RTF 305: Contract Talent

John Wayne

              The studio system in classical Hollywood had a factory based, mass production system in use, filled with contract talent and an assembly line that produced numerous famous movies. This specific aspect of the studio system resulted in an "american idol"-like production, where a young actor or actress would come to Hollywood and compete against other actors and actresses. Once one was chosen, the production company would put he or she to work with training, voice lessons, dance lessons, piano lessons, etc. The studio owned them for a very long time. This resulted in a era where when audiences watched a movie, they were getting the star, and not just the film. Also, stars had certain genres associated with them, and studios would used that to sell their products. For example, whenever the name John Wayne appeared on a movie poster or advertisement, one would most likely assume that the upcoming film will be a country-western. The fact that so many people loved John Wayne as a country-western actor opened the financial gates to the production company who owned him. If the production company had put a different actor in place of John Wayne, there would most likely not be as big of a turnout as with a movie   with the famous John Wayne.