Veteran investigative reporter Edward J. Epstein goes undercover to find the answer to a puzzling question - why do even the biggest grossing movies barely break even and as such, how does Hollywood make money? Epstein penetrates the dazzlingly complicated economics of Hollywood to uncover an invisible money making machine - the bizarre financial schemes behind the hits and flops, such as studios harvesting the silver from old film prints.

Author Biography

Edward Jay Epstein, who wrote the "Hollywood Economist" column for Slate, is the author of The Big Picture- Money and Power in Hollywood, as well as many other books. He writes frequently for the Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker, and he lives in New York City. His website is edwardjayepstein.com