>>ANDY SERWER: I'm going to engage in a couple of conversations -- Hollywood conversations,
which is why I'm wearing these glasses. And, also, Thomas requested that I keep them on
so I'm going to make him happy. Before I get to you, just sort of generally,
I want to sort of lay the foundation of these two conversations we are going to have with
some of the leading lights of Hollywood, including Thomas.
And that is that, you know, Hollywood and entertainment have had a long-standing and
dynamic relationship with technology. If you think about it, go back to the printing press
in Gutenberg and exhibits in film and TV and radio. Obviously, things change and, of course,
none of the older technologies go away. They all get stacked up.
And, of course, what's going on now not only are media and content people trying to understand
how to create content for the Web, of course, but also how to integrate the content with
the distribution for all of the legacy pieces of the distribution as well, which is to say
print and film and TV and radio. So that's sort of the foundation of this conversation.
And as Tim said, Thomas Tull is the CEO of Legendary Pictures which you may not have
heard of but I know you have heard of many, many of his movies which include "Dark Knight,"
"Inception," the "300" and "The Hangover." Before we begin, I think an extra round of
applause for anyone who anything to do with "The Hangover." Can you join me please?
[ Applause ] I mean, holy smoke, right? Because that was
just a fine, fine motion picture. I don't care how that thing was distributed, I enjoyed
the hell out of that thing. So thank you very much for bringing that to us.
Now, you know, we are talking about innovation here. And so we want to kind of bring it back
to that theme a little bit. One thing that's kind of interesting, I think, about your story,
Thomas, is your story. And there's so many people in the world and in America who would
like to do what you have done, which is to say, you know -- here's a kid from upstate
New York, from modest circumstances, Hamilton College. He goes to Hollywood. And all of
a sudden, you know, you are in the movie business. And, you know, I guess to me what I would
like to understand is what is the innovation part of that? Because you had to have done
something different from other people to succeed. And now you have got, what, a 40-picture deal
with Warner Brothers? How did that happen? What's the innovation part?
>>Thomas Tull: You know, I mean, part of it was -- I was actually at a dinner party, I
think, in 2003 and the then-vice chairman of MGM was sitting next to me and was talking
about all the problems in the movie business. And I had both an entertainment as well as
a private equity background. And, you know, I'm sure started pontificating about how you
could build a new system that was private-equity backed because they had raised all this money.
And he sort of said to me, "Well, if you are so smart you should do that."
And so I wrote a plan. I talked to a couple of the studios and, you know, was very fortunate
to -- Our success starts and ends with Warner Brothers. They are a fantastic partner, best
studio in the world. We were able to raise a very large amount
of capital and our first movie was "Batman Begins." Our second movie was "Superman Returns."
The idea really -- I'm embarrassed to share the stage with Nobel Prize winners and folks
that are truly changing the world. I'm like the "Batman" guy. That's great.
>>Andy Serwer: It is pretty important, too, though.
>>Thomas Tull: Yeah, well, we wanted to make sure that we made -- on the financial side,
make sure that we made responsible decisions. But then on the other side, I make movies
I want to see. And, you know, when that stops working, then I'll try to do something else.
But very, very fortunate to do something that I love.
>>Andy Serwer: There's some people who have written that you guys have a formula, kind
of a black box, when you are looking to make a movie. Is that true? Is this sort of just
looking at, you know, kind of an algorithm-based system? Isn't that what's wrong with Hollywood,
all the formulas and stuff? >>Thomas Tull: If you find that black box,
I would love for you to call Patrick and Ari and let them know and we will get it in. I
haven't seen it. I mean, again, we are a very director-driven
company. That's a very big thing to us. You know, the directors have had the privilege
of working with Chris Nolan now three times, Zack Snyder three times, Bryan Singer, Sam
Raimi, Todd Phillips on comedy who did "The Hangover" for us.
And these guys and these folks that have that vision, our job is to empower that. And then,
you know, Warner Brothers has their machine on the marketing and distribution side.
You know, that's -- but there's really no black box. Because at the end of the day,
with all the new innovation and technology and 3D, we are in the story-telling business.
And if the story is interesting and you can capture the imagination of the public -- for
two hours I can go in to a darkened room and the lights go down and I get to kind of escape
for a while, you know, that's our job. >>Andy Serwer: How do you tell? I mean, "The
Hangover" is just amazing to me. Again, it is like some guy walked in your office and
said, I got this idea to make a movie about a couple guys who go to Las Vegas and get
hammered. Now, you know, I mean, that to me sounds like
the most rote, overdone story. I mean, I couldn't imagine if I was in your position green lighting
something like that because it just sounds like it has just been done a million times.
>>Thomas Tull: I would agree. But if that person is Todd Phillips who made "Old School,"
then it is kind of like, You know what, Todd? That's pretty cool.
[ Laughter ] >>Andy Serwer: There you go. True that.
What does it mean -- you just said you believe in strong directors. What does that mean?
>>Thomas Tull: You know, well, for us, these folks just have an incredible vision. Right
off the bat, you know, when the first time read the "Inception" script and Chris had
all the models and everything laid out and we walked around the room, it was just clear
as day that he had this -- you know, this vision.
And I think the word "genius" gets thrown around way too much in our business in Hollywood.
He -- I think, he has sincerely earned it. And I think, you know, the directors that
absolutely have a vision and a plan and the confidence to go out on a limb like that and
execute it, you know, that's our job, again, is to empower that and to make sure that we're
constantly looking for the next directors. "300" is a great example. Zack Snyder, who
is an amazing filmmaker, had made one small horror remake. And when he pitched me the
"300," he just almost stood up and acted it out. He was just so passionate about it.
And I think that's one of the keys that I'm not sure you can -- you just kind of have
to feel your way through. >>Andy Serwer: Right. Obviously, we have an
I.T. crowd here. When you are talking about something like "Inception," what are all the
different I.T. pieces of that, from CGI production, distribution? I mean, how are you even thinking
about that stuff these days, Thomas? >>Thomas Tull: Well, you surround yourself
with a great staff that has expertise in each of these areas. And, frankly, making a movie
these days, there is so much technology from sound design, from how the editing is done
to how everything is done, motion capture. I mean, there is some unbelievably just cutting-edge
pieces that are put together in all of these things.
And with distribution these days, going digital, the innovation going on with 3D, both on the
camera side, what James Cameron is doing, there's a lot.
So for the I.T. crowd, you know, we want you to forget about it, at least I do. If you
are sitting around thinking like, "Wow, they really pulled that shot off," then we haven't
done our job because we want you to be completely immersed.
But it's -- it's really pretty staggering when you start with a pitch and stack of papers
with a script and you sit back at the premier and say, you know, There it is. It is really
special. >>Andy Serwer: Do you still focus primarily
on theatrical distribution, or are you thinking about having your pictures distributed on
the Web? >>Thomas Tull: No. We're focused on all aspects.
And the interesting thing to me about the movie business is if you go back and look
at it, putting movies on television 40 years ago was going to kill the business. Then HBO.
Well, now you can actually say curse words on TV and see the whole thing. That was going
to kill the business. VHS, DVD. I mean, the tombstone has been written
for this business many, many times. And it just has this resiliency. So we're concerned
with making sure if we make a great movie and then go through however you want to view
it, you know, we're concerned with all of it.
But I will say that for me I also think that theatrical is still very, very important.
I mean, Friday and Saturday nights, it is part of our cultural fabric. And I still -- you
know, my wife and I still go to the movies all the time. I don't think that's going away
any time soon either. >>Andy Serwer: So you don't see a point in
the near future where you're releasing films online simultaneously or even with a window
after theatrical? >>Thomas Tull: There is all kinds of things
going on in terms of looking at the business model and saying, What's the best way to maximize
this? At the end of the day, especially a comedy or a horror movie or something like
that, seeing -- you know, seeing a comedy with a crowd is different, it just is, than
sitting in your living room. I can only speak as a fan. And the theatrical
exhibitor has been very, very good to us. So we will continue to look at all kinds of
business models, but that one is still important to us.
>>Andy Serwer: I read somewhere that you said that you don't like to be associated with
movies that "wink" at the camera. What does that mean?
>>Thomas Tull: Again, it's just a personal preference. We talk about being "all in" on
our movies. If we make a movie about Batman, there is a respect as a full-blown comic book
geek, there is a reason people have liked Batman for years. Instead of doing the campy
version of the versions like, all right, look, we know we are in tights. We know we are making
a superhero movie. It's taking it very seriously bringing a great filmmaker in, taking the
time to have a great script and tell a story and not have the escape patch that, hey, we
are really not taking this very seriously. It doesn't mean you don't have light moments
and can't have fun with it. But these are subjects and properties that
we love, and so we want to treat them with the right respect.
>>Andy Serwer: We talked a lot about hits you have had, Thomas. You have had some movies
that bombed, right? That flopped? That didn't do well?
>>Thomas Tull: Right. We the glasses back on.
>>Andy Serwer: That weren't critically acclaimed. [ Laughter ]
What do you learn from the mistakes? I mean, do they get you down? Does that just bum you
out when something just bombs? >>Thomas Tull: You know, one of the things
that's important to us, a lot of people in the movie business don't care about their
brand. We actually do. And if you go to the bingo parlor on Friday
nights and wear your Legendary Pictures T-shirt, nobody is going to say something to you. If
you go to Comic-Con, you will get a different reaction.
So it is our job to make sure that every time that logo goes up, that we try to do something
great and it doesn't always work that way. And the take-away, you know, to me is: Did
you have a clear vision going in? Did you all agree on what the story was going to be?
Any time somebody tells me, "don't worry about the script, we will fix it on the fly," wrong
idea. And, again, I would keep going back to it,
if you stick with top-tier directors, you know, that has to me more to do with the outcome
than anything else. So you try to learn from each one.
But, frankly, it is so hard to make a movie, any movie, that I have a greater appreciation
-- you know -- before I was in the movie business, you would go, you would pay your
ten bucks and you were like, "Wow, that was really awful."
Now, sometimes I'll sit back and I am like, "They got it made" because it is so difficult.
[ Laughter ] >>Andy Serwer: All right. Looking forward
to "Legends of the Guardians," that could be my favorite coming. Nevermind.
We're halfway there. >>Thomas Tull: Not our movie but that's okay.
>>Andy Serwer: Haven't seen that one? That's my company.
We're almost out of time here. I just want to ask you, you know, about your genre which,
I guess, is kind of action, adventure, comic books. You know, is that really innovation?
I mean, is that really something new under the sun?
>>Thomas Tull: I think it depends on how you look at it. You know, we certainly don't want
to be in the business of just retreading things, where you really don't have anything new to
say. But, you know, to me the reason we're incredibly
proud of something like "Batman" is there has been a number of movies done but not with
Chris' vision. It is not to say anything bad against the other ones, we were just really
excited about his vision. I think as long as you have something fresh
to say, you can bring that to the screen, then I don't know if it's innovative. But
it is a hell of a lot of fun for us. As long as people keep going and don't throw us out,
we'll keep doing them. >>Andy Serwer: Great. Well, you have been
pretty successful so far. So congratulations to you.
>>Thomas Tull: Thank you. >>Andy Serwer: Thank you, Thomas Tull, please.
[ Applause ]