Here’s an article that makes a case – no, not a good one – for eschewing creativity altogether cuz…people who aren’t creative find other people’s creativity – well, you’ll see:
Inside the Box: People don’t actually like creativity
by Jessica Olien
In the United States we are raised to appreciate the accomplishments of inventors and thinkers—creative people whose ideas have transformed our world. We celebrate the famously imaginative, the greatest artists and innovators from Van Gogh to Steve Jobs. Viewing the world creatively is supposed to be an asset, even a virtue. Online job boards burst with ads recruiting “idea people” and “out of the box” thinkers. We are taught that our own creativity will be celebrated as well, and that if we have good ideas, we will succeed.
It’s all a lie. This is the thing about creativity that is rarely acknowledged: Most people don’t actually like it. Studies confirm what many creative people have suspected all along: People are biased against creative thinking, despite all of their insistence otherwise.
Did Netflix Kill the DVR Star?
Food for thought from the new, improved Deadline.Com. (And we hate saying that cuz we really love Nikki.)
Has Netflix Helped Cap DVR Growth?
by David Lieberman
The $7.99-a-month streaming service appears to have dampened many consumers’ interest in DVRs, which cost $10 or more a month, according a study out this morning from Leichtman Research Group.
It shows DVR growth plateauing: 47% of households have one vs 45% last year and 44% in 2011. (It was 23% in 2007.) That’s partly due to cable marketing strategies. It’s easier to entice well-to-do customers to pay for multiple DVRs than to persuade people who don’t have one to buy. Half of homes that do take DVR service have more than one, up from 43% last year and 33% in 2011.
Frank Darabont said it, not us: “Movies have sucked for some years.”
But we agree. Our parents’ generation probably never thought anybody would say this, but here it is:
TV is where the mature stories are.
Gives us chills just to think about it.
An Overview of TV’s 2013 Drama Development
…So that you’ll all know exactly what’s hot and what’s not, what to pitch and what to not pitch, what you’ve been writing that’s a solidly good usage of your time and what…oh, we’re so sorry…not:
Development Season 2013: Fewer Dramas, Bigger (And Overblown) Commitments,
Early Orders, Spinoffs, Adaptations & Remakes
by Nellie Andreeva
Network drama has been on a roll with a string of strong premieres the last two seasons — Revolution, The Following and Arrow last season and The Blacklist, Sleepy Hollow and Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Originals this fall.
But the genre will have to rely heavily on the quality vs. quantity principal if its wants to continue its hot streak as the volume is definitely not there for nprimetime-panic-2ext season. The drama buying got off to a very sluggish start in the summer and never found a higher gear. Drama pitches were down across the board.
Angelo J. Bell: Three Must-Have Screenplays for 2014
by Angelo J. Bell
So much is changing and evolving in the world of spec screenplays that it’s hard to keep up with what to do and what not to do. However, throughout my research and monitoring of the industry I’ve found there are basically three types of screenplays you should have in your arsenal, polished and ready to go. With these three screenplays it’s likely that you’ll have something “in the ballpark” of what a producer, studio or director is looking for.
No guarantees. But as they say, “Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.”
Commercial Screenplay (aka Studio screenplay or marketable/saleable screenplay) – the headline and logline for this screenplay should read like a news article in Deadline.com, a listing in the Hollywood Reporter or Variety Magazine. Leading roles should be characters any of the top ten actors in Hollywood would want to play (adjusting for age, of course). There should also be a role for a strong up-and-coming twentysomething actress and/or a strong character actress. This screenplay can be in any genre but arthouse. Write without any budgetary constraints. If you think the finished film requires $1M a day, write it!