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Speaker 1: Welcome to Strictly Business Varieties weekly podcast featuring conversations with

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Speaker 1: industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. I'm

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Speaker 1: Cynthia Littleton, co editor in chief of Variety. Laura new

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Speaker 1: Statter was one of the first people hired when Rhese

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Speaker 1: Witherspoon launched her Hello Sunshine content banner in late As

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Speaker 1: head of Film and TV, Newstatter has been a key

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Speaker 1: architect of the company, where the mission is to put

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Speaker 1: women at the center of their own stories. As Lauren explains,

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Speaker 1: new Statter is a season development executive who worked for

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Speaker 1: twenty Century Fox on the film side and for Fox

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Speaker 1: Broadcasting Co. On the TV side before joining Hello Sunshine.

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Speaker 1: Our conversation touches on everything from how Hello Sunshine crafts

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Speaker 1: its deals to what the company looks for to ensure

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Speaker 1: that projects are a good fit with its mission, and

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Speaker 1: she's candid about how hard it is to handle what

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Speaker 1: can be the toughest gut call of all making sure

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Speaker 1: that a project is spared the purgatory of development hell

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Speaker 1: without ever getting made. Lauren news Statter, head of TV

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Speaker 1: and Film for Hello Sunshine, one of the industry's most

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Speaker 1: bustling production banners, thank you for joining us. Thank you

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Speaker 1: so much for having me. I'm so excited to chat

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Speaker 1: with you. Well, Lauren, Hello, Sunshine, led by the indefatigable

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Speaker 1: Reese Witherspoon, has hit the town like a meteor. You have.

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Speaker 1: The company has generated so much content, a lot of

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Speaker 1: TV series, a lot of TV content, a lot of

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Speaker 1: digital content, everything from Reese hosting. Uh, you know a

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Speaker 1: book club type show too. Really? You know major Emmy

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Speaker 1: nominated productions like Little Fires Everywhere. Uh, you know many

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Speaker 1: other shows that are in the works. How and you've

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Speaker 1: been with the company since early How have you to

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Speaker 1: tell us about your growth curve because you have really

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Speaker 1: ramped up on content. How have you managed this kind

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Speaker 1: of explosion for Hell of Sunshine. Well, we have a

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Speaker 1: lot of fun and we love our jobs. I think

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Speaker 1: that's kind of the key, to be honest. I mean,

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Speaker 1: I feel so privileged that I get to do what

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Speaker 1: I do. I felt so honored and excited when Reese

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Speaker 1: called me and asked if I would be interested in

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Speaker 1: working with her in this new company. She and I

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Speaker 1: actually worked on a movie together about a decade ago,

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Speaker 1: and it was very nice that she remembered me. It

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Speaker 1: was very nice that she called. But we really, you know,

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Speaker 1: I think we were able to hit the ground running

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Speaker 1: in the way that we did because of how incredibly

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Speaker 1: prolific she was already being in the industry as a producer.

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Speaker 1: I mean, if you think about wild if you think

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Speaker 1: about Big Little Lies, I think, in addition to being

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Speaker 1: this extraordinary actress, she had really put herself on the

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Speaker 1: map as a formidable producer. And so when I came

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Speaker 1: in to work with her at Hello Sunshine, it was

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Speaker 1: really about sharpening our mission, defining our brand, and then

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Speaker 1: finding material that felt like it embodied who we wanted

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Speaker 1: to be in the marketplace. And I think we've had

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Speaker 1: a lot of fun doing it. We worked really hard.

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Speaker 1: We probably don't sleep enough, but we're very driven by

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Speaker 1: this mission to put women at the center of stories,

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Speaker 1: and you know, it's it's a privileged to do it

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Speaker 1: across different mediums. Do you feel like the company now

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Speaker 1: has gotten over the kind of that hurdle of oh,

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Speaker 1: it's Reese Witherspoon's company. Sure, I'd love to have a

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Speaker 1: meeting with Reese versus like, this is a formidable company

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Speaker 1: coming in with great material and a great track record.

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Speaker 1: We're really gonna take this seriously. I don't mean that

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Speaker 1: as condescending as it sounded, But do you feel like

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Speaker 1: with your track record now that Hello Sunshine like you are,

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Speaker 1: that Hello Sunshine is appreciated as a production company unto

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Speaker 1: itself that you know happens to be led by Reese Witherspoon,

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Speaker 1: But your track record is such that you know your

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Speaker 1: work stands on its own. I really do. I think

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Speaker 1: we have an unbelievable team, and I think that, you know,

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Speaker 1: in the three plus years that we've been doing it,

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Speaker 1: you know, I think we all work really hard. I

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Speaker 1: think a really key piece is that Reese is always

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Speaker 1: dialed in. It isn't there isn't actually a separation between

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Speaker 1: Reese and the company. Were inextricably linked. She is. You know,

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Speaker 1: she's incredible because I that that phrase that's empowered women,

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Speaker 1: empower women. I've sent her. I remember when I saw

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Speaker 1: that on an Instagram post and I messaged it to

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Speaker 1: her and I was like, this is you. Um, you know,

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Speaker 1: but I do think she's incredible because she is not

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Speaker 1: afraid to surround herself with talented people, not just women.

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Speaker 1: You know, we're again a very representative company. But she

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Speaker 1: surrounds herself with talented, hard working people, and she empowers

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Speaker 1: them to do their jobs. At the same time, she's

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Speaker 1: incredibly dialed in, So she's she's in the meetings, she's

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Speaker 1: in the pitches, she's when she loves a book and

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Speaker 1: I'm taking it out, she'll send the email because she

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Speaker 1: wants to send the email because she cares so much

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Speaker 1: about the project. So I think it is really she is.

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Speaker 1: I think I think and hope we're taken seriously as

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Speaker 1: a true production company, because we are all true producers,

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Speaker 1: especially Race. Is there something I noticed that you have

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Speaker 1: obviously had great success in adapting books. Is there something

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Speaker 1: about the type of storytelling that you are most that

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Speaker 1: Hello Sunshine is most attracted to that you're finding that

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Speaker 1: in novel form more so than spec scripts or pitches

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Speaker 1: that come in from showrunners. Well, we're really open to

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Speaker 1: all of it. I think we really love books. I

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Speaker 1: think Reese loves books the most. I mean, she reads.

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Speaker 1: I can't even keep up she reads so much. And

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Speaker 1: you know, she just devours material, and so a lot

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Speaker 1: of a lot of the conversations that we'll have, she'll say,

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Speaker 1: I'm reading this, are you reading it? And obviously also

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Speaker 1: we'll get you know, Little Fires as a great example

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Speaker 1: of we got an unpublished manuscript in May of and

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Speaker 1: we both read it immediately and we dove in. We

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Speaker 1: got in there with celesting and we said, we love

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Speaker 1: this book, we would love to bring it to life.

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Speaker 1: And there we went on that journey, you know, and

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Speaker 1: here we are now. And so I think it is.

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Speaker 1: You know, books are spectacular when you read them, and

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Speaker 1: then you're immersing yourself in the world and you're investing

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Speaker 1: yourself in those characters. And a lot of times when

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Speaker 1: you read the book, the show or the movie is

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Speaker 1: so clear that you you know it's it just gives

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Speaker 1: you something to say your teeth into. But also an

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Speaker 1: opportunity to pair with a writer with a screenwriter who

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Speaker 1: will bring their own point of view to it in

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Speaker 1: bringing it to life, which I think is so exhilarating.

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Speaker 1: And then you know, certainly we we'd spect script. We

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Speaker 1: recently encountered a spec script that we absolutely love, um

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Speaker 1: that that we packaged, you know, and and hope to

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Speaker 1: be making a show of that one soon. But you know,

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Speaker 1: spec scripts are always wonderful, um when we connect with them.

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Speaker 1: And obviously, you know, articles are really great true stories.

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Speaker 1: I had an amazing meeting with just an incredible, incredible

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Speaker 1: woman and you talked to somebody for two hours and

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Speaker 1: you hear about their life and you go, that's a movie,

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Speaker 1: So you know, it's nice. I think it's really just

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Speaker 1: about finding stories that inspire us. I will be honest

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Speaker 1: and say pitches are more challenging, um from the you know,

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Speaker 1: from the sort of business side of it, thinking about

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Speaker 1: we fall all in love with a pitch when we

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Speaker 1: hear it, two is it getting made? It's an interesting

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Speaker 1: thing to observe that that conversion rate is lower, and

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Speaker 1: we've really thought a lot about it because the writers

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Speaker 1: are incredibly talented. But one of the things that we've

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Speaker 1: talked about is I think sometimes when it's just a

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Speaker 1: verbal pitch, it's so subjective. You're hearing it differently than

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Speaker 1: the buyer is hearing it. Or they've got a bucket

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Speaker 1: that they need to fill and this kind of fits

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Speaker 1: into it, but they're trying to morph it into something

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Speaker 1: else and it's not how the writer sees it. And

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Speaker 1: I just think when you actually have something with words

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Speaker 1: on paper, it's a great jumping off point because everybody

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Speaker 1: is able to articulate the way that they see it

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Speaker 1: and the way that they experience it, and I think

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Speaker 1: it actually just helps make the journey a little bit

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Speaker 1: easier along the road. So we're very very selective about

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Speaker 1: the pitches. That's an interest, that's an interesting distinction. Tell

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Speaker 1: me for a time that hello, Sunshin had an overall

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Speaker 1: deal with ABC Studios, and that you know that then

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Speaker 1: in an overall neil you have kind of had studio

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Speaker 1: home and you certain you have certain lanes, although I

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Speaker 1: know you know the larger studios do like to go

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Speaker 1: into different they go on to different network freeways from

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Speaker 1: time to time. But as I understand now, now you're

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Speaker 1: kind of a free agent. And is that is that

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Speaker 1: a better situation for you than being tied to one

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Speaker 1: major studio. Well, truthfully, I think that the flexibility allows

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Speaker 1: us to find the home for each project that is

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Speaker 1: best for that project. So it isn't like everything has

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Speaker 1: to ladder up to one group of people. I mean again,

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Speaker 1: you go back to everything being subjective, right that you

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Speaker 1: might love a book and I might not connect with it.

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Speaker 1: And so for us when we find a piece of

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Speaker 1: material and we absolutely love it, not being tied to

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Speaker 1: any one place, we're able to take it out to

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Speaker 1: the town and actually feel who connects with it in

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Speaker 1: the way that we connect with it, who connects with

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Speaker 1: it in the way that the writer has connected with it,

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Speaker 1: who has the passion to actually really be the best

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Speaker 1: partner for us. And so I think we really value

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Speaker 1: the flexibility and also not being aligned with one specific

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Speaker 1: studio actually allows us to be aligned with all studios,

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Speaker 1: where if we wind up selling to one place and

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Speaker 1: they have a relationship with a studio, we can become

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Speaker 1: a post studio with them. Um. So I think it

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Speaker 1: gives us opportunities. As opposed to working for one particular place,

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Speaker 1: we get to work with so many places and we've

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Speaker 1: really enjoyed that. Do you tend to do a lot

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Speaker 1: of development in hospital or you shop it or do

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Speaker 1: you shop it and then let the development process kind

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Speaker 1: of unfold that way? Well, we love the creative process,

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Speaker 1: We love writers, we love being involved, and so I

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Speaker 1: do think we're very curated when we bring something to market.

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Speaker 1: We always talk about that we do few things well

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Speaker 1: and you know, I think, um it's you know, it's

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Speaker 1: nice when you fall in love with a piece of

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Speaker 1: material to be able to be a little bit of

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Speaker 1: a matchmaker to find the writer that feels like the

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Speaker 1: perfect fit and then to Blue Sky with that writer,

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Speaker 1: you know, to talk about all of the possibilities, to

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Speaker 1: lay out the journey of the movie or the series.

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Speaker 1: You know. However, it is whatever we see that we

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Speaker 1: can sort of figure that out together and lay it

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Speaker 1: out in a way that feels inspiring to us, and

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Speaker 1: then we take it to the marketplace. We don't usually

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Speaker 1: it is we don't tend to say we love this book,

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Speaker 1: we're going out with it, and then have a bitting

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Speaker 1: more just for the book, and then we start going

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Speaker 1: out to writers with a buyer. Typically we will, if

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Speaker 1: it's a book, um will option the book, and then

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Speaker 1: we will go out to writers as Hello Sunshine, and

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Speaker 1: we'll put it together and and many times will also

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Speaker 1: go to an actress and we'll bring that actress in

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Speaker 1: and we'll welcome her into the process of you know,

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Speaker 1: producing with us, and then we'll go to the market together. Um.

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Speaker 1: And it feels really gratifying for everybody. But I do

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Speaker 1: think we're we enjoy being curated, we enjoy putting the

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Speaker 1: pieces together, so that's part of the fun of it.

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Speaker 1: I think and you clearly have the resources to do

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Speaker 1: that because you know, book options don't come cheap, and

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Speaker 1: and you know many writers out there, like you know

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Speaker 1: you you need so you obviously have to have some

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Speaker 1: financial skin in the game. Well, we have. The skin

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Speaker 1: that we have in the game is that we do

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Speaker 1: we do option books. Um, you know, and I think

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Speaker 1: if there's something where we feel like, you know, it

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Speaker 1: makes sense. We don't have a formal development fund. Um,

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Speaker 1: we don't have. It isn't like we're sitting on cash

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Speaker 1: to hire writers to do everything that is exciting to us.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I think that sometimes when you're aligned with studio,

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Speaker 1: that's something that you get. You get that discretionary fund.

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Speaker 1: I think for us, it's more about saying, if we

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Speaker 1: love this book, we're going to option it, and then

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Speaker 1: we're going to give ourselves the time to put it

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Speaker 1: together in the way that feels most right for that

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Speaker 1: property and for that project, and then we're going to

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Speaker 1: take it into the world in a way where you know,

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Speaker 1: the the journey feel less speculative. It's less about will

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Speaker 1: option it and we'll find a writer and then we'll

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Speaker 1: try to get a script. A lot of times we'll

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Speaker 1: take it out and and we'll you know, we'll have

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Speaker 1: the material and we'll be able to have a conversation

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Speaker 1: about a series one mm hmmm. Absolutely. What you know,

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Speaker 1: this has been such challenging year on so many levels

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Speaker 1: and for the industry, not the least of which has

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Speaker 1: been this this long standoff which appears to be almost

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Speaker 1: over with the with the largest agencies. What have you

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Speaker 1: found to be really challenging about making deals for content, development,

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Speaker 1: deals options? What has been most challenging for you in

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Speaker 1: the last year or so well, To be honest, the

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Speaker 1: most challenging thing in the past year has been COVID.

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Speaker 1: I think it's been you know, it's it's just been

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Speaker 1: this moment where everything has ground to a halt. I

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Speaker 1: think in some ways it's given us time that we

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Speaker 1: wouldn't have had otherwise, which is wonderful. But in other

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Speaker 1: ways it's sort of interrupted the rhythms of development. You know,

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Speaker 1: one of the buyers that I was having a conversation

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Speaker 1: with said, the planes are backed up at l a

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Speaker 1: X over here. You know that they have you know,

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Speaker 1: they thought development that's just accumulating and they haven't been

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Speaker 1: able to make things in the way that they would

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Speaker 1: have been so now it's impacting their ability to buy.

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Speaker 1: Some people are eager to buy and others are not

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Speaker 1: really taking on anything new right now. So it's been

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Speaker 1: a very interesting time where we've had to really been

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Speaker 1: be dialed into We've had to really be dialed into

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Speaker 1: what people are wanting right now, if they're buying, if

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Speaker 1: they're not buying, what they're looking for that's different than

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Speaker 1: what they might have been looking for six months or

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Speaker 1: a year ago. Um, you know, it's given us an opportunity,

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Speaker 1: I think to sort of slow down and be intentional

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Speaker 1: about the development that we have on our slate, and

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Speaker 1: also you know, and thinking about what we're going to

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Speaker 1: take out. We haven't really taken. We didn't take much

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Speaker 1: out this spring and summer because it was it was

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Speaker 1: a strange moment in time. I think we do have

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Speaker 1: some things were excited about this fall that we're going

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Speaker 1: to take to market, and I think we're so excited

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Speaker 1: to do it and look bluied by the fact that

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Speaker 1: we're starting production again on two shows this month, which

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Speaker 1: is incredible and and what we've really been waiting for.

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Speaker 1: So but I think that's been hard. I think on

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Speaker 1: the w G A front to answer that question. I

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Speaker 1: think what's been hard is that we love writers and

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Speaker 1: we love agents, and I think, you know, everybody has

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Speaker 1: a different feeling about it. So what we've really tried

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Speaker 1: to do is just be respectful of everybody, um all

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Speaker 1: the way around, because I do think it's a sensitive

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Speaker 1: time and I think, you know, I think in many

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Speaker 1: cases the writers are missing their agents, and I think

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Speaker 1: you know, in even more cases, the agents are missing

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Speaker 1: their clients. How do you navigate the question of ownership

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Speaker 1: in terms? You know? It's it's obviously these these shows

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Speaker 1: cost millions and millions of dollars. It's hard to have

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Speaker 1: the economic basis to to put up all that money.

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Speaker 1: But given your track record and given Reese's cloud, are

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Speaker 1: you able to you know, hold on to a good

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Speaker 1: enough size junk to make it financially meaningful to Hell

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Speaker 1: of Sunshine in the long term, in the long tail

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Speaker 1: as everybody is playing for now. You know, the truth

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Speaker 1: is every deal is different, and ultimately we try hard

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Speaker 1: to structure our deals so that they're serving the show first, right,

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Speaker 1: so that we're sure that we're getting all of the

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Speaker 1: elements that we need to deliver it in the very

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Speaker 1: most premium way right. So, as I had mentioned before,

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Speaker 1: we pride ourselves on being in a few things well

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Speaker 1: business and so the truth is every platform has a

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Speaker 1: different model that works best for them. So we I

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Speaker 1: feel like we are so lucky because we have incredibly

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Speaker 1: brilliant representatives who are thoughtful and who are innovative. And

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Speaker 1: I think with each project, depending on where that project

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Speaker 1: is going to be, the deal is structured differently. But yes,

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Speaker 1: in many of our deals, Um, you know, we are

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Speaker 1: a co studio so and and that's been that's been

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Speaker 1: really great for us. Little Fires Everywhere was our first

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Speaker 1: co studio production, and now you know, we're we're lucky

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Speaker 1: to have a lot of those deals at the different platforms. Um.

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Speaker 1: But I think again it really is we think about

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Speaker 1: the show first. We also just take huge pride in

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Speaker 1: protecting the creative. So that's a big part of it

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Speaker 1: for us, just making sure that we're delivering. You know,

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Speaker 1: we had um. There was an actress that was talking

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Speaker 1: to Reece about a project recently and she said, I

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Speaker 1: want the Hello Sunshine experience, which was very nice and

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Speaker 1: very flattering. But I do think that you know, being

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Speaker 1: able to deliver that is hugely important to us. Um so,

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Speaker 1: so flexibility and innovation are certainly key in the deals

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Speaker 1: and also just in a process that follows and is

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Speaker 1: it you know, you've done a lot of obviously a

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Speaker 1: lot of big shows for streaming platforms, and there's a

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Speaker 1: whole different sort of business model and almost licensing model.

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Speaker 1: You know, the licensing money comes up front and you

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Speaker 1: you sort of you know what, you know where you're

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Speaker 1: gonna get and you know where you're baked in margin

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Speaker 1: is in your experience? Is that has that made it?

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Speaker 1: Is that has that lowered the barrier to entry to

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Speaker 1: producing on the level that you have been and and

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Speaker 1: with you know, to be a co studio. Does that

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Speaker 1: the fact that all that money comes up front rather

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Speaker 1: than in a death sit finance model of a traditional network,

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Speaker 1: Does that make a significant difference the way that we

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Speaker 1: have structured our deals. It hasn't really been an impediment

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Speaker 1: for us this far. But again, I mean, as we

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Speaker 1: were talking about before we started the podcast, it's an

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Speaker 1: interesting time. I think that our industry is really evolving,

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Speaker 1: and so I think it's just it's incredibly important to

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Speaker 1: be curious and to be innovative and to try to

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Speaker 1: see what you know what direction people are going in

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Speaker 1: and then be able to move there with them. I

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Speaker 1: get reached a lot of credit. Like, you know, she

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Speaker 1: she seems game. She seems game to put her you know,

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Speaker 1: to put herself out there. And and I think you

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Speaker 1: know that that that is probably the biggest sign of confidence,

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Speaker 1: is being game to try something new that might that

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Speaker 1: may not work, but to put it out there. I

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Speaker 1: really have a lot of respect for what she's built

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Speaker 1: in such in such a relatively short time. Well she

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Speaker 1: really does. I mean one of the things that we

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Speaker 1: talked about at the company me as being a d

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Speaker 1: I Y culture, and I think Reese really leads that

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Speaker 1: with such confidence and and the way that she and

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Speaker 1: our digital team pivoted in COVID and started doing shine

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Speaker 1: on with Reese at home, you know, and she was

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Speaker 1: talking to you know, she was talking to people that

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Speaker 1: were impacted by COVID, people that were being trailblazers in COVID,

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Speaker 1: you know, bringing experts onto her platform to just talk

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Speaker 1: about what was happening and what their thoughts were, talking

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Speaker 1: about what it was to be a mom that was

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Speaker 1: working from home and struggling with the juggle. You know,

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Speaker 1: I think she really does. She knows her audience. She

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Speaker 1: cares so deeply about her audience, and I think she

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Speaker 1: loves to connect with them in the ways that that

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Speaker 1: feel most right to them, in addition to feeling exciting

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Speaker 1: to us. So, yes, I agree with what you're saying

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Speaker 1: that I think she's really um fearless and and and

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Speaker 1: a trailblazer. M absolutely um. Lauren, tell me about yourself.

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Speaker 1: You have worked, and you've worked at high levels in

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Speaker 1: film and television at Fox, Fox Broadcast Network, Fox Film Studio.

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Speaker 1: What I always like to ask people, what was it

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Speaker 1: in your background that prepared you, that best prepared you

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Speaker 1: for the opportunity you have now? Well, I think, to

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Speaker 1: be honest, it's the fact that I was a buyer,

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Speaker 1: with the exception of one job, you know, my entire

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Speaker 1: time as an executive, I've I've been at different buyers

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Speaker 1: and so I've been living and breathing a buyer mindset.

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Speaker 1: And then when I had the opportunity to join this team,

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Speaker 1: I think I brought the buyer mindset with me so

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Speaker 1: that when I'm evaluating material, it is always do I

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Speaker 1: love it? But then sort of stepping through and having

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Speaker 1: conversations whether it's with Reese, with our CEO, Sarah Harden,

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Speaker 1: with our CFO Liz Jenkins, with my amazing film and

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Speaker 1: TV team, talking about, Okay, we know that we love it,

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Speaker 1: how should we tell this story? Who's gonna who's going

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Speaker 1: to be excited about it? With us thinking about it

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Speaker 1: from a buyer point of view, so that you know,

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Speaker 1: sometimes you fall madly in love with something and you

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Speaker 1: just go, I don't know that it's going to have

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Speaker 1: that commercial appeal. I think somebody's gonna buy it because

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Speaker 1: it's beautiful and we love it, but they're never really

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Speaker 1: going to make it? And is that fair? Is that

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Speaker 1: fair to the author? Is it fair to the screenwriter?

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Speaker 1: You know, we really do step out the conversations and

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Speaker 1: look at it not just from a passionate producer point

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Speaker 1: of view, but from a buyer point of view. And

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Speaker 1: I think that that I think that's been helpful, and

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Speaker 1: that certainly was that was my past um that that

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Speaker 1: must be a tough conversation to kind of have with yourselves,

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Speaker 1: like is somebody going to buy this to buy it?

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Speaker 1: Or are they going to buy it to make it.

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Speaker 1: I'll be honest with you and say that when I

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Speaker 1: was an executive on the feature side. A huge part

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Speaker 1: of the reason that I moved to television is because

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Speaker 1: I felt I felt like, I you know, I felt

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Speaker 1: like it was disappointing to the writers. They had worked

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Speaker 1: so hard, and I just I felt like the distribution

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Speaker 1: piece of it created a different kind of scrutiny, and

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Speaker 1: it wasn't about we are putting this show on the air,

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Speaker 1: how do we make it great? Which is the conversation

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Speaker 1: in television or on a streaming platform. Right We've made

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Speaker 1: a commitment, we're making this. We know when this is

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Speaker 1: going on our air, how do we make this the

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Speaker 1: best it can be? I felt like, you know, when

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Speaker 1: I was working at at the studio, there was just

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Speaker 1: a different conversation, and it was how are you going

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Speaker 1: to sell tickets? And I thought that the conversations, it

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Speaker 1: was harder to know that I would be able to

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Speaker 1: make something that a writer had worked on for years

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Speaker 1: and put their heart and soul into. And you know,

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Speaker 1: I felt I felt very sensitive to the writer's point

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Speaker 1: of view on that. So I think that is another

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Speaker 1: example of how my previous experience informs, you know, how

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Speaker 1: we proceed as we think about it and we say sure,

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Speaker 1: we'll set it up and sure they'll hire a writer,

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Speaker 1: but that writer is going to put their heart into this,

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Speaker 1: and if it isn't going to get made, let's think

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Speaker 1: about it. Let's really think about it before we commit

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Speaker 1: to it. M hm. That and that, of course, so

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Speaker 1: that is really knowing. That is where you're you know,

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Speaker 1: the ability to sort sort of size up the market

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Speaker 1: and what do people want and what are they that

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Speaker 1: that what are they actually going to make? That's where

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Speaker 1: that kind of intel becomes invaluable for sure. And I'm

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Speaker 1: sure your your long experiences you can really even probably

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Speaker 1: read the team leaves very well. Well, it's nice when

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Speaker 1: you've had the the experience of being in the rooms

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Speaker 1: where the conversations were had, because then you can imagine

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Speaker 1: what the conversation might be. And the truth is, we

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Speaker 1: don't always get it right. Sometimes will feel really confident

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Speaker 1: in something and it doesn't entirely work out the way

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Speaker 1: that we hoped it might. But I do think, you know,

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Speaker 1: we're very intentional from the outset, and so I hope

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Speaker 1: that that means that when we're engaging a writer or

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Speaker 1: when we're talking to an author and saying, you know,

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Speaker 1: will you trust us to bring your book to life.

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Speaker 1: You know, they know that we'll we'll do our very

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Speaker 1: very best to yield a great result for them. That's

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Speaker 1: always the goal. You've obviously worked for some of the

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Speaker 1: industry's largest media conglomerates. What is it like working now

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Speaker 1: for a relatively small, largely female run company. Give me

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Speaker 1: the contrasts. It's the best. It's truly the best. I mean,

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Speaker 1: I have to say, it's just it's extraordinary to work

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Speaker 1: with a group of people who are so like minded,

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Speaker 1: who are so supportive, where you just I know that,

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Speaker 1: whether it's people who are on the film and TV team,

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Speaker 1: or people who are on the executive team, or people

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Speaker 1: who are on the brand team, or the kids team,

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00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:14,520
Speaker 1: any of these teams, you just pick up a phone

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00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:17,919
Speaker 1: and you call someone and you can ask for advice

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00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:21,120
Speaker 1: or you can talk through something. It feels like we're

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Speaker 1: really all in it together. I mean, I will be

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Speaker 1: very honest and say, as one of the very first

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Speaker 1: hires at the company, I I vividly remember when it

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Speaker 1: was me and two directors of development and one assistant

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Speaker 1: uh and some and some amazing interns, many of whom

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Speaker 1: work for us now or assistant at the company now.

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Speaker 1: But you know, um, we really started very small and

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Speaker 1: now you know, I think we are growing. We're more

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Speaker 1: than seventy people. And what I think our CEO and

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Speaker 1: recent and the whole senior executive team have done a

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Speaker 1: really great job of is just making sure that we

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Speaker 1: stay connected even as we branch out and each of

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00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:07,480
Speaker 1: the divisions grows. UM that we are sort of always

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Speaker 1: feeling the heartbeat of what we're doing and feeling connected. Um,

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Speaker 1: And that is something that I don't take for granted.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening. Be sure to leave us a review

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00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:27,000
Speaker 1: at Apple Podcasts. We love to hear feedback from listeners.

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Speaker 1: Be sure to tune in again next week, when my

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Speaker 1: guest will be Melody Hobson, Media investor and co CEO

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Speaker 1: of Aeriel Investments.