Boxoffice - October 2018

Viane, and Bruce Snyder have bestowed
upon me the gifts of patience, guidance,
and wisdom in navigating the sometime
choppy waters of the motion picture
industry. And Tom Sherak instilled in so
many of us the virtues of philanthropy
and the importance of giving back.
How would you recap 2018 so far for
our industry?
For the industry as a whole, it has been
a banner year as we look to be on course for
setting a new high for box office revenue.
Simultaneously, 2018 will be a sea change
year with the Disney/Fox deal, which will
forever alter our business landscape.
Fox has embraced the idea of a varied
slate—from ensemble superhero movies
(X-Men and Deadpool) to films with
social relevance (October’s The Hate
U Give) and big cinematic spectacles
that aren’t pre-packaged in a readybuilt
franchise (November’s Bohemian
Rhapsody). How important is having
such a diverse offering at the multiplex?
Walk down any street, in any city in
the world, and you’ll find diversity. We
live in a diverse world and moviegoers
reflect that diversity. At Fox, we have
always believed in making movies for a
wide range of global audiences. Successful
movies are about great storytelling, and
as long as there are great stories to tell, we
will make movies that tell those stories to
entertain audiences around the world.
What do you consider to be the biggest
threats facing theatrical exhibition?
How can exhibition and distribution
prepare to face those challenges?
Let’s face it—we’re in a fiercely
competitive environment for entertainment
choices. It’s incumbent upon our
industry, distribution and exhibition
collectively, to ensure the theatrical
moviegoing experience caters to modern
media consumption demands. Studios
must create the most compelling content
possible, and exhibition must create the
most inviting environment possible,
while simultaneously ensuring the priceto-value
ratio is balanced.
You’ve been in this industry for three
decades, including 13 years at Fox. How
would you describe Fox’s legacy in the
film industry?
Since its inception, 20th Century Fox
has been innovative and daring when it
comes to creating big-screen entertainment.
From How Green Was My Valley to The
Sound of Music to The French Connection to
Star Wars, this can certainly be attributed
to great filmmakers and bold leadership.
The Darryl Zanuck era set the stage for
the modern iteration of Fox with James
Cameron’s Titanic and Avatar being monumental
global achievements. Twentieth
Century Fox has championed filmmakers
and visionary storytelling, which has had a
profound impact on this great industry. n
TIM LEAGUE
PHOTOGRAPHED BY VICTORIA STEVENS
OCTOBER 2018 BOXOFFICE ® 77