The Gross: The Hits, The Flops: The Summer That Ate Hollywood

by Peter Bart

The Gross is an all-access pass to the movers, shakers, and fakers who make Hollywood run. Tinseltown is an edgy place where risk-taking is a way of life—and the risks now run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Summertime, when the studios unfurl their most expensive and effects-laden "tent-pole pictures," has become the only season in which Hollywood makes money, and so, as this book illustrates, the summer season provides an ideal microcosm for scrutinizing the mega-budget-driven revolution that has forever changed the movie business. Bart interviews all the key players, including studio executives, producers, directors, and stars, to show how creativity and commerce hang in a dangerous balance in the new Hollwood.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Media Tie In, History, Business

360 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1999

Reviews

[Armin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unterhaltsamer Blick hinter die Kulissen der Filmindustrie, eine Momentaufnahme oder weitere Folge im Fegefeuer der Eitelkeien unter Filmgewaltigen. Letztendlich hat der Sommer voll unerwarteter Erfolge und Misserfolge aber nur dazu gefühlt, dass Fremdfinanzierung von Filmen standard wurde.
Wenn man schon einige andere Bücher über die Branche gelesen hat, ist das Buch ein größeres Lesevergnügen als die meisten Thriller, schließlich geht es um die neuen Missgeschicke oder unverhofften Glücksfälle von alten Bekannten. Erinnerungen an den Erstkontakt mit Armageddon, Godzilla, Truman Show oder Verrückt nach Mary sorgen für ein wenig persönliche Nostalgie.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1969, William Goldman penned The Season, the quintessential insider's guide to the triumphs and failures of one Broadway season?but no author has since managed to do the same for Hollywood. Who better to attempt it than Bart, a former studio executive at Paramount, MGM/UA and Lorimar and currently editor-in-chief of Variety? Here Bart offers a savvy, gossipy, nuts-and-bolts look at the corporate machinations behind the summer films of 1998, a season of extravagant hype, box-office records and corporate disquiet that spotlighted what he calls the "dysfunctional economics of the movie industry." He divides his book into three sections: Genesis, a rundown of executives at the major studios and an outline of 11 hotly anticipated summer pictures, Armageddon to The X-Files; The Reckoning, a week-by-week listing of box office grosses for the 18 weeks of the summer season; and The Fallout, an assessment of why executives have grown increasingly wary of taking risks in a market dominated by blockbusters. Recounting how each film was put together and sold to the public, he relates chilling anecdotes of studio interference and moneymen making artistic decisions. As Bart shows little interest in the quality of these films, however, his book seems written primarily for the executives pulling the strings (for instance, the box office failure of Godzilla is largely attributed to a backlash against the mega-prerelease hype and rushed release date rather than the generic substance of the film). Whether or not the summer of 1998 marked a major turning point for Hollywood is debatable, but Bart has that rare bird's-eye view of the business that allows him to discern, even in this one fairly random crop of movies, the economic forces shaping American cinema.

[Jared Tipton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read, but at times the organization of information is sloppy. Also, if the personal opinions of the writer were left out it would be more interesting - IMHO. Let the reporting speak for itself, which is quite good overall. Regardless, as a glimpse into the insanity of one Summer of moviemaking, it's worth a look if the subject intrigues you.

[Jeremiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was probably the perfect audience for this book, which covered the 1998 movie season. I went to the movies almost weekly in 1998, because that's what you did with your free time. I saw every movie written about by Bart, and it was fun seeing it from the other side. Some of those questions that had been burning in my brain since that summer (How did Godzilla end up as such a terrible movie? for example) and who thought it was a good idea for Harrison Ford and Anne Heche to star in a romantic adventure film?

All that and more answered!

A fascinating read from start to finish. A little in the weeds if you aren't a movie nerd, but lots of good information about how when a studio wants to spend they can manufacture a hit.

[Mark Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re interested in box office grosses, movie budgets and Hollywood industry workings; The Gross is an excellent read. A little dated now as it focuses on the summer of 1998, but thoroughly enjoyable to historically view Hollywood as commercial machine in the late 1990's. The style is quick and informative with a sprinkling of celebrity tidbits to keep the pace and the tone steady. In interesting read, but you may get sick of the phrase ‘to be sure’ when you’re done…to be sure!

[Arwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating look at how movies really get made. Tells the story of the wheeling and dealing that made the summer 1998, which had a lot of great blockbusters like Armageddon and the Truman Show.

[Mark Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Product of it's era. A contemporary insight, interesting to see how things have changed.

[Kevin Cecil · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun look back on the summer of 1998 in blockbuster cinema. I appreciated the structure: setting up the stakes for each studio going into the summer, going into how each significant release got a greenlight, and then going week-by-week throughout the summer to follow each film's success or failure. Stand out sections include the over-marketing of Godzilla, Deep Impact vs. Armageddon, how Spielberg balanced 4 major productions while directing one of them: Saving Private Ryan, and the wild ride of There's Something About Mary.

There are also some great trivia bits, like how Universal pushed Out of Sight up from an ideal Fall release to an unfortunate Summer slot because its assumed big budget summer tentpole, Meet Joe Black, got pushed back to Christmas (where it too would bomb). And how panicky execs were about Anne Heche coming out while promoting Six Days Seven Nights (how will audiences buy that she's attracted to Harrison Ford when she's hugging Ellen DeGeneres on Entertainment Tonight?!?)

Even with the ending's insights - how different the business is from when they began being run by movie loving studio heads who wanted to make money and movies, as opposed to post-1980's corporate run studios who just want to make money - ultimately it's a little slight. But, as with summer blockbusters, isn't the slightness part of the initial appeal?

[A Cesspool · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter Bart's Yearbook: Box-Office performance: Summer of '98

notable revelations: Warren Beatty pirated, gutted, and overhauled Lauren Donner's passion project Bulworth (1998) for himself

Peter Bart is a ferocious luddite; the lengths he'll go to obfuscate the world wide web's impact on movie-going audiences, marketing, and industry reporting is remarkably gross. Throughout all his introspective columns & editorials regarding studio's massive misfire on Godzilla (1998), Bart entirely overlooks AICN's Harry Knowles first professional gaffe -- after being mesmerized by the pomp & ceremony of a big studio pre-screening gala; proclaiming Godzilla guaranteed Summer blockbuster immediately thereafter.

[Kris Habbas · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of perspectives and ideas present in this recounting of Summer 1998 in movies, but not landed as fully realized. Was this the summer that tanked Hollywood? No, the very next year is regarded as one of the best of all-time. Was this the summer that ended big effects blockbusters? No, they kept getting bigger and bigger with mixed results. The one perspective that would have been a lot more interesting (for me, personally) would be a deep dive in Hollywood Studios going from movie making companies to subsidiaries of giant corporations. It is a part of the book, but not the focus.

Solid read for movie lovers.

[Keith Cantrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook. This was a very insightful listen. A snapshot of one summer in Hollywood history: what movies were released, how the order of released dates changed based on a movies perceived competition, unexpected hits and flops, etc. Very comprehensive across all studios in the US, and the author obviously had a ridiculous amount of access for interviews. It would be interesting to read books like this about other summers in Hollywood. My two biggest complaints: the title and the cover of the book. They’re both so sloppy. Who wants to read a book called The Gross? With a cover design like a bad PowerPoint presentation? I’m glad I didn’t judge this book by its cover!

[Richard Notaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent review of the 1998 summer movie season and how it shaped the way movie studios handle the summer film season. Entertaining with its glimpse into the workings of the executives, producers, directors, writers and actors and how the get movies made.

[Sara Goldenberg · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not love. To many obscure facts about not particularly well done movies.

[Sean Wicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book with Bart's insider knowledge of Hollywood about the creation then results of a summer movie blockbuster slate. Even more exciting for me as at that time I worked within the studio system and remember that summer well and read most of those scripts when they were in development. Seeing how much has changed in the landscape since then, this was a good read overall. My only annoyance was with how Bart decided he needed to describe every executive or agent with a one sentence descriptor. Not sure why this bugged me, it just seemed to be superfluous information in the grand scheme of things.

[Grindy Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know what the point is of this book - 1998 wasn't a watershed or landmark year for film, and the focus anyways is on the marketing of that summer's movies rather than the movies themselves. Still, it's well-written and a nice reminder of a summer with some solid flicks (Saving Private Ryan, Out of Sight, Deep Impact).

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the idea of looking at one summer and why some movies flopped and others thrived. Unfortunately, this book was just o.k. and provided some great facts and reporting but little interesting analysis about why things went down the way they did.

[Jamel Cato · Rating 5 out of 5]

The all-time best insider account of the cut-throat business of making movies.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good review of the Summer blockbuster syndrome that was spawned by Jaws & Star Wars. Tom Schatz has written some very interesting analysis on this too

[Cindyanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read about the corporate culture of Hollywood.

[Carey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dry and boring. Hoping for another Pictures at the Revolution by Mark Harris but got overly detailed business report.

[Josh Folan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like reading hundreds of pages of Variety box office receipts analysis, which maybe should have been expected. But fuck, man.