Letters of Note has reprinted the 28-page Jeffrey Katzenberg memo dated January 11 1991, "Some Thoughts On Our Business." It's a great longread:
In the dizzying world of moviemaking, we must not be distracted from one fundamental concept: the idea is king. Stars, directors, writers, hardware, special effects, new sound systems… all of these can have a role to play in the success of a film, but they must all serve as humble subjects to the supremacy of the idea....The irony, as the above LA Times story notes, is that if anyone succeeded in this path it wasn't Katzenberg's next venture, Dreamworks SKG, but rather Pixar ... which Disney acquired.
This is the key for controlling our destiny -- to have the courage to search out authentic, great ideas… and then have the steadfastness to control the material that is subsequently developed.
If the idea and the screenplay are strong, then it is possible to hire a less established star and a less established director and as a result be less of a hostage to the marketplace. Or, conversely, an idea and a screenplay can be so great as to attract major talent, who will be sufficiently excited that they will agree to terms that are acceptable to us.
Wondering whether the Katzenberg memo sparked the idea for the Jerry Maguire memo in Cameron Crowe's movie?
ReplyDeleteOops. Just read the Letter of Note post: In fact, it did directly inspire the JM memo.
ReplyDeleteDick Tracy is seriously weird for a blockbuster--Warren Beatty still a prestige player (yes, his previous film was Ishtar, but before that was Reds), a bunch of original Sondheim songs, and a really fascinating visual design that captures comic strip styling. It's certainly far from a cookie-cutter film, especially for the time in which it was made
ReplyDeleteI feel like I'm aware that I'm supposed to hate Katzenberg. But I don't. Even if he can't always achieve that vision he articulated and can be a little pushy and sometimes plays dirty, okay, he's not perfect, he's an executive. But he seems to at least want to make great movies (even if, yes, he also wants to make very profitable movies). This post only reinforces the impression of Katzenberg I got watching Waking Sleeping Beauty. I just don't hate the guy. I can't even really hate him for the Robin Williams in Aladdin shenanigans because at the end of the day I think Aladdin is more worthy than Toys (but I'll admit he ended up crossing the line there).
ReplyDeleteCould someone tell me why I should hate him? Or correct my impression that I ought to hate him?
@Abby: I don't think you're supposed to hate Katzenberg. I think he spoke from the heart. What irritates me is how he has carried the standard for 3-D, arguing about its artistic merit, when except in a handful of cases it's been used as a way of marking up a movie theater ticket. But that was five years ago, not 20.
ReplyDeleteKatzenberg really pushed 3-D for computer animation, which is the one place it unquestionably works and has been used well, since the conversion is simple, as opposed to the 2-D post-production conversion, which is invariably a mess. (Live action stuff shot in/designed for 3-D can also work out fine.)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carrie. I wasn't really talking about the memo specifically, just a general impression (that I can't remember where from) that Jeffery Katzenberg is considered a "bad guy" in Hollywood. But I'm happy to be wrong.
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