When a Handshake Meant Something: The Rise of Entertainment Law in Post-Paramount Hollywood

Publication Date

6-1-2021

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Cinema and Media Studies

Volume

60

Issue

4

DOI

10.1353/cj.2021.0045

First Page

61

Last Page

84

Abstract

Following the end of the Hollywood studio system, the entertainment lawyer emerged as a new profession, uniting studios and independent producers through a process of contract negotiation that became central to the industry’s operations. Following United States v. Paramount, Inc. (1948), attorneys adapted to the needs of the industry by using dealmaking contracts to align the incentives of cautious financiers and ambitious creatives to work together. This article follows attorney Leon Kaplan and his role in negotiating the paradoxical motivations of corporate finance and radical art that defined New Hollywood.

Department

Film and Theatre

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