Alexander Ross

Dr. Alexander Ross started off his journey into filmmaking whilst an undergraduate at the University of Cambridge, by watching a lot more films at the Arts Cinema, than he ever attended lectures. On graduating, he was hired by Ismail Merchant (Merchant/Ivory productions) to work on one of their films as an assistant director. He then somehow ended up working for MGM studios in Los Angeles as a story analyst. Having spotted a number of winning scripts, he was soon hired by a Beverly Hills literary agency. Out of the rejection pile he discovered a script by a then undiscovered Quentin Tarantino, as well as Andrew Niccol (The Truman Show).

Followed several years of setting up his own management company, helping to finance a number of films, producing a romcom, founding www.writemovies.com and attending over 5000 pitch meetings at the studios, mainly with the heads of production. At a certain stage he decided he wanted to write about his experiences and so headed back to the UK to do a PhD.

His first book was the 2019 anthology on the film Grease entitled "Grease is the Word". "The Evolution of Hollywood's Calculated Blockbuster Films: Blockbusted" is the follow up. The book is the only contemporary book to delve deep into the filmmaking process of the studios by engaging directly with some of the leading executives who run Hollywood. The book investigates William Goldman’s “Nobody knows anything” contention which suggests that every film the studios make is a colossal gamble. Over eight years of research, which included dozens of interviews with leading filmmakers and leading film academics, revealed that not only do the studios know exactly what they are doing, but by using replicable key markers of success, they have radically reduced the risk in film investment and significantly increased their multi-platform revenue streams.

This book is intended not just for the fans of The Godfather, Jaws, Star Wars, E.T., Back to the Future etc. who want to find out what really made those films work, but it provides budding screenwriters, directors, producers, agents and studio executives with the keys to the kingdom. Specific, detailed instructions on how to make highly popular movies, repeatedly.