What is Disney Doing!?!?

I would love to know!!

This post is about keeping up with what is going on in a macro sense in the industry. Which means, you have to pay attention to things like this. This helps to anticipate what kind of scripts will be written, and what kinds of movies will be purchased by whom. All of which should inform a producers decision's about project selection. 

This YouTube video seemed to shed some light, but the end, gets kind weird. 

https://youtu.be/GW2Zr8Q6Xqw?si=3HWjT1B19nYHdiib

In response to the above video:

1. So you say the CEI = Corporate Equality Index [How queer friendly is your company] manipulates Disney because if they don't Blackrock won't invest in Disney?

2. Because Blackrock doesn't like stable family structures, "traditional values" because those demographics don't spend as much money as "queer" people?

3. The video does a great job of establishing a time line of events. Overall was very informative.

Lots to unpack here potentially.  I am simply going to follow the money. 

The getting money from Blackrock part just isn't making any sense to me. 

[I am going to use "Blackrock" generically like the video did, as an example of a Mega-Investment company.]

Disney is publicly traded, the investors buy the stock and either hold it or sell it. That's it. If Blackrock owns a massive chuck of Disney stock then they already purchased it.  It doesn't make sense that a profitable version of Disney right up to Endgame would need to all of the sudden pivot to CEI perfect score land to get some sort of loan from Blackrock. Which would seem to be the argument at the end of the video. 

If they were so profitable at the point of Infinity War and End Game why the fuck would they pivot to CEI high score for some random amount of investment when they don't need more investment because they are already profitable? 

It doesn't make sense to have something making a massive multi-billion dollar profit to all of the sudden pivot, to make different money. If Blackrock purchased Disney stock after the Lucasfilm Acquisition and held on until the end of END Game, they would have yielded a SHITTON of profit. To suggest that after that point an intentional PIVOT to the CEI score and that then created LOSING MONEY IP is absurd. Further saying Disney is gonna keep doing that because Blackrock will only stay on as shareholders if the CEI score is high and they are losing money? What? 

Some simple easy to find facts with Google. 

2007 is when Disney first got a perfect score with CEI, Endgame happened in 2019. 

Disney has had a 100 score with CEI that whole time. John Lasseter had made his exit by this time. So by the time Endgame happened and Lasseter was gone the Disney would have been solidly in the black AND complying with the CEI score. 

Why the fuck would they need to pivot so hard? They don't need MORE money from Blackrock they are making them money hand over fist at this point.

You would think the general consensus would be "Keep doing what your doing". They had a 100 CEI score for years at this point. They don't need a loan or something, Blackrock is making money, this whole connection seems like a stretch.

@28:18 "They aren't shrinking budgets and writing better stories..." This is the biggest clue, I get how the video would get it's final premise from this but it's not solid. In fact the video goes in on how Disney has done this before. How Disney didn't look internally and try and fix what they are doing wrong, they just purchased people who are doing it right. Now they are not even doing that, Hmmm. Another clue. 

Lets look at Blackrock for real,  (now I am being specific):

Blackrock doesn't like to lose money. $10 Trillion Dollar company (2023). That said, the losses mentioned in the video are laughable. Overall with BlackRock's portfolio Disney in general would barely merit a conversation. It's like G&E owning Universal Studios  in the 90's. Something like less than 1% of GE's money came from Universal. 

 BlackRock's board is made up of 17 PPL, not very diverse. Only 2 POC and 5 Women, nobody under 50, I would guess. Not likely at a casual glance to be people motivated by social pressure. 

 https://ir.blackrock.com/governance/board-of-directors/default.aspx

Let's now look at Disney:

Disney reported 7% growth last year (2023) and $88.9 Billion in profit. So even with all the recent issues, making billions of dollars in the black. 

Now go look at Disney's board. 13 PPL, By comparison much more diverse. Young and "Progressive looking".

  https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/investor-relations/#corporate-governance

Final Thoughts:

Point #1

This problem starts and ends inside of Disney, if it's even a problem at all. It's a purposeful paradigm shift that has nothing to do with outside influence or investors. It also has nothing to do with losing money, they are making it. The fact is that the business model has changed and is gonna change even more. They can do whatever they want and still turn enough of a profit.

Point #2

They don't have to care about quality story telling, they don't have to have great characters. They are becoming a Wal-Mart of sorts. Just get some kinda content out and it will make money as long as it's "_____" themed and associated with "______" IP.  

Point #3

At a baseline engaging as many different groups as possible, creating the broadest possible audience is probably more a driving factor than anything. A shotgun blast of hitting as many targets as you can at once, even if it's a lesser impact. Why use buckshot when birdshot will do, and it's cheaper. 

Point #4

It's not a grand conspiracy it's simply minimal effort for safe mid level returns. They are gonna triple down on this. Amazon has a 100 score with CEI. Guess what, they are doing the same thing. I don't think it's about being "woke = broke" I think something else is going on here. This whole thing is gonna turn out to be about money and the "how streamers actually make money" paradigm waaaaay more than anything else. 

The part that is actually important is:

$200 M into a movie that only makes $450 Million in the box office, so loses money with P&A costs. Then again does it really? How has streaming really changed this paradigm, I am gonna guess that's if you can ply subscribers with "New ________" you can sell that to advertisers and make money 2x. If they watch the whole thing, you win. Box office + AD Sales + Steaming and all of this before the other windows of exhibition. 

That's the real question, lets see if I am right next week.  

Script, Bible, Deck....the holy trinity of producing.

 

This picture is a slate from the show Shameless. It was a back up used for one of the other cameras and not one of the big digital slates/ clap boards. Someone stepped on it by accident and I grabbed it before the AC could throw it away. It's been a goal of mine to see my name on one of these on a show that I am the showrunner on. 

So how do I go from here to there? 

Script - Bible - Deck

The three most underused things in indie film. Especially in creating a TV show. I can't tell you how many pilots I have heard people pitching and they only have one of these done. It's never a show bible. It's usually a pitch deck if the person is not a writer. The deck is usually pretty bad. If it's a script and a deck that's the most common actually but even that is kind of Meh. 

Ok lets back up. What are these things?

Script: " A movie script is a written document that details all of the narrative and visual elements for a feature-length or short movie. This document includes very specific formatting, namely action paragraphs, character dialogue, and in some cases, visual and sound cues." This definition is taken from https://blog.celtx.com/what-is-a-movie-script/. That's Celtx.com which is the screenwriting software that I use. 

Show Bible: " A show bible is a document that outlines the characters, plots, settings, and themes of a television series. Writers pitch show bibles to network executives and production companies in the hopes that it will procure a production agreement. Once the show is "picked up" and turned into a series, this show bible becomes a living document. It is modified as the series goes with new characters, new information and background details, etc." This quote is from Studio Binder. 

Pitch Deck:  "A TV show pitch deck is a visual presentation that outlines your show's concept, often accompanied by a TV series bible. It's a key tool for persuading networks or producers to invest in your idea, showcasing your vision and potential." Generic definition from a Google search. 

Every idea, every script, every time. This is the habit that all of us SHOULD be cultivating. Everyone that is not in a major film market city, this is what people who ARE getting shows made are doing in LA-NY-ATL-VA are doing. Chicago likes to think of it's self as the 5th film marketplace but I don't think we are. If we learned to do this, if we actually did it and tough it to other film makers in Chicago it would change everything. We would become a pitch market. People would actually take us seriously. 

Whatever, I am doing it. I am gonna prove it, by practicing what I preach. I have an award winning script, short version, feature version, and Pilot version. No excuses, LETS GO!

Free Lance Producing here I come, again....

  Recently I left, or better yet my contract expired with a production company. I believe both parties could say that we did more good than bad and that it's an amicable parting of ways. But it is a parting of ways. Which means I am back to Freelance. 

It takes time to shake off the cob webs of the last job, which I have had. So now we are back to it. Back to looking at projects and finding work. 

This is kind of like voting, usually for a candidate that is the lesser of many perceived evils. Only to find out 2 years into the term a bunch of crud that you didn't know about in the election. Some rules of Vetting projects that I like to stick too. 

RULE 1. Show me the money.

            I want proof that there is money in a bank account that is associated with the project. 

RULE 2. Does creative have a clue? 

            The heads of creative, writer/director should have some kind of idea as to what they are doing. Even if they don't have experience if they are asking the right questions and have spent time to research what it is going to take to execute the vision then that can work.  

RULE 3. Who, What, When, Why is any talent attached, behind or in front of the camera?

             This eludes to any actors or anybody else that is attached to the film. You often find a bunch of "Unnecessary baggage" in this section. People who are attached that sell themselves as an asset that are more of a liability and can be a great reason to walk away before getting yourself into a mess. Conversely if you need the money or think it's going to be a manageable problem then your at least ready for it. The important thing is to look under this rock. You should know EVERY SINGLE PERSON or entity that has a hand in the equity pot. Family members, friends, other companies, associates, lawyers, sales agents, managers, cousins, Artists, rappers, god parents, a priest,  anybody. [ Yes this list is oddly specific on purpose and I am leaving entire categories out, trust me they show up] 

Why, you ask? Because you are in business with ALL of them. They can show up at really really bad times and have the legal backing to make your job hell. Producing is already hard, this is a thing I do to try and be able to anticipate this issue, I look. 

RULE 4. What is the business structure of the film? 

            Is it an LLC? Which is usually the case. Who actually owns the IP? Who is actually involved in that structure? I often find that people from the previous Rule 3 show up in this rule.  Chain of Title of ownership because that is who you are really working for. A lot of people do not take this seriously until distribution, I think that's a mistake. I recently, last year, had to take a very experience producer to task about this because it wasn't done and we where doing a very elaborate test shoot that would reveal key parts of our IP to a large crew. But that's not who the treat would be from, it would be from the many hands of financiers that would be coming by the shoot. Sometimes the money is not friendly. To this day that producer has no idea the some of the money people were trying to shut down his show from day one. I know that I did my job by making sure the Chain of Title and copyright were locked in before that test shoot. It's film, people steal, especially in indie world. Copyright is cheap, chain of title is cheap to establish it just takes a little time. Lots' of value for little effort, no reason to not do it early. 

RULE 5. Distribution/Exhibition What is the Plan?

            Nine times out of ten there isn't one. It's usually, "Festivals?" the team that is already in place will say that as a question with varying degrees of confidence. I have a job I am looking at right now that wants to shoot Next Month and wants an experienced producer with "ESTABLISHED DISTRIBUTION EXPERIENCE", yes they put that in bold, and yes it's in the same posting that says they are shooting next month. No budget given, no director name given, I am gonna guess they don't have a plan because of these things just from the job posting. 

            What the play should kind of look like. Both categories, keep in  mind you can do both, which  is probably the best plan. 

A. Festivals - You want the project to have targeted festivals for a reason. The film maker (Director and/or Writer) should have done some research into what festivals this film will likely do the best in. It's best if they have a route to a bigger festival that has a film market place attached to the festival. They also should understand what AFM is. If not understand have good questions in that direction. A route looks like this (Local Festival that is in Genre specifically [ Horror, Queer, Sci-Fi, Minority Specific, etc] what your looking for is an easy win. Your trying to collect "Laurels" or "Awards"), you then go for a bigger festival. Festivals happen all year all over the world. It costs money to enter and there is no guarantee you get in let alone win anything. That said EVERY WIN OF ANYKIND counts. If its selection, or consideration or anything the festival sends you that can be put on a poster or box cover. It's all positive. You want these before you submit to CANN or SXSW or LAFF etc. 

B. Distribution Film Markets - Have a Plan, it had better be in the budget. There are two options under this category. 

    One is to go to a film market yourselves as the producers/film makers and try and get meetings and sell the film

    Two is to hire a Sales Agent. They will take money up front, and incur expenses at the festival and a % of the sale. Some of these guys are literal human vampires so keep your lawyer handy. Don't sign anything you don't read, and FOR SURE don't sign anything you don't understand. 

RULE 6. Marketing What is the Plan?

            Yup, just like other rules this one is connected to, well the other rules. Marketing can play a key part in your festival run and setting up a sale at a film marketplace or in getting  you a good sales agent. You have to have a plan, you should have a movie poster, and a pitch deck, and (if it's a pilot) a series show bible. I suggest having a producer who works well with the director that will focus on this and the festivals/distribution plan. You can divide the labor up anyway you want, just keep that Marketing person in the loop. If the team your looking at joining has none of this, just like in the other steps you have to decide if it's worth your time, for the money they are offering. 

Rule 7: Know what you want. 

            This is kind of the biggest rule, but is often the hardest. We all want the show that pays us top dollar and wins an Oscar with A list talent, distribution and financing attached. In 17 years in film, that has never happened to me. I got close last year but even then it was missing pieces. My point is, your gonna have shows that pay good but are led by people without the experience or talent to do the right things for the project. Can you handle that? Do you want to? Is it worth it? Yes, we all love film and want to go the distance, but life is only so long. Saying No is literally magic. Especially if you have a clear vision of the types of films you want to make. I strongly recommend that you do not take on projects that you don't love. 3x that's all you get. You get three shows to learn on that are not something you love. After that third show, you only learn what you don't know on shows that matter to you. Yes, it will suck more if you screw but you will learn faster and your resume will be something your proud of. It matters later. This is the piece of advice that I wish I could give myself. Only work on things you love, not things that show up because you are desperate. 

With this post my procrastination comes to a close and I go back to applying these rules in real time to my own life. What do I want? To pay my bills and keep my soul. Yeah I know, I should have been a dentist. 

TV show intro Music, creative Headspace, Writers Room

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62ta5ZzrRnA

DJMASK000

This post is mostly about writers rooms and showrunning from a creative producer standpoint. Some things that I want to share with people. The link is to a YouTube that I found that has this loop of House of Cards, Newsroom and the Madmen intro's. Those songs all get me fired up and thinking about producing/creating stuff. 

Creative Headspace:

I like to intentionally create a time and place for my writing. I create rituals around it and massage my process. Often this means letting ideas ferment and not writing them down until I have my appointed writing session time. The point is, I CREATE THE SPACE and TIME for my mind to just focus on an idea. Sometimes this is just a notes session, sometimes it's dialogue or a universe deep dive. Maybe one really cool plot point. No ideas or notes are wasted, your creating your foundation. 

Running Writers Rooms:

What I have learned from my last three writers rooms in which I have been the most experience head writer and usually showrunner/ CO - EP

1. A writers room has to have a structure. 

    You should have a list of what needs to get done, ideally that is written down and everyone has a             copy. If not that's ok, it should still be in a general idea folder in your mind. Eventually it will have         to be written down and mapped out of course but the first stage is to get the room going. 

    It should be a loose flexible structure that allows the people in the room to create. 

    Ideas are just ideas, good or bad consider everything seriously and keep it fun. 

    Keep the goals for the group in mind. Let them riff for a few minutes then go back to something that      still needs to be resolved or considered. When you do this, do it in a pause. DON'T EVER STOP            THE FLOW if it's resolving plot. 

2. A writers room must have trust and respect.

    No matter who is there, why they are there, START from a perspective that everyone there could            have a great idea. That's what writers rooms are about after all, ideas. Let other people have them.        Don't worry about you getting yours in the room. Keep it flowing and positive. Trust that you all            have a creative space together, that your there for a common goal of creating something, together. 

3. Curate the room before hand. 

    For Number 2 to work you must, MUST carefully construct the room of people you write with.            Sometimes you get thrown a curveball of a person, that's ok. Allow it to breathe for a few rounds of        ideas before you make any changes in staff once they are in the room. They might surprise you. Error     on the side of keeping people in the room if your not sure. Remember that list? That's your guiding        light in this case. All of that said, invite slow, uninvite fast. Bring people in carefully, get them out(if     they are damaging the idea's flow) quickly. 

Here is a crazy typewriter microphone in a whiskey glass AI image, Write & Drink Radio Podcast 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaAd1nZjjqMOyBtqTILZgCA

That's all for now!

Three year Run

 Right around 3 years now since my last post. Obviously a bunch has happened. I am going to focus this post on the current state of things and the most recent set of producer lessons that I have learned. 

Producing seems to be a constant master class in getting your ass kicked and not giving up. It's one of those things that you never truly master, it's a lifelong journey kind of thing. Only, that's not 100% true. 

In this post I am going to jump between film and episodic series formats, they are different and represent very different goals for me. Series or what used to be known as TV is something I very much want. I want to be a show runner for something I created. 

I am looking at 4 awards on my wall for that's projects script and I know that work still needs to be done. I have hope about this project but much less momentum than I should. It's in the Cyberpunk Genre and will come to either be a tale of caution or redefine the genre. It's actually a CyberUtopia piece but nobody says that so I have to explain it every time I do. The reason I bring this up is that this is my goal. To create this show for as many seasons as I can get out of it. But first I am going to recap what I have worked on since my last post. 

These are not in order since I am not going into detail about most of the shorts, live events, music video's or commercials. 

Since my last post: I have;

1. Directed a Short film [Proof of Concept] for my Cyberutopia/Cyberpunk series. 

        Project Status - I am making great strides in the post which I have now taken over the bulk of the            edit. I couldn't be happier. It is looking really really good. 

2. Produced multiple short films, gotten some EP credits, one Co-Producer Credit. 

        Project Status -  all of these are finished and either published to the universe or are out of my                hands. 

3. Post produced a documentary mini-series

        Project Status - Looking for a Buyer. Final Deliverables for the Sales Agent. 

4. Produced a $200k+ Test shoot using a digital wall and a 35 MM film camera. This was for a $3.5 to $5M film with a Oscar Winning Actor attached. By far the most prestigious thing that I have worked on as a Producer. 

        Project Status - The project was set to move forward after the test shoot then the strike shut                    everyone down. I don't know were things are currently and I do not expect to get a phone call. 

5. Started 3 companies that all contributed to a 4th company that are all in the film/entertainment/tech spaces. This is a massive undertaking and has many pieces. It takes up a good chunk of time. One of the companies I am running all of my digital content through including Podcasts (We have 4 shows in production currently). 

        Project Status - A VC firm is aware of one of the companies and is only waiting for a pitch deck            from me. We pitched one element and they said yes upon seeing a completed pitch deck to a $500k         award. 

A smattering of other projects that I have consulted on, written, writers rooms, produced on etc. Some Production Design work as well. 

That's the short version of the last 3 years. Its been fun. 

Thinking back on this it's actually a lot, and a pretty successful run if I do say so myself. 

Fight for your right, TO BE PAID!

 Yes I have worked for free, yes I donate my time to passion projects. Yes I donate resources and cash to passion projects. That does not mean that I owe ANYONE those things. Especially multi-million dollar productions that I have personally raised thousands of dollars for. 

My entire career I have heard about producers making legit money. How this is the level at which everyone gets paid. Yet here I am airing out the frustration at the obvious. You still gotta fight to get the basics. People are still trying to get me to do a lot and give me less. People are still trying to put out how much they are sacrificing how much they are the victim of the film "system" and how much I should really donate my time, Rolodex and skill set. Trying to use the guilt lever that EVERY SINGLE INDIE film I have every worked on uses. Also yes, I have used this myself in trying to get things donated....when my budget was $500.00.  When the budget is closer to $5 Million then this is a ridiculous notion. Especially when specific promises have been made. 

So why do I still feel like somebody is gonna say that I am a bad _______ for fighting to get paid? Because it's probably happening. For sure the comment is being framed as being "hard to work with". The problem with this is....this time I represent the money. But mostly, after 15 years of donating work, and "falling in love" with projects only to get stiffed in the end...I don't want to make the same mistake again. This time, it's Covid-19 and I have a family. This time the whole thing falls apart if the people I represent don't get what they are supposed too. I am very grateful that none of this is coming to that. That none of what is happening is sinister, that it's just hard. The people I am negotiating with are good people and we are going to get paid. It's not malicious it's just how it goes sometimes. I have been on the other side of this fence many many times. The one thing I always note to myself when paying someone out after a difficult negotiation is that I need to remember the tenacity of how those people fought to get paid. That I should do the same for myself and more often. 

Every Film Maker, Investor, Grip, PA, Accountant, Executive Producer, Background actor should get paid for contributing, every single time. 

When it doesn't happen it's unfortunate, often tragic. It's also not always the fault of the Director/film maker. Usually it is a situation out of their hands. Which is why you never should feel bad about fighting to get paid, you might not get it, but you should always fight for it. Really, the producers and especially the film makers WANT to pay people. Films are expensive, the industry is top heavy, and this whole process is difficult. Patience and a firm resolve are necessary on both ends of this process. This post is gonna be short but it's a necessary conversation about how this negotiation isn't just for the Indie Art Directors and Sound Designers....Producers at the multi-million dollar level are still dealing with the same stuff. Work those negotiating muscles early and often, your gonna need them later. Believe, everyone else at the high levels are doing the exact same negotiations that are happening on $500.00 music video's it's just more money. 

Stay frosty. 

Building a Slate of Films

 So here is the post I eluded too in my last post. 

I had a conversation with a potential investor/connector and I was told that the "ask" was too small. "Ask" is just a short hand term for "the amount of money you are asking for".  He basically told me that the investors that he represented would not see a significant enough return on investment to have this investment be worth the time it would take to set the deal in motion. It makes sense if your used to moving around large chunks of millions of dollars. If you think about it, you or I wouldn't do it either. 

The long and the short of it is a slate of films packaged in the millions of dollars was ultimately discussed and I have begun to put this together. This was suggested too me. Which has never been offered or suggested before. Naturally we started with a slate 3 years ago when this project first came across my desk. Nobody then was interested. It was "too much money". 

So now, I am definitely taking projects...packaged projects only. I will break down what that means and why. This is real and happening right now, the funny thing is. Not many people read this blog so I don't expect to get a single submission. If you have a packaged film send it here.                                              [ steelphoenixchicago@gmail.com ] This is a specific email for this. I will see it and begin the VETT. Must include contact info. No contact info it gets deleted. Put "Film Slate Consideration" in the subject line. 

 

A packaged project: This is a project that has a good script (not necessarily a great script), that has people attached. So that means, at least one producer that has produced more than one feature length film from beginning to end. This producer should be contractually attached and ideally someone who has worked with $500k budget or more. The higher the budgets they have worked on the better. The writer can be first time but it is better if they have credits under there name. THE DIRECTOR MUST HAVE DIRECTED AT LEAST ONE FILM OF FEATURE LENGTH THAT GOT DISTRIBUTED. You must also have at least one actor signed on that is some sort of name. 

The variations to this are if you bring in one or more people that are a strong name. So if Aaron Sorkin writes the script and Johnny Depp wants to play the lead you don't need anybody else. If the director won at Sundance or another major festival it can help with the producer not having as much experience. But in that situation you would want at least a B-named actor attached. 

What will not be considered. 1 sheet ideas, 1st draft scripts, pitch decks with only no names attached in the above the line section. I can't even submit these things for myself. Keep in mind, anytime your submitting to a producer who is also a film maker that your ideas and projects are actually competing with that producers ideas. (I started doing this to make my ideas, just like you). You cannot expect studios or major production companies to look at your "great idea" when they are full of people that already work at those places who are trying to get there own ideas made. You MUST BRING SOMETHING TO THE TABLE THAT THEY DON'T ALREADY HAVE.

It took me forever to understand this, I really had to see it for it too click. If you don't have this yet, go work indie films. Start with what ever will take you, and work your way up in terms of budgets. $50K shorts that need a locations person. Then jump on $110K short as a Associate Producer, or whatever you can get in the producer world. This also works if you want to be a director but really if that's what you want you need to be directing as much as possible. 

Ok that's basically it. You guys have a good day out there and don't ever give up. If everybody knew what we knew about film they would all be trying to do it! Stay in love with the process and keep growing.