Edward Jay Epstein's blog features some really sexy tables of numbers about the money in and out in the motion picture business, including growth trends for different media over time. He's got a new book out called "The Big Picture: The New Logic of Money and Power in Hollywood" which looks like an infoporn tour-de-force for copyfighters and others interested in what's actually happening to the studios' bottom lines and why. Check out this summary: "These multinational corporations exist, in Epstein's description, to collect revenue from an ever-growing variety of sources–home video, overseas markets and product licensing, to name a few–and then disburse it to a fortunate minority at the top of Hollywood's food chain. Epstein explains the structure, personalities and behind-the-scenes interconnection of the 'sexopoly' (the six huge media companies that control motion picture entertainment). In vivid detail, he describes the current process of how a film is made, from the initial pitch to last-minute digital editing." I read that and ordered a copy on the spot.
(Thanks, George!)
