The Katzenberg Memo [Part 2]
In January 1991, Jeffrey Katzenberg, then the head of Disney’s motion picture divisions, wrote a memo that ended up being circulated throughout Hollywood. Even though it is 21 years old, it is remarkably relevant to the current movie business. For example, the United States was in a recession as we are today. The movie industry was confronted by numerous financial challenges tied to technological advances and cultural shifts, also as we are today.
Over the next few weeks, I will be posting the entire memo. If you have any interest in screenwriting or working in the film business, you should read it. Why? Because it gives you a wide-open view of how studio executives think. After all, any script you write and circulate in Hollywood doesn’t exist in a vacuum, rather it funnels through a system, one that operates based upon the business principles and practices of studio heads like Katzenberg.
Today: The Idea Is King
The Idea is King
In the dizzying world of moviemaking, we must not be distracted from one fundamental concept: the idea is king. Stars, directors, writers, hardware, special effects, new sound systems… all of these can have a role to play in the success of a film, but they must all serve as humble subjects to the supremacy of the idea.
If a movie begins with a great, original idea, chances are good it will be successful, even if it is executed only marginally well. However, if a film begins with a flawed idea, it will most certainly fail, even if it is made with “A” talent and marketed to the hilt.
People don’t want to see what they’ve already seen. So, we need to be bold enough to stretch bounds, push the envelope of creativity and follow our hearts along with our heads. When we fail, let it be because we tried to innovate, not emulate. And, by so doing, I am convinced that we will continue to reap success.
This is the key for controlling our destiny — to have the courage to search out authentic, great ideas… and then have the steadfastness to control the material that is subsequently developed.
If the idea and the screenplay are strong, then it is possible to hire a less established star and a less established director and as a result be less of a hostage to the marketplace. Or, conversely, an idea and a screenplay can be so great as to attract major talent, who will be sufficiently excited that they will agree to terms that are acceptable to us.
Of course, this idea of internal development runs counter to the actions of many of our competitors, who have been paying $2–3 million for screenplays. While their willingness to pay such sums may be a sign of financial strength, it is also a blatant admission of creative bankruptcy.
In a world where we can come up with our own idea and engage a young writer for $50,000-$70,000 or a proven writer for $250,000 to develop it, it is hard to understand how the amounts being paid for spec scripts can be justified. Creative studio executives should be in the business of developing ideas, not buying them.
To be sure, after having worked so hard and achieved such considerable success at Disney, the temptation is to kick back and spend our hard-won profits on a “Basic Instinct” or a Richard Donner in the hope that their mere acquisition will lead to continued success. It’s a temptation we’ll keep having to resist.
It’s our job to find the great idea, then nurture it and manage it until it has a shot at finding its audience.
It’s not easy.
But whoever said it was.
“In a world where we can come up with our own idea and engage a young writer for $50,000-$70,000 or a proven writer for $250,000 to develop it, it is hard to understand how the amounts being paid for spec scripts can be justified. Creative studio executives should be in the business of developing ideas, not buying them.”
Sound familiar? Remember this scene from The Player, a meeting of studio execs led by Larry Levy (Peter Gallagher), something that could have come straight out of Katzenberg’s memo:
Larry Levy: I’m just saying there’s time and money to be saved… if we came up with these stories on our own.
Other Executive: Where are these stories coming from?
Larry Levy: Anywhere. It doesn’t matter. The newspaper. Pick any story.
Other Executive [reading newspaper]: “Immigrants protest budget cuts in literacy program.”
Larry Levy: Human spirit overcoming human adversity. Sounds like Horatio Alger in the barrio. Put Jimmy Smits in it and you’ve got a sexy Stand and Deliver. Next. Come on.
Another Executive: This isn’t my field.
Larry Levy: It doesn’t matter. Give it a shot. You can’t lose here.
Another Executive: How about “Mud slide kills in slums of Chili”?
Larry Levy: That’s good. Triumph over tragedy. Sounds like a John Boorman picture. Slap a happy ending on it, the script will write itself.
“The script will write itself.”
There are so many dynamics at work in this one aspect of the memo: the supremacy of great ideas, wanting to manage costs [e.g., sit out spec script frenzy, pay young writers $50–70K to write scripts, create projects so desirable A-level actors will agree to studio’s lower fees], controlling “our own destiny.” But where the rubber hits the road is this:
Idea. Screenplay.
Somehow the former has to translate into the latter.
Per the memo, the studio’s role is “to find the great idea, then nurture it and manage it.” For one example of how they approached that task, check out today’s Screenwriting 101 from screenwriter Jose Rivera:
“I did a film for Disney. It was a one-word idea they had: ‘shadows.’ I said, ‘Okay, what about shadows?’They said, ‘That’s it. That’s the idea. Shadows. Do something with it.’
It’s a cautionary tale of what can happen when a studio does an ineffective job at “managing” the development process.
The movie business runs in cycles. One of those cycles involves project development and has these two extreme positions: On the one end, the studio adopts a strategy whereby they are intimately involved in the development of scripted material, even to the point of generating “great ideas.” On the other end, the studio says, “To hell with all that, just bring us a package — script, actors, director, and some funding.” Regimes come and go, and studios have been known to bounce back and forth between these two extremes.
The underlying ‘shadow’ [per Carl Jung] in all of this is the fact no matter how much Hollywood tries to approach movies as a business, everyone knows that a story by its very nature has to have some magic involved in its process of creation.
And that’s an intangible dynamic that is the writer’s business.
To read Part 1 of the memo, go here.
To read the entire memo, go here.
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