To Our Readers:

Hollywood is America’s greatest collective fantasy, the land of endless plenty, a place of limitless imagination, a state of grace. Hollywood is also a cutthroat island (with apologies to Renny Harlin), a den of overpowered egos, a theocracy governed by an ever-changing cast of suits who define themselves by the size of their private jets. Hard to believe these two worlds are reconciled every day to produce movies that can, sometimes, be labeled as art as well as entertainment. But as we prepare to leave behind a century--and a millennium--the power of the movie as art is undeniable.

Hollywood’s accomplishments of the last 100 years are monumental--check out our abridged list of its great innovations. Or ponder the power of the mogul who runs his studio like a family business, or the king of research, labeled as one of the 100 most powerful people in the biz. Listen to the voices of three veterans--Shane Black, Ray Stark and Peter Bogdanovich--who have gloried in success, lived through the Hollywood meat grinder and are still standing. Enjoy the satire of Joe Queenan, who has a positively brilliant solution for any financial woes that beset the company town. Take a walk into the ditigal future, a place where no special effect is out of reach, where actors just might be obsolete and where anyone with a few thousand bucks can make a movie and send it streaming over the Internet.

On this Sunday morning, the history of Hollywood is--literally--in your hand. Thanks to the technological wonders of the present, the future may be there as well.