Insight_2nd Edition

How have you navigated disruptions in your industry to remain a top professional? Prepare for times when income declines and audiences are not coming to theaters. Every business has its cycles. There is a high point and a low point, so you must have your finances in order to survive those low points. What are two key behaviors/personality traits that allow you to be effective in your role? You cannot please everyone with every film or story. You have to select the demographic(s) that you want to serve and be sure you serve them well. What is the most important issue/challenge you are dealing with in your industry right now? The challenge right now is to remember that ultimately you’re working for the person in the theater seat — you’re not telling a story that you want to tell and you’re not doing what you want to do. You are serving the person that has come listen and watch you. How do you feel your industry has changed/evolved over time? The industry has become so segmented and so frac- tionalized that people think more and more about what they want to say and less about who wants to hear it. Therefore, it is getting harder for a person, an act or a show to reach a broad-based demographic. What new innovations or technologies do you feel will shape the future of your industry? The media and entertainment delivery systems are more segmented and can target their chosen audiences more precisely, so in the aggregate, more people will be served. It makes sense to create content for smaller demographics that might not have been viable in decades and generations past. The difference is that any one act or show is going to have a problem getting a broader base to serve because now everybody can find precisely what they are looking for when they want to be entertained. What excites you the most about your industry? The sense of creation and making ideas come alive. Also, bringing joy and happiness to people — the ability to entertain them and allow them an escape from daily life through a world of fantasy so that they can live adventures vicariously, is very exciting. “ You cannot please everyone with every film or story. You have to select the demographic(s) that you want to serve and be sure you serve them well. ” Second Edition | Marquis Who ’ s Who Insight 9