How to Score in Hollywood: Secrets to Success in the Movie Business

Summary

Go behind the scenes of the movie business as entertainment strategist Kevin Goetz reveals how creative instinct, audience insight, and smart data work together—from development through marketing and release—to increase a film’s potential for financial success.

How to Score in Hollywood explores the essential elements behind financially successful filmmaking. Drawing on nearly four decades of experience in the entertainment industry, audience expert Kevin Goetz reveals how creative instinct, audience insight, and smart data can work together—and why every movie, if made and marketed for the right price, should make money.

Expanding on the principles introduced in his bestselling first book, Audience-ology, Goetz examines the key decisions that influence a film throughout its lifecycle, from development through marketing and release, while always maintaining an appreciation for filmmaking as an art form.

Key insights include:

- Building a strong commercial foundation
- Identifying the right audience from the start
- Using audience research to uncover strengths and red flags
- Standing out in a crowded marketplace
- Planning for a film’s entire lifecycle

Filled with industry stories, entertaining personal experiences, and actionable advice, How to Score in Hollywood offers a fresh perspective on navigating a business filled with risk and uncertainty. Whether you’re a filmmaker, studio executive, entrepreneur, student, or movie lover, the book provides an illuminating look at the creative and business decisions behind how movies are made, marketed, and released.