Hollywood by Hollywood: The Backstudio Picture and the Mystique of Making Movies

285 Pages·2018·13.015 MB·English

by  Steven Cohan

Hollywood by Hollywood

Hollywood by Hollywood
The Backstudio Picture and
the Mystique of Making Movies
Steven Cohan
1
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Cohan, Steven, 1948– author.
Title: Hollywood by Hollywood : the backstudio picture and the mystique of
making movies / Steven Cohan.
Description: New York : Oxford University Press, [2019] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018005300 (print) | LCCN 2018007709 (ebook) | ISBN
9780190865795 (updf) | ISBN 9780190865801 (epub) | ISBN 9780190865771
(pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780190865788 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Motion picture industry in motion pictures. | Hollywood (Los
Angeles, Calif.)—In motion pictures. | Motion pictures—United
States—History.
Classification: LCC PN1995.9.M65 (ebook) | LCC PN1995.9.M65 C64 2019 (print)
| DDC 791.4309794/93—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018005300
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc.
United States of America
For my sister and in memory of our mother

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
About the Companion Website xi
Introduction: The Backstudio Picture 1
1. Self-Reflexive Hollywood 19
2. Imaginary Hollywood 49
3. Movie-Struck Hollywood 85
4. Monstrous Hollywood 116
5. Masculine Hollywood 148
6. Historical Hollywood 185
7. Virtual Hollywood 223
Conclusion 249
Works Consulted 253
Filmography 259
Index 265

Acknowledgments
I presented portions of this book at several conferences of the Society of Cinema and
Media Studies as well as at conferences organized by Console-ing Passions, the Modern
Languages Association, and the Modernism/Modern Studies Association. In addition,
I presented excerpts about A Star Is Born at the Cultural Studies Now! symposium hosted
by the University of Pittsburgh in honor of Jane Feuer and at the Classical Hollywood
Studies in the 21st Century conference at Wilfred Laurier University. I discussed the film’s
trailer on In Media Res. As valuable to this book’s gestation, an invitation to speak at the
University of Kentucky in 2010 gave me my first opportunity to think about films about
Hollywood, and some of that early material has remained in my mind and in the book
these many years later. I wish to take this opportunity to thank the organizers of these
events for giving me these occasions at which I was able to try out my ideas about the
backstudio picture.
Numerous friends and colleagues also shared their insights and provided helpful
feedback (or just their friendship and support) during the long process of writing. I wish
to thank Julie Abraham, Sarah Barkin, Harry Benshoff, Michael DeAngelis, Lindsey
Decker, Mary Desjardins, Steven Doles, Mike Dwyer, Mike Goode, Sean Griffin, Julie
Grossman, Karen Hall, Chris Hanson, Ina Hark, Nicola Jones, Coran Klaver, Barbara
Klinger, Amy Lang, David Lugowski, Erin Mackie, Neepa Majumber, Adrienne McLean,
Jolynn Parker, Andrea Scheibel, Linda Shires, Gohar Siddiqui, Jill Simpson, Staci
Stutsman, T. J. West, and Pamela Wojcik. A special shout-out to Roger Hallas, Matt Fee,
and Will Scheibel, who were always ready to talk Hollywood with me; our conversations
over the years were of great value to this project from beginning to end. Merrill Schleier,
Karen McNally, and Alan Nadel read all or parts of the book manuscript and provided
very helpful comments. My work and Alan’s often cover similar ground, and I have ben-
efited from his comments or questions at various stages of this book’s composition. Josh