Boxoffice - October 2016

SHOWEAST
AWARDS
DAN FELLMAN SHOW “E” AWARD
SPENCER KLEIN
Executive Vice President
& General Sales Manager
Twentieth Century Fox
Interview by Daniel Loria
How did you first get your start in
the industry?
When I was an undergrad, I landed
an internship at Barwood Films, Barbra
Streisand’s production and development
company. Through connections there
I was able to get another internship at
New Yorker Films and ended up working
at both places simultaneously for a while.
After I graduated college, I was hired at
New Line in their distribution department.
It wasn’t too long before you made
your first transition to exhibition.
How did that come about?
When I worked at New Line I
remember picking up checks at Loews Theatres
on Fifth Avenue and being in awe, as I
was there to pick up a $2 million check. It
was a little intimidating and really exciting,
which confirmed I was on the right career
path. I had met Steve Bunnell after he gave
a guest lecture at Bill Thompson’s film-business
class at NYU and bumped into him at
an industry luncheon. At the time he was
one of the film buyers at Loews, and I knew
they were looking for another film buyer so
I gave him my résumé and was hired.
Being a film buyer was a daunting job
for me but I was eager to learn and excited
to be there.
Who would you name as your mentors
in your career?
Loews is where I cut my teeth and
learned so much from Steve [Bunnell], Travis
[Reid] and Bob Lenihan—particularly
Steve. We’ve worked at the same company
twice, first at Loews and then at The
Weinstein Company, where we both learned
distribution together. I had started out at
New Line so I had a background in it, but
we came in at The Weinstein Company at
a much higher level and had to step up our
game. Steve and I did that together, which
was a lot of fun. I also have to mention
Charley and Ben Moss from my time at
Bow Tie, who were a great influence.
On the distribution side, it should go
without saying: Chris Aronson. His bringing
me into Fox just over four years ago and
teaching me the studio ropes, this level of
the job, and analyzing the release schedule,
he’s been a great mentor for me and we have
a great partnership.
How has working on both sides of
the business helped the way you
approach your job?
It has made it easier because I’ve gone
back and forth between the two several
times. Having an understanding and
perspective of what the other side is looking
for in order to achieve a mutually beneficial
outcome is valuable in any industry. Having
done both jobs makes it easier to put myself
in the other side’s shoes during negotiations.
What aspect of both sides of the
business, exhibition and distribution,
do you like the most?
What I’ve always loved about the distribution
side is that it’s a cradle-to-grave
experience. You read a script, attend test
screenings, release marketing materials,
and then release the movie for the world
to decide its fate. It’s great to be part of
something that you get to see from its birth
through its lifecycle. On the exhibition
side, what I love is that you get to be part
of every movie that is released. You play a
small role in everything, from the smaller
movies to the blockbusters, working with
every studio. Fortunately, every exhibition
company I’ve ever worked for has played
both commercial and art-house fare.
Exhibition is much more of a normal
business in the sense that you get to deal
with customers on a one-to-one level,
and I like that a lot as well, making sure
customers have everything they need.
On the studio side, it’s a very different
ecosystem.
Is there anything on Fox’s upcoming
slate that you’re particularly looking
forward to?
On Thanksgiving we’ve got Rules
Don’t Apply, which is the first movie from
Warren Beatty in 20 years. Personally a
dream come true for me to get to work
with him on a title. For Christmas we
have a really special movie called Hidden
Figures that is going wide in January. It’s
emotional, it’s empowering, and sends a
great message about women in the workplace—I
think that movie is going to
make a real impact. 2017 is going to be
a very big for us, and we’re looking forward
to it with big titles such as a new Wolverine
movie, DWA’s Boss Baby, Kingsman: The
Golden Circle, War for the Planet of the Apes,
and Alien: Covenant. Summer 2017 will be
very big for us.
What do you think the future holds for
our industry?
I have a very positive outlook for our
business. There has been a lot of talk about
attendance and the various platforms fighting
for consumer attention, and I truly believe
that we need to focus on our business
as a growth opportunity. We have all these
seats in movie theaters, well a little less than
we used to, throughout the country. We
have movie theaters that are investing more
in providing a phenomenal product. We
still have to produce great movies. When
I look at the future, I see it in terms of
thinking how can we fill these auditoriums
again and how we can get attendance back
up to the height of 2002. We need to start
looking at that as an opportunity instead
of a fait accompli that our attendance is
shrinking.
I saved the tough question for last—if
exhibition and distribution faced off in
a softball game, who would you have
your money on?
I’ve got to go with the home team,
distribution! n
52 BoxOffice ® OCTOBER 2016