A short one this week, as I’ve been on deadline for another article running soon elsewhere. It is a plumb crazy time in the film business – not unlike the financial markets, or our daily news.
On the one hand, this moment in the film business reminds me of a quote I read from Ray McKinnon in Garden & Gun: “ I always said that if you couldn’t get a role in In the Heat of the Night in those days, if you were an Atlanta actor, you should strongly reconsider your career choice. I actually played a crack dealer one year and got killed, and came back as the town newspaper editor.” Point is, the gettin’ was good for actors back then (and now).
And in many ways, that’s the case for anyone making films (or other “content” today). There are so many platforms throwing money around that it’s hard not to catch some. I get calls weekly from brands and platforms moving into this space and wanting help in funding content. And for once, Hollywood and smaller platforms are actually looking for diverse subjects and creators as well (still not enough, but better than it has been). Equity is running scared from the market and looking at film and media – everyone I talk to seems to be raising a fund, even for hard to sell content. Filmmakers I know who have been pitching the same project for years are finally getting traction. Money is easier to find than usual.
On the other hand, while multiple platforms are launching (Quibi, Disney+ and Apple+, and even KinoNow, etc.), many others are failing (Topic) or consolidating (everyone), or will implode soon (Buzzfeed, Vice) because they can’t compete with these deeper pockets. And the big Streamers would rather buy library, safe-bet TV shows (Friends), or make “original content” than acquire anything new and indie. Peel the onion a bit, and only the biggest, sure-bet docs are the ones that perform – the rest are having a tough time in the market. And for every filmmaker I know who is riding the gravy train of SVOD deals, branded content, and pre-sales – I can point to five who are making projects that “aren’t commercial enough right now.” It is pure hell for some while pure heaven for others. Kinda like the 1% all around, which I’ve written about before.
This is called froth. It’s when lots of things are happening that don’t quite make sense. It usually means there’s a bubble about to burst. Prices become detached from value, and things start to become unstable. If you didn’t have enough to worry about after reading the news each day, now I’ve given you something else to stress about. Sorry. (And sorry for all the cliché jargon above and to come.) But it’s also, always, an opportunity. If you can figure out what’s behind all this and coming next. I have my thoughts on that – for another post – but in the meantime – buckle up and ride, because a lot of crazy, sometimes fun, shit is going on. But be cautious and have a hedge, because this won’t last. But my simplest advice for anyone not participating in the frenzy – partake. Do the projects that are getting funded. Get your foot in those doors while they are cracked open. You can always come back to the projects that aren’t getting funded, but only if you’ve taken advantage of this moment… and saved.
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Film
No-budget African action studio Wakaliwood is ready to take over the mainstream – AV Club reports on Wakaliwood – which I’ve been woefully out of the loop on – a Ugandan film movement led by Isaac Godfrey Geoffrey Nabwana (Nabwana IGG) . His fun, low budget films have been taking Uganda by storm, and closed out Midnight Madness at TIFF this year. A great read.
Disney is reportedly banning Netflix ads across its entertainment TV networks – from The Verge - the streaming wars heat up as the Mouse-House bans Netflix ads across its networks. Ouch.
Less Shaft, more House Party: Hollywood revisits 90s black film boom – Hollywood’s always looking for a remake, let’s just hope they don’t ruin any of these classics. House Party in particular was one of my college-day faves. The Guardian reports on a wave of remakes of classic Black films.
‘It’s a form of modern slavery’: MPs on Ken Loach’s film about the human cost of the zero-hours economy – A great Guardian article on Ken Loach’s Sorry We Missed You which shows the horrors of the gig economy. This was a fave of many at Cannes and I’m glad it’s getting notice – and can’t wait to see it.
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Branded Content
Do people 'f---ing hate' ads? Marketers look to embed brands in culture as aversion grows – MarketingDive reports from NYC AdWeek, where Boudica Chief Creative Officer and former Hearst content chief Joanna Coles stated “People hate advertising. They f----ing hate it … and it's all advertisers' fault." P&G’s Marc Pritchard was quick to agree. And everyone seemed to think brands need to step back and go deeper into content integrations- branded content – so expect this space to keep growing. Let’s hope it just doesn’t devolve into a lot of bad branded content – we need genuine approaches, not cloaked ads.
Facebook agrees to pay advertisers $40 million over inflated video stat – AdAge on the stink that keeps coming from Facebook, this time in their BS view stats for advertising and other posts. Keep up the good work, Mark.
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VR/AR/MISCELLANY
Can Gaming and VR replace the Outdoors? Asks Outside Online. A fascinating look at a gaming detox center, and the problem of people spending too much time inside and online instead of outdoors. But the article also shows research that shows people might be able to get the same impact of being outdoors from VR simulation. Interesting stuff, but I don’t believe in complete detox programs, and I also think we should get outside more. Go read and decide for yourself.
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