\n\tSpotnitz was asked about California governor Gavin Newsom\u2019s increase in tax incentives to a cap of $750 million annually<\/a> to combat runaway production. <\/p>\n \u201cThe decline has been going on for at least 30 years,\u201d Spotnitz said. \u201cPeople who live and work in Los Angeles have seen their jobs go away, and they\u2019ve had to be separated from their families for months at a time. And the truth is that the state of California has failed them, has failed to protect the industry. And even now, with Governor Newsom\u2019s increase in the tax incentives, [even though] it\u2019s the third-largest in the country, they\u2019re still not solving the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tA Content London<\/a> panel on Dec. 3 included Frank Spotnitz, CEO and founder of Big Light Productions, AGC Studios chief content officer Lourdes Diaz, Piller\/Segan\u2019s Lloyd Segan, and Blink49\u2019s Tara Long.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Georg Szalai<\/p>\n \n\tHe added: \u201cI appreciate the effort, but really, if you want to protect California, you\u2019ve got to be competitive, and they clearly have not been competitive enough, and still aren\u2019t. So I think a lot of the blame has to go to the government in California, the state government California, but I would also say that there needs to be sort of a shift in mindset by everybody, including my own guild and the other guilds.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAfter all, \u201cwe are not a growth industry right now,\u201d Spotnitz highlighted. \u201cWe are an industry where revenues are in decline and costs are going up, and that is not a winning combination. And when I go back to L.A. now, it feels like Detroit in the 1980s. It is grim, and we all need to work together to figure out how to make more great stuff, but for less money.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSpotnitz and the other panelists discussed the dual hit from COVID and the Hollywood strikes. \u201cDuring the pandemic, everyone spent like drunken sailors,\u201d Spotnitz argued. \u201cIt was absolutely absurd [to see] the amount of money that was wasted on shows that weren\u2019t very good, that were not going to have any shelf life. There\u2019s just been a lot of irrational trend-following.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHis conclusion: \u201cThere\u2019s plenty of blame to go around the government, the industry, and I would say, the guilds as well.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tDiaz said the California incentive doesn\u2019t go far enough. \u201cDon\u2019t cap it,\u201d she said. \u201cCalifornia is the fifth economy in the world. Why cap it?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe next question concerned President Donald Trump\u2019s Hollywood task force, namely: \u201cAre they the right people for the job?\u201d One of the panelists urged Long, a Canadian, to answer.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI think it\u2019s just a bark with no bite,\u201d she obliged. \u201cI think it would be really hard to track where IP comes from. If they shoot Harry Potter in L.A., but it\u2019s IP from somewhere else, I think there\u2019d be a lot of gray, and it would turn into the bigger headache.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tLong offered more food for thought and concern: \u201cNot to be doom and gloom, but I think we are Blackberries. We are Blockbuster,\u201d she said. \u201cHollywood\u2019s always changed quickly, and I think with technology, now it\u2019s changing faster, and we have to innovate and figure out [new] ways.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tLong pointed to the Blink49- and MrBeast-produced Beast Games, highlighting that MrBeast was in charge of it rather than a network executive. \u201cI don\u2019t think many, Steven Spielberg, George Clooney, A-listers could go into a network and get the type of deal that he did, to go and make that show with the money and the commitment and the controls.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWhat if another strike was to hit Hollywood? \u201cWhen the guilds negotiated last time, I think they were negotiating looking backwards at everything that they left on the table in the previous negotiation,\u201d Diaz suggested. \u201cAnd while that was Peak TV and Peak Netflix, where everyone and all the vertically integrated companies were producing for growth, not for value, by the time it came to negotiate again,\u201d the tides had changed. \u201cAll of those companies had a bunch of stakeholders who wanted to now take that back and make it for value. So production has come down. Peak TV is over. The audience is maturing, and we need to find other ways to incentivize our crews and our talent to make things there.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSegan offered on the dual strikes: \u201cI\u2019m not suggesting for a minute that writers or actors shouldn\u2019t be remunerated appropriately and thoughtfully, but timing is everything. \u2026 Well, it was not a good time to do that\u201d dual work stoppage.<\/p>\n \n\tWhat if the upcoming guild negotiations led to another strike? \u201cI think it would be detrimental to the business. I think it would have a proliferation effect,\u201d Segan warned. <\/p>\n \n\tSegan and Spotnitz on Wednesday described Hollywood as a spirit or a state of mind more than a location.<\/p>\n \n\tAnd Segan mostly focused on the opportunities amid all the worries and disruption though, mentioning, among other things, \u201cideation.\u201d MrBeast coming from YouTube and then transitioning to TV may also be a sign of opportunity, he said. \u201cStories can come from anywhere. I\u2019m not a pessimist. We are innovators. We pivot.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSegan also picked up on Spotnitz\u2019s Detroit comparison, arguing that as a result of global competition for the auto industry, U.S. cars have become better and more competitive. \u201cThe auto industry became more innovative,\u201d he concluded. Segan\u2019s conclusion: \u201cIt\u2019s about recalibration. How do you go about doing something?\u201c<\/p>\n \n\tSegan also referenced the Warner Bros. Discovery auction process, offering: \u201cNone of us want to see Warner Bros. devoured. That would be devastating, devastating emotionally, and on every level possible. But something is going to happen with that company, and so we\u2019re going to have to live with whatever the consequences are.\u201c<\/p>\n \n\tSpotnitz on Wednesday discussed AI as an opportunity, drawing positive feedback from his fellow panelists. \u201cIt may even help the industry create more jobs for more people. Each production has fewer jobs, but there may be far more productions,\u201d he suggested. \u201cBut I just think we as storytellers should be engaging with this, rather than just saying, \u2018No, no, no!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tEchoed Diaz: \u201cThere\u2019s a lot to learn from AI, and a lot to learn with AI. So I think there\u2019s a lot of benefits. We have to know what we\u2019re putting into the AI, because AI doesn\u2019t have taste, right?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tRead more Content London coverage here\u2026<\/strong> \n\tWhy Peaky Blinders Travels and Fox Is Happy to Be the Missing Link for U.K. Series: TV Execs Talk Scale and Universality<\/a><\/p>\n EbonyLife\u2019s Mo Abudu on Why Mainstream Players \u201cHaven\u2019t Actually Invested That Much in Diverse Content\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n The Adolescence Formula: Writer Jack Thorne, Director Philip Barantini on Whether the Global Success of Their Show Can Be Re-Created<\/a><\/p>\n Studio Ramsay Global Creative Chief Is Cooking Up Shows \u201cWith and Without Gordon\u201d to Ensure Growth![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
<\/p>\n
<\/strong>What the Baywatch and Dance Moms Reboots Have to Do With Windowing Being \u201cBack Big Time\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
<\/a>
BBC Studios Productions CEO Touts Dancing With the Stars\u2019 TikTok, YouTube Success, Ghosts
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