When I ran advertising and publicity at Columbia Pictures in the late nineteen-seventies, the marketing team worked for the production team. The studio chief and his head of production decided what movies they would make, along with their budgets and cast. We marketers were handed movies and told to sell them. Those production executives chose movies because they loved the stories and believed in the talent, without slavish reference to target audiences and high concept. Their movies were indisputably more varied and complex, artistic and controversial, and they made money. Marketing is a hugely important part of the movie business. But, by becoming so dominant, it has taken the focus off what really matters -- passion.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The 1970s: A Historical Note
Robert Cort writes for the letters page of the March 2 issue of The New Yorker:
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3 comments:
Amen!
Ah the seventies...Angie Dickinson was still hot,there were still three Bee Gees,and you could rock a pair of hip-hugging,patriotic bellbottoms without getting pointed to the nearest Phish concert.Indeed,a decade to remember!
I thought the decade was great before you even brought up all those other advantages. That means the 70s are even greater! Accept no substitutes.
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