The Whole Equation of Pictures- Christian Colletti

“The Whole Equation of Pictures” was an interesting read about Hollywood in the past compared to more present time. Most times in Old Hollywood the director was labeled as the auteur and took almost all of the credit. Schatz thinks that they have been given way too much praise in the past, as we know that it takes many more people to make the film great and the director only deserves part of the credit. There was conflict between the studio executives and the ultimate control was in the hands of the businessmen running the studios. The issues of creative expression and control were usually managed by the studio owners and executives.  He also cites several filmmakers, although he said that they shouldn't be given all the credit, who did in fact change the film industry for the better. Filmmakers that had commercial success, such as Hitchcock, gained respect from the studio execs and were given authority in decision making in their films. Schatz talks about the start of the New Hollywood era after what was thought of as the "collapse of the studio system”, and people felt it was a better system. In retrospect, when he looks back, the power struggles resulted in a balance that resulted in a “productive, efficient, and creative system” that is lost today in the New Hollywood.