The State of the Entertainment Business
'Tis a silly business
At the beginning of this week, I had planned on getting back to work on serious TMFS essay and videos. That’s obviously changed, as the most important thing going on in Hollywood right now is the wildfires. My home isn’t in danger, but I know many people who’ve been evacuated, and several have lost their homes. I haven’t had much time this week to think (fret) about much else. I did write a little bit about the situation over on my other Substack—
Taking a break from that, this week’s roundup is mostly business-related, and how absolutely screwed (or not) the business is.
Is It Already Over?
Tawny Platis makes fun videos about voice acting, but she’s also managed to make a career in a very competitive field. Her thoughts are worth listening to—
And
at explains why it’s so difficult to shoot in the US— has a long, thoughtful essay on larger, systemic issues with culture creation, implicating everyone for streamers to studios to the entertainment press.
On a smaller scale,
outlines how Angel Studios took the good will of their target audience for granted and squandered their momentum—
Or Maybe It’s All Just Changing
There’s a lot of conventional wisdom out there which is just plain wrong.
offers twenty six examples, including “Myth: All Content is Global Now (Reality: Foreign Content Still Isn’t Popular in the US)”; “Myth: The ‘Algorithm’ Picks Which Shows Netflix Makes (Reality: Humans Pick the Shows);” and my personal favorite, “Myth: Films Should Go Straight-to-Streaming (Reality: Films that Go to Theaters are More Popular).” (no relation) actually finds hope in mid-budget filmmaking.
Last but not least,
breaks down theater-going numbers in a way I don’t believe anyone else is doing. Well worth a read.What are you reading/watching this weekend?
