April 28, 2025
France's Secret Debt Deal: Why America Wanted French Cinema
How post-WWII debt relief came with a catch: France opened its markets to Hollywood films, cementing American cinema's d
January 9, 2025
How Money Changed America's Biggest Awards, the Oscars
Oscar campaigns now resemble political races, costing up to $25M each, with Netflix reportedly earmarking $100M a year f
December 23, 2024
Is AI the Future of Movie-Making in Hollywood?
Generative AI tools like Runway turn text prompts into film footage in seconds, transforming visual effects and experime
April 6, 2024
How America Used Films to Shape Global Influence
The 1946 Blum-Byrnes agreements traded French war-debt relief for American films' market access, using cinema as a tool
March 18, 2024
Hollywood's Cozy Relationship With the Military
The U.S. Department of Defense shapes blockbuster scripts, trading equipment and locations for flattering portrayals of
March 17, 2024
Rotten Tomatoes: The Powerhouse Shaping Hollywood
Starting as a Jackie Chan fan site during the dot-com boom, Rotten Tomatoes grew into a review aggregator whose scores n
March 1, 2024
The Mind-Boggling Economics of Avatar 2 and Breaking Even
With a budget up to $460 million and theaters taking a large cut, Avatar 2 needed $2 to $2.2 billion just to break even
February 15, 2024
The Rollercoaster Journey of MGM
Formed in a 1924 merger that produced The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind, MGM weathered bankruptcy before Amazon's
January 13, 2024
Michael Ovitz's Masterclass on Collaboration and Resilience
From building CAA in cutthroat Hollywood to advising tech giants, Michael Ovitz models proactive client relationships an
October 31, 2023
Why China Is Hollywood's New Box Office Frontier
China's $9B box office and 60,000+ screens make it irresistible to filmmakers, who navigate a strict 38-film foreign quo