{"product_id":"below-the-stars-9781477323076","title":"Below the Stars","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn examination of the critical influence of working actors and actors' labor unions on industrial structures and practices in Hollywood, including film, television, and streaming.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGiven the recent stories surrounding Hollywood and its unions, [Fortmueller's] look at the place occupied by working actors and extras in the film industry could not be more timely. * The Film Stage *\u003cbr\u003e[A] thorough history of background actors and extras in the entertainment industry workforce, from the silent era to today...Fortmueller offers intriguing details and anecdotes uncovered in archival materials, and at times the book reads like an entertaining work of meta-cinema, full of scandal and intrigue. * Library Journal *\u003cbr\u003e[\u003ci\u003eBelow the Stars\u003c\/i\u003e] is a valuable read that untangles, with exceptional clarity, the convoluted histories of labour unions in various media landscapes and stages of technological developments, presenting a comprehensive picture of industrial forces from the unique vantage point of below-the-star actors. * Alphaville *\u003cbr\u003e[\u003ci\u003eBelow the Stars\u003c\/i\u003e demonstrates] how media studies scholars should theorize and teach labor organizing and media industry structures...Fortmueller’s archival research demonstrates a keen ability to find Hollywood workers often missing from other archival collections. But in her final chapter, interviews with working actors provide a striking look at the precarity of employment that defines our contemporary media moment. * Journal of Cinema and Media Studies *\u003cbr\u003e[\u003ci\u003eBelow the Stars\u003c\/i\u003e] provides us with multiple previously obscured union histories. It also drives home our need to re-envision the ideological constructs we sometimes cling to in our field: the conflation of actor and star and the belief in the impermeable boundaries between media. In short, this book fills several gaps in the field and is a necessary addition to any course on the US media industries, stardom, performance, and\/or US television history. * Media Industries *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eList of Abbreviations\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e Introduction\u003cbr\u003e Chapter 1. Hollywood Freelance: How Actors and Extras Shaped the Film Industry\u003cbr\u003e Chapter 2. Actors and the Making of Television’s First Golden Age\u003cbr\u003e Chapter 3. Reuse and Replace? Actors, Reruns, and the Cable Era\u003cbr\u003e Chapter 4. New Media, Old Labor Conflicts: Voice Actors and Digital Professionalization\u003cbr\u003e Conclusion\u003cbr\u003e Postscript. Actors and COVID-19: What the Pandemic Teaches Us about Film and Television Labor\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e Selected Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index","brand":"University of Texas Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49408959185239,"sku":"9781477323076","price":31.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781477323076.jpg?v=1730504864","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/below-the-stars-9781477323076","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}