Footnote #30 - Franchises
The Fantasy/Animation podcast takes listeners on a journey through the intersection between fantasy cinema and the medium of animation. Available via Apple Podcasts, Spotify and many of your favourite podcast hosting platforms!
The economy of the Hollywood franchise is the focus of Footnote #30, where Chris and Alex examine the multimedia conglomeration of the U.S. cinema industry in the blockbuster era of the 1970s, and the subsequent impact on the post-2000 phase of Hollywood film production and its intensified franchise mentality. To unpack the so-called ‘genius of the system,’ they take a journey through the history of sequels, serials, and series as far back as early Hollywood, and discuss the value of ‘pre-sold’ pleasures in the marketing of popular film franchises. The result is a consideration of precisely when (and how) Hollywood went from making franchises out of movies to making movies out of franchises.
**Fantasy/Animation theme tune composed by Francisca Araujo**
Suggested Readings
Connor, J.D. 2015. The Studios After the Studios: Neoclassical Hollywood (1970-2010). Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Fleury, James, Bryan Hikari Hartzheim and Stephen Mamber, eds. 2019. The Franchise Era: Managing Media in the Digital Economy. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Henderson, Stuart. 2014. The Hollywood Sequel: History & Form, 1911-2010. London: Bloomsbury.
King, Geoff. 2002. New Hollywood Cinema: An Introduction. London: I. B. Tauris.
Thompson, Kristin. 2007. The Frodo Franchise: The Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood. Berkeley: University of California Press.