Movie Money: Understanding Hollywood's (Creative) Accounting Practices, 2nd ed.
When columnist Art Buchwald sued Paramount for plagiarism and breach of contract over the 1988 filmComing to America, a by-product was the revelation that Hollywood's accounting practices are more than slightly deceptive. That movie grossed $350 million worldwide, but Paramount was able to claim that the movie failed to show a profit. Daniels and his coauthors shed light on the issue. One coauthor, David Leedy, was a CPA with an admitted grudge when he self-published a 1980 bookletMotion Picture Distribution--An Accountant's Perspective. He sold more than 5,000 copies out of a post office box in Hollywood. In 1990, he updated his guide, relying on revelations that came out of the Buchwald case, but a finished book never made it to market. This newest, more polished version is a result of a collaboration between Leedy and Daniels, an entertainment journalist, and Steven Sills, head of a Hollywood auditing firm. The authors target "entertainment professionals" as their intended audience, butMovie Moneywill fascinate anyone interested in show business.David Rouse--This text refers to an alternatePaperbackedition.