Category Archives: Posts

Action Ratner

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While all film exec and filmmakers have their passion projects– they are also on the lookout for a great business model as a steady stream of revenue.  Brett Ratner has always been at the forefront of finding lucrative business models to match with his interests.  Here he is taking aim at the reasonably priced action thriller.   Sam Raimi does it for horror, Peter Jackson for sci-fi and now Ratner for action.  Its smart – they become producers and factory owners for burgeoning talent.

Mattelwood and Transmedia

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Toys have long been thought of as the after effect of a franchise.  Its an additional revenue stream after TV and movies established the characters or its been a longstanding toy that is turned into a movie.  But in the new age of toy companies leveraging their assets in savvier ways – Mattel is revolutionizing their R+D process.  Instead of relying on Hollywood to drive the ship – Mattel is taking matters into their own hands.  They asked their developers for new toy ideas that can be turned into properties – took the top five and picked the best one.  By creating a new line of toys with its own back story and hiring  producer Neal Mortiz (Fast and the Furious), Mattel is taking control of their ‘transmedia’ options.  Transmedia being the ability to spinoff their product into every conceivable market. – play with, see, hear and eat.  Now they can control all parts of the process.  By exercising more control over the creative – Mattel will enjoy more equity and more financial responsibility for the product.

Thrilling Video

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Thrillist.com brings great content to a desirable demographic (young guys)but content companies can no longer be in one medium.  Here they are developing a visual style to their editorial content.  Video is not an option anymore – if you want to be relevant, you need to have at least the option of video.  The hardest part for places unaccustomed to making video is changing mediums and creating something cool.  The expectation for someone who has dominated one mode of communication is much higher.  Thrillist.com cannot afford to put out sub standard videos because they already have a great written content.  Excited to see how these guys manage that transition.

The Sound of Your Writing

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Easier than organizing a table read – this site reads your script…with readers appropriate to the role.  This is just another way to hustle.  A writer’s toughest task after finishing a script is to get someone to read it.  And as someone who has read my share of scripts over the year – it’s an uphill climb.  Might be easy to get your friend to read something but industry folks is another story.  The moral of this – be creative.

If you wrote something amazing do whatever you can to get it in front of someone – including making it an audio file.  That way someone might be able to consume it in the car or on a run.  Tee it up when you’re asking someone to do something for you.   Make it easy and make it fun.  Also, not a bad idea to hear your characters come to life… I am sure there will be some lines you want to change!

Oprah’s Second Act

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Every now and again an icon risks it all for a second act.  Howard Stern was one example.  He got paid when he switch to Sirius but lost some of his cultural significance.  It’s almost heresy to suggest the same thing might happen to Oprah but who knows.  She is ending her show in 2011 where she was the main talent and moving to overseer of a network.  OWN has strong distribution and lots of resources but a channel’s strength depends on the hits.  Even if Oprah takes a version of her show to OWN – will it have the same impact?  No one knows – buts its insanely fascinating to watch the process play out.  This article is a behind the scenes exploration of cable economics and politics.

Interactive Fashion Show

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Brilliant marketing by Ralph Lauren.  This is a fashion show online with commentary and the ability to purchase items as they walk towards you.  There is a big trend across all industries of cutting out the middle men or the ‘arbiters’ and going straight to the consumer.  Online shopping first made its mark because of the convenience factor but now retailers are realizing that creating an embedded experience for online shopping is important.

Content Factory

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Demand Media has found a system and are exploiting it.  The reason everyone continues to say that ‘Content is king’ is because there are so many thrones these days.  24/7 news cycle needs content and it needs it fast.  A well thought out article, written by someone with detail, scholarship and elegant prose – cannot sustain itself on a factory styled system.

Furthermore,  outlets refuse to pay for that quality.  The price of valuable journalism is going down and that is forcing writers into other jobs and while we still get our quantity we lose our quality.  I admire Demand Media for feeding the system and using its data analytics but I still buy magazines off the rack sometimes to support a solid 12 page feature on something interesting.  Good writing takes time – be patient.  Go read the Ebert article posted several days ago and you will agree.

Wearable Technology

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It started with the Nike shoes that linked up with IPODs and online training.  This is the infancy.  Of course, Apple is leading the charge.

We have been focused on increasing the power and capabilities of our technologies but now we will focus on how they integrate into our life and with our physical constitutions.  Glasses will soon have Terminator capabilities and most clothing will come with new ways to dock your technology.

As the cost of basic computing goes down – more and more wearable technologies will surface.