In this unprecedented, all-encompassing, and thoroughly entertaining account of the movie business, acclaimed writer Edward Jay Epstein reveals the real magic behind moviemaking: how the studios make their money.

Epstein shows that in Hollywood, the only art that matters is the art of the deal: Major films turn huge profits not from the movies themselves but through myriad other enterprises, from video-game spin-offs and soundtracks to fast-food tie-ins, and even theme-park rides. The studios may compete for stars and Oscars, but their corporate parents view wth one another in less glamorous markets such as cable, home video, and pay-TV.

Money, though, is only a small part of the Hollywood story; the social and political milieus–power, prestige, and status–tell the rest. Alongside its remarkable financial revelations and incisive profiles of the pioneers who helped build Hollywood, The Big Picture is filled with eye-opening insider stories. If you are interested in Hollywood today and the complex and fascinating way it has evolved in order to survive, you haven’ t seen the big picture until you’ve read The Big Picture .

愛德華·傑·艾普斯坦（Edward Jay Epstein，1935— ），於康乃爾大學和哈佛大學攻讀政治學，1973年取得哈佛大學博士學位，其碩士論文以追尋政治真相為題材（Inquest：The Warren Commission and the Establishment of Truth），博士論文以電視新聞為題材（Neus from Nowhere）,兩篇論文皆已齣版成書。愛德華原本在MIT和UCLA教授政治學，後來覺得寫書的教化功能更強而專事寫作。現居美國紐約市。

譯者簡介

宋偉航，颱大曆史係、颱大曆史研究所中國藝術史組畢業。曾任齣版編輯，現專事翻譯。譯有《我的動物天堂》《補綴的星球》《人類大世紀》《重拾山居歲月》《靈魂考》《酷男的異想世界》《丘吉爾：樂在危險的人生》《我在DK的齣版歲月》《禿鷹律師》《無辜主人》《幫凶律師》等書。