Raising the Bar

September 28, 2010 World Screen

This column originally appeared in the MIPCOM 2010 issue of World Screen.

I must admit to a certain sense of trepidation before speaking to him. As a viewer, I was all too aware of his not-so-nice image as a judge on American Idol, with criticisms of contestants that bordered on caustic. How, I wondered, would he behave with me? I figured the nasty persona was exactly that—a role played for entertainment’s sake, to spice up the shows with blunt honesty and a bit of controversy. Chances were he wouldn’t be ornery with a journalist.

 

Well, I was right, but I didn’t imagine how kind Cowell would be. He was generous with his time and I learned he is a consummate professional, extremely grateful to the team that works with him and completely dedicated to constantly improving on what he has done in the past.
 
That desire to always do better is not unique to Cowell. It’s a common theme among all the interviews that accompany our main feature, “Running the Show,” in which we talk to some of the great minds of television, those individuals whose creative élan and business acumen have changed and advanced the genres in which they work. Speaking to them I got a glimpse of what it takes to be exceptional—from the research prior to the interviews to actually speaking with Ricky Gervais, Jerry Bruckheimer, Ridley Scott, Mark Burnett, Haim Saban, John de Mol, David Shore, Shonda Rhimes, Jenji Kohan, Michelle and Robert King and Fernando Gaitán.
 
In describing this exceptional group I can use all the usual phrases: dedicated, passionate, innovative, out-of-the-box thinkers, but somehow those aren’t enough. What all these great creative minds have in common is the ability to come up with a vision, an idea for something that hasn’t been done before, and then follow through with the necessary persistence to see that vision to completion, without compromising it.
 
There is one more phrase I would use—unabashed enthusiasm. It was almost palpable in Ridley Scott, who at 73 has more endearing childlike eagerness for his projects than most people younger than he will ever have in a lifetime. And the experience was the same while interviewing the other visionaries in this edition. I just had to show interest in their craft and they would light up, displaying an engaging excitement about their work—no, I should say their labors of love.
 
Howard Stringer, the president, CEO and chairman of Sony Corporation, is our One-on-One interview and shares his vision of the transformative power of 3D—touching viewers in theaters and at home. Haim Saban, who rarely gives interviews, is our On the Record interview. One of the toughest and ablest dealmakers in the media industry, Saban is returning to the television-distribution business with the relaunch of Power Rangers.
During my interview with Saban, we touched on the topic of philanthropy. He and his wife set up the Saban Family Foundation in 1999, which supports medical, children’s and education programs. Philanthropy was a recurrent theme in my conversations with many of these executives, who are committed to raising the bar ever higher in their respective fields, and who are dedicated to educational outreach programs and to helping those less fortunate than themselves.
 
Enthusiasm, talent and generosity of spirit—the kind that prompts this group of unique professionals to pass on their expertise to others—I find that an intoxicating mix. I’ve been editor of this magazine for ten years, and still, interviews like these always provide ample opportunities to learn.
In this issue, we also salute Jon Feltheimer, the MIPCOM 2010 Personality of the Year, whom I will be interviewing after his keynote address at the convention, and we celebrate the 15th anniversaries of HISTORY in the U.S. and FOXTEL in Australia.
 
I hope you enjoy reading our interviews and articles as much as we have taken pride in preparing them—and, like Simon Cowell and the other great minds of television, we are always trying to improve on what we’ve done before.         
 
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