In Amsterdam last month, in front of a Dutch painting of a plump, nearly bald, angelic figure of indistinct gender, an old friend turned to Rob Long and said three words: “Hear me out.” It’s the great phrase that buys a few seconds of grace before you say something insane — along with its writers’ room cousin, not this, but. Oftentimes the ideas that emerge out of hear me out aren’t usable whatsoever. But Rob makes the case that its those risky Hear Me Out projects that the entertainment business runs on.

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