not artistic merit, are the basic measure of success
in the movie industry, using the word academyto
describe the activities of this new organization
suited early moviemakers’ strong need for social
acceptance and respectability.
A masterful stroke of public relations, the Acad-
emy is privately funded from within the industry
and is perhaps best known to the public for its
annual presentation of the Academy Awards of
Merit, or Oscars, as they are commonly known.
Membership in the Academy is by invitation only.
Now numbering around 5,800, members fall into
sixteen categories: actors, art directors, cine-
matographers, directors, documentary, executives,
film editors, makeup artists and hairstylists, music,
producers, public relations, short films and feature
animation, sound, visual effects, members-at-large,
and writers. Members in each category make the
Oscar nominations and vote to determine the win-
ners. All voting members are also eligible to vote
for the Best Picture nominees.
Currently, Academy members award Oscars for
the “best” in these 24 categories: Actor in a Lead-
ing Role, Actor in a Supporting Role, Actress in a
Leading Role, Actress in a Supporting Role, Ani-
mated Feature, Animated Short Film, Art Direc-
tion, Cinematography, Costume Design, Director,
Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Sub-
ject, Film Editing, Foreign Language Film, Live
Action Short Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Origi-
nal Score, Original Song, Picture, Sound Editing,
Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, Writing—Adapted
Screenplay, and Writing—Original Screenplay. In
addition, the Academy has the option to present
honorary awards, scientific and technical awards,
special-achievement awards, and the Jean Hersholt
Humanitarian Award and Irving G. Thalberg Memo-
rial Award. Various attempts to add the following
new categories have not been approved: Casting,
Stunt Coordination, and Title Design.
Financing in the Industry
The pattern for financing the production of motion
pictures, much like the establishment of labor prac-
tices, developed in the industry’s early years.
Within the two decades after the invention of the
movies, there were two major shifts: first from indi-
vidual owners of small production companies (e.g.,
Edison and Griffith) to medium-sized firms, and
then to the large corporations that not only sold
stock but also relied heavily on the infusion of
major capital from the investment community.
Because prudent investors have traditionally con-
sidered producing films to be a risky business, the
motion-picture industry recognized that it would
need efficient management, timely production
practices, and profitable results to attract the cap-
ital necessary to sustain it. As Hollywood grew, its
production practices became more and more stan-
dardized. Today, producers aggressively seek the
support of a newer breed of investors.
From the beginning, however, the vertical organi-
zational structure of the studios was challenged by
independent producers. Although the studios domi-
nated the distribution and exhibition of films (at
least until 1948, when the federal government broke
that monopoly), the independents did have access
to many movie theaters and could compete success-
fully for the outside financing they required. The
early success of independent producers—such as
David O. Selznick in gaining the financing for such
major undertakings as Gone with the Wind(1939)—
demonstrates not only their individual strengths
but also the viability and possible profitability of
their alternative approach to the studio system.
No rule governs the arranging of financing—
money may come from the studio, the producer, the
investment community, or (most probably) a com-
bination of these—just as no one timetable exists
for securing it. By studying the production credits
of films, you can see just how many organizations
may back a project. For example, Figure 11.4 lists,
in the order of their appearance on the screen, the
opening credits of Bill Condon’s Gods and Monsters
(1998). Universal Studios released the film, which
involved the financial as well as creative input of six
entities: Lionsgate Films, Showtime, Flashpoint,
BBC Films, Regent Entertainment, and Gregg
Fienberg. Separate title screens identify two line
producers, three co-executive producers, two exec-
utive producers, and two more executive produc-
ers. Finally, a “Produced By” screen credit listsFINANCING IN THE INDUSTRY 505