Ric Robertson Taking Paid Summer Hiatus From Movie Academy …
‘The Big C’ Finale Airs On Showtime Tonight
Obama Scandals Bring MSNBC 7-Year Low While Fox News Rises
Ang Lee Departs FX Pilot ‘Tyrant’
DreamWorks Eyes January For ‘Glimmer’ And Dylan …
Warner Bros TV & ‘Smallville’ Co-Creators …
How Many Times Does Seth MacFarlane Have To Say No To The …
UPFRONTS 2013: TV Spinoffs’ Almost Perfect Year
OSCARS: Animated Feature Rule Change
Cannes: Relativity Sets ‘Hunger Games’ Liam …
RATINGS RAT RACE: Billboard Awards Surge From 2012, …
Cannes: Park Chan-wook’s ‘Sympathy For Mr. …
Cannes: Stanley Weiser To Script ‘Three Graves …
Yahoo CEO Foresees Big Opportunities To Sell Ads On Tumblr
Disney, Lucasfilm Animation Prep ‘Star Wars …
Cannes: Deadline Crashes Palais Forum With Costa Gavras, …
Hammond On Cannes: Sun Comes Out As Parties, Deals And …
Kelly Rowland, Paulina Rubio In Talks To Join ‘X …
‘Fast & Furious 6′ Breaks Records In …
Specialty Box Office: ‘Frances Ha’ Triumphs As …
‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ $164.5M Global: Lower …
Even though he didn’t make this video, the president of the Association of Entertainment Marketing Agencies is sending it around to trailer houses. That’s because it’s especially apt given that Hollywood studios right now are slashing prices on trailers and posters but wanting the same or better quality and more volume. (Even though 2009′s year-to-date box office revenue is half a billion ahead of last year’s…)
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
Loading ... Loading ...
I think every Labor Union in America could use this video right now. I’ll forward it over to the Screen Actors Guild.
DOH!
It’s funny cuz it’s true!
Pretty lame vid, but thats how most producers and coordinators act in this biz. They lowball everybody except themselves. I see it all day every day in accounting. Then they have the nerve get mad at us for paying bills. Go figure.
It looks like this was created by a guy named Eric Alba and posted on YouTube. Whoever you are Eric, take a bow. This is brilliant!
Yeah, it’s a bitch, all right. But it makes me wonder…if the studios claims it costs almost as much to market a major motion picture as produce it, and if the trailer companies (and all of their vendors) are getting squeezed, where is all that marketing dough going? Th…they…wouldn’t be squandering it at the studios, would they? Gee, say it ain’t so!
It’s called negotiation. Just say no if you don’t like the deal.
Hilarious and sadly not an exaggeration in any way whatsoever. Only wish the buyers depicted mention the record profits they’re having.
Ha! The real question is, Who made this?? That would be a real scoop!
Paramount and Uni should be incredibly grateful to the marketing teams on STAR TREK and FAST&FURIOUS.
Heh. It’s not any better in the production side of things either. I’m gonna burn a bunch of mini discs of this video and start passing them out like candy…
Tasty creative backlash. More please?
This video is a great representation of the Hollywood Client-Vendor relationship!
How does one slash prices and practically force businesses into bankruptcy when profits are higher than ever?
And no, not anyone with a Final Cut and Photoshop can do the same quality of work.
Great idea! Bite the hand that feeds you… always a good move.
Really? This has been going on for so long in post that I doubt if anyone even notices anymore. Nicely done though.
There’s an Association of Entertainment Marketing Agencies?
Yeah, I work in post and this has been going on for years.
This whole ‘We gotta cut costs cos it’s the economy’ scam is just getting ridiculous.
Since everyone’s throwing their hat in the victim ring, why can’t producers have a video of their own that talks about how most producers have no insurance, no pension, are asked to defer 20% of their fees by the bond company, have no workers rights, no minimums and no job security … and how they are usually asked to waive/defer their entire salaries on indie films. Without someone to produce films/television shows there wouldn’t even be jobs for all the victims to complain about.
It’s the sense of entitlement that bothers me with every client I work for. However, non-entertainment people don’t give me this run-around.
Gee, this is just starting to happen in the marketing and trailer business? Boo Fucking Hoo.
Welcome to the new Hollowood. Phony limousine liberals kow-towing to soulless multinationals squeezing labor by the nuts to cover salaries of layer after pathetic layer of USELESS MIDDLE MANAGEMENT!!!
I mean really, how many D-chimps does it take to get a movie made?
Warmest,
The Optimist.
I second everything said by The Optimist. I blame Michael Bay for some reason. Not sure why, just seems like a good guy to blame.
Regards,
The Optimist Prime
Do directors get to cut a trailer or are they always slaved off to these agencies?
Yeah, I really wish we’d get some ethics going in the biz, huh? In addition to the production shut-down for the past year from all the AMPTP/SAG negotiations, several other projects were swiped from under my feet because the studio decided to take projects “in-house.” Great. The last few crumbs I could have nibbled on.
Guess I should start trying to get an “in-house” studio job.
Hadn’t seen one accurate post on here yet about this subject so I decided to chip in.
1.no studo is making record profits – despite the top line box office growth, every other part of the business is in the doldrums. every studio is losing money relative to years gone by and budgets are being slashed accordingly.
2. in this economic environment, it’s natural for studios to look at the biggest cost items as ways of saving money and by far the largest is agency fees for trailers/tv spots etc
3. it is well known by anyone who has ever dealt with agencies and knows the type of fees they earn, that they are incredibly well paid – every major ad house has owners/principles driving around in high end cars and living the good life so a reduction in their fees is not such a bad thing
4. I appreciate some agenies may go out of business and the studios give bogus reasons why they are slashing fees, however for the most part, the real result will be a few wealthy principals of these companies not being able to pay for 2nd homes and 3rd cars anymore.
I work in the business, creating value added materials for DVD and blu-ray product — so the situation portrayed in this video all too familiar to me. However, here’s something to keep in mind about it from an economic point of view…
1. As creators, we get squeezed by our employers (production companies) to do more with less because…
2. Our employers get squeezed by their clients (studios) to do more with less because…
3. The client is being squeezed by retailers (Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon, etc.) to do more with less because…
4. Retailers are being squeezed by each other (via competition) to do provide more for less because…
5. Consumers naturally shop around trying to get the most value for the cheapest price.
This would not be a problem if prices and wages were allowed to fall across the board in all sectors of the economy — like water seeking its own level — which is what SHOULD happen when both are inflated, as they are today. Unfortunately, prices and wages are not allowed to fall because of all the disruptions in our mixed economy — which is part capitalist/part socialist/part fascist. Economies are like nature — and like nature, the more you interfere with an economy, the more disruptions and imbalances you cause to it. What we’re seeing today is an economy violently attempting to correct itself (via rising unemployment, price inflation, currency devaluation, etc.) because we have twisted, squeezed, perverted and deformed it via disastrous government meddling.
The video is very funny, and accurately portrays the frustrating dynamic of today’s vendor/client relationship — but it’s only a small part of a much bigger and far less amusing story.