Nikki Finke – OnMedea

January 6, 2014January 22, 2014

Only Tech Reporters Care About CES

Ari Emanuel, Ben Silverman, Bob's Big Boy Burbank, Electus, Fred Willard, Jeff Weiner, Jeff Zucker, Jill Kennedy, kara swisher, Khan Manka, Les Moonves, Manka Bros., Melinda the first lady of magic, nikki finke, Nokia Theater, OnMedea, Philippe Dauman, Rupert Murdoch, sharon waxman, Sherry Lansing, Sumner Redstone, Taylor Swift, Terry Semel, The black Eyed Peas, thewrap.com, Viacom's Holiday party, Accel Partners, Alan Eustace, Allen Blue, Ann Mather, Arvind Rajan, Ben Silverman, Bob Iger, Bret Taylor, Chamath Palihapitiya, Chris Hughes, Christopher Cox, Dan Rose, David Drummond, David Ebersman, David Fischer, David Henke, David Kirkpatrick, David Sze, Deep Nishar, Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin, Ellen Levy, Elliot Schrage, Emilie Choi, Eric Schmidt, Erika Rottenberg, Gerald Levin, Greylock Partners, HBO, Jean-Luc Vaillant, Jeff Bewkes, Jeff Weiner, Jeff Zucker, Jill Kennedy, Jim Breyer, Joanna Shields, John Doerr, John Hennessy, Jon Miller, Jonathan Heiliger, Jonathan Rosenberg, Justin Aselage, Katrina Hau, Kevin Eyres, Khan Manka, Li Ka-shing, Lori Goler, Manka Bros., Marc Andreessen, Mark Cuban, Mark Zuckerberg, Matt Cohler, Mike Gamson, Mike Murphy, Mike Schroepfer, MySpace, Nicolas Carlson, Nikesh Arora, OnMedea, Owen Van Natta, Patrick Crane, Patrick Pichette, Paul Buchheit, Paul Madera, Paul Otellini, Peter Thiel, Ram Shriram, Reid Hoffman, Robby Kwok, Rupert Murdoch, Sergey Brin, Sheryl Sandberg, Shirley Tilghman, Shona Brown, Steve Cadigan, Steve Patrizi, Steve Sordello, Sumner Redstone, Ted Ullyot, Tony DiSanto, Toy Story 3, CES

Nearly every major online publication (and print for that matter) are sending at least one reporter to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) – and no one, except those reporters, actually cares what comes out of the show.

It’s all the same – year after year.

Reporters write up an elaborate post about “What to expect from CES this year!” –

– then they go to Vegas

– they do a decent write up of Day 1

– then they party hard the first night because they have been so focused on the build up of CES that they just want to unwind

– and then they write a lackluster Day 2 report (because they are hungover)

– party some more

– and then sort of disappear until it’s time to drag themselves home.

Believe me, if CES were held in Fresno, even the Tech reporters wouldn’t show up.

Because it’s not about “new technology” (the gadgets are really just variations on themes from the past 10 years), it’s about “Vegas” and being able to get drunk on the company dime.

The same goes for the legions of companies that attempt to break new products and show off their brilliant innovations.

It’s a snow job – everyone is reprinting the same press release and then heading to dinners and cocktail parties to talk about the press release.

99.99% of the world’s population really don’t care to read about a $150,000 4K television, or a self-driving car or wearable tech – they might buy it once it hits the market if the products are good – but to read about it from hundreds of tech reporters and bloggers? Not so much.

But 99.99% do care about Vegas. So just write about your debauchery (like this CEO from last year – CES After Dark) and forget the gadgets.

No one cares.

Jill Kennedy – OnMedea

November 22, 2013May 12, 2014

The Great Media Bloodbath of 2014

5/12/14 UPDATE: AT&T to acquire DirecTV! Lock the doors – it’s scary out there.

2/12/14 UPDATE: Holy Crap, 2014 just got a whole lot uglier (and it was already hideous) with the announcement of Comcast acquiring Time Warner Cable!

ORIGINAL POST:

It’s coming.

Holy shit is it coming.

Millions are getting pummeled with a horrible winter but brace yourselves further, because you are in for a shitstorm of job cuts in 2014.

It will not be pretty.

It seems that media company CEOs are hell bent on proving to Wall Street that their companies can be growth companies.

Unless they fire every employee and start a new company by themselves in a garage, they cannot be growth companies the way Wall Street would like.

20% margins just will never happen again in the movie, TV, print, or music industries – so deal with it.

But these CEOs are guys (all guys) who think they can do anything.

But they will fail.

And then they’ll CUT.

And… it will not be pretty.

Tribune got things started.

Sony will be next.

My company’s CEO has called 2014 “The Year of the Hammer.”

No one will make it through unscathed.

First to go will be the packaged media folks. Those who support the production and distribution of DVDs and CDs and magazines, etc.

Gone.

Next will be the slow growth businesses – like movies and Broadcast TV production (serious like a heart attack).

Slates will be slashed, storytelling risk-taking will cease to exist.

Since no one can seem to do comedy anymore on Broadcast, they will be relegated to the epic mini-series format like “Under The Dome” and live Sports to stay afloat.

Then, finally, the low margin businesses will be hit – like console games. With the exception of a few huge titles, it’s a tough business and it certainly doesn’t help these overly-ambitious / delusional CEOs hit their targets.

So what’s going to be left? TV production for cable and Over-The-Top (OTT).

Why TV gets ownership of Internet content production is baffling to me. But they do.

By the end of 2014, giant media companies with their film studios, broadcast networks and massive real estate leases will be much MUCH leaner and the quality of the product will be much MUCH worse.

Hey, but a point of margin here and a point of margin there adds up to… 2 points.

But lighten up, Spring is coming.

Jill Kennedy – OnMedea

October 9, 2013October 10, 2013

CBS Cancels ‘We Are Men’

Really sad.

The people who created this show really thought they had another “Friends.”

Oh, well.

Next time – be more funny – and stop trying to write for the idiots who you believe are not as smart as you.

Chin up, maybe Basic Cable or Netflix is ready for your groundbreaking style.

Gone are the dreams and dancing.

Jill Kennedy – OnMedea

P.S. – If you’re wondering what’s up with this bullshit post – read this.

October 9, 2013

Journalism Is Dead

If other blogs didn’t steal my stuff years ago, I would have said R.I.P. Journalism – but “R.I.P.” as a way of saying a something is dead is also dead.

So, what do I mean by “Journalism Is Dead?”

Very simple. Journalism is dead. I’ll prove it.

The online media “information” space has been taken over by the Press Release. Companies issue press releases or send emails to blogs like Deadline.com or TechCrunch and that becomes the news of the day. No one is actually out in the field unless you consider a guy with a camera in the face of a drunken celebrity at TMZ real journalism.

Very few – VERY FEW – are actually digging up stories, creating news – trying to right the wrongs. It’s all controlled by someone other than journalists.

So here’s my experiment…

I didn’t really write over the summer because I was working on a book – so my numbers were pretty terrible on this blog. I was doing pretty well when I was constantly writing about how Facebook sucks. But now it’s terrible.

Last month I had very few eyeballs on this site because I really wasn’t around and only posted one time. Pretty sad.

In September 2013 – OnMedea had 1,167 hits. A real low for the site – but my own fault. In October, I am at 574 hits for the month – mostly because of the old Sean Hannity story – but really terrible.

Now I’m mostly going to do what others “media” blogs do for the rest of the month (Press Releases, hearsay, etc. – with my own little comments here and there) – whatever takes the LEAST amount of time – and give updates on how my numbers change.

Should be an interesting experiment.

Jill Kennedy – OnMedea

September 9, 2013January 17, 2014

Lloyd Blankfein Is A Douche

It’s my shortest blog of the year – but I think the point is solid.

Here’s just one of the many reasons from NYMAG.com

Jill Kennedy – OnMedea

February 8, 2013February 12, 2013

NBC Is Saved!

OK – I know NBC has been on a really bad run lately – but things are definitely looking up!

I just received an email alert from the Hollywood Reporter announcing that Christina Ricci has agreed to star in…

wait for it…

GIRLFRIEND IN A COMA

After 87 years, NBC finally has a show to be proud of.

Bob Greenblatt has proven his brilliance and I can’t to hear what’s next:

Could it be – “My Boyfriend’s Got A Nail In His Head”?

“Dad’s Bleeding From The Ass… Again”

“What’s That Thing On Molly’s Face?”

The possibilities are endless.

All joking aside… Here’s who is really in a coma:

Jill Kennedy – OnMedea

August 5, 2011August 5, 2011

Wall Street Reminder: Nobody Knows Anything

OK – so the U.S. got downgraded by S&P (AA+) for the first time in its history. Whatever. It’s all just a game anyway.

Most talking heads throughout the weekend will say Monday will be a bloodbath on Wall Street and that many investors will be clamoring to yank out their cash.

But I must remind anyone who has money in the market (me!), out of the market and all those on the fence that “nobody knows anything.”

This phrase, coined by William Goldman in “Adventures In The Screen Trade” (worth a read even for non-screenwriters), is absolutely true in almost all industries and in almost all cases where someone is trying to predict the future.

In the movie business, the phrase was basically referring to the major studios’ inability to know what movies would work at the box office and what movies would fail. As it turns out, with all the historical data at our fingertips… nobody knows anything.

And the same goes for Wall Street:

Meredith Whitney, hotsy-totsy Queen of the Double-Dip, has no clue where the markets are going (though she seems to be praying for a downturn – probably more out of concern for her reputation than for the country).

That whack job Ray Dalio – founder of Bridgewater Associates (subject of a brilliant piece by John Cassidy in the New Yorker) – has no clue where the markets are going (though, to be fair, the whack job has been more successful than most in guessing lately).

The government, your parents, your children, Warren Buffett, CNBC, Fox News, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, your friends on social networks – nobody knows anything.

If they did, then Wednesday night I would have received a text or seen a tweet or a Facebook status update that said “The Dow will fall 512 points tomorrow – you may want to make a couple of portfolio moves.”

I didn’t get that message from any of those people who “know so much”. Just like I won’t get any correct message this weekend about what will happen on Monday. Because nobody knows anything about what will happen on Monday!

So this weekend, as we all think about our personal finances, don’t make knee-jerk decisions based on something someone says on television or an internet blog.

This may sound overly simplistic, but just go with your gut and calm the freak down. There are a lot great healthy American companies out there and they deserve your confidence.

But, then again, I don’t know anything either – and I certainly don’t know how “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” is going to perform this weekend – perhaps $35 million, perhaps $65 million. It’s a crap shoot.

Jill Kennedy – OnMedea

July 26, 2011August 2, 2011

Debt Ceiling Impasse 1 — Social Media 0

American Idol, Ari Emanuel, Ben Silverman, Bruce Gowers, Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Freemantle Enterprises, Gaude Lydia Paez, Jeff Weiner, Jeff Zucker, John Pritchett, Kara DioGuardi, Ken Warwick, Kevin Reilly, Khan Manka, Manka Bros., Nigel Lythgoe, Nikki Finke, Paula Abdul, Peter Rice, Randy Jackson, Rupert Murdoch, Ryan Seacrest, Scott Grogin, Sharon Waxman, Simon Cowell leaving American Idol, Simon Fuller, Terry Semel, Haley Reinhart, James Durbin, Scott McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Jennifer Lopez, Ben Silverman, Jimmy Iovine, Accel Partners, Ben Silverman, Bob Iger, Chris Hughes, David Kirkpatrick, Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin, Gerald Levin, Greylock Partners, HBO, Jeff Bewkes, Jeff Zucker, Jill Kennedy, Joanna Shields, Jon Miller, Khan Manka, Li Ka-shing, Manka Bros., Mark Cuban, Mark Zuckerberg, Matt Cohler, MySpace, Nicolas Carlson, OnMedea, Owen Van Natta, Paul Buchheit, Peter Thiel, Rupert Murdoch, Sheryl Sandberg, Sumner Redstone, Toy Story 3, Mitch McConnell, President Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Michele Bachman, John Boehner, Sarah Palin, Jo Bonner, Martha Roby, Mike Rogers, Robert Aderholt, Mo Brooks, Spencer Bachus, Terri Sewell, Don Young, Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, Paul Gosar, Trent Franks, Benjamin Quayle, Ed Pastor, David Schweikert, Jeff Flake, Raul M. Grijalva, Gabrielle Giffords, Eric Crawford, Tim Griffin, Steve Womack, Mike Ross, Mike Thompson, Wally Herger, Daniel Lungren, Tom McClintock, Doris Matsui, Lynn Woolsey, George Miller, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Lee, John Garamendi, Jerry McNerney, Jackie Speier, Fortney Pete Stark, Anna Eshoo, Michael Honda, Zoe Lofgren, Sam Farr, Dennis Cardoza, Jeff Denham, Jim Costa, Devin Nunes, Kevin McCarthy, Lois Capps, Elton Gallegly, Howard McKeon, David Dreier, Brad Sherman, Howard Berman, Adam Schiff, Henry Waxman, Xavier Becerra, Judy Chu, Karen Bass, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Maxine Waters, Jane Harman, Laura Richardson, Grace Napolitano, Linda Sanchez, Edward Royce, Jerry Lewis, Gary Miller, Joe Baca, Ken Calvert, Mary Bono Mack, Dana Rohrabacher, Loretta Sanchez, John Campbell, Darrell Issa, Brian Bilbray, Bob Filner, Duncan Hunter, Susan Davis, Diana DeGette, Jared Polis, Scott Tipton, Cory Gardner, Doug Lamborn, Mike Coffman, Ed Perlmutter, John Larson, Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLauro, James Himes, Christopher Murphy, John Carney, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Jeff Miller, Steve Southerland, Corrine Brown, Ander Crenshaw, Richard Nugent, Cliff Stearns, John Mica, Daniel Webster, Gus Bilirakis, Bill Young, Kathy Castor, Dennis Ross, Vern Buchanan, Connie Mack, Bill Posey, Thomas Rooney, Frederica Wilson, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Theodore Deutch, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Mario Diaz-Balart, Allen West, Alcee Hastings, Sandy Adams, David Rivera, Jack Kingston, Sanford Bishop, Lynn Westmoreland, Henry Johson, John Lewis, Tom Price, Rob Woodall, Austin Scott, Tom Graves, Paul Broun, Phil Gringrey, John Barrow, David Scott, Madeleine Bordallo, Colleen Hanabusa, Mazie Hirono, Raul Labrador, Michael Simpson, Bobby Rush, Jesse Jackson, Daniel Lipinski, Luis Gutierrez, Mike Quigley, Peter Roskam, Danny Davis, Joe Walsh, Janice Schakowsky, Robert Dold, Adam Kinginger, Jerry Costello, Judy Biggert, Randy Hultgren, Timothy Johnson, Donald Manzullo, Robert Schilling, Aaron Schock, John Shimkus, Peter Visclosky, Joe Donnelly, Marlin Stutzman, Todd Rokita, Dan Burton, Mike Pence, Andre Carson, Larry Bucshon, Todd Young, Bruce Braley, David Loebsack, Leonard Boswell, Tom Latham, Steve King, Tim Huelskamp, Lynn Jenkins, Kevin Yoder, Mike Pompeo, Ed Whitfield, Brett Guthrie, John Yarmuth, Geoff Davis, Harold Rogers, Ben Chandler, Steve Scalise, Cedric Richmond, Jeffrey Landry, John Fleming, Rodney Alexander, Bill Cassidy, Charles Boustany, Chellie Pingree, Michael Michaud, Andy Harris, C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Donna Edwards, Steny Hoyer, Roscoe Bartlett, Elijah Cummings, Chris Van Hollen, John Olver, Richard Neal, James McGovern, Barney Frank, Niki Tsongas, John Tierney, Edward Markey, Michael Capuano, Stephen Lynch, William Keating, Dan Benishek, Bill Huizenga, Justin Amash, Dave Camp, Dale Kildee, Fred Upton, Tim Walberg, Mike Rogers, Gary Peters, Candice Miller, Thaddeus McCotter, Sander Levin, Hansen Clarke, John Conyers, John Dingell, Timothy Walz, John Kline, Erik Paulson, Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison, Collin Peterson, Chip Cracaack, Alan Nunnelee, Bennie Thompson, Gregg Harper, Steven Palazzo, Wm. Lacy Clay, Todd Akin, Russ Carnahan, Vicky Hartzler, Emanuel Cleaver, Sam Graves, Billy Long, Jo Ann Emerson, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Denny Rehberg, Jeff Fortenberry, Lee Terry, Adrian Smith, Shelley Berkley, Dean Heller, Joseph Heck, Frank Guinta, Charles Bass, Robert Andrews, Frank LoBiondo, Jon Runyan, Chrisopher Smith, Scott Garrett, Frank Pallone, Leonard Lance, Bill Pascrell, Steven Rothman, Donald Payne, Rodney Frelinghuysen, Rush Holt, Albio Sires, Martin Heinrich, Stevan Pearce, Ben Ray Lujan, Timothy H. Bishop, Steve Israel, Peter King, Carolyn McCarthy, Gary Ackerman, Gregory Meeks, Joseph Crowley, Jerrold Nadler, Anthony Weiner, Edolphus Towns, Yvette Clarke, Nydia Velazquez, Michael Grimm, Carolyn Maloney, Charles Rangel, Jose Serrano, Eliot Engel, Nita Lowey, Nan Hayworth, Christopher Gibson, Paul Tonko, Maurice Hinchey, William Owens, Richard Hannah, Ann Marie Buerkle, Brian Higgins, Louis McIntosh Slaughter, Tom Reed, G.K. Butterfield, Renee Ellmers, Walter Jones, David Price, Virginia Foxx, Howard Coble, Mike McIntyre, Larry Kissell, Sue Wilkins Myrick, Patrick McHenry, Heath Shuler, Melvin Watt, Brad Miller, Rick Berg, Gergorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, Steve Chabot, Jean Schmidt, Michael Turner, Jim Jordan, Robert Latta, Bill Johnson, Steve Austria, John A. Boehner, Marcy Kaptur, Dennis Kucinich, Marcia Fudge, Patrick Tiberi, Betty Sutton, Steven LaTourette, Steve Stivers, James Renacci, Tim Ryan, Bob Gibbs, John Sullivan, Dan Boren, Frank Lucas, Tom Cole, James Lankford, David Wu, Greg Walden, Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, Kurt Schrader, Robert Brady, Chaka Fattah, Mike Kelly, Jason Altmire, Glenn Thompson, Jim Gerlach, Patrick Meehan, Michael Fitzpatrick, Bill Schuster, Tom Marino, Lou Barletta, Mark Critz, Allyson Schwarz, Michael Doyle, Charles Dent, Joseph Pitts, Tim Holden, Tim Murphy, Todd Russell Platts, Pedro Pierluisi, David Cicilline, James Langevin, Tim Scott, Joe Wilson, Jeff Duncan, Trey Gowdy, Mick Mulvaney, James Clyburn, Kristi Noem, David Roe, John Duncan, Charle Fleischmann, Scott DesJarlais, Jim Cooper, Diane Black, Marsha Blackburn, Stephen Lee Fincher, Steve Cohen, Louie Gohmert, Ted Poe, Sam Johnson, Ralph Hall, Jeb Hensarling, Joe Barton, John Abney Culberson, Kevin Brady, Al Green, Michael McCaul, Michael Conaway, Kay Granger, Mac Thornberry, Ron Paul, Ruben Hinojosa, Silvestre Reyes, Bill Flores, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Randy Neugebauer, Charles Gonzalez, Lamar Smith, Pete Olson, Francisco Canseco, Kenny Marchant, Lloyd Doggett, Michael Burgess, Blake Farenthold, Henry Cuellar, Gene Green, Eddie Bernice Johnson, John Carter, Pete Sessions, Rob Bishop, Jim Matteson, Jason Chaffetz, Peter Welch, Donna Christensen, Robert Wittman, Scott Rigell, Robert Scott, Randy Forbes, Robert Hurt, Bob Goodlatte, Eric Cantor, James Moran, Morgan Griffith, Frank Wolf, Gerald Connolly, Jay Inslee, Rick Larsen, Jaime Herrera Beutler, Doc Hastings, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Norman Dicks, Jim McDermott, David Reichert, Adam Smith, David McKinley, Shelly Moore Capito, Nick Rahall, Paul Ryan, Rammy Baldwin, Ron Kind, Gwen Moore, James Sensenbrenner, Thomas, Petri, Sean Duffy, Reid Ribble, Cynthia M. Lummis, Jeff Sessions, Richard Shelby, Mark Begich, Lisa Murkowski, Jon Kyl, John McCain, Mark Pryor, John Boozman, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Mark Udall, Michael Bennett, Joseph Lieberman, Richard Blumenthal, Christopher Coons, Edward Kaufman, Bill Nelson, Marco Rubio, Saxby Chambliss

For the past week, I’ve been instructed by a few Facebook friends to update my status by cutting and pasting a sentence or phrase that reflects their outrage of the current Debt Ceiling Impasse...

… or to email my Congress person…

… or to Tweet THIS if I want change…

… or to text someone that ‘I’m mad as Hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.’

And after all that updating, and reposting, and retweeting, and Google+ing, what’s the result?

– Debt ceiling impasse.

– Unstable global financial markets.

– Multiple stories about the inevitable downgrade from our AAA credit status and a coming stock market collapse.

Now, perhaps there are a few young congressional aides that are monitoring the ‘Facebook Status Update Situation’ and how many constituents actually posted the sentence of choice – but, really, is Congress listening?

Of course not.

Support or dissent from social media is like “American Idol” voting. So silly – but since it’s so easy to participate… why not?

It’s just another reason I feel Facebook is worthless. Superficial passion. “My day was awesome!” “My kids are the best students!” “Here’s the greatest recipe for Apple Pie!”

On “American Idol”, viewers are urged to phone or text (standard text message rates apply) as many times as they can for their favorite contestant. If you can’t get through – please keep trying!

Millions and millions of “votes” for Scott McCreary. Millions and millions for Lauren Alaina. Yet more millions and millions for Haley Reinhart (why, I’ll never know – don’t be hating me Haley fans – I just don’t think she’s talented).

And the winner is? Oh, I don’t know… we don’t care. The producers have agreed on… I mean, America has voted on… let’s say… Scotty!

You realize the votes aren’t counted, right?

If they actually did count the votes, the viewers would see those counts. Because that would add an interesting dynamic.

But producers can’t do that because then they wouldn’t be able to kick off the contestants they don’t like.

The same thing applies when social media takes on politics. When one person can re-post something a thousand times, it’s a superficial reading of what is really going on.

“Millions of emails have flooded the in-boxes of members of Congress.” Yeah, millions and millions of emails from three guys in Utah. And all went straight to the Congressional Spam folder.

And every political party is doing it – which creates nothing but muddle.

I am fairly certain the Tea Party people are flooding their status updates with “Don’t Raise The Debt Ceiling At All. Take Back America!”

And Republican Facebookers are pasting “Make Obama a one-term President.”

And the Democrats: “Don’t let the corporate jet owners win again!”

Is there anyone counting who is updating their Facebook status the most times? What do you think? And what do they win if they post the most? At least Scotty McCreary gets a record contract. Social Media activists get… ignored.

We all know where the Debt Ceiling Impasse is headed no matter how many Tweets are Tweeted – and so does President Obama. The U.S. will be kicking the can further down the road and a six month or one year debt ceiling extension that will accomplish very little and will be reluctantly signed on August 1st or 2nd.

Then Congress goes on vacation for the month of August.

The issue will be taken up again in early 2012 – two weeks or so before another possible default. And the Facebook status posting and Tweeting will begin another cycle… just in time for the new season of “American Idol”.

Jill Kennedy – OnMedea

July 21, 2011July 21, 2011

Don’t Blame Superman

Adam Fogelson, Alan Spoon, Alexander von Furstenberg, Amanda Seyfried, Andrew Chang, Angela Bromstad, Anil Ambani, Ann Daly, Anne Globe, Ari Emanuel, Arthur Martinez, Barry Diller, Beastly, Ben Silverman, Bob Iger, Brad Grey, Brian Roberts, Brothers Grimm, Bryan Lourd, Chase Carey, Clark Hallren, Comic-Con, Craig Ring, Craig Smith, Dan Satterthwaite, David Geffen, David Rosenblatt, Donald R. Keough, Donna Langley, Dreamworks Animation, Edgard Bronfman, Electus, Ezra Kucharz, fairy tale movies, Gemma Arterton, Graham Stanton, Greg Blatt, Greg Morrow, Greg Stevens, Gregg Winiarski, Guillermo Del Toro, Hans Woolley, Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters, Harry Brittenham, Harry Sloan, Heather O'Conner, Hey Diddle Diddle, Holly Bario, Jack the Giant Killer, Jason Stewart, Jay Herratti, Jeff Sagansky, Jeff Small, Jeff Weiner, Jeff Zucker, Jeffrey Immelt, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Jeremy Renner, Jill Kennedy, Joanne Hawkins, Joey Levin, John Batter, John C. Malone, John Ferriter, John Foley, John Malone, Josh Abramson, Jr., Judson Green, Kara Swisher, Khan Manka, Lew Coleman, Louis Castle, Manka Bros., Mark Sourian, Mark Stein, Melody Hobson, Michael Eisner, Michael J. Montgomery, Michael Schwerdtman, Michael Zeisser, Nathan Myhrvold, Nikki Finke, Notional, On Medea, OnMedea, Paul Allen, Paul Telegdy, Peter Chernin, Phillippe Dauman, Pinnochio, Red Riding Hood, Reliance ADA Group, Rich Sullivan, Richard F. Zannino, Richard Sherman, Rick Finkelstein, Ricky Van Veen, Roger Enrico, Ron Meyer, Rupert Murdoch, Scott Garell, Scott Savitz, Shana Fisher, Sharon Waxman, Snow White and the Seven, Stacey Snider, Steve Burke, Steve Jobs, Steven Spielberg, Strauss Zelnick, Sumner Redstone, Terry Semel, Thomas Freston, Thomas J. McInerney, Tina Brown, Tony DiSanto, Victor Kaufman, Walt Disney

Today, I read an analyst report written by Vasily Karasyov of Susquehanna Financial Group titled “The Death of Superheroes”.

Salacious title? Certainly.

A title that would get the attention of every media executive around the world? Absolutely.

A title that’s total bullshit? Definitely.

According to this report, over the past ten years movie studios have plucked 16 superheroes (or super groups) from the obscurity of the basements of geeks and put them smack dab in the global spotlight for everyone to see.

Some have been really good, made lots of money and spawned sequels, rebirths and regurgitations (e.g., “Spider-Man”, “Batman”, “Iron Man”, “X-Men”).

Others were shit and lost a lot of money (basically the rest of them).

For the most part, that’s the way it’s supposed to work. Good = success. Bad = no success.

Over that same time, about 2,000 other movies were released to varying degrees of success. These included huge non-comic book movies like “Harry Potter”, “Lord of the Rings”, “Pirates of the Caribbean”, “The Hangover”, and, sure, even Woody Allen’s biggest hit ever “Midnight In Paris”.

So while it seems every other movie that comes out is a comic book movie, nothing could be further from the truth. But that’s not the point I want to make.

Here’s the point: People are not tired of Superheroes. You cannot blame the superhero for the failure of corporate mortals.

If every comic book/superhero movie were unbelievably great, audiences would flock to them and they would all be huge hits.

Seriously, if the studios would have put out 16 awesome, well-made, true to the source comic book movies, they would have had, guaranteed, 16 big hit, profitable movies.

But this didn’t happen and it never will happen. Why? Because movie studios always try to make good movies. Regardless of what some people think, the executives at movie studios are not trying to suck.

Every movie that is made (with all those millions of dollars at stake) start off with a single dream – to be really good and to make money (maybe not in that order). Everyone, at every level, works very hard to make these films as good as humanly possible.

But somewhere along the chain – from concept to the day of release – something happens to make them suck.

And in most cases, lots of things happen to make them suck.

The movie-making process is subjective. One person’s gold is another person’s shit.

What Hollywood IS GUILTY OF is genre rape.

Once one high-concept or genre film hits it really big (i.e., “Alice In Wonderland”) suddenly every studio in town needs to have that high-concept or genre type film in the pipeline ASAP.

Because of “Alice In Wonderland”, over the past year every studio had to have as many fairy tale scripts as they get their hands on including THREE FREAKIN’ “SNOW WHITES”!

My God, even Manka Bros. – my studio – bought the rights to “Hey Diddle Diddle” and plans to spend well over $150 million to produce something we know will fail. Sorry, boss.

Go down any list of genre and you’ll see one movie that started the entire feeding frenzy. “Scream” spawned hundreds of crappy horror movies. “Harry Potter” got everyone out there trying to find the next great children’s fantasy series. Vampires, zombies… it’s just a case of mass brainlessness.

But here’s the shocker. What do I think needs to be changed? Nothing.

Movies should continue to be made and they should be made as well as possible.

Some should be based on comic books because it’s really great source material.

Others should be based on the Bible, or Dickens or Broadway . Because it’s really great source material.

And yet others should be based on ideas people think up on their own (imagine that!) – because the brain is capable of coming up with a really great source material.

“Hollywood” isn’t broken and the Superhero isn’t dead (Christopher Nolan could turn any deep catalog comic book character into a franchise – even something like “Gerbil Girl”) – everyone involved in the process just needs to concentrate more on entertaining the audience and less on just filling a summer slot.

Jill Kennedy – OnMedea

P.S. – Why the hell is “Glee” at Comic-Con? If you want to talk about something that’s dead… it’s Comic-Con. And IT WAS killed by the movie studios. If you want a good laugh, read the transcript from Khan Manka, Jr.’s keynote address to last year’s Comic-Con.

May 13, 2011May 13, 2011

Haley Reinhart? WHY????

Am I the only one in America who thinks she is undeserving of all these accolades?

TOP 3 on American Idol? Seriously?

Whenever she sings it’s like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. About a 1/4 tone under the note with no life to her voice at all. That blank stare without emotion, the inability to move in a natural way.

Is she related to a producer on the show or something?

Is she the Goddaughter of Jimmy Iovine?

I think we need Dan Lyons (the guy who exposed the Facebook smear campaign against Google) to do a full investigation into the popularity of Haley. Because something is not right here.

Based on Jennifer Lopez’s reaction last night, she also knows that something is rotten in state of Hollywood.

What am I missing?

People, please help me understand why America is brainwashed to think Haley is talented enough to win this competition.

James Durbin has probably the best and most natural voice this show has seen in years. He has a four octave range. Scotty has a four note range. James could scream all day and never lose his voice – Haley has been hoarse all year.

Please, help me understand?

Jill Kennedy – OnMedea