Hollywood Mogul
Run Your Own Hollywood Movie Studio

Browser Manual

This is included if you like to read. However, Hollywood Mogul includes complete online documentation that will guide you through the game should you ever get confused. While you are playing, just click the mouse on "Hint" at the top of the screen.

Table Of Contents

    Introduction
  • So You Want To Run A Hollywood Movie Studio
  • Section 1
      Getting Started
    • The Menu Bar File
      • Save Game
      • Save Game As
      • Exit
    • Game Options
      • Menu Wipes Off
      • Screen Wipes Off
      • Sound Off
      • Tutorial Off
    • Reports
    • Cash
    • Top 10
    • Hint
    • The Menu System
    • Starting A New Game
  • Section 2
      Game Configuration
    • Game Level
    • Player Name
    • Studio Name
    • Game Menus
    • Office Display
    • Studio Memos
    • Studio Gate
    • Hire An Assistant
    • Change Studio Fanfare
  • Section 3
  • Section 4
      The Project List
    • Add A New Project
      • Scripts, Novels, Stage Plays
      • My Own Idea
      • Sequel
  • Section 5
      The Source Menu
    • Selecting A Source For Development
      • Original Screenplay
      • Novel or Stage Play
      • The Tone Of A Story
      • Story Attributes
    • The Genres
    • Buy This Property
  • Section 6
      Project Phases
    • How An Idea Becomes A Movie Released Around The World
    • Development
      • Development Phases For An Original Screenplay
      • Development Phases for A Novel Or Stage Play Or Sequel
      • Development Phases For My Own Idea
    • Green Light A Project
    • Production Phases
      • Pre-Production
      • Production
      • Post-Production
    • Marketing And Release
  • Section 7
      The Project File
    • Motion Picture Division
    • Title
    • Storyline
    • Status
    • Cost-To-Date
        Stopping A Project
      • Put This Project Into Turnaround
      • Kill This Project
    • The Development Department
    • Talent/Casting
    • The Production Department
    • Increase-In-Costs
    • Release Department
    • Prints & Advertising
    • Ancillaries
    • Total Project Cost
  • Section 8
      Development
    • Development Changes
    • Genre / Sub-Genre
    • The Genres Of Hollywood Mogul
  • Section 9
      Production
    • Shoot Location
    • Minimum Budgets
    • Production Budget Hints
    • Special Effects
  • Section 10
  • Section 11
  • Section 12
  • Section 13
  • Section 14
      HMChange
    • Changing Things With HMCHANGE.EXE
  • Section 15
  • Section 16
      Adding Graphics
    • Adding Assistant .BMP Images
      • Assistant Image Naming Conventions
    • Adding Talent Images
    • Adding Your Own Studio Gate Or Office Image
    • Deleting Unused Game Images From Hard Drive



Introduction


So You Want To Run Your Own Hollywood Movie Studio

A motion picture is a product shot on film using actors, actresses (collectively referred to as actors), supporting talent, a director, a producer, and sometimes quite a few writers. All of these people are working from a screenplay. The screenplay is the map of the movie.

All movies begin with an idea. The idea is the movie's source. In Hollywood Mogul, the Source Idea can be one of five types. Because they are a commodity, they are known as a property. You may own the motion picture distribution rights to a screenplay property, or a fiction property (for blockbuster novels).

An Original Screenplay is a Source Idea that has the advantage of already being a screenplay. A screenplay is the map of a movie. The screenplay gets read by all the studio executives (known as suits). They give it a rating, 1 to 5 with 5 being highest. A Novel is a Source Idea that has the advantage of public recognition. The public already knows the Title and what the story is about because it's a blockbuster best-seller. A novel will require hiring a screenwriter to write a screenplay. A Stage Play also has the advantage of public recognition, and like a novel requires hiring a screenwriter to write a screenplay.

Your Own Idea is another Source Idea. If you have an idea for a movie, give it a title. Then come up with a storyline that explains what the movie will be about. Then hire a screenwriter to write the screenplay.

A Sequel is also a Source Idea. After a studio releases a movie into a theater near you, it has the option of taking that idea and using it again. The advantage of a sequel is that the public already knows the title. A screenwriter will be required to write a new screenplay for the sequel.

The Source Cost is the price that the studio pays to obtain ownership of the idea and the right to make it into a motion picture. Only your own ideas are free.

As the owner of a Hollywood movie studio (the Studio Head), you have to choose the source for the 100 movies your studio will release around the world. The process of getting a movie idea source ready to be filmed is called Development. Development includes getting the screenplay in the best possible shape (having it rewritten), budgeting the movie, and hiring the creative talent.

After a movie completes development it goes into Production. Production is the physical technicalities of making the movie. Building the sets, filming the actors, editing the film, adding the music score, and adding special effects, these are among the aspects of production.

When the movie completes production, it moves into Marketing. This means buying time for TV ads and radio ads, buying magazine space for print ads, and deciding on how many theaters to release the movie in across the United States.

When we talk about movie production, we refer to different types of costs. To distinguish between the two main types of costs, we draw a line. So costs are either Above-The-Line or they are Below-The-Line.

Above-The-Line costs refer to the more creative aspects of movie-making. Actors, directors, producers, writers (collectively known as creatives). They are Above-The-Line, and they will treat you that way.

Below-The-Line costs refer to physical things. The wood and paint used to build the sets (a movie set is the place the camera is pointing at, where the actors act). The film crew is also considered to be Below-The-Line even though most are very creative themselves. Food, transportation, overnight accommodations, these are Below-The-Line costs.

When a movie is filmed, the edited product is a black & white film negative. When the edited negative is complete, movie production is complete. The cost of making the movie up to this point is the sum of the Above-The-Line cost and the Below-The-Line cost, and is known as the Negative Cost. The Negative Cost is the money spent to produce the edited negative film.

When the edited negative is complete, prints are made to be shown in each of the theaters you have decided the movie will be released in. The Print is the color movie you watch in the movie theater. If you have decided to release this movie in 1,500 theaters, you will have to purchase 1,500 prints. This is known as the Print Cost.

Marketing this movie requires advertising. So you will have a TV Ad Cost and a Print Ad Cost and Radio Ad Cost. Do not confuse Print Cost with Print Ad Cost.

These three costs, Print Cost, TV Ad Cost, and Print Ad Cost, are referred to as Prints and Advertising, or more simply, P & A.

The Total Cost of movie-making is the sum of the Negative Cost + P & A or... 
          Above-The-Line
        + Below-The-Line
        + Print Cost
        + TV Ad Cost
        + Radio Ad Cost
        + Print Ad Cost
       -----------------
          Total Cost
If you really are going to buy this Hollywood movie studio, it's important that you note something very important: Up until now all I've told you about are costs!

Movie production is very expensive. It drains the studio's (your) money. The only way to offset cost is with revenue. The only way a movie studio earns revenue is at the box office.

When a movie is released all around the world, people go to see it. The money they pay to get in the theater is called the Box Office Gross. In the United States and Canada, that is known as the Domestic Box Office Gross. Outside the United States, it is referred to as the Foreign Box Office Gross. (Together, all totaled, they are referred to as the Worldwide Box Office Gross). This is the gross amount of revenue rental taken in by the theater owners. The theater owners keep half of this box office gross for themselves. The other half of the box office gross is known as the Studio Rental Revenue.

That is very important. The other half, and only half!, is the Studio Rental Revenue.

After a movie is released, the studio takes its revenue and applies it toward the total cost of the movie. First the P & A cost is paid back (known as recovered). After the P & A is recovered, the remaining rental revenue is applied toward the negative cost. After the negative cost is recovered, any creative who has Gross Point Participation is paid a percentage. After all the gross points are paid, there is a Studio Net Gain or Loss for the movie.

Here's an example:

You hired some of the best in the business. You paid top-dollar for an original screenplay, and you've hired a good, competent producer and director. The talent is top-notch. Your above-the-line cost is $15,000,000. To add an exciting backdrop to your movie, you decided to shoot on location in London, England. It's an average size movie, and your below-the-line cost is $32,000,000. You came in $2,000,000 over budget because of production problems. You have a negative cost of $49,000,000 You decided to open in 2,000 theaters. Theater prints are $5,000 each, so your print cost is $10,000,000. You spent $10,000,000 on TV ads and $5,000,000 on print ads. Your Prints & Advertising cost is $25,000,000: In this example, your Total Cost is $74,000,000: The movie opens all over earth. The box office receipts pile up. The worldwide box office gross is $180,000,000. The studio rental revenue is half that, $90,000,000.

First the $25,000,000 P & A is recovered:

$90,000,000 - $25,000,000 = $65,000,000

Then the $49,000,000 Negative cost is recovered:

$65,000,000 - $49,000,000 = $16,000,000

Luckily for you, none of the creatives have gross points. The studio shows a net gain of $16,000,000 for this movie. The studio recovered its $73,000,000 investment, and has made an additional $17,000,000.

In addition to the Worldwide Box Office Gross, ancillary revenue is received by the studio. This refers to the revenue from video cassette sales, merchandising, etc. And once you've released a movie, you may begin making sequels.

And there you have it. That's what you have to know to own your own Hollywood movie studio. The rest of it is just details. Read on if you want to know the details.

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Section 1
Getting Started


The Title Bar

The title bar that runs across the very top of the screen displays the the amount of money in your Studio Cash Account, the name of your studio (which can be changed), and the current game month and year.

The Menu Bar

Below the title bar is the menu bar. It consists of seven items.

File - Save Game

Select this to save the current game. The first time you save the game, you will be asked to name the saved game (your studio name is the default value). You may save as many games as your hard drive has room for.

File - Save Game As

You may also save the current game as another game name for whatever reason you may choose.

Game - Menu Wipes Off

The menu transition wipes refer to the pop-up menus in Hollywood Mogul, anything that is not full screen. If you do not want to have to wait for these "wipes", turn them off. A check mark will appear next to this selection if you turn the menu wipes off.

Game - Screen Wipes Off

The screen wipes refer to any full screen image transition. If you don't want to have to wait for these "wipes", turn them off. A check mark will appear next to this selection if you turn off the screen wipes.

Game - Sound Off

Turn the sound off if you do not want to hear any of the music or sound effects in Hollywood Mogul. A check mark will appear next to this selection if you turn the sound off.

Game - Tutorial Off

If you are still learning how to play, you can use the Tutorial to walk you through the game.

Report

Select this to see the studio's balance sheet.

Cash

Select this to get a loan or repay a loan. The studio has a value of $Five Billion Dollars ($5,000,000,000) and you may borrow some, none, or all of that amount. The studio pays interest on the loan of 1% each month until the loan amount is repaid. If you run out of cash, and you have borrowed the maximum allowed, or if the amount you owe is greater than the amount available for mortgage, the studio goes bankrupt and you lose the game.

Top 10

Select this to see a list of the top 10 movies of all time. Every movie you make is compared to the top 10 list each time you play. So over the years, this will be a list of the best movies that you have ever released. There is a top ten list for each of three categories:

Domestic Box Office Gross

These are the ten movies that have made the most money when released within the United States and Canada.

Foreign Box Office Gross

These are the ten movies that have made the most money when released outside the United States or Canada.

Total Revenue

These are the ten movies that have made the most revenue, including the Domestic Box Office Gross, the Foreign Box Office Gross, and all Ancillary Revenue (Cable TV Sales, Video Cassette Sales, Merchandising & Licensing, etc).

Hall Of Fame

Select this to see the Hall Of Fame scores. These are the top 20 scores of all time on this computer. You must release 100 movies to qualify for the Hall Of Fame. The Hall Of Fame Final Score is the sum total of the Domestic Box Office Gross for each of your 100 movies released.

Hint

Select this is you're not sure what to do next. The Hint screen will tell you what you must do in order to move forward in the game.

The Menu System

Hollywood Mogul displays pop-up menus for you to make selections from. Each choice on the menu is in a specific color (which you can change - the default color for selectable text is light blue). You may click anywhere on the menu line to make a selection. A selection may also open another menu.

Input Boxes

Sometimes, Hollywood Mogul needs you to enter information from the keyboard. An Input Box will display, asking you for the information you should enter. Type it in, and press enter. If you do not want to change the text that you already see, simply press the Enter key.

Hollywood Mogul is case sensitive, so information should be typed using both upper and lower case. You should type Name rather than name or NAME.

Dollar Amounts

Some menus allow you to increase or decrease dollar amounts. Use the LEFT MOUSE at the top of the menu (the "+" side) to increase a dollar amount by ONE unit. Use the RIGHT MOUSE to increase the dollar amount by TEN units. The same is true for decreasing the amount, except that you click on the bottom (the "-") section of the menu. When you are done, click on the "X" at the right side of the menu.

For example, when you are choosing a production budget for a project, the LEFT MOUSE will change the dollar amount by $1,000,000. The RIGHT MOUSE will adjust the dollar amount by $10,000,000. When you are hiring creatives, you can adjust their salaries with the LEFT MOUSE for $50,000 or the RIGHT MOUSE for $500,000.

In The Beginning...

When the game begins, the start-up menu offers three choices:

Start A New Game Play A Saved Game Exit Hollywood Mogul
If you have never saved a game, you will not be able to access "Play A Saved Game".

Starting A New Game

To start a new game, select that item from the menu. The screen changes to the setup configuration screen which allows you to change the font and font color of all the text that is displayed in the game. All of the fonts installed on your computer are available to you, although some may be too large to use.

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Section 2
Game Configuration


This section of Hollywood Mogul allows you to customize the way the game is displayed. You will note the color table on the right side of the screen. This is the Hollywood Mogul color palette. You may select any of the colors on this table for any text, text background, text shadow, etc.

Game Level

The movie studio you have purchased has a value of $5,000,000,000 ($Five Billion Dollars) and you have $1,000,000,000 ($One Billion Dollars) in cash in your Studio Cash Account. The game level determines the size of your studio in terms of expenses. The greater the game level, the greater the number of employees, all of whom must be paid. Each month the Studio Expense (the amount of money required to pay employee salaries, etc) is deducted from the Studio Cash Account. The greater the game level, the bigger the chunk of money that is required to pay the monthly expense. 

Game Level        Annual Studio Expense   Monthly Studio Expense 
New In Town       $125,000,000            $10,466,000
Still Green       $250,000,000            $20,833,000
On My Way         $500,000,000            $41,666,000
Hollywood Player  $750,000,000            $62,500,000
Hollywood Mogul   $1,000,000,000          $83,333,000


You can see that one of the challenges of Hollywood Mogul is to earn an obscene amount of money making movies while not going bankrupt as you pay out the monthly studio expense.

Player Name

Select the player name if you wish to change it. This may only be done at the start of a new game. An input box will display asking you to enter the first, middle, and last name of the player. You may leave the middle name blank, if you choose to.

Studio Name

Select the studio name if you wish to change it. This is the only place in Hollywood Mogul where you do not necessarily have to use both upper and lower case. If you wish to name your studio Jones Studios but wish it to be displayed JONES STUDIOS on the studio gate, then you should enter your studio name in all capital letters. If Jones Studios is sufficient for you, then enter that text using both upper and lower case.

Game Menus

Select this to change the display characteristics of the menus which pop up throughout the game.

Office Display

Select this to change the way the Project File is displayed in your executive office. The Project File gives you access to all of the information about any given motion picture project the studio is currently working on.

Studio Gate

Select this to change the font, font color, and placement of your studio name as it appears over the entrance to the studio. You may increase or decrease the font size, and position it on the studio gate by moving it left or right or up or down.

NOTE If you are particularly creative and you create your own studio gate in a third party draw or paint program or 3D studio, and you make your studio name a part of that .bmp image, select Do Not Print Studio Name to keep Hollywood Mogul from overwriting your creation.

Hire An Assistant

Every Hollywood Mogul needs an assistant. Select this to hire your assistant. You may add your own .bmp graphics to this list (see Adding Graphics, below).

Change Studio Fanfare

The studio's "fanfare" is its musical signature that plays before the opening credits at each of your world premieres. There are 20 to choose from on the CD-ROM. When you select a .wav file to be used as your studio fanfare, that file is copied to your hard drive and renamed FANFARE.WAV in the \FILE_FAN sub-directory of your main game directory. None of the .wav files supplied with Hollywood Mogul are more than 15 seconds in length. If you wish to use your own .wav file, simply copy it into the \FILE_FAN sub-directory and make sure that you name it FANFARE.WAV. If you use your own .wav file it should not be more than 15 seconds at the very most. Ten to twelve seconds is best. Any .wav file you have can be used as your studio fanfare.

Game Ends With ...

A "normal" game of Hollywood Mogul requires the release of 100 movies. This is the only way to create an opponent file. However, if you do not want to release 100 movies before the game ends, you may make your release selection here.

Randomize Talent / Do Not Randomize Talent
Hollywood Mogul includes a utility application called HMchange.exe. This application allows you to change many of the attributes of your Hollywood Mogul talent. This is a toggle switch... select Randomize Talent if you want Hollywood Mogul to disregard the changes you made in HMchange and randomize the attributes of your talent. Select Do Not Randomize Talent if you do not want Hollywood Mogul changing any talent attributes.

Opponent Files

This option is more fully explained in opponent.wri which is included with this release. You will find it in the same directory where this manual.wri file is located.

Start New Game / Return To Game

When you have finished configuring the game to your satisfaction, select the text at the top of the screen to continue.

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Section 3
The Studio Gate


Against the backdrop of your studio, the Studio Gate Menu displays. From here you may access all aspects of your new life as the Head of the Studio.

The Game Turn

Hollywood Mogul is played in one month Game Turns. Within that month you can do as many things as you want until there is nothing left to do, or you can leave things sit until next month. It's up to you, it's your studio.

When you have done everything you want to do in the current game month, select Call It A Day. This will move you to the next game month. One month closer to releasing the many movies you'll be making.

Go Into The Office

This is where most of your work in Hollywood Mogul is done. Select this to go into your office to do the work of a Hollywood Mogul.

Change Game Configuration

Select this to return to the setup screen. You cannot change the Player Name or the Game Level once a game has begun.

Call It A Day

Select this to continue on to the next game month.

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Section 4
The Project List


Upon entering your office, the studio's Project List displays. This gives you access to all of the projects currently in development or production at the studio. Here, in Game One, only the Motion Picture Division is available, but all studios divisions will eventually be available as more games are added to The Hollywood Mogul Game SeriesTM.

Projects Already In Development

If the studio does not currently have any projects in development, the list will be empty. If there are projects in development, all of the projects will be listed (in order of their Release Date). The project that is highlighted has its Status displayed below the list. This tells you what phase of development the project is in.

Add A New Project

There are three types of new projects that can be added to the Motion Picture Division. Select the one you want to develop into a motion picture.

Scripts, Novels, Stage Plays

Select this to access ready-made source material. The source material is the foundation on which a motion picture will be developed. Scripts (Screenplays) are manuscripts that are already in the correct format for filming a motion picture. Novels and Stage Plays must have screenplays written. So purchasing an Original Screenplay saves you the time (months) it takes to write a screenplay.

My Own Idea

Select this to develop your own movie idea (the story of your life, for instance, riveting as it is). You will be prompted to provide a Title for the new project, and a storyline. A good reference for how to write a storyline is your local TV listings guide. The descriptions of the movies in the TV listings guide (known as loglines) are a good tool for learning how to write your own.

Sometimes it's nice to have complete control over every aspect of a movie from the very beginning. That is the advantage of developing your own idea into a movie. You determine the storyline, the genre, the number of actors and actresses in starring roles, and supporting roles.

In addition, another big advantage is that the movie can be about anything you want. If you'd like to see mutant grasshoppers battling evil space lords in the farthest reaches of the universe, this is the place to do it. Dive right in.

The title may be up to thirty characters in length. Enter the title of your idea. Remember to use upper and lower case. If your movie title is The Long Dry Spell, type it in that way, not the long dry spell or THE LONG DRY SPELL.

Sequel

Once the studio has released at least one movie, it may make a Sequel to that movie. Select this to make a Sequel.

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Section 5
The Source Menu


Project Development refers to the process of taking an idea and turning it into a movie. Some projects will be in development longer than others. Some will have easy developments, some will need constant rewrites to get the best possible screenplay.

The screenplay answers the question How do we get there from here? A good screenplay is your best weapon against a bad box office gross. It is an old Hollywood adage that you can turn a good screenplay into a bad movie, but you cannot turn a bad screenplay into a good movie.

Selecting A Source For Development

There are three ready-made source types in the game. Original Screenplays, which are manuscripts already written in the correct format for making a movie; Novels, which are manuscripts published in book form, which the public has come to love and therefore are a known entity; and Stage Plays, also a known entity with the public. Both Novels and Stage Plays must have screenplays written, which will require hiring a screenwriter.

Original Screenplay

The biggest advantage to buying an original screenplay is that there is already a screenplay written. This can save development time. Select "Original Screenplay" from the menu. All of the available Original Screenplays will display. There are 30 screenplays available at the beginning of each month. When you continue on to the next game month (See "Call It A Day", below), a minimum of 10 new screenplay titles are swapped in for the existing titles. The swapped out titles are given new attribute characteristics and may show up again depending on how many game months the game requires.

Novel or Stage Play

The biggest advantage to developing a Novel or Stage Play is the name recognition by the public. They've already made the novel a best-seller, and they've already gone to see the plays. The disadvantage is that they are not in the correct format for making a movie, and so a screenplay must be written before development and production can proceed.

After selecting a source type, the list of all available titles is displayed. You will note that the first title on the list is highlighted. To the right of the list is the Title and the Storyline. The storyline tells you what the story is about. Below that is the genre, which is the type of category the story falls into (Action Adventure, Drama, Comedy, etc).

The Starring Roles are the number of actors and/or actresses required to tell this story in its present form (they can be changed later, see "The Project File, Development Department", below). The Supporting Roles are the number of actors and/or actresses required to tell this story in support of the starring or main roles. The Minor Roles are additional, minor speaking roles.

The Tone Of A Story

Each story has a tone, and in the game there are four characteristics that set the tone: Nudity, Violence, Foul Language, and Love Scenes. These are listed for you along the right side of the source menu.

Story Attributes

Each story has up to eight characteristic attributes that help you (and the talent in the game) decide how effectively the story is being told. Each of these attributes is given a rating from 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest, and this rating is displayed with one star ( * ) for each rating point. So a 5-star rating is the best in any category. Each of these attributes can be improved by having the screenplay rewritten.

The Main Character Arc attribute (also known as the character's through-line) tells you how effectively the main character changes throughout the story. A character changes through conflict. This is the attribute most important to actors and actresses, the higher the rating, the more "acting" and "emoting" required, which makes it a better role to play.

The Character Development attribute tells you how effectively all of the other characters are defined, how "human" they are.

The Plot / Plot Twists attribute tells you how effectively the story engages the audience in its dramatic conflict.

The Dialogue attribute tells you how effectively the dialogue mirrors the speech of the time required to tell the story (a Historical Epic would not want to include words like, "cool", "far out").

The Pace attribute tells you how effectively the story moves along. A low rating is an indication that the story drags and may lose the interest of the audience.

The Intelligence attribute tells you how smart the story is, how interesting, how much thought has gone into it.

The Genre Elements attribute tells you how effectively the story has been written in regard to its genre. An Action Adventure with a low Genre Elements rating means there isn't much action or adventure, and that may need to be improved.

The Sub-Genre Elements (if any) tells you how effectively the story has been written in regard to its Sub-Genre. An Action Adventure Comedy with a low Sub-Genre Elements rating means the story is not be funny enough, and that may need to be improved.

Coverage is a term used in Hollywood to describe the synopsis of a story. When a property, a screenplay, book, or stage play is received at the studio it is covered, meaning it is read. The person who reads the story boils it down to its storyline, its tone, and its story attributes. This is known as its coverage, and the Overall Coverage rating is an average of all eight (if a Sub-Genre is included) of the stories attributes.

Obviously, the higher the rating for each attribute, the better the Overall Coverage rating. And the better the Overall Coverage rating, the better the story. But remember, you may improve any or all of these attributes in your studio Development Department (see "The Project File, Development Department", below).

The Genres

Below the list, on the left side of the source menu, the genres are listed. If at least one title has a specific genre, that genre is available for selection. You may sort the list by specific genres. For instance, if you select Suspense Thriller, all of the source titles with that genre will display. You will not be able to access a genre selection if no titles fall into that genre category.

Buy This Property

When you have selected a title you wish to develop into a movie, select "Buy This Property" in the lower right corner of the source menu. The title is added to your Project List. You may buy as many titles as you wish. In the event that the studio cash account falls below the price of a particular source title, you will not be able to purchase the property.

When you have selected all of the source titles you want to develop this month, select Exit to return to your office.

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Section 6
Project Phases


How An Idea Becomes A Movie Released Around The World


A movie begins with a source idea, then moves through various development phases. When it has completed development, it is given a Green Light. This makes it a go picture, a movie that is going to be produced and released.

After a movie gets a Green Light, it moves into the various Production Phases. The production phases might be long or short, depending on the budget, the shoot location, etc.

After a movie project completes its production phases, it moves into its final phases of marketing and release.

Below are the various project phases of development, production, and marketing. This will give you an overview on the steps required to move a project from its source idea to the completed movie you will release in theaters around the world.

Development

Until a project gets a Green Light for production, it is considered to be in development. Development means to prepare the project for production. A project in development has a cost-to-date of only its Source Cost (the price paid for the source idea), and any money paid to additional screenwriters. If you purchase an Original Screenplay, the Source Cost has been paid to the screenwriter.

Your projects in development must have a storyline, a genre, and starring role requirements. The screenplay must be written. The production budget and special effects budget must be determined, and the shoot location must be finalized. Then the talent must be hired. When these development preparations are complete, the movie is ready to go into production. It is ready for a Green Light.

Each of the source ideas in Hollywood Mogul are inherently at a different stage of development when you select them.

Development Phases For An Original Screenplay
Development, Budget Incomplete            This project needs a budget
Development, Hire Creatives               All creative talent must be hired
Green Light This Project                  Put this movie into production


Development Phases For A Novel Or Stage Play Or Sequel
Development, No Screenplay                Hire a screenwriter
Development, Budget Incomplete            This project needs a budget
Development, Hire Creatives               All creative talent must be hired
Green Light This Project                  Put this movie into production


Development Phases For My Own Idea
Development, No Starring Roles            Select starring role requirements
Development, No Supporting Roles          Select supporting role requirements
Development, No Genre                     Select a genre
Development, No Screenplay                Hire a screenwriter
Development, Budget Incomplete            This project needs a budget
Development, Hire Creatives               All creative talent must be hired
Green Light This Project                  Put this movie into production


Green Light A Project

When a project has completed development it is ready to move forward in its journey toward worldwide theatrical release. You Green Light a project from inside the Studio Project File (Chapter 7). When you Green Light a movie it is an announcement to the world that the movie is going to be released.

If any of the creatives you have hired for this project are currently working on another project, you will not be allowed to start production. The creative talent stays with a project until Post-Production is complete.

Production Phases

Production refers to the physical aspects of filming the movie. There are three phases of production: Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production.

Production cannot begin until pre-production is complete. Likewise, post-production can only follow production.

Pre-Production

Pre-Production begins with building the movie sets. The set is where the action takes place. Big-budget movies have big-budget sets. These take longer to build than simpler sets. So your pre-production time will vary depending on your production budget. Two months is a minimum amount of time for pre-production. Some science fiction stories, with huge budgets, may require seven or eight months of pre-production as futuristic sets are built.

Also during pre-production, the actors are learning their lines, the camera shots are being finalized by the director. The producer is making sure everything is where it's supposed to be when it is needed.

Production

Production refers to the actual filming of the movie (the shoot). This can take as little as one months and up to a year or more with really large budgets or animation movies. It is a grueling, intensive period of time. Many problems can arise during production. You will be informed by your assistant of these production problems, and you may have to make a decison to increase the budget to fix the problem, or simply kill the project and lose all the money the studio has invested to date.

Finally production will end ("It's a wrap"). The set will be struck (dismantled). Then the director will be locked in a room with an editor and the raw film will be edited (cut) into the movie you will release in the theaters.

Post-Production

The final stage of production is putting it all together. The film is cut, the music score added, the colors timed (timing means the colors are matched, so that the grass in scene 10 —shot in Wisconsin— is the same shade of green as the grass in scene 134 —shot in Kentucky). Then the special effects are processed in. When everything comes together, production is complete ("It's in the can!").

Marketing And Release

When the project completes production, all that is left to do is advertise it. To advertise a movie, you budget the amount of money to be spent advertising the movie on TV, radio, and in the various print media (newspapers, magazines, etc). You will also have to decide how many theaters to release the movie in. The maximum number of theaters you can release your movie in is determined in part by the size of the budget and the number of movie stars. Theater owners are in the candy business, essentially. They want to sell popcorn and candy, so they're only interested in putting the biggest movies into the most theaters, otherwise they want the option of putting alot of movies in a smaller number of theaters.

Each theater needs a print of the movie. Each print costs $5,000. If you open your movie in two thousand theaters your Print Cost will be $10,000,000. That sounds like a lot of money and that's because it is a lot of money.

When you have completed production, when you have budgeted your advertising, when you have selected the number of theaters for release and a release date, the movie is ready to be released around the world and in a theater near you (see "The World Premiere", below)

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Section 7
The Project File


Most of the work you do in Hollywood Mogul will be done in the Studio Project File. The project file gives you access to every aspect of the project you are developing into a movie. From here you will hire screenwriters and movie stars. From here you will budget the movie, decide on special effects, and choose a location where filming will take place. From here all the marketing information will be decided and budgeted. From here you will turn ideas into motion pictures released around the world.

There is a studio project file for each project slotted on the Project List. To open the studio project file for any given project, select the the project you want, and then select Open Selected Project File.

It's Not As Bad As It Looks

Here in the Studio Project File you can access every facet of the project you are developing. Do not be overwhelmed by the amount of information in the Studio Project File. It will all become intuitive as you play the game and come to understand the phases of movie-making. If you get stuck, press Hint on the screen Menu Bar, and it will tell you exactly what you need to do to move the project forward in development.

These are the sections of the project file.

Motion Picture Division

At the very top of your office is displayed "Motion Picture", as this is Game One of The Hollywood Mogul Game SeriesTM, it will always display, but later, as more games are added, "Television Production" will be displayed when you are in that area of your studio's projects, etc.

Title

The next line displayed is the title of the project. If you wish to change the title, click on the text displayed and you can enter the new title.

Storyline

Below the title is the storyline. This tells you what the story is about. You cannot change the storyline.

Status

The status tells you this project's current phase. For example, if the status reads: No Production Budget, this project cannot move forward until you budget the production (which is explained below). If the status says "Writing Begins Next Month" then you've just hired a screenwriter, and nothing more can be done on this project until the new screenplay is complete (you'll received a memo when it is).

The Cost-To-Date

This is the studio's cost-to-date for this project. If you have purchased a screenplay, novel, or stage play, the price you paid (the Source Cost) will be reflected here. As development progresses, the cost-to-date will reflect money spent for pre-production, production, post-production, and any Increase-In-Costs that occur as a result of production problems. Select this if you want to stop or delete a project from your Project List.

Stopping A Project

If you do not want to continue developing a project, click the Cost-To-Date text. If you have not yet given a project a Green Light then you have an opportunity to recoup some of the money you've spent by putting the project into turnaround. If production has already begun, all you can do is kill the project, and all the money the studio has invested is lost.

Put This Project Into Turnaround

If you put a project into turnaround, you offer it up for sale to the highest bidder among the other movie studios in town. Sometimes you will be offered more than your cost-to-date. Often you will not. If you select this option, you must accept the price you are offered. This project is then removed from the studio's projects, and you will be returned to the Project List.

Kill This Project

If you kill a project, you forfeit your cost-to-date with no hope to recover it. If you have a trouble-prone production it may be prudent to kill the project. This is a last resort and should be used very rarely, if ever.

Exit

If you decide you want to continue development or production on this project, select Exit and you will return to the studio project file.

The rest of the information in the project file is divided into two columns and displayed on the left and right side of the screen.

The Development Department

Talent/Casting

The creative talent, the people you will hire to produce and direct your movie, and the actors and actresses you will cast in the required roles are displayed on the left side of the screen. Before you hire these people, "Not Hired Yet" will display, after they are hired, their names and salaries will display.

Also displayed here is the number of extras, their cost to the production, as well as the cost of the perks required to hire the creative talent (this is explained later in Hiring Creative Talent, below).

At the very bottom of the left section is the Above-The-Line Cost. This is the cost to the studio to hire all of the creative talent, as well as the cost of the screenplay and any screenwriters hired to improve the script.

The Production Department

On the right side of the screen, at the top, is the production department. The production department is where the physical costs of the movie are budgeted. The physical costs of a movie include the cost of set construction, special effects, location expenses, etc.

Increase-In-Costs

You may access the detailed breakdown of a project's Increase-In-Costs by selecting that line of text here in the Project File display, or you may also access it from within the Production Department (See, Production Department, below).

Negative Cost

Release Department

This is a sub-group of the Marketing Department. Here you may set the Release Date (the date the movie will be first shown in theaters) as well as order overtime (once production has begun). You may also change the rating of your movie and Test Screen the movie once it is complete. You may access the Release Department by selecting "RELEASE" in the Project File.

Prints & Advertising

This is also a sub-group of the Marketing Department. Prints & Advertising (or P&A, as it is more commonly known) refers to the cost of the movie prints (a print of the movie is shown in each theater) and the cost of advertising in the three media markets (TV, print, and radio). In the P&A section of the Marketing Department you will select the number of theaters to release your movie in, and you will budget the amount of money to be spent advertising your movie on television, radio, and in the various print media (newspapers, magazines, etc). You may access this department by selecting the text "PRINTS & ADVERTISING" in the Project File.

Ancillaries

The Ancillary Department is also a sub-group of the Marketing Department. Ancillaries deals with the merchandising and licensing of the movie name in various products.

Total Project Cost

This is the sum total of all costs involved in developing, producing, and marketing a motion picture.

Exit


Section 8
Development


You access the Development Department by click the mouse anywhere on the left side of the screen beginning with the text line "Genre:..." to the text line "Total Writer(s) Cost". A menu will appear, titled SCREENPLAY.

Development Changes

It is important that you understand that changes to the screenplay require a screenplay rewrite with these exceptions: You may change the cameo role requirements. You may change the extras. All other changes required a screenplay rewrite, which may take as much as 4 months depending on the type of rewrite you select.

Genre / Sub-Genre

You may change the genre by selecting it. For example, if the genre reads: Action Adventure, click the mouse on that line. A menu appears with a list of all the genres supported in the game, and all of the sub-genres supported in the game. If you do not want to make a change, select "Exit" at the top of the menu.

The genres of Hollywood Mogul are:

COMEDY

A comedy makes the audience laugh. Its storyline can be completely silly, which adds to the fun, or serious but presented in a funny way. It is a movie genre standard.

ROMANTIC COMEDY

What makes a romantic comedy, of course, is two people falling in love. The funny situations that keep them apart until they finally get together makes this genre work.

ACTION ADVENTURE

Car chases, explosions, and spectacular stunts are the bread and butter of action adventure. Far away lands, exotic locales, and devious bad guys punctuate the action adventure genre. It is a movie genre standard.

SUSPENSE THRILLER

This genre can include spies and secret agents, or a regular person in the wrong place at the wrong time, drawn into a world of intrigue and danger. The object here is to keep the audience at the edge of their seat.

DRAMA

Serious, emotional stories about moments in life that we can all relate to. Moments that we mark our lives against.

MYSTERY

Mysteries almost always open with someone getting murdered. Then the audience, as well as the main character in the story, must search for clues that will unravel the mystery.

SCIENCE FICTION

This genre takes place in worlds that do not really exist. Worlds in outer space. Worlds in the darkness within the earth. Fantastic stories with fantastic creatures in fantastic locales never before seen.

HORROR

Frightening, scary, nail-biting stories that jump out at you, and never let you relax.

LOVE STORY

Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy gets girl. Or... Girl meets boy. Girl loses boy. Girl gets boy.

TRADITIONAL ANIMATION

Stories told with drawings, hand painted cels, rather than live actors. Often the characters are not human, but animals brought to life and given human characteristics.

COMPUTER ANIMATION

Stories told with images created on a computer and often quite elaborate and realistic as a result, rather than live actors. Often the characters are not human, but animals brought to life and given human characteristics

LIVE ACTION / ANIMATION

A combination of live actors and traditional or computer animation.

WESTERN

Stories set in the American West in the mid- to late 1800s. Stories about sheriffs cleaning up corrupt towns, cattle rustlers, Indians, homesteaders, Army forts, trading posts, and saloons. Always saloons.

HISTORICAL EPIC

Sweeping sagas that capture a time in history. Also called a period piece because the story is set in a certain period in human history, requiring period costumes, period sets, etc.

MUSICAL

Type of story in which much or most of the plot is explained through songs sung by the cast members.

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Section 9
Production


Shoot Location

A movie is filmed on a stage, known as a movie set, or more simply just the set. The set is a controlled environment. Sometimes it is easier to film a movie in an extremely controlled environment known as a Sound Stage. On a sound stage, sets are built to look like the locations called for in the screenplay. The advantages of a sound stage include perfect weather conditions, and a close proximity to the movie studio. On the other hand, sometimes filming on location can enhance the backdrop of a movie. Location shooting offers the gritty realism of a big city, or the sweeping panorama of the wide open country.

A shoot location is required for both EXT (exterior, or outside) scenes, and INT (interior, or inside) scenes.

If you want to shoot on the lot, select a Sound Stage and a backlot "street". If you decide you want to shoot on location, select Choose City. You will select the type of terrain, the continent, and also the exact city or location you want to shoot at.

Minimum Budgets

Shooting in a particular location may create a minimum budget that is greater than you want to spend, despite the realism it brings to the movie. Shooting on a snow-capped mountains in the Himalayas may result in a minimum budget of $30 to $60 Million dollars, depending on the complexity of the set construction required.

Production Budget Hints

The production budget refers to the physical cost of filming the movie. The physical cost includes the cost of wood and paint to build the sets and the cost of dressing the sets. A set is dressed, meaning furniture is added, draperies hung, etc. The production budget includes the cost of hiring the more than 100 members of the film crew who will assist the director. It includes the food they eat. It includes the cars and trucks used to move this here and that there. Every cost not associated with Above-The-Line, and not used to pay for special effects is a Production Budget cost.

Today the average Hollywood movie costs $40 Million Dollars. That's a lot of money. Spend it wisely. There are some rules of thumb:

Don't spend a lot of money on something that won't make money. A Historical Epic (or period piece) will require a big budget to pay for the period sets and costumes (the historical period in which the story is set requires buildings and costumes to make it believable). If you low-ball the budget, you will suffer at the box office. The movie-going public does not like to see Roman soldiers in tennis shoes. Pay for their sandals to be made. And it gets expensive. Don't make too many historical epics until the studio is making a lot of money.

Don't budget $80,000,000 for a love story, you'll lose your shirt. Love stories, by and large do not make a lot of money. Sometimes they do. But most times they don't. Budget a love story small, $10 to $20 Million Dollars.

By the same token, don't make a $5,000,000 action adventure. It will be awful. The movie-going public demands a certain quality. Five million dollars will not buy a lot of quality action. It might do nicely for a small (a very small) drama.

You can make a romantic comedy or a comedy for $5 to $30 Million dollars. If you spend $50 Million on a comedy you're asking for trouble. It might make $500,000,000 at the box office, but probably not.

Please don't make an $5 Million Dollar Science Fiction movie and expect to do well at the box office. You're going to need to put some money on the screen. Big action adventure and science fiction take cash. You probably don't want to spend less than $25,000,000. If you're going to spend $80,000,000 on a production budget, this is the genre to do it in. Don't make a lot of big-budget movies too soon. You may lose your shirt. And your studio.

Remember, this is the budget for the physical production. The money that you'll be paying the actors and the director and the producer will be added on top of this.

Don't let your Negative Cost (the Above-The-Line plus the Below-The-Line) get away from you. Sometimes you have to spend a lot of money. But pick the right project for your big budgets. Get the right script. The right idea.

Special Effects

Many films can get by on just Basic Opticals. Basic Opticals means using a variety of film lenses and some low-level camera tricks. If you need special effects, then you have to pay for them. And they are not cheap. Some rules of thumb apply:

If you're doing a science fiction movie you better budget $5 to $20 million just for special effects. You cannot film a grapefruit and expect people to believe it's the moon. You are going to need a miniature moon built. Same with action adventure. Rigging a dozen cars to explode costs money, likewise, blowing up a warehouse or two gets expensive. So do the stunt people who risk their lives for the thrills and chills delivered to the movie-going public.

If you spend too much on special effects you're wasting your money, the public will think it's overkill. If you spend too little the public will tell you at the box office. There is no right amount. You budget what you think is necessary to get the job done.

There are three levels of special effects, Industry Standard FX, which is what everyone has available to them. State-Of-The-Art FX, which is a cut above, and Groundbreaking FX which haven't been invented yet. Groundbreaking effects can add millions to your box office gross, but they may be very costly in terms of money and time (and more time is really just more money).

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Section 10
Release Date


The Release Date is the date a movie is released in theaters around the world. When you change a movie's Production Budget or Special Effects budget, Hollywood Mogul automatically sets your earliest release date.

Hollywood Mogul looks at the Below-The-Line cost, the set contstruction type, and the Shoot Locations to determine a production schedule. The production schedule consists of Pre-Production (building the sets, rehearsing the scenes, etc), Production (the actual filming of the movie), and Post-Production (adding the special effects, editing the movie, adding the musical score, etc).

Each month has a particular holiday or characteristic season associated with it. May has Memorial Day, a big month for opening movies. August has the End Of Summer, considered to be the last chance for summer box office magic. 
January     ML King Birthday    Very Good 
February    Valentine's Day     Very Good for Love Stories 
March       Spring Break        Good 
April       Easter              Good 
May         Memorial Day        Excellent (and very competitive) 
June        Start Of Summer     Excellent (and very competitive) 
July        4th Of July         Excellent (and very competitive) 
August      End Of Summer       Very Good (and very competitive) 
September   Labor Day           Good 
October     Halloween           Very Good for Horror 
November    Thanksgiving        Very Good (and very competitive) 
December    Christmas           Excellent (and very competitive)
The month a movie is released may greatly effect the box office. You do not want to open a $60,000,000 action adventure in February. February is not a big movie-going month. Hold your big releases for May, June, July, November, and December.

Select the month and year you want your movie to be released. You cannot select a Release Date earlier than the date listed as your Earliest Release Date.

A CANCELED RELEASE DATE MEMO

Once a Release Date has been set automatically, or changed by you, you may get a memo telling you that the Release Date has been canceled. This happens because the Earliest Release Date is based on the current month. If you go on to the next game month (Call It A Day), but have not given a specific project a Green Light, then the Earliest Release Date becomes void.

Test Screening

After a movie has completed post-production, you may authorize a test screening. To test a movie means to screen it (show it) to an audience. After the screening, the audience fills out a questionnaire about various aspects of the film. These results are compiled and displayed for you.

The results of a test screening may cause you to take a long look at the money you've budgeted for marketing. If the test results are poor ("lousy top-two, babe"), you may have a bomb on your hands. A bomb is a movie that makes very little money at the box office (dies). You may want to cut that loss, by budgeting less for marketing.

Unfortunately a movie that tests well doesn't necessarily do well at the box office. However, a movie that tests poorly doesn't necessarily do poorly at the box office.

You may authorize a re-edit of the film. Hollywood Mogul will attempt to improve the movie based on the last test score results. Sometimes the scores improve. Sometimes they do not. You may test screen a movie as many as 10 times.

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Section 11
Hiring Talent


The term talent is used to refer to all Above-The-Line talent required to move a project from its source idea to the finished product: a motion picture released in theaters all over the world.

You may discover "new" talent during the game, and these people may rise to the top of the business as you wield the power of your studio.

A Note On Names

All of the names in Hollywood Mogul are fictitious. The names of real Hollywood movie people do not come supplied with the game. However, if you want to customize the names of the creatives in Hollywood Mogul , a utility program called HMCHANGE has been provided for you. Also, check the Hollywood Mogul website Message Board for moguls around the world who may have already done the work for you!

In Hollywood Mogul, the idea is to match the talent to the movie you are making. Some movies require director's with vision, others don't require as much vision from the director or producer. Sometimes an actor's sex appeal is required more than their talent rating. These are the nuances of Hollywood Mogul.

All of the talent in Hollywood Mogul have a talent rating, a value from 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest. This is rating is represented by asterisks ( * ) beside their name.

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Section 12
Call It A Day


After you have completed your work for the month, when you have hired everyone you need to hire, and budgeted everything that needs budgeting; when you have purchased all the source material you want; you can go on to the next game-turn, the next month. To do that, select Call It A Day from the Studio Menu.

Studio Overhead Expense

At the beginning of each new month, the studio's monthly expense is deducted from your cash account (which is displayed at the very top of the screen). This pays for the lights, and air conditioning, desk, chairs, pens and pencils, etc. If you do not have rental revenue coming in from movies being released, this overhead expense will eat you alive.

Update Memos

You will receive memos from the appropriate studio departments telling you that movies have completed production, or are starting pre-production, or are about to be released, etc. You should read the memos carefully, you may have to act on something. The memo will always list the title of the movie project it concerns. For instance, if a screenwriter has finished the new screenplay draft, you'll get a memo telling you what all the studio executives think about it. Now you can go into the Studio Project File and budget the movie, hire the creatives, or have the script rewritten again.

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Section 13
Releasing A Movie


The movie that you have nursed from a source idea, through development, through production, and into marketing will eventually see the light of day. That day is the Release Date.

In Hollywood Mogul, all movies are released at the end of the month, regardless of whether or not in reality they would be released at the beginning of the month, or in the middle of the month.

For instance, a movie being released in July (for Fourth Of July) would, in real life, be released a few days before the Fourth Of July weekend. In Hollywood Mogul, because the game runs on month-turns, that movie will not actually be released until you have selected Call It A Day and are ready to move on to the next month.

You will receive all of the benefits of that release date, however. Hollywood Mogul knows what you intended, but holds all the releases until the end of the month-turn.

The World Premiere

Your assistant will remind you when it is time for you to attend a World Premiere. You will be delivered to the Bijou Theater in Westwood, CA (where all great movie premieres take place because it is adjacent to UCLA). A menu will display detailing the P & A (both domestic and Foreign) for this movie. The foreign P & A is handled internally by Hollywood Mogul.

Before you go inside the theater, you have the opportunity to choose the Font that will be used for your movie's opening credits. After that, you choose the opening theme music for your movie.

Then you are inside the theater, settled back in your seat. The studio name appears on the screen and the studio's fanfare plays. The opening credits begin and so does the musical score (the music is selected at random based on the genre of the movie).

When the credits are complete, it is time to watch the money roll in from around the world.

Winning The Game

When you have released 100 movies, the game is over. Your final score is calculated by adding together the Domestic Box Office Gross of each movie you released. This is then compared to the scores in the Hall Of Fame.

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Section 14
HMChange


Much of Hollywood Mogul can be customized using the utility application HMchange. To make changes to the game data files, click
File | Customize Using HMChange.

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Section 15
Inside Hollywood Mogul


The box office result for a movie is effected by every decision you make regarding a project's development, production, and marketing.

The Source Idea for a movie may or may not be a good idea for a movie. The screenplay rating greatly effects the box office. The people you've hired to make the movie, the budget you've set, special effects used or not used, the amount of advertising, the number of theaters the movie is released in. All these things effect the box office results.

And to keep things fresh, every Hollywood Mogul game is different. If you buy the same Screenplay in two different games, hire the same people, use the same budgets, the box office results will be different. And this is why...

The Source Idea

Each Source Idea (Original Screenplay, Novel, Stage Play, Your Own Idea, or Sequel) has an internal rating which tells Hollywood Mogul whether or not the idea is a Good Movie Idea. This rating is determined randomly each time you play the game. You cannot change this rating, nor is it possible to know the rating. In real life, some ideas are just bad movie ideas (I'm sure you've been to a few). This is the way that Hollywood Mogul reflects this fact of life. So a screenplay you purchase in one game may be highly rated as a Good Movie Idea, and in another game, not so highly rated.

The Screenplay

The screenplay rating is very important. Have the script rewritten. The box office results in Hollywood Mogul, as in the real world, are greatly effected by the caliber of the screenplay. It is the foundation of the movie.

Production Budgets

Regarding specific dollar amounts for a production budget, Hollywood Mogul looks at them in relation to the genre. This does not mean that you can't make a $30,000,000 drama, and an $8,000,000 drama. Hollywood Mogul just uses this as a guideline.

Hollywood Mogul doesn't care how big or small your budget is as long as you have the right budget for the right story. You can make a small action adventure or science fiction movie if you do it right! With few exceptions most genres can be made with a variety of budgets. Big and small. Experiment. That's what a Hollywood mogul would do.

Special Effects Budgets

Many films can get by on just Basic Opticals. If a movie requires stunts, or things that don't exist (like spaceships), then you have to spend some money on special effects. The amount of money budgeted for special effects varies. Hollywood Mogul checks to make sure you've spent enough to get the job done, based on the genre and the production budget.

P & A Budgets

Advertising a movie is very important. There is, however, a saturation point. The saturation point is reached when 100% of the population is aware of your movie. Then it's just a matter of how many of them come to see the movie.

Television advertising is very important. Print advertising is also important. Radio advertising is the least important of the three.

The Number Of Theaters

The box office is greatly effected by the number of theaters showing your movie around the country (the foreign theater assignments are handled internally by Hollywood Mogul).

If you have spent a lot of money on a movie, you do not want to release it in 500 theaters. You will not have enough of a chance to recover your costs. On the other hand, a small movie won't play well in 2000 theaters without Movie Star Power (the caliber of the movie stars) to get people into the theaters. The average movie is released in 2000 theaters, give or take. Experiment.

The Release Date

The time of year that a movie is released can greatly effect the box office results. Be careful when you release a movie. Sometimes the competition can kill you. If the Movie Star Power is big enough, you may overcome the competition, however.

The Box Office Results

While you are outside the theater Hollywood Mogul is calculating the box office results for the movie. Hollywood Mogul runs every decision you've made through a probability algorithm. In English, it goes something like this...

Multiply the Source Idea rating times the probability that the creative people performed up to expectations this time out. What's the production budget? Hmm...? and the genre? Hmm...? All right. Does the production budget cover the genre? Are special effects needed? What's the release date? Hmm...? Any advertising? How much? Where? Why? Hmm...? Was it released in enough theaters? Too many? Too few? Shot on a sound stage? On location? Hmm...? Anything go wrong? Any production overruns? Is that bad or good this time? Hmm...? All right, now add everything together...

And there you have it: The Domestic Box Office Gross.

The Foreign Box Office Gross is a percentage of the domestic gross based on various factors and probabilities. It can exceed the domestic gross.

Add to this the ancillary markets (which are all handled in a probability algorithm based on genre, budget, release date, etc) and you have your total revenue received for each movie you make.

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Section 16
Adding Graphics


Adding Assistant .BMP Images

Assistant images are kept in the sub-directory \File_Ast beneath your main game directory (the default directory is C:\HollywoodMogul\File_Ast). Because the assistant image appears with text information, there is a limit to the height and width of the image that can be displayed.

At 640x480 screen resolution, Hollywood Mogul will only display an assistant image 150 pixels wide by 300 pixels in height. The image will not be effected, it will be cropped internally if it exceeds these limits.

At 800x600 screen resolution, Hollywood Mogul will only display an assistant image 300 pixels wide by 400 pixels in height. The image will not be effected, it will be cropped internally if it exceeds these limits.

Adding Talent Images

ALL IMAGES MUST RESIDE IN THE File_Tal game subdirectory in order for Hollywood Mogul to find them.

If you wish to add images to the talent records, you can do so in the HMCHANGE utility application. Hollywood Mogul has created a sub-directory for you to organize these images in: \File_Tal but you may search your entire computer for images if you wish. In the event that you move or delete the image after attaching it to a talent record, Hollywood Mogul will inform you when you are playing the game, should you try to display the image (images can be displayed while hiring creative talent and negotiating with the agent and also in an undocumented section of the game you will most likely discover...).

At 640x480 screen resolution, Hollywood Mogul will only display a talent image 550 pixels wide by 500 pixels in height. The image will not be effected, it will be cropped internally if it exceeds these limits.

At 800x600 screen resolution, Hollywood Mogul will only display a talent image 600 pixels wide by 390 pixels in height. The image will not be effected, it will be cropped internally if it exceeds these limits.

Adding Your Own Studio Gate Or Office Image

If you are creative enough to create your own studio gate, or if you find an image you like better than the office image supplied with the game, feel free to use it.

All of the main images for Hollywood Mogul are duplicated in two different sizes and organized in sub-directories \File_640 for 640x480 screen resolution, and \File_800 for 800x600 screen resolution.

If you wish to add your own studio gate image, you must save it as MP_LEV16.BMP or MP_LEV18.BMP (depending on the screen size) in the correct sub-directory based on its screen resolution.

If you wish to add your own office image, you must save it as MP_LEV26.BMP or MP_LEV28.BMP (depending on the screen size) in the correct sub-directory based on its screen resolution.

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I hope you have a good time playing Hollywood Mogul. And good luck at the box office!

Carey DeVuono
Plano, Texas
June, 2002
www.hollywood-mogul.com



The office images (mp_lev26.bmp and mp_lev28.bmp) were created using an image from the RenderZone with permission of SMED International.
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