Book review - "Open Wide"

A fascinating and depressing book about modern marketing in Hollywood, especially the blockbuster films. It follows the marketing path of three films that opened over the same weekend in 2003, all shockers - Terminator 3, Legally Blonde 2 and Sinbad. Yuck! But this is kind of good since the films were all made without passion, just to make money, so you can concentrate on the business side of things. The two writers, both for Variety, have done their work. They put things in a historical perspective, paying tribute to the work of men like Joe Levine and Billy Laughlin. The numbers stuff is fascinating - Hollywood loves certainty, but can still never quite achieve it.