The Movie Business Book

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 21 JUN 2004

First published in 1983, this book underwent a major overhaul for its 1992 second edition and even more extensive revision for this iteration. The need for such a Herculean effort indicates how rapidly the movie business is changing, and why Squire's collection is so valuable. Before joining the faculty at the USC School of Cinema-Television, Squire was a studio executive with United Artists, 20th Century Fox and Avco Embassy Pictures. Drawing on these formidable connections, he's able to include contributors who are fresh from the trenches and actively making films, like screenwriter William Goldman, director Sydney Pollack and Tim Rothman, chairman of Fox Film Entertainment. Intended mainly for those who want the real nitty-gritty on filmmaking, the book will be revelatory for film buffs, too, since it unveils the intricacies of financing, production, screenwriting and distribution. New to this edition are chapters on shifts that are taking place in entertainment, like the growth of sound tracks, video games, tie-in products and comic books. Squire proves adept at predicting future directions, too, and includes information on the move from analog to digital. Also a nod toward Hollywood's future is the extensive section on globalization, which tackles distribution in major movie-buying countries. For those in the industry, and especially those wanting to be, there's no better sourcebook for learning the movie biz.