A Brew to Wrap Up The Year
Most of you are probably still recovering from the past week's festivities, with a few more last Hurrahs before we put a bow on the year 2022. An interesting year, to say the least, particularly in the business of entertainment. Here at The Brew, we've got some fun changes coming up in the new year, but we'll hold those until we officially cross the threshold of 2023. The business tends to grind to a halt this time of year, so this week will be more of a stream-of-consciousness but don't worry, we'll still have a final Page from the Commonplace Book to wrap up the year.
So about Avatar. I haven't seen it yet. Trying to find about 4 hours of free time isn't easy during the holiday break, but I will squeeze it in once the kids return to school. Regardless, as of this writing, the flick has garnered about $955 million globally, which is impressive. However, disappointing numbers out of China and the winter storm that smashed most of the county last weekend are definitely making some Disney execs nervous, especially with three more sequels in the pipeline. While there is still plenty of runway left to boost those numbers, I'm not confident it will break the record of the original. Only time will tell.
Speaking of time, no one decided to set aside time for Babylon. Yikes, what a bomb of the first order. Listen, I loved the look of that campaign. The first teaser is a master class of creative trailer editing, but it was tough to figure out what exactly the movie was about, and obviously, audiences couldn't be bothered. Oh well, Paramount still has all that Top Gun: Maverick change hanging around, so I don't think it'll hurt too much, but from a marketing perspective, it's never fun to watch a movie that you put a lot of time and effort into to miss the mark entirely but the beauty of something like this, is you learn from the mistakes and move on to the next. So, folks at Paramount Marketing, you lost this weekend, kids, but that doesn't mean you have to like it.
As regular readers know, I'm a fan of Adam Grant, author, and Professor of Organizational Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business. Well, he recently posted the following on his Instagram:
Adam Grant (@adamgrant) • Instagram photos and videos
This post is particularly timely given that this is probably the most unproductive week of the year, but many people are forced to head to the office for the reason Grant highlights above. With the backlash to remote work growing and more and more companies pushing a return to the status quo, a willingness for more flexibility in time off will be crucial if only to achieve the balance that remote work has granted many workers and made it so popular. While working at Fox, I always felt guilty about taking time off. Mainly because my department head at the time made us all feel like we were sacrificing our careers if we took time off. A lack of time off in the creative field leads to burnout and garbage work. Think of how many great ideas have popped into your head when you are sitting eating goldfish and watching the latest season of Jack Ryan, and into your head pops the answer to the great creative puzzle you've been trying to solve for the last week. So all bosses and supervisors heed Dr. Grant's advice and give him a follow on Instagram or Linkedin. He has many gems like this throughout the year.
It also looks like the Puss in Boots sequel might have a decent run. (Pssst--hey studio bosses, get some decent kids' content in theaters asap!) While not necessarily blowing out the box office, the stellar reviews, great word of mouth (95% critics, 93% audience Rotten Tomatoes scores)alongside the utter lack of anything kid-friendly in the theaters right now, this thing could have some legs. Interestingly, I've read several Twitter threads with folks claiming it's better than the original, which, amazingly enough, came out over a decade ago. The Avatar team could take some lessons from the Puss in Boots crew.
Pages from the Commonplace Book
As I mentioned last week, I headed west to my hometown to spend some time with my family. My parents have lived in my childhood home for over 40 years, and they are now contemplating a move to the eastern side of PA to be closer to my brother and me. Well, forty years in one house, one accumulates a lot of stuff. To spare myself (and the other movers) the pleasure of moving all that stuff, I've been slowly gathering books and whatnot that I find interesting in my parents' library. I've long thought that my parents only collected encyclopedias, medical journals (my dad was a doctor), and the latest Tom Clancy novel. Well, lo and behold, they do have some fascinating volumes beyond the latest Dan Brown. One of them I picked up is called Leaves of Gold, initially published in the late 40s. It's a giant collection of quotes. Well, the actual subtitle is "An Anthology of Prayers, Memorable Phrases, and Inspiration Verse and Prose' aka A Commonplace Book. You better believe I snapped this one up, and I shall treat you, dear readers, with quotes from said volume in the forthcoming year, beginning this week. So Enjoy!
"It is better to forget the things that hurt us,
And to live each day and take whatever comes,
With the hope that by tomorrow
There will come a balm for sorrow
And help to master life's important sums!
There's a strength that comes to us every time we suffer,
And our will grows stronger every time we fight.
Let us then be doubly grateful
For the things that disappoint us;
They only come to lead us to the light
-Helen Mocksett Stork
As we head into the final week of 2022, looking back on all our disappointments and achievements, let us take Ms. Stork's advice and look upon each experience as a chance to lead us to the light.
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