Kate Hudson appeared at AT&Ts Shape conference over the weekend. It is listed as a Tech & Entertainment Expo but Kate still seems like kind of an odd choice to speak at a tech event, doesn’t she? During Kate’s panel called “How Direct-to-Consumer Technology Is Transforming Celebrity,” Kate admitted that the reason we haven’t been seeing her on the big screen of late is because mid-range films, which are her preference, are going the way of the Dodo. Mid-range are films that are made on a $20-$60 million budget. Rom-coms tend to fall into this slot. Now that everyone is investing in major franchises, Kate’s struggling to add to her resume.
New technology not only reshapes entertainment content and distribution, but the role of performers as well, and sometimes in ways as distressing as they are promising, said actress Kate Hudson and others at today’s AT&T Shape conference.
“There’s a lot of talent out there,” said Hudson, part of a panel titled “How Direct-to-Consumer Technology Is Transforming Celebrity” at the conference on the Warner Bros. lot, “but it’s more about what is the next big thing instead of making the best version of that content.”
She said the studios focus on big branded franchises while the tech companies create platforms that make actors a commodity.
“I don’t work that much anymore,” admits Hudson, “because the movies I want to be doing are much harder for me to get. The movies I could be in, I don’t want to be doing. I might do a big comedy but artistically I want to be doing different things.”
Today multiple content platforms and social media deliver the content and drive the narrative about what, and who, is hot.
Hudson does social media as a way to relate to her audience, promote her movies, TV appearances, books, clothing line and more.
“I never wanted anyone in charge of what goes out for me on my social media channels,” says Hudson. “I wanted to be in control of that. To me, as my brand grows, it’s really important to be authentic, even if it’s a lot more work for me.”
“Technology makes it so hard to catch up,” adds Hudson. “The movie industry still lives in an antiquated system and I still struggle, as an artist, to catch up to technology.”
I can’t remember the last big screen rom-com I went to see. It didn’t really occur to me that they aren’t in the theaters anymore (and also explains why I have so much trouble finding a movie in a theater when I just want to turn my brain off). I have only remedial knowledge on movie making but I think the caveat here is ‘the big screen’. Haven’t mid-range films and programming found new life on paid channels like Netflix, Hulu and HBO? Why can’t Kate get in on that? I’m also confused by how much more work Kate wants. She has her Fabletics activewear line going and has averaged two projects per year for the last several years. Regardless, I do agree that those films are leaving the theaters but I don’t think they’re disappearing. As for technology transforming celebrity, this has always been the case. The most obvious example is when sound came to film and the silent film stars who couldn’t deliver lines faded from the spotlight. Technology is always going to change, changing the game which changes the players. It’s the player’s job to keep up. I like Kate and I’ve enjoyed several of her films, light as they may be. I’d welcome her getting more work but I think she probably needs to open her mind to new ways of finding it.
Her comments about social media ring true, though. I can see Kate wanting full control of how she appears on social media. And yes, it is a lot of work. So maybe that’s her silver lining – she may not be getting any work but now she has all this free time to better manage her brand on social media.
Photo credit: WENN Photos
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