Running Head: An Insider Look

An Insider Look at Directing in Hollywood

Patrick Wallace

University of California, Berkeley

College Writing R1A

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An Insider Look at Directing in Hollywood

Sydney Pollack is a successful American movie director who has created many famous movies

such as Tootsie and Out of Africa. He had considerable influence on the Hollywood industry, spreading

his liberal views throughout his speeches, interviews, and movies. One of these instances, Pollack spoke

at a conference and afterwards, proceeded to write a short piece called The Way We Are. The piece

provides an overlook of the Hollywood industry from an award winning director’s point of view. More

specifically, Pollack focuses on the process of creating movies as well as the thought process behind the

scenes. Pollack makes many claims in The Way We Are that may be surprising to the average American

or moviegoer. Although Pollack is a Hollywood director, some of his claims are exaggerated and can be

disputed with observations. However, a majority of his claims are infallible and are explained with

supporting detail.

It is a common idea that movies influence the behavior of mainstream America. For example, the

same idea that gun violence or foul language in a film will cause an increase of violent or crude behavior

outside of the theater. On the other hand, Pollack argues that movies are made in order to match the

content that goes appropriately with current ideology (para. 8). For example, the recent movie Driving

While Black features comedy that relates to police harassment of African Americans. This movie most

likely would not have sold many tickets if it were released just twenty years ago due to a clash in

ideology. In the past, police harassment was viewed more seriously and would not have been formed into

humor. Nowadays, with social media sites such as Twitter, this type of humor, although still a serious

topic, can be taken more lightly.

Returning to the idea in the last paragraph, Pollack uses the westerner Dances with Wolves as

another example. The critically acclaimed film portrays an American befriending a Native American

tribe. He indicates that the film went against the common westerner theme and would not have sold when

the popular, older westerners were made (Pollack n.d.). Older westerner films commonly had a focus that

portrayed Native Americans as the antagonists which is the opposite of Dances with Wolves. Another

indication that Pollack is correct, is a study that correlated certain film aspects to how well they do in the
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box offices around the globe. The study shows that in the US, smoking and use of drugs has a negative

correlation with box office success (Cerridwen & Simonton 2009). Today, due to the known health

effects, we see that smoking is becoming less popular. Because smoking has become less popular, it

makes sense for producers to integrate less instances of smoking into films. This fits Pollack’s idea that

ideas and behaviors in movies are in sync with societal culture and counters the common idea that

productions cause immoral behavior.

Moviegoers perceive films as a work of art. They feel the creativity and originality that the

director and actors have put into a movie in order to create a beautiful masterpiece that represents the

artist. However, Pollack argues that films are “the work of craftsmen and artists, but they’re soon offered

for sale” (para. 11). Pollack is stating that even though the majority of people see movies as art, in reality

films are just a way for Hollywood to make money. Before a movie can even begin filming, producers

need to acquire a large sum of money from investors. These investors, according to Pollack, do not care

about how good the movie is with critics or about the influence it has, all they care about is a return on

their investment. Pollack also states “The enterprise itself is sufficiently expensive and risky that it cannot

be … undertaken without the hope of reward” (para. 12). In other words, investors do not blindly throw

money at filmmakers in slight hope of a profitable return. All investments are made based off an educated

guess and those investing in films will make the trivial assumption that an award winning studio will

produce a more profitable movie than an indie one. Also, as stated earlier, Pollack believes that

filmmakers view their productions as simply a means to make money, like their financiers. This statement

is also an exaggeration as filmmakers, directors, and producers enjoy the fame and pride that comes with

the line of work. If Pollack were correct, directors would not take such interest in events like the Golden

Globes and would prefer to stay unknown like their investors.

Although the common moviegoer may not know about movie production, one may come to

believe that there is a “recipe” or a common process that filmmakers go through when producing movies.

It may be assumed that producers will follow a safe path in order to pay back investors. Pollack explains,

from a director’s perspective, that “More fortunes have been lost than made in the movie business
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pursuing such a formula” (para. 14). What Pollack is explaining is that there is no repeatable process in

place in which one can continually create highly grossing films. This is why some movies are highly

advertised, as if they are expected to be a great movie, but when the movie is released, it does poorly in

the box office. There is little one can do to predict the success of a movie. Because of this principle

Pollack exclaims, “Unfortunately today, more junk than anything else is being made” (para. 15). Like any

mass produced form of art such as books and paintings, a vast majority of them will be considered “bad.”

The same applies with movies. Most movies do not even make it to the box office but if the movie does,

there is no guarantee the movie will be considered “good.”

In comparison to most famous celebrities, Pollack is sharing his thoughts and stories with the

world but more specifically, the moviegoer community. Many of his statements contradict common

belief, for example, when Pollack claims that Hollywood see film production as merely a means of

making money. The award winning director’s liberal background also shines within The Way We Are.

This can be seen in Pollack’s idea about how movies are not a large influential factor to daily behavior,

like in the Dances with Wolves example. Although some his ideas may be exaggerated, Pollack provides

many insider statements that are interesting to the reader. Pollack stated that most pieces of art are

considered junk, however The Way We Are would not be under the same umbrella.

References

Cerridwen, A., & Simonton, D. K. (2009). Sex Doesn’t Sell—Nor Impress! Content, Box Office, Critics,

and Awards in Mainstream Cinema. American Psychological Association.

Pollack, S. (n.d.). The Way We Are. In Moviemaking and Criticism (pp. 482-490).