Why do some films get more attention then others? Simple, even if the film has an amazing story it wouldn't be as successful as one with an actor/actress that people have come to know in many other movies. The Studio System had several steps of production, Factory-based / mass production system, contract talent, star system.
By the 1930s only five major studios survived The Great Depression, Paramount, Loews/MGM, Warner Brothers, Fox, and RKO. How the Studio System (Star System) worked was that each studio "relied on teams of stars and directors who made several movies together" (Media Now p195). This means that each studio had certain stars that made it known for, or that "they were the best representation of what the studios did." Most of the time these stars were also associated with the studios because they had contracts with them. Today stars may not be directly associated with the studio, but they are known for their work with certain directors or producers. For example a lot of people went to go see Alice in Wonderland because of the soul purpose that Johnny Depp was in it. Depp is also known to work with Tim Burton in his numerous films such as Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and even Sweeney Todd.
The Star System directly affected the certain kind of films the studio made. For example if an actor is known for musicals the studio would have usually shaped the film to fit a musical even though the genre of the movie was a western for instance. MGMs star actress was Judy Garland appeared in so many of their films, most known for the Wizard of OZ, but sometimes she would make a film, and the studio would mold it around her style. They would often do this because they realized that people were attracted to the star not what studio made the film. Sometimes a studio even advertised and promoted another star actor/actress within their own films to get more of their stars popular.
*Media Now textbook
*(class Power Points)
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