Kool-Aid and Ideas
A look at Netflix's The Studio and how ideas can lead to meeting up with people you may not have talked to in years.
The Studio is a show about the Hollywood system. A group of people running around trying to create the next biggest hit, while quite unsure of what’s going on. Seth Rogen’s character has been given a promotion, but with the promotion he has to make a blockbuster with Kool-Aid as the IP.
He lucks into a meeting with Martin Scorcese and is pitched Jonestown. Scorcese would like a budget of $250m to make a movie about one of the largest mass murders where the weapon was spiked Kool-Aid given to everyone. The pitch unravels with the studio heads and the team is running around trying to figure out how to make this film, while not offending Scorcese.
There are people you meet in life that will tell you stories you will never forget. Like all failed writers, I knew a guy with a Jonestown script. His belief was that there were members of that group who were undercover CIA ops planted there to ensure things like this happen or stop just in time. There was Kool-Aid at this function, but I didn’t dig any deeper. I would have loved to see that guy in a pitch where he was then told that his story had to promote the red punch in some fashion for sales.
My opinion hasn’t changed at all over the years. Studio execs are used car salesmen. Selling lemons that might hit the lucky number and become hits making all of the money back. We’re all just a series of ideas and maybe something will stick.
I had a moment like that recently. I just wanted to find a decent bagel in this town. Cruising around an idea strikes me and without thinking I ask Siri to dial my brother. He picks up and I ask if he’s busy, then I go into my pitch. He listens and gives suggestions. I then end the pitch with the same question I ask anyone I rant to, “gut instinct - how does this pan out?” He gives his honest opinion and I’m reminded of all the projects we’d worked on together.
Then the little things are remembered and I realized I hadn’t spoken to him in two years. I backtrack and ask all of the appropriate questions; life, work, etc. Then I go straight into asking him to hop on a plane with me for research.
I didn’t have this on my bingo card for 2025. That I’d come up with an idea and it would be my brother sitting next to me when I work on it. The year of the snake really does bring surprises. It’s refreshing though to rant about your projects and there’s no backstory needed for the audience because they were there at the very beginning. Here’s to new ventures and seeing them through.
Now that the little brother is being mentioned in my essays and he’ll no doubt be reading this - it’ll give him the opportunity to see how I dedicate all of my free time to charity and and those organizations that do good things for people.
Speaking of doing good. I updated my about me page and the friends have combed through it. I had cracked a joke about our Zillow searches. One of them texted me today and said about one of our elders, “[redacted] just bought in Santa Barbara.” Oh Stace, it’s good to see one of us make it after the decade we all just survived.
I’m working on projects again with little brother in tow. Elders are showing that there’s still things to grab out there. Everyone’s getting their mojo back. I hope the tariffs aren’t hurting any of you out there as much as it already has and that all things just go up from here.