Tom Rothman Fetes Columbia Pictures Centennial, Talks Quentin Tarantino, Streaming & How To Bring Young Audiences Back To Movie Theaters
17.05.2024 - 16:07
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: Even though his traditionalist strategy made him an unlikely candidate, we included Sony Motion Pictures Group chairman Tom Rothman in our 2022 Cannes Disruptors magazine. At a time when every other major prioritized the building of streaming services above all else because of the Netflix juggernaut, Rothman was invited to defend his model. The one that sustained studios forever, where turning movies into tangible culturally relevant entities through aggressive marketing would lead to big ancillary sales through Sony’s output deal with Netflix, the place everyone else had cut off. His argument that Wall Street would soon realize that subscriber growth was a false metric and that profit is the telltale indicator would soon come to roost as the shine came off streaming ventures that have costs rivals billions to build.
Rothman is in Cannes today to toast the 100th birthday of Columbia Pictures, and show a restored print of the 1946 Charles Vidor-directed Gilda, with Rita Hayworth in top form. He took a moment to update Deadline on what’s important for a movie business struggling to regain its mojo after the strikes. It is also a moment where Sony has thrown in with Apollo to swallow Paramount Global, leaving Hollywood with one fewer major studio, after Disney swallowed Fox. Rothman would not comment on that, but had plenty to say about the business.
DEADLINE: How does it feel to preside over a centennial anniversary?
TOM ROTHMAN: It’s important to note that the studio is 100, not me.
DEADLINE: In your surprise appearance as a Deadline Disruptor two years ago, you made compelling arguments for the traditional revenue waterfall that still hold up. So, where’s the business going now?
ROTHMAN: Lemme just pause
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