Embrace The Crazy With A Touch Of The Madness with Larry Kasanoff!
SpeakIn Podcast with Larry Kasanoff
It was an absolute pleasure to have spoken with Larry Kasanoff as he shared his invaluable insights about his journey, experiences, successes and challenges. He gave his generous words of advice to the #leaders of today and tomorrow - about creativity, the value of "#play" and the importance of embracing the "crazy".
So we asked Larry…
Can you tell us about your background and how you got started in the entertainment industry?
“To be very creative in the film business or any business or anything in life, you need a touch of the madness.”
I grew up in the Northeast of the United States with wonderful parents but no interest, no knowledge of the movie business, and I wanted to be a movie producer since I was a little kid and I got very, very lucky. Out of Wharton Business School, I got a fantastic job as Head of Production for a new studio in those days. It was in the late 1980 who was riding the wave of home video. So home video started, and it was much like streaming or Netflix today. All these home video stores started, and they need product. My first job was to run that division out of school, which was amazing and I was tasked with making 80 movies a year. Make them, buy them, co-produce them. If you lose money, you're fired. That was my mandate. I was about 25 years old, and we made horror movies and action films and comedies. But then I got a script called Platoon and Platoon was not the type of movie we made. It was a very serious movie from a director named Oliver Stone about the Vietnam War and America's involvement in it. And I wanted to make it. And my boss said, "this is not the kind of movie we make. But you're the head of production. It's your decision. But if you make it and it fails, you are fired. What do you want to do?"
And so I thought, I'm a year into the best job in the world. I can't believe I have it. Am I going to risk it? And I did and I made the movie. And when I saw it at a film festival in Italy a year later, I was the only person to laugh his way through Platoon because it was so good, I thought, oh, I'm not getting fired. In fact, it was so good, it won Best Picture at the Academy Awards that year. And a few months later, I ran into the director, Oliver Stone, at a bar in New York City one night. And he said, you know, kid, I always liked you. You have a touch of the madness. And I thought, a touch of the madness? A touch is a little bit, madness is crazy. Is he calling me crazy? Am I crazy? And then I thought, well, my boss was crazy to give a 25 year old kid be in charge of 80 pictures a year. Oliver, the director, had a touch of the madness by making a Vietnam movie that no one else would. And I had a touch of the madness by betting the best job in the world on one movie. And so right then, I decided, this is my phrase. This is what motivates me. This is right. To be very innovative, to be very creative in the film business or any business or anything in life, you need a touch of the madness. And that's what I've helped through my whole career. And that's why I just wrote a book called A Touch of the Madness, and that's guided me through the movie business for a long time.
What are 3 pieces of advice you would give to leaders to incorporate “A Touch of the Madness” to improve their work and/or personal productivity and performance?
“What does my audience want?”
“There are three things I believe you have to do. The first is you have to #create your good #idea, your great idea. And there are many steps to doing that, but really the most important one is to think, what does my customer want or what does my audience want? What do they really, really want? And what is the essence of my idea? What are they giving them? So when I make a movie, I think, what's the real essence? What do I want to make the audience feel? So, first, you create your good idea.”
2. Ask All The Time?
“Ask anybody, anywhere, anything for what you want, all the time and never, ever, ever, give up”
Here's an example. We recently did an animated movie in which we put a global superstar woman named Cher in the movie. Cher is very, very famous in most parts of the world, and I think she is there, as well as a singer and Academy Award winning actress. And we used her likeness in the movie. When the movie came out, the magazines and the press said to Cher, “You've never done an animated movie, why did you do this one?” And she said, “I never did an animated movie because no one ever asked me”. But I did. And so if Cher, one of the most famous people on Earth, is sitting there and no one asked her, can you imagine who's sitting out there for you, waiting for you to call with your idea? And you haven't called yet because you think they'll say no. So ask anyone, anywhere. #Create, #ask.
3. Live In A State Of #Play
“You must have fun in a state of play”
And the third thing is, I believe you must #play. You must live in a state of play. You must have fun in a state of play. We're more open minded. We're more creative. It's fun. Take your workers out. Do something crazy. You can't just be very serious in a suit and tie all day and be very depressed and say, I'm going to create, and ask everyone. You have to live in a state of play. Doesn't mean you don't take it seriously. Look at a pro football player. They take their game seriously, but they're playing, and you have to view it that way. So create, ask, play. That's how you create a touch of the madness.
How do you stay inspired and motivated in such a competitive and ever-changing industry?
“Do what you love because good or bad results, you'll enjoy it, and it'll be fulfilling.”
Well, I am just as excited, if not more excited about getting up every morning and making my movies and my theme park rides and my book than I ever have been. Because there are so many wonderful stories to be told all over the world and there are so many wonderful ways to tell them and so many people to #inspire and to #entertain. So I have maybe the opposite issue, which I think, how can I possibly do all of them? Because there's so much great stuff to do. I'm fortunate that I love what I do. I wanted to do it since I was a little kid, and I would encourage everyone else to do what they love because good or bad results, you'll enjoy it, and it'll be fulfilling. So it's what I love to do, and I still love to do it. We have 20 projects we developed during the Pandemic that we're working on right now, and I can't wait to make them.
Did you have a mentor or coach that brought you to where you are now or are you a coach or mentor to another rising star? How has that worked out?
“What is that inner creative desire you have that you're not quite doing because you're a little afraid? Do it.”
I've been very fortunate when we were starting at that first job at the restaurant, one of our first projects was a movie called Dirty Dancing, which has become a very famous movie. And when it was brought up about who we would cast in the movie, the woman, Jennifer Grey, was brought up, and I was two minutes into the film business, and I said, she's a great actress, but she's not the most glamorous actress in Hollywood. She's not the most famous actress in #Hollywood. She's not the most beautiful actress in Hollywood. And Jimmy Lenner, who was a musical and producing genius, who we got to help us with the movie, he looked at me and he said and I didn't know him, he said, “You idiot, that's the whole point. She's not the most beautiful, the most famous, the most glamorous, but she's everyone, and everyone will identify with her. And every woman will think, hey, if she got Patrick Swayze, I can get a guy like Patrick Swayze.”?
Jimmy knew his audience. I was wrong, he was right. And Jimmy was really the real reason Dirty Dancing is such a hit. And from then on, Jimmy became my mentor, and he is now a partner in my company. And so I try to help. I give speeches at schools. I'm going to Israel in a few weeks where I'm the honorary chairman of the Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival. So I try and help people that way. I wouldn't say I have one person I mentor, although I try and do it with my assistants or the kids who work here. And that's actually why I wrote the book: A Touch of the Madness, because I think people are scared to be creative these days. They're afraid to take a chance. They're afraid people will think they're crazy. They're afraid someone will criticize them or they'll get canceled. I say, embrace the crazy. Hey, what is that inner creative desire you have that you're not quite doing because you're a little afraid? And do it. So this is the best way I think I can help people, and that's what I'm doing.
How do you incorporate your knowledge in your speaking sessions to inspire your audience?
“Be crazy and with that craziness, you will create something great”
I like talking, I like traveling, and I like meeting people, but in general, both the book and the speeches are really for that. I see so many people and we deal with so many interns and students who I think are just afraid to be really creative, and I want people to be their best creative selves and their best innovative selves. Whether they run a Fortune 500 company or whether they're a kid in school or whether they're a bus driver, it doesn't matter. You have to embrace a touch of the madness. We all have it in us. But we say, “Oh my God, it's wrong”. You know, so many people in my life, my family, maybe they think I'm crazy. They call me crazy all the time. I don't get offended. I like it. I think it's a compliment. Be crazy. And with that craziness, you will create something great. The current of the river of life will always pull you towards the middle. Constantly. Always. It'll pull you towards the middle. And if you don't want to be in the middle and you can't be great if you're in the middle, you have to swim away from that current. And the best way to do that is with a touch of the madness. Because that madness will give you innovation and creativity. And I really want to inspire that in people. And I saw so many people, not just in the movie business; corporate America, my business school friends, or everyone everywhere who is a little afraid to be their best creative selves. And I want to inspire them to do that. That's why I'm writing a book and that's why I'm giving speeches.
A #Challenge from Larry: Call one person in the world who's living and ask them a question.
Most people don't know who they would call and what they would ask. And the reason they don't know is because they don't think they can do it. It doesn't occur to them they can do it. Like me calling Cher.?I've been trying to get the Pope the Pope, the head of the Catholic Church, to help us with a project. So I wrote him a letter, and he said no. But he wrote me a lovely letter back, and I keep asking again, no is just the beginning. They don't have to call the Pope or a famous movie star, but call somebody. Start small, but do it. You jump off 10ft, you jump 5ft, you just start small. Jump off something, and then eventually you'll be jumping off a big grid.
Embrace the touch of the madness and go for it.?
So, who would you call and what would you ask?
More about Larry Kasanoff
Lawrence Kasanoff is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Threshold Entertainment Group, where he produces films and theme park rides based on globally recognized intellectual properties such as Spider-Man, Mortal Kombat, Dirty Dancing, Justice League, Lego, Terminator 2, Marvel, Star Trek, True Lies, and Star Wars. With an MBA from the Wharton School of Business and a BA from Cornell University, Kasanoff acts as a bridge between the corporate world and Hollywood, using his experiences in the film industry to inspire innovative and outside-the-box thinking in corporate settings. He is known for his captivating storytelling style and has been featured in major publications and media outlets. His book, A Touch of the Madness - How to Be More Innovative in Work and Life by Being a Little Crazy - comes out September 12th.
About SpeakIn
SpeakIn is Asia’s largest digital learning platform for executive learning. SpeakIn brings together the best of thought leadership, ideas, and discussions. In this inaugural podcast by SpeakIn, we bring the best of thought leaders and their leadership to the region.
This brings us to the end of our conversation. It was an absolute pleasure to hear from Larry and the wonderful words of wisdom from him.
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