You are reading a preview of The Ankler, a newsletter about the world of Hollywood edited by Janice Min and Richard Rushfield. To get read the rest of this issue and get in on all the action each and every week, click below to subscribe now.
2021: The Exit Interviews, Part I
A major CEO, studio executive and assistant, under anonymity, divulge their unsparing sentiments and insight about the state of the entertainment industry
Despite a few great halcyon months of wow-we’re-maybe-making-our-way-out-of-this, 2021 keeps sliding, ending much of the same way 2020 did: it’s chaotic, uncertain and utterly upended. You know, except for the dare-I-say exciting changes around here in case you missed them.
Anyway, as part of this noble work, I’ve developed many shall I say big name FOAs (Friends of Ankler) who work across the Hollywood spectrum. Weary of my own potents of catastrophe, and wanting to find the context, I am dedicating the next few newsletters to a series I’m calling “The Exit Interviews”, uncensored conversations that reveal what boots-on-the-ground Hollywood (from CEOs to assistants) have to say about where we are. As you’ll see, the tea leaves are jumbled. The wise folk don’t agree on everything; they certainly don’t agree with everything I’ve been writing lately. Nor do I quite agree with every word of theirs. But their insights, I find consistently illuminating.
Below is the first installment, conducted under the cover of anonymity so the participants could opine, vent and finger-point freely. They are identified only by their job description (the secret of who they are shall remain forever so so don’t ask!). More to come as the days of 2021 dwindle down. And seriously, good riddance to it!
Exit Interview 1: Entertainment CEO
How do you think the year went? I think the year was very similar to last year, accelerating the power into the hands of the streamers and rapidly diluting the power of the majors.
Is that going to prove to be a good thing, or a bad thing, or just the movement of the tides? I think ultimately for the consumer it will be a bad thing, because I think content made from data is lesser than content made from people’s brains.
Is the culture of creation different between the streaming world and the legacy world? The culture is different because one is ordering TV shows and movies like you order a hamburger, and the other one is going off your gut inside. And one is terrific for business and building subscribers and getting people to sit in front of their screens, and the other is better for art. The endless battle of art and commerce in Hollywood is quickly being lost to commerce.
So what happens to movies? Movies are becoming less relevant in the culture. I think they will survive, just like live theater survives, but they are marginalized in the culture, that’s all. They have a smaller place in our little world.
What has Hollywood done well in the last year? Look, the power going into the hands of the streamers, it’s not all bad. Content is less expensive for the consumer and there’s more of it.
Some say this is the best of all times for Hollywood, with so much being made. Some people believe quantity over quality. Others of us believe quality over quantity. there’s no accounting for tastes.
What does Hollywood need to change? The studios need to wake up to the reality of their place in the pecking order and act more aggressively to address it.
What has their attitude been? I think they are holding on to the antiquated notion that there are directors who care that much about a studio theatrical release, and that will make them competitive. And there are not. The directors will mostly go to streaming, and do a little theatrical, and that will be fine for them. The streamers are now eminently capable of releasing movies theatrically. It’s something they are capable of doing, and they are going to start doing it.
Is there any studio that’s managing this transition especially well? No. I think some are managing it better than others. Warners is managing it better than others. I think none is managing it very well.
This has been a sneak peek preview of today’s edition of The Ankler, the industry’s secret newsletter. To read the rest of this issue, subscribe today for just $17 a month and don’t miss out on who’s in the hot seat next!
PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE ANKLER 2.0!
In the New York Times! Los Angeles Magazine! The Wrap!
