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Interesting article about the most pirated show on television, Game of Thrones. Not a badge a show wants to wear, but it’s very telling about how poorly networks distribute their shows outside of the TV platform. They clearly still haven’t figured out how to effectively do this. The demand for something is not being met, so people naturally look elsewhere to satiate their need of instant gratification.
“While Game of Thrones filesharing rates are probably driven in part by its appeal to the young, geeky male demographic that’s most prone to using torrent sites, HBO hasn’t helped the problem by making the show tough to watch online for the young and cable-less,” writes Forbes. “The show isn’t available through Hulu or Netflix, iTunes offers only Season 1, and using HBO’s own streaming site HBO Go requires a cable subscription.”
“This is absolutely a reaction to the show’s not being available elsewhere online,” said Robinson. “It’s a very tricky game trying to create this kind of scarcity.”
Would it be nice if HBO came up with a legal online viewing option for its network’s properties? Something you didn’t actually have to have cable for but could pay to watch elsewhere? Yes. Should we be blaming HBO for people stealing its content? No. People pirating is just that. People making the decision not to wait for the show to come to DVD or pay for the privilege to have it in their home. We’ve heard a lot of people have been dropping cable in favor of services such as Hulu, but just because you choose not to access what’s available to you doesn’t make stealing ok.
I have indeed watched Game of Thrones. But that’s all I’m going to say. More here.
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This article’s been going around quite a bit, but I thought I’d share if you haven’t seen it already. I especially liked the first one. I had a life discussion with my sister recently and we talked about how a person’s need to be right often trumps their need to be fulfilled, whether they realize it or not. It’s often why people believe they’ll fail at difficult tasks, even when they attempt the task anyway. They’ll even subconsciously sabotage themselves just to prove to themselves all along how hard the task was and that they were going to fail to begin with. Believing in yourself is a very difficult mountain to climb. First, it means you don’t have a free pass to slack on trying to achieve something. You have to really put in the work because you truly believe success is a possibility. And secondly, it means you’re putting yourself at risk of being wrong. Because as much as you believe in yourself, you can’t control everything (I.E. external forces). And everyone hates being wrong. Even if it’s just to themselves.
1. GIVE UP YOUR NEED TO ALWAYS BE RIGHT: There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong – wanting to always be right – even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. It’s just not worth it. Whenever you feel the ‘urgent’ need to jump into a fight over who is right and who is wrong, ask yourself this question: “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?” Wayne Dyer. What difference will that make? Is your ego really that big?
Read the rest of the list here.
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Caught this interesting article about the change in our imagination and creativity from childhood to adulthood.
Growing up, to be sure, has its benefits. As we age, our intellect sharpens and willpower strengthens. We come to control our thoughts and desires. We identify goals and hone our skills. But growing up comes at a cost: we lose our naiveté that facilitates creativity and idea generation. A study conducted between 1959 and 1964 involving 350 children found that around 4th grade our tendency to daydream and wonder declines sharply. In other words, Picasso was right: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”
I’ve always figured our childhood was the secret to unlocking our creativity. And the best artists are the ones that know how to tap into that, or have, in a lot of ways, never grown up. As a writer, I’m sometimes very consciously aware of my “adult filter” of ideas, and suppressing it can be tough. You often wait for creative breakthroughs to help you tear that wall down. And when it does, it’s euphoric. When it doesn’t, it’s mental torture. Learn to find the child within you, and personal fulfillment will not be far away.
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According to Ken Levine, TV comedy writer, that’s the trend. But not just any showrunners. NEW showrunners. While that’s a godsend for writers like me (with a show idea no less), Levine paints the ugly picture that a new showrunner would have to endure if they are new to TV.
Big new trend this year: new series picked up without proven showrunners. How can you tell? When the networks told the lucky pilot creators they were on the schedule they reacted by saying, “Yay!” and not “Oh shit!” Only seasoned showrunners, who know what to expect, say that.
In their quest to get new ideas and new voices, the networks have favored development with feature writers and actors and pretty much anyone who doesn’t have the stink of “knows how to do this” on them. In fact, writers on existing shows were often discouraged from taking time away from work to develop.
Is it worth it? We’ll see in September. Will the ideas and voices be that fresh? My guess is no. My guess is another reason inexperienced TV writer/creators are sought are because they’re much more willing to take network and studio notes. I’ve been in pilot situations where literally twenty suits are giving notes. You sit around a giant conference table like in DR. STRANGELOVE and get bombarded by mandatory “suggestions” – many of which conflict. Do the people giving those notes have fresh ideas and voices? What do you think?
Again, TV can be pretty rough. Whether you’re experienced or inexperienced it seems. More here.
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Yahoo! recently did a run down of all the TV shows that have been cancelled to make room for new fall shows.
GCB
Going through the list, it’s pretty clear how rough the TV/Entertainment industry can be. Shows like The Firm, Alcatraz, Pan Am, and GCB were much hyped shows with a ton of money behind them, and still were cancelled. I can only imagine the highs that the actors, producers, and writers were on when the shows premiered only to be disappointed with its quick cancellations. It’s the harsh reality of television. Getting a show on television is one amazing hurdle to overcome, but the chances of it being successful can be slim to nothing. Entertainment is not for the faint of heart. Which is why humility can be a requirement just to survive. Nothing is a success until it is actually a success.
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