Hollywood Is Broken

Let’s face it, the way the entertainment industry is making content isn’t working anymore.

Studios continue to rely on an outdated “Corporate Hollywood” model where creators pitch their ideas to a handful of gatekeepers and then hold their breath and pray for a greenlight.

This flawed approach concentrates all of the power in a select few decision makers at the top and brazenly doesn’t involve fans in the creation process.

The Death Of Legacy IP

The result of the Corporate Hollywood approach is that studios shut down new, innovative ideas and instead rely on rehashing the same intellectual properties (IP) over and over. This is why we only see sequels and remakes of the same old characters and the same old stories.

How many times can these entertainment franchises be watered down until they become unusable? When do audiences decide enough is enough?

IP is the foundation of entertainment yet the industry continues to rely on franchises that were created decades ago. It’s unlikely that audiences ten and twenty years from now will be particularly passionate about seeing yet another remake of a comic book superhero from the 1950s.

The industry desperately needs new, beloved characters and stories.

This shift from the old, legacy IP to new entertainment franchises will completely reshape the Hollywood landscape.

A Generational Opportunity For New IP

The smart creators and studios who take the time to develop new entertainment franchises and who prioritize nurturing their fan bases will be the ones who hold all the power in the coming decades.

The studios who ignore this, will either go bankrupt or will be forced to pay a premium for access to the IP owned by the smart creators.

Corporate Hollywood has already proven they will not be the ones who create the next generation of entertainment franchises, so this presents a multi-billion dollar opportunity…

…and I believe that creators are in the best position to take advantage of this.

Creators Are The New Hollywood

We are already seeing this happen; YouTubers put out concept videos that go viral and it leads to the development of feature films.

Since creators have a direct relationship with their fans, there are no more gatekeepers. Instead of a few executives in suits making all the calls, the audience gets to decide what they want to see.

There’s something special about the trust between an authentic creator and their audience. And when you combine that with artistic freedom, we’re going to see new, meaningful stories being told; including those for underserved audiences that never would have seen the light of day in the old Corporate Hollywood model.

The barriers to entry are being taken down. Now is the time for the “little guy”.

The “Craft Entertainment” Movement

In the 1980s, a few small brewers like Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada pioneered the “craft beer” movement which paved the way for what is now thousands of microbreweries in the beer industry.

I believe we’ll see a similar shift in Hollywood, which feels appropriate to call: The Craft Entertainment movement.

I believe that most beloved entertainment franchises of the future will come from small, creator-led studios.

Join the Craft Entertainment Movement

Advancements in technology and the ethical use of AI will help level the playing field and reduce the cost of feature film production so small teams (and even individual creators) will be able to go toe-to-toe with the industry fat cats…and win.

We are at the beginning of a new era in Hollywood, and when the dust settles, there will be winners and there will be losers.

Creators…this is our moment!