“YouTube is the greatest casting call of all time”: Paul Telner on why Hollywood’s creator IP gold rush is years in the making

Following the box office success of creator-made films like Iron Lung, Backrooms, and Obsession, Hollywood is looking at our industry in a whole new light.

As Viral Nation‘s Head of Programming Paul Telner puts it, “This is the gold rush.”

Telner, who’s been using Viral Nation’s resources to help creators like the McCarty family develop movies and shows based on their digital content, has spent years facing every barrier legacy media threw creators’ way.

“I remember taking creators to traditional U.S. cable networks, all the usual names, and they were like, ‘Yeah, maybe, but it has to be on the network’s terms, and we’re going to own the YouTube channel,'” he says. “I would look at these deals, and it was like, my goodness, these traditional networks want to own these creator social ecosystems, this content that creators put their own blood, sweat, and tears into building. These deals were terrible!”

Telner says he–and other creator industry insiders similarly working to get creators recognition from traditional studios and networks–wondered whether it was worth the effort of trying to explain creators’ power to legacy entities.

Thanks to the aforementioned trio of films, some of those barriers have broken. “Now, because of the rise of creators, because of advertising dollars shifting, and the rise of YouTube and socials, streamers are more about partnerships,” he says. “It’s no longer ‘You’re lucky to be in a room with us, you’re lucky to get a show, take it or leave it.’ It’s now much more democratic, much more ‘How can we work together?'”

Telner says the conversations he’s having now are “friendlier and more fun than I’ve ever seen.” He adds that he and his creators are “in meetings with streamers every week, in meetings with casting folks and top production companies and studios both in North America and Europe.”

At this year’s VidSummit, running Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at the Irving Convention Center in Texas, Telner will sit down with Viral Nation Director of Talent Ray Ligaya and Xavier Mortimer, a professional magician with a show in development at Viral Nation, to talk about how creators can turn their digital presences into long-lasting, cross-platform IPs.

Their panel, From Audience to Empire: How Today’s Creators Are Turning Influence Into Brands, IP & Global Franchises

, will hit the workshop stage Sept. 30 @ 1:25 p.m.

Mortimer, giving a sneak peek of the panel, tells Tubefilter that he feels traditional media now sees content creators as a mature creative force.

“We were just kids talking into a phone, doing stuff in front of it, putting it out there, and now [they see] there’s so much more to it,” he says. “I’ve developed a full brand, my way of performing my art, my magic, and we’re opening doors to share that in the TV and movie space now.”

(Also, no spoilers, but he says panel attendees might get a bit of a magical surprise…)

Telner says that onstage, he plans to “get into the mechanics of what it’s like to actually develop an original program around an incredible creator like Xavier. We’re going to talk about the process, we’re going to get under the hood and talk about why he was chosen, what we saw in him that prompted us to say, ‘Yes, we must make a show about him.'”

“We’ll talk about how we package that show, and how we figure out which producers are the best producers in entertainment to surround him and give him the backing of an amazing team,” he adds.

The goal here is for Mortimer to be a case study that other creators, managers, and producers in our industry can learn from and act on. With this “gold rush” in full swing, creators have a deluge of fresh opportunities at their feet; they should know how to navigate those opportunities and secure deals that will benefit everyone–especially themselves.

“Now is the time to greenlight yourself and make stuff happen,” Telner says. “If you’re a creator and you’re reading this article, now is your time. Do not overthink posting. Post, post, post, feed your audience, because Hollywood is listening. YouTube and social media is the greatest casting call of all time.”

For anyone hoping to see Telner, Mortimer, Ligaya, and dozens of other expert speakers in person, VidSummit still has a limited number of passes available. You can snag yours here.

 

VidSummit is a Tubefilter partner.