Earlier in my career, I needed to be the writer, casting director, set designer, leading man, and producer. I've been eliminating a lot of those jobs. I'm an executive producer right now. I still get to pick the best screenplays. | | | | Wed Anderson's ISLE OF DOGS is worth seeing, Especially for the absolutely remarkable and insane detail of the puppets. Click for the making of...
(Fox Searchlight) | | | | | |  | "Earlier in my career, I needed to be the writer, casting director, set designer, leading man, and producer. I've been eliminating a lot of those jobs. I'm an executive producer right now. I still get to pick the best screenplays."
| - | Danny Meyer, on the evolution of a successful entrepreneur | | | | | | | rantnrave:// There's a show "coming soon" to AMAZON that I'm really excited for, TOM CLANCY's JACK RYAN. At least I think I am. It seems like it's been coming soon since JESUS wore short pants. A really long time. Sometimes it makes me wonder what's going on over there. Yes, there have been management changes. Yes, we hear that JEFF BEZOS wants better, bigger, and faster. I've often thought AMAZON is the real threat to NETFLIX. Why? Because Netflix is a pure play. There is no other business that it's a loss leader for. PRIME is different. But it also makes me wonder if Amazon wants to win. Or do they just want to do enough to keep Prime, well, in prime? They seem to crush it in every sector. Are the pillars of talent, balance sheet, and Prime enough to win? Or are they cushions for their video division? There's a reason Netflix seemingly does everything and is so aggressive. They need to win. My point is that is big tech advantages matter, but so does focus, so does being in it to win it, so does having no emergency parachute. As a fan, I want what I've come to expect from them. Excellence and consistency. They are the best of the best. Amazon needs more focus and delivery in this sector. Or maybe they don't?... I met PETER CHERNIN (a friend and REDEF investor) many years ago when he (w/ ROSS LEVINSOHN) approached me and TOM FRESTON about a joint venture for video rights between FOX and VIACOM. This joint venture went onto become HULU. A company I would have loved to run had Viacom not dropped out before formation. My friend JASON KILAR was named CEO and he did a stellar job. It should have achieved the level of success Netflix has. It had what may have been the greatest head start and arsenal in the history of media startups. And they got that product mattered in addition to killer content. But JV's are tough and internal support amongst partners ebbed and flowed constantly. Worrying more about internal cannibalization than the external competition and changing consumer habits. Chernin's idea was the correct one even if Hulu still trying to live up to its potential in an even more competitive environment. MATTHEW BALL recently tweeted Peter's "10 Rules For Media Survival" from 13 years ago. Chernin knew some stuff. Some prescient, some realistic, and some protective... FRED WILSON is a VC and friend. Someone I've admired for a long time. His opinions and ideas matter to me. His AVC blog is an archive of those ideas. His recent post, "Trophy Board Members" discusses the almost always ill-thought-out idea of putting "a big name who, in theory, brings credibility and connections to your company." He discusses their self-interest and fairweather support. I've only sat on boards as an independent. And the best boards often cast their board members for help and support. As Fred says, "I am a huge fan of independent directors to complement the founders and investors on a board... But don't put "names" on your board. Put operators, ideally very seasoned operators, who have done everything you want to do, ideally multiple times, and can help you spot the issues before they become problems and spot the opportunities with enough time to go after them." This can be a very successful strategy. Now, the CEO has to want to be helped. Has to want to be counseled. There are CEO's who will say "feed the board s**t." I've worked with one, not as a board member, and they were a disaster. There are CEO's that don't want help. So the casting may be great, but the reality is much different. This can be ego. This can be NIH. Then there are CEO's that usefully use their board for advice, intros, devil's advocates, or their specific expertise. There is no one perfect scenario but Fred points out what has worked in his eyes. His track record is pretty stellar. And at the very least, he's telling us what doesn't work... You know B's hire C's and scumbags hire douchebags... Happy Birthday to SAM LESSIN, JON COHEN, DREW BUCKLEY, DAVID WAKSMAN, HILARY ROWLAND, and ANDREW MAINS. | | | - Jason Hirschhorn, curator | | | |  | The Atlantic | | The nation's current post-truth moment is the ultimate expression of mind-sets that have made America exceptional throughout its history. | | | |  | Quartzy | | Walt Disney had a vision for tomorrow-and the means to sell it. | | | |  | National Geographic | | Our floodlit society has made sleep deprivation a lifestyle. But we know more than ever about how we rest--and how it keeps us healthy. | | | |  | TED Talks | | History is written by the victors, as the saying goes -- but what would it look like if it was written by everyone? Journalist and TED Fellow Mikhail Zygar is on a mission to show us with Project1917, a "social network for dead people" that posts the real diaries and letters of more than 3,000 people who lived during the Russian Revolution. | | | |  | BuzzFeed News | | It's hard enough dealing with the suicide of a loved one, but for a lot of Muslim families, that's just the beginning of the heartache. | | | |  | Law & Crime | | Image via Twitter screengrab Another day, another breaking story about our president paying hush money to a former lover. This time, though, the drama isn't so | | | |  | Jalopnik | | Before the Dodge Chargers were dragging safes through Rio in improbable bank heists, before the orange Toyota Supra, before living your life a quarter-mile at a time, before Dom and Letty and Brian, there was just Stephan Papadakis, his friends, and Los Angeles. | | | |  | Esquire | | How the Beatles classic changed the future of animation. | | | |  | Rolling Stone | | How the combo of Robert De Niro going comedic and Charles Grodin getting neurotic turned an action-comedy into an endlessly rewatchable classic. | | | |  | Heleo | | Chris Guillebeau tells Srinivas Rao about his days as a juvenile delinquent, and the lessons he learned about finding his life's passion. | | | | | | | i am not overly concerned | |  | MEL Magazine | | They're in finance, law and real estate. They 'go in at 100%' when making deals. And their ripped bodies are racking up the likes. Anthony Barillo, 28, describes his Instagram as a "visual diary of a top-producing, Ivy League-educated broker in New York City." | | | |  | Vanity Fair | | Technology has a history of starting out with good intentions, and eventually being leveraged for quite the opposite. | | | |  | The Daily Beast | | Bannon is moving to Europe to set up The Movement, a populist foundation to rival George Soros and spark a right-wing revolt across the continent. | | | |  | Passion of the Weiss | | Alex Swhear takes a look at 'Ye's' lasting impact. | | | |  | CNN | | The so-called "resistance" to President Trump takes many forms. In Hollywood, writers and producers are using the tools of their trade -- jokes and dramatizations -- to make statements about Trump and the dangers of demagoguery more broadly. | | | |  | strategy+business | | The gig economy — and the growing group of digital nomads within it — requires a wider variety of new products and services than businesses and governments are currently prepared to deliver | | | |  | The Washington Post | | Maurice Rucker says a customer responded with racist insults when he was asked to leash his dog in the store. | | | |  | New Republic | | For decades, dairy farmers have begged the government to crack down on plant-based milks. The Trump administration just might. | | | |  | Fast Company | | The secret of "Fortnite's" success is different than that of other games--which helps to explain why young people bond with it and a seasoned gamer might not. | | | |  | RTÉ Brainstorm | | What does Bruce Springsteen have to say about law and how it shapes and is shaped by a people's culture? | | | | |  | | YouTube | | | | | | | | | | | h/t to Brian Koppelman for reminding me how good this song is. I like dark tones. | | | | | | | | © Copyright 2018, The REDEF Group | | |
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