Hollywood

 (e-Content developed by Prof. (Dr) N A Jarandikar)

Introduction:

‘Hollywood’ is a term associated with the American film industry. Hollywood is a place in California, America. Its development as the centre of the global film industry began gradually from the beginning of the 20^th century. Its beautiful scenery, bright sunlight, and pleasant atmosphere attracted the film studios to settle here. Paramount Studios, Warner Brothers and Disney Studios played a major role in establishing Hollywood. There are many film centres in America apart from Hollywood, such as the New York film industry, the Atlanta Film Industry, and the Chicago film industry. But Hollywood remains the capital of all these film industries for so many reasons. It’s the largest English film-making industry next only to Bollywood.

Hollywood v/s British films:

Britain also produces English films. But there is a major difference between Hollywood and British films. Hollywood produces very big-budget films and targets a global audience. Such is not the case with the British films. And after the Second World War, as America emerged as the superpower, in filmmaking too it did not lag behind.

Hollywood and European cinema:

Film budget is again a major issue when the European cinema is compared with Hollywood. No other film industry can compete with Hollywood as far as the issue of budget is concerned. The second problem that European cinema faces is the language barrier. The European cinema is produced in German, French, Italian, and Spanish languages. So, it does not have a global audience.

One more difference between Hollywood and the British or European cinema is that Hollywood makes highly commercial films where the focus is mainly on entertainment. The British or European cinema gives main importance to artistic values. Again, there are no big studios in Europe or England as can be seen in Hollywood.

Main features of Hollywood:

Hollywood produces fully entertaining movies. Many a time, they are action-packed movies. There is a pretty good scope for romance, mystery and thrill. It seldom touches the philosophical, social or very serious components. It makes the robust use of technology while filmmaking.

How big is Hollywood?:

If Bollywood is compared with Hollywood, one can understand how big Hollywood is. Bollywood produces 300-350 films per year. Bollywood produces 600-800 films per year. 100-120 crore rupees are invested in the average big-budget Bollywood movie. The budget of big Hollywood movie is ten times to it. The budget of the famous Hindi movie ‘Chhava’ was 130 crore rupees. The budget of the famous Hollywood movie ‘Spiderman 3’ was 300 million dollars. And that too was in 2007.  

Hollywood as a world cinema leader:

Naturally, Hollywood is a big giant. It controls the fashion world and food culture across the globe. It sets trends in storytelling and film making. The Oscar awards is one more point that proves in what way Hollywood is a world cinema leader. Oscar awards are given to the well-known films produced every year across the globe. These awards are given in Los Angeles, America.  It follows a rigorous procedure to select and award the best films. There a handful of Bollywood movies and persons who are recognized by the Oscars. On the other hand, Hollywood dominates in the Oscar awards.

Famous Hollywood movies and studios:

·         ‘Spider Man’ (Columbia Pictures)

·         ‘Godfather’ (Paramount Pictures)

·         ‘The Lion King’ (Disney Studio)

·         ‘Batman’ (Warner Brothers)

 

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