The $11 Billion Year: From Sundance to the Oscars, an Inside Look at the Changing Hollywood System

by Anne Thompson

This chronicle of 2012 is a slice of what happened during a watershed year for the Hollywood movie industry. It's not the whole story, but it's a mosaic of what went on, and why, and of where things are heading.

What changed in one Hollywood year to produce a record-breaking box office after two years of decline? How can the Sundance Festival influence a film's fate, as it did for Beasts of the Southern Wild and Searching for Sugar Man, which both went all the way to the Oscars? Why did John Carter misfire and The Hunger Games succeed? How did maneuvers at festivals such as South by Southwest (SXSW), Cannes, Telluride, Toronto, and New York and at conventions such as CinemaCon and Comic-Con benefit Amour, Django Unchained, Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook, Les Misérables, The Life of Pi, The Avengers, Lincoln, and Argo? What jeopardized Zero Dark Thirty's launch? What role does gender bias still play in the industry? What are the ten things that changed the 2012 Oscar race?

When it comes to film, Anne Thompson, a seasoned reporter and critic, addresses these questions and more on her respected daily blog, Thompson on Hollywood. Each year, she observes the Hollywood machine at work: the indies at Sundance, the exhibitors' jockeying at CinemaCon, the international scene at Cannes, the summer tentpoles, the fall's "smart" films and festivals, the family-friendly and big films of the holiday season, and the glamour of the Oscars®. Inspired by William Goldman's classic book The Season, which examined the overall Broadway scene through a production-by-production analysis of one theatrical season, Thompson had long wanted to apply a similar lens to the movie business. When she chose 2012 as "the year" to track, she knew that box-office and DVD sales were declining, production costs were soaring, and the digital revolution was making big waves, but she had no idea that events would converge to bring radical structural movement, record-setting box-office revenues, and what she calls "sublime moviemaking."

Though impossible to mention all 670-plus films released in 2012, Thompson includes many in this book, while focusing on the nine Best Picture nominees and the personalities and powers behind them. Reflecting on the year, Thompson concludes, "The best movies get made because filmmakers, financiers, champions, and a great many gifted creative people stubbornly ignore the obstacles. The question going forward is how adaptive these people are, and how flexible is the industry itself?"

Genres: Nonfiction, Film, Media Tie In, Business, Journalism, Economics

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Will Byrnes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Anne Thompson is an on-online Hollywood reporter. Aware that the what’s-happening-right-now world of just-in-time digital journalism (or most print journalism for that matter) does not allow for much reflection, she was looking for a way to tell her story of change in the movie business. Thompson was inspired by William Goldman’s The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway, which covered one year in the theater and, in The $11 Billion Year, applies that formula to the business of tinsel town.


The author

While Thompson’s book hardly qualifies as a rom-com there are definite elements of affection. She headed into the ‘wood some time back, working as a film columnist and editor at Variety. She hails from that other big cinematic locale in the US, New York City. Clearly she carried a bit of home with her, as she remains a Yankees fan. She worked for Entertainment Weekly, Hollywood Reporter, and other entertainment media as well. She began her blog “Thompson on Hollywood” in 2007, which conjures for me an image of the writer in a saddle atop the sign (not gonna go with cowgirl here), and heightens the disappointment I feel at my lack of expertise with Photoshop. It is not nearly a bio-pic either, as Thompson keeps herself pretty much in the background. Nor is it likely that this book will begin a franchise or constitute a blockbuster and be a tentpole to support her other endeavors, but hopefully it will find an audience.

The $11 billion of the title refers to film income for one year, and that’s just domestic. Sounds like H’wood is doing nicely, able to put food on the dining room table, and maybe a few lines on the coffee table. In fact, according to Thompson

Hollywood is like Harold Lloyd in Safety Last, hanging desperately to the hands of that old (silent) clock, which is moving inevitably toward future time.

She says that Hollywood studios, increasingly profit centers in Blob-like corporate behemoths, are narrowing the range of product they are willing to put out, going increasingly for the formulaic, the tried-and-true, and thus are pushing talent into other venues, TV, internet, VOD, Netflix, et al. This represents the real core of the book, the migration from a studio-centric film world to a more dispersed digital environment.



This is not necessarily a terrible thing, as technological changes have put the means of production into the hands of more and more potential film-makers, and a broad range of potential venues has arisen to provide places where these films can be sold and seen. One interesting bit of history Thompson looks at is the rationale for and the transition from film (1999) to digital (2012), and how the diverse parties came to an agreement.



She tracks the annual festival migrations, from Sundance in January to the SXSW in Spring, Cannes in May and the Fall festivals in Venice, Telluride, Toronto and New York, stopping at other annual events along the way. At Cinemacon, filmmakers show their upcoming product to theater owners. And fan-boy nerds rule at Comic-Con. Part of this is to track the progress, or lack of progress of films through this gauntlet, whether the end result is to gain notice for awards season or merely to get some distribution at all and make back production costs. You will get at least a feel, and sometimes more, for each of these festivals.

She writes in some detail about a handful of films whose titles are familiar and others you may not have heard of. Attention is paid as well to gender issues in the industry, with a focus on Kathryn Bigelow. The book offers for your consideration a look at some of the politicking that goes on before and into Oscar season, and some bits of info on AMPAS (The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) membership, which is about 6,000 strong, and is by invitation only. You will pick up some terminology too, and a few more abbreviations to add to your alphabet soup. “IP”, for example has nothing to do with an initial public something or other, but refers to “Intellectual Property,” the from part of an Oscar nomination for Adapted Screenplay. You will find that NATO can be something other than a plot device in a war flick. (National Association of Theater Owners). MG is not a car or a medication dosage but a Minimum Guarantee, a cash advance payable to the producer upon delivery of the completed film in exchange for exclusive rights to distribute a film in a sales territory. One last term, “four-quadrant” refers to a film that can attract viewers from diverse demographics, including the young, the old, male and female. There are plenty more expressions and letter combinations to take in.

As with any survey-type book, there is always the problem of wanting to know more about this or that element.

Thompson’s prose is fluid, as easy to read as a film treatment . If you are a fan of the cinema (Yes, yes, me, me) there is plenty of scene stealing material here, and a bit of comic relief, but the end result is a fascinating documentary look at how the whole business has changed, a long tracking shot of the running of the festivals, a bit of close-up on Oscar season machinations, and some previews of what might lie ahead. While I could not say for certain that The $11 Billion Year would walk away with a statue for best book about the business of Hollywood, not having screened read other candidates, there is no denying that it has earned at least a nomination. And that’s a wrap. Let’s do lunch. I have a project I’d like to tell you about. I’ll have my people call your people. Okay?

Publication date – March 4, 2014

Review first posted - 2/7/2014


=============================EXTRA STUFF

Links to the author’s blog, Twitter and FB pages. Seriously, if you want to keep up with things Hollywood, Thompson’s blog is a can’t miss, four-quadrant, blockbuster product.

Thompson mentions Emma Fitzpatrick’s wonderful send-up of Anne Hathaway in a satirical version of I Dreamed a Dream . If you have not yet seen this you absolutely must.

A nice profile of the author

Thompson’s top ten films of 2012, the year covered in the book

[Linda Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title doesn't mention the year covered is 2012. And that including international sales, the year was $35 billion. Don't know if it was precisely a watershed year, except when considering the following year's massive blockbuster fails. The book is organized by the calendar of film festivals. January is Sundance, and we end in March at the Oscars. In between we visit Cannes, Telluride, TFF. Thompson also covers SXSW and Comic-Con which are promotion and marketing venues. One interesting chapter follows John Carter of Mars from early efforts to create yet another franchise to the mess that finally landed in theaters. We don't learn anything we don't already know about the Hollywood System. The money boys are going to stick with what has worked before: sequels, franchises and guys in fast cars: all marketed to teen-aged boys who show up for opening weekend, but don't go to movies generally in the same numbers adults of both sexes do. Spielberg had to drum up funding to get Lincoln made, and he's...Spielberg. The author writes a daily blog and that's what this book reads like a compilation of. Chapter 7 is titled Women, Politics and Zero Dark Thirty. It's a weird chapter - Bigelow mishandled the ongoing PR of releasing that movie, but Thompson wants to call her not getting nominated for best director a last minute dive bomb. By whom and for what, we're not told. We all know that the Big Studios aren't doing so hot, but they also don't really care because there are only 7 majors, and those own HBO, MTV, VH1, CBS, ABC, ESPN. Sony produces shows (Breaking Bad) for AMC, as does Lionsgate. Comcast owns Universal and NBC. And a triad of the Bigs owns Hulu. As demand for digital right away grows, the Big 7 won't suffer too much from more franchise flops. Most of the big tent CGI stuff is debuted overseas first (Transformers 5 in China, Big Hero 6 in Japan). No dialogue, lots of car flipping, Bechdel who?. So, we're in for a fistful of years of franchises and sequels and guys in tights or flying tin cans. But creeping up at speed in the rear view mirror: Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Google.

[Manju · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oddly dry book. It would have worked better as a magazine article or something. That way it would have been pared down more. There's a lot of information that sometimes feels out of place and even irrelevant at times. Some sections are more interesting than others, though that is to be expected. Meh.

[Shachar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been listening to Anne Thompson and Eric Kohn’s Indiewire Screen Talk podcast for the past several years. I found it to be an invaluable guide to the film industry writ large and the Oscar season specifically. Often, I nod ferociously while Thompson speaks, especially about the way in which the “Academy’s Steakeaters” perceive certain women-driven films. To have an educated, savvy and knowledgeable woman be my guide to the ins-and-outs of the industry and MPAA has been nothing short of brilliant. I found her book The $11 Billion Year to be the same.

While I don’t think I learned anything particularly new through looking at this 2012 Oscar Season, I appreciated the in-depth step-by-step overview of it all. I found the studios desire for constant franchises that will rain money on them abhorrent. I get it. I work in private practice, too. But there is something to be said (and Scorsese says it all the time) about the winners and losers of this chase for money and endless franchises. Marvel wins, and cinema loses. We end up with endless superhero movies at the expense of quality storytelling. Movie-making by algorithm might churn a profit, but it is not good for the future of my favorite medium.

It was interesting reading this during the 2021 Oscar Season, nine years after the 2012 one. So much has changed (references to Weinstein made me squirm), and yet Thompson saw the writing on the wall -- the domination of streamers, the studios’ need to reinvent themselves, and the talent flocking to television for true creativity.

I just hope one more nugget from her book proves to be true. This one specifically by Tom Rothman, a studio chairman:

“Movies struggled this summer because they were, essentially, all the same and the audience was bored. No longer can an audience be pounded into attendance by dint of spending. Now, exactly because of how much great work there is on television, films have to raise the bar, to be more original, more complex, more imaginative, more daring. That is hard because of the huge cost/risk involved, and cost often has an inverse relationship with creativity. But I am fervently optimistic. We can make the films for less, sell them for less, and push creative boundaries more. And when we do, the audience will set the DVR, go out of the house, and come to the theater. As long as we don’t underestimate them, they will reward us.”

And when the pandemic is over, that is exactly what I intend to do.

[El_kiablo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing a book about a specific year in real time is a high risk high reward endeavor: if the author succeeds in capturing the feeling of that moment in history then their tome will be an invaluable resource in perpetuity - but if they fail to throw their arms around the zeitgeist then they're going to produce something that is going to feel out of date very quickly.

Which gets at why the $11 Billion Year is a little bit of a mixed bag. Because there are stretches of this book which capture 2012 pretty well. This has sections on the making of the Life of Pi and Lincoln and Django Unchained which are pretty interesting and which are full of little details that I didn't know.

But also huge chunks of this book are laughable in retrospect. This does talk about streaming a little bit, so it is aware that a digital revolution is coming for Hollywood... But it is woefully naive about how sweeping a change was coming and how quickly it was going to arrive. The 11 Billion Year basically only mentions Netflix in passing - and while that makes sense as they weren't behind any of the big releases that year it also makes the movie look very short sighted.

And then there's all of the talk about Harvey Weinstein, Oscar Whisperer. I understand that a book written in 2013 is not going to describe him as a convicted sex criminal because he didn't get arrested until a few years after that... But still: the respectful tone that this uses for him is... regrettable in hindsight.

Also not helping things: the real-time approach to things means that this is not as well structured as you'd want it to be. Certain tidbits get repeated a couple of times; other things that probably should have been commented upon are completely absent. This is a passable summary of that specific year, but it isn't a comprehensive work of scholarship or anything.

All that being said: I do think that this is a pretty interesting read, if only because it's still a relatively recent book and yet the stuff it's talking about feels like it happened a million years ago. (Honestly, maybe this is just me but most pre-pandemic stuff feels like it happened in a different lifetime.) So while this book might not be as insightful or as thorough as I wanted it to be I at least appreciated that it was able to give me some sense of perspective on just how turbulent the last ten years have been

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

In essence, the book says 2012 was a pivotal year because it saw the first Avengers film, kicking off the increasingly annoying behemoth that would become the Marvel cinematic universe, and John Carter, a galactic budgetary fail that made Waterworld look like an indie. It was the year of the ramped-up tentpole franchise, the year when studios fell into the superheros and sequels trend in earnest, and the year some films - like Argo and Adore - seemed to buck the odds. It also explained one of the most infuriating Academy decisions in recent memory, which was the decision to give Jennifer Lawrence the best actress Oscar over Emmanuelle Riva. Riva was in her mid eighties at the time and simply didn't have the physical stamina for the campaign circuit that Lawrence did, and Lawrence's film had the support of Harvey Weinstein, a master manipulator when it came to the Oscars. Weinstein also did his best to kill any chance Zero Dark Thirty had at awards.

Anyway, I love reading about why some movies get made and succeed and others don't, and this book hit the spot for me.

[Jessica Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to be on this book's side more than I was. There are few things I like more than books about film or the film industry so I was already prepared to be entertained (and educated!). However I found most of this book pretty dry. Thompson comes alive when she's talking about individual films and their backgrounds -- such as the sections on John Carter, Django Unchained, and Les Mis -- but when she digs down into the industry itself, the writing becomes strangely bloodless. She's speaking about industry-wide problems (the bloated budgets, the aversion to diversity, and the fear of originality) but she's reluctant to go for the throat on any of these issues. Personally I would instead recommend Julie Salamon's excellent The Devil's Candy, which covers the failure of a much earlier Hollywood disaster than any covered in this book but still manages to highlight some of the issues that Thompson is writing about here.

[Joseph Mayotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but some very blatant typos and factual errors that should have been caught by the editor (the MCU is referred to as MTV, for example)

[Sean Wicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is there a harder working Hollywood Journalist than Anne Thompson? I mean she's everywhere - Festivals, Awards Season, Comic-con - and not only on top of things with a passionate energy that is infectious, but she even has time to tweet about non-business events like Los Angeles screenings and weekly "Trailers From Hell" updates (she's re-tweeted me many a time - thanks Anne!). So it's no surprise that this book covers a full year in the Film Business and is one of the most comprehensive looks at an industry where the rules seem to keep changing by the hour.

It kind of reminded me of Mark Harris' PICTURES AT A REVOLUTION that covered the 1967 Oscar race as the year that Old Hollywood started to transform into the New Hollywood of the 70s and beyond. In this case though, the subject is geared more towards the ever-changing business model where PICTURES had a more cultural slant to it.

If you're in the film business or contemplating it, this is the book to read. It covers everything - and I mean everything - from the 2012 Film Business year that was. Hollywood works in "seasons" leading up to the most important one, "Awards season" with the film year ending when the Oscar for Best Picture is finally handed out. She covers Sundance, Cannes, CinemaCon, Comic-con, Summer movies, the Festival circuit (Toronto, Telluride, Venice, etc) and of course Awards season. She tracks the beginnings of movies like BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD and ARGO from their festival appearances, through release and ending again with their showing on Oscar night (ARGO - spoiler alert? - of course goes on to win Best Picture). Given that the book was written in 2013, Ms. Thompson also has the benefit of adding some of the wave of change that came from 2012 including a disastrous summer of tentpole films that bombed after Steven Spielberg and George Lucas prophecies that it is coming.

While my personal favorite section is the Awards section that outlines campaigning as well as the ups and downs that the films and studios experience while fighting for Oscar Gold, I also have to mention an exceptional chapter covering Women in Hollywood. She strengthens her point by utilizing the tale of Kathryn Bigelow's struggles with ZERO DARK THIRTY as she has to deal with Washington Politicians crying foul over what they call unfair glorification of torture, to the perception of a movie that has a strong female lead and the so-called "drawbacks" because it is an unconventional movie. I also loved her calling out Hollywood for obsessively chasing the young male demographic (which I fall into) that is perceived to be the movie-going saviors while abandoning other key demographics (and in some cases stronger - although not me personally as I see everything and buy almost everything but also am eclectic in my taste :) ) in particular women and older audiences who are both hungry for content and are passionate moviegoers left starving. I was also impressed that Ms. Thompson doesn't look down on the Comic-con crowd like other journalists seem to do (one in particular comes to mind), giving them (ok so us) credit for being passionate about our content as well as the fact that it is becoming more integrated with women now showing up in droves to support their favorite stories and characters. I've been going to Comic-con and almost all of the events she talks about (except Cannes, never been to Cannes but I have been to the Oscars - in 2000) and could relate to everything she was saying. I also liked the personal touches she added like when she geeks out (sorry Anne) over being behind Stallone at Cannes as he walks towards Elizabeth Taylor (yeah I'd be losing my mind over that as well) as well as personal observations as she attends the Oscar ceremony for the first time as a guest rather than covering the red carpet as a reporter.

I can't say enough about this book and think it is a must read (as is Ms. Thompson's blog - THOMPSON ON HOLLYWOOD).

[Marathon County Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 2013, Hollywood had its best year ever, profits totaling 11 billion dollars! Hollywood expert Anne Thompson provides an insider look at how all that money was made, taking the reader through a year-long trip through film sets, movie studios, executive backrooms, PR firms, film festivals, etc. as stars, producers and assorted talent wheel-and-deal. Not all the flicks were mega-hits and Thompson reveals why certain films soared and others tanked. She also provides a revealing expose of how the old Hollywood system is undergoing great changes. Thompson's book is a fascinating and very entertaining look at Tinseltown in action.

Mike O. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very balanced look at what went into the film industry in the year 2012 and how movies are made these days. The glossary is rather selective (though funny in her examples) but I could really do without the term Brit used in lieu of British or the UK's (seems rude).

Also shows why I have trouble finding movies I want to watch in the theatre: I (25-39, female) am not the target demographic (male, 18-24).

[Andrew Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne Thompson is one if the finest film journalists working today, and this book was a wonderfully nostalgic trip back through the exciting 2012 Oscar race. It misses that fifth star only because it feels a little stiff throughout. But I'm sure as she writes more books along her career that will easily work itself out. But that really is a minor complaint compared to the wonderful overall product.

[Dan Lalande · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hollywood insider Anne Thompson (Variety, Entertainment Weekly, indiewire, etc.) tracks the making and marketing of the current cinematic divide: fanboy-driven spectacle v. festival-friendly auterism. In so doing, she exhibits the divide within herself: she's weak on "show" (i.e. she's no critic) and strong on "biz" (i.e. she's a solid business reporter.) On the whole, though, it's a worthy big picture of big (and little) pictures.

[Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book on all aspects of the "Film" industry. Fascinating details about productions, deals, rivalries and how technology and world wide distribution are forcing everything to change. Great blend of anecdotes and facts.

Since I'm not a fan like the author, I didn't really care about the Oscar races, but it is an integral part of the industry.

I recommend you read it soon while it is still contemporary.

[Chris Aylott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thompson's goal of chronicling a watershed year in film is laudable, but the results don't live up to the idea. Each chapter focuses on a different festival or release window in the filmmaker's calendar, and there is some good information on how craft and business intersect in the film world. Thompson never really digs deeper, though, and each chapter seems to trail off into litanies of this filmmaker showed up and that film made such-and-such at the box office.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Film critic Anne Thompson chronicled a year at the top of the Hollywood entertainment industry -- including some good analysis about perils and problems at an organizational level. But then the book kind of devolves into a trashier thing about the festival circuit and the race for the Oscars and whatnot. Fun to read in the way that People magazine is fun.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne Thompson knows a LOT about Hollywood and the film business. This is an insightful look at the year 2012 documenting everything film related from festivals to blockbusters. There's a lot of good information here. Too bad that some of the book feels a bit outdated by now. Still, it's a great encapsulation of one year.

[James Montague · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thompson provides some great insight at times, but puts maybe too much focus on the Oscars than necessary. A lot of pages are devoted to summaries of films instead of their importance or impact, and the section about the Oscars themselves feels like little more than a chance to name-drop.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne Thompson is absolutely one of the best in the business when it comes to covering the Hollywood landscape. In her assessment of the 2012 "season," she provides incredible insight into how movies arrive at our theaters and, ever so rarely, on the Oscars ballot.

[Kirsti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Laundry-listy and flat. Didn't finish.

[Ann]

Top 5 Pop Culture - PLA

[Matthew Fitch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would have been a better magazine piece.....

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Falls apart in Act III.

[Beth Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

The business stuff was a little hard to follow, but I enjoyed the insight into the making of different movies.