David O. Selznick & Alfred Hitchcock
The assignment is to compare Hollywood in the 30s and 40s to Hollywood today. Choose one of the following categories:
If you selected movies, you'll compare a movie from Hollywood in the 30s or 40s to a Hollywood movie of today. Choose a movie in the same genre. For actors or directors, you'll choose someone from the 30s or 40s and someone from today to compare them to.
Following are some questions to explore:
Movie
- Who directed and acted in the movie? (Enhance posterboard with pictures.)
- What studio produced distributed the movie?
- How much did the movie cost to make?
- What genre was the movie?
- What did reviewers say about the movie? Write a capsule review of the movie, or use excerpts from real reviews of the period.
Actor or Actress
- What other movies did this person star in? (Enhance posterboard with pictures.)
- When did this person's career start and end?
- Did this person work for a single movie company during his or her career, or many? Which ones?
- What did this person get paid to act in movies? Or what was the average pay of a movie actor at the time?
- Did this person specialize in a particular genre of movie?
- How did this person's career change over time?
Director
- What other films did this person direct? (Enhance posterboard with pictures.)
- Did this person work for a movie studio, or were they independent?
- Would you describe this director as an "auteur"? Why?
- Was this director famous for a particular genre or style of film?
- Did this person specialize in a particular genre of movie?
- Did this director have any special style or technique that was unique?
- How did this person's career change over time?