The Connection Newsletter 10 - Hollywood

Hello!

Made it to double-digits! :)

This is edition #10 of The Connection, the weekly email I send family, friends, and future friends (hello!) Thrilled you're here, really appreciate you reading.

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How Hollywood Can Save Itself

. Is the traditional Hollywood business model broken? Yes… but it’s not because of sequels, Rotten Tomatoes, or crappy executives. I dive into the threats that changed the Hollywood business model, and how they should rethink their funnel (acquisition, development, elements, pre, production, post, marketing, and distribution) to turn the business around.

(Bonus: Ben Fritz wrote a great book on the changing Hollywood landscape called

The Big Picture

.

You can read my notes here

.) 

My Bright-Lights Misadventure with a Magician of Manhattan

. A Vanity Fair photographer is taken on a whirlwind friendship and conned out of $62,000. Hat tip to Ramit for sharing this first.

Favorite line:

“Our hotel sent a V.I.P. service to greet us at the airport. We were escorted through Customs and taken to two awaiting Land Rovers. After a 10-minute drive, we pulled up to a palatial compound and entered through its gates. At the front entrance, we were welcomed by a host of men wearing fez caps and traditional Moroccan attire. We had arrived at our singularly opulent destination.”

The Value Behind the Value Menu

. Are Value Menus worth it? As a undergrad at Rutgers, I lived off Wendy’s value menu (double-bacon cheese, chili, small fries) so the Value Menu has a soft spot in my heart… but is it working? In short, yes… but not how most experts thought it would.

The Economics of Writing a Technical Book

. How much do writers make writing a technical book?

Favorite line:

“My April 2018

statement  says

I’ve made $11,554.15 which roughly breaks down to $23 per hour for the estimated 500 hours of work. Without the three sponsorships that would have been $5.29 per hour. Luckily that number only gets better with time. Going into this project I had a rough estimate in my head to make about $2,000–3,000.”

This AI Will Write Your Emails

. Google recently debuted Smart Compose. The technology behind auto-completing your sentences is cray cray.

The Meteoric Rise of the Gen Z Influencer

. Stunning breakdown of four influencers and their dizzying ascent to the top of the social media food chain. Necessary ingredients: Large doses of strategy, hustle, collaboration… and selfies, too, of course.

Favorite line: “

Their Vines from this period became increasingly self-conscious, more obviously aware of the desires and preferences of their audience, as well as the influencer circuit as a sort of scene… During this period, their content creation began to resemble the work of a business.”

Thanks for reading!

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