Blockbuster

Blurb

Blockbuster: How Hollywood Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Summer is a 2004 non-fiction book by British film critic Tom Shone published by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, ISBN 0-7432-6838-5.
Based on interviews with leading Hollywood filmmakers, actors and production staff it examines the revolution in Hollywood movies brought about by Jaws, Star Wars, Alien and other summer blockbusters and how they became a global phenomenon.
The tone and approach of the book is not one of film criticism as such but rather an analysis of how the blockbuster era came into being, and the processes which drove the producers, directors and film executives concerned from 1975 to 2004. It sets itself firmly on the side of the audience and values entertainment and thrills rather than high culture, and does not shy away from equating creative success with commercial success.
In the book Shone considers that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg's reinvention of blockbusters as fast-paced entertainment reinvigorated the American film industry and deserves greater artistic and critical recognition. These two filmmakers are the most prominent of the many interviewed for the book and receive the most coverage.