Picture This

I just read Edward Jay Epstein's The Big Picture. It's an overview of how modern Hollywood functions. Unlike most other books, it actually gives you the financial numbers, both income and outgo.

The book does an excellent job in describing how the character of Hollywood has changed since the studio era. Right after WWII, Hollywood was a handful of studios in the business of making and showing motion pictures. Since then, due to the break-up of their vertical monopoly, and a series of technical innovations starting with TV, it's turned into conglomerates that see the theatrical exhibition of movie content as one small part of their financial flow.

Epstein is best in his early chapters, describing how the change came about. He's not so good at describing how movies are made these days. Not that he gets anything wrong (besides a few minor errors here and there), but he often seems to be relating his story to a Martian who has no idea how anything works.

The overall tone is dry and a bit cynical--maybe too cynical, since, on the ground, it's still about telling stories, and you might not get that impression from Epstein. But it's a useful corrective to all those books that leave out the second half of "show business."