You’ve Got a Friend In Me
As regular readers of this newsletter know, I'm a big advocate of looking far and wide for new storytellers and stories. It's the whole founding ethos of my consultancy, Vision Craft Brew. Recently, a reporter/columnist over at National Review, Nate Hochman, gave a great speech over at ISI (Intercollegiate Studies Institute) to a group of young conservatives about the opportunities and challenges facing today's young conservatives. I encourage you all to read it (and I explain why more below), but this was my favorite part:
There's a massive opportunity here. It just takes a little bit of creativity and a willingness to actually go out and find the stories that no one else is paying attention to.
Hochman is referring more to a journalistic point of view than a creative one, but I think the lesson still holds. We need more people in the industry willing to go out and find those new storytellers. I'm reasonably confident that most people, particularly studio execs, are not reaching beyond their immediate circles of influence to find new stories, but they're certainly out there.
There is also the challenge of what I like to call the "bubble bias." Most producers, executives, writers, and the entire entertainment ecosystem come from the same ideological chamber. That, combined with the industry being hyper-located in two areas of the country (LA and NYC), traps these decision makers in an endless loop of the same perspective of everything from food to the type of scripts one reads. Nate is a conservative, but that doesn't mean you should dismiss him. You may not necessarily agree with everything he says, but merely making an effort can broaden one's perspective.
This brings me to another point I want to make, given the highly charged events of this past week. As most of you have probably figured out at this point, I am a conservative. Do I fall in ideologically with every conservative position? No, as I imagine, most people don't lean hard one way or the other. Anyway, I've read countless stories about all these closeted conservatives in Hollywood who feel the need to keep their mouth shut. Well, I was not one of those. When my boss at Fox, just as liberal as every other studio despite being owned by Rupert Murdoch, asked if there were any Republicans in the room, I raised my hand. The only hand to go up out of about 15 in the room. The funny thing is that none of my friendships suffered as a result. Nor does anyone treat me any differently since that day. I would have vigorous debates with one of our publicists, but in the end, we always remained friendly. I'm sure other people have had very different experiences from mine. I'm also sure it's more difficult on the creative side than on the "suite" side.
Still, I say all of this to remind everyone that the ideological rigid drive much of how we interact with one another. Twitter is not real life. We can all disagree and still see the humanity of the opposing side. This has been lost over the last few years. Frankly, I'm not sure I could raise my hand in that meeting were the scenario to replay itself today. However, we can have rational conversations if we recognize each other's humanity and realize that people's deeply held beliefs don't necessarily mean they are of a lesser species. Those rational conversations can lead us to be more willing to look beyond our "bubble bias" and find new stories so we don't have to rely on Top Gun 43 (although if the quality holds up, I wouldn't be opposed.)
Most of you will probably say I'm living in a dreamland, but I still believe it's possible. Some folks have already made an effort. Actors Chris Evans and Mark Kassan started A Starting Point, and Corey Nathan hosts the Talking Religion and Politics (Without Killing Each Other.) Both of which feature people with whom they disagree on a whole host of issues. We are making baby steps. It's simply that more of us need to speak up and be willing to break that "bias bubble."
Adulting at the Theater
Well, Elvis came around and surprised everyone at $31 million, and given Baz Luhrman's history, this is a good result, especially if word of mouth holds. More importantly, let's look at the demo break out from last weekend: 48% was 45+, and 30% was 55+. With those numbers and Top Gun: Maverick continuing to crush it, I think it's fair to say that the "adults" have come back to the theater. At this point, we can put the "Covid Cautious" story to bed.
Please don't confuse this for a "Movies are Back" celebration. The industry has somewhat recovered from the catastrophic drops in attendance during the pandemic, but as Tim pointed out this past week during the podcast, the experience itself has not improved. This, ladies and gentlemen is the big freakin' elephant in the room. Netflix may be down, but it most certainly is not out, and if exhibition thinks a few good weeks are the signs of things to come, then they are still snorting whatever they were all hitting in Vegas at CinemaCon.
The last few weeks have brought people back, but only to discover that not much has changed since the last time they came to the theater. We must grow the audience pie if theaters are to survive, and that only remains possible if exhibition improves the experience. Until then, we're only rearranging the chairs on the Titanic.
Pages from the Commonplace Book
Earlier this week, I was reminded of Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural address delivered after nearly four years of a horrific Civil War. I encourage you all to read the whole thing, but this section holds particular relevance today:
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wound, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and orphans; to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and a lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.
While this is a very famous passage, it holds no less relevance now than it did in 1865. May we heed its lesson.
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