A recent meeting with Larry Goebel at Imagination Worldwide, a successful foreign distributor, revealed an interesting problem: What do you do when the international film buyers don’t know themselves what their entertainment consumers want? Larry offered them family films, horror films, dramas, comedies and thrillers… trying to get them to buy his films for their territory. Frustrated by the buyer’s lack of commitment, Larry finally asked, “So what are you looking for.” The answer came back a very puzzling, “Give me something that I can sell.” Well… that was helpful.
Obviously, the major Hollywood studios have the same problem. They don’t know what the customer wants to see. The well publicized line up of box office failures this summer proves that no one, even if you are Sony, Paramount, Fox, Universal or Disney know much about what the consumer wants. Big stars, big special effects and big sound does not a movie make.
The international film buyers really do know what they want, it’s what they always want: Good stories, well told. Stories that have depth and meaning, stories that are well acted, stories that make people care, and want to go to the movies. The accountants and lawyers took over the big motion picture studios long ago, they are not run by great storytellers anymore – they are pabulum servers with a really big spoon.
So, it falls to the independent filmmakers to deliver to the world good stories, well told. If they too pander to the lowest common denominator, the way the studios have, well… I guess there’s always a book.
Obviously, the major Hollywood studios have the same problem. They don’t know what the customer wants to see. The well publicized line up of box office failures this summer proves that no one, even if you are Sony, Paramount, Fox, Universal or Disney know much about what the consumer wants. Big stars, big special effects and big sound does not a movie make.
The international film buyers really do know what they want, it’s what they always want: Good stories, well told. Stories that have depth and meaning, stories that are well acted, stories that make people care, and want to go to the movies. The accountants and lawyers took over the big motion picture studios long ago, they are not run by great storytellers anymore – they are pabulum servers with a really big spoon.
So, it falls to the independent filmmakers to deliver to the world good stories, well told. If they too pander to the lowest common denominator, the way the studios have, well… I guess there’s always a book.
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