Hi,
First, thanks so much for posting the memo. I'm finding it smart and informative and a must read.
Second, something to consider:
Katzenberg writes: "Television is an individual experience. The theater is a communal one." And then adds, "The theater is something special. The products we strive to put into them should be equally special."
His focus, of course, is features, so he skews the notion of theatrical releases as the "special" medium.
But I think it's important to note that the individual experience of television (and now all sorts of New Media platforms) is also special. That's my view, at least.
To make something that is intimate and ready to tap the unique experience of someone watching something on an iPad or laptop or smart phone has its own alchemy. And just as a movie better deliver an experience worthy of a social experience, so a tale designed for audience of one or two or four people better deliver the goods as well.
Whether I succeeded or not in this regard, I do know that the show I created, "The Booth at the End" (produced by Michael Eisner's Tornante Company), was about building an intimate experience for the viewer -- a mix between reading and 1950s television.
This isn't to slight Katzenberg's point at all. I think all of his points are amazing. But as the audience shifts how it wants to receive stories, i think it's important for storytellers to be aware that there are many ways of telling stories and that, as Katzenberg points out, you want the stories and the methods of telling the stories to match the delivery platform.
Something to think about as we roll into the future.
Christopher Kubasik
Creator/Writer "The Booth at the End"
The Booth at the End on Hulu