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‘Studios will keep financing’ Black, brown films because ‘diversity sells,’ says producer

(finance.yahoo.com)

Film studios will “keep financing” diverse projects because they make money, Will Packer Productions President James Lopez told Yahoo Finance Live.

“It’s been proven over and over that diversity sells. And it’s good business all around,” he said, adding that film studios aren’t choosing to finance projects with Black casts and crew due to “altruism… It’s a business decision, and you know, at the end of the day, it’s all about the green.”

“It’s all about the performance of the content that’s being produced,” he said, noting that if diverse projects no longer work, “you’re going to see a drawback — but I don’t think they’re going to stop working.”

According to the latest Hollywood Diversity Report, “people of color posted gains relative to their white counterparts in each of the five key Hollywood employment arenas examined in the film sector.” This includes film leads, directors, and studio heads.

But, the study noted, “people of color remained underrepresented on every industry employment front in 2019.”

“And as long as the diversity continues in terms of thought, in terms of story, the audiences will become more and more accustomed to seeing people who look different,” Lopez said. 

Black and brown actors should get a “fair shot” to play a role, he added, it shouldn’t matter if the actor isn’t from the same country as the character they play, according to Lopez.

“We have to get over these issues within our own community,” he said, adding that Forest Whittaker and Morgan Freeman took on the roles of Idi Amin and Nelson Mandela, respectively.

By: Kristin Myers

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Hollywood Producers Create Digital Currency to Fund Films (decrypt.com)

Hollywood is a tough place to make a living. The studios—and, increasingly, the streaming services—act as gatekeepers, deciding what gets made and by whom.

So, why not just roll out your own red carpet?

That’s what a team that includes Emmy-nominated and Oscar-seeking producers is doing. Mogul Productions, which bills itself as a “decentralized film financing (DeFiFi) platform” announced today that it is launching. 

Interested creators and cinephiles can register for an account. Once the mainnet goes live, they’ll be eligible to receive STARS, the blockchain-based platform’s token. 

CEO Gagan Grewal, formerly a managing partner with Three Equity Capital, told Decrypt, “Fans stake STARS tokens to vote on which films they want to see gain financing. Mogul uses a Quadratic Voting System to make each vote cast by the same user exponentially more expensive to guard against STARS-rich users having undue influence over the process.” 

By: Jeff Benson

Continue Reading at decrypt.com

Mogul Productions Launches Platform to Give Creators, Fans, and Financiers a Voice in the Filmmaking Process

(finance.yahoo.com)

TORONTO, Feb. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Mogul Productions, the decentralized film financing (DeFiFi) platform that gives everyone a voice in the creative process, launches its platform. Starting today, users can create an account to have the chance to be whitelisted for future access to STARS tokens and check-out the films in the Showcase that will be voted on with STARS when the platform is released on mainnet.

Gagan Grewal, CEO of Mogul Productions, expressed, “With all the major streaming platforms experiencing global viewership spikes in 2020 and predictions of the current $50.11 billion market growing 21.0% each year, it’s clear that there is a nearly insatiable demand for great content, and yet, it’s incredibly difficult for independent creators to get their stories financed and made into films. The exploding demand vs. insufficient supply is one of the most unbalanced markets across industries. At Mogul, we are giving filmmakers, fans, and film financiers a voice in the creative process, ensuring that more great films get made, and helping to right this asymmetrical market.”

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Legislature notebook: Bill would bar ‘sexually explicit’ movies made in New Mexico from claiming tax credits (lcsun-news.com)

LAS CRUCES – Legislation introduced this week in the House would create a new government board to determine which movies were too risqué to receive the state’s film production tax credit.

House Bill 283 would prohibit the tax credit from being claimed for any movie that “contains sexually explicit conduct that most parents would consider patently too adult for their children aged 17 and under.”

The bill, sponsored by T. Ryan Lane, R-Aztec; Candie Sweetser, D-Deming; Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena; and Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park; will get its first hearing in the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee.

By: Walter Rubel

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Film Professor Discusses COVID’s Effect on Streaming Habits (newswise.com)

Following almost a year of pandemic-required home confinement, live entertainment has been replaced by binge-watching TV shows on Netflix and other streaming services. From gripping dramas to surreal documentaries, these shows provide much-needed escape.

Nielsen’s Streaming Meter noted that Americans spent 142.5 billion cumulative minutes weekly streaming video in the second quarter of 2020, an increase of nearly 75 percent from the second quarter of 2019, according to Forbes magazine.

Aaron Daniel “AD” Annas, associate professor and director of Buffalo State College’s television and film arts (TFA) program, talked about this phenomenon and other aspects of streaming services, especially in light of the pandemic

By: SUNY Buffalo State College

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