First of all, after all the ballyhoo and build-up of the live Ankler on the spot, there at Caesar’s Palace, I write you from Dateline: Nowhere. I remain still here, in the Anklebrynth. No after-hours at Cleopatra’s Barge with the gang from Top Hat Theaters of Southwest Tennessee for me.
On the brink of departure, I succumbed to “excess of caution” concerns about spending a week in a casino at this moment in time, and so I write you in cowardly comfort at a safe remove from the ice sculptures and corn dog/Red Vine hybrid samples.
And yet even from here, I am glued to the spectacle. Where once the entire pageantry of Hollywood was flown from across the world – every shoot halted and Tom Cruise summoned – so the mighty could kiss the rings of the all-powerful theater owners, today, well… let’s see.
Reviewing the proceedings, let’s take it away:
So let’s start with the elephant in the room. The big news. The thing that everyone will take away and remember about this convention 20, 30, 50 years from now.
Tom Rothman’s goatee.
I won’t speculate about what would make a man of his years decide it’s time to add a goatee to the repertoire. But let’s say that of all Hollywood’s gifts to the world, perhaps its greatest is pioneering the way for men to enjoy mid-life crises well into their 80’s.
But we get ahead of ourselves.
First of all, before the duffel bags filled with Milk Dud knock-offs were even handed out, there were the curtain-raiser interviews, with the beloved buddy act of Rivkin and Fithian back again, and up to their old hijinks.
Nothing like the madcap fun of seeing MPA CEO Charles Rivkin’s iron grin pressure tested as NATO President and CEO John Fithian declares – windows today! Windows now! Windows forever!
It’s the twist that’s been added to this relationship. For years, the legendary duo stood in lockstep declaring that as long as the two of them drew a breath, nothing would ever come along to lay one finger on the theatrical experience.
But then Rivkin lost one of his studio members when Fox got swallowed by Disney. And to replace those lost Murdoch millions in membership dues, he had to turn to Netflix, the loudest fart in theatrical’s church. So all of a sudden, when John starts up the W-I-N-D-O-W-S Forever! cheer, Charley joins in with something like this:
Even though people enjoy home-cooked meals, they also like to go out to restaurants – the same applies for home entertainment and theatrical experiences.
Awkward!
The sort of thing that might sink your typical buddy act, but don’t forget Rivkin comes armed with his superpower: a honed ability, forged in the furnaces of American politics, to say absolutely nothing, at incredible length.
This has been a sneak peek preview of today’s edition of The Ankler, the industry’s secret newsletter.
To see Tom Rothman’s for yourself, and to read the rest of our coverage of this year’s thrilling Cinemacon not to mention all the rest of this week’s issue, subscribe for just $10 a month and don’t miss out on who’s in the hot seat next!
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