Animation : Paramount afraid to release original animation by Mike Boas

I was thinking the same thing, Mike Boas. If you don't back non-franchise content, you won't get new franchises. We'll just see the same things again and again. Something I'm sure audiences will get tired of after a while.

So very true Mike Boas. Doesn't seem to be an issue internationally, but mostly here in the States where fear fuels decision making.

RB is spot on - fear vs boldness creates an artistic void, at least in the US marketplace right now. A mentor once told me that every development executive spends their first 6 months on the job looking to find the next great idea and then the rest of their career in fear of being fired. There's some truth to that. Couple that concept, for what its worth, with an article I read years ago when Netflix very first launched their David Letterman talk show that discussed algorithmic decision making which posited how Netflix can figure out how to overpay a David Letterman but they will never find and launch the next David Letterman. It's a topic always worth discussing.

Was just reading about this yesterday. Really irritating, but it's not just animation. The whole industry is afraid to take risks on new IPs. Even video games are suffering from this. The funny thing is that it's much more a problem of ballooned marketing costs than production costs. We let the marketing machine run rampant on fees for services that are mostly automated at this point. Until we fix that problem, I don't see a real solution to risk aversion in entertainment production.

The heads of Paramount’s animation division have walked this back somewhat after enormous backlash, but the fact is Paramount has been horrible at producing and promoting original animated features for many years, they have zero in house development and are able to milk SpongeBob and lately Paw Patrol to maintain the division- the few original projects they’ve had have been marred by ineffective creative leadership that they simply do not want to invest in.

Here’s the follow-up. Paramount Animation President said more. https://www.cartoonbrew.com/executives/paramount-nickelodeon-original-an...

This is why I've been taking webinars on producing internationally. Just had this feeling...

Mike Boas “The studio’s release slate this year is heavy on sequels and established brands -…” perhaps this phenomenon of old IP could be called “In the Cinema, no one can hear you Scream.” Because sooner or later the last breath of old IP has to happen.

Richard "RB" Botto why is this fear apparent in the States and not elsewhere on the planet, RB? What is it about the US market that makes them so fearful?

Because the people at the top are risk adverse. They don't want to lose their jobs for choosing original projects that bomb.

The problem with being so risk-averse and not bothering to create new franchises, is that viewers--myself, included--lose interest as the quality of scripts diminishes. Lately, most of the current animation I view is either anime or whatever I come across on Newgrounds. The one Hollywood-based exception was "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish"--and I might have even skipped that, too, if not for a recommendation from the Critical Drinker. (The script for that movie was surprisingly quite good. These days, I don't expect good writing in mainstream Hollywood projects, so am pleasantly surprised when there is good writing.)

Just to clarify, the second statement from Naito contradicted the first from Robbins… “Asked to expand on on Robbins’ comments a day later, Naito told Variety: ‘We are absolutely committed to making original animated films and are in development on a handful of projects.’ “ While good to hear, this does underline that Paramount doesn’t have a consistent message when talking to the press.