Dreaming Archives - Media Guy Struggles

The Process

The Media Guy — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 23:27:00 +0000

I used to imagine that film directing was a fun job, until I found out that it was 95% agonizing over scripts, worrying about money and spending one’s life hunched over an editing table.

You can dream of being the auteur of the best movies in the world, but unless you actually like re-writing scripts and raising money and spending 14 hour days editing, you’re going to be pretty miserable.

The Buddhists call this “right livelihood”. The idea that without the right process, the reward is irrelevant.

Worry about the process, and the product will take care of itself.

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OSCAR WEEK 2016: Yes, We All Dream in Gold!

The Media Guy — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 19:30:00 +0000

Yeah, well, I’m an Oscars nerd.

I picked up my Oscars credential (sorry, no pictures allowed of the priceless, laminated pass to the biggest awards show on the planet) and was dazzled with the new Oscars print and web media campaign art. I’ve been part of many creative teams that produced some classics for television and print…remember these gems:

-and-

But, once I saw the new art for the 88th Academy Awards, I was immediately envious. Envious of the final result. Envious of the process to arrive at the final product. Envious of being selected to be part of the process.

The art is simply everything you could ever want from Hollywood:

Bold.
Imaginative.
Dreamy.
Powerful.
Diverse (!).

And, the words crafted to detail the art is just as perfect. I pulled this copy from this official liners provided by the Academy:

The 2016 Oscar campaign illustrates the emotional power of movies and their ability to inspire all of us to achieve our dreams. Movies remind us that imagination is limitless. The Oscar is, at once, a representation of excellence in film and a tangible symbol that dreams can–and do–come true.

“The Dream campaign embodies what people love about the Oscars—the range of emotions and excitement that comes with those unforgettable moments in a live show,” said Christina Kounelias, Academy CMO. “Fans also look for the comedy and the unexpected, and that’s what they’ll get with our host, Chris Rock. His comedic perspective will be a great complement to the more dramatic moments.”

Two years ago I wrote about dreaming on the red carpet, and this year the Academy shows illustrates that, yes, we do all dream in gold.

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OSCAR WEEK 2014: Dreaming in Gold

The Media Guy — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 07:43:00 +0000

Once upon a time, a boy dreamed of winning an Oscar. He wrote and
wrote and wrote. Fingers numb and calloused as he searched for the perfect
combination of words that created the scenes that would ultimately build a
story that could be made into movie that would move the soul.

This movie would
go on to limp through the box office race, yet be critically acclaimed and
eventually get a big publicity push and receive an Academy Award nomination for
best screenplay.

Eventually, a majority of the Academy voters—comprised mostly of Caucasians
(94%) and males (77%)—would select the little script and the boy’s name would engraved in the envelope called during the live ABC telecast from the
Dolby Theater.

Yes, a Media Guy can dream. As a matter of fact, dreaming on the red carpet would make an excellent ad campaign for the show one year. After all, we all dream in gold, right?

And dream I did as the red carpet was cobbled together at
Hollywood and Highland over the golden stars of the Hollywood Walk of Fame
across from the El Capitan movie theater. In a couple of days the world’s
greatest stars—Leonardo DiCaprio, my one-time golfing buddy Matthew McConaughey, Amy Adams and my future
ex-wife Jennifer Lawrence, among others—will be strutting in their $15,000
Haute Couture and Armani tuxedos.

One thing I know for sure is that the Academy Awards is a dream
for ABC television. Ad rates for the show are up about 10% to a lofty $1.8
million for thirty seconds of ad time. For those of you keeping score, that’s
the second priciest chunk of air time on television. (For those of you living
in a cave deprived of proper media, the Super Bowl is the costliest at the
astronomical rate of $4 million for a 30-second spot.) If you’re choking on the costs, check out this fact: Last year, each commercial was seen by an average of 40+ million
viewers. That’s a whole of lot of exposure.

Oh goodness, forty million viewers! I just got a little more
nervous practicing my would-be acceptance speech that may not happen for another decade or so.

As a started doubting myself, and pondered what I would do if I
didn’t win that beautiful eight-pound statue named after some golden age star
joked it looked like her Uncle Oscar, I was told by a reporter from People
Magazine (or was it US Weekly?) that each nominee gets an $80,00 SWAG
bag.

A peek into the goodies in the SWAG bag.

You know what SWAG is right? SWAG stands for “Stuff We All
Get” (I think). In this case, only the nominees get this level of
stuff—all assembled nicely by the LA-based marketing firm Distinctive Assets.
What kind of stuff you ask?

We start with a $15,000 tour of Japan, vacations to Mexico and
Hawaii, a $9,000 trip to Las Vegas that includes a face-to-face with all or
some of the Boyz II Men, a $2,700 O-shot procedure (what’s that? why, of
course, a vaginal rejuvenation and enhancement…yikes!), his-and-hers Mace guns,
along with various candy maple syrup and artwork.

Time to call my agent because I need that sweet SWAG
bag and get into the Oscars nominations discussion. It’s time to walk
the red carpet instead of work it.

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