Chapter 11: The Producers

Key Terms and Concepts

 Franchises
o A collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe,
or are marketed as a series
o Examples of this can be the Marvel Franchise, the Harry Potter Franchise, and
the Star Wars franchise
 Screenwriters
o A person who writes screenplays as an occupation
o An example of this is Quentin Tarantino who has helped to write Reservoir Dogs
and Pulp Fiction
Creativity Meets Franchise Management
 Producers in Hollywood find it difficult to have continuous box-office
dominance/success (everyone except Disney)
 The power in Hollywood now lies with the writers/producers rather than the directors
o They control the large franchises which gives the most profit
o Profit = power
o Keeping cinematic universes alive, on budget, and creative are he most
important role within Hollywood
 Lin Picture (Bricksburg Chamber of Commerce)
o Production company and animation studio based on Legos
o The Lego Batman Movie, Lego Ninjago, and The Lego Movie 2
o Never ending series of new movies
o Example of what it takes to succeed in the changing industry
 Directors still have lots of power
o In charge of creative process on set, guiding cast and crew, and deciding how
each scene is shot
o Overall power diminished considerably due to the shift in business model
o Used to be a dozen a-list directors
o Now only three directors can get any movie produced at any studio
o Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, and James Cameron
o Directors come and go
 Need to maintain tone, stay on budget, and stay on time
 There have been eleven different directors in the marvel films up until
2016
 Expected to exercise their creativity within set parameters
 New A-listers
o Producers and writers managing and creating cinematic universes
o They are tired of the sameness
o Try to inject original ideas into franchises while keeping their job
The MBA
 Dan Lin – mayor of bricksburg (basically the area of the Lego movie area)
o American film producer
o Founder and CEO of Rideback
o Inspired by Chris Lee
 Top production executive at Columbia Pictures
o Interned at Warner Brothers
 Lin served as a translator with the movie’s producers
 Gave experience and exposure so they invited him to come back once he
finished his MBA
 Became “creative executive” – lowest rung on the studio ladder (just
above assistant)
 He was warned against it by college career counselor
o Rose to become senior vice president of production
 Worked on The Departed
 Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning film
 Lin helped adapt it from a Hong Kong film release
o Lin decided that he wanted more creativity and unpredictability in his career
 Wanted to become a producer
 Decided to produce superhero movies featuring characters from Warner-
owned DC comics
o Lin’s DC Plan
 Wanted to kick off a series of DC movies with all the characters together
in a Justice League film
 Then give each character individual movies
 Warner signed off on the idea
 Lin Pictures created and produced Justice League: Mortal
 Problem was that Marvel was doing some of the same thing starting with
Iron Man and bringing it together with The Avengers
 Right before Justice League got strike and was forced to wait
 By then the film went cold with the executives
o Lin’s Production Career
 Started producing venture from scratch
 Studios were cutting back and focusing on branded movies
 His films only performed decently at the box office (2009)
 New version of Sherlock Holmes and was a hit
 Was his first franchise as a producer and had a successful sequel
 Popular based on charisma of Robert Downey Jr.
 Series came to a halt because of Downey’s Marvel jobs
o Lin’s darkest moment of his career (2013)
 Acquired the rights for a reboot of Godzilla
 Financier booted Lin and fellow producer as they did not work enough to
earn their salary (millions)
 Lin sued Legendary Pictures (their financer)
o The Lego Movie
  Lin had financial trouble after his lawsuit
 Lin Pictures would not have survived if it had not been for the Lego Movie
 Wasn’t interested in it at first
 Saw his son playing with Legos and changed his mind
 Lin thought that he could use the Lego brand to make a movie with
broader themes about invention and creativity
 Hollywood mocked the idea of a film based on a toy set that lacked
characters / a story
 Lin hoped that the “Lego” title and brand would attract a broad audience
 Lin was able to make a deal on the animation for only $60 million
 Worked for deals to feature characters no owned by Warner
 Satirical portrayals funnier than Hollywood expected
 Preview audiences gave high reviews
 Opening gross: $69 million
 Ultimately grossed $469 million worldwide
 Gave Lin and the company the financial break that they needed
o The aftermath of the Lego Movie
 Warner Brothers asked Lin whether he had more ideas for Legos
 Lin sent the studio a plan (it was the plan he used for the DC movie
franchise)
 Warner Brother needed franchises, so they quickly approved Lin’s plan
 Spinoffs would follow individual character and then a sequel would be
released
 Lin convinced Warner Brothers to create Bricksburg saying that movies
need their own creative culture
 Lin wanted to keep the idea of a child’s creativity
o Lin’s current job
 Keep a project on schedule
 So, Lego movies don’t disappear form public attention for too
long
 Keep their team creatively invigorated
 So, work feels fresh but also in line with the franchise
Kings of X-Men
 Simon Kinberg = writer
o 20th Century Fox’s most important film franchise (X-Men cinematic universe)
o Simon Kinberg hasn’t written an original screenplay in more than a decade while
being on set virtually every day for the movies that he writes
o Writes a ton of films based on Marvel characters that Fox controls under
licensing deal signed several years earlier (this was decades before Marvel
Studios started making their own movies)
o Kinberg is the only person who Fox trusted in regard to creative control
 Takes credit for success and the blame for failure
 o Screenwriters tend to have a “one for them, one for me” moto which allows
them to balance their need to pay the bills (thus writing for franchises) and
explore their creativity
o “The truth is that I find myself in these movies, I’m not writing them on an
assembly line. My brain is always living in these stories, even when I think I may
die from the flu.”
 This shows that not all screenwriters feel like they are being creatively
stunned by the age of franchises.
The Writers’ Room
 Akiva Goldsman with Paramount Pictures & Hasbro wanted to build a cinematic
universe in 2016
o The companies wanted to wave together a new lineup of movies in addition to
selling millions or more toys
 These cinematic universes are the “beating heart” of the creative process in the film
industry
 Behind every cinematic universe is a brand
 Hasbro’s plan
o Make a series of films that would overlap and fit together in a larger story
 Goldsman worked to make creativity flow within the brainstorming sessions among the
brand executive who were producing a movie for cynical reasons
A Franchise-Funded Home For Creativity
 Going back to Dan Lin and the Lego franchise
o He learned used that the check from the lawsuit from Godzilla to mix franchises
and creativity
o He created a office called Rideback Ranch where animators could work on the
next Lego movies but where writers, directors and other creative individuals are
free to work on any idea that they want to
 The overall dominance of cinematic brands will come to an end
Key Takeaways
 Media ownership can make a break a production company’s ability to build a cinematic
universe but once the cinematic universe is successful, there is typically a flow of money
available to keep the universe going
 Cross media convergence and synergy is what drives franchises. Without the need for
these two business techniques, franchises would not likely be as lucrative
 The new animation technology has made it easier for different types of cinematic
universes to appear. The CGI technology to place a person who passed away into a
scene, thus being able to finish a franchise after an actor unexpectedlypassed away.
 Franchises are made to target a global market with a large demographic range (can be
seen as cash grabs
 I have basically been forced to consume some sort of franchise and it is almost
impossible to find a current popular, lucrative, and successful film that is not part of
some sort of franchise