Tag: Film Industry

Producing

The New Paradigm of Film Distributors Really Not Caring About Their Films

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

If you read last Wednesday’s post about standardization of suck that is the McDonald’s ice cream machine, you hopefully felt a little irritation — assuming you believe in truth, justice, and lovely intangibles. Well, alas, I have more fuel for the ire fire, which I have a special interest due to my connection to filmmaking and knowing many a fellow indie producer who is either in this position or about to be. Now, if you’re…

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Writing

Writers: Beware the Hope Rustlers!

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

Could be I’m just thinking of writing more this week, what with NaNoWriMo looming and having just finished J. Michael Straczynski’s Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer, I’m thinking of how little writing I’ve done of late. Reading the book above will certainly inspire you to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. J Michael Straczynski (aka “JMS” as he often referred to) spends a good amount of time validating the choice to be…

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Various and Sundry

James Bond Will Return… With Free Shipping

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

Last week, I mentioned the big news that was AT&T’s retreat from WarnerMedia (still to be approved). And, as many people have noticed, media consolidation continues apace. This week’s revelation? Amazon is looking to buy MGM. Now, since MGM has been trying to sell itself for a while, this may not come as a surprise, but what this means for consolidation… well, who knows?

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Various and Sundry

Media Mashup as Discovery to Acquire WarnerMedia

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

I first learned of this over the weekend in an LA Times piece, but AT&T, who only a few years ago, bought Time Warner in a bid to become a new powerhouse entertainment ecosystem, is planning to sell its media goodies to Discovery Communications. The resulting combination of scripted and unscripted shows, films, and assorted media could be peanut butter & chocolate or cookies & okra. I honestly don’t know and don’t particularly have a…

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Producing

Theater Strategy Post-Covid

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

I’ve been watching how theater and film productions have been coping with the pandemic (as you can see from June, July, and earlier in December). Safely producing new works is important not only considering my role in running Jabberwocky Audio Theater, but also thinking of my many colleagues whose livelihood requires being on stages and sets. So this article in Fortune, not my usual source for theater news, was an interesting read. Author Michael Barra…

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Producing

Warner Bros. Decides to Upend Theatrical Releases

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

Just shy of two weeks ago, Warner Brothers decided to drop a bombshell by saying that all their 2021 films would simultaneously go onto their streaming service, HBO Max, along with theaters, as reported in industry publications, Variety and Hollywood Reporter. This announcement broke a certain segment of the Internet the Thursday it dropped because –shockingly– Warner Bros. evidently didn’t let any of their producing partners know. And that’s a big deal, not simply from…

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Various and Sundry Writing

John August on Professionalism

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

Back in 2006, writer John August wrote (and presented) a really great talk called “Professionalism and the Rise of the Amateur.” It drew on his own experience as a writer, but it could be applied to other jobs — basically, anywhere where you’re trying to be “professional” — and what that word means, really. Well, lots of things have happened since then, as he recounts as he revisits and expands (and corrects) some of those…

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Producing

More on Getting Back to Set

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

Earlier this week, Cirque Du Soleil announced it was filing for bankruptcy and Broadway said it was going to be shuttered until January 2021. It’s grim for folks in the entertainment industry. Still people are trying to figure out how to get some productions back in gear, especially film and TV. Last week, I shared some guidance the film industry has been working on. This week, catching up on Scriptnotes, I heard their late May…

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