How Much Does Hollywood Cost
The term “Hollywood” typically refers to the movie industry, but it can also refer to how expensively celebrities live their lives after they enter into the public eye. Many people associate the word “hollywood” with large homes, private jets, and luxurious vacations, but that isn’t necessarily the case.
Many high profile individuals are exposed to constant media coverage of their personal life, which features everything from stories about them buying a new house to reports about them breaking up with their partner. These rumors often seem confirmed when we see pictures or videos of them celebrating an anniversary or newborn baby in appearance that doesn’t match the timing of their wedding!
In this article, you will learn all about the costs of living a celebrity lifestyle in America. Let’s dive in!
Disclaimer
The content in this article should not be used as guidance for spending money. This information is purely for educational purposes only. We recommend doing your research and reading various material to get more specific insights. We assume no responsibility if you decide to spend any money because of the information contained within these articles.
The crew
A lot of people assume that big blockbuster movies have large crews, with lots of professionals working on set. This is not always the case though!
Films such as Gone With The Wind and Avatar both had very small crews. Only five or six people worked in total at any one time! This is because they use CGI (computer generated imagery) to create much of the movie.
CGI allows filmmakers to produce effects that could not be done using traditional filming techniques.
By having a smaller crew size, directors and producers are able to spend more time producing the film and giving close attention to detail. They also save money by spending less on hiring outside help for production!
Many films now use only computer graphics to achieve their looks, which explains the trend towards smaller crew sizes.
The stars
A lot of people assume that the expensive cost of a movie is just for the filming costs, but it does not include all of the expenses involved in promoting the film or distributing it. These are what we refer to as production-related expenditures, but they make up only half of the equation!
The other major chunk comes from marketing the product after the film has finished its run in theaters. This includes advertising the movie, creating promotional materials like t-shirts, displaying trailers and advertisements for the movie, hosting events surrounding the movie, and so on.
Production and marketing together make up about 70% of the total budget for most films. So even though the initial investment may seem high, it really isn’t very much compared to the overall price tag.
Furthermore, many of these additional costs get spread out across millions of viewers, which means it less of an expense per person. This also helps mitigate the effect of this bummer fact: big movies with big budgets are still pretty expensive for individual constituents.
The producers
As mentioned before, there are several different people who make up the “team” of a film producer. These include writers, directors, executives, publicists, marketing professionals, and others that contribute to the success or failure of a project.
All of these individuals work together to create the movie you just watched, so it is important to know how much they are paid. This includes all levels of employees from the low-level crew members to top level management!
The highest paying position in the production industry is probably director. However, most filmmakers spend the majority of their time working under someone else, which makes their title unclear.
This is where things get tricky because not only does each individual earn a salary, but many also receive bonuses, raises, and other promotions during the filming process. It is impossible to determine what their total income really is unless they tell us directly!
There are some ways, however, to estimate how much money certain positions at a studio or company pay.
The directors
As we have seen, entertainment is a very expensive business. All of us as consumers are aware of this fact, but what people may not know is how much more expensive it can get.
Entertainment costs go far beyond just paying your favorite actor or actress their big paycheck at the end of the movie. There are many other expenses that make up the bulk of its price tag. These include:
Directors’ fees
Writers’ royalties and advances
Filming locations and transportation
Props and wardrobe
Sound design and music licenses
Post-production services (editing, color correction, soundtrack mix)
International distribution
Marketing and advertising
And so on!
There are also ongoing production cost such as union salaries and benefits for key crew members and professionals in the field that contribute to making a film successful.
The writers
As we mentioned before, writing is a very lucrative career path. Writers are some of the most well-paid professionals in America, especially if you are good at it.
Writing for film or television is no exception to that rule. Even though a lot of people may think that screenwriting is a simple job with little-to-no pay, this isn’t necessarily true.
In fact, making enough money as a writer can be quite tricky. There are many factors outside your control when it comes to earning a salary, so being smart about spending time writing and marketing yourself is important.
But one thing that will always play a big part in how much you earn as a writer is the cost of living. This article will go into more detail on what those costs are like and why they matter.
The locations
As seen in many of your favorite movies, the most expensive part of making a movie is not the filming or production costs, but the cost of the location used for the film. These are typically paid for by either having to be rented out or secured as private property, or by the owner agreeing to have the media pay to use their space.
The more popular a site becomes, the harder it can become to keep that status quo. With the ever growing popularity of filming sites, this can prove to be quite difficult. This is particularly true during the summer season, when many people travel to enjoy what little time they have at home.
Many times, even just an informal conversation with a filmmaker will result in them asking if you know anyone who owns a house with a good beach view.
The costumes
Costume design is one of the most expensive components in filmmaking. Beyond clothing, there are many other costs involved with designing clothes for your character. These include fabric samples, trims, sewing machines, and shipping.
The cost to have someone else create an authentic looking costume can add up very quickly!
As you probably know by now, actors who sell their own clothes often take pre-loved or vintage pieces and re-design them into something new. This way they save money by buying used clothings and/or using fast casual shopping sites to find the best deals.
Generalizations cannot be made about how much it costs to hire professional costumers to make wardrobe for your film, but we do know that it’s a lot! A average sized crew member will spend at least $1,500 per week just on clothing! Add shoes and hats to that and it all adds up quick!
There are also additional fees for being fitted for clothing, alterations, and dry cleaning. All these things help reduce what we refer to as “costume rentals.
The marketing
A lot of people assume that all of those expensive trailers, billboards, and movie posters are paid for by the studio themselves. They are not!
Most of these things are marketable assets or copyrighted content that studios lease from you, the individual viewer. You can view many of them for free online, so there is no cost to watch them. Some are even sponsored by the brands that make up the film!
The only costs associated with this kind of advertising come in the form of time and resources to create and maintain it. This includes creating and editing the ad, finding the right place to display it, and keeping an eye on it to make sure it is working.
As media consumers ourselves, we want to help support filmmakers and the industry as a whole. If you would like to see more ads pour in then start sharing your love of movies and entertainment. Create a podcast, write a review, comment under a video - anything that gets exposure.
This will draw attention and hopefully drive more traffic to the films and sites mentioned. And while most of us get free access to media through YouTube and other streaming services, some do not. Make use of those by donating money or at least voicing your opinion about a show or film.