Hollywood became a successful film industry center in the early 1900s as filmmakers moved there to escape Thomas Edison's strict film production rules in New Jersey. Independent filmmakers established studios in Hollywood due to its ideal weather and varied landscapes. During the 1920s-1940s Hollywood's major studios, including Paramount, RKO, 20th Century Fox and MGM, controlled film production and distribution through exclusive actor contracts and theater ownership. This period is considered Hollywood's "Golden Age." The 1948 Supreme Court ruling that ended exclusive contracts and theater ownership marked the unofficial end of this era.

1. *HOLLYWOOD PRESENTATION*
Q.What is hollywood and what made it so successful?
-In the early 1900s, filmmakers began moving to the Los Angeles area to get away
from the strict rules imposed by Thomas Edison's Motion Picture Patents Company
inNew Jersey. Since most of the moviemaking patents were owned by Edison,
independent filmmakers were often sued by Edison to stop their productions.
To escape his control, and because of the ideal weather conditions and varied
terrain, moviemakers began to arrive in Los Angeles to make their films. If agents
from Edison's company came out west to find and stop these filmmakers, adequate
notice allowed for a quick escape to Mexico.
Biograph made the first film in Hollywood, entitled In Old California. After hearing of
Biograph's praise of the area, other filmmakers headed west to set up shop.
The first motion picture studio was built in 1919, in nearby Edendale, just east of
Hollywood, by Selig Polyscope Company, and the first one built in Hollywood was
founded by filmmaker David Horsley's general manager Al Christie in 1911, in an old
building on the southeast corner of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street. Movie
studios began to crop up all over Hollywood after Christie's appearance, including
ones for Cecil B. DeMille in 1913, the Charlie Chaplin Studio in 1917, and many
others.

2. *Golden age of Hollywood
From the end of the silent film era, about 1927, to around 1948, the Hollywood
movie studio system controlled what films were shown across the country. Five
major Hollywood-area studios owned large, grand theaters where they would
show only movies produced by their studios and made with their contracted
actors. These studios were Paramount, RKO, 20th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-
Mayer (MGM), and Warner Bros.
Also known as the Golden Age of Hollywood, stars had little choice but to
contract with those studios. Among these leading men and ladies were: Mae
West, Ronald Reagan, Clark Gable, Will Rogers, Judy Garland, Cary Grant, Audie
Murphy, Betty Grable, and John Wayne.
However, in 1948 in a landmark decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled
that studios could not own their own theaters where they showed films made
only by their studios and only with actors who had exclusive contracts with
those studios. That decision marked the unofficial end of the "Golden Age of
Hollywood."
Soon after, television proved itself to be a lucrative and permanent medium of
entertainment, so that by the mid-1950s, these same studios began to provide
content for TV.

3. Hollywood's Key Successful Hegemonic Strategies
The Positive Reception of American Films in France during the 1910s
As early as the first decade of the 1900s, America has been churning out hundreds of films seen the world over. As WWI
dwindeled down, "the number of European films declined by 50-90 percent of the 1917 level...as American film exports
increased" (Higson 182). In fact, "the total number of films available increased by 200-300 percent." ( Higson 182).
American film already benefited from a strong patronage; In France, where fifty percent of film was American, cinema
had practically become a "religion of the people," as it was an easy and affordable form of entertainment (Maltby 22,
27). In September of 1911, responding to the popularity of American production company Edison, French film
publication Cine-Journal cited, the "photogenic perfection - absolute fixity - sensational scenarios - natural acting -
interpretation of performers of the first rank," as to why the French spectators were captivated (Maltby 24). Such
sweeping praise did hold true for American cinema in Europe: the quality was better than nationally produced shows
during the 1910s. The American staple of actors developed cult status and climbed into the lives of French spectators.
Tacking on an escapist quality, the Hollywood happy ending transported viewers into a parallel land that mirrored thier
dreams.
How They Did It: The Two Key Practices of Film Hegemony
As mentioned before, the practice known as 'dumping,' was a ket tactic of Hollywood. Many claim that America
established and maintained its hegemony, not because of high quality, but because of the high volume of films
produced and exported. These films were cheapily bought by local film exhibitors with hopes of high returns. The other
practice was 'block-booking.' When cinemas rented cheaper, poorer quality films, they had to book each film for a very
long engagement--up to a year for some. Thus, in order to cash in the supposed popularity of American fillms, exhibitors
subjected spectators to the same schlock for what would feel like an eternity. This, however, effectively kept nationally
produced films in the can as there were few screens to actually show them (Trumpbour 187).

4. American comedy films
American Comedy films are Comedy films produced in USA.
One of the oldest genres in film, some of the very first silent movies
were comedies, as slapstick comedy often relies on visual depictions,
without requiring sound.[1] During the 1930s, the silent film comedy
was replaced by dialogue from film comedians such as the W. C.
Fields and the Marx Brothers. By the 1950s, the television industry
had become a serious competition for the movie industry. The 1960s
saw an increasing number of broad, star-packed comedies. In the
1970s, black comedies were popular. Leading figures in the 1970s
were Woody Allen and Mel Brooks. One of the major developments
of the 1990s was the re-emergence of the romantic comedy film.
Another development was the increasing use of "gross-out humour".

5. 1930–1950s
Toward the end of the 1920s, the introduction of sound into movies made possible
dramatic new film styles and the use of verbal humour. During the 1930s, the silent film
comedy was replaced by dialogue from film comedians such as the W. C. Fields and
theMarx Brothers. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, who had made a number of very
popular short silent films, used the arrival of sound to deepen their well-formed screen
characterizations and enhance their visual humour, and went on to great success in
talking films. The comedian Charlie Chaplin was one of the last silent film hold-outs, and
his films during the 1930s were devoid of dialogue, although they did employ sound
effects.

6. James Cameron
Born in 1954 in Ontario, Canada, James Francis Cameron is the popular
director of science fiction movies and movie series. His works include titles
like The Terminator Series, Titanic, Avatar, True Lies, and Aliens, among many
others. Cameron won three Oscar awards for Titanic in 1998 and also won
many other prestigious awards like The Golden Globe and The Emmys. He
has also received nominations for numerous other critics’ and people’s
choice awards.

7. Charles Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin is considered to be one of the most genius and pivotal stars of
the early days of Hollywood. He is undoubtedly the most recognized stars of the
silent film era of Hollywood. Born in 1889, he is remembered by most as the
little man with the toothbrush moustache, bowler hat, bamboo cane and a
funny walk. His works include Modern Times, The Idle Class, City Lights, The
Circus and A Burlesque of Carmen among countless more, a huge percentage of
which were silent films. Chaplin died in 1977 at the age of 88.

8. Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was born in 1928 in New York. Although he was very intelligent
since childhood, he failed to score good grades in school. Kubrick’s career actually
began as a photographer before he came into the movie business. He directed
some of the most excellent films ever made. 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork
Orange, Paths of Glory and Eyes Wide Shut are some of his finest works. Kubrick
died at the age of 70 in 1999.

9. Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, Essex, London in 1899.
Apart from being one of the best film makers the world has ever seen,
Hitchcock was also a very skilled artist. He was famous for making suspense-
based thrillers and mystery films. Some of his works include Notorious,
Strangers on a Train, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Psycho, Vertigo and the famous TV
series: Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He made numerous other short films and
features apart from these. Hitchcock died in 1980 due to renal failure.

10. Christopher Nolan
Nolan was born in 1970 in London, England. In just 15 years of his film making career, Nolan
has graduated from making small-time, low budget films to some of the biggest
blockbusters Hollywood has seen. His first feature was a relatively less known film The
Following. He then made Memento in the year 2000 which brought him many honors and
award nominations including an Oscar nomination. From there, Nolan went on to make
movies like Insomnia, The Prestige, Inception, and of course The Batman series: Batman
Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. His movies have one of the best
screenplays in the history Hollywood and his ideas are unmatched by any other film maker.

11. 6 Biggest hollywood studios
Back in the so-called Golden Age of Hollywood from the late 1920s to the mid 1940s, the film industry
operated under the studio system. This means that certain companies controlled practically the entire
process of filmmaking, from production to distribution and exhibition. There were eight studios then,
with five having fully integrated conglomerates, with a production studio, creative people under long-
term exclusive contracts, distribution division and a wide network of theater chains. These five studios
were 20thCentury Fox, Loew’s Incorporated/MGM, Paramount Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures and
Warner Bros. There were three other companies that were considered to be major studios, namely
Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures and United Artists, though they had substantially smaller
theater chains.
These came to an end in 1948 when the set up was challenged in the Supreme Court under anti trust
laws. Production was thereafter separated from distribution and exhibition.
Still, the term studio system is being used up to now as reference to the outputs of the different
companies. Here is a list of the ten biggest Hollywood studios. The top six are considered to be the
major studios, while the last four, along with Relativity Media and Dreamworks Animation, are
considered as mini-majors that compete directly with the majors, though they also sometimes work
together to help with the distribution of home videos and in the foreign market.

12. 1. Sony
Sony is the conglomerate behind Sony Pictures Entertainment. Its major studio subsidiary is
Columbia Pictures. The company is also friendly to independent producers with its own arthouse
division that is called Sony Pictures Classics. The company, through its distribution subsidiary
called Screen Gems, also backs genre and B movie producers. With a 17 percent share of the
entire US and Canadian markets, Sony is considered as the biggest studio these days. It also owns
companies and prominent film brands like Tri Star Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Destination
Films, Triumph Films, Stage 6 Films and Affirm Films.

13. 2. Time Warner
Time Warner is a conglomerate that owns the second biggest share of the combined
markets of the US and Canada at 15.4 percent. Its parent division is called Warner Bros.
Entertainment, while its major studio subsidiary is named Warner Bros. Pictures. It is
also the owner of other brands and divisions. Among them are New Line Cinema,
Castle Rock Entertainment, Turner Entertainment Co., Warner Bros. Animation and DC
Entertainment.

14. 3. The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company controls about 14.3 percent of the entire North American
market. Its parent division is called The Walt Disney Studios. Movie productions are
done under its major studio subsidiary called Walt Disney Pictures. The Walt Disney
Company also owns other important film brands and divisions, among them being
Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios, Pixar, Touchstone Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios
and Disneynature.

15. 4. Comcast/General Electric
Comcast/General Electric owns NBCUniversal and is the company behind Universal
Pictures. It also owns Focus Features that it uses for arthouse and independent movies.
It has a 13.6 percent share of the US and Canadian markets. Other companies under it
are Illumination Entertainment, Working Title Films and Universal Animation Studios.

16. 5. News corporation.
News Corporation is the outfit behind the Fox Extertainment Group. The major studio subsidiary
is 20thCentury Fox, while independent movies are distributed through its Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Other companies under News Corporation include Fox Faith, 20th Century Fox Animation, Blue
Sky Studios and Fox Animation Studios. It also has a minority stake in New Regency Productions.
The company owns a 10.6 percent share of the US and Canadian markets.

17. 6. Viacom
Viacom is the conglomerate behind the Paramount Motion Pictures Group. Its
major studio subsidiary is Paramount Pictures, while arthouse movies are released
under the name of Paramount Vantage. It also has a company dedicated for B
movies called Insurge Pictures. It has an 8.5 percent share of the entire North
American market. It also owns MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies.