Hollywood Breaks

Hollywood Breaks

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Hollywood Breaks episodes

  • 020 Blunder Woman | Turns out Superheroes can’t save everyone

    With the disappointing storyline of Wonder Woman 1984,  HBOMax still needs to find the tipping point. “A blockbuster movie isn’t just recognized with box office numbers. You know it’s a blockbuster when you want to see it over and over.” (Keith Rauch).The long tail model for OTT platforms need the evergreen content or they will always struggle.  

    Warner Bros brings in experienced marketer of Josh Goldstine to helm as President of Worldwide Marketing, taking over the post once occupied by Blair Rich. This is another move by studios in the attempt to accomplish a unified offering for marketing on to the ever expanding platform. At the same time, Ricky Strauss from Disney is departing after a genius tenure for the studio. Strauss leaves a legacy of Disney+, Marvel and Star Wars success. “If you’re a fan of Marvel films, you’re a fan of Ricky Strauss’ Marketing. “ (Tim Thompson) 

    Politics and Hollywood entertainment have become insparatable bedfellows over the last few decades, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that Ben Shapiro and Jeremy Boreing should want be players. Following the premise that Politics is downstream of the culture, Real Daily Wire is starting an entertainment division dedicated to broadening the conversation to include conservative values. “As I’ve said for years, Hollywood works behind gates and lives behind gates and it would be good to have a larger presentation of values without the heavy-handed power of the media monopoly. ” (Keith Rauch) 

    The first film scheduled for release will be #runhidefightmovie on January 14th.

    39 min
  • 019 Breaking Back: 2020 REVIEW with Special Guest Robin Geisen

    We welcome back Robin Geisen this week to review the past year and the big impact on the Industry. 

    The shift into streaming has had the biggest impact from Disney+ 80M Subs to the Warner’s debacle with distribution on HBOMax. Keith Rauch and Robin Geisen debate the overall impact on all the players from studios, talent, exhibitors and award shows. Despite the uncertainty and major changes, theatres and streaming can co-exist but the viewing audience may not agree. The theatrical experience may be different but it can’t be replaced. 

    Does AT&T see the talent as a simple commodity and not recognize the importance of relationship and trust when it comes to stockpiling quality entertainment? And moving their theatrical release to the Direct to TV Brand down grades their reputation from a film studio to a network.

    And stay tuned to the end for everyone’s favorite Christmas movie

    43 min
  • 018 Disney gives content creators a big break

    The Mouse Rocks The House: Wall Street Hearts Disney’s Investor Day

    Disney Investor Day announces some big strategy for upcoming season. Investing $8-9 Billion in content creation for Disney+ and $16B on all streaming. This new growth market will have its heyday soon enough with SVOD and OTT platforms booming over traditional broadcast and distribution. Keith Rauch believes “The gold rush in the new era is “spend spend spend make make make””

    Warner Media is paying a big price too, but theirs is in relationship capital with top deal makers angry about the HBOMax distribution strategy for 2021. Vocal filmmakers like Chris Nolan and Denis Villeneuve speaking openly (Variety article) about what they feel is a poor decision by the studio that cuts the returns for their top talent.

    Richard Rushfield of The Ankler (https://theankler.com/) expresses strong position that only two studios, Disney and Universal, remain in the movie game while others back down their strategy. Possibly a sign of the weak cash position, studios like Paramount and Sony are selling off their films. This may be the chance Apple is waiting for. They are positioned to buy into the marketplace and establish a strong pipeline for their current weakness on AppleTV+ and overall content contributions.


    ** Episode Notes:
    The Ankler is a newsletter about and for the entertainment industry, edited and written by Richard Rushfield, with the help of some special friends. You can subscribe at  https://theankler.com/

    31 min
  • 017 WarnerMedia goes all in with HBOMax

    Warner Media breaks the slow pace of Hollywood decision-making and makes a bold move to distribute 2021 films slate directly to HBO Max. This may be an indicator that studios are not confident that exhibitors can get the turnout needed for studios to take a risk on them. 

    Discovery+ (really? That’s the name?) is coming on strong with original content on their OTT platform. Taking a page from the past success they can show others how to churn out needed new releases on a low budget. 
    Disney shake-ups can be a big hit for former FOX players as contracts are coming to an end and Disney is looking for additional cuts. Not a position we want to see our friends dealing with in the upcoming weeks. 
    And finally…. Bye Bye Quibi (and maybe Katzenberg?)

    32 min
  • 016 The Universal in a Nutshell: The Shell game continues

    This episode was recorded on November 21st, 2020.

    No one is really talking about the cinema experience, except Universal. Bold moves in distribution and possibly setting a foothold in the future of Theatrical Distribution, Universal makes a deal with Cinemark Theaters, similar to their deal with AMC, and defines terms for studio/theater collaboration. 

    Entertainment Marketing Agencies need to prepare for the studios’ concentration of strategy and distribution beyond the proven techniques of yesterday.

    Hollywood Breaks is an insiders’ view of what’s shaping the content-making world. Development partners Tim Thompson and Keith Rauch host this weekly show discussing current events with an eye towards seizing opportunity in the changing landscape.

    27 min
  • 015 The Wonderful World of Dis-organization

    We discuss the latest changes to Disney’s org and ask the question about studio loyalty over the pursuit of subscribers. 

    And Netflix still struggles with its original content. Many content creators know that their talent is becoming the commodity of exchange and the burn rate will be the next big movement Hollywood will be discussing.

    27 min
  • 013 Sony makes moves. Disney, are you watching this?

    Sony announces the realignment of their TV and Motion Pictures marketing/distribution into a single hub. Even though Disney isn’t saying that directly, it is clearly an outcome of their recent shake-up with a centralized distribution strategy. Marketing executives and vendors will be part of the shuffle in the next few months.

    35 min
  • 012 If a Quibi falls in the woods will anyone hear it?

    Quibi is gone and Netflix has missed its numbers during a pandemic shut down when all people are at home consuming content. Where are the viewers focusing their attention? 

    New platforms are building a better distraction model with the ability to make a constant stream of content. With the INVERTED CONTENT CURVE, large players can’t expect the keep up with the demand of viewers' attention without a better strategy than just spending Billions.

    35 min
  • 011 Paramount, Amazon and the Disney Re-Org

    Hollywood Breaks is an insiders’ view of what’s shaping the content-making world. Development partners Tim Thompson and Keith Rauch host this weekly show discussing current events with an eye towards seizing opportunity in the changing landscape.

    29 min

About Hollywood Breaks

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Hollywood Breaks is an insiders’ view of what’s shaping the content-making world. Development partners Tim Thompson and Keith Rauch host this weekly show discussing current events with an eye towards…