We ReallyReallyReally NEED a Think Tank For Cinema, Story, & FilmBiz Innovation

There's so much to do, so little time, and no one organizing it.

Think, think, think… and then… build, Build, BUILD!

Back during the last World Financial Crisis, somewhere around 2008 or so, Eugene Hernandez and others pulled together the NYC Film Community. I think we all hoped it would lead to solutions and innovations, but it turned out everyone just needed to vent. I am sure that was not the intent, but that was what happened unfortunately. People always have a lot they want to say (and Substack wasn’t invented yet!) and rarely are given a forum to do so.

Anyway, at that meeting a very smart person named Vanessa Hope mentioned how many other industries & enterprises have think tank & policy wonk bureaus bringing together academia, business, government, and the participants to advance strategy and execution, but the film business was lacking in this department. We were lacking then, and we still are today.

I took that idea and ran with it, but alas, did not get very far. It stalled each time for the same reason. The reason is one of the simple truths of the film business and I will share that in my next post. I am hoping someone who really knows how to run with such a ball picks it up this time. Please.

The mission of such a venture — let’s call it the Film Think Tank Mission — would be to further expand the thinking, tools, appreciation, advocacy, and practices in the key subject areas of film industry both domestically and internationally for all stakeholders: audiences, creators, distributors, exhibitors, financiers, marketers, curators, educators, and many more.

Under the guidance of industry leaders and participants, fellows will research and later present papers/findings in the widest realm of film-related areas, producing work, both written, filmed, and live, in order to advance the discussion, thinking, and action. They might even get started by building a map of the film ecosystem!

Such a ThinkTank would be a resource to get facts and provide perspective. It would be a destination. It would be a producer and put on events. It could be hired to improve an entity’s existing program or build a new one. It would train and refine best practices. It would have deep subject mastery, and be available for all. It would advance the conversation. It would be looking to the future and would not be afraid to ask dangerous or upsetting questions.

There is no shortage of things we need to discuss. I post so regularly because I already have close to 200 MORE things to discuss. But here on HFF I am just sharing my opinion. What if someone also shared the facts? What if several of us from different perspectives were put together to tease out ideas and solutions? What if we always both showed how it came to be, and how it now could be different? How to build it and what it would cost? I don’t think the Think Tank wants to be a collection of Substacks, but that’s one way to get it started. It.Can.Be. Done.

You have to wonder why such a ThinkTank is lacking. It would be the perfect thing for a non-profit film entity to use to build an endowment around. Ditto an academic institution. Or maybe a wealthy benefactor wants to bequeath a small fortune for naming rights. The answer I fear is the same answer to why better movies aren’t made: the goal of the majority of participants in the film business is to keep their jobs. That’s very understandable, but it is holding us back. It requires a devotion to the build from the start.

It wouldn’t need to be done all at once. After all, Rome wasn’t burned in a day. There are multiple ways for an easy and fast start, that could produce quick results. It wouldn’t even cost that much and could be a regular money earner that generates a lot of press. Let me know if you want to discuss further, or maybe even fund it…!

PS. If you happen to be in LA, there is a FREE screening next month at USC of the film I helped with on one of our great & selfless leaders, Marina Zenovich’s Jerry Brown: The Disrupter. April 11th, 7PM. RSVP here before all the seats are gone! We still need to raise money for the archive licensing if you know of anyone that can help.