Running the Studio

HEAVYHANDEDNESS VS. NICENESS

The debate rages. If you are a hugely successful movie mogul, do you rule your studio with a rod of iron, firing those who even pause before doing precisely what you tell them? Or do you indulge the whims of the so-called 'talent', giving them huge trailers, private jets and giant entourages of lackeys, lickspittles and hangers-on? The Movies is where you'll find out which approach works for you.

MAKE THE PLACE YOURS

You decide the look and feel of your studio. Do you want a lush wonderland or are you happy with a practical, simple industrial lot? In fact, do you want to give them trendy bars and cafeterias or a rusty burger stand? It's your world - they just live in it.

THE MOVIE BUSINESS

Surely not? Surely we're creating art here? Well, with motion pictures costing tens, even hundreds of millions of dollars, you can't ignore the bottom line. The truth is, the more films you make, and the more popular those films are, the more money you can earn. And the more money you have in the bank, the more you can spend on the next movie. But how you run your empire is down to you. Is it better to spend $100m making a film which takes $500m at the box office than spend $10m on a film which earns you $300m? Probably.

GO-FERS

The great thing about being rich and powerful is that you can hire people to do things for you. The Movies enables you to do precisely this. If you're not interested in how much the clapper loader and key grip get paid, you hire someone to take care of that for you. You can sort the costumes, dress the sets change the matte backdrops and set the cameras. Or you can just concentrate on the arty side of film-making.

Remember, there’s no 'I' in team, but there is 'ME'.