"Europe Goes to Hollywood"

1189 Words3 Pages

There has always been an interesting connection between Hollywood and Europe. Hollywood has dominated European cinema since the First World War and at present accounts for approximately 80% of market share in the majority of European countries, while European share of the American market is weak at 5.02% in 2001. The Hollywood advantage is concentrated in one very particular kind of moviemaking: films that are entertaining, highly visible, and have broad global appeal. The typical European film has about one percent of the audience of the typical Hollywood film, and this differential has been growing. American movies have become increasingly popular in international markets, while European movies have become less so. A great effort has been made by Europe to try and regain some control over their film industry as American films have always experienced more success than European films in the European film industry and around the world. One of the main problems within the European film industry is that there is great cultural and linguistic diversity in Europe, which includes very nation specific humour (thus comedies don't travel well), and a lack of interest in regionally specific films. How can a divided European film industry successfully compete against a united Hollywood industry? European cinema is generally associated with art cinema. Innovation is emphasised strongly which, over the years, has resulted in the creation of terms such as the French Nouvelle Vague, Italian Neo-Realism and New German cinema. There are also typical European genres such as the Film Noir, European heritage film and the German Heimatfilm. In contrast to Hollywood, there is little conventional action in European art-house films. Many foreign film... ... middle of paper ... ...ng to have the option of seeing something more thought provoking. A different vision is offered which is so un-American and thus so attractive. Word Count: 1,434 Bibliography: Dyer, Richard (1992), Popular European Cinema, London Finney, Angus (1997), The State of European Cinema, London Hjort, Mette and Scott Mackenzie (2000), Cinema and Nation, London and New York Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey and Steven Ricci (1998), Hollywood and Europe, London Retrieved on 3rd of March 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://www.mediasalles.it/eurousa.htm Retrieved on 3rd of March 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://www.screendigest.com Retrieved on 3rd of March 2003 from the World Wide Web: http://www.infoculture.cbc.ca

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