There Can Be Only One

If you've been following the corporate struggles over at Viacom (and I know you have, right?), this morning's news was a long an area of speculation.

Tom Freston is OUT at Viacom. Leaving Les Moonves as the head of CBS and Paramount. Talk about evil plans coming true! Now we'll see some Executive Deathmatch as Brad Grey, Gail Berman (mostly on the outs according to to scuttlebut), and whoever the hell else is still alive over there, scramble to prove that the movies they've released, purchased and packaged over the last two-three years are going to start raking in the loot for the studio. With their share price hovering in the mid-30's they've got to pull up on the yoke before they crash and burn. Media moguls care about two things: prestige and money. That means Oscars, Globes and Box Office, none of which have been Paramount's strong suits in the last few years.

I predict there will be sharp turn into genre films: think horror, romantic comedies, movies geared at tweens, action films (like FAST AND THE FURIOUS), and big fat comedies (like 40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN), and definitely definitely definitely tentpoles franchise films. That means middle of the market dramas (like COACH CARTER) probably won't be made there for a while. If you write genre films this is the time to put it in high-gear and get ready to pound the pavement to find an agent with an in over on Melrose....