The AvA Connection

🐝 The Weekly Buzz (5 things you need to know)

1) Pop songs are getting shorter. 50% of Spotify’s predicted summer hits are under 3 minutes.

2) Sabrina Carpenter debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 100 for the first time ever. Her single ‘Manchild’ was the track to secure the feat, and she has only ever reached the top spot one other time with ‘Please Please Please.’

3) ‘Materialists’ had the third largest opening weekend ever for an A24 film. The movie that stars Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal finished with $12 million, and also landed at third overall.

🏊 Deeper Dive: The only two A24 movies that had a better opening weekend than ‘Materialists’ are ‘Hereditary’ with $13.5 million, and ‘Civil War’ with $25.5 million.

4) Jeremy Allen White’s (unrelated to today’s interview below) Bruce Springsteen biopic released its first trailer. Similar to Timmy Chalamet, Jeremy will be doing his own singing on top of leading the film.

5) The Entertainment Industry is rallying against FilmLA, who oversees all of the permits to film in Los Angeles. Influential lobbying group focused on film & TV in CA is calling on L.A. to not renew its contract with FilmLA, who many say make it difficult to get permits approved. Great breakdown here by Producer Patrick on IG.

🏃 Industry Moves

1. Patrick Whitesell (ex-executive chairman at Endeavor) has hired former Endeavor CFO Jason Lublin as president and partner at his new investment firm. Catch up here, it’s a big move.

2. SAG-AFTRA Foundation is handing over the reigns to Charlotte Wells as their new CEO. Wells previously held the role of Chief Operating Officer, and will be taking over as the Executive Officer for Cyd Wilson in January.

📞 The Call Log: Jeremy Allen, Partner h.wood Media and COO of Kenya Barris’ Companies

Jeremy Allen is a former agent at WME and most recently was Chief Content Officer of New Slate Ventures, a $100m media fund. He was named one of Variety’s 10 Producers to Watch in 2021, and Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2022.

Jeremy and I worked together in our early days at WME, and it’s been incredible to watch his career blossom since. He’s now worked on projects for Magic Johnson & Skepta with future projects lined up for Basquiat & Chief Keef.

Our conversation is below:

AvA: From Chief Keef to Anderson .Paak to Skepta to Kid Cudi, what interests you most about Artists driving their own narratives and working with them to tell their unique stories?

Allen: First of all, I feel really fortunate to work with the ones you mentioned in particular because I am such a fan as well, so, it feels like the little kid in me is winning when I get to be a small part of the process. But in general, I think the average musician understands brand value and where they sit in the zeitgeist better than any other entertainer subset, so in a world with so much content constantly debuting, I think they are well positioned to cut through the noise. Musicians have taken the place of movie stars as the center of culture, so whether it be film/tv or documentary, they are generally the most exciting and dynamic people to work with right now. 

AvA: Given how fragmented entertainment has become, what do you think makes IP, media or branded ventures, especially in the creative fields, "investable" or “fundable” in 2025? 

Allen: Increasingly, it feels that audiences and consumers are getting more aware and discerning of obvious “cash grabs” and are resistant to showing up or supporting anything that feels inauthentic. So, just simply having big talent or IP is no longer enough to secure investment or eyeballs. Personally, the things that I am finding the most interesting have a specific point of view or want to examine a certain lens and know the exact demographic that they are looking to service. From there, it’s amazing how the cultural conversation can take over and expand out really rapidly once one group accepts it as their own. The things that are working best right now, whether it be a brand, a film, an experience, are succeeding because there is a discourse that demands you be a part of it. For as fragmented as everything is, the flipside is once something does break out there is really nothing like it. 

AvA: How has your approach to fundraising/investing evolved from your early days l at New Slate Ventures to now securing funds for projects/ventures across h.wood and working with Kenya Barris?

Allen: At the beginning when I was at New Slate in 2019 it was a great period in the business where all the streamers were vying for subscribers and they had a constant need for content and they couldn’t make it all themselves, so their strategy was to license worldwide rights from independent producers. This meant you could finance projects and do the festival circuit and there were lots of companies that were acquisitive and pay you a multiple for them. 

The myriad of headwinds in the media landscape of the last three years (market instability, strikes, changing content strategy) has rendered that no longer the case which has made it much more necessary to be thoughtful about budgets and timing of independently financed projects, as average sales are now both fewer in volume and dollar amount. 

Both investing and securing investment has become a lengthier process now that involves more meetings, more deal complexity, and ultimately more risk. The upside, though, is a lot of people are too scared to play and there are a lot of great opportunities available right now. Whether it be projects or companies, there are no less good ideas than there were 4 years ago, but there are a lot less people with the ability or willingness to write the checks. 

AvA: How is the way younger generations consume content shaping the stories you’re drawn to, and the formats you choose to tell them in?

Allen: There's no question that short form and user generated content has completely upended the attention economy. People’s televisions are often their second or third most important screen, and that's the reality we have to live with. The challenge now is figuring out if anyone that is coming up natively digital has the capability to lead a movie, or to show run a series. I think the great thing about the traditional film and television business is that sooner or later, everyone's’ favorite creator/entertainer runs through it. 

Kai Cenat doesn’t need to make a Netflix movie, he makes money sitting in in room, but he still making one. In terms of formats, I am hyper aware of Youtube’s dominance and am actively trying to figure out two shows on there, even though monetization feels a lot harder and farther away. We are trying a sketch show first. Ultimately, it depends on what the talent prioritizes - If they want the highest level of premium attention and consideration, HBO is still the gold standard. 

AvA: What was the turning point that made you realize you wanted to step out of the traditional agency path at WME and build something of your own? 

Allen: I was really fortunate to work for Patrick Whitesell for almost three years and he was not a traditional agent in any respect so I didn't have a traditional agency education. So, I saw firsthand how important it was to consider not just how WME fit into the Endeavor “flywheel” but how it fit into the larger ecosystem of media and understand the dynamics of private equity with their relationship with Silverlake and other assets. All of this was an amazing experience to expand my thinking of what type of career I wanted to have in the broader business. And that was one that had some kind of core competency across different verticals in media, and I realized that the best way to do that would be to just start. And I was really lucky that I had a friend that allowed me an amazing platform in New Slate to begin merging different worlds. 

AvA: What projects do you have in the pipeline now you’re able to share?

Allen: At hwood media we have a documentary on Basquiat that I am extremely excited about in post production, and a comedy film coming out this Fall called Idiotka with an awesome cast of Cami Mendes, Anna Baryshnikov, Benito Skinner. With Kenya Barris, we just announced a movie with Druski that will be great. And Chief Keef’s documentary that Cole Bennet is directing will be huge. 

AvA: What is one piece of advice you have for someone just starting out their career? 

Allen: Be curious and knowledgeable about something outside of the business you're in. It’s a much better way to network with people, and makes you far more interesting and well rounded.  

AvA: Podcast or Book recommendation? 

Allen: Who is Michael Ovitz

👋 See you back here on Tuesday for a brand new selection of Entertainment jobs

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