Andy White’s Post

Patrick Brzeski (Asian Bureau Chief at The Hollywood Reporter): "Do you think you restructured how the story is told in any significant way? For example, you talked about the theme of a character encountering a culture they don’t understand. In your version, it seems we’re getting more of that from both sides, rather than just John Blackthorne’s — certainly compared to the earlier TV adaptation."   Justin Marks (Co-EP of "Shōgun" with Rachel Kondo): "The book made most of the choices for us. Because of the way the 1980 miniseries came out, I think there’s a collective misunderstanding that the book is Blackthorne’s story. Of course, Blackthorne is a huge character and he’s sort of the inciting incident of the whole thing, but the book is a real three-hander in the way it’s constructed. And even more than that, because all of the additional, dynamic ensemble characters who all get their time in the book. So we just ran with that. When I think back to our meetings with John Landgraf, Gina Balian, Kate Lambert and Lindsay Donohue at FX, what we said was that everything in the book is great and we don’t want to change it. All we want to do is find ways to subvert the gaze. We would never be able to properly invert the gaze, because we’re Western filmmakers, just like James Clavell was a Western writer. What we are hoping to do is to subvert the gaze enough to surprise the audience — like, let’s see Blackthorne as the Japanese see him. Let’s have these moments where you get insight in both directions, or moments where you think you know what kind of scene it is, but then it’s going to go out the side door because we’re looking at it through a more modern lens." #entertainment #shogun #fx #hulu #disneyplus #storytelling #storystructure #tv #television #streaming #streamingtv #character #incitingincident #threehander #subvertthegaze #surprisetheaudience #subtitles #subtitling #authenticity

Don’t let yourself become the subject of an HBO documentary in 2025, that’s rarely a positive event.  It was surreal to watch our friends and clients from RA MA again last night on episode 3 of Breath Of Fire on HBO. People get all caught up in the moment and miss the big picture. Like brands can get all caught up in Fake Friday, Black Friday, The Holiday Season. Don’t forget that the time is now to start preparing for a great 2025. Ad rates come down. Lots of learnings from 2024. I think it’s safe to say we’re all ready for some positive change. That starts now, let’s get ready. Let’s make it a great 2025. 

I'ma do a retrospective of the "2010s TV Boom" cuz that was such an interesting time in Hollywood where studios invested heavily nearly billions in producing TV shows and often they provided massive returns. The product they were putting out every night was what the audiences were looking for. It brought us the Arrowverse (Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Batwoman, & Black Lightning) and their annual crossover events. It brought us Shonda Thursdays: Scandal, Grey's Anatomy, and HTGAWM. Who woulda thought we'd get Scandal/HTGAWM crossover? It was the crossover that we needed. Brought us Netflix Marvel w/ Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, & Daredevil (The Defenders Crossover event) It brought us shows like Game of Thrones, High Maintenance, Master of None, The Blacklist, House of Cards, The Duece, Mr. Robot, OITNB, Power, Blindspot, Person of Interest, Empire, American Horror Stories, The Walking Dead, BCS, Comedies made a comeback with Blackish, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Atlanta, Insecure, Girls, Dear White People, Survivor's Remorse, and Ballers. This was time where studios took chances on young up and coming writers to produce some new original content that had a good story engine and compelling characters the audience can relate to which is what the audience wanted. Many of these shows won multiple Emmys are regarded as one of the best shows in the modern era. Nowadays you don't see studio execs take those same chances that they used to. More than half of the movie slate next year are reboots, remakes, or sequels. This is part of the problem The goal isn't to produce projects to attract different audiences. The goal is to produce projects for the audience is going to watch them. You do that, it will attract other audiences. If you're going to produce a project based on an existing IP, stay true to the source material. #BusinessStrategy #HollywoodUnlocked #userresearch #television #Film #MediaAnalysis

Greetings! Some people use historical TV series as sources in historical talks (either about an event or about a figure)… 🙋♀️ May I beg to differ? Well, historical shows are great, we love them. What's better than history played by actors we appreciate? But using them as historical sources… I just can’t take it. These shows are highly romanced, and there is nothing wrong ‘bout it because they are not documentaries. They will be retracing the main historically proven facts, that’s great. But their storyline is always different from reality. First, because history doesn’t know it all; second because every scenarist has a message he/she wants to convey; then because the more dramatic it is, the better it sells 💰. Soooo, TV shows are not historically accurate. Some are more aligned with reality than others, but still… It remains a work of fiction (even those based on true events).  They can’t be used as historical sources. But we still enjoy them! What historical shows can you recommend to me? Wuji 🐢. #TVshows

I started watching “Buying London” on Netflix yesterday. It’s supposed to be the UK equivalent to the US smash Selling Sunset, which is about selling high end homes.  The protagonist, Daniel Daggers obviously did it for the publicity. But here is why I personally don’t think it was a good move: The team don’t sell a single property throughout the whole series – are the team that bad that they can’t sell? The show is not really talking to their target audience. Luxury and high end is the norm for the agency’s clientele. The people watching the show don’t have a spare £10million to drop on a property. If you are not talking to your target audience, why bother doing the show? The protagonist does not come across as trust worthy, which is a necessity in this market. He comes across as smart mouthed, sarcastic, slightly arrogant, and a bit of a wannabe, rather than someone who has “sold over £5billion of real estate.” TV editing, and a camera pointed at you can do that to you. And so can an ego. Another rule of PR – never relinquish control to a TV Editor. They do not work for you. They don’t care how you are depicted. They want TV that will get people talking.  It's not a realistic look at the real estate industry in London. It's just over dramatised nonsense with fake bickering, fake tension and a few nice properties thrown in..... Not all publicity is good publicity. Control the narrative or it will control you.  

The sheer volume of TV shows makes it a challenge to separate the “meh” from the must-watch, especially when it comes to genres as diverse as science fiction and fantasy. Luckily, Netflix houses countless worthwhile series that go beyond impressive visuals to deliver humor, heart, and unexpected life lessons from unlikely protagonists—yes, even a moody cat-dog hybrid or a seemingly dull middle-aged woman with a fondness for Applebee’s. These shows offer unique storylines while providing insightful perspectives on themes centering around self-worth, community, morality, and the concept of found family. Audiences get the chance to explore complex worlds filled with bizarre, zany characters who, despite their fantastical worlds, share the same worries and fears and ponder the same questions we face in our ordinary lives. Through them, we can process important ideas about humanity, often with just the right mix of comedy and compassion that makes their messages even more meaningful. They are not just entertaining but are reflections on the human experience, depicted through wacky battles in alternate dimensions and imperfect antiheroes.          If you’re in the mood for poignant storytelling, thrilling space adventures, and loveable characters that will have you returning to their worlds for countless rewatches, here are four exceptional shows you can watch on Netflix that just might become some of your favorites. Which of these shows would you give a watch? #netflixshows #fantasytvshows #scifitvshows #theportalist #openroadintegratedmedia         

Did you know that Reese Witherspoon runs a $1,000,000,000 book club! It’s called “Reese’s Book Club” which she started in 2017. It’s 100% free, but it’s disguised as a giant funnel for her movie/TV production company called Hello Sunshine. Here’s the ABCs of how the business works: A. Reese has a book club audience of 3M+ people. B. Every month, she recommends them a book to read with the story focused around a female character. C. Before she recommends a book, she cuts a deal with the authors. D. The authors get more book sales through Reese’s recommendation, and Reese gets the movie/TV production rights E. If the book takes off after Reese recommends it, it’s highly likely Reese can make a show/movie out of it. F. So she’ll take a successful book and shop the production to media platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Disney etc. G. A platform will pay for her to produce the show before Reese has spent $1.00 of her own money (this is brilliant). H. In exchange for that investment, the platform gets licensing rights to the show (so they can sell it on their platform) I. Then, Reese produces the show, makes a profit, and reinvests into other shows and movies. In 2021 she sold a portion of Hello Sunshine to Blackstone for $900,000,000. What do you think about that?

What I love about presenting Mental Health Matters is how much I learn about sixteenth interventions. Healing and help is not one size fits all, rather we need to learn widely and choose wisely for ourselves. #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthtv #localstudio

I’ve always been interested in the business of entertainment not necessarily the celebrity of entertainment. And, I’ve done my best to stay on top of the generational differences in entertainment, movies and music as I believe it’s important to know what and who different generations look 👀 up to. This podcast from Matthew Belloni is really good - take a listen. And, Hollywoood, make more movies 🍿 with honest, real characters, please. Our kids - especially our young men - need more aspirational depictions in film - not just superheroes. https://lnkd.in/gb6fBXXr