MEDIA STUDIES

History of Hollywood

Hollywood was a small community in 1870 and

was incorporated as a municipality in 1903. It officially merged with the city of Los Angeles in 1910, and soon thereafter a prominent film industry began to emerge, eventually becoming the most dominant and recognized in the world.The name "Hollywood" was coined by H. J. Whitley, the "Father of Hollywood".

Studios flee to HollywoodIn the early 1900s, filmmakers began moving tothe Los Angeles area to get away from the strict rulesimposed by Thomas Edison's Motion Picture PatentsCompany in New Jersey. Since most of themoviemaking patents were owned by Edison,independent filmmakers were often sued by Edison tostop their productions.

To escape his control, and because of the idealweather conditions and varied terrain, moviemakersbegan to arrive in Los Angeles to make their films. Ifagents from Edison's company came out west to findand stop these filmmakers, adequate notice allowedfor a quick escape to Mexico.

Golden Age of Hollywood

From the end of the silent film era, about 1927, to around 1948, the Hollywood movie studio system controlled what films were shown across the country. Five major Hollywood-area studios owned large, grand theaters where they would show only movies produced by their studios and made with their contracted actors. These studios were Paramount, RKO, 20th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), and Warner Bros.

• Paramount

•RKO

• 20th Century Fox

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Top 10 Best Hollywood Film Directors of all Time

Quentin Jerome Tarantino is a well known American director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He’s the man behind “Pulp Fiction”, a movie that is loved by thousand even today! His first movie, “Reservoir Dogs” won him accolades! He is the man behind “Inglorious Basterds”. His thrillers are famous for their witty and satirical dialogues. His “Kill Bill” series made Uma Therman very popular. He has received many awards, including the Academy awards, Golden Globe award and the prestigious Palme D’Or.

• Kathryn Bigelow is the first woman to win the Oscar in the best director category. She won this award for the movie, “The Hurt Locker” in 2008. She was married to fellow director, James Cameron. Kathryn is known for her visuals and awesome action sequences. She is a very talented painter too. In the year 2010, she was named in the Time 100 list of ‘most influential people of the year’. Her recent movie is “Zero Dark Thirty”, which was released in 2012.

•Francis Ford Coppola is a famous American director. His origin is Italian. He is best known for “The Godfather” trilogy, which is based on the novel of the same name by Mario Puzo. In the 1960s, he emerged as one of the leading directors of the 20th century. He first gained critical acclaim as a screenwriter and even won an Academy Award for “Patton” in 1970. He is a legend, for directing some of the greatest movies ever. His career had suffered a setback initially. But his unwavering determination made him successful. “Apocalypse Now” marked the end of the golden period in his career.

•Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, author, playwright, and musician whose career spans over half a century. If you appreciate true cinematic beauty and simplicity, then you will love Woody Allen’s movies. He is best known for his light hearted romantic comedies, which contain a dash of slapstick. His movies portray the women as having strong characters. Some of his most famous movies are, “Annie Hall”, “Midnight in Paris”, “Manhattan” etc. He has the most number of Academy Award nominations as a screenwriter. He has won four Oscars. In 2007, a Spanish university conferred him with a PhD Honoris Causa.

He is regarded as one of the greatest directors of all time. He has made some of the most daring films. In 2007, he founded the World Cinema Foundation. He has accolades’ galore and has even won the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to cinema

Martin Scorsese is known for his gritty, meticulous filmmaking style and is widely considered one of the most important directors of all time. In 1973, he directed “Mean Streets”, which was his first film to be recognized as a masterpiece. In the same movie, he collaborated with Robert De Niro, marking the beginning of one of the most successful partnerships in Hollywood.

Alfred Hitchcock went on to become the most widely known and influential director in the history of world cinema with a significant body of work produced over 50 years. His first American film, “Rebecca”, won an Academy Award for best picture. Hitchcock created more than 50 films, including the classics “Rear Window”, “The 39 Steps” , “The Man Who Knew Too Much” and “Psycho”. His movies show eccentric characterization and comedy. Nicknamed, the “Master of Suspense,” Hitchcock received the AFI’s Life Achievement Award in 1979. He died in 1980.

Steven Spielberg is a celebrated American director. He is loved by his fans, the world over. He is perhaps the world’s most popular filmmaker. He has made some of the most successful movies ever. In a career of more than four decades, Steven Spielberg’s films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg went on to become the enormously successful and Academy Award-winning director of such films as “Schindler’s List”,” The Color Purple”, “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial “and “Saving Private Ryan”. He is one of the most influential film personalities and has countless big grosser are accolades to his name. This list would be incomplete without him and he is the numero uno!

Hira Alam AS-F