Friday, 27 February 2015

LO4: Task 5 - Legal and ethical of X-Men Origins Wolverine - Vlog 5 /w Script


Task 5 – Representation
The vlog prior to this; I talked about the marketing for X-Men Origins Wolverine and the way it was distributed to the consumers. In this final vlog, I will be talking about the ways that XMOW creates representations throughout the film. Representations also reflect ideologies and how people think through the media.

Representation
Representation is the way something is presented. Practically any subject can be represented in many ways. Media is currently the most common way of representing something; everything can be presented in a form i.e. gender, age, ethnicity, lifestyle/ideal lifestyle, class, communities, sub cultures and stereotypes.

Ideologies are created through the way media presents subjects such as stereotypes of how women are weaker than men; the only reason that an ideology exists is because women are more commonly portrayed to be weaker in media. Media often objectifies women and is represented as objects of sex and attraction (Mulvey 1975). The representation of men (Earp and Katz, 1999) as stated: ‘Equation of Masculinity with pathological control and violence’.

Media is a very large influence in current society and this is expressed in two different schools of thoughts:

- Hypodermic Syringe (Theodore Adornor, 1930’s) – The Hypodermic Syringe theory is where it is believed that the audience will take in everything they see in media quite literally and believe everything to be true. They just absorb the information and in a way, a more negative form of thinking.

- Uses and Gratification (Gauntlett) – The theory of Uses and Gratification is that people do not necessarily just absorb and believe the information but instead absorb and adapt around the information instead of literal thinking. Each person consumes media for their own purpose and gratification, mainly escapism.

Both of these schools of thought still follow the same principle in that the audience still absorbs the information. One well-known issue is using the information as a ‘copycat’. Copycats usually derive from moral panic in which a person or a group of people create an even bigger issue from a subject on media. An example of a copycat is a person committing a crime due to a game he/she has played and they believe that what they are doing is fine. Situations in XMOW can be quite impossible because of the nature of the movie and its futuristic themes. Sensationalism is an example of something that can cause moral panic; it is the process of creating an even bigger issue of something that already has a substantial amount of attention.

Legal and Ethical
With the internet existing, sharing is far easier than before. This also means that illegal downloading is a common occurrence. Illegal downloading is currently one of the main drawbacks for films since the digital transition and is one of the main parts that take away from profit. Illegal download however means that the film was successful enough to be gain attention for illegal downloading, although this isn’t necessarily true. Sales wise, illegal downloading and file sharing causes the majority of sales drop.

Copyright infringement is also quite an issue with media. Some forms of programs that use a peer to peer system is one cause of copyright infringement such as programs that use forms of ‘torrents’. There have been cases where the creators of these programs were filed a lawsuit against copyright infringement.  XMOW is no different to other forms of media as it is most likely that the film has also been downloaded illegally and/or shared publicly.

Media follows ethics like any other subject although it seems slightly more flexible in terms of being subtle. Topics with media such as journalism sometimes and more often than not, become overly sensationalised. However, entertainment media is different in terms of what ethics they follow and what they cannot do; they are given a rating depending on the type of content the film depicts. Subject of violence and sex and strong language can cause the age rating to go up even with the section of such subjects are small compared to the rest of the product.

Product placement is an increasingly noticed form of marketing tactic. Companies pay film productions to place a product of their choosing and is integrated into the film. This is to create attention indirectly as it is not necessarily the main focus of the film. However, it has a chance to create a lasting effect and can be used to remind the consumer of the product. Stereotypes are also another way for media to create representations that people remember easily. People tend to remember stereotypes more often as it creates influences in people’s perceptions.

LO3: Task 4 - Advertising and distribution of X-Men Origins Wolverine - Vlog 4 /w Script


Script - Task 4
Task 4 – Technological Convergence and Media Distribution

Prior to this vlog, I analysed the demographics of the film XMOW, I will be analysing how the film is distributed, marketed and advertised. I will also mention how the current generation are digital natives and how their current level technology is considered technological convergences.

Distribution
Distribution has two definitions; 1. How the product reaches the audience and 2. How it is advertised and promoted. Examples of how media is distributed to people through cinemas, television, Internet, retail and download.

Cinemas are made to provide the highest quality through their facilities. Television is another form of distribution but the quality of distribution usually depends on the audiences’ facilities. The Internet has now become a viable source of film distribution but it has 2 sides to the distribution; commercial and illegal (Piracy). Commercially is through the usage of commercially approved websites such as LoveFilm. However, uploading and giving the ability to download movies gives people the ability to share it, which is technically illegal as people are sharing a commercially produced media, which means the producer is losing revenue and profit. Pay per view is one of the new and more popular ways of movie distribution and Netflix is one of the largest distributors of films. They give the audience the ability to pay subscription and they provide the films that the audience wants. Finally, On Demand is a form of media distribution that allows service providers such as Sky and Virgin Media to provide movie services at any time the audience requires. XMOW is provided through multiple mediums such as On Demand TV and originally the cinema. It was first released in April 29th 2009 in the UK, Denmark, South Africa and Australia, April 30th 2009 in Philippines and in the Dominican Republic and 1st May in the United States and Canada. By September 15th 2009, Fox Home Entertainment released XMOW on DVD and Blu-ray and this provided another way for consumers to watch their films.

All these forms of distribution are either a form of analogue or digital. Analogue means that it can only be played in terms of not being able to play from a certain point in the media or being able to select where to start. Digital media (which is usually the main method of media) does the opposite and is a completely advantageous form of media. It allows the audience to skip, pause and start from the previous point of the film.

Technological Convergence
The current generation of technology has been a collection of several technologies from before made into one thing. An example of a technological convergence are smartphones; having the ability to be used as a normal phone, used as an mp3 player, as a camera or even as a connection hotspot.  This links in to people who are digital native: the fact that they are more adapted to technology compared to the previous generations.

Before the time when the internet was just a one way and information only travelled from one place and only received on the other end. There couldn’t be any form of physical interaction between two points. When Web 2.0 rose, the Internet would become the most used thing as a databank of information.

Marketing – Advertising and Promotion
Marketing is done so that a film creates the maximum amount of awareness towards its targeted audience. Paper based promotions include magazines, newspaper and posters. Digital and physical advertisement can include trailers, merchandise, collaborations and joint projects, promotional events i.e. giveaways, press, film festivals, in-store promotions, product placement and the biggest one of the current generation is social media.

An indirect way of promotion and advertisement is through Prosumers* (Consumers who became producers). Through websites such as review sites i.e. Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb and Metacritic, films can gain recognition or can be seen as a film to be avoided which would mean review sites can be considered a double-edged sword in terms of gaining attention. Marketing also involves the audience in terms of viewership and attention the production has received, either by popular use of social media or through other means i.e. word of mouth.


XMOW was promoted with tie-in merchandising with 7-Eleven, Papa John’s Pizza and Shick. Hugh Jackman (The lead character) even posed as Wolverine in a ‘Got Milk’ campaign. A comic series made its debut, which isn’t directly influenced by the film but it was made so that people who were interested in the film could become interested in the comic series. An example of how the movie became a success could be how the movie inspired the idea to make a video game off of it. The video game was made by Activision Blizzard and the review for it was substantial enough to be considered a well-made game albeit, some negative reviews. However, the positives outweigh the negatives. 

LO2: Task 3 - Audience of X-Men Origins Wolverine - Vlog 3 /w Script




Script - Vlog 3

Gender

Male: 80%

Female: 20%


Lifestyle:

ABC1 – 64%

C2DE – 36%


Stereotypes – Different Genres have different forms of gratifications.

Theory – Ien Ang (1991) and Rick Atman (1999)

X-Men Origins Wolverine Demographics Analysis:

1. Gender - The most common gender to watch XMOW is males because of the action and thriller themes and its genre of sci-fi. Sci-fi tends to be for males rather than females but the film is not necessarily restricted to males and can be watched by females as well. One of the reasons the main gender of XMOW is males is most likely the fact that it has themes that are more stereotypically associated with males; mutant powers, indomitable heroes and futuristic times. The movie affects the gender demographic because the themes it features that may only appeal to the male populous. The film often shows action, which is more oriented to males rather than females. 


2. Age - The ages of the demographic of XMOW is 12A which is a rating for a film which can be watched by 12 years old in the cinema. This doesn't mean that people who are 12 watch this but people who are older and may enjoy the genre of sci-fi and action. Considering the current generation of when the film was released, it can be said that people who were around the age of 15 and older may have watched it. The age of audience may be affected by the general theme of the movie in the fact that people who are in younger generation may like the fact the powers exists and future may feel like what is denoted in the movie. Any form of 'super power' seems to attract a certain range of ages, most likely to the fact that something literally 'out of this world' looks realistic. 


3. Lifestyle - The lifestyle of XMOW's audience may be people who have hobbies related to XMOW. Another factor that doesn't apply to all the audience of XMOW but it is more likely for more of the audience to be like that. A factor that may affect all of the audience of XMOW is the people who are in different classes. ABC1 would be more likely to go and watch XMOW because it was first featured in a cinema and may only be watched by people with a disposable income. Another possible factor could be that since X-Men were already in a different form before even the movies were created, X-Men were already in a different form of media i.e. Comics. People who may read the comics may want to watch it as the characters they know can be seen in a realistic fashion. In terms of ethnicity, certain types of ethnic background may enjoy these types of film more than others.


The lifestyle of people who may choose to watch films like XMOW are people who like the concept of sci-fi and this could be students, young people and middle aged audiences. People who produce media for example could watch films such as XMOW to pick up concepts to make their own film or to produce a review for the film. People consume media for different purposes. Each production has a purpose that it can provide to its audience. Escapism is most likely the main reason for watching XMOW due to the themes it denotes (Rick Altman 1999).


Ien Ang (1991) and John Hartley (1987) suggested that producers create an invisible entity or invisible fictions before creating a media product. This is the starting point for creating the profile and the images that will use it in. This fictional entity was made so that a media product can be made to reflect the need of the audience. 


4. Spending Power - This links in to the lifestyle of the audience. ABC1 have more spending power due to their disposable income and the fact that they earn more compared to that of working class. People are more likely to go and watch the film due to the fact they can spend more on things that are considered leisure and people who earn a lower wage tend not to spend on less important things. Spending power may also depend on the age and lifestyle of person. The age may have varied spending power assuming that the younger the person is, they less pocket money they are given for example. Lifestyle may also affect the spending power in terms of people wanting to pay to watch the film or they choose not to spend money watching a film but instead use it to buy something else. Considering the budget was $150 million, the prices for watching the film will be a little high up which will mean that people who don’t have as much money won’t be able to watch it.

LO1: Task 2 - Analysis of X-Men Origins Wolverine - Vlog 2 /w Script



Script - Vlog 2

 X-Men Origins Wolverine
I will be analysing X-Men Origins Wolverine and to explain in depth of what its purpose, genre, form and style. Narrative will also be explained with this along with narrative and Mise-en-scene that is used in the film.
Purpose: The purpose of X-Men Origins Wolverine is to entertain the audience by providing a story and a form of narrative. This is done through the use of micro-elements such as Mise en Scene. The other main purpose of the film is to create profit, just like any other film producers. The film costs quite a huge sum of money; therefore profiting would be what film producers are aiming for. Purpose can be different for films, not necessarily to entertain or to create profit as they can sometimes be made for informing or educating others. Documentary films for example, are made to educate and/or inform someone.
Genre: The genre of XMOW is action, adventure, sci-fi and thriller. XMOW has recurring scenes of action and thriller due to events that happen to create tension and suspense throughout the story. Adventure due to the fact that the protagonist in this film (Wolverine) has basically gone through history i.e. American Civil War, WWI and WWII. The recurring themes of sci-fi would be from the mutant powers the characters in the movie have denoted. They (somewhat conveniently) created a fictional metal called adamantium which changed Logan’s skeletal structure to be harder than any metal and this can connote a futuristic theme because the metal is considered to be virtually indestructible unless shot with the same type of metal i.e. adamantium.
Form and Style: It is in the form of a feature length film, with duration of 107 minutes. This was first featured at cinemas before being made for DVD. Its form links to the purpose, in which this was made to tell a story through narrative structure and techniques such as the story being told in an Orpheus style (Kate Domaille 2001). The style of XMOW can be considered futuristic because of the recurring themes of people with genetic powers, also known as mutants and it could touch on some form morality issues i.e. if mutants were to exists, how would the non-mutants react?  
Narrative: The movie style is told through Mise en Scene, dialogue, sound and camera work, along with editing. One can easily tell that through the sound if the character is Wolverine for example, when they hear the ‘shing’ sound that Wolverines claws makes when he releases them. The narrative structure (Tzvetan Todorov 1977) that XMOW denotes begins with the disruption first, which doesn’t follow Todorovs’ theory of Equilibrium-Disruption-New Equilibrium. The disruption is that young Logan kills his father due to event prior to the event which led to him being forced to do so and through the story, Logan and his brother Victor go through history, from war to war to finally arrive in modern times only to be recruited by a major to a team consisting of other mutants. This isn’t necessarily the equilibrium as it is temporary and the story throws Logan back into another disruption which follows through the other movies where Wolverines problem haven’t been solved yet. (Levi Strauss 1977) Talked about how there is almost always a ‘good guy’ and a ‘bad guy’, the binary opposites. In this case, Logan would be the ‘good guy’ and the people who he’s going against are the ‘bad guys’. Logan is the protagonist in this because he is who we follow through the story and the main antagonist would be Stryker, which means he is technically the only ‘bad guy’. Some scenes in XMOW denotes some jump cuts to create suspense and to connote the fast pace of the action. Another editing technique that is denoted in the film is action match shots. An example of this would be when Wolverine escapes the liquid chamber. During this scene, it is also done in slow motion which is another editing technique to connote some form of sustained suspense. The slow motion may connote the sustained fear the antagonists are feeling when Wolverine escapes.
Sound: XMOW contains diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. An example of a diegetic sound would be during the explosion of the helicopter when Wolverine sets it alight. A non-diegetic sound would be the music playing in the background i.e. during the chase the scene with Zero and the helicopter. Another example would be the when Wolverine releases and swings his claws around; it creates a metallic swing sound. The non-diegetic sounds are added during post-production, during the editing. These are added because the sound most likely cannot be made on set as it would be either too hard to create real-time or it would be too low to hear.
Mise-en-scene
Content and Meaning: Locations denoted through the film begin with an 1850’s house; which follows through to when the protagonist, Logan grows older along with his brother and they are thrown in the American Civil War and then through WWI and WWII. This connotes the passage of time and how much they haven’t aged because of their mutant powers. A very obvious icon of the film would be Wolverines Claws. This links in to the props but the claws are most likely CGI during release, therefore not a physical prop and possibly until fully released. (It may continue being a CGI)
The characters that are most notable in this film is most likely Wolverine and Sabretooth because of how the story is mainly focused in Wolverine and his relation to everyone else and his story of trying to get revenge against those who tried to betray him. There are other characters involved in the story but are only known through Logan because of his connections to ‘Team X’. People would recognize if Wolverine was getting his claws ready because of the gesture he performs during the release of his claws. Somewhat the same for Sabretooth but his claws become enlarged instead.
The costumes that the characters wear seem to have some sort of link to their original themed characters, albeit some differences i.e. Wolverine wearing leather jackets instead of the denoted costume he wears in the comics. This applies to most of the characters who wear costumes that represent their character. This also seems to link in to their props such as Gambit using his cards and staff to attack. The most important prop in the story is most likely Wolverines’ claws which was first bone claws, turned metal during his metal implantation. Wolverine has a signature look in the films and is denoted in XMOW where his hair is made to stay up in a  way to represent some sort of ‘wild’ feeling, most likely to connote the fact that he is ‘Wolverine’ or a wolf.
The film denotes quite a lot of cool colour filtering which could possibly connote some form of feeling of futurism. The lighting mostly consists of high key apart from some certain scenes, which denotes some form of history that Wolverine went through. The colouring used throughout the film is quite natural in the fact that it is trying to create verisimilitude. It is trying to reflect some form of realism so that the audience may actually feel the mutants’ powers are real.
The preferred reading (Stuart Hall 1980) that was being created of XMOW was most likely the fact that the protagonist is on a journey to truly find his true identity and what he lives for. The preferred reading also links in to the fact that he is also on a journey to get his revenge against those who have gone against him. The narrative structure is Orpheus, which is denoted through that the loss of his love interest may have affected his way of life and whether he has the will to live. The fade in further connotes the effect of loss because the image slowly dissipates away and shows a different scene. This could connote the fact that Wolverine is trying to forget that memory. This is also an ellipsis to connote the passage of time although the fade could also mean that Wolverine hasn’t completely forgotten the memory of losing his partner. This doesn’t necessarily factor into the preferred reading as it is not a romance.
The locations that were denoted featured fields in which the wars that Wolverine participated in i.e. American Civil War and both World Wars. This connotes that fact that he has survived this long due to his powers and explains why he doesn’t kill necessarily just for the sake of killing but to survive. This also links in to the fact that his morality is still with him albeit his mutant abilities and the fact that he is able to live longer than average humans because of his mutation.
He is shown to be wearing the same outfits they wore during the wars i.e. American Civil War fatigues displaying the colours and the World War fatigues. This may connote the fact that the protagonist (Logan) has not found his true identity yet and is going through along with history to find his true self instead of committing mindless murder like his brother, Victor. A main prop that the antagonist uses against Wolverine is the revolver loaded with bullets made of the same metal Wolverine has been implanted with. This prevents from using his healing and is ultimately shot in the head and is done to erase his memory. They use an insert shot to denote this scene and is one of the main focus of the story. This is repeated in a previous scene when Wolverine escapes, Stryker is shown with the revolver.
Camera Work: XMOW denotes several types of camera works and a main example would be during the fight scene where Victor and Logan are fighting off Deadpool who clearly overwhelms them. An arc shot is done to show a full view of the action and it connotes the fact that Deadpool is almost impossible to fight against in the situation they are given. It also connotes that everything Logan and Victor have done comes back around to them i.e. the creation of Deadpool. This happened because Victor chose to help Stryker and Logan chose to have the operation to have the metal implanted into him which allowed Stryker to steal his mutant powers.
An insert shot is used to display Wolverines new claws from his operation. This is used to connote that Wolverine has now made an identity for himself. This is also most likely to show off the icon, Wolverine and his claws, since his claws are easily recognizable. An action match shot is used during the time when Wolverine is chased down by Strykers’ accomplices while Wolverine proceeds to the cut the vehicle in front of him while racing down with a motorcycle. This may connote that there could be nothing that could stop Logan from taking his revenge and the fact that his emotions are currently not in check.
Production Process: Location will be considered pre-production because they will have to plan out the scripting and the narrative. It wouldn’t be possible to create narrative if the location was not considered first. Having a random location with no actual preparations wouldn’t make sense for both the story and narrative. Costumes will also have been part of the pre-production as it will be used during the production where they film and ready the costumes to be worn. Lighting and colour filters will be in during the production and the post-production. It will be done during production because having the correct lighting will give the audience a better understanding of the narrative and the story. Colour filters will most likely be added during the post-production where the footage that has been filmed can be edited on editing software. They can add artificial lighting and colouring to produce certain effects i.e. blue tint to create a futuristic feel (which is apparent in XMOW).
Planning the Mise-en-scene will be part of the pre-production and will be added during the production of the film. This is because Mise-en-scene is an important point to the films narrative and without the use of the elements it provides, it is often difficult to tell a good story. These elements consist of costume, lighting, gestures, props and sound and these are all considered during the pre-production. Camera work is planned out during pre-production and is applied during the production where they begin filming. Planning out the camera work is another factor to the creation of the narrative. Editing is part of the post-production, this is because everything that is necessary such as cutting the footage and putting it together to create linear integrity. It can only be done once the footage is done. Editing can also provide the film visual effects, where things that were not previously on the footage can be placed artificially for example lens flares and brighter lighting. An example of an editing technique could be transitions such as dissolves and fades. This can connote the passage of time and could mean that time is passing.  
An eye-line shot for example, is used during the scene where Cyclops uses his mutant powers to take out the soldiers that were currently blocking their escape. It shows him as shooting the laser out of his eyes and it switches to his perspective then returns back to him after he finishes using his powers. Another example would be the use of a cut during the part where Logan and Victor are court martialled and it cuts to black after the sound of gun shots. This is to connote a form of ellipsis as it is not necessary to know what happened during when they were shot. This cut to black continues until it fades in on Logan and Victor in after the event.
Foley sound is done in post-production to create sounds that doesn’t necessarily happen naturally or are not loud enough to be heard from the just the footage. They are done to simulate realistic sounds effects and are made by other materials that are not linked to the actual material. Foley sounds are made to create verisimilitude and to create a feel of personal involvement. The sounds can easily make people believe they are with the characters on-screen. They are edited in afterwards, replacing the quieter sounds and creating a better effect due to its close relation to the original material.

LO1: Task 1 - Ownership of 20th Century Fox - Vlog 1 /w Script


Script - Vlog 1

Hello there, my name is Ken and I work for the Media Institute and in today’s vlog, I will be outlining key terms that will be used in this vlog and explaining the ownership of the film company, 20th Century Fox. The whole company is owned by Rupert Murdoch and 20th Century Fox is a subsidiary to 21st Century Fox, a rather large conglomerate, in which 20th Century Fox operates with different media platforms such as film and television. The structure of the conglomerate is that a larger conglomerate owns a smaller conglomerate; 21st Century Fox owns 20th Century Fox which in turn own their own subsidiaries 20th Century Fox TV, Fox Home Entertainment etc. Before delving into more detail of 20th Century Fox, we will have to learn some key terms that is associated with 20th Century Fox:

Conglomerate – A big company made up of smaller companies. These smaller companies have their own speciality i.e. Radio and TV

Independent – A company that is self-run and self-funded and is usually not part of a conglomerate. They make product without relying on another company. They will however, may need a conglomerate to distribute their products or outsourcing their marketing and distribution.

Cross media ownership – When a conglomerate owns companies that make different media. This means they can cross promote their film/product across other companies. This increases its publicity and can help in maximising profit.

Commercial – A company that aims to make a profit; this applies to most businesses.

Public Service Broadcaster ­– PSB is funded by public money to broadcast their productions.

Join Venture – Works together with other companies and collaborates to produce and distribute.

Profit – The main objective of media production is to make money.

Target Audience – A target audience is something a company plans the film for. An example of a target audience would be for a romance genre would be mainly women. However, target audience is not entirely the correct projection for finding out about the demographic.

The operating model of 20th Century Fox is that they have conglomerates that support their pre-production, production and post-production departments. This allows the company to cross promote their productions through their subsidiaries. 20th Century Fox have their own subsidiaries, which allow them to create different products through different departments. For example, Fox TV could make an advertisement for an upcoming movie; that way they will have more publicity from both their marketing in the film department and the marketing from the television advertisement. The 3 main department of the film production of 20th Century Fox is the studio, where they produce the film; script writing, music production, actor auditioning. They then have their distribution department in which the marketing and demographic planners arrange how the film is going to be distributed. Finally, they display the films in their cinema chains. Each of the production process has their own specialities and tasks to do for the production of the films.

20th Century Fox produces multiple products through their own film department to their different sections of media. They produce film, music, television series, radio shows/talks and being a subsidiary to 21st Century Fox, they technically make magazines and newspapers through News Corp. They are however mainly known for their production of films. They have a variety of genres that they make for their films. This allows them to cater to a mass audience and in turn, allow them to create a maximum profit they can make. Having the different subsidiaries allows them to create different media and in turn allow them to cross promote their products through each of their departments. Their media can sometimes target niche groups but it tends not to gain them much profit.

The type of genre’s that 20th Century Fox covers a wide variety, from action, horror, thriller, romance and more. Each film is in the form of feature length films and the trailers that are made for each of these movies tend to be quite progressive in intensity. The target audience is more generalised compared to indie companies who usually target smaller groups of people (niche) compared to that of 20th Century Fox who target mass audience.                This determines their market position. 20th Century Fox is an extremely successful conglomerate and are internationally known. This can be compared to an independent company such as Warp. Warp is an independent film company and obviously not as large as 20th Century Fox but are still widely known for their films that have been considered some of the best. 20th Century Fox is a part of an even larger conglomerate, which in turn allows them to become even stronger in their market position compared to smaller companies who are not owned by larger conglomerates. 20th Century Fox are able to cross-promote their products through their conglomerates. Being a conglomerate themselves, they can further promote their products through their own subsidiaries and in different forms of media.

20th Century Fox is a company that shows true progression in terms of business size. Throughout their history, they have had enough resources to constantly change their logo and to gain their own subsidiaries. They were first named Fox Film Corporations and only switched to 20th Century Pictures due to bankruptcy during the year of 1930 when the original owner William Fox was jailed. By then however, the merge between Fox Film Corp and 20th Century Fox proved successful very early on, overtaking some of the bigger competition i.e. RKO and MGM (MGM being the biggest studio in Hollywood at the time).