Zucker Wants to Burn Things: Notes from the NATPE Exhibit Floor, Part 1
For those wondering what that weird acronym stands for (National Association of Toilet Paper Enthusiasts? of Tyrannosaurus Pelvis Excavators? of Tent Pole Economics?), it’s the National Association of Television Production Executives. The NATPE Convention is one of the major American television industry conferences and buying festivals on the calendar. And no, I haven’t been drafted to the industry. I’m here because I got a NATPE Fellowship from their Educational Foundation, so am here on their dime. I’ll try to post more general reflections later, but for now, some reflections from the first morning.
It began with a bang. Jeff Zucker, President and CEO of NBC Universal gave the opening address. He’s quite an electrifying speaker – Hollywood Reporter’s Elizabeth Guilder (who did the Q&A after the speech) compared him to Obama, though he balked at the comparison (more of a Kucinich supporter himself?), as do I for other reasons (one of many being that I’m not sure MLK was dreaming of Zucker heading NBC). But he certainly didn’t disappoint, either in offering substance or in delivery. I saw shades of Ari Gold, Jeremy Pivens’s brilliant creation from Entourage, not in terms of sexist bravado, but in terms of complete confidence, energy, and a slice of imperial gravitas.
He began by joking that he came in boring times, but then threw down the gauntlet pretty quickly by stating that “traditional business models in Hollywood are under pressure, and their replacements are not yet ready for prime time,†a situation that “demands a re-engineering of our business, from top to bottom.†With CBS prominently deciding to sit this NATPE out in favor of a bigger presence at CEA (Consumer Electronics Association), and NBC’s head kicking things off this way, this would seem to be a clear indication that the old guard finally get that something’s up. More after the fold…
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