Are you paying attention to the movie business?
You can learn a lot about the movie business by reading the trades, information that can directly impact your choice of stories to write on spec. For instance, THR had an article yesterday about DreamWorks. Some excerpts:
Looking to boost its international footprint, DreamWorks Studios is taking more control of its movies in Europe in a move to increase the company’s financial flexibility.
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“David [Garrett] has a proven track record, and his years of experience in building Summit International will help us in this next step of growing our business. This partnership allows us to best capitalize on the expanding global marketplace and generate foreign sales as a revenuesource. We appreciate Disney’s continued support of our company and our ongoing partnership,” DreamWorks chief operating officer Jeff Small said.
Insiders say Mister Smith is likely to strike multi-picture output deals with foreign distributors, providing DreamWorks with a smoother cash flow.
This shouldn’t be news to you: Hollywood derives upward to 70% of its movie box office revenue from the international market. Do you even think about that when you consider locations or the ethnic and cultural backgrounds of your characters? Smart screenwriters do.
Then there’s this:
Earlier this year — following several box office disappointments, including Cowboys & Aliens — Reliance Entertainment agreed in principle to continue financing DreamWorks in a deal that will allow the company to make at least eight to 10 movies during the next two to three years.
Going forward, DreamWorks will make three or four films a year, focusing on tentpole or low-budget fare and avoiding the middle. On larger movies, DreamWorks will seek a partner, as it has with Fox.
I have talked about this bifurcated approach before: Big budget franchise movies, low-budget movies. Mid-budget movies? Tougher road to hoe. This is not just DreamWorks, it is other studios as well.
Are you paying attention to the business side of movies?
For more of the article, go here.
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