Musings on Movie Musicals and Marketing-Driven Movie Projects

[SamIAm]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 9:42am

The next time you wonder why movie musicals weren't in wide release or didn't do as well as you had hoped, wonder over how they got made at all.

In this age of marketing hype and marketing-driven decisions, the creative decision has all but fallen by the wayside.

When you pitch a project for the stage, screen or movies or for any art these days, you must have an 'angle', a 'spin' and some evidence of 'Q' value before you will even get through the door.

While these companies have always been in business to make money (who isn't?), today's entertainment is less about the real value of the art and more about the market demographic.

Nothing surprising here...just food for thought.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/columns/grove_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002914168

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 10:00am

SamIAm--Thanks for posting this. It will probably be considered a "long, tough read" by some here, but it offers a detailed explanation to many BWW posters who feel very passionate about certain shows and/or performers they love... and can't fathom why they aren't showing up at their local movie theatres.

I work in the Home Entertainment business, and it's the same thing for us. "Marketing" calls the shots on EVERYTHING we do creatively for DVDs. They are the final word on all creative and production decisions, like it or not.

[Craig]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 10:38am

I don't think it's unreasonable to factor in/include marketing as a part of the overall creative process. Perhaps I'm biased because it's my career. Having been in and out of the entertainment industry (and some others) - I can relate to being handed a finished "project" or whatever having had no input during the creation - which can be extremely difficult to then market/sell to an audience or consumer. I'm not sure that a marketing team should have the only say about a project, but I do think it's important to have that aspect integrated into the mix.

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 10:56am

Craig---I didn't mean to imply that Marketing has the ONLY creative say (at least for Home Video decisions), but they do have the FINAL say... unless a director or other talent has it in their contract(s) that they have some input as well. Many of them do have input these days, but very few have creative control. Marketing definitely has that control, however.

Our process usually starts with a "wish list" of what we would like to do. Our clients usually have an idea of the scope of the project initially (aka, will it be an "A" title, "B" title, "C" title, etc.). We then lock a budget (which Marketing must approve first), and then dive in to creating the menus, content, games, etc. for a project. Everything goes through our creative clients at the studio for development and the production process... but then everything goes BACK to Marketing for final approval and final notes. If "talent" has any contractual input into what we've done then our work is sent off to them for an approval as well. (Along the way, we also have everything go through the Legal department, and that is a long, painful, tedious process all its own.)

Sorry for the minor thread-jack, but it does play into the control Marketing has over both theatrical and home entertainment these days.

Oh... I should also add that if we do a "world" release, which most of our titles are international titles now, the international Marketing departments at the studios get involved as well. They don't usually have any creative input, but they DO decide if certain special features will be included in various regions of the world. Sometimes they will opt to drop a game or documentary from release instead of putting up the additional money needed to either dub or translate it visually for a world region.

[Craig]

Posted: 7/28/06 at 11:05am

Best - that wasn't aimed at you at all

And it really makes a LOT of sense for Marketing to be in control of post-theatrical distribution/creating of the dvd, etc. My comment was more directed towards the notion of Marketing being involved in the initial creative process, before the film is shot and perhaps even before it's green lit.

But for DVDs and such, it of course would fall upon the marketing department to "produce" such material.