Information technology and the Internet are rapidly transforming almost every aspect of our lives - some for better, some for worse.
John Landgraf
Who owns the future? This is the question at the heart of every stock market.
I hope that most of us believe that we actually would all benefit from living in a more equitable society. If that's not happening, we're squandering human potential.
Perhaps storytellers don't need to care as much about the future as executives and investors do. After all, isn't it possible that technology will enable storytellers to connect directly to their audience without the need for anyone to share the programming decisions or the profit in between? Don't bet on it.
I'm an Amazon Prime member. I subscribe to Netflix and Hulu, and they have great user interfaces and some excellent original programs. But what truly distinguishes all three of these services is the utility of their vast libraries of acquired content, which also is a part of what makes each a platform, even if it has a 'house brand,' too.
As much as I very much want audiences to watch FX's carefully curated and highly contextualized television shows, I'm now glad when anyone takes the time to watch even our competition's television series, as long as it demands their sustained attention and challenges their knee-jerk perceptions.
I think it would be bad for storytellers in general if one company was able to seize a 40-50-60% share in storytelling. I don't think monopoly market shares are good for society, and I think they'd be particularly bad for society and storytellers if they were achieved in the storytelling genre.
All the world's combined knowledge is at our fingertips. But the same technology that makes this possible is robbing us of deeper insight.
We want to make the best television possible. We should be drawing on the entire available pool of storytellers and directors, and we should be expanding that pool and trying to hire the very, very, very best people. That's our job.
Even good shows can fail to find an audience because they're drowned out by the noise and the sheer volume of everything that is being made. It's one of the downsides of there being, as I've argued, too many shows.
You look at who's actually created shows for FX that have succeeded, and there are a lot of first-time showrunners - Ryan Murphy, Denis Leary, Louis C.K., the 'It's Always Sunny' creators, Kurt Sutter, Joe Weisberg, Pamela Adlon, Donald Glover.
Silicon Valley has infinite access to capital and can lose money indefinitely.
You can't be in a certain business and not sell to Amazon or not sell to Wal-Mart. You have to reckon with them, because even though there are other buyers, they're the only buyers that matter.
I'm not interested in world domination. I'm interested in running a nice little brand that takes care of its own and does really good work.
Television shows are not like cars or operating systems, and they are not best made by engineers or coders in the same assembly line manner as consumer products which need to be of uniform size, shape, and quality.
Two things happen when you're fearful. First, you make seemingly rational decisions that are actually hedges. Or second, you fail to do something because you worry about the consequences.
I want the humans to be able to hold their own against the strength of the machines.
I read every draft of every episode of every series produced at FX.
You want your company to be a vehicle for many people to achieve their dreams.
As incredible as television has become, it often feels like a sideshow in what has become a daily three-ring media circus.
I believe really deeply in the pilot process because you learn things about tone and casting. Even some of our best shows have had substantial re-shoots and reworking before they've gone on the air.
I have a lot of faith in our showrunners.
I don't want artists to find themselves in a situation where there are only two buyers. That just doesn't seem like a good outcome.
Was there ever anyone more ill-suited for being the showman of the year than me?
I think of myself as a shy, modest, relatively unassuming person.
We are the only animal that tells stories.
I have respect for anyone who helps a creator put a great television show on the air.
