The Ankler’s Richard Rushfield: Star Power, CinemaCon, and Hope For The Industry
Welcome to the latest episode of One Moore Hollywood Podcast! Today, our three hosts, Chris Moore, Katie Marpe, and Dennis De Nobile, are chatting with Richard Rushfield.
Rushfield is the editorial director, chief columnist, and co-founder of The Ankler, a publication centered on the entertainment industry and referenced as a "hit Hollywood newsletter" by the New York Times. A seasoned industry journalist, Rushfield talks with our hosts about CinemaCon, why he started The Ankler, and his perspective on Hollywood's future.
The Founding of The Ankler
Rushfield started his journalistic career in the 1990s, splitting his reporting between the industry and various other things. About 15 years ago, he focused his career on the entertainment industry only, centering specifically on a trade perspective when he founded The Ankler. Rushfield had always read the trades but felt like they were bland and did not do justice to the major shifts happening in Hollywood at the time. He thought there were more interesting questions to ask, so he started his own publication.
CinemaCon: What Do the Theater Owners Think?
According to Rushfield, CinemaCon is a tribute to theaters. All the theater owners and streamer executives are there to talk about movies, from their first experiences at drive-in theaters to what movies are slated for the following year. Interestingly, Rushfield says there was little conversation amongst the theater owners about how to get more young people into theaters. Instead, they focused more on the upcoming releases (and mostly ignored anything associated with streaming, go figure.)
The Future of Hollywood: Is There Hope?
One of the industry's major problems, Moore thinks, is that the entertainment business has become so focused on making money that it's left behind a lot of the creativity initially associated with the concept of show business. To him, the current entertainment ecosystem is one where everyone working within it is expected to promote everything that gets made, even when it's not good. This is a bummer to all those creatives who want to make something great, not just something that can make big bucks.
Rushfield feels similarly, believing it’s become all about the big stars these days. With social media breaking down so many barriers between famous and regular people, the influence those stars have has grown exponentially. It's almost as if the stars make the projects rather than the projects making the stars.
When asked if he has faith that the Hollywood ecosystem will eventually figure itself out, Rushfield says he's not sure. "I hope! I wouldn't say faith. I think the door is open; it's not dead yet. If Hollywood is smart, they can do it, but there are a lot of ifs," he says.
Rushfield thinks the world we live in now, where people have no idea how to measure the success of their films or TV shows, must change somehow. Unfortunately, no one quite knows how to change it yet. Rushfield also worries that the tech world's influence will drive the film industry off a cliff if given too much power. "Entertainment is a conversation with the audience and requires a loop of back-and-forth, and that's not how the tech world functions."
While Rushfield wouldn't necessarily recommend his career path to just anyone, he loves what he does despite the unstable and unpredictable nature of entertainment. "If you love movies, it's a great thing; every day it inspires me. We do this because we believe in it," he says.
Listen to the entire episode here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or iHeartRadio.
