Short-Term Projects and Emergent Careers: Evidence from Hollywood

Abstract

The Hollywood film industry is considered as a system of recurrent ties among the various major participants who usually work under short-term contracts for single films. This form of project-based organization in seen as a response to uncertainty and risk in the film industry. The Paper examines the ways in which independent contractors-producers, directors, cinematographers, and actors-organize and operate to reduce uncertainty and risk and to increase profits. The analysis of data from 2,430 films made in the period 1965-80 establishes patterns of recurrent ties among participants who are at comparable levels of cumulative productivity with respect to earnings, Oscars, Oscar nominations, and number of previous films. The paper also considers the degree to which film earnings are influenced by the past productivity of the major participants.