Dear Gentle Readers,
In evaluating mass media opportunities, could there be an alternative to the next ‘’Hustler?’ The next ‘Color?’ Something in addition to conventional broadcast and cable television?
Might it be worth taking a gander at a Netflix-type of campaign to celebrate our beleaguered sport?
While I don’t have much binge-watching time, I did see an entire season of ‘House of Cards’ (American edition) in a relatively short period.
As you probably know, Netflix works on a couple of tiers. The one I subscribe to is the streaming side. I can watch several movies and a slew of television programs on my notebook, iPad, iPhone, etc. About $8 per month.
The second level, another $8, is for a by-mail DVD service that, I understand, has a larger selection of viewing options.
What got me thinking Netflix and pool - - in the same framework - - was the fact that their ‘House of Cards’ drama was original programming. And, I think, won a major award or two.
So …
> How about some Netflix-type of original programming that could, maybe, somehow, include pool?
How?
You creative folks will outthink me on this front, but I can imagine a full character-embrace of the pool world. The colorful, the talented, the profane, the wacky, the mean, the kind, the sordid, the … well, you get it!
Let’s imagine cameos of real tournaments and real grudge matches replete with incisive backstories on the players. And on the backers, the spouses, the lovers, the colorful hangers-ons, the perennial scufflers … the milieu that is our pool community and that is our pool culture.
I know I’m not explaining this very well, but I can imagine ‘pool’ being the raison d’être for a dedicated drama just as ‘politics’ was for ‘House of Cards.’
An intriguing difference? The contrast would be between the well-scripted fiction of a ‘House of Cards’ and a loosely-scripted depiction of real-life players with real-life money changing hands. Real-life anxiety, dialogue, passion, jealousy, hatred, loyalty and betrayal … all of the messy reality of our world.
> The ask? The money pitch?
For a Netflix-type of company it could be a unique opportunity because no one else, so far as I know, is using pool as the backdrop. Pool would be merely the excuse to introduce character and characters, conflict and resolution.
> Another hook?
The tournaments and money matches - - necessarily condensed and dumbed down with very basic commentary - - would be real. Actual players winning and losing actual money. Plus … the sidebar characters, jubilant and devastated, would provide texture and context.
Added spice?
Live streaming of pool action. Live captures of triumphs and tragedies. (Okay, now that I think about it, live streaming might be a stretch.)
> The downside? To pool purists?
The actual amount of game coverage would be condensed, fragmented, incomplete, distorted. It would be more about the story than about the sport.
> The upside? To pool enthusiasts?
It could help to rebrand our sport into the general consciousness. It could, maybe, help to resurrect pool - - not by celebrating the game - - but by extolling the cast of characters, the noir, the jubilation, the … well, the drama.
Further (and I’m cheerfully making this up as I go along!), there could be an amateur tie-in. The leagues. The championship in Vegas. Additional story lines. Additional boys and girls to cheer and hiss.
> Added benefit to a Netflix?
Second-tier DVD rentals of the series. Perhaps not to Netflix subscribers, but to … someone, somewhere? Okay, I don’t really know much about that side of the business!
Falling head-over-heels with my own sketchy ideas is my life,
Sunny
P. S. Thanks to my dad, I had three meetings with a Disney exec in Los Angeles. Unrelated to our original topic of conversation - - over dinner with him and his so-together wife - - I impulsively blurted out a script idea that I had tabbed ‘The Supremes.’
My ‘brilliant’ idea was a fictional television series based loosely on the Supreme Court. Rather than focus on the Chief Justice and the Associates, I would build the storyline around their clerks.
An ensemble cast full of passion. Pettiness. Sex. Backbiting. Triumph. The usual.
I guess that’s where I got the pool idea for Netflix. Not only did my dad’s friend not laugh at my Supreme Court concept (well, he was too courtly for that!), he encouraged me to develop a treatment. Even recommended a couple of ‘how to’ books.
I did try … but it’s really difficult. And - - excuses, excuses! - - I do have a small business I’m trying to keep afloat.
Maybe someday.
In evaluating mass media opportunities, could there be an alternative to the next ‘’Hustler?’ The next ‘Color?’ Something in addition to conventional broadcast and cable television?
Might it be worth taking a gander at a Netflix-type of campaign to celebrate our beleaguered sport?
While I don’t have much binge-watching time, I did see an entire season of ‘House of Cards’ (American edition) in a relatively short period.
As you probably know, Netflix works on a couple of tiers. The one I subscribe to is the streaming side. I can watch several movies and a slew of television programs on my notebook, iPad, iPhone, etc. About $8 per month.
The second level, another $8, is for a by-mail DVD service that, I understand, has a larger selection of viewing options.
What got me thinking Netflix and pool - - in the same framework - - was the fact that their ‘House of Cards’ drama was original programming. And, I think, won a major award or two.
So …
> How about some Netflix-type of original programming that could, maybe, somehow, include pool?
How?
You creative folks will outthink me on this front, but I can imagine a full character-embrace of the pool world. The colorful, the talented, the profane, the wacky, the mean, the kind, the sordid, the … well, you get it!
Let’s imagine cameos of real tournaments and real grudge matches replete with incisive backstories on the players. And on the backers, the spouses, the lovers, the colorful hangers-ons, the perennial scufflers … the milieu that is our pool community and that is our pool culture.
I know I’m not explaining this very well, but I can imagine ‘pool’ being the raison d’être for a dedicated drama just as ‘politics’ was for ‘House of Cards.’
An intriguing difference? The contrast would be between the well-scripted fiction of a ‘House of Cards’ and a loosely-scripted depiction of real-life players with real-life money changing hands. Real-life anxiety, dialogue, passion, jealousy, hatred, loyalty and betrayal … all of the messy reality of our world.
> The ask? The money pitch?
For a Netflix-type of company it could be a unique opportunity because no one else, so far as I know, is using pool as the backdrop. Pool would be merely the excuse to introduce character and characters, conflict and resolution.
> Another hook?
The tournaments and money matches - - necessarily condensed and dumbed down with very basic commentary - - would be real. Actual players winning and losing actual money. Plus … the sidebar characters, jubilant and devastated, would provide texture and context.
Added spice?
Live streaming of pool action. Live captures of triumphs and tragedies. (Okay, now that I think about it, live streaming might be a stretch.)
> The downside? To pool purists?
The actual amount of game coverage would be condensed, fragmented, incomplete, distorted. It would be more about the story than about the sport.
> The upside? To pool enthusiasts?
It could help to rebrand our sport into the general consciousness. It could, maybe, help to resurrect pool - - not by celebrating the game - - but by extolling the cast of characters, the noir, the jubilation, the … well, the drama.
Further (and I’m cheerfully making this up as I go along!), there could be an amateur tie-in. The leagues. The championship in Vegas. Additional story lines. Additional boys and girls to cheer and hiss.
> Added benefit to a Netflix?
Second-tier DVD rentals of the series. Perhaps not to Netflix subscribers, but to … someone, somewhere? Okay, I don’t really know much about that side of the business!
Falling head-over-heels with my own sketchy ideas is my life,
Sunny
P. S. Thanks to my dad, I had three meetings with a Disney exec in Los Angeles. Unrelated to our original topic of conversation - - over dinner with him and his so-together wife - - I impulsively blurted out a script idea that I had tabbed ‘The Supremes.’
My ‘brilliant’ idea was a fictional television series based loosely on the Supreme Court. Rather than focus on the Chief Justice and the Associates, I would build the storyline around their clerks.
An ensemble cast full of passion. Pettiness. Sex. Backbiting. Triumph. The usual.
I guess that’s where I got the pool idea for Netflix. Not only did my dad’s friend not laugh at my Supreme Court concept (well, he was too courtly for that!), he encouraged me to develop a treatment. Even recommended a couple of ‘how to’ books.
I did try … but it’s really difficult. And - - excuses, excuses! - - I do have a small business I’m trying to keep afloat.
Maybe someday.