Some detail on this...As you've seen, the 'Big 6' is the name given to the group of Hollywood giants who not only dominate film production (and, to some degree, distribution and exhibition) in the USA, but also on a global scale. When we look at our case study of Working Title, this emerges as a key factor in their success (they are essentially a subsidiary of NBC-Universal) and the importance of the American market in turn shapes the narratives and representations within WT films.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_film_studio#Today.27s_Big_Six for a summary
The 'Big 6' are:
Warner Bros/HBO (parent company: Time Warner)
Paramount (Viacom)
Sony/Columbia Pictures (Sony)
NBC-Universal (GE/Viacom)
Fox (News Corp)
Disney (Walt Disney)
Each has at least a 10% share of the North American movie market.
Each is a subsidiary of a conglomerate - so Fox Studios, for examples, are a subsidiary of News Corp, a conglomerate that has film, TV, radio, web, press and publishing offshoots across every continent, and is currently engaged in trying to win the next election for the Tories as they target Labour/PM Brown with negative news. There are rumours that News Corp, through its newspaper subsidiary The S*n, has struck a deal with the Conservatives - see this article for details. The chief executives of these media giants are at least as powerful as the politicians who theoretically regulate their companies.YOUR TASK:
Produce a brief but informative presentation summarising one of the 'Big 6', including details such as...- its history - how old is it; was it formed from merging other companies; are there key dates/events in its history?
- key movies (historical): looking back, what were the movies that defined the company? Were there any great disasters (was this the studio behind Heaven's Gate, Brazil or Waterworld for example? On the other hand did it dominate horror in the 1930s (one of these did); make a huge splash with Jaws; join the counter-culture trail with Easy Rider or strike Spielbergian gold with ET?
- key movies (today): is the studio following the tentpole strategy? Are they having any success with low-medium budget movies as well? Which smash hit (or flop) movies define the company today? Do they work with any particular actors/directors frequently?
- detail the economics: what is it worth on the stock market (equity value); what are its anuual revenues; what annual profits does it make: are there any particular films which demonstrate the success of the tentpole strategy?
- what else does it own? Does it own distributors? Cinemas, websites, TV networks (exhibitors)?
- what else does its parent company own? Pay special attention to any military wings of the conglomerate that owns it
12D GROUP DETAILS:
Warner Bros/HBO (parent company: Time Warner) - Jonny H, Laura, Joel
Paramount (Viacom) - Mary, Chris, Lucy, Steph
Sony/Columbia Pictures (Sony) -
NBC-Universal (GE/Viacom) - Jamie, Emmie, Melissa, Emma, Beth
Fox (News Corp) - Kane, Kasim, Jonny B
Disney (Walt Disney) - Jennifer, Vanessa, Elizabeth
12C PRESENTATION DETAILS:
Warner Bros/HBO (parent company: Time Warner) - Robbie
Paramount (Viacom) -
Sony/Columbia Pictures (Sony) - Callum
NBC-Universal (GE/Viacom) - Alex
Fox (News Corp) - George
Disney (Walt Disney) - Megan
SOME ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/
http://www.fundyourfilm.info/Chapter4-TheInternet.pdf
(Slightly out of date) - http://www.scribd.com/doc/22463323 (details the Big 6's holdings)
Extract from Who Owns the Media
How the studios make money
Indies!
Production trends in the face of new media challenges
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