Creative Exec Survival Guide; Gen Z 'Minecraft' Blur; Creeps & Cowards
Plus: Natalie Jarvey on the first studio using YouTube to build a new kids’ hit
Happy Easter and/or last day of Passover. In my blended family, we have adopted the portmanteau Eastover.
Really proud of the team this week in delivering perspective you won’t read anywhere else. A few highlights:
Elaine Low was inspired by a job posting for a creative exec to bring much-needed clarity to what you really do in those roles — and how to get them and how to keep them.
Richard Rushfield explained why we haven’t yet seen the Golden Age of Consolidation everyone from David Zaslav and David Ellison thought was coming, and stripped the bark off the creeps and cowards silencing Seth Rogen and trying to hound Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy out of their jobs.
Alison Brower’s NAB interview with WWE president Nick Khan and chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque lit up the wrestling internet with its insights into how the sports-entertainment juggernaut operates as WrestleMania dominates the weekend.
And Matthew Frank discovered the Gen Zers laughing at, not with A Minecraft Movie all the way to huge box office, providing a deeper understanding of the movie’s success and whether it can be replicated.
Also, save the dates for these upcoming Ankler Events: More on these soon, but mark your calendars:
Art & Crafts LIVE, May 8, ASC Clubhouse, Los Angeles
The Ankler x Pure Nonfiction Documentary Spotlight, May 21, Crosby Street Hotel, New York
The Ankler x Pure Nonfiction Documentary Spotlight, June 8, Meryl Streep Center for Performing Arts, Los Angeles
Now, without further ado, ICYMI, our best of the week:
Series Business: Creative Exec 411; Streamers ❤️ Ongoing Shows
Creative executive may be the most amorphous job title in Hollywood, and Elaine Low reveals (paid subscribers only) how to stand out, what you're up against, red flags to avoid both in the seat and while job hunting, and what to highlight on your resume:
As really old network warhorses like Gunsmoke hit streaming charts, Lesley Goldberg delves into streamers’ new new strategy for ongoing series to build library and how Max’s The Pitt epitomizes the change; their built-in cost savings; what streamers’ advertising push has to do with it; and the good news for writers with this pivot:
Rushfield: Why M&A’s MIA; Calling Out the Cowards
Richard eyes two pieces of news to explain why dealmaking is so eerily quiet, and lambasts the industry’s galling acquiescence at allowing Seth Rogen to be censored by such quisling tech plutocrats as Mark Zuckerberg. Plus: Hollywood chronicler Matthew Specktor dishes with Richard on The Rushfield Lunch about when Crossroads tuition was just $4,000 and growing up in the shadow of CAA:
Minecraft Mind Games
Does the phrase “chicken jockey” mean anything to you? Matthew Frank exposes the so-bad-it’s-good phenomenon driving A Minecraft Movie’s big box office — and what it signifies about studios’ Gen Z blind spots:
Dealmakers: What to Demand for Out-of-L.A. Production
FilmLA revealed another drop in local TV and film shoots this week, which means agents and lawyers are negotiating clients’ travel, accommodations and perks more than ever. Ashley Cullins discovers (paid subscribers only) the best and worst networks and studios at meeting talent demands; the travel must-have everyone wants; and how some stars get to stay in L.A.:
Prestige Junkie: Returning to The Wedding Banquet
Katey Rich chats with The Wedding Banquet director Andrew Ahn and co-writer James Schamus about their modern update of Schamus’ 1993 indie classic. Plus: Katey celebrates the joys of bleak TV and movies:
THE WAKEUP
The only one who delivered bigger than Netflix in its earnings was Sean McNulty in his analysis of the streamer’s possible programming frontiers and how it currently stacks up with the rest of Hollywood:
🎧 PODCASTS
THE ANKLER
Netflix's Push for TV's Final 80% Creators, podcasts, more sports: A playbook to convert the remaining audience watching something — anything — on screens is about to unfold:
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THE ANKLER x NAB SHOW
WWE’s Prez and Triple H on Global Growth, the Netflix Deal & Bad Bunny Nick Khan and Paul “Triple H” Levesque, in conversation with exec editor Alison Brower, reveal why Netflix was strategically the right home for RAW, its flagship weekly showcase; how WWE’s writers create its stars and stories; and what to expect at the ongoing WrestleMania 41:
CBS’ Secret Sauce to TV Procedurals Elaine Low talks with Fire Country co-creators Joan Rater and Tony Phelan as well as CBS executives Bryan Seabury and Yelena Chak about the new boom in TV procedurals on broadcast and streaming:
MARTINI SHOT
Just Buy It. Just Say Yes Rob Long on the endless pitch, Silicon Valley, Netflix and Fin-Syn:
📱 LIKE & SUBSCRIBE FROM NATALIE JARVEY
👓 THE OPTIONIST BY ANDY LEWIS
FINAL HOUSEKEEPING!
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