It was standing-room-only at the East Village premiere that I attended for The Woman Who Loves Giraffes. The Q&A that followed resembled a celebrity speaking tour: the star in the spotlight was the sparkling 87-year old, Anne Innis Dagg. This Canadian feature combines several of my favorite genres: Archive-based History Wildlife Science Plus a bit …
In these hectic early weeks of the crisis, I thought that it would be helpful to take some time out to reflect on the seismic changes that our industry is experiencing. Veteran consultant Ed Hersh joins me in a pod-versation to provide a cautious snapshot for our colleagues. We focus on three questions: Is there …
What program or genre will be a blazing success when we make the inevitable economic recovery from these dark weeks? Well, History can teach us a lesson. I’m talking about two meanings of ‘History’: ‘The study of the past’ And A+E Networks’ History Channel. Pawn Stars While the 2008 Recession tore through consumers’ wallets and …
A SHOT TO SAVE THE WORLD is a special about Jonas Salk’s race to defeat the dreaded polio virus. It captures how strong, unifying leadership and Science-based government can overcome a terrible global epidemic. I became committed as an Executive Producer. Bill Gates kindly agreed to serve as the narrator of our film, and his foundation supported …
As New York City moved into Coronavirus shutdown this weekend, I wondered about the effects of the increasingly restrictive response to the epidemic on program production and delivery schedules. NBA Started It When the NBA cancelled its season, most of the world’s leading Sports franchises followed. Next came Late Night Talk shows with their live …
The impact on the documentary economy of cancelled markets and events due to Coronavirus precautions is serious. A helpful approach to understanding this loss is to recap what’s involved in the distribution of fine, one-off documentaries in a typical season. This process was captured in my very useful post with Windrose‘s Pauline Mazenod. Read: How …
The challenges of covering the Coronavirus pandemic are anticipated in two of my Case Studies: Rise of the Killer Virus and In Ebola’s Wake. HIV / AIDS: The Rise of the Killer Virus is a scientific detective story. It traces the pre-history of HIV back to the moment of its origination in Africa around 1908. Key …
YouTube’s 15th Birthday: A Growing Industry Power-house. For months, I’ve been hearing about YouTube commissions for documentaries and specials. Very respectable US and UK producers are the beneficiaries. Generous budgets are in the $750,000 – $1.5 million range. Topics have included the youth-targeted categories of pop culture and music celebrity bio-docs. YouTube’s head of Originals, Susanne Daniels …