Techcrunch50 panel scathing of big media.
The large Hollywood studios still don’t know how to deal with the internet, according to a panel of industry players at the Techcrunch50 conference.
Although there is a much better rapport between Silicon Valley and Hollywood studio executives are still unsure of how to handle the internet and are missing out on valuable opportunities said the panel.
“Excitement about the internet exists among the creative people in Hollywood,” said Joss Whedon, creator of the TV show ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’.
“For Hollywood they are still trying to figure it out. Their approach is how to use it without paying anyone and to control all of it.”
There were some positive signs however. The free download site Hulu was an example of studios getting internet users but still highlighted how traditional studio models wouldn’t work.
“When Fox and NBC got together to offer a free download site they called it Hulu,” said Chris Henchy, from Gary Sanchez Productions.
“This avoided the negative connotations of being involved with studios.”
He said that his son had asked him about a show called CSI but had no idea it was produced by a studio because he’d seen it on YouTube.
“YouTube was a wake-up call for the movie industry,” said Michael Yanover, business strategist for the Creative Artists Agency.
“It showed that content was going to get pout there whether they liked it or not. It was just like Napster for the music industry.”
Overall the panellists were upbeat about the future for the industry but said it would take a major change in business practices for Hollywood to accommodate the internet.
“We knew my new show was going to be pirated,” said Wheldon.
“It appeared on Bittorent sites; this is how it’s done. But the fans also said they wanted to pay for the show.”