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Market For First Look Deals In Hollywood Ramps Up After Being Decimated By Strikes
Some 360 gallons (around 1,360 liters) of paint and primer were used in 2012 to provide the iconic sign with its most extensive refurbishment in almost 35 years in advance of its 90th birthday in 2013.
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Robyn Beck
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AFP via Getty Images
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Topline:
While the writers strike was supposedly prolonged by the studios in part to rid themselves of overall and first-look deals, the market for those contracts has only been ramping up as of late.
The return: Studios theoretically had a lot to gain from the writers strike clearing the decks of their overall and first-look deals, the costly pacts that tied talent to a particular studio or streamer. Nevertheless, those contracts have returned for high-value producers, including The Night Agent creator Shawn Ryan, who Netflix stole from Sony with an eight-figure deal.
What it signals: Amid all the discourse about the plight of writers, and contraction in the industry, the renewed uptick in these pacts indicates a slight return to normalcy. That being said, the contracts themselves have been reduced from the lofty nine-figure sums J.J Abrams, Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy received to mostly eight figures as studios continue to tighten their wallets.
Who’s benefitting: The risk-averse nature of studios at present is on full display in these contracts, with the money largely going to proven writers and producers. In addition to Ryan, others receiving these deals — either on their own or through their production companies — include Tyler Perry, Natasha Lyonne, Will Arnett and Alan Yang.
For more ... read the full story on The Ankler.
This story is published in partnership with The Ankler, a paid subscription publication about the entertainment industry.
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