Production Cost Structure and Commercial Success in the New Film Industry

In a country that thrives on commercialism and image, the motion picture industry is an engine of social commentary, celebrity, and enormous cash flows. From the development of the first kinetoscope to our current star-studded event-movie culture, the industry has evolved and grown to become one of the largest and most influential cultural forces in the world today. Substantial critical analysis and literature exist discussing aesthetic qualities in film production. This paper does not follow that particular line of inquiry. Instead, we examine film as an industry focused on profitability, in which all decisions are based on the ultimate bottom-line. More specifically, the purpose of this paper is to relate temporal cost decisions and profitability by reconciling the contrasting qualities of high upfront costs with a high degree of uncertainty of reward at the outset of a film project. Since the genesis of the industry, the structure of film financing and the nature of revenue accrual have undergone profound change, wrought both by external forces and competition from within. In this paper we try to provide an overview of how the industry actually operates, and an understanding of the seemingly irrational ways in which decisions are often made. This paper is organized as follows. It will first explain the political, legal, and economic forces that led to a shift in contract and cost structure in the feature film industry. It will then present an economic model explaining how, based on economic intuition, we should expect costs of feature film production to be structured once equilibrium is attained. Next, it will give an overview of the current body of academic literature on forecasting box office receipts, revenues, and other measures of profitability in the film industry. It will then present an econometric model that attempts to provide empirical evidence for the conclusions of the earlier economic model. Next will be a discussion of the data compiled, econometric analysis of said data, and an interpretation of the results. Finally, possible extensions and further research will be presented, followed by a conclusion

Production Cost Structure and Commercial Success in the New Film Industry

In a country that thrives on commercialism and image, the motion picture industry is an engine of social commentary, celebrity, and enormous cash flows. From the development of the first kinetoscope to our current star-studded event-movie culture, the industry has evolved and grown to become one of the largest and most influential cultural forces in the world today. Substantial critical analysis and literature exist discussing aesthetic qualities in film production. This paper does not follow that particular line of inquiry. Instead, we examine film as an industry focused on profitability, in which all decisions are based on the ultimate bottom-line. More specifically, the purpose of this paper is to relate temporal cost decisions and profitability by reconciling the contrasting qualities of high upfront costs with a high degree of uncertainty of reward at the outset of a film project. Since the genesis of the industry, the structure of film financing and the nature of revenue accrual have undergone profound change, wrought both by external forces and competition from within. In this paper we try to provide an overview of how the industry actually operates, and an understanding of the seemingly irrational ways in which decisions are often made. This paper is organized as follows. It will first explain the political, legal, and economic forces that led to a shift in contract and cost structure in the feature film industry. It will then present an economic model explaining how, based on economic intuition, we should expect costs of feature film production to be structured once equilibrium is attained. Next, it will give an overview of the current body of academic literature on forecasting box office receipts, revenues, and other measures of profitability in the film industry. It will then present an econometric model that attempts to provide empirical evidence for the conclusions of the earlier economic model. Next will be a discussion of the data compiled, econometric analysis of said data, and an interpretation of the results. Finally, possible extensions and further research will be presented, followed by a conclusion

Yersinia adhesins: an arsenal for infection

The Yersiniae are a group of Gram-negative coccobacilli inhabiting a wide range of habitats. The genus harbours three recognised human pathogens: Y. enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis, which both cause gastrointestinal disease, and Y. pestis, the causative agent of plague. These three organisms have served as models for a number of aspects of infection biology, including adhesion, immune evasion, evolution of pathogenic traits, and retracing the course of ancient pandemics. The virulence of the pathogenic Yersiniae is heavily dependent on a number of adhesin molecules. Some of these, such as the Yersinia adhesin A and invasin of the enteropathogenic species, and the pH 6 antigen of Y. pestis, have been extensively studied. However, genomic sequencing has uncovered a host of other adhesins present in these organisms, the functions of which are only starting to be investigated. Here, we review the current state of knowledge on the adhesin molecules present in the Yersiniae, their functions and putative roles in the infection process

A Foreign Protein Incorporated on the Tip of T3 Pili in Lactococcus lactis Elicits Systemic and Mucosal Immunity▿ †

The use of Lactococcus lactis to deliver a chosen antigen to the mucosal surface has been shown to elicit an immune response in mice and is a possible method of vaccination in humans. The recent discovery on Gram-positive bacteria of pili that are covalently attached to the bacterial surface and the elucidation of the residues linking the major and minor subunits of such pili suggests that the presentation of an antigen on the tip of pili external to the surface of L. lactis might constitute a successful vaccine strategy. As a proof of principle, we have fused a foreign protein (the Escherichia coli maltose-binding protein) to the C-terminal region of the native tip protein (Cpa) of the T3 pilus derived from Streptococcus pyogenes and expressed this fusion protein (MBP*) in L. lactis. We find that MBP* is incorporated into pili in this foreign host, as shown by Western blot analyses of cell wall proteins and by immunogold electron microscopy. Furthermore, since the MBP* on these pili retains its native biological activity, it appears to retain its native structure. Mucosal immunization of mice with this L. lactis strain expressing pilus-linked MBP* results in production of both a systemic and a mucosal response (IgG and IgA antibodies) against the MBP antigen. We suggest that this type of mucosal vaccine delivery system, which we term UPTOP (for unhindered presentation on tips of pili), may provide an inexpensive and stable alternative to current mechanisms of immunization for many serious human pathogens