As Hollywood shifts towards the digital era, the role of the media franchise has become more prominent. This edited collection, from a range of international scholars, argues that the franchise is now an integral element of American media culture. As such, the collection explores the production, distribution and marketing of franchises as a historical form of media-making - analysing the complex industrial practice of managing franchises across interconnected online platforms. Examining how traditional media incumbents like studios and networks have responded to the rise of new entrants from the technology sector (such as Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google), the authors take a critical look at the way new and old industrial logics collide in an increasingly fragmented and consolidated mediascape.

Adaptations in the Franchise Era re-evaluates adaptation's place in a popular culture marked by the movement of content and audiences across more media borders than ever before. While adaptation has historically been understood as the transfer of stories from one medium to another-more often than not, from novel to film-the growing interconnectedness of media and media industries in the early twenty-first century raises new questions about the form and function of adaptation as both a product and a process. Where does adaptation fit within massive franchises that span pages, stages, screens, and theme parks? Rising scholar Kyle Meikle illuminates adaptation's enduring and essential role in the rise of franchises in the 2000s and 2010s. During that decade-and-a-half, adaptations set the foundation for multiplexed, multiplied film series, piloted streaming television's forays into original programming, found their way into audiences' hands in apps and video games, and went live in theatrical experiences on Broadway and beyond. The proliferation of adaptations was matched only by a proliferation of adaptation, as fans remixed and remade their favourite franchises online and off-. This volume considers how producers and consumers defined adaptations-and how adaptations defined themselves-through the endless intertextual play of the franchise era.

This is a directory of companies that grant franchises with detailed information for each listed franchise.

This is a directory of companies that grant franchises with detailed information for each listed franchise.

When the first Fast & Furious film was released in June 2001, few predicted that it would be a box office hit, let alone the launchpad for a multi-billion-dollar franchise. A mid-budget crime movie set around L.A.'s underground car-racing scene, featuring a cast of relative unknowns, the film became one of the surprise hits of that summer, earning more than 5 times its budget in worldwide ticket sales. 2 decades and 9 films later, Fast & Furious today ranks among the 10 highest-grossing movie franchises of all time, with a box office total of $6.6 billion and has also given rise to an animated TV show and theme park ride. Full-Throttle Franchise is the first book to offer an in-depth analysis of the Fast & Furious, bringing together a range of scholars to explore not only the style and themes of the franchise, but also its broader cultural impact and legacy. The collected essays establish the franchise's importance in cinematic and ideological terms, linking their discussions to wider issues of genre, representation, adaptation, and industry. Topics range from stardom and performance, focusing on key actors Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson, to the way in which Fast & Furious intersects with dominant ideas of racial, gender, and sexual identity. Aimed at both scholars and fans, Full-Throttle Franchise seeks to uncover just what has made Fast & Furious so enduringly popular, mapping its outrageous set pieces, ever-expanding universe, and growing cast of global megastars in terms of wider cultural and industrial forces.

Who was the best baseball team of all time? This timeless question can most effectively be answered through comprehensive analysis of baseball statistics. Over the course of a season, winning teams tend to score more runs while allowing fewer than their opponents. The greater the difference in runs per game, the more a team can be expected to win. Comparing this data for the top five percent of Major League nines from 1901 through 2014, this book argues that runs above league average is the best statistic for ranking teams. The author sorts 220 teams by era, franchise and skills--hitting, fielding, baserunning, pitching--evaluates their strengths and weaknesses and assigns numerical values to each player's skills to demonstrate how they contributed to team performance.

A comprehensive and accessible companion to a proven business model, this book shows how to franchise an existing business, supported by case studies, data, and research reports on the franchise industry. For small to medium sized businesses, franchising can lead to successful and profitable growth, and plays an important role within the US economy. Utilizing a proprietary dataset with the most up-to-date statistics regarding a range of franchising trends, this analytical guide is based on management research frameworks that will lead to better understanding of a range of franchising strategies. Issues covered include: The franchising business model, including its history, economic impact, and regulations Critical factors that significantly influence franchising success, enabling a comprehensive feasibility analysis of franchising potential or existing business ideas Implementation components of franchising strategies, such as different franchise structures, regional development plans, and future trends With its clear focus and practical orientation, this book will be a valuable resource for entrepreneurs, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students, interested in acquiring the knowledge, skills, and abilities to succeed in franchising.

Fans and the billion-dollar franchises in which they participate have together become powerful agents within popular culture. These franchises have launched avenues for fans to expand and influence the stories that they tell. This book examines those fan-driven narratives as "wilderness texts," in which fans use their platforms to create for themselves while also communicating their visions to the franchises, thus spurring innovation. The essays in this collection look at how fans intervene in the production of mass media. Scholars analyze the negotiations between fan desires for both novelty and familiarity that franchises must maintain in order to achieve critical and commercial success. Applying varying theoretical approaches to discussions of fan responses to franchises, including Star Wars, Marvel, Godzilla, Firefly, The Terminator, Star Trek, DC, and The Muppets, these essays provide insight into the ever-changing relationships between fandom and transmedia storytelling.

The book highlights how creative entrepreneurs saved the Hollywood studios in the 1970's by making the calculated blockbuster, consisting of key replicable markers of success, Hollywood's preeminent business model. Scholars of film studies, screenwriting, and popular culture will find this book of particular interest.