Representing Talent bookcover

Representing Talent

Hollywood Agents and the Making of Movies
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Description

Audiences love the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, but beyond the red carpet and behind the velvet curtain exists a legion of individuals who make showbiz work: agents. Whether literary, talent, or indie film, agents are behind the scenes brokering power, handling mediation, and doing the deal-making that keeps Hollywood spinning. In Representing Talent, Violaine Roussel explores the little-known but decisive work of agents, turning the spotlight on how they help produce popular culture.

The book takes readers behind the scenes to observe the day-to-day activities of agents, revealing their influence on artistic careers and the prospects of Hollywood's forthcoming projects. Agents are crucial to understanding how creative and economic power are intertwined in Hollywood today. They play a key role in the process by which artistic worth and economic value are evaluated and attributed to people and projects. Roussel's fieldwork examines what "having relationships" really means for agents, and how they perform the relationship work that's at the heart of their professional existence and success. Representing Talent helps us to understand the players behind the definition of entertainment itself, as well as behind its current transformations.

Product Details

PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
Publish DateAugust 28, 2017
Pages256
LanguageEnglish
TypeBook iconPaperback / softback
EAN/UPC9780226486949
Dimensions8.9 X 5.9 X 0.6 inches | 0.8 pounds

About the Author

Violaine Roussel is professor of sociology at the University of Paris VIII and affiliated faculty at the University of Southern California. She is coeditor of Brokerage and Production in the American and French Entertainment Industries and How to Do Politics with Art and coauthor of Voicing Dissent: American Artists and the War on Iraq.

Reviews

"Roussel's analysis of Hollywood's power dynamic is perceptive and convincing. . .This book will not help readers to find the good agent who is clearly an indispensable requirement for a successful career in the movies, but it will help them to understand something of Hollywood's inner workings."-- "Times Higher Education"

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