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☆ Academy Award-winning producer Brian Grazer: Streaming content 'has to have a soul' to be successful
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAcademy Award-winning producer Brian Grazer: Streaming content 'has to have a soul' to be successfulBrian Grazer, executive chairman of Imagine Entertainment, joins CNBC's 'The Exchange' to discuss outlooks on the movie business, who's winning the streaming wars, and more.

Persons: Brian Grazer, who's Organizations: Email, Imagine Entertainment

Toeing the line in Miami BeachAmerica’s corporate elite were everywhere in Miami at the Future Investment Initiative conference, Saudi Arabia’s latest bid to showcase its extensive wealth and deepen ties with Western business. DealBook’s Lauren Hirsch was on hand to report on the financiers and Hollywood A-listers who made the trip. The Saudis are using their vast oil wealth to become one the world’s biggest investors and forge closer relationships with Wall Street, Silicon Valley and more. (So too did former Trump officials including Steven Mnuchin, the former Treasury secretary; Mike Pompeo, a previous secretary of state; and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.) Attendees mingled over wine, which is banned in Saudi Arabia, and Carbone’s spicy rigatoni.

Persons: Jamal Khashoggi —, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, DealBook’s Lauren Hirsch, Steve Schwarzman, Blackstone, Barry Sternlicht, Alex Karp, Brian Grazer, Gwyneth Paltrow, Steven Mnuchin, Mike Pompeo, Jared Kushner, Trump’s Organizations: Future Investment Initiative, Saudi, Hollywood, Starwood, Palantir, Trump, Treasury Locations: Miami Beach, Miami, Silicon Valley, Saudi Arabia

☆ Giving Big, a California Couple Gets Gratitude and Scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Robin Pogrebin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Standing on the grand staircase of Lynda and Stewart Resnick's opulent Beverly Hills mansion at a party last fall — where Diane Keaton, Bob Iger and Brian Grazer were among the luminaries making small talk over crudités and Sazerac cocktails — the author Walter Isaacson took a moment to thank his hosts. Not only were the Resnicks giving the party to celebrate his new biography of Elon Musk, they had also been major supporters of his former professional home, the Aspen Institute, donating $36 million to the think tank over the years. Isaacson was not the only one in the room with reason to be grateful to them. Overall, the Resnicks — whose Wonderful Company business empire includes Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice, Wonderful Pistachios, Fiji Water, Halos mandarins and Teleflora, the flower-delivery service — have donated $1.9 billion of their estimated $13 billion fortune to academic institutions, climate change initiatives, cultural organizations and programs in California’s Central Valley. Their gifts have landed them on the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual list of the 50 biggest donors three times.

Persons: Stewart, Diane Keaton, Bob Iger, Brian Grazer, Walter Isaacson, Elon Musk, Isaacson, Picasso, Fragonard, Boucher, Michael Govan, Ann Philbin, Michael Milken Organizations: Aspen Institute, Angeles County Museum of Art, Milken Institute, Wonderful Company Locations: Beverly, Fiji, Central Valley

☆ Nike's Sue Bird documentary is heading to Netflix and it's another coup for brand-funded films
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"Sue Bird: In the Clutch," a documentary on the career and personal life of the WNBA star, wasn't the most buzzed-about film at Sundance. Nike's success could encourage more brands to follow its leadNike has long been a big player in brand-funded films. Many brands dream of getting their films on Netflix, where even relatively small viewership numbers are bigger than they'd get on a rival streamer. Brands often work alongside traditional Hollywood players, which lends credibility to film projects. But the more films like "In the Clutch" get wide distribution, the more other brands could be encouraged to pursue similar storytelling.

Persons: Sue Bird, Werner Herzog, Sarah Dowland, RogerEbert.com, IndieWire, it's, Beckham, Justin Biskin —, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Oscar, Alex Gibney's Jigsaw, Jay Ellis's Organizations: WNBA, Sundance, Entertainment, Business, Netflix, Nike, Iron Entertainment, Apple, HBO, Procter, Gamble, Marriott, Hollywood Locations: Canada, Hollywood

☆ Academy Award-winning producer Brian Grazer on his 'curiosity superpower'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAcademy Award-winning producer Brian Grazer on his 'curiosity superpower'Academy award-winning producer and ‘A Curious Mind Expanded Edition’ co-author Brian Grazer joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss Hollywood's next act, how the entertainment industry can navigate a post-strike future, impact of AI, and more.

Persons: Brian Grazer, Hollywood's Organizations: Email

☆ Brands pouring money into film and TV content are the latest to demand more data sharing from streamers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

They're pouring more money into Hollywood-style entertainment but want streamers to share more data. An industry effort is underway to standardize measurement of brand films. Brands are joining the chorus of content producers and creators demanding more audience data from Hollywood entertainment giants. Without transparency from the streamers, brands and their agencies rely on other measurements, some quantitative, some qualitative — typically a mix of things like critical reviews, social chatter, earned media, and sentiment. Most streamers don't show viewership data, so "you never really know how many people saw it," said Marc Gilbar, who leads Imagine's brands division.

Persons: Saint Laurent, who've, Gamble —, Brian Newman, REI, Hulu doesn't, Kyra Sedgwick, Paolo Mottola, Mottola, Megan Wells, who's, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Marc Gilbar, Kimberly Doebereiner, Doebereiner Organizations: Hollywood, Brands, Pepsi, Companies, Procter, HBO, Unilever, Netflix, Hulu, Sundance Film, Brand Storytelling, G Studios Locations: Hollywood

☆ 13 brands, from Coca-Cola to REI, that are pouring money into movies and TV to reach consumers with Hollywood-style storytelling
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Mattel's Barbie is just one of many big brands getting serious about making Hollywood-style entertainment. "Barbie" may be the movie of the summer, but lots of other big brands are getting serious about making Hollywood-style entertainment. Brands are also getting more systematic about tracking the projects' outcome so they can justify the cost. Neutrogena: Neutrogena Studios launched in 2021 and is J&J Consumer's first brand-funded content studio to make feature documentaries and scripted shorts. Showtime/PepsiPepsiCo: PepsiCo's Content Studio is led by veteran PepsiCo marketer Lou Arbetter.

Persons: Barbie, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Oscar, Michael Sugar, Brian Newman, REI, Michael Sugar's, Jae Goodman, Lauren Denowitz, Coke, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard's, Selman Careaga, John Deere, Mara Downing, Al Roker, Jill Wilfert, Robbie Brenner, J.J, Abrams, Lena Dunham, Barney, Daniel Kaluuya, J, Sebastian Garcia, Laurie Hernandez, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck's, Entertainment —, Justin Biskin —, Howard, Lou Arbetter, Max, Robert Rodriguez, Nadia Hallgre, Stanley Nelson, Arbetter, It's, Procter, Kimberly Doebereiner, Paolo Mottola, Kyra Sedgwick, Watiti, Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello, Saint, Pedro Almodóvar, Ethan Hawke, Pedro Pascal, it's, Paolo Sorrentino, David Cronenberg, Kelly Mullen, Bryce Dallas Howard, Lena Waithe, WePresent, Holly Fraser, Moses Sumney, Solange Knowles, Riz Ahmed, Aneil, Fraser Organizations: Hollywood, Procter, Gamble, Brands, Unilever, InBev, Waffle Iron Entertainment, draftLine Entertainment, Netflix, Coca Cola, Entertainment, Global, Deere, Warner Bros, Warner Brothers, Universal Studios, Mattel, Neutrogena Studios, Studio, Kerry, Seattle Film, Ghetto Film, HBO Nike, Nike, Waffle, Apple, HBO, Showtime, Pepsi PepsiCo, PepsiCo, Pepsi Super, Pepsi, G Studios, Imagine, Amazon's, Hulu, Paramount, Blue Fox Entertainment, Saint Laurent Productions, Unilever Entertainment, Imagine Entertainment, Monotype Locations: Hollywood, Kerry Washington, American, Cannes, Britain

☆ 13 Hollywood production companies making brand films that streamers like Netflix and Apple want to buy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

said Marc Gilbar, who runs the brand division at Imagine Entertainment. Some are also looking to brand films to offset some of the revenue they're losing in the dual Hollywood strikes. (Brand films are often unscripted and thus aren't governed by the Hollywood unions.) They also see brand work being a positive for below-the-line workers who are idled by the work stoppage. Led by EVP Kate Oppenheim, Tribeca Studios' projects have included "We Could be King" (ESPN2) for Dick's Sporting Goods and P&G's Queen Collective series (BET).

Persons: Ben Silverman, Issa Rae's Hoorae, Kevin Hart's Hartbeat, Julian Jacobs, we've, Marc Gilbar, Samuel L, Jackson, Emma Stone, Zac Ryder, Olivia Wilde, Laurene Powell Jobs, Caitlin McGinty, It's, James Gay, Rees, Paul Martin, Kevin Hart's, Hart, Hartbeat, Brian Price, Chase Sapphire, Procter, Reese Witherspoon, Zoe Fairbourn, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Ron Howard's, Bryce Dallas Howard, Gilbar, Rocco DiSpirito, General Mills, Rupert Maconik's Saville, Werner Herzog, Barry Levinson, Sugar23, Oscar, Michael Sugar, Trevor Noah's, he's, Kennedy, Matt Rotondo helms, Sugar, Mike Beck, Alexa Conway, Trevor Noah, Kate Oppenheim, HBO Max, Paul McCartney, Mary McCartney Ventureland, Kerstin Emhoff, Paul Hunter, John Battsek, Stacy's Pita Chips, Will, Jada Pinkett, REI, Gargi Organizations: Hollywood, Brands, Mattel, Netflix, Apple, UTA, Imagine Entertainment, Producers, Adobe, IBM, Anonymous, HP, Afghan Girls National Soccer Team, Showtime, Pepsi Boardwalk Pictures, Relativity Media, Super, Pepsi, REI, Unilever, Marriott, Surf League, Major League Soccer, Sam's, Gamble, Weinstein Co, Hulu, Imagine, Paramount, Saville Productions, Disney, Time Studios, Procter & Gamble, Anheuser, Busch, InBev, CAA, Studios, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, Tribeca Studios, Dick's Sporting Goods, HBO, CNN, Mobile, Stacy's, Everest, Vice Studios, Westbrook Media, Meta, Logitech, Samsung Locations: Hollywood, Subway, Magnolia

☆ This top Procter & Gamble exec is showing Hollywood how brands can make prestige films and be 'power-up' partners for studios and streamers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

P&G Studios head Kimberly Doebereiner argues that great entertainment can come from brands. Procter & Gamble is at the forefront of the growing brand film space — with its own in-house shingle, P&G Studios, actively pursuing entertainment projects that look nothing like ads. "The first thing I'd love is for the distributors to see that great content can come from anybody, and even if it's from a brand, that doesn't mean it's brand content," she told Insider in an interview. "We have great marketing, we have great brands, we can help bring in viewers, right? "We'd love to have our content be able to show up in the retailer with our brands and create better awareness for that content," Doebereiner said.

Persons: Kimberly Doebereiner, Doebereiner, Gamble, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Michael Sugar's Sugar23, Reese Witherspoon's, Barbie, we've, Brand, Queen Latifah Organizations: G Studios, Procter, Gamble, HBO, Hulu, Brands, Hollywood, Advertising, Tide, Gillette, Tribeca Studios, Walmart, Blue Fox Entertainment Locations: Hollywood

☆ Brands are pouring money into film and TV — meet 13 marketers making the biggest moves as Hollywood's new financiers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

It's not just Barbie — lots of big brands are getting serious about making Hollywood-style entertainment. Insider identified 13 new and established players making the biggest moves in the space. "Barbie" may be the movie of the summer, but lots of other big brands are getting serious about making Hollywood-style entertainment. Neutrogena: Neutrogena Studios launched in 2021 and is J&J Consumer's first brand-funded content studio to make feature documentaries and scripted shorts. PepsiCo: PepsiCo's Content Studio is led by veteran PepsiCo marketer Lou Arbetter.

Persons: It's, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Oscar, Michael Sugar, Brian Newman, REI, Michael Sugar's, Jae Goodman, Lauren Denowitz, Coke, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard's, Selman Careaga, John Deere, Mara Downing, Al Roker, Jill Wilfert, Ryan Gosling, Margot Robbie, Barbie, Ken, Jaap Buitendijk, Robbie Brenner, J.J, Abrams, Lena Dunham, Barney, Daniel Kaluuya, J, Sebastian Garcia, Laurie Hernandez, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck's, Entertainment —, Justin Biskin —, Howard, Lou Arbetter, Max, Robert Rodriguez, Nadia Hallgre, Stanley Nelson, Arbetter, Procter, Kimberly Doebereiner, Paolo Mattola, Kyra Sedgwick, Watiti, Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello, Saint, Pedro Almodóvar, Ethan Hawke, Pedro Pascal, it's, Paolo Sorrentino, David Cronenberg, Kelly Mullen, Bryce Dallas Howard, Lena Waithe, WePresent, Holly Fraser, Moses Sumney, Solange Knowles, Riz Ahmed, Aneil, Fraser Organizations: Hollywood, Procter, Gamble, Companies, Brands, Unilever, InBev, Waffle Iron Entertainment, draftLine Entertainment, Netflix, Coca Cola, Entertainment, Global, Deere, Warner Bros, Warner Brothers, Universal Studios, Mattel, Neutrogena Studios, Studio, Kerry, Seattle Film, Ghetto Film, HBO Nike, Nike, Waffle, Apple, HBO, PepsiCo, Pepsi Super, Showtime, Pepsi, G Studios, Imagine, Amazon's, Hulu, Paramount, Blue Fox Entertainment, Saint Laurent Productions, Unilever Entertainment, Imagine Entertainment, Monotype Locations: Hollywood, Kerry Washington, American, Cannes, Britain

☆ I felt stuck in banking, so I quit to start a $2 million tech company without any experience. Here's how I knew it was time to transition into something better.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Robin Madell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

He launched his own tech business and recommends all potential founders learn about sales. I was more comfortable failing at that point in my life than working a job that I thought wasn't realizing my potential. What worked for me was making a list of other people who've been really successful networkers after first studying them by reading articles or listening to podcasts. Back when I was in college, I wish I knew that college is more about networking than learning. With this strategy in mind, if you think you're going to start a business, then college isn't needed, in my opinion.

Persons: Daniel Fayle, Fayle, It's, it's, —, We're, who've, Brian Grazer, you've, isn't, They've, Jenna Gyimesi Organizations: Warner Brothers, Nike

☆ It's not just 'Barbie' — as Hollywood goes through upheaval, brands from Nike to John Deere are becoming the new financiers of film and TV
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

As studios cut spending and strikes shut down production, Hollywood can take some solace — brands are coming to the rescue. Brand Storytelling is an organization that's held a festival for brand content alongside the Sundance Film Festival for the past seven years. Brand film submissions have almost tripled to 160 in the past three years, according to Rick Parkhill, director and co-founder of Brand Storytelling. "Film directors need the work," said Marcus Peterzell, who left ad giant Omnicom to found Passion Point Collective, a brand film studio, in 2019. He's since made some 36 film projects for brands.

Persons: Greta Gerwig, Kyra Sedgwick, John Deere, Kimberly Doebereiner, Chris Paul, Mattel's Robbie Brenner, There's, Jill Lubochinski, Holly Fraser, WePresent, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Reese Witherspoon's, Michael Sugar's Sugar23, we've, Marc Gilbar, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Gilbar, that's, Rick Parkhill, Riz Ahmed, WeTransfer, Vicky Grout, Parkill, Saint Laurent, Pedro Almodóvar, David Cronenberg, They're, Marcus Peterzell, Peterzell Organizations: Hollywood, Mattel, Nike, HBO, Procter & Gamble, Tide, Gillette, G Studios, Warner Bros, Discovery, PepsiCo, REI, Dallas Buyers, Sundance, Brand, Brands Locations: —, HBO's, Hollywood

☆ Brian Grazer: Ambition Is Enthusiasm Directed At A Singular Goal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBrian Grazer: Ambition Is Enthusiasm Directed At A Singular Goal"Curiosity is an engine." Imagine Entertainment's Brian Grazer shares how ambition has fueled his remarkable career in entertainment.

Persons: Brian Grazer

☆ Anheuser-Busch is launching an entertainment division with help from Oscar-winning producer Michael Sugar in a push to reach consumers who don't watch ads
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Anheuser-Busch is building an entertainment division, Insider has learned, the latest big marketer to turn to Hollywood to reach consumers who are increasingly glued to ad-free streaming services. The AB InBev effort is under a new, unannounced entity called draftLine Entertainment, a part of its internal ad agency, draftLine. DraftLine Entertainment is being run by AB InBev marketer Lauren Denowitz as global studio head, reporting to VP Fábio Baracho. The world's biggest brewer, AB InBev is well known for its marketing. In the case of AB InBev, entertainment is a way to promote the beer category at large over any individual brand.

☆ Multi-strat hedge funds like Citadel and Millennium are the new big banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

There's an old saying on Wall Street: You can only leave Goldman Sachs once. Insider's Alex Morrell has a fascinating look at how Goldman Sachs' top executives have headed to some of the top hedge funds in the world in recent years. Poaching talent is a longstanding tradition on Wall Street, and the path from the investment banks to the buy side is a well-worn one. It's an indication of the shifting tides on Wall Street between the firms that traditionally held all the power (big banks) and the ones usurping them (multi-strat hedge funds). Click here to read more about how Goldman Sachs alumni are getting poached by the world's biggest hedge funds.

☆ Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's LinkedIn for Hollywood workers, which just raised $15 million, is disrupting how productions are staffed at Warner Bros, Paramount, and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's Impact, a LinkedIn-like platform for Hollywood, recently raised $15 million. Hiring below-the-line crew members has largely been an offline process based on personal networks, Impact CEO Tyler Mitchell said. "We would have to find where the productions are, and more than anything, get people, whether they're independent films or other productions, using our products," he said. "I don't think there's a scenario where people will be using Impact to source 100 percent of a crew. The company has a database of 1.3 million people, including 30,000 crew members who are active users.

☆ Kevin Hart sold a $100 million stake in his media company to private equity firm Abry. Here are 10 more Hollywood production shops that are hot M&A targets.
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-19 | by ( Natalie Jarvey | Elaine Low | Madeline Berg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Abry Partners' $100 million stake in Kevin Hart's company HartBeat is the latest big M&A move in Hollywood. Dealmakers said production companies are valuable amid the streaming wars and demand for content. The M&A activity had top Hollywood dealmakers telling Insider in early 2022 that practically every independent production company is a target. Many production companies make work-for-hire or don't control the rights to a project once it is sold off to a studio distributor. Based on January interviews with five entertainment industry experts and insiders, Insider identified a list of 10 production companies that could be compelling acquisition targets as M&A activity continues.

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