ICYMI: L.A. Production Hell; Prestige TV for Cheap; Gen Z vs. Studios
Plus: Erik Barmack on AI feature films coming this year
Thank you to all of our new paid subscribers this week, you’ve made a difference. Today we’re continuing to match all paid subscriptions with a donation to the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Recovery Fund, to support Angelenos in need following the fires. We chose CCF because of its positive record in having minimal overhead costs so that the overwhelming majority of charitable gifts are put to their intended use.
So much of what we did this week spoke to the intertwined parts of this tragedy: Sean McNulty’s breakdown of the FilmLA numbers about the dwindling number of Los Angeles shoot days; Katey Rich’s reporting on how the wildfires have altered the Oscars race; Rob Long’s audio essay about Hollywood deserving its own escapist happy ending; and Richard Rushfield’s takedown of the L.A. — and Hollywood — leadership vacuum.
Then of course, there was, uh, Trump to the rescue?! Definitely a topic to talk about.
Now, with no further ado, ICYMI:
Series Business: That Prestige Look . . . on a Budget
Manori Ravindran details how producers are finding creative ways to make shows look glossy as budgets continue to erode, using unscripted crews to squeeze costs out of scripted productions; sacrificing parts of stories (even if writers hate that); and the rise of “preditors” (producer-editors) in scripted:
Elaine Low profiles veteran TV director Jeff Hunt (CSI, The Vampire Diaries), who lost his Malibu home in the Woolsey Fire six years ago and now spends day and night helping others in the industry navigate home insurance claims, how to rebuild their lives and manage the trauma. Julie Plec calls him an “angel.” Now he shares his four biggest pieces of advice:
Reel AI: Generative Video’s Shocking Heist
In late December, filmmaker and entrepreneur Jason Zada made a remarkably good AI short film called The Heist (using Google’s new Veo 2) that alerted producers and studios to just how fast this tech is improving, and the likelihood of full-length AI features coming this year. In this edition of Reel AI (for paid subscribers only), Erik Barmack speaks to Zada about how he did it; reveals other full-length AI movie projects; explains why AI is more likely to make the next Avatar before it produces an arthouse drama; and the tech limitations that still need to be overcome:
Gen Z: Eating the Studios’ Marketing Teams’ Lunch
Raunchy Family Guy mashups, that insane-faced carousel horse from an Andrew Garfield movie: They’re just two recent examples of how younger viewers spend their time using Hollywood IP to communicate with each other online. In this Ankler Feature, Abby Barr and Matthew Frank reveal why recent “social” launches from Netflix and Tubi were dead on arrival; how A24 recently nailed meme culture; the bot armies employed by studio marketing teams; and the one thing a Gen Z marketer believes is holding Hollywood back:
Rushfield: Searching for an L.A. Leader; Sundance Preview
With the fires still raging, Richard Rushfield does some fuming of his own: about Los Angeles’ — and Hollywood’s — missing-in-action leadership class. Plus, Sundance festival director Eugene Hernandez shares the projects to watch ahead of this week’s Park City kickoff:
Prestige Junkie: Nosferatu’s Robert Eggers, Conclave Screenwriter
Katey Rich delivered in-depth conversations this week with auteur Robert Eggers about his biggest hit ever, Nosferatu, and Conclave writer Peter Straughan about how his adaptation came together:
Notable: John & Yoko’s Secret ’70s Tapes
Rob LeDonne’s latest surprising conversation at the nexus of music and Hollywood is with Kevin Macdonald, co-director of the new documentary One to One: John and Yoko, about the remarkable archival footage in the film, including audio of the duo’s intimate phone conversations — self-recorded when they were fearful they were being bugged — about the tumultuous 1970s:
THE WAKEUP
After FilmLA revealed its 2024 shoot days data, Sean McNulty broke down the numbers — and put them in a larger context dating back to 2017 — to explain which parts of Hollywood are most abandoning local location shooting:
🎧 PODCASTS
THE ANKLER
L.A. Production Spiral. Trump to the Rescue? The 47th President enlists a team of ’80s action heroes:
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MARTINI SHOT
Wanted: A Hollywood Happy Ending Rob Long praises the gift of counter-programming in hard times:
👓 THE OPTIONIST
FINAL HOUSEKEEPING!
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