Morad Koufane on LinkedIn: The Netflix Chief’s Plan to Get You to Binge Even More (2024)

Cry me a river«The heyday of the prestige weepie brought such cryfests as Kramer vs. Kramer, a wrenching tale of divorcing parents wrestling over their son; Ordinary People, about a family’s emotional collapse in the wake of a tragedy; Field of Dreams, the ultimate dad-cry about baseball and middle-aged reckoning; and of course Beaches, a heartbreaker about the death of a lifelong friend, complete with a chart-topping anthem.Tear-jerkers can look a little manipulative, or even cartoonish, in retrospect. Here is a dying woman saying goodbye to her young sons! Here is a father running through the streets of New York carrying his injured child to the hospital! Here is Bette Midler singing “Did you ever know that you’re my hero?” to her terminally ill best friend! But prestige tear-jerkers served an essential cultural purpose: They were a valuable ritual of catharsis that audiences could participate in together. If you’ve seen any one of these movies, you might feel emotional just recalling it, which is proof of their enduring power.Sobbing together is something we’ve forgotten how to do — and something we badly need to rediscover. We need more chances to show our humanity to one another in public. We could all use a good cry right now, together, in real life, in real time.»

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À l’année prochaine «Cette 77e édition s’est surtout caractérisée par sa brutalité envers les corps, auxquels elle a fait subir divers outrages: ouverts puis explosés dans The Substance, mutilés et cuisinés dans Kinds of Kindness, en décomposition dans LesLinceuls, de David Cronenberg, agonisant dans Oh, Canada, de Paul Schrader. Les regards simplement humanistes se sont fait attendre. Heureusem*nt, All We Imagine As Light, de Payal Kapadia, a su capter, grâce à son hypersensibilité pour les présences, l’amitié naissante entre trois femmes dans la frénésie de Mumbai.C’est aussi son humanisme généreux, même si un peu retors, qui a fait la différence pour Anora: le regard tendre et piquant posé sur les travailleuses du sexe et autres petit* parias new-yorkais, sa drôlerie, sa variation cruelle sur les rapports de classe, sa fiction rocambolesque. Avec lui, Cannes retrouvait un sentiment qu’on avait pu croire un moment égaré en chemin: un amour franc et sincère pour ces drôles de créatures qu’on appelle personnages et qui nous accompagnent le temps d’un film.»

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A ce soir"Buzzy filmsCannes is ultimately about the films and this year has introduced plenty to talk about. Coppola’s anticipatedMegalopolisdivided opinion among critics onScreen’s closely-watched Jury Grid, while Jacques Audiard’s musical crime comedyEmilia Perezand Coralie Fargeat’s body horrorThe Substancedrew strong early buzz. There have also been high scores on the jury grid for Jia Zhangke’sCaught By The Tidesand Miguel Gomes’Grand Tour. But out in front at this stage, with just two more films to premiere, are Payal Kapadia’sAll We Imagine As Lightand Sean Baker’sAnora,both with an impressive average of 3.3 stars. Last year’s festival launched a number of ‘broad arthouse’ titles that went on to have great success at the box office, includingAnatomy Of A Fall, The Zone Of InterestandPerfect Days.The big question now is which of the above films might repeat their success?"

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In One Piece" “One Piece”led the pack of the most-watched shows onNetflixduring the second half of 2023. From July to December of 2023, the live-action take on the beloved manga was viewed 71.6 million times and racked up 541.9 million viewing hours.That was followed in second place by German limited series “Dear Child” with 52.5 million views and British limited series “Who Is Erin Carter?” with 50.1 million views.Overall, limited series did big numbers for Netflix during the second half of 2023. Including “Dear Child” and “Who Is Erin Carter?,” nine of the Top 20 titles during this six-month period were limited series. These included the docuseries “Beckham” (43.9 million views), the Taylor Kitsch opioid drama “Painkiller” (34.4 million views), the Mark Ruffalo WWII saga “All the Light We Cannot See” (33.9 million views), the South Korean rom-com “King the Land” (33.2 million views), the legal docuseries “Depp v. Heard” (31.7 million views), the Swedish thriller “A Nearly Normal Family” (28 million views) and the Mike Flanagan horror series based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher” (27 million views)."https://lnkd.in/eUJz-sUs

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My Voice, My Choice.""OpenAI dropped “Sky,” but the specter of litigation looms over the company embattled with legal issues over the foundation of its technology.The legal threat follows the filing of aproposed class actionin New York federal court against Berkeley-based AI startup LOVO accusing the company of stealing and profiting off of the voices of actors, as well as those of A-list talent such as Johansson, Ariana Grande and Conan O’Brien. It’s believed to the first lawsuit against an AI firm over the use of likenesses to train an AI system and marks a growing rift between creators and companies alleged to indiscriminately hoover troves of copyrighted works and data to fuel their technology.For SAG-AFTRA, OpenAI’s blunder couldn’t have come at a better time. There has been a surge in AI services that allow users to replicate members’ likenesses without consent or compensation. The union has blitzed legislators in advocating for a federal right of publicity law in the absence of federal laws covering the use of AI to imitate actors’ likenesses. A patchwork of state right of publicity laws has filled the void, but OpenAI’s alleged theft of Johansson’s voice underscores limitations of the current legal landscape.“The incident highlights the importance of protecting your voice in an age of AI. It is no longer science fiction to easily clone a voice, it is science fact,” says a SAG-AFTRA spokesperson.“Whether you are a professional performer looking to protect your career or an individual looking to protect the words ascribed to you, the need for federal protection is now.”"

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Streams of K-Genres"The impact of streaming on K-dramas isn’t limited to their structure but extends to their content. Traditionally, most K-dramas wereromances,sageuk(period pieces) or family dramas, but in recent years they have increasingly branched out into other genres. “Romance, or romantic dramedy, has been the major genre in K-drama. However, due to Netflix, zombie, survival, thriller and horror have become popular, which is unprecedented,” Jin said.“Now there are so many genres, like monsters for ‘Sweet Home,’ zombies for ‘All of Us Are Dead’ and ‘Kingdom.’ There’s even teenage crime, like ‘Extracurricular,’ and sci-fi like ‘The Silent Sea’ and ‘The School Nurse Files,’” said Areum Jeong, Ph.D., assistant professor of Korean studies at Arizona State University.And it’s not just Netflix, either. Other platforms have been pumping out all kinds of boundary-pushing shows, from Paramount+’s serial killer masterpiece “A Bloody Lucky Day” to Disney+/Hulu’s superhero smash “Moving” to the steamy romantic dramedy “Hit the Spot” (which explores taboo topics like sex and masturbation and is available onViki) — just to name a few examples."https://lnkd.in/e2EQGzVD

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"Key insights from the 2024 report include:Over the next 3-5 years, as the market correction continues, the industry must also adjust to new technologies and workflows. Changes in the wider audiovisual marketplace are perceived as existential threats for traditional film and TV, and the ongoing climate crises, wars, and civil unrest will have unpredictable effects on markets, industries, and artists.The current volume of feature films cannot be sustained in movie theaters. Five years from now theatrical releases will be fewer, in part because of traumatic market effects, in part because of proactive and constructive selection, nurturing and curation of projects and their audiences.Successful cinema experiences must be highly engaging to attract audiences, adding work for exhibitors, distributors, and producers, but offering growth potential for unique films.Audiences appreciation for quality storytelling creates opportunities for strong authorial voices, moving beyond traditional categories and fostering a sustainable cross-platform business models. Theatrical exhibition can still play a significant role, including with Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha.Collaborative approaches in production, distribution, and exhibition offer an opportunity to enhance industry resilience, reduce dependence on traditional exhibition and streaming platforms, and strengthen local industries.Virtual Production and Generative AI are transforming filmmaking. The entertainment sector, as an early adopter, can influence AI applications and advocate for relevant legislation. Rapid development is influenced by local factors like infrastructure and training availability. We will understand filmmaking more as a mastery of the principles of audiovisual storytelling than as the ability to produce a moving image. The industry must adapt together, or risk being left behind.AI advancements in advertising and content recommendation will increase competition in Connected TV. Despite potential dystopian outcomes, consumers will likely have a positive experience. Surprisingly, theatrical exhibition may also benefit.In uncertain times, we as an industry need to emphasize human connections, valuing the audience and the people within the industry."https://lnkd.in/eduUd36Y

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Summer Is Coming

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Upfront and center