Rare Event

Sometimes I feel so excited about the inevitable changes in the entertainment industry that I feel I have to get it down in words. Such a moment is happening as I watch CBS give the finger to the cable industry. It was more than two decades ago that we watched the upstart cable channels learning to walk in the world of programming. Network TV was at the top of its game, and frankly, resting on its laurels half asleep to the potential that cable networks posed to them. They, the HBOs et al, were thought of along the lines of "B-Movies," second rate in every way, something that would be watched only by insomniacs, a place to send failed movies and untried television writers.

Then cable grew. It grew in every genre. It grew and it grew, and not just in shows, but in the ability to deliver a clear channel, via broadband, and satellite. Now network television, the crown jewel of home entertainment had to grovel to be a part. All of the tried and true methods of first-run to second-run re-runs disintegrated. Not to mention the awful inventions of home video recordings, then DVDs, then the freakish TiVo to undo advertising dollars. Truly it looked like the end of network TV even two or three years ago.

You may ask yourself what happened, as I did. What is giving CBS the shit to stand up and say, "NO!" to Time-Warner contracts? Is it merely the fact that it is the top network in programming? Of course, as a writer this is my true wish and certainly it helps the case for the ending of torture by cable bundling. The fact that CBS has left all of the other classic networks in the DUST with shows like NCIS, Elementary, The Big Bang Theory and Mike and Molly is surely helpful. There is no doubt about this, but it isn't the reason that CBS can say, "Buh-bye" to cable.

Along came Netflix, Hulu and any number of on-line streaming upstarts. Who needs cable, when you can watch entire seasons of reruns, and now get new programming on-demand? Honestly, this is a tale of Hollywood lore unfolding. Netflix, the company that revolutionized home entertainment by mailing out DVDs, looked like it was going under in a big way just a year or two ago has seen its stock rise to near its former zenith this past quarter because it has made the leap from the atomic age to the electronic one. It is now the leader in on-line streaming content, and it will never go back. Just the notion that CBS is looking at this and thinking, "hmmm," has my tits standing to attention. Now there's an idea. No more fucking bundles.

As the film industry was sure television would never catch on, and as the television industry was sure the cable industry would never catch on, so is the cable industry shrugging over "PewdiePie" on YouTube as if it is a fad (please note the number of views and the ad that paid them). Just as HBO is hitting the prime of its programming genius an upstart is stealing our attention, and no longer hiding behind the curtain. You know, it suddenly makes sense to have 40,000 film school graduates, if only they would change the NAME OF THE SCHOOLS. If it were me, I'd  be much more interested in studying "Transmedia Content" and get on with my life.

Here's my prediction: HBO and Showtime could be scrambling like network TV in less than five years to get your attention. CBS will rise above its own narrow field and become a new leader in content providing. Netflix will surpass its zenith stock prices of yesteryear's DVD land. PewdiePie and his progeny will make you laugh your pants off. Going to the movies will become a past-time for elitists who are sentimental about the smell of popcorn and willing to pay $100 for the chance to relive it.

Over and out from the Speculative Screenwriter

It's A New Day

This an interesting moment for me. It's been a year since surgery. I've been making art and sinking myself into visuals. I think screenwriting for me may be going into my storage unit, a nostalgic collection of what I've learned about telling stories. Who knows what will feed into my new life?  I value the graceful structure of a great screenplay more than I can say, and think about how it could feed a series of paintings, of poems and even my memoirs. 

Just being done with screenwriting has made watching movies SO MUCH MORE ENJOYABLE to me. I've really felt better about movies as an audience member than I have as a writer for years. To that end, please go see great movies in the theater. Even the personal dramas like "The Silver Lining Playbook," deserve the silver screen as much as "Life of Pi," or "Cloud Atlas," or the great epic dramas like, "Lincoln." We've just been blessed this year by some fabulous choices. They are not re-runs. The Oscars are this weekend and as usual I'm looking forward to watching them. Maybe this year I won't be jealous. Grin. Maybe.

I've entered one of my art pieces in a contest to start the long road of gaining credibility as an artist. Just as I've urged my screenwriting students to do. This is the painting, and if you click on it, please vote in the month of February, 2013. It is in the "Monthly Voting Gallery," on Page 2.  If I am a winner for the Monthly Gallery then I will be in the final round of this contest and have a chance to be seen by many people in the art world, and to win a "full studio" Super Shawn Taboret, a nifty piece of furniture that will allow me to leap to professional development in my small quarters. 

C.G. Jung Laughs, Oil Pastels on Black Archival Paper, 19" x 25", 2012 (c) Amanda Morris Johnson

Thank you so very much for your interest and support in the past few years. Please consider following me on Facebook, or on my other URLs Kosmic Egg -- http://kosmiceggprojects.blogspot.com, http://kosmicegg.blogspot.com, http://kosmicegg.tumblr.com and http://kosmiceggtarot.wordpress.com. As you will see, writing is still very much part of my world, and I speculate that all that I know will feed it in an entertaining and interesting way...