Ateneo de Davao University Roxas Avenue, 8016 Davao City Philippines

BIG SCREENS BIG FAILURE

A Case Study

Submitted to: Mrs. Rowena C. De Jesus

Submitted by: Mera A. Luengas Quenna Marie T. Gaas

I.

Introduction

The losses from Conquistadors, the movie that was supposed to establish Big Screen Studios as a major Hollywood power, were worse than anyone had predicted. IN face, the losses were so huge that Brosnans predecessor, Buck Knox, had been fired as a result of this colossal failure. Brosnan had wanted to be the head of a big movie production company for as long as he could remember, and he was thrilled to have been chosen by the board of directors to be the new president. But he had never expected that the first task in his dream job would be to deal with the fallout from one of the most unsuccessful movies ever.

The driving force behind Conquistadors was its director, Mark Frazier. Frazier had made several profitable movies for other studios and had a reputation as being a maverick with a vision. He was a director with clearly formulated ideas of what his motives should look like, and he also has no hesitations about being forceful with producers, studios, actors, and technical staff to ensure that his ideas came to life as he had envisioned them.

At the time Big Screen Studios approached Frazier to see if he would be interested in working for them, the company was going through something of a rough spot.

II.

Problem

According to our analysis, the failure of the movie Conquistadors is mainly caused by the conflict between the director Mark Frazier and Buck Knox, the previous president of Big Screen Studios. Bill Brosnan needs to ensure that another financial disaster does not occur and get the studio into a position where they can continue to be supportive of the creative teams and successful as a company. He needs to set up a process where original contracts and terms are taken seriously while producing Hollywood hits for the studio.

III.

Case Objectives To be able identify the cause of conflict between director Mark Frazier and Buck Knox. To be able to come up with a solution that will ensure that another financial disaster does not occur. To be able to get the studio into a position where they can continue to be supportive of the creative teams and successful as a company.

IV.

Areas for Consideration

Communication between the staff and the production team. Improve communication to all staff, across different service areas, in order to ensure that everyone understands the vision for the service and their role in delivering that vision.

Increasing budget and lengthened shooting time. The constant changing and stretching of the budget of the film is increasing at a rapid rate, and Frazier somehow has no idea of the word budgeting. The shooting time has increased to three and a half months and needs an additional three months to re-shoot. Because of this the studio has to change the release date, which means releasing the film at the same time that one of Big Screens major competitors was releasing another epic adventure that was considered a sure-fire hit. The increasing budget and shooting time suggest that Knox is accepting the initial budget carelessly and does not perform enough detailed research. It also shows that Frazier only pays attention to his art and does not care about the cost. This is a conflict between Knox and Frazier.

V.

Alternative Course Of Action

1. Implement a rational decision making process for all large financial commitment film productions. It requires the identification of the current problem or opportunity as well as the desired outcome, it also requires the decision maker(s) to identify whether programmed or non-programmed decisions will be necessary. Although the rational decision making model assumes people are efficient and logical in processing information, but in reality people have difficulty recognizing problems and processing large volumes of information. It is time consuming. Opportunities may be missed and many decisions must be made quickly. Develop a realistic cash budget that is updated on a timely basis and that accurately forecasts the studios cash position and needs at all times.

2. Implement processes and procedures that will emphasize who is to be followed, limitations and commitments of everyone that is signed up for a given project. The studio should be clear on who is to be followed every time there is a new project or if they are to venture into something new. Since the company is aiming for a breakthrough in the Hollywood industry, they should be very careful in their recruitment. Although taking risks is part of the job, they should be able to orient whoever that they hire about their company policies and rules.

3. Meet with employees. Have a company meeting, admit that there are things wrong with the business, and discuss how management plans to fix it. Provide employees with a copy of the company business plan and ask for their input.

VI.

Recommendation After careful consideration of the facts of the case, we both decided that the best alternative course of action that the studio should implement is the alternative course of action number 1 and 2.