Deck 13: The Movie Industry

Question 1

Early films that featured really famous stars were called

A) A films
B) B films
C) Star films
D) Blockbusters

Answer 1

A
Explanation: A films were expensive to produce and featured highly paid stars.

Question 2

A detailed outline of a potential movie is called a

A) Spec
B) Treatment
C) Tree
D) Script

Answer 2

B
Explanation: A treatment is a step between pitching the initial idea and writing the full script.

Question 3

Of the following, which release pattern puts a movie in the least amount of theaters?

A) Wide release
B) Saturation release
C) Platform release
D) Exclusive release

Answer 3

D
Explanation: Exclusive releases generally go only to a small handful of theaters.

Question 4

Places where consumers purchase DVDs for home viewing are called

A) Retail stores
B) Sell-though outlets
C) Rental outlets
D) Red box outlets

Question 5

In Figure 12.3 in the text, in which section would you find the job of "swing gang workers"?

A) production
B) development
C) distribution
D) postproduction

Question 6

By definition, how many screens are in a multiplex theater?

A) 5 to 8
B) 8 to 15
C) 2 to 4
D) 16 to 21

Question 7

Which of the following movie release patterns opens to the greatest number of theaters at the same time?

A) saturation release
B) wide release
C) exclusive release
D) platform release

Question 8

What is the preliminary version of a movie called?

A) a preview cut
B) a spec cut
C) a teaser cut
D) a rough cut

Question 9

A theater has fixed operating costs, such as electricity, salaries, and rent. What is this break-even point called?

A) the nut
B) the cover
C) the bing
D) the duck

Question 10

Movies that are created on small budgets that often do not fit into Hollywood stereotypes and standard genres are called what?

A) craft films
B) auteurs
C) art films
D) indies

Question 11

According to the timeline of the movie industry, in what decade did about 90% of U.S. households own at least one television set?

A) 1940s
B) 1950s
C) 1970s
D) 1960s

Question 12

How much money must a film earn at the U.S. box office to be considered a blockbuster?

A) $250 million
B) $200 million
C) $300 million
D) $100 million

Question 13

At the start of the chapter, who said the following: "The words 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' - which I saw on an Italian movie poster - are perhaps the briefest statement imaginable of the basic appeal of the movies."?

A) Gore Vidal
B) Christopher Nolan
C) Sylvester Stallone
D) Pauline Kael

Question 14

The Hollywood Studio System

A) developed movie stars
B) operated A and B movie units
C) used clout to maintain block booking
D) all of these

Question 15

A 1919 Supreme Court ruling held that

A) movies were a form of entertainment and therefore not protected by the First Amendment
B) the Hays Office had overstepped its authority
C) the Studio System was unconstitutional
D) the Hollywood studios had to pay the MPPC for the use of patented film equipment

Question 16

A 1952 Supreme Court ruling

A) encouraged the film industry to develop a ratings systems
B) made the Hays Office irrelevant
C) resulted in a significant change in film content
D) all of these

Question 17

The movie industry produces films that will first be exhibited

A) on television
B) on premium cable channels such as HBO
C) by means of DVD and HD-TV
D) in theatres

Question 18

The movie industry "majors" include

A) Biograph
B) Disney
C) HBO
D) all of these

Question 19

In the film industry, the term "treatment" refers to

A) a detailed outline of a proposed film
B) the deference that a studio head pays to a star with a very successful track record
C) the effort made by an agent to get the greenlight for a spec script
D) the effort that a studio makes in the development and promotion of a potential star

Question 20

The majors base much of their industrial clout on

A) production
B) distribution
C) exhibition
D) avoidance of the international market

Question 21

A back-end deal

A) typically involves a percentage of the gross
B) is sometimes given to a famous actor
C) often involves a lower upfront salary
D) all of these

Question 22

Guilds operate

A) to monitor quality
B) to assure the rating system works
C) as unions
D) as the negotiating arms of the studios

Question 23

The most consistently successful independent production companies

A) handle distribution on their own and do not need help from the majors
B) are often tightly linked to particular distributors
C) are those with the worst track records
D) all of these

Question 24

It is often easier for an independent production company to get a bank loan if

A) an established star has signed to appear in the film
B) a distributor has agreed to distribute the completed film
C) a distributor has agreed to advance the film project some money
D) all of these

Question 25

Completion bond companies

A) specialize in providing insurance for film projects
B) are forbidden to have executives visit filming sites
C) never have the right to take over a film's production activities
D) all of these

Question 26

Film release patterns include

A) wide
B) platform
C) exclusive
D) all of these

Question 27

Tracking studies help distributors understand the

A) movement of film prints throughout the world
B) back-end deals made by independent producers
C) effectiveness of their publicity and advertising plans
D) all of these

Question 28

Tension exists between theatre chains and distributors over the issue of

A) release dates
B) publicity
C) negatives
D) theatre construction loans

Question 29

In the life of film project, intense negotiation occurs among various players involved in

A) getting the money to produce the film
B) making the distribution deals
C) theatrical exhibition
D) all of these

Question 30

The term "percentage-above-the-nut" refers to

A) the percentage of ticket revenues that the star receives
B) the profit that the theatre chain will make above its break-even point
C) the revenue that the distributor receives following the opening weekend release of the film
D) the revenue that goes to the completion guarantor

Question 31

Digital distribution of films to theatres

A) would vastly increase P&A costs
B) is being slowed by the great expense of digital projectors
C) would result in a slightly diminished technical quality
D) all of these

Question 32

Sell-through outlets provide video copies of films directly to

A) exhibitors
B) key megaplexes
C) consumers
D) cable television operators

Question 33

The illegal copying and sale of a film is called

A) print-nabbing
B) posting
C) optional distribution
D) piracy

Question 34

Exhibitors could help broaden cultural diversity by

A) booking only genre films
B) taking greater risks
C) adhering to established Hollywood strategies
D) specializing in blockbusters

Question 35

Talent guilds are

A) firms that work with film studio's to locate talent
B) unions established by writers, directors and/or actors
C) primarily responsible for the high budgets of films
D) no longer in existence

Question 36

Early silent films were played in a silent movie theater.

Question 37

Feature films usually appear in movie theaters before they appear in other ways, such as television or DVD.

Question 38

A movie getting approval for production is said to be given a checkered flag.

Question 39

Title testing refers to asking audiences to view rough cuts of movies before their release into theaters and ask them about their reactions.

Question 40

With the growing popularity of blockbusters, we can see an expanding of cultural diversity in films.

Question 41

Cultural colonialism refers to the critique that American films are causing harm to other cultures.

Question 42

Because of language and cultural differences, the early films did not attract many newly arrived immigrants.

Question 43

Hollywood's Studio System was characterized by vertical integration.

Question 44

The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson, demonstrated that the movie audience didn't care about the talkies.

Question 45

A 1948 settlement of an antitrust suit by the U.S. Department of Justice resulted in the acquisition of several theatre chains by the Hollywood studios.

Question 46

At first, Hollywood misunderstood the impact that television would have on the movie industry.

Question 47

The term blockbuster describes a film that has made 50 million dollars.

Question 48

In order to maintain a full roster of films, a distributor will pick up films from independent producers as well as from its own studio.

Question 49

Books are a major source of film ideas.

Question 50

Given rules established by the guilds, the results of previewing are not used to reedit a film before it is released.

Question 51

Because of the special quality of film reproduction, it is very doubtful that the production, distribution, and exhibition system will become thoroughly digital.

Question 52

What strategies did the majors employ between the 1920s and the 1950s in order to maintain control of the motion picture business?

Question 53

What marketing strategies do movie distributors use in order to reduce the risk of failure?

Question 54

What steps does the process of making a movie involve?

Question 55

What are some of the arguments in support of, and against, the idea that the mainstream movie industry is an instrument of American cultural colonialism? Discuss at least two in each category.

Question 56

Explain the three common release patterns in the United States.