WEBVTT - Dealmaking in the Post-Peak TV Landscape 0:00:08.080 --> 0:00:12.360 Welcome to another episode of Strictly Business, the podcast in 0:00:12.400 --> 0:00:14.840 which we speak with some of the brightest minds working 0:00:14.920 --> 0:00:19.239 in the media business today. I'm Andrew Wallenstein with Variety. 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:23.840 It was ten years ago that grand View Management was 0:00:23.960 --> 0:00:26.920 formed to focus on a client list of high end 0:00:26.960 --> 0:00:30.800 writers and producers. Since then, the biz has been through 0:00:30.880 --> 0:00:33.920 a lot, to say the least, and the current day 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:36.879 and age is no exception, as the TV business in 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:41.760 particular navigates what you might call the post peak TV era. 0:00:42.560 --> 0:00:45.360 To help illuminate the road ahead for the industry, I've 0:00:45.440 --> 0:00:50.560 enlisted grand View principles Matt Rosen and Jeff Silver. We'll 0:00:50.600 --> 0:01:01.120 talk with them in just a moment. And we're back 0:01:01.120 --> 0:01:04.560 with Matt Rosen and Jeff Silver of the management team Grandview, 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:07.600 and they've got a client list filled with writers and 0:01:07.640 --> 0:01:11.280 producers of hit movies and TV shows like House of 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:15.800 the Dragon, Ozark Loki. Thanks for being with me today, guys. 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:18.760 Thanks so much for having us. Hey, Ed, thanks for 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:19.319 having us. 0:01:19.680 --> 0:01:22.440 So set the scene for me, if you will. As 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:26.400 we speak here in late February in Los Angeles. We've 0:01:26.440 --> 0:01:29.560 gotten past the strikes. The streaming wars are a blaze, 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:33.479 but you've been in the business quite a while on 0:01:33.520 --> 0:01:39.280 the chaos to calm spectrum here in Hollywood? Where do 0:01:39.400 --> 0:01:43.320 things sit right now? Matt? Why don't you start us off? 0:01:43.880 --> 0:01:45.600 Well, where do you thinks that right now? 0:01:46.160 --> 0:01:48.760 You know, coming out of the strike, I think there's 0:01:48.800 --> 0:01:52.240 a lot of people who are concerned looking at where 0:01:52.240 --> 0:01:56.640 peak TV is going. There's been many indications that it 0:01:56.720 --> 0:02:00.520 is going down, and that the many the amount of 0:02:00.560 --> 0:02:03.960 shows that were being made in the five to six 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:07.040 hundred rage are going to be cut almost in half. 0:02:08.120 --> 0:02:10.400 And at the same time, the movie business is trying 0:02:10.440 --> 0:02:14.080 to figure out ways to get back to a better 0:02:14.120 --> 0:02:18.920 box office from the year's past, and so there were 0:02:18.919 --> 0:02:23.160 people concerned out there that all said, I think from 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:27.799 our viewpoint, we're pretty optimistic about the opportunities for our 0:02:27.840 --> 0:02:32.440 clients in this changing landscape and feel very fortunate to 0:02:32.440 --> 0:02:37.240 represent some extremely talented people in writers and directors and 0:02:37.280 --> 0:02:41.520 so on, and feel that the opportunity is ripe for 0:02:41.760 --> 0:02:44.080 them to continue to be able to produce content at 0:02:44.120 --> 0:02:44.760 the highest level. 0:02:45.400 --> 0:02:48.160 All right, So, you know, right off the bat, though, 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:50.639 I would think the simplistic take would be, now, wait 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:54.280 a second, you just did some scary math because less 0:02:54.320 --> 0:02:59.840 product to be made means less opportunity for your clients. 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:04.520 So you know why, you know, Jeff, why be optimistic? 0:03:05.240 --> 0:03:08.000 Well, listen, we were both in the business in two 0:03:08.080 --> 0:03:10.600 thousand and seven, two thousand and eight, right, Matt and 0:03:10.680 --> 0:03:13.400 I started as assistants together at CIA. We met each 0:03:13.440 --> 0:03:16.120 other my first day his third week. And you know, 0:03:16.200 --> 0:03:18.240 two thousand and six felt like a great time, and 0:03:18.320 --> 0:03:20.160 suddenly you had a strike and then you had a 0:03:20.200 --> 0:03:23.239 financial meltdown. And we were lucky enough at that moment 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:26.280 to be young in the business. Matt was on aging 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:29.000 track at CIA and I was working as an executive. 0:03:29.240 --> 0:03:30.480 But we really felt it right. 0:03:30.520 --> 0:03:33.240 We felt the business screeched to a halt, and then 0:03:33.280 --> 0:03:35.680 we felt this existential crisis in two thousand and eight 0:03:35.720 --> 0:03:37.720 of what's going to happen. I remember going up for 0:03:37.800 --> 0:03:39.920 a job at Paramount to be a CE in two 0:03:39.920 --> 0:03:42.640 thousand and nine, and I was one of three hundred 0:03:42.840 --> 0:03:46.240 qualified candidates for that job. So to your point, Andrew, right, 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:50.520 less opportunity is really scary. That said, we're in a 0:03:50.560 --> 0:03:53.560 business of entrepreneurs and we're in a business of creatives, 0:03:53.640 --> 0:03:56.880 and if you use those two together, you get storytellers 0:03:56.880 --> 0:03:58.840 of the highest level who figure out a way to 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:04.840 get their stories told. So we're maybe uniquely confident in 0:04:04.960 --> 0:04:07.800 the ability of our clients to get their stories out 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:09.680 there in the right way. So they're going to be 0:04:09.760 --> 0:04:12.800 less when writing assignments. We've seen that there's going to 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:16.240 be less slots. But three months ago, I think people 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:19.719 were looking at FX and Hulu and saying are they 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:22.160 going to be bringing in new development? And right now, 0:04:22.240 --> 0:04:24.040 you know, you've just had John Langraf, who we have 0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:26.240 a ton of respect for in business with talk about 0:04:26.320 --> 0:04:29.080 wanting new shows. Our friends at Hulu now want new shows, 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:33.039 so we're starting to see a rebound already. It's always 0:04:33.040 --> 0:04:36.240 a scary moment when when you know supply and demand 0:04:36.240 --> 0:04:38.960 get get a little bit screwed up. But if you're 0:04:39.000 --> 0:04:41.960 the kind of artists who just waits for books to 0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:44.720 come in your way or assignments to come in your way. 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:46.440 Yeah it's time to rethink how you do things. 0:04:46.440 --> 0:04:47.800 But if you're the kind of artist that has a 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:51.039 vision and has stories to tell, then we think you're 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:52.680 as well suited now as you were before. 0:04:53.839 --> 0:04:59.880 Okay, so I guess when you've got clients, like to 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:03.400 name a few of your people, you know, Ryan Condall 0:05:03.560 --> 0:05:07.480 who is the showrunner on House of the Dragon. And 0:05:07.560 --> 0:05:10.760 you've got Chris Mundy who is coming off of Ozark. 0:05:11.279 --> 0:05:17.200 You've got some great names and they're going to get jobs. 0:05:18.200 --> 0:05:21.320 What about the I guess what I'm saying is for 0:05:21.400 --> 0:05:25.080 the rest of the marketplace. If you don't have the 0:05:25.120 --> 0:05:29.520 best names, what do you do or or you know, 0:05:29.720 --> 0:05:34.400 should the broader marketplace? Is this going to be a 0:05:34.520 --> 0:05:37.640 troubling time? Is it only the cream of the crop 0:05:37.720 --> 0:05:38.640 that's going to survive? 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:42.160 I don't Yeah, I'm happy to jump in. I mean, 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:44.640 I don't think it's just the cream of the crop. 0:05:44.680 --> 0:05:45.000 I'm Matt. 0:05:45.600 --> 0:05:47.960 Yeah, sorry, this is Jeff. Matt and I have talked 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:50.680 about this a lot. We don't think it's just the 0:05:50.760 --> 0:05:52.560 cream of the crop. We think if you have an 0:05:52.560 --> 0:05:56.360 intrepid idea and you've got a career that and you've 0:05:56.360 --> 0:05:58.240 got a reputation and you know how to work well 0:05:58.279 --> 0:06:01.200 with others, and you've proven yourself in people are going 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:02.880 to listen, want to listen to your idea and want 0:06:02.920 --> 0:06:04.560 to say does this fit on our era? This is 0:06:04.600 --> 0:06:06.360 something that we can do. And if you're young, coming 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:09.280 up in the business with nothing to lose and only 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:13.240 a dream, right then you're saying, great, I just graduated 0:06:13.240 --> 0:06:15.640 from this playwrights program where I've got this one pilot. 0:06:15.680 --> 0:06:18.080 I'm not that expensive. Come in and take me seriously. 0:06:18.160 --> 0:06:21.279 Where where you always see attrition in these moments, I 0:06:21.279 --> 0:06:26.640 think is in the middle. Right, So for those folks writers, filmmakers, actors, producers, 0:06:26.680 --> 0:06:29.160 anybody in media who's sort of been resting on their 0:06:29.200 --> 0:06:31.240 laurels for a bit and waiting for it to come 0:06:31.240 --> 0:06:33.400 to them, it gets a little bit harder. But if 0:06:33.440 --> 0:06:36.400 you're ready to play offense with your ideas, we think 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:38.080 it doesn't matter what level. 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:42.600 You're at, Matt, how else would you characterize this marketplace? 0:06:43.360 --> 0:06:44.640 How does it change now? 0:06:45.720 --> 0:06:48.840 Look, I think what you're going to start seeing I 0:06:48.920 --> 0:06:50.839 hit it a little bit before, but you're going to 0:06:50.839 --> 0:06:53.760 be seeing less shows, but you're going to be seeing 0:06:54.160 --> 0:06:57.480 more eyeballs on those shows, and that is going to 0:06:57.560 --> 0:07:00.960 lead to more cultural moments for us as a commun unity. Right, 0:07:02.200 --> 0:07:04.880 everyone is going to be joining and watching the same 0:07:05.120 --> 0:07:08.039 types of shows, similar to maybe the way it was 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:10.560 back in you know, in the days before there was 0:07:10.640 --> 0:07:13.960 just so much television. Now now there's so much opportunity 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:15.760 to look at so many different things. You don't know 0:07:15.840 --> 0:07:19.920 what option to pick, and it's going to bring people 0:07:19.920 --> 0:07:23.680 together in a really cool way and being able to 0:07:23.680 --> 0:07:26.160 watch things in a way that you get back into 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:28.760 the office on Monday and everyone sit around the water 0:07:28.800 --> 0:07:31.320 cooler and be having conversations about watching the same thing. 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:34.440 Finally, again, I'm going to push back on that. I 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:39.640 feel like, you know, you mentioned earlier that you think 0:07:39.680 --> 0:07:43.440 that we could see maybe half of the volume of shows. 0:07:43.560 --> 0:07:46.800 But I think the estimates I've seen are it's going 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:49.680 to come down a good amount. I don't know about half, 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:52.800 and we still got a lot of streaming services out there. 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:57.880 I think it's not necessarily going to be that much 0:07:58.000 --> 0:08:02.120 less fragmented a world. So do you really think we're 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:04.360 going to go back to the days where you know, 0:08:05.000 --> 0:08:07.400 a Game of Thrones is going to have you know, 0:08:08.960 --> 0:08:13.560 thirty million viewers coming to a finale. Do you really 0:08:13.600 --> 0:08:15.480 think it's going to be that dramatic a difference. 0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:19.240 I don't think it's going to get back to you know, 0:08:19.520 --> 0:08:21.640 the eighties or the nineties, you know, when it was 0:08:21.800 --> 0:08:25.240 when it was just network TV, really, but I think 0:08:25.280 --> 0:08:28.600 you're going to have more touch points for people because 0:08:28.680 --> 0:08:31.840 there's going to be less options there's there's going to 0:08:31.880 --> 0:08:33.400 be amazing shows out there. 0:08:33.400 --> 0:08:35.319 To Jeff's point, I think I think he makes a 0:08:35.360 --> 0:08:36.000 really good point. 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:39.440 You know, people are going to rise to the top 0:08:39.520 --> 0:08:42.320 with their fantastic ideas, and as long as you're playing offense, 0:08:42.960 --> 0:08:45.400 you're going to be having really good content out there 0:08:46.400 --> 0:08:47.760 and you're gonna be able to get your shows on 0:08:47.800 --> 0:08:52.120 the air. I do feel that there will be some 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:54.839 change in the market in the amount of shows that 0:08:54.880 --> 0:08:55.680 we're seeing out there. 0:08:56.080 --> 0:08:59.440 It's also Andrew, It's it's up to it's up to 0:08:59.480 --> 0:09:03.200 all of us in the business to find and nurture 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:08.439 storytellers and find nurture ideas that have stories that cut through, right. 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:10.600 I mean, it's not thirty million a year, but you 0:09:10.600 --> 0:09:13.040 look at shows like Yellowstone, right, they're bringing. 0:09:12.760 --> 0:09:13.640 In big numbers. 0:09:13.640 --> 0:09:16.480 And then shows that you know Beef, which you know 0:09:16.600 --> 0:09:20.120 it's Sonny Lee wrote and came up with an amazing 0:09:20.120 --> 0:09:22.560 idea from his life, and our partner Ben works with 0:09:22.640 --> 0:09:25.040 Sonny and we're fortunate enough a grand of you to 0:09:25.040 --> 0:09:26.839 work with most of the writers and directors on. 0:09:26.840 --> 0:09:27.959 Beef like that. 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:30.440 We don't have the exact data from Netflix on that, 0:09:30.559 --> 0:09:32.760 but that show really cut through in a massive way 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:35.280 and was a big success for them critically and commercially. 0:09:35.559 --> 0:09:39.160 So it might it might to match point, it might 0:09:39.200 --> 0:09:43.000 not be what it was twenty years ago with thirty million, 0:09:43.440 --> 0:09:47.480 but buyers are still going to want eyeballs, and advertisers 0:09:47.480 --> 0:09:49.600 as we head towards this place in streaming where there's 0:09:49.600 --> 0:09:52.040 more advertising, are going to want as many eyeballs as 0:09:52.040 --> 0:09:54.920 they can get. That those fundamentals of the business are 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:55.720 not going to change. 0:09:56.480 --> 0:09:58.679 Jeff, you mentioned data. Let's let's go on a bit 0:09:58.679 --> 0:10:02.280 of a tangent there. How do you as a management 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:07.079 company deal in this asymmetrical. 0:10:06.280 --> 0:10:07.120 World of. 0:10:08.600 --> 0:10:14.000 Data where you're got streaming services that have, you know, 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:17.480 armloads of data and sure, you know, every once in 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:21.520 a while Netflix comes along and you know, throws a 0:10:21.559 --> 0:10:24.240 whole bunch of data out there and says, see no, 0:10:24.360 --> 0:10:29.200 we share plenty. But by and large it feels like 0:10:29.480 --> 0:10:33.839 representatives like yourselves seem to be operating at a big disadvantage. 0:10:34.480 --> 0:10:37.240 Well, it depends, right again, everything goes in cycles. 0:10:37.320 --> 0:10:41.560 So in the beginning of Netflix and making is so 0:10:41.720 --> 0:10:45.000 much content, we had many filmmakers and showrunners who wanted 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:46.680 to go there because they felt that they were great 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:49.199 creative partners and the money was really good. 0:10:49.440 --> 0:10:49.600 Right. 0:10:49.640 --> 0:10:52.760 Those deals were very very significant early on through a 0:10:52.800 --> 0:10:55.720 couple of years ago. Those deals were very top of market, 0:10:55.960 --> 0:10:58.480 and the executives at Netflix were excellent saying to the. 0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:01.480 Creatives, we're here to make your shows. That's what we're 0:11:01.480 --> 0:11:01.880 here for. 0:11:02.800 --> 0:11:04.880 Obviously, there's now been a trend where people have been 0:11:04.920 --> 0:11:07.000 asking to see more data, and as deals are coming 0:11:07.040 --> 0:11:09.640 down a little bit in terms of financials. 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:12.440 And length and general comm yeah, that has become an issue. 0:11:12.440 --> 0:11:16.080 So we're glad we're getting some of the data. Ultimately, 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:21.440 what our role is with an artist is to help 0:11:21.520 --> 0:11:24.640 them architect a strategy to get them what they want 0:11:24.679 --> 0:11:27.400 in their career. Right, So for us, it's about picking 0:11:27.679 --> 0:11:29.440 who are the people that are going to help them 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:31.440 put the best show on the air, Who are the 0:11:31.440 --> 0:11:34.080 people that can help them make the best deal around 0:11:34.160 --> 0:11:36.560 that show, who are the best collaborators, and how do 0:11:36.600 --> 0:11:40.400 we build something really long lasting. So data matters when 0:11:40.440 --> 0:11:43.400 you get granular on deal making, there's no question about that. 0:11:43.600 --> 0:11:46.480 But when it comes to how do I create something 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:48.960 I'm really proud of and go Molly's as an example, 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:52.160 Molly Smith Messler, who we've looked after for a long time, 0:11:52.640 --> 0:11:55.520 had an incredible first show called May. It was the 0:11:55.520 --> 0:11:58.160 first time she developed, and she developed with Lucky Chap 0:11:58.200 --> 0:12:00.880 and John Wells and made that show at Netflix and 0:12:00.920 --> 0:12:03.360 it was nominated for a bunch of awards. And Molly 0:12:03.480 --> 0:12:06.080 now has just gotten Sirens Green Lid, which Variety broke 0:12:06.120 --> 0:12:08.600 a few days ago. It's the second show she's ever developed, 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:10.800 so she's two for two on development. But for us, 0:12:10.800 --> 0:12:13.440 it was Molly's in a deal with Netflix that is 0:12:13.600 --> 0:12:16.320 a fantastic deal. We teamed her back up with Lucky 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:18.839 Chat because she felt so comfortable with them. We made 0:12:18.840 --> 0:12:20.720 sure that the material was great, and we made sure 0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:23.959 that she and Ginny Howe, who's a tremendous executive at Netflix, 0:12:24.000 --> 0:12:26.000 were in sync together. And now they're going to go 0:12:26.160 --> 0:12:28.720 tell another amazing story and I'm so excited for everyone 0:12:28.760 --> 0:12:30.400 to be able to see that story at some point 0:12:30.400 --> 0:12:35.280 next year. So again, the data matters, but for getting 0:12:35.400 --> 0:12:38.760 artists where they want to be, it's not everything. 0:12:38.920 --> 0:12:39.560 It's one thing. 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:47.960 Okay, speaking of the financials, Matt, what's it like nowadays 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:52.600 when you're talking to your clients about what the writers 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:59.679 or producers of Yesteryear could hope to make from being 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:05.440 a runner versus today given the clout that you know, 0:13:05.480 --> 0:13:10.880 the streaming services have given, the way you know, back 0:13:11.000 --> 0:13:16.520 end deals or the lack thereof are structured. Is it 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:19.880 is it just not as lucrative as it used to be. 0:13:22.080 --> 0:13:25.880 I think it can still be a very lucrative business. 0:13:26.720 --> 0:13:30.000 The pie might have gotten a little bit smaller right 0:13:30.960 --> 0:13:37.160 as you turned analog dollars into digital sense. But you know, 0:13:37.320 --> 0:13:40.760 as long as you are talented and as long as 0:13:40.880 --> 0:13:43.120 you are able to be on the offense and go 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:48.400 sell products or sell your project in a competitive landscape, 0:13:48.440 --> 0:13:50.240 which is what we really try to do with all 0:13:50.240 --> 0:13:52.240 of our clients is to make sure that there's a 0:13:52.280 --> 0:13:56.360 competitive situation and that is more important than ever to 0:13:56.440 --> 0:14:00.199 help make sure that our clients can be making a good, 0:14:00.360 --> 0:14:04.439 fair deal that is you know, going to be super 0:14:04.480 --> 0:14:08.360 beneficial to them. And you know, to your question on 0:14:08.400 --> 0:14:14.199 the back end, look, obviously the data has helped us 0:14:14.320 --> 0:14:18.319 and you know, Netflix is transparency especially has helped us 0:14:18.360 --> 0:14:21.600 in helping our clients along with their lawyers and agents, 0:14:22.000 --> 0:14:25.440 make better deals for them. And the landscape is going 0:14:25.480 --> 0:14:28.480 to continue to change over the next you know, as 0:14:28.480 --> 0:14:30.880 everything gets reset over the next twelve to eighteen months, 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:34.240 let's say. But as long as there is a competitive 0:14:34.320 --> 0:14:37.120 market and as long as there are stories that the 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:40.360 buyers want, which we feel very fortunate to represent people 0:14:40.360 --> 0:14:44.440 that are in those positions, we're seeing we're not seeing 0:14:44.480 --> 0:14:48.040 a major downward trend in what our clients are making. 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:52.000 I think that's that's really well said, and you're just 0:14:52.040 --> 0:14:55.160 a double underline what Matt said about competitive when you're 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:58.040 working with an artist, which really you hope for lots 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:00.400 of things. You hope for process wins. You hope that 0:15:00.440 --> 0:15:03.000 they are really happy with the stories they've told. You 0:15:03.040 --> 0:15:04.960 hope that they feel like the placement of those stories 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:07.720 has really worked. But in the inception of those stories, 0:15:07.960 --> 0:15:10.800 you want multiple people getting excited about them. So we're 0:15:10.840 --> 0:15:13.680 out with something right now that we haven't reported on 0:15:13.760 --> 0:15:16.880 yet where we've got several studios bidding on a piece 0:15:17.280 --> 0:15:19.560 for two clients of ours, a show runner and producer 0:15:19.640 --> 0:15:22.840 around a company that we're building right now. And we 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:25.960 started this conversation and we had four different studios bidding 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:27.920 on it and number down to two. This was just 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:30.880 an article and a writer with an idea, but it's 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:33.160 something that really resonates and cut through and the deal 0:15:33.200 --> 0:15:38.480 that we're making is incredibly cutting edge, is incredibly elegant, 0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:40.640 but they're going to walk away with a chance to 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:44.440 do very, very very well, and if they hit it 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:47.160 out of the park, they potentially will make more money 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:49.160 on this show than they would have if they'd set 0:15:49.200 --> 0:15:52.280 this up several years ago. So the ways that we're 0:15:52.280 --> 0:15:55.000 making deals are evolving, but you need to have an 0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:58.480 idea or a package that multiple buyers want so. 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:00.480 That you can really get under the hood and make 0:16:00.520 --> 0:16:01.920 an aggressive deal for your clients. 0:16:02.120 --> 0:16:06.760 The one off open writing assignment at a studio or network. 0:16:06.880 --> 0:16:10.480 You're absolutely right, those those numbers are going down a bit, 0:16:10.840 --> 0:16:13.480 so we're trying to get all of our storytellers and 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:14.480 artists to play offense. 0:16:17.920 --> 0:16:19.960 We'll be back in just a moment with more with 0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:33.560 Matt Rosen and Jeff Silver, and we are back with 0:16:34.160 --> 0:16:40.120 the principles at Grand View Management. Matt Rosen and Jeff Silver, Guys, 0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:44.640 I guess I'm surprised to hear that we're not hearing 0:16:44.680 --> 0:16:49.840 the people that you are negotiating with plead poverty more often, 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:54.960 because I would assume after you know the strikes and 0:16:55.520 --> 0:17:00.680 after you know the streaming services, you know, meaning more 0:17:00.720 --> 0:17:06.280 into needing to demonstrate profitability, that they'd be all tapped out, 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:09.560 they'd be, you know, not being able to spend top 0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:13.520 dollars anymore. But I feel like that's not what I'm hearing. 0:17:14.440 --> 0:17:17.159 So what's going on? I mean, just to jump in 0:17:17.760 --> 0:17:18.399 this is Matt. 0:17:19.200 --> 0:17:21.840 I feel like we, Jeff and I have found ourselves 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:23.040 in a very fortunate position. 0:17:23.840 --> 0:17:25.440 We started this company ten years ago. 0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:29.080 You know, we were best friends coming up and meeting 0:17:29.160 --> 0:17:32.920 at the agency and we were able to hone in 0:17:33.240 --> 0:17:35.800 and just learn a lot over the years before we 0:17:35.840 --> 0:17:39.880 started the company. And what we feel very blessed about 0:17:40.000 --> 0:17:43.400 is that having built this company based on a culture. 0:17:44.200 --> 0:17:48.480 Excuse me, that culture is our strategy, and being able 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:53.159 to bring in artists and have them help or helping 0:17:53.200 --> 0:17:57.800 them create ideas, pitches, and then help them create a 0:17:57.920 --> 0:18:01.560 market out there with packaging that with our agency partners, 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:05.280 we've been able to stay above the fray when it 0:18:05.280 --> 0:18:09.520 comes to you know, the the quote unquote economic downturn, 0:18:09.680 --> 0:18:13.040 which you know people are crying poverty onto your what 0:18:13.080 --> 0:18:17.920 you just said, Andrew, we feel very forciate to represent 0:18:18.080 --> 0:18:21.399 people who are at the top of their game and 0:18:21.440 --> 0:18:25.480 whether that is a showrunner on a massive hit TV show, 0:18:25.760 --> 0:18:29.000 or you know someone that we just discovered, you know, 0:18:29.160 --> 0:18:31.879 out of the UK, or or you know, right out 0:18:32.240 --> 0:18:36.399 of grad school. We like to consider ourselves the best 0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:38.480 in the game when it comes to identifying talent and 0:18:38.520 --> 0:18:41.639 making sure that talent is ultra successful in the marketplace. 0:18:42.440 --> 0:18:44.520 Now are we going to see though? You know, it's 0:18:44.520 --> 0:18:47.040 see I remember there was a time, maybe it was 0:18:47.080 --> 0:18:50.479 always this time, and I'm just forgetting, but like you know, 0:18:50.560 --> 0:18:54.760 networks would seize on a talent. I think of like 0:18:54.800 --> 0:18:57.040 you know, sort of like the Chuck Loriy model, where 0:18:57.080 --> 0:19:00.960 it's like they find the talent and then that talent 0:19:01.840 --> 0:19:05.879 in a matter of years will go from one project 0:19:05.920 --> 0:19:10.160 to two projects to nine projects, you know where they 0:19:10.160 --> 0:19:15.080 are just they become an empire onto themselves. Are we 0:19:15.160 --> 0:19:20.040 going to see those type of people rise up rather quickly? 0:19:22.800 --> 0:19:26.000 Is that next generation? Do you think going to emerge 0:19:26.040 --> 0:19:26.679 soon enough? 0:19:27.840 --> 0:19:30.840 It's a great question. It's a great question. I mean, listen, 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:33.200 I think you could. One of the things that you 0:19:33.280 --> 0:19:35.840 might be able to say about peak TV is that 0:19:36.160 --> 0:19:38.880 there were too many shows, and in those too many 0:19:38.920 --> 0:19:41.479 shows that maybe were too many showrunners, and some of 0:19:41.480 --> 0:19:45.080 those shows really buckled under the weight of expectations, financial 0:19:45.160 --> 0:19:49.440 or otherwise because the shows weren't a certain level of quality, right, 0:19:49.480 --> 0:19:51.879 And I think that's that's something that people were experiencing 0:19:52.000 --> 0:19:55.679 during peak TV, this sort of fatigue around are the 0:19:55.720 --> 0:19:56.359 shows great? 0:19:56.880 --> 0:19:56.960 So? 0:19:57.800 --> 0:20:00.600 Will there be more? Chuck Lori's more, Ryan m more, 0:20:00.640 --> 0:20:05.080 Shonda's absolutely. Will it be a meritocracy? We think so, 0:20:05.560 --> 0:20:09.040 will you just be given a show because so many 0:20:09.040 --> 0:20:12.320 networks have so many hours that they're now needing to fill. No, 0:20:12.760 --> 0:20:16.359 it's going to be harder as always. The great people 0:20:17.280 --> 0:20:21.199 with great motivation and great talent and great character and 0:20:21.240 --> 0:20:25.080 great ambition will be that new class for sure. It's 0:20:25.080 --> 0:20:27.160 just going to be a little bit tougher. And that's 0:20:27.240 --> 0:20:29.720 maybe okay for a minute, so that we can find 0:20:29.760 --> 0:20:32.760 the quality that we need to to keep cutting through 0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:35.080 a marketplace where people are looking at things on second 0:20:35.080 --> 0:20:37.679 screen and have lots of different opportunities to do. Like, 0:20:37.720 --> 0:20:41.720 we're traditionalists in the sense that we want people watching 0:20:41.760 --> 0:20:44.399 great shows, we want people going to great films. So 0:20:45.200 --> 0:20:47.240 the answer your question, Andrew, yes, there will still be 0:20:47.320 --> 0:20:49.680 those people. But we think that the people who get 0:20:49.760 --> 0:20:52.919 to those lofty heights there'll be less of a chance. 0:20:53.080 --> 0:20:56.440 But if you have that combination of skill and motivation 0:20:56.760 --> 0:20:58.720 and character, you can get there. 0:20:59.280 --> 0:21:05.560 And I remember people like Bill Lawrence Scrubbs, executive producer 0:21:05.560 --> 0:21:09.160 a lot of great shows as well, voice and concerns 0:21:09.240 --> 0:21:15.840 during the strike that the next generation of producers were 0:21:16.000 --> 0:21:20.240 not going to be able to be trained and brought 0:21:20.520 --> 0:21:24.080 up in a system that was going. 0:21:24.000 --> 0:21:26.200 To groom them to. 0:21:27.760 --> 0:21:33.720 Really be ready to take on being able to show run. 0:21:34.440 --> 0:21:36.679 Do you think we're coming out of the strike with 0:21:37.920 --> 0:21:41.840 a system that is going to equip them to do that? 0:21:42.080 --> 0:21:45.080 Do you worry that for your clients who might fit 0:21:45.320 --> 0:21:50.040 needing that grooming, that they're going to be ready to 0:21:52.000 --> 0:21:52.880 take that mantle? 0:21:54.760 --> 0:21:58.520 That is as a great question, Andrew, The answer is yes, 0:21:59.000 --> 0:22:03.199 we do think they're to be ready. And just to 0:22:03.400 --> 0:22:06.480 further your point, you know, I think a lot of 0:22:06.480 --> 0:22:09.440 the concerns coming out of some of these older showrunners 0:22:09.560 --> 0:22:12.080 was is that you're cutting down from twenty two episodes. 0:22:11.680 --> 0:22:13.439 Of network to ten episodes of. 0:22:15.119 --> 0:22:19.200 Premium, you know, streaming, and it was just giving people 0:22:19.280 --> 0:22:24.080 less experience, and that people writers were moving too quickly 0:22:24.119 --> 0:22:26.040 through the ranks and going from a staff writer to 0:22:26.520 --> 0:22:29.480 a co executive producer in a matter of a couple 0:22:29.480 --> 0:22:31.680