I was struck today with the incongruity and yet inter-connectivity of  two separate articles regarding financial security in America.  The first one was from the Associated Press, rebroadcast through the Huffington Post, titled 80 Percent Of U.S. Adults Face Near-Poverty, Unemployment: Survey wherein it states that “Four out of 5 U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near-poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives, a sign of deteriorating economic security and an elusive American dream.”  http://huff.to/11omSe1

The second article from ABC News was titled: Study Finds Only 28 Percent of Millionaires Think They're Rich, wherein they state “According to a study from investment bank UBS, entitled "What is Wealthy?," 40 percent of those with $5 million in investable assets said they didn't feel they were rich. And only 28 percent of investors who had between $1 and $5 million in investable assets viewed themselves as rich.”  http://abcn.ws/12VOe97

I simply cannot view both of these studies about the state of the American condition without comment.  The first one deals with one level of insecurity, as in – I cannot make my mortgage payment, fix my car or pay for my child’s education; and the second one deals with a different level of insecurity, as in, I have all the comfort that I need… but my neighbor has three houses, five cars and a more beautiful wife.  Both are insecure conditions to that person. 

I live in Beverly Hills, California where it is very easy to understand the attitude of people who don’t think that they are rich, even though they have a few million dollars in the bank.  In my neighborhood you can throw a ball in any direction and hit someone who has more money, cars, homes, women and stuff than you do.  At the same time I wonder how some of my neighbors are getting by when they have not made a movie in three years and have no visible form of income to support themselves or their family.  "The Lord (read – entertainment industry) giveth and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord. [Job 1:21]"

My point is that poverty is still a real possibility for all of us.  You may be flying high today and they may be repossessing your Lamborghini tomorrow.  What the 40% of millionaires that have $5 million in investable assets know is that it could all disappear tomorrow.  You can’t allow yourself to become complacent.  If you don’t stay hungry, you don’t stay rich for long. 

 If you are a producer and you want to make money, I would encourage you to look at creating serial television programming over creating motion pictures. 

Do it.  Do it now!

Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO, Showtime and the multitude of other pay services are crying for brilliant series right now, not movies.  They have found that dramatic and comedic TV series hook their users in longer and give them a reason to come back again and again for more.  If you scan the current Netfilx offerings and don’t see a movie that interests you, or that you have already seen, you may turn the television off , or worse, go to another service. However, if you’re seven episodes into Lie To Me, House of Cards or Game of Thrones, you’re going to probably sit down and watch more. 

There is another, more pervasive issue going on here:  People are losing their ability to focus their attention for more than about 20 minutes at a time.  Our young people are the first "YouTube Generation". A generation that has consumed a great deal of their entertainment in one to two minute bursts.  A 22 minute sitcom is an eternity to them.  Working adults have such over impacted lives with their  jobs, kids, sports, hobbies, games and other attention grabbers that sitting down to watch a two hour movie is not a pleasure -- it is a chore. 

When our news is consumed in the length of 140 character Twitter feeds, what do we expect?  http://bit.ly/15zpFRq

It is interesting how motion pictures were once the place to be for top flight producers, writers, directors and stars.  That has changed.  Movies just don’t hold an audience as well as a well crafted series will and the networks and pay cable channels are throwing millions and some of their biggest stars into them.  It is no wonder -- worldwide syndication revenue can be in the hundreds of millions for a really successful series. 

I recently met with the CEO of a major international media company.  I asked him what they were acquiring for 2014 and he said, “Dramatic, high concept television series.”  Movies were not a priority on his list.

If you have a great dramatic television concept and you are looking for funding.  Call me!

 When you create entertainment productions you need to think well beyond the borders of Los Angeles, or California… or North America for that matter.  You should consider how to make people laugh, or cry or stand up and cheer in China, Poland, Brazil or New Zealand. 

I recently had lunch with the owner of a Russian television network who is summering here in Los Angeles, soaking up more than our sunshine, he is here on a hunt for content that will entertain and delight his viewers back in Mother Russia.  For God only knows what reason, the rest of the world looks to “Hollywood” to help fill their lonely hours.  We Americans may no longer dominate the world car market, computer chips or appliances… but we still are seen as the “center of the universe” when it comes to creating and marketing entertainment. 

Never mind that a lot of the best known American television shows are often just copies of their British predecessors, or that most of what Hollywood turns out is simply drivel… it is still better drivel than they are making elsewhere. 

We (the American entertainment industry) are still very good at our jobs.  We know how to conceive, produce and disseminate programming that the rest of the world likes to see.  So, when you’re planning your next pilot, series or movie… think about people in the Philippines, Korea, Spain and Argentina.
What do you think they would like to see? 

For they are your audience too.