollywood; a degree in film studies is helpful, but not necessary.
The business organization in Hollywood is simple. The eight largest studios, each of which employs no more than about 1,500 people, make and distribute to theatres about half of Hollywood films. The other half are made by independent producers or by smaller production com¬panies, which employ only about 50 people each. Most of the production companies, however, use major studios to distribute their films to the theatres. Because the studios and production companies finance the films, they have ul¬timate authority over hiring the film's principal personnel: the directors, writers, actors, producer and publicist.
Often, however, a talent agent — the business repre¬sentative for Hollywood's creative talent — will have a great deal of authority over who is hired to work on film. Creative artists in Hollywood generally trust their agents' judgement, and will often work on the films their agents recommend.
The pursuit of profitability is a practical necessity, since Hollywood films cost so much to make — an aver¬age of about $27 million. The high cost is the reason art is often sacrificed for money. However, a great many of the most important artists in Hollywood fight hard for their artistic vision, and often win.
Ironically, some of the most profitable films — includ¬ing "Dances with Wolves" (1990) — were made more for art than profit. But these films achieved their artistic goals so fully that they attracted large audiences. Similarly, other low budget films that are not of great artistic value, but are well-accomplished entertainment, also become staggeringly profitable. "Home Alone" (1990), for exam¬ple — a suspense comedy about the boy who foils two burglars — was made for $12 million, and earned about $300 million in American ticket sales.
Frequently, though, the highest artistic goals are sac¬rificed. Some people in Hollywood are terribly frustrated when this happens. Others are not. Often, their reaction to this issue depends upon the type of job they do. A studio executive, for example, would be likely to care more about profit then art.
Agents are at the heart of Hollywood power. There are several reasons for this. They exert great influence over stars and directors, because these clients often owe their ascendance to the agents who helped them rise from the bottom. Also, agents exert great influence over studio executives, because they control the stars the executives need. Lastly, agents have huge financial resources, since they typically receive 10 percent of all the money paid to each of their clients.
Ron Meyer was the agent who represented Sylvester Stallone on "Rocky V". Meyer believes that agents are
absolutely necessary, because most artists are not hard- nosed business people. "The system requires proper representation for every artist... There's the business of show business and the artistic aspect of the business, and we all have our roles to play".
Artists who are vitally interested in doing quality work often hire representatives who are as concerned about creativity as finances. Actor Dustin Hoffman, for exam¬ple, was represented by quality-conscious Bert Fields, who helped Hoffman find excellent films like "Rain Man" (1988), "Tootsie" (1982), and "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979) and fought hard to give Hoffman creative control over his films. Fields also negotiated fiercely for Hoff¬man's financial interests.
Nevertheless, some critics believe that agents in general are to blame for Hollywood's fixation on com¬mercialism.
The next most powerful job in Hollywood hierarchy, after agent and studio executive, is that of producer. The producer oversees and organises all aspects of a film from developing the script, to hiring the director and ac¬tors, to finding money for production, to arranging for distribution. Producers must satisfy the financial concerns of studio executives and agents, and artistic concerns of actors, writers and directors. Because producers spend a year or two on each film — often investing their own money — each film represents great risk to their careers and finances. When Robert Chartoff became the producer of "Rocky", the United Artists studio forced Chartoff to pledge his home as security against the film's production costs. For Chartoff, this was an enormous gamble. But he believed "Rocky" "had the potential to be something remarkable". However, says Chartoff, "I never dreamed it would be as successful as it was".
Another risk Chartoff took was casting Stallone, who'd written the screenplay for "Rocky". The studio did not want Stallone, because at the time he had not yet starred in any successful film. The studio offered to pay Stallone $300,000 for his script if he would agree not to act in it. But Stallone refused, and Chartoff backed him. Chartoff s instincts were proven correct when "Rocky" made $117 million in America alone.
Many producers feel they must follow their own artistic instincts, even when these instincts contradict studio pres¬sure. Using major stars is a tactic which many producers employ. But it can backfire, because stars are so expensive. When prominent producer Leonard Goldberg was wres-tling with a badly written movie that he thought would be a flop, an agent approached him with advice. "The agent said to me, 'What if I can get a couple of stars?' And I said, 'then we would have an expensive flop."'
Too often, however, producers give in to agents and other dealmakers, and load their films with stars — even if the stars aren't right for their roles. They do this because they know a star-heavy movie is likely to appeal to stu¬dios. Producers with artistic integrity hate this approach. "The movie industry is now run by dealmakers, instead of filmmakers," says producer Michael Viner. "And it's a tragedy. It's reflected in the films that come out."
This couldn't happen, of course, if actors refused to be used as commercial pawns. But actors, like others in Holly¬wood, are often seduced by the lure of fame and fortune.
Publicists generally don't have the kind of power that stars and agents have; their job is to build power for others, by building their recognition. But by doing this, publicists have become an indispensable part of the Hol¬lywood system. In Hollywood, a widely held belief is: It's not who you are that counts — it's who you're perceived to be. Publicists hold the key to public perception. They also often control how the public perceives specific films. "Advertising alone isn't enough to get the public to the box-office", says David Shaw, a partner of Shaw-Spelling Associates. "The public has to hear about the film through stories on television and print... Early publicity", says Shaw, "helps the producers gain confidence of their in¬vestors, and of the cast and the crew". Just before a film's release, publicity is used to influence what reviewers say. "Sometimes you can make critics see a film from a dif¬ferent perspective", says Shaw. When a film is released, most of a publicist's work is done, because how well the film does commercially during its first weekend generally dictates its overall success. "Advertising is an easily con¬trolled medium," says Dan Spelling, "but it's extremely expensive, and it's hard to make one ad stand out from other ads. Also consumers distrust it. Public relation is more effective than advertising and more believable to consumers. A few interesting and well-placed articles can create far more interest than a big ad campaign." Shaw and Spelling believe that many publicists work in a lazy, non-creative way. "They rely on just the name value of the big stars", says Spelling. "Many of the best films," he notes, "come from the smaller production companies.
Publicists can help these companies by promoting not just the artists working in their films, but the companies themselves."
Agents, studio executives, producers, actors, direc¬tors, writers and publicists — all make up the mosaic that the public identifies as "Hollywood". This combination of people produces the films that now dominate world culture. These people are under considerable pressure to make commercially successful films. Sometimes this pressure overwhelms their creative abilities. Often, though, art and commerce combine to provide films that had become cultural landmarks.