Apr 19, 2023
Business of Entertainment from Podcasts to Merchandising to Acting w/ Jason Alexander & Peter Tilden - BRT S04 EP16 (178) 4-16-2023
What We Learned This Week
- Art of the Podcast - Really? no Really? hosted by Jason Alexander & Peter Tilden
- The Money is in Merchandising - Disney, Musicians, WWE, Cartoons, Toys & more...
- Local Theater in smaller markets & Commercial shoots w/ Eric Almassy
ABOUT JASON, PETER AND REALLY, NO, REALLY?
Every Tuesday best friends Jason Alexander and Peter Tilden are joined by experts, newsmakers and celebrities in an attempt to find answers to the things that make us go."Really? No, Really?" We invite you to join us, subscribe and even suggest topics, as we search for the answers to life's most baffling, intriguing, confusing and annoying questions.
Episodes here:
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-really-no-really-107027693/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/really-no-really/id1668887882
JASON ALEXANDER BIO
Jason Alexander is nothing like George Costanza even though you may see him in public wearing his characters clothes. That's because Jason is frugal and not ashamed to be seen in George's khaki pants from season 3 even though he's rich and famous. As a young boy in Newark, New Jersey he was shy, introverted and uncomfortably overweight. The one thing he found that gave him joy was magic and he spent every waking moment studying and practicing. Unfortunately, his exceptionally tiny hands made it virtually impossible to perform magic or buy gloves or open large jars.
Eventually he would find friendship and encouragement in a local theater group and realized that he could replace the illusions of magic with the illusion of creating characters. and you know the rest. A Tony award for Jerome Robbins Broadway, playing the smarmy lawyer in Pretty Woman and then of course becoming one of the most iconic characters in television history.
PETER TILDEN ON JASON ALEXANDER
We met year two of Seinfeld, became fast friends and created two short-lived tv shows together. And Jason is always generous enough to give me 100% of the credit for their failure. We also created a successful live touring show, numerous musical and comedic charity events and now the Really No Really podcast. Although Jason's known globally, you might not know that he loves baking, has studied ceramics, and enjoys making bowls and mugs for friends instead of purchasing actual gifts. He is wonderfully inquisitive, wise, generous, a tireless worker and he can memorize an entire script in one day! He's also the most loyal friend anyone could ever hope for. When I decided to do this podcast, I asked for his help because I knew his intelligence and warmth would add enormously and nobody makes me laugh quite as hard as he does. Jason is a terrific father and he lives in a substantial house he can easily afford with his lovely wife and a closet full of George Costanza's pants.
Really? No, really!
PETER TILDEN BIO
Let's be honest, you probably never heard of this guy. Which is why he has second billing to Jason Alexander. He began his creative life as the owner of a boutique ad agency in Philadelphia where he won many awards. But it was Philly, so no one really cared. He left advertising and Philly to move to Los Angeles and bumped his way into television as an award-winning and Emmy-nominated producer and writer for several comedies and animated series. Some of those shows were co-created by and starred his best friend, Jason Alexander. They all tanked. We're not sure if the true blame goes to Peter or Jason. But for argument's sake, let's say it was Peter. Peter simultaneously became one of the brightest stars of LA-based radio while producing and creating a slew of successful music videos, producing/writing live and corporate shows, and creating and over-seeing a massive number of charitable events both locally and nationally.
Now, Peter is applying his creative talents, natural curiosity, and decades of experience as an interviewer and writer to the podcast, Really No Really. He has dragged his best friend Jason Alexander into this venture in the hopes that this fading television personality might entice someone to give it a listen. If they do, they will discover that Peter is one of the brightest, funniest, nicest people on the planet and rejoices in finding the stories, ideas, and people that make us think, make us laugh, and make us feel like life is, in fact, a great big absurd and wonderful journey. Peter resides in Los Angeles in a house he can barely afford with his wife, his son, and a truly obnoxious dog. He also is known to wear sunglasses and leather jackets indoors.in the summer. in the heat.
Really? No, really
Guests & Topics:
Celebrity Guests like William Shatner, Howie Mandell & Rick Jaffa (Hollywood screenwriter – Avatar, Jurassic World, Mulan, Planet of the Apes films and more)
Garret Reisman, NASA Astronaut talking space walks and space junk
Dr. Henry Farid, father of digital forensic on deep fake & metaverse
Many more topics from Public Bathroom Stall Doors, the Bullet Catch to Competitive Eating, and Five Words that changed Reality TV……
The Money is in the Merchandising
Hollywood Studios spend hundreds of millions on Movies and the marketing of the movie. Studios have to split revenue with theaters, so it could take $500 million + in box office for a studio just to break even. Then they can make more money in video and streaming sales.
The real money is in merchandising. Selling t-shirts, lunch boxes, toys, cartoons, Legos, films, stickers, books, comics, theme rides.
Star Wars (1977) kicked off a whole new era of merchandising. The franchise was born, and now IP and royalties were worth $ billions.
When George Lucas created Star Wars, he kept the rights to the movies. This would make him a billionaire because of toy sales and licensing rights.
Eventually after making billions $, he would sell Star Wars to Disney in 2012 for $4.5 billion.
Disney is the king of merchandising to the tune of $54 billion in 2021. They own so much IP , from Toy Story (Pixar) to Marvel to Star Wars.
Cartoons in the 1980s saw the explosion of merchandising post Mattel and Star Wars. The cartoons were just infomercials for toys, or half hour commercials.
Examples were: GI Joe, Transformers, He-man, My Little Pony, Care Bears
Merchandising has become so important, that rock bands, musicians and celebrities having been selling gear for years. It is estimated that musicians make 10 – 35% of their revenue from selling goods while on tour ($300K / night). They also license their music for commercials and media.
WWE Wrestling has joined the mix 3 decades ago selling t-shirts and replica belts at events. Performers earn 25% share of products sold with their image.
McDonalds licenses major IP with the Blockbuster movie of the summer to sell Happy meal toys.
Video Game Companies like Sega have entered the movie genre with their Sonic movies. Nintendo just released the Super Mario Bros. movie, which will earn them an estimated $1 billion. In 2016, Nintendo earned just $54 million on merchandising.
Marvel – Spider-Man ($1 bil+ / year), Avengers ($35 mil / year)
DC – Batman ($494 mil / year), Superman ($277 mil / year)
Other big franchises that sell lots of merch yearly: Jurassic park, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Harry Potter
More Notes:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_media_franchises
This article lists notable highest-grossing media franchises that have grossed $2 billion and more. The list includes the total estimated revenue figure and revenue breakdown based on publicly available data.
https://www.cbr.com/cartoon-television-commercials-products/
17 TV Cartoons That Were Made To Sell Toys
https://www.ranker.com/list/movies-that-made-money-merchandising/jacob-shelton
Movies That Made More Money On Merchandising Than At The Box Office
2nd Half:
Guest: Eric Almassy
LinkedIn: HERE
Eric is a regional sales director, & also a part time Actor
Local Theater in Smaller Markets –
It is very hard to make a living in entertainment in smaller markets like Phoenix. It is a part time job, and you have to love it. It does not have the media ecosystem of the major markets like NY or LA.
You want to find a group of actors and a company who takes it seriously. You truly love the work and enjoy acting with others. Eric is involved with a local theater company called Almost Famous Theater Company. They put on 6 shows per year, and rely on
donors to put on shows. Grass roots donors and big benefactors.
The shows are mostly classic plays where they pay royalties (to publishing house) to rent the play for local theater. Have to do the classics, so you can do some passion plays. It takes 6 – 8 weeks to put on a play that will run less than a week. Eric will study the script months before the rehearsal period (6 weeks prior).
Rehearsal is weeknights, and all the players have days jobs. They hire a crew to build the stage set, and the actors get paid a little. They have to get the rights to a play. Publishing companies earn royalties of pre-published books, and plays.
Almost Famous Theater Company
https://almostfamoustheater.com/
Transforming lives, one role at a time.
Join us for a single show or every show in our season! We love to bring joy to our local communities through the production of live plays and musical theater in Phoenix and Scottsdale. We’ll make you laugh and make you cry (but in the good way!).
Commercial Acting -
If you are a commercial actor, most of your time is spent auditioning. Casting Directors can see a lot of people in a day to audition for a role, at a few minutes per actor.
Actors have to take a swing at the role, almost guessing what the casting director wants. You do not know if you will be called back. The script is just 1 or 2 pages. Actors need to prep for even a small role, and create the character you will play in a commercial.
Commercial is 30 seconds or 1 minute, so have to tell your story quick. Have to be in the moment to catch the feel of the story.
Agent tells Eric the dates for the audition, plus fitting and commercial shoot days. If not available for all of the dates, then do not audition. You get a Side (commercial script) to prep for the role. The commercial read could be solo, or with someone else.
First read is for the casting director, then 2nd read is for the company (client) and commercial director. If you get the call back, it will be in 1or 2 days. If hired for the job, the commercial shoot takes 1 – 2 days.
Ex. – PGA Superstore commercial was an all night shoot when the store was closed
Easier to film inside, as it is a controlled setting for elements and lighting.
Commercial Acting – ‘You can make a killing, but you can’t make a living.’ Meaning if the commercial hits, you can make a lot of money, but rare it happens.
Pay Breakdown: Session Fee for 1 or 2 days of work filming
Usage Fee for each market the commercial airs and renewals
Commercial runs are for 13 weeks, and get paid for each cycle, plus per market
Union Job (has pay rules, standard setup)
vs Non-Union Job (no rules on pay, and per job)
If you enjoyed this show, you may like:
BRT Sports: HERE
BRT Hollywood: HERE
BRT Marketing: HERE
BRT Business: HERE
More - BRT Best of: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Best+Of
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