On April 16, local time, news came out that Participant Media Co., Ltd., which had been working in Hollywood for 20 years, had closed its doors. The company's chairman, Jeffrey Skoll, told his employees that everyone would be laid off, and all the company's ongoing film and television projects were suspended.
For ordinary viewers, they may not know the name of Participant Media Co., Ltd., but they have participated in the production of films over the years, such as the Oscar-winning " Green Book ", " Focus on ", " Rome " I believe everyone is familiar with " American Factory ", "An Inconvenient Truth" and the documentary "All Beauty and Blood and Tears" which won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival.
Some film posters produced by "participants"
Overall, in the 20 years since its establishment, the company has participated in the production or investment of 135 films. These films have been nominated for 73 Academy Awards and won 10 of them. 21 awards, including two Best Picture Awards, four Best Documentary Feature Awards and two Best International Film Awards. The works they have participated in basically focus on various social issues, such as "Help", which reflects racial issues, and "Dolphin Cove", which focuses on environmental issues. This also reflects the position of the company's name "Participant".
Back in January 2004, Jeffrey Skoll, a Canadian Jewish businessman who made his fortune from the e-commerce website eBay, came to Hollywood, Los Angeles and founded this film company with the ideal of using movies to change society. In 2005, the political thriller "Sirena" starring George Clooney became their first production.
By 2009, Participant Media Co., Ltd. had become a new force in the Hollywood independent film world, and Fortune magazine also wrote a long article titled "Canadian Billionaire Superheroes Love Investing in Serious Movies" to evaluate this company. The company never makes "typical Hollywood movies, but rather serious works that touch on big themes like eco-apocalypse, petro-terrorism, education reform, and women's rights. In short, they all reflect Jeffrey Sco His progressive worldview is intended to inspire everyone to unite and achieve large-scale social change."
In 2014, Skoll also said when giving a speech at the University of California, Los Angeles, "My original intention in founding Participant Media Company was to believe in the power of movies and to believe that as long as good stories are told, positive social changes can be triggered. I want to do The most important thing is entertainment works that can influence society. I believe that feature films, documentaries, TV, and dramas can inspire audiences to participate in solving real-life problems. Moreover, this approach is by no means a fad, but will become the future of the entire entertainment industry. .”
However, on April 16, company employees received a mass email from the chairman. He admitted in the letter that this was a "very difficult decision" but he had decided that "it is time to re-plan the next stage of my life." According to the New York Times, the works of Participant Media Co., Ltd. rely on major Hollywood studios and streaming media companies for distribution; but today, Hollywood, both online and offline companies, are tightening expenditures. Very detrimental to participants. Moreover, based on the boss's own ideas, they never produce any entertainment works, and all they shoot are relatively niche content. At present, the overall box office in North America is weak, the labor cost of the film industry is rising, and film and television companies are paying special attention to it due to pressure from Wall Street. Given the general trend of profitability of works, it is not a big surprise to suddenly announce its closure.
"Streaming media services such as disney+ and netflix have begun to promote advertising, and advertisers prefer programs that are non-political for all audiences. Documentaries and movies like theirs that pursue social fairness and justice are now compared to It’s harder than ever to find a buyer,” said New York Times writer Brooks Barnes. According to his statement, the company has actually been operating with debt over the years, relying entirely on the boss to make up for the shortfall from his own pocket, unable to break even."When faced with questions about profitability, senior executives of participants often remain silent, or simply throw out the argument that in addition to profits, film investment also depends on social benefits."
