Something to write about

I promise I am not a pessimist. I'm a realist. I didn't mean for this blog to get so snarky and sad, and all of us in LA are a wee bit pissier in the wintertime. I disappeared amidst the studio deadline for our movie and the production of my own little project (updates to come, after the polish that is Color Correction). I meant to triumphantly return to this blog with something a bit more upbeat, but then I came across this angsty piece from a Development Exec Blogger. Despite my vastly improved mood as spring blooms, what he (she?) has to say continues to ring true.

I’m pretty sure the term high concept was hatched years ago by studio execs that were completely stoned out of their head and didn’t have the attention span to read a whole paragraph, so they called their preference to only read one-liners the “high concept.” ... And that my friends, is how good weed and parents who would rather load their own kids up with drugs because they are too proud to call them dumb, have ruined the movie business. Thanks, Mom!

I still love high-concept, though. A high-concept movie with character, that's the one-two punch that puts me in a coma, my friends.

Speaking of high-concept:

The truth revealed

Romantic Comedies really ARE acts of terrorism on humanity. Or they just ruin your love life by duping dreamers into trying to live out fantasy.

God I hate chick flicks.

Film and the Financial Crisis

We also talked about the inherent opportunity for smaller studios, free of the weight these mega corporations carry, to be nimble and react to the quality products that are sure to change hands as studios try and find buyers. A great example of this that Don gave was Summit Entertainment’s pickup of the “Twilight” book series from Paramount in turnaround.

From a satisfyingly specific interview with Don Starr (CEO of Grosvenor Park (Defiance, P.S. I Love You, Righteous Kill). I want to read Part 2. Thanks to The Screenwriters League for the tipoff.

More about that entitlement thing

“The sooner we have these conversations in the family and as a society,” said Dr. Manning, the economist, “the sooner we can focus on core values, and have a more realistic dialogue about the meaning of happiness and money.” The New York Times discusses it.

Business is a state of mind.

This article (10 silliest bits of advice to ignore when running a business) from a site targeting small business owners is just as relevant to people looking to work in Entertainment. The theory of success works in both worlds, after all, business is business.