Welcome and Thank you. You are now on the inside of THE BUSINESS OF ENTERTAINMENT: UNFILTERED
I’ve spent 30+ years inside this industry - as a studio executive at Universal Pictures and MGM, as a producer, consultant, marketer, distributor, publicist, among other jobs. I’ve sat in greenlight meetings. I’ve structured deals. I’ve watched projects get made and killed for reasons that had nothing to do with the work.
I have taught the Business of Entertainment at UCLA Extension for 15 years.
This newsletter exists because most of what gets written about Hollywood is either cheerleading or gossip. I’m not interested in either. And neither tells you how the business actually works or where it is actually going.
Every Monday I publish a deep dive - a deal, a trend, a decision someone made that looks confusing from the outside and makes complete sense once you understand the economics. That’s the lens I bring: not “what happened” but “why did they do that.” Free subscribers get the analysis. Paid subscribers get the full picture - including where it goes from here and what it means for you.
Every Thursday I publish The Professor’s Take — my weekly read on one issue that matters, including a Deal of the Week, my prediction, and a closing thesis. Free subscribers get the setup. Paid subscribers get the why it matters to them and where this is going.
If you work in entertainment (or want to), or are fascinated by it - this will make you sharper. If you’re trying to understand why Hollywood does what it does, this is the place to be.
No hype. No access journalism. Just the work.
— Randy Greenberg EP, The Meg franchise · UCLA Extension · Los Angeles
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Who is Randy Greenberg?
I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. I started my career running P&L statements as an accounting intern at Warner Bros. and managing theaters for what is now Regal Cinemas. I wanted to understand how the business worked from the inside out - and I have spent 30 years doing exactly that.
At Universal Pictures, I ran international theatrical marketing and distribution and sat on the greenlight committee. When I arrived, the division was underperforming. We turned it into a $1 billion revenue operation - only the second time in the studio’s history it had crossed that mark in a single year. At MGM, I helped to rebuild the Los Angeles international theatrical office following the Credit Lyonnais takeover, working alongside United International Pictures.
As an independent, I founded The Greenberg Group, a global entertainment advisory and consultancy. I have executive produced four feature films: The Meg and Meg 2: The Trench for Warner Bros., Cowboys and Aliens for Universal and DreamWorks, and Dylan Dog: Dead of Night for 20th Century Fox and co-executive produced one TV series, “A Tale Dark & Grimm” for Netflix. Across my studio career and as an independent, I have been involved in the greenlight, marketing and distribution of 200+ films that generated over $5 billion in international theatrical box office.
I have also taught the Business of Entertainment at UCLA Extension for almost 15 years. Thousands of students. The same curriculum every time: how the business actually works, and how to make better decisions inside it.
I live in Los Angeles with my wife of 30+ years, two kids, a dog, and a cat. You will find me body-surfing in Marina del Rey when I am not working - and looking for the next great plant-based meal when I am not doing that.
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