October 22, 2025 • 17 mins
On today’s episode, Variety's Brent Lang discusses the Sundance Film Festival’s future as it prepares for its final outing in Park City, Utah in January before moving to Boulder, Colo., in 2027. And Joe Otterson weighs in on why vintage board games – think Clue, Monopoly, Catan – are hot properties for TV development.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to Daily Variety, your daily dose of news and
analysis for entertainment industry insiders. It's Wednesday, October twenty second,
twenty twenty five. I'm your host, Cynthia Lyttleton. I am
co editor in chief of Variety alongside Ramin Setuda. I'm
in LA He's in New York, and vriighty has reporters
around the world covering the business of entertainment. In today's episode,
(00:32):
we'll talk with Variety's Brent Laying about the future of
the Sundance Film Festival as it prepares for its final
edition in Park City, Utah in January. And we'll hear
from Joe Otterson about why old fashioned board games like Monopoly, Clue,
and Catan are suddenly hot properties for TV development. Will
any of them pass go? Joe has some thoughts on that.
(00:55):
But before we get to that, here are a few
headlines just in that you need to know. Netflix's third
quarter numbers sent the markets on a seesaw yesterday. First,
the stock was down on a revenue miss, then it
spiked on the strength of K pop Demon Hunters and
the color commentary from the conference call. The bottom line
(01:15):
is Netflix is projecting eight point five billion dollars in
free cash flow for twenty twenty five. The House of
Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters is on a solid foundation.
In other streaming news, that comes as no surprise, HBO
Max is hiking its monthly fees across the board by
a dollar to two dollars a month, depending on your plan,
(01:38):
and that's effective immediately. Gen Z wants more animation and
less sex on the screen. Those are among the conclusions
highlighted in the annual Teens and Screens Survey conducted by
UCLA's Center for Scholars and Storytellers. A survey of fifteen
hundred Americans ages ten to twenty four found that nearly
(01:59):
half of those they prefer animation to live action content,
and more than sixty percent say they want to see
romantic relationships on screen that are more about friendship and
less about coitus. A bunch more interesting insights and charts
are in the story from my colleague Andrew McGowan. All
(02:19):
of these stories and so much more can be found
on Variety dot com. Right now, now we turn to
conversations with Variety journalists about news and trends in show business.
On Tuesday, the Sundance Film Festival announced plans to pay
tribute to its founder, Robert Redford at the twenty twenty
(02:42):
sixth edition of the festival in January. That will no
doubt be a heartfelt salute to a seminal force in
American film. Brent Lang weighs in on the future of
Sundance as it heads into its final outing in Park
City before moving to Boulder, Colorado in twenty twenty seven.
Brent Lang, thank you for joining me.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Let's talk Sundance. It's never too early to start talking Sundance.
The Sundance Film Festival today announced to no one's surprise
that they will have a tribute to the founder of
the institute and the festival, the incredible artist Robert Redford,
who died last month. That will undoubtedly be extremely heartfelt.
And of course this is coming as Sundance gets ready
(03:25):
to move. This will be the last edition in Park
City after forty plus years, and they will move in
twenty twenty seven to Boulder, Colorado. So let me ask you, Brent,
Sundance says. We've been reporting for the last couple of years,
especially post pandemic, has had a bit of an identity crisis.
Do you think that we will see a groundswell of
(03:46):
people coming for the last edition in Park City in January?
Speaker 2 (03:50):
I do. I think that a lot of people will
actually come out, largely in a way to say goodbye
to a place that's meant so much to this business,
to this industry. And you know, it's really impossible to
think of Sundance and not think of Park City, of
its main street, its iconic mountain, ranges of huddling together
in the snow, waiting in long lines, waiting to go
(04:11):
to that hot movie, feeling that buzz. In a way,
Park City is a terrible place to have a film festival.
It's hard to get to, it's expensive, it's cold, there's
ice all over the place. People are constantly slipping and falling.
But that's also what makes it so magical that you
do have to make this great effort to go there,
(04:33):
that you have to literally go to the top of
the mountain to see this amazing art form that so
many people love.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
What are you thinking is going to be the direction
for Sundance in its future as it goes through this
big transformation.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Next year will be celebratory year, a kind of acknowledgment
of the storied pass that Sundance has had. But as
part of that, there are going to be some really
difficult questions being asked about Sundance and its future because
in many ways, the mission of Sundance has never been
more vital, which is to support e merging artists, to
(05:09):
give them a leg up, to give them a platform
to share their work, because it's harder and harder for
these people to make a living and to find distribution
platforms that pay them in a meaningful way. And yet
I think the business apparatus around the independent film industry
(05:31):
has never been more challenged. You had something of a
sugar high that happened in the last decade or so
where a lot of streamers came in, There were these
streaming wars, and they really really needed content and they
came to Sundance they bought a lot of it, and
the prices for this went up. That put a lot
of pressure on those true independent film distributors who ended
(05:56):
up in some cases overpaying for films in a way
that they never could really get their money back in
a more traditional theatrical ecosystem, and so it wasn't sustainable
and in fact it has not been sustained, and what
you're seeing is that it is taking longer for movies
to sell. They are selling for less money. A lot
(06:16):
of these streamers have gone into producing their own content.
The documentary business had a really good run there. That
business has completely collapsed, particularly as streamers have decided to
really avoid political documentaries, which was something that Sundance was
known for highlighting. So I think as the fortunes of
(06:37):
the independent film business have shifted, so have sundances fortunes.
And like so many of these film festivals today, it's
facing some existential questions that it needs to answer. And
part of the reason it moved to Boulder, and they
will admit this, is that they got a better deal.
They're getting more support, more financial support, and they were
(06:59):
not able to make it work on Park City.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Inning I know that at times they have wrestled with
the whole big money influx the sponsors. At times they've
taken steps to curb the level of sponsorship in Park City.
With the move to Boulder, which is kind of a
natural reset, do you think that they will do any
efforts to curb some of the let's call it spectacle
that has grown up around Sundance.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
I know that Redford actually really didn't like the festival
to be written about as a market. He felt that
was not the mission, that was not why he started
the film festival, and it was supposed to be for artists.
It was not supposed to be part of the business.
Of course, the reality is that brands go to Sundance
because there's a certain cool factor and there's a lot
(07:44):
of big name stars who are part of these independent films.
Many of these films can only get financing if they
have big stars attached to them. The brands follow the stars,
and the stars go to Sundance, so with a inevitable progression,
if you will, and I think if Sundance would like
to curb branding, I'm not sure it will do that
(08:05):
initially because it really needs to make Boulder work. So
it needs to have a certain level of excitement and
sizzle and sex appeal to its new location.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
I know it's so early, but do you think they'll
actually scale it up in the new city.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Well, apparently there are many different venues in Boulder that
can showcase movies. And another reason that Sentance was having
some difficulties with Park City was that certain theaters had
gone offline for various reasons, and there were fewer venues
to have premieres. I have heard that there's some concern
(08:43):
that there's not as much of a central gathering spot
in Boulder. I think that's something that Sundance will look
to address, to try to figure out a way to
really give the feeling of you are in some sort
of central area, you are with your community. I think
people are kind of interested in how they will do that.
I know a lot of people are happy about the
(09:03):
move to Boulder because it had become just so prohibitively
expensive to go to Park City. I mean, it was
really really difficult to make the money work, and the
independent film business is a business that operates with very
very thin margins.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Right, That combination is very tough. Well, there is so
much to watch for. It does feel like that twenty
twenty six Sundance will be filled with nostalgia. They announced
on Tuesday that there will be a legacy program devoted
to screenings of you know Sundance darlings like Little Miss Sunshine,
like Saw, which I did not remember was a Sundance movie,
(09:38):
Reginald Hudland's House Party, Ryan Flex Half Nelson and Barbara
Copple's documentary American Dream. All of these titles are bringing
back memories of headlines from Sundance's past. I remember when
Sundance made Steven Soderberg and sex. Salizes of Videotape was
the movie that catalyzed what Sundance could be in terms
of a launch pad for movies.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Absolutely, Sex Size of Videotape is what really put it
on the map, followed shortly thereafter by films like Reservoir
Dogs and Little Miss Sunshine, things like that. And you know,
we've definitely written a lot about the issues that Sundance faces,
and those issues are very real and they are very serious,
but there is a lot to celebrate. It's no exaggeration
to say that Sundance completely transformed the American film created
(10:24):
the independent film movement, and the world of cinema would
be a far less rich place where it not for Sundance,
And were it not for Robert.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Redford, well, there is a lot to look forward to.
One thing I can tell you, when you are going
in twenty twenty seven to Bolder, you will lose about
fifteen hundred feet in altitude because Boulder is at about
fifty four hundred feet and Park City is almost at
seven thousand feet. Brent, as always, thank you for taking
the time today.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Now let's talk about the games people play. Joe Otterson,
Variety's TV News editor, discusses the recent wave of TV
development deals for vintage board games. Joe Otterson, thanks for
joining me today.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Always a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
We woke up Tuesday morning to the news that Netflix
has done a deal for the board game Catan. When
I have spent time in groups playing, it's a blast.
It's kind of like, kind of like a lighter version
of risk. It moves along. But as you know, in journalism,
it's a law of journalism. Three is a trend, and
with Netflix alone, we now have three interesting examples of
(11:33):
truly board games, the most old fashioned kind of play
irls you'd sit around a board with your friends and
actually play.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
I am hokens the whole nine.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
I am an enormous fan and proponent of board games
and card games because they're so much fun in a group.
But clearly these are hot, hot properties for TV. Joe,
as always, I ask you what's going on here?
Speaker 3 (11:57):
It's Hana is a massive, massive following it's been around,
you know, since the mid nineteen nineties, sold over forty
five million copies of the original game worldwide, not to
mention after the different expansions and variations that have come
out since then. But I think it's also just people.
They're always looking for the next ip. They're always looking
for the next thing that can get eyeballs on the screen.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
These games, especially the more involved games like Monopoly, like Catan,
they are character rich. You know, in Monopoly, nothing started
until I got to be the little dog in.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
My I really liked being the car in Monopoly.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
So Monopoly is also one of the other games that
Netflix recently has licensed. What else is on their docket.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
They're doing a competition series based on Monopoly. They're also
doing a competition series based on the board game Clue. Interestingly,
there's also a scripted series based on Clue that's out
in the marketplace, and it was reported a few weeks ago.
So just apparently Clue is a very hot commodity right now.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
These are sturdy franchises that people know, and I think
it's a lot of things that are associated with childhood.
You have kind of a warm, fuzzy feeling. What are
some of the challenges though, of adapting that a game
that everybody kind of has their own relationship. How do
you make that work as a TV show in the
mass way that Netflix needs it to. Do you see
(13:15):
anything about the creative auspices or any signs of how
they're gonna make these shows stand out in the sea
of options that people have.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
With Monopoly and Clue. I think that's very smart doing
them as some kind of a competition series, because ultimately,
that's what people love about these games, like you're playing
against your friend. A lot of these games, they don't
necessarily have characters or like defined conflicts necessarily like Katan. Ultimately,
if you are playing this as yourself, but you're also
trying to acquire resources in your trading and your building,
(13:45):
and while it is fun to play, I don't know
if that necessarily lends itself to a scripted series or
a movie unless you are to drastically change or add
to the story and introduce characters that maybe didn't exist
in the game. But then again, and you've also seen
stuff like Minecraft or Super Mario Brothers where they just
adapted almost exactly as it is and people loved it.
(14:07):
But I think in the case of Katan, I think
the thing people would really love is if you did
some sort of competition series route with it. Because people
love to play the game. They get very competitive with
the game. So if you had some sort of grand prize,
grand champion tournament of Catan out there and like this
life size board, like something crazy like that, I think
that's something that people would really get into. But how
you do that as a scripted show is above my
(14:29):
pay grade at this time.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Even just as you're talking like the product placement, the
integration opportunities, they practically right themselves. Another example of the
intertwining of the toy and game business with media because
Netflix also inked a deal with Hasbro and Mattel, basically
the two biggest toy makers in the world. They inked
a deal for K Pop Demon Hunter's merch toys, collectibles, plushies, games,
(14:58):
and role playing products. According to the announcement, this k
Pop Demon Hunters has been an enormous hit and clearly
they are looking to monetize every stitch of this animated film.
And it is very unusual that Hasbro and Mattel, which
are like two warring factions in toyland, very unusual that
the two would agree to do a joint deal, but
(15:19):
that's how much they want to get their hands on
KPE Pop, Demon Hunters Merch. Let me close Joe by
asking you going back to board games, what favorite board
game from your youth would you like to bring back?
I will submit I would watch the heck out of
Hi Ho Cherio. It's a blank slate. You could write
all kinds of storylines about the baskets and the trees,
(15:40):
and the farms and all the animals. I loved playing
that game with my son. What about you?
Speaker 3 (15:46):
I mean, I was a huge fan of Risk when
I was a kid. My friends and I would play
that game for days on end. But the way things
are going nowadays, I think it's just a matter of
time before we get with Checkers TV series before too long,
or a new Checkers movie of some kind.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Knowing that you are a risk player says a lot
about why you're so strategic at covering this incredibly ever
expanding universe. Joe Otterson, thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Thank you as always.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
As we close out today's episode, here's a few things
we're watching for Variety's International Festival's team is heading next
to the Tokyo Film Festival. They'll produce the first of
three digital dailies starting October twenty eighth. As always, all
of that coverage can be found on Variety dot com.
Mariah Carey is the choice for the twenty twenty six
(16:36):
Music Cares Person of the Year, which always coincides with
the Grammy Awards. Mimi's coronation by Music Cares and the
Recording Academy ought to be a memorable affair on January
thirtieth in downtown La Sinners is getting a special Imax
re release just in time for Halloween. Starting October thirtieth,
Ryan Coogler's spooky drama will have a one week run
(17:00):
in the large format screens that are driving so much
box office these days. Before we go, congrats to Osca Yamagucci.
She's advanced to Senior Vice President of worldwide TV Production
Financing and US Film Sales for Canal Plus's Studio Canal division.
She's an La native now based in Paris. Yamagucci joins
(17:22):
Studio Canal in twenty fifteen. Thanks for listening. This episode
was written and reported by me Cynthia Littleton, with contributions
from Brent Lang and Joe Otterson Stick's Nick's hick Picks.
Please leave us a review at the podcast platform of
your choice, and please tune in tomorrow for another episode
of Daily Variety.
Welcome to Daily Variety, your daily dose of news and
analysis for entertainment industry insiders. It's Wednesday, October twenty second,
twenty twenty five. I'm your host, Cynthia Lyttleton. I am
co editor in chief of Variety alongside Ramin Setuda. I'm
in LA He's in New York, and vriighty has reporters
around the world covering the business of entertainment. In today's episode,
(00:32):
we'll talk with Variety's Brent Laying about the future of
the Sundance Film Festival as it prepares for its final
edition in Park City, Utah in January. And we'll hear
from Joe Otterson about why old fashioned board games like Monopoly, Clue,
and Catan are suddenly hot properties for TV development. Will
any of them pass go? Joe has some thoughts on that.
(00:55):
But before we get to that, here are a few
headlines just in that you need to know. Netflix's third
quarter numbers sent the markets on a seesaw yesterday. First,
the stock was down on a revenue miss, then it
spiked on the strength of K pop Demon Hunters and
the color commentary from the conference call. The bottom line
(01:15):
is Netflix is projecting eight point five billion dollars in
free cash flow for twenty twenty five. The House of
Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters is on a solid foundation.
In other streaming news, that comes as no surprise, HBO
Max is hiking its monthly fees across the board by
a dollar to two dollars a month, depending on your plan,
(01:38):
and that's effective immediately. Gen Z wants more animation and
less sex on the screen. Those are among the conclusions
highlighted in the annual Teens and Screens Survey conducted by
UCLA's Center for Scholars and Storytellers. A survey of fifteen
hundred Americans ages ten to twenty four found that nearly
(01:59):
half of those they prefer animation to live action content,
and more than sixty percent say they want to see
romantic relationships on screen that are more about friendship and
less about coitus. A bunch more interesting insights and charts
are in the story from my colleague Andrew McGowan. All
(02:19):
of these stories and so much more can be found
on Variety dot com. Right now, now we turn to
conversations with Variety journalists about news and trends in show business.
On Tuesday, the Sundance Film Festival announced plans to pay
tribute to its founder, Robert Redford at the twenty twenty
(02:42):
sixth edition of the festival in January. That will no
doubt be a heartfelt salute to a seminal force in
American film. Brent Lang weighs in on the future of
Sundance as it heads into its final outing in Park
City before moving to Boulder, Colorado in twenty twenty seven.
Brent Lang, thank you for joining me.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Let's talk Sundance. It's never too early to start talking Sundance.
The Sundance Film Festival today announced to no one's surprise
that they will have a tribute to the founder of
the institute and the festival, the incredible artist Robert Redford,
who died last month. That will undoubtedly be extremely heartfelt.
And of course this is coming as Sundance gets ready
(03:25):
to move. This will be the last edition in Park
City after forty plus years, and they will move in
twenty twenty seven to Boulder, Colorado. So let me ask you, Brent,
Sundance says. We've been reporting for the last couple of years,
especially post pandemic, has had a bit of an identity crisis.
Do you think that we will see a groundswell of
(03:46):
people coming for the last edition in Park City in January?
Speaker 2 (03:50):
I do. I think that a lot of people will
actually come out, largely in a way to say goodbye
to a place that's meant so much to this business,
to this industry. And you know, it's really impossible to
think of Sundance and not think of Park City, of
its main street, its iconic mountain, ranges of huddling together
in the snow, waiting in long lines, waiting to go
(04:11):
to that hot movie, feeling that buzz. In a way,
Park City is a terrible place to have a film festival.
It's hard to get to, it's expensive, it's cold, there's
ice all over the place. People are constantly slipping and falling.
But that's also what makes it so magical that you
do have to make this great effort to go there,
(04:33):
that you have to literally go to the top of
the mountain to see this amazing art form that so
many people love.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
What are you thinking is going to be the direction
for Sundance in its future as it goes through this
big transformation.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Next year will be celebratory year, a kind of acknowledgment
of the storied pass that Sundance has had. But as
part of that, there are going to be some really
difficult questions being asked about Sundance and its future because
in many ways, the mission of Sundance has never been
more vital, which is to support e merging artists, to
(05:09):
give them a leg up, to give them a platform
to share their work, because it's harder and harder for
these people to make a living and to find distribution
platforms that pay them in a meaningful way. And yet
I think the business apparatus around the independent film industry
(05:31):
has never been more challenged. You had something of a
sugar high that happened in the last decade or so
where a lot of streamers came in, There were these
streaming wars, and they really really needed content and they
came to Sundance they bought a lot of it, and
the prices for this went up. That put a lot
of pressure on those true independent film distributors who ended
(05:56):
up in some cases overpaying for films in a way
that they never could really get their money back in
a more traditional theatrical ecosystem, and so it wasn't sustainable
and in fact it has not been sustained, and what
you're seeing is that it is taking longer for movies
to sell. They are selling for less money. A lot
(06:16):
of these streamers have gone into producing their own content.
The documentary business had a really good run there. That
business has completely collapsed, particularly as streamers have decided to
really avoid political documentaries, which was something that Sundance was
known for highlighting. So I think as the fortunes of
(06:37):
the independent film business have shifted, so have sundances fortunes.
And like so many of these film festivals today, it's
facing some existential questions that it needs to answer. And
part of the reason it moved to Boulder, and they
will admit this, is that they got a better deal.
They're getting more support, more financial support, and they were
(06:59):
not able to make it work on Park City.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Inning I know that at times they have wrestled with
the whole big money influx the sponsors. At times they've
taken steps to curb the level of sponsorship in Park City.
With the move to Boulder, which is kind of a
natural reset, do you think that they will do any
efforts to curb some of the let's call it spectacle
that has grown up around Sundance.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
I know that Redford actually really didn't like the festival
to be written about as a market. He felt that
was not the mission, that was not why he started
the film festival, and it was supposed to be for artists.
It was not supposed to be part of the business.
Of course, the reality is that brands go to Sundance
because there's a certain cool factor and there's a lot
(07:44):
of big name stars who are part of these independent films.
Many of these films can only get financing if they
have big stars attached to them. The brands follow the stars,
and the stars go to Sundance, so with a inevitable progression,
if you will, and I think if Sundance would like
to curb branding, I'm not sure it will do that
(08:05):
initially because it really needs to make Boulder work. So
it needs to have a certain level of excitement and
sizzle and sex appeal to its new location.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
I know it's so early, but do you think they'll
actually scale it up in the new city.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Well, apparently there are many different venues in Boulder that
can showcase movies. And another reason that Sentance was having
some difficulties with Park City was that certain theaters had
gone offline for various reasons, and there were fewer venues
to have premieres. I have heard that there's some concern
(08:43):
that there's not as much of a central gathering spot
in Boulder. I think that's something that Sundance will look
to address, to try to figure out a way to
really give the feeling of you are in some sort
of central area, you are with your community. I think
people are kind of interested in how they will do that.
I know a lot of people are happy about the
(09:03):
move to Boulder because it had become just so prohibitively
expensive to go to Park City. I mean, it was
really really difficult to make the money work, and the
independent film business is a business that operates with very
very thin margins.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Right, That combination is very tough. Well, there is so
much to watch for. It does feel like that twenty
twenty six Sundance will be filled with nostalgia. They announced
on Tuesday that there will be a legacy program devoted
to screenings of you know Sundance darlings like Little Miss Sunshine,
like Saw, which I did not remember was a Sundance movie,
(09:38):
Reginald Hudland's House Party, Ryan Flex Half Nelson and Barbara
Copple's documentary American Dream. All of these titles are bringing
back memories of headlines from Sundance's past. I remember when
Sundance made Steven Soderberg and sex. Salizes of Videotape was
the movie that catalyzed what Sundance could be in terms
of a launch pad for movies.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Absolutely, Sex Size of Videotape is what really put it
on the map, followed shortly thereafter by films like Reservoir
Dogs and Little Miss Sunshine, things like that. And you know,
we've definitely written a lot about the issues that Sundance faces,
and those issues are very real and they are very serious,
but there is a lot to celebrate. It's no exaggeration
to say that Sundance completely transformed the American film created
(10:24):
the independent film movement, and the world of cinema would
be a far less rich place where it not for Sundance,
And were it not for Robert.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Redford, well, there is a lot to look forward to.
One thing I can tell you, when you are going
in twenty twenty seven to Bolder, you will lose about
fifteen hundred feet in altitude because Boulder is at about
fifty four hundred feet and Park City is almost at
seven thousand feet. Brent, as always, thank you for taking
the time today.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Now let's talk about the games people play. Joe Otterson,
Variety's TV News editor, discusses the recent wave of TV
development deals for vintage board games. Joe Otterson, thanks for
joining me today.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Always a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
We woke up Tuesday morning to the news that Netflix
has done a deal for the board game Catan. When
I have spent time in groups playing, it's a blast.
It's kind of like, kind of like a lighter version
of risk. It moves along. But as you know, in journalism,
it's a law of journalism. Three is a trend, and
with Netflix alone, we now have three interesting examples of
(11:33):
truly board games, the most old fashioned kind of play
irls you'd sit around a board with your friends and
actually play.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
I am hokens the whole nine.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
I am an enormous fan and proponent of board games
and card games because they're so much fun in a group.
But clearly these are hot, hot properties for TV. Joe,
as always, I ask you what's going on here?
Speaker 3 (11:57):
It's Hana is a massive, massive following it's been around,
you know, since the mid nineteen nineties, sold over forty
five million copies of the original game worldwide, not to
mention after the different expansions and variations that have come
out since then. But I think it's also just people.
They're always looking for the next ip. They're always looking
for the next thing that can get eyeballs on the screen.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
These games, especially the more involved games like Monopoly, like Catan,
they are character rich. You know, in Monopoly, nothing started
until I got to be the little dog in.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
My I really liked being the car in Monopoly.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
So Monopoly is also one of the other games that
Netflix recently has licensed. What else is on their docket.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
They're doing a competition series based on Monopoly. They're also
doing a competition series based on the board game Clue. Interestingly,
there's also a scripted series based on Clue that's out
in the marketplace, and it was reported a few weeks ago.
So just apparently Clue is a very hot commodity right now.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
These are sturdy franchises that people know, and I think
it's a lot of things that are associated with childhood.
You have kind of a warm, fuzzy feeling. What are
some of the challenges though, of adapting that a game
that everybody kind of has their own relationship. How do
you make that work as a TV show in the
mass way that Netflix needs it to. Do you see
(13:15):
anything about the creative auspices or any signs of how
they're gonna make these shows stand out in the sea
of options that people have.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
With Monopoly and Clue. I think that's very smart doing
them as some kind of a competition series, because ultimately,
that's what people love about these games, like you're playing
against your friend. A lot of these games, they don't
necessarily have characters or like defined conflicts necessarily like Katan. Ultimately,
if you are playing this as yourself, but you're also
trying to acquire resources in your trading and your building,
(13:45):
and while it is fun to play, I don't know
if that necessarily lends itself to a scripted series or
a movie unless you are to drastically change or add
to the story and introduce characters that maybe didn't exist
in the game. But then again, and you've also seen
stuff like Minecraft or Super Mario Brothers where they just
adapted almost exactly as it is and people loved it.
(14:07):
But I think in the case of Katan, I think
the thing people would really love is if you did
some sort of competition series route with it. Because people
love to play the game. They get very competitive with
the game. So if you had some sort of grand prize,
grand champion tournament of Catan out there and like this
life size board, like something crazy like that, I think
that's something that people would really get into. But how
you do that as a scripted show is above my
(14:29):
pay grade at this time.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Even just as you're talking like the product placement, the
integration opportunities, they practically right themselves. Another example of the
intertwining of the toy and game business with media because
Netflix also inked a deal with Hasbro and Mattel, basically
the two biggest toy makers in the world. They inked
a deal for K Pop Demon Hunter's merch toys, collectibles, plushies, games,
(14:58):
and role playing products. According to the announcement, this k
Pop Demon Hunters has been an enormous hit and clearly
they are looking to monetize every stitch of this animated film.
And it is very unusual that Hasbro and Mattel, which
are like two warring factions in toyland, very unusual that
the two would agree to do a joint deal, but
(15:19):
that's how much they want to get their hands on
KPE Pop, Demon Hunters Merch. Let me close Joe by
asking you going back to board games, what favorite board
game from your youth would you like to bring back?
I will submit I would watch the heck out of
Hi Ho Cherio. It's a blank slate. You could write
all kinds of storylines about the baskets and the trees,
(15:40):
and the farms and all the animals. I loved playing
that game with my son. What about you?
Speaker 3 (15:46):
I mean, I was a huge fan of Risk when
I was a kid. My friends and I would play
that game for days on end. But the way things
are going nowadays, I think it's just a matter of
time before we get with Checkers TV series before too long,
or a new Checkers movie of some kind.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Knowing that you are a risk player says a lot
about why you're so strategic at covering this incredibly ever
expanding universe. Joe Otterson, thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Thank you as always.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
As we close out today's episode, here's a few things
we're watching for Variety's International Festival's team is heading next
to the Tokyo Film Festival. They'll produce the first of
three digital dailies starting October twenty eighth. As always, all
of that coverage can be found on Variety dot com.
Mariah Carey is the choice for the twenty twenty six
(16:36):
Music Cares Person of the Year, which always coincides with
the Grammy Awards. Mimi's coronation by Music Cares and the
Recording Academy ought to be a memorable affair on January
thirtieth in downtown La Sinners is getting a special Imax
re release just in time for Halloween. Starting October thirtieth,
Ryan Coogler's spooky drama will have a one week run
(17:00):
in the large format screens that are driving so much
box office these days. Before we go, congrats to Osca Yamagucci.
She's advanced to Senior Vice President of worldwide TV Production
Financing and US Film Sales for Canal Plus's Studio Canal division.
She's an La native now based in Paris. Yamagucci joins
(17:22):
Studio Canal in twenty fifteen. Thanks for listening. This episode
was written and reported by me Cynthia Littleton, with contributions
from Brent Lang and Joe Otterson Stick's Nick's hick Picks.
Please leave us a review at the podcast platform of
your choice, and please tune in tomorrow for another episode
of Daily Variety.
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