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I Felt A Bit Guilty This Week…

This is that post of links from the week that I do for the paying subscribers and those that have requested a free “paid” subscription due to their financial or educational situation. But I have to make up for something I did earlier in the week.

I put my new rules for producing behind the paywall, but never published the TLDR version. The whole story of them is still there (if you are a premium subscriber) — and well worth reading! —but I thought you should have them regardless of how you subscribe — and now you do. Sorry about that. Maybe we can set a time to discuss them in the future.

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Ted’s Ten Rules Of Producing, June 2024

1.          Make the best movie possible within the required constraints. Make it great.

2.          Make sure all participants are compensated fairly for their contribution and risk.

3.          Deliver the impact the film deserves. 

4.          Substantially originate, manage, and complete the project.

5.          Take responsibility for the creative, financial, and legal management as well as the delivery to the licensors.

6.          Halt the further deterioration of the producing craft and career.

7.          Improve the cinema ecosystem with all you do — and certainly don’t make it worse.

8.          Don’t let your success limit others’ opportunities.

9.          Facilitate innovation and experimentation.

The initial three I have had for awhile. The rest are now needed doue to the current crisis. And I should make a point, these are mine, but you are welcome to adopt them fully as yours, but beware, I don’t think they are the rules that actually get you the work.

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Stop The Anti-Competitive Bullies Please

This crack down on anti-competitive business is inspiring. It has to come to the FKATheFilmBusiness. We are in this mess because we have allowed power and capital to go unchecked. It is the small business owner and the consumers that suffer. It’s swell that the government is starting to represent the people sometime and crack down on the monopolists. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/22/technology/ticketmaster-live-nation-doj-antitrust.html

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“it’s the lack of post-theatrical window deals with broadcasters and streamers”

Variety wrote about why star-led prestige packages aren’t selling. Top stars winning awards and good reviews, but the films are sitting on the shelf. Let’s just say it. Everything is broken and the GSPs are to blame. Theatrical won’t work much beyond helping folks know to wait for that title when it comes available downstream — but there is a dam, damn it. Streaming is no longer about everything anytime. That was the old dream. Today’s nightmare is you get what they want you to watch and shut up about it. Let’s be very clear, they knew this was how it was going to be — or at least they should of. The “they” being the folks who run the studios, the GSPs, and the talent agencies — and those that help fund them. They let this happen. They let exhibition die. They let physical media die. They let ditributor output deals die. They let producer overhead deals die. They let it all die. And why? For a few dollars more. Trinkets.

If we want people to go back to the cinema we need to give them a regular cadence of