Five on Friday - Film Industry Top Stories
Except it's Monday and I'm late because I was traveling!
Apologies for the delay guys! I was traveling last week and this one was a real doozy so I wanted to make sure I got everything down. As always please make sure to check out all the updates on the tok and please leave comments if you’ve got questions!
^me writing this rn.
Top Five Industry Stories of the Week
Fighting Back Against AI Companies
The recap: Matt Beloni is joined by Scott Galloway who is a professor of Marketing at NYU. He’s served on the board of directors for plenty of big companies like Eddie Bauer, The New York Times Company, Gateway Computer, * Urban Outfitters. He has a BIG issue with BIG TECH - he’s called Zuckerberg one of the most dangerous people on the planet and last year during the strike, he made a lot of WGA members mad when he said the strike was pointless, horrible timing and only hurting them long term. During the episode, Scott really LAYS into the WGA for making a historic mistake with the strike. Saying that they gained a 5% raise but inflation went up 6% and that all the money lost during that time (and saved by the studios and streamers) will take years to make up. He also discusses that he thinks the streamers/studios and creatives should ban together to fight the AI companies for crawling their IP (my thoughts on that below). They discuss the future of movie theaters and the industry at large. He discusses tiktok and youtube and how they will slowly take over - maybe not in five years but ten years.
The Industry Reaction: I think on the defensive because of some of my takeaways below and scared, rightfully so. There’s no good outlooks right now on working in the film industry…. until someone comes in with enough money to restructure this entire billion dollar greed hungry industry (easy right?!)
My Takeaways? I think he is pretty harsh and blunt which can be off-putting. At first I was like this guy is a j*ck*ss but after I researched him and learned more about him and his beliefs, I did resonate with some of what he believes and can see his points - during this episode - he’s not wrong on a lot of fronts when it comes to AI issues but to me he does something I hate. Blaming the abused instead of the powerful abuser. He harps on and on about how much the WGA and writers screwed up by striking and how much it hurt them long term but he never touches on the issue of the streamers and studios unchecked greed and capitalism. It’s classic asking “why was she wearing that skirt?!” instead of asking “why did he touch a woman?!” And Yes!! How fun would it be for everyone to get together to fight against AI companies but IMO - the streamers and studios want to partner with them not get rid of them. They want to utilize AI to replace creatives and execs which will allow them to consolidate and make more money. I also think though there’s something to be said for PLAYING the game with these big time streamers and studios and I’m not sure if any union is doing it quite right yet.
A24’s Crystal Lake Shut Down Fiasco
The Wrap Article by Drew Taylor (Amazingly done)
The recap: Crystal Lake, a new 85M show coming from A24 and Peacock, based on the FRIDAY THE 13TH franchise, set in the immediate aftermath of the drowning of a young Jason Voorhees (i was SAT) was extremely over-budget and the showrunners were abruptly fired. According to the article “Two days after a notes call with Peacock where one of the streamer’s executives said the pitch was “exactly what we want to hear,” A24’s head of television Sam French and A24 partner Ravi Nandan abruptly fired showrunners Bryan Fuller and Jim Danger Gray”. Furthermore, A24 is refusing to honor the new development room rules (ones they claimed to support during the strike) and potentially still owing six figure payments to the original staff. A24 hasn’t commented by a source close to them said the studio has “made television with complicated people, who we love. That’s the background of the company – people with strong visions.” About “Crystal Lake,” the source said the studio “didn’t feel confident” and “had to pull the plug.” But one “Crystal Lake” insider put it differently: “It felt like everybody on the Bryan/Jim side were trying very hard to make the show. A24 felt like they were doing everything they could to not make the show.” And nobody is clear how involved Peacock was in the firing of the showrunners! And while the creatives feel things were going as planned, A24 did not and historically Fuller has gone over budget and been too busy so it’s not completely impossible that this was the case but is this a showrunner overload problem?! - more on that in another upcoming blog post. According to the article ““Crystal Lake” producers maintain they consistently requested additional weeks for the writers room and were told by A24 executives that Peacock had mandated they get no more than six weeks, when the WGA was mandating 12-week minimums.” Supposedly A24 still wants to make the show so we will see where that goes.
The Industry Reaction: It’s a tough reminder that no matter how cool the studios may seem, they are still “Suits”. People were very bothered by the AI “posters” they used during CIVIL WAR, rightfully so and this is just another whammy in their direction.
My takeaway: This story hasn’t really popped off yet and I think it has to do with people’s diehard love for A24 but I think not calling out your heroes when they are treating people badly is weird, I think A24’s refusal to discuss is also a brand protection - ‘don’t talk about it…. it will go away’. So A24…. what the heck?! Basically people on the creative side are saying the show was going great and the suits said are saying WAY over budget. Some creatives are saying that A24 was trying to keep more of the $85M from Peacock - hence where the issues were arising. And it’s not just the writers hurt by this, they told crew people they’d have a job for almost 8 months then backed it out. Big Bummer.
Crew Deaths and IATSE’s Pending Deal
The Recap: IATSE is nearing what might be the final round of talks with the studios over a new three-year contract and safety is again one of the primary concerns of guild members. There have been MULTIPLE crew member deaths this year, including a car accident death in May. Many below-the-line folks from across the country noted the INTENSE production hours and poor pay as major factors which are leading to a myriad health and safety issues on and off set. Overworking is often OVERLOOKED by the studios. They don’t realize the danger it puts their crew members in.
My Takeaways: 14-16 hour days are the norm but they are not sustainable and nor should they be the NORM. It’s a gross abuse of power to save costs when we could just cut some CEO pay!
Last day of Emmy Voting!
Recap: Top 5 nomination leaders (series): “The Bear” and “Shōgun” (24); “Fallout” (17); “The Crown” (16); “Baby Reindeer” (14) Top 5 nomination leaders (individual networks): Netflix (116); Max (76); FX (74); Prime Video (40); Apple TV+ (37)
The Industry reaction: we will have to wait until it’s all officially announced.
My takeaway: The Bear is gonna take home a lot and it’s in the wrong category. That is really all for right now!
In Better news! Theatrical successes are back baby!?!? - Inside Out, Bad Boys, Bikeriders, & THELMA!
The recap: The entire marketplace looks to be around $147M this weekend, which is 35% ahead of the same weekend a year ago. The heatwave and extreme weather may be to thank for pushing people indoors. Inside Out 2 is reaping most of the benefits “heading to a historic second frame for an animated movie with $100M per Disney. If that number sticks, it’s a -35% second-weekend ease, which is exceptional for any kind of tentpole.” And it’s not the only movie doing well, two more INDIE FILMS are crushing too Jeff Nichols’ Bikeriders and Thelma which had an amazing limited release!
Inside Out 2 - At this level, some rival distributors believe Inside Out 2 could get closer to $600M.
Bad Boys Ride or Die - A running total of $146.7M. End game is around $180M per sources. Not shabby. Bad Boys for Life finaled at $206.3M.
The Bikeriders - $10M/Wk1
The Industry Reaction: I don’t know
My Takeaways? I love it - there’s two “indie vibe” films making GREAT numbers and then a wildly successful film franchise starring two Black men - one with some bad press the last two years (sorry I was never hot and bothered by the SLAP, we have a president who sexual assaults WOMEN and other actual abusers still working today) but I don’t think any of this is going to sway execs to re-focus on making MORE, smaller budget films. These execs are too old, too white and too stubborn to make any real changes. I think there’s something interesting with INSIDE OUT 2 - i think yes it’s the second movie off a very successful first but I also think it’s going to reconfirm the bias that movies should be “universal stories” vs. specific life stories (with universal lessons) - a concept that has been running rampant in hollywood lately and to me - it’s just covert control.
Other exciting news:
My old boss and mentor, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones has two of the biggest summer movies coming out - THE BIKERIDERS and LONGLEGS.
Steve! (Martin) a Documentary in 2 Pieces is out on Apple+ and I’m extremely excited for that!
As always, keep being delulu with a plan, folks!
Hahaha I thought he was a jerk at first too - and then as we was making points, I was like damn, ok. I honestly cannot believe still that we did not get more AI protections from the strikes for being on strike that long. I think other countries will put in safeguards from the government for AI but not the US