Erich Schwartzel loves movies. He spent much of his childhood in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, watching every film he could get his hands on. He was the kid who followed the Academy Awards obsessively and made his family throw Oscar parties every year.
Now 35 and a Wall Street Journal entertainment reporter, Schwartzel hasn't lost any of his passion for popular culture. However, moving to Los Angeles and covering the business of Hollywood has made him start "thinking about these movies as products" that studios are packaging and selling to audiences. Covering Hollywood differently has become his bread and butter.
One of his earliest observations was the increasing presence of Chinese actors and financiers in mainstream entertainment. That led to years of research, world travel and interviews that have culminated in his new book, "Red Carpet: Hollywood, China and the Global Battle for Cultural Supremacy" (Penguin Press, $28).
