ENTERTAINMENT THE BUSINESS OF TECH’S NEW … · the playing field – it’s become ... through...

TECH’S NEW STAGES

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THE BUSINESS OFENTERTAINMENTTHE BUSINESS OF ENTERTAINMENT

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ALSO IN THIS SECTION:

Interviews with entertainment insiders. PAGES 14-19

The List: Agents and distributors. PAGES 20-21

TECH’S NEW STAGES

New World: Clockwise from left, actress Ruth Connell; lawyer Joe Calabrese; opera singer and rock manager Summer Watson with Ulyseas; Geffen Playhouse theater’s Gil Cates Jr., left, and Randall Arney; and film producer John Cohen, left, with actors Josh Gad, Peter Dinklage and Jason Sudeikis.

Los Angeles has long been the center of the

entertainment business, but the industry

is having to adapt like never before.

That’s because the digital

age has led to a proliferation of online content, which

is upending the traditional production and distribution

models of media companies.

Over the next few pages, we’ll hear from a range of

successful professionals in entertainment law, film, theater,

TV and music about how they are facing the challenges in

their particular field and staying on top in an era of rapid

innovation and continually evolving technology.

By SANDRO MONETTIPHOTOGRAPHED BY RINGO H.W. CHIU

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Question: How has the rise of streaming content changed the way you do business?Answer: Technology hasn’t just changed the playing field – it’s become the playing field. The rise of the digital age has affected everything we touch from a legal perspective.

Just about every media and entertainment deal involves a digital application and the negotiation of rights to exploit content across platforms. Given the trend toward viewers making decisions about when and how to engage with content (as compared to the need to follow the schedule of a central linear programmer), the agreements we forge now speak to when and how content will be deliv-ered and at what price. All sides are adapting to this new dynamic and we’ve seen some ground-breaking agreements in our practice.

Can you give some examples?A year or so ago, we advised the Interna-tional Olympic Committee in a $7.75 billion deal with NBCUniversal to broadcast the Olympics across all television platforms through the 2032 Games. Now we’re advising the IOC in developing its own over-

the-top, Internet-delivered global broadcast network. Or take the deal for last month’s Golden Globe Awards, where we spent more time discussing the social media and digital rights than the conventional network broadcast. Nielsen estimates more than 10 million people saw one or more of the 1.7 million tweets sent about the show, coupled with 18.5 million U.S. television viewers.

The world is changing very fast and it’s hard to know what the media landscape is going to look like in 2018, let alone in 2032.

Is Los Angeles still the entertainment capital of the world or have these changes moved a lot of the work elsewhere?Absolutely yes on L.A.’s standing. Amid all the technological advances and global growth of media, Los Angeles has solidly remained the creative capital of audiovisual content production. That includes the tradi-tional movie studios and television networks

as well as exciting new companies that are redefining how we’re entertained, such as Netflix, Snapchat, Maker Studios, Crack-le and Hulu, each of which was born here or has a sizable presence in L.A. Legendary Entertainment is another great example. It owns film, television, digital, data analytics and comics divisions, and just this month sold a majority stake in the company to Chi-na’s Dalian Wanda Group. We’re very proud that Legendary, a company I’ve advised since its inception, was chosen by China’s most forward-thinking media company to be its first entry into the U.S. entertainment content market.

What does it say about the industry in L.A. that China’s biggest bet so far on the U.S. entertainment industry was a local company?The deal speaks to the vibrancy of the Los Angeles creative and business community as well as the global appetite and audience for their content. The bottom line is that clients from around the world still look to L.A. and a hometown firm like Latham & Watkins to handle their biggest deals. L.A. remains the most sophisticated and interesting place to practice entertainment law.

How have you personally adapted to the changes of the digital era to stay successful? I remember being assigned in 1982 to work on a deal to acquire Andre Blay Home Video. As a young lawyer who didn’t spend much time at home, I first had to ask, “What’s a home video?” But in many ways, it was the beginning of consumer-controlled consump-tion of content. That evolved from a rental model to the sell-through model with the invention of the DVD, and a whole new set of economics. Next came VOD and SVOD on conventional television sets. Today, it’s smartphones and tablets, and in a few years we could be using virtual retinal display or other technologies not yet on the drawing board. In each case, business and legal teams need to delve into the economics, rights and obligations involved in these technologies. I’ve seen different hot technologies come and go, but the exercise remains the same.

What is the biggest challenge facing your area of the business right now and how do you plan to combat it?Changing technologies are behind the great-est challenges and greatest opportunities for legal work in the entertainment business. Content is flowing in different directions and consumers are engaging with it in a number of ways and on a variety of platforms. Place

that against the global backdrop where, for example, countries like China and India have a huge potential audience for con-suming content and strong ambitions to be leaders in the entertainment business, and you can see how our work has gotten more global and complex. We address the challenges this creates by focusing on the business goals of our clients, regardless of the deal at hand. Where do they want to go and how do we get them there in the most efficient, protected and profitable way? When we answer that question, we’re on a good path toward a successful deal.


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Joe Calabrese works on major entertainment deals around the world out of law firm Latham & Watkins’ Century City office. Last month, he advised Legendary Entertain-ment in a deal that saw the Burbank company, which has co-produced and co-fi-

nanced movie hits such as “Jurassic World” and “The Dark Knight,” sell a $3.5 billion con-trolling stake to Chinese media giant Dalian Wanda Group. He spoke to the Business Journal about how the transactions he handles increasingly hinge on negotiating rights across varied media platforms.

‘The rise of the digital age has affected everything we touch from a legal perspective.’ — JOE CALABRESE, Latham & Watkins

JOE CALABRESEAdvises clients on distribution and licensing agreements, mergers and acquisitions and structured finance transactions.

Clients he has recently represented include the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Warner Bros., San Francisco Giants and Anaheim Ducks.

Making Case for Chinese Market: Joe Calabrese at the Century City office of law firm Latham & Watkins.

Entertainment Law

14 LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL FEBRUARY 1, 2016

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Question: How has the way you do business changed in the digital age?Answer: So many creative conversations are held via video conference now. On “Angry Birds,” our production hub is here in Los Angeles but we have offices in different cities and the company behind the game, Rovio Entertainment, is based in Helsinki. Our daily editorial sessions, animation-asset re-views and even production meetings include multiple locations. But the technology we have in place really makes it feel like we’re all working under the same roof. With the time-zone difference, my days usually start very early in the morning.

What does your job as a producer on this huge movie involve?My involvement began with the inception of the story, which our core creative team collaborated on starting back in 2012. Then developing that outline into a screenplay with our writer, Jon Vitti. Every step of the process has been a close collaboration with Rovio and Mikael Hed, chairman of Rovio Animation, including casting, design and music. Together with (fellow producer) Catherine Winder, I assembled the entire creative and production team and built a new studio, which is based both in Los Angeles and Vancouver. The studio houses our directors, production and character designers, editorial, storyboard artists and operational staff. We’ve partnered with Sony Pictures Imageworks Inc. to do the animation, and they’re located in Culver City and Vancouver. My involvement continues all the way through the market-ing and distribution of the film, which is released in the States in May.

How do you plan to get the game’s built-in audience to see the movie? “Angry Birds” has been downloaded over 3 billion times, which is a staggering number. We are always approaching our creative deci-sions in “The Angry Birds Movie” from the perspective of the fans. They’re on our minds through every step of the filmmaking process.

We are going to be giving the players of the games the first access to all kinds of cool new content over the next few months. Our goal is to honor the fans’ loyalty and reward them for continuing to play. The target demographic is the broad audience with a focus on families, teens and fans of the games.

How did you get started in the entertainment business? My start was film school at New York Uni-versity’s Tisch School of the Arts. That led to my first job after college as an assistant to producer Scott Rudin in New York. Work-ing for Scott was where I really began to understand the entertainment business – from creative development to production and mar-keting. I consider those two and a half years as grad school.

How did you get involved with the creation of “Despicable Me”? After moving to Los Angeles, I worked at 20th Century Fox Animation for seven years under Chris Meledandri. Our films at Fox included “Ice Age,” “Robots,” “Ice Age: Meltdown,” “Alvin and the Chipmunks” and “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who.” In 2007, I joined Chris at Illumination Entertainment and one of the first projects we developed was “Despicable Me.”

How surprised were you by that film’s huge, franchise-fueling, box-office performance? It’s been so exciting to see how passionately audiences have embraced “Despicable Me”

and the characters from the film. The lon-gevity of the franchise is a testament to the talent of the creative team that continues to nurture and develop those characters, led by Chris Meledandri and others. Having been lucky enough to play a role in the creation of a few ongoing franchises, I look forward as a fan to each new film in the “Ice Age,” “Despicable,” “Alvin” and “Dr. Seuss” universes.

What’s the biggest business lesson you’ve learned in Hollywood? Hard work and a lot of preparation will always give you a competitive advantage.

The most successful people I’ve met simply work harder than others. You’ll be much more productive if you go into meetings and creative conversations with a strategy and desired outcome.

What is the biggest challenge facing animation producers today?I think the biggest challenge also happens to be the greatest opportunity – there are a lot of animated movies currently being created and released. While there are so many interesting

animated projects, the sheer number of films in the marketplace really puts the onus on differentiating your film to stand out – having your own unique comedic and dramatic sensibility, a concept and characters that can connect with people around the world, and a distinct visual style.

What are you doing to overcome that challenge? We are always challenging ourselves to distinguish the film – make the movie as funny as possible, the characters as compel-ling and relatable as they can be, and find opportunities to make the story surprising in

new and unexpected ways. I’m a big believer that passion leads to the strongest creative results. This movie is truly a passion project for me and for all of the members of our core creative team.

What advice would you offer anyone going into the entertainment business?Be a cinephile. Watch as many movies as possible. And, when you can, try to see mov-ies in a theater – you can learn so much from hearing an audience’s reaction.

John Cohen might not be a household name but the Hollywood movie pro-ducer is a megastar in the animation

community. Having produced 2010 block-buster “Despicable Me” and worked on a string of other animated hits from “Ice Age” to “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” he spoke to the Business Journal about producing one of 2016’s most anticipated films, “The Angry Birds Movie,” based on the wildly popular mobile game.

Film

‘Hard work and a lot of preparation will always give you a competitive

advantage.’ — JOHN COHEN, film producer

JOHN COHENHis movie will explain just what makes the Angry Birds so angry – a question that players of the game have wanted answered for years.

He cast Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad and Peter Dinklage to voice the main characters in the film, Red, Chuck and Mighty Eagle.

“The Angry Birds Movie” will land in movie theaters May 20. Culver City’s Sony Pictures Entertainment will be the global distributor for the film.

Cartoon Slate: ‘Angry Birds’ producer John Cohen, who has worked on the ‘Despicable Me’ and ‘Ice Age’ film franchises.

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FEBRUARY 1, 2016 LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 17

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Question: How has this job changed your life?Answer: It’s wonderful to be a solvent actress. I’m getting paid to do what I love and have trained hard to do. When I read for “Su-pernatural,” it was my first U.S. TV audition in over two years. It was with lovely casting director Robert Ulrich, who doesn’t just au-dition actors from the top-tier agencies, and I wanted to make that chance count. I’ve had a

few near breakthroughs in my career, this felt like make or break and it’s gone as splendidly as I could have hoped for. The people I work for seem happy with my contribution and I get messages from our fans from all over the world. It thoroughly boggles my mind.

How have streaming content and social media helped you grow that fan base?Our show has been on for 11 seasons and we have fans who have watched it from the start and others who have discovered it much more recently, largely thanks to “Supernatu-ral” having now appeared on Netflix. Social mediawise, I’ve gone from pretty much zero to almost 300,000 followers in 18 months. I love that William Shatner even tweets about my character, Rowena, and checks in on me occasionally to see how I’m doing. I’m always updating my social media and love interact-ing with our fans online. It pays dividends in terms of opportunities in that I’m attending a convention next month in New Zealand just as a result of some Twitter interaction.

How can a television series regular like yourself use their fame to make extra

income?I’m still trying to work that one out fully! Via convention appearances is an obvious answer, with genre shows especially. Also, through my involvement with the merchan-dising company Creation Stands, there is now a Rowena T-shirt. One of the nicest parts about being involved with the mer-chandising is that I’m able to help support the breast cancer charity My Hope Chest through donating part of the profits and raising awareness of the practical support they offer women.

How much do you think about the business aspect of your showbiz career?The business aspect of my career is important to me. I see it as part of what needs to be done well so that I can have as many and great artis-tic opportunities as possible. I’ve produced a few plays and short films. I hope to direct and produce more in the future once I have gained greater experience in front of the camera.

You live in Los Angeles but your show is filmed in Canada. Why do you, and so many other local performers, have to travel there for work?Partly because the U.S. dollar goes a lot fur-ther in Canada by the time you exchange the sums it would take to make a season of a TV show or a movie. There are also labor-based tax incentives in British Columbia where we shoot. That and there’s lots of space and great crews. I brought a bit of Canada home with me by buying my favorite picture – a painting of a cow that had Canadian maple leaf material woven into it. I find that uplift-ing and humorous.

What is the biggest challenge facing actresses in Los Angeles today? Oh, Lordy! That we have lived in a patri-archal society for a couple thousand years. Things are shifting as I hope are our own glass ceilings. I’m trying to overcome it by working on myself and my own attitudes and confidence. Life is an inside job. In a theater company I used to run my only stipulation was that there were just as many parts for women as men. Not more than, just the same as – equal.

What advice would you offer anyone going into the entertainment business?Have as strong a support system around you as possible, however you build it. Some have families, some have friends, some have a shrink. Whatever works.

How has “Supernatural” survived and thrived for 11 seasons while so many other shows have fallen by the wayside?I feel that the conventions and the relationship the actors have with the fans has been a big factor. There is a fantastic production team who continue to write imaginative, varied episodes with more than a splash of humor. The producers’ and writers’ great attitudes filter down through the ecosystem. I’m just privileged to have joined in on the ride.

Your character was seemingly killed off in a recent shock episode. Is this really the end of Rowena?They say no one is ever really dead on “Su-pernatural.” No one is safe either. I can’t say anything. But it’s nice that a bring-back Ro-wena campaign has been trending on Twitter.

E ighteen months ago, West Hollywood actress Ruth Connell was struggling to get au-ditions, let alone roles. But everything changed when she was cast as powerful witch Rowena in the popular CW television series “Supernatural,” quickly becoming a fan

favorite with viewers. Connell, who was born in Scotland, spoke with the Business Journal about how she’s using social media to boost her profile and business prospects.

Television

RUTH CONNELLGrew up on her family’s farm in “the middle of nowhere” in Scotland.

Was a huge fan of U.S. TV shows and moved to Los Angeles to be part of that world.

Played Captain Hook on the L.A. stage in acclaimed 2013 play “Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers.”

Watched 14 episodes of “Supernatural” back to back over a weekend as preparation to audition for the show.

Otherworldly Influence: ‘Supernatural’ actress Ruth Connell, who saw her number of social media followers skyrocket after joining the CW drama.

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Question: How and why did you pivot from singing to management?Answer: I’m still a singer and performer first, but I love the business side of things, too, and, having functioned in both segments, feel I can advise clients based on my own experiences and create a plan for them to execute their talent. It’s about

connecting them with the right opportunities so they control their own careers rather than waiting to be found. As a manager, nothing beats nurturing and protecting talent and to see people’s dreams come true.

How would you describe the current state of the music scene in Los Angeles?Currently, there is an explosion of events happening, and it’s such an exciting time here now that many international artists view L.A. as the hub of the music industry, not just the film industry. There’s a melting pot of artists here. Great new venues are creating the infrastructure for amazing events, Placido Domingo is at the L.A. Opera, and now you have all the tech companies here starting to work with bands.

What opportunities does the tech scene in L.A. present for musicians?Venice and Santa Monica is where the tech world is now meeting the music world. With the tech scene so strongly established here, I think it’s an exciting time for musicians to link their music with different applications. Tech apps are reaching out to artists like Ulyseas, who write their own music, to write music for their content.

How else can music acts generate revenue in an era when record sales are down?Artists such as these can attach their music to film and television and sell their music not only as performers but as library content. Meanwhile, with apps such as Periscope and Meerkat, the world is fascinated with how people conduct their lives. So now, bands like my clients have the exciting opportunity to be filmed creating their music, rehearsing and

performing, which then builds interest for them to have a strong audience for touring. Building their own strong social media profile allows them to create a platform they can control from both a creative and business aspect. As for music releases, it is increas-ingly the trend to have three to six tracks rather than a typical 12-track album and that enables artists to release product more often.

What challenges does all this present and how are you facing them?Navigating the never-ending platforms to create an online presence for artists is a

challenge, so I’m building a team from the tech world who specialize in following trends. I also talk to other managers and experienced people in the entertainment business for advice.

How do you make money?By continuing to perform as a classical cross-over artist, running my vocal studio, produc-ing new artists who need tracks produced and released on iTunes, and implementing perfor-mance opportunities for my managed acts.

Tell us about the rock group you manage and why they are a good fit with you?Ulyseas is a hard-rock band with many facets reminiscent of the ‘60s and ‘70s while also

being a fresh experience for the alternative movement. They’re all good friends in their 20s, and instead of addressing popularity like many modern artists, they’re authentic and very much in touch with their own love and passion for their music, which is very refreshing in a disposable society. They’re also dashingly handsome.

What are your future plans for them?We will be launching their EP in the sum-mer, and they will be performing in care-fully selected venues throughout Southern California. Touring is key for a band such

as Ulyseas. Each member of the band writes and they will be composing for film and tele-vision soundtracks. We will be connecting them with various brands to build their brand identity. The lead singer, Ray Castro, will also be modeling internationally.

And your own future plans?Personally, I will be recording an EP to be released this spring of 2016, working with a wonderful young film composer, Taras Tk-achenko, with whom I have produced tracks for other artists. I want to extend my artist roster, seek out new talent eager to record and have tracks produced and released. Also to nurture Ulyseas and to continue coaching the next generation of talent.

‘Venice and Santa Monica is where the tech world is now meeting the music world.’ — SUMMER WATSON, singer and rock band manager

Summer Watson has studied as an opera singer at London’s prestigious Royal College of Music, scored a

No. 1 album on the U.S. classical charts and performed for royalty and celebrities on the world’s leading concert stages. Now, the native Englander’s launching the next gen-eration of musical talent in her new home of Los Angeles. Watson spoke with the Business Journal about managing up-and-coming local rock band Ulyseas, whose path to success she sees running right through L.A.’s booming tech scene.

SUMMER WATSONHas sung to an immense TV audience of 1.3 billion in China.

Was signed to a $1.4 million recording contract by Sony Classical.

Recorded her album “Summer” at famed Abbey Road Studios in London.

Music Makers: Summer Watson with band Ulyseas.

Music

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Question: How do you two work as a duo to keep the Geffen Playhouse thriving?Answer: RA: The key is that each must re-spect the other’s needs and goals. This means that as the artistic party, I need to exercise a certain amount of fiscal responsibility, and as the financial body, Gil must recognize the need for artistic risk. I think we both strive to create this balance and we’re having a really good time and great success working together.

GC: Randy has years of experience both as a director and artistic director and my expe-rience producing film, television and theater, and with fundraising, makes a good yin to his yang. We did disagree about whether we

should put nameplates on the office doors but we agreed to each pick bigger battles.

Everyone thinks of L.A. as a movie town, what challenges does that attitude present to you as a theater?GC: It’s a blessing and a curse. Blessing in that what we do is so unique and that the shared live experience of seeing a show on stage can affect you unlike something on screen. A curse in that the revenue that comes from the film and television business most often trumps that of the theater, so the perception that money equals quality, like box-office results, can sometimes be misleading.

How can theater generate revenue in the Internet age? RA: While part of the charm of theater is that it is antithetical to digital content, there are ways in which the live experience might be enhanced by new technology. Historically, we have used the program to give each play context, but now we have the ability to reach out (digitally) to our audiences before and after each production to possibly elaborate on or enhance what they’ve seen. Ideally, digital media can widen the audience that craves the live experience. More people, more tickets, more revenue.

GC: I think there is an unexplored path to be developed here both in terms of audience and revenue. Sharing theater, streaming theater and raising the curiosity of thousands, if not millions of people, while simultaneously keep-ing what is beautiful about the live experience in tact … and then hopefully driving new audiences to come experience it in person.

What was the lowest point of your career here and how did you turn things around? RA: In 2008, after the Geffen underwent a huge renovation, the bottom fell out of the economy. Afraid that we were going to have to close our doors, we were narrowly saved by a very generous gift from an anonymous donor. In the wake of that tumultuous time, we witnessed theaters around the country select work that seemed safer, or carried less fiscal risk. Gil Cates Sr., the theater’s founder, had a completely different point of view and believed that the only way to thrive was to continue to stretch ourselves artisti-cally, to take risks, to continue to do plays with large casts and big designs. He was entirely right. That was an enormous period of growth for the Geffen and moved us onto the national theater scene in a new way.

I’ve since been a big believer in artistically doubling down at every opportunity.

What is the biggest challenge facing your business? GC: Trying to balance the art and business. Taking calculated risks. Also audience development. Introducing the richness of theater and keeping it relevant to our current audience, while building and curating a new and younger generation of theatergoers.

What are you doing to combat that challenge? RA: I think the most effective way to appeal to young audiences is to tell their stories. We are focused on cultivating relationships with young writers who are storytelling in ways that are representative of their generation of theatergoers. There’s an element to which we are responsible for educating our audiences and introducing them to diverse perspectives. If we want to continue to expand the body of work we produce, we have to make sure our subscribers are invested in that as well, and that might mean more discussion, more preparatory materials, any number of ways of building their desire to see something new and different.

GC: Broadening our approach and appeal. Creating a more robust and innovative social media approach, and looking at ways to create and generate new content on the stage and on the Internet. I’m also a fan of the grass-roots approach to counteract the more traditional marketing and advertising approaches.

What is the future of theater in Los Angeles?GC: Very bright, very challenging and very exciting. … I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world right now.

How does an old-fashioned form of entertainment such as live theater survive and thrive in an era when so many consumers stream their entertainment at home and on mobile phones? That’s the challenge being met by the two most senior figures at Westwood’s

Geffen Playhouse. Artistic director Randall Arney, who mainly handles the creative side, and executive director Gil Cates Jr., who oversees financial matters, spoke to the Business Journal about those challenges as the popular theater celebrates its 20th anniversary year.

TheaterPlaying Up Theater: Gil Cates Jr., left, and Randall Arney at Westwood’s Geffen Playhouse.

GIL CATES Jr.He was a co-producer on the movie “Jobs,” in which Ashton Kutcher played Steve Jobs.

His late father produced the Oscars a record 14 times.

He is a cousin of actress Phoebe Cates.

He directed an episode of Matt LeBlanc’s “Friends” spin-off series, “Joey.”

RANDALL ARNEYHe has taught acting and directing at UCLA and held master classes in Tokyo.

He was previously artistic director of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre.

In addition to overseeing the Geffen’s creative direction since 1999, he has directed more than 10 plays there including the recent “Outside Mullingar.”

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