Hollywood gets suckered

By Tom Tapp

Usually, Hollywood types are the ones who do the suckering. But with the internet breathing down their necks, some savvy showbizzers have been making bad bets of late.

"Quarterlife," the new web series from Emmy winners Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz is one example.

First off, Zwick and Herskovitz should be commended for embracing the new medium with an age-appropriate show that incorporates some element of social networking. Bravo.

They've also secured a deal with MySpace. Another good move.

But their financing falls way short.

When the deal was originally rumored in July, CNET reported that MySpace would pay Zwick and Herskovitz $400,000 an episode. Guess that changed.

According to Variety and The New York Times, the duo is backing the project themselves.

VAR:

Both MySpace and Herskovitz stressed MySpace will simply be a distributor, with Zwick/Herskovitz owning the production entirely.

NYT:

MySpace does not pay a license fee for the shows, but brings a pipeline to its 110 million viewers, and will be involved in selling advertising.

None of that advertising has been announced.

But even if it is, unless the show is a gigantic success, the ad rates required to support the series' budget just don't exist for online video. (Could this be why the MySpace rep stressed that the company has no investment at stake?)

Business Week:

The production tab will probably run higher than $80,000 an installment, based on Herskovitz' estimate that each 48-minute episode will cost somewhere north of $500,000. Each episode will then be divided into six installments to be distributed online.

There's nothing else being produced for the web right now that costs that much. Why? Because there isn't a business model to support it.

All of which is well and good in an industry used to profligately spending other people's fortunes. But Zwick and Herskovitz have broken a cardinal rule in Hollywood: Never spend your own money.

It's a well-worn saw for most of those who make movies and TV. Maybe now it just needs to be applied to their dealings on the internet as well.