THE HOLLYWOOD CONNECTION : Which B-school to go to? : The B-School Application

As Hollywood becomes increasingly corporate, MBAs are finding unprecedented career opportunities in the industry. A few questions that we, the naive MBA applicant have are:-
Can I join Hollywood after having an MBA degree?
What will it take? How much will I get paid? Where can I work?
What do the CEO's in the Major Entertainment industries really think about the MBA degree?

Before we get to the part of where to go for an MBA to make a career in Hollywood, lets talk about the MBA connection to Hollywood for a bit.

Warner bothers and Walt Disney CEO/president(former):- In an era when studio chiefs are spending just as much time dealing with stockholders, government lobbyists and multinational operations as deciding which projects to greenlight, is the MBA becoming an increasingly invaluable asset for the industry's power brokers? Some say the degree provides the kind of training that enables them to look at the business from, well, a business standpoint.
"The entertainment industry is very much a business today," says Alan Horn, previous president and chief operating officer of Warner Bros and the current chairman of Walt Disney. Entertainment. "And in a world where all the (film) companies are owned by large conglomerates, it helps to speak their language."

Sony Pictures Entertainment :- With a keen understanding of management techniques, accounting, investment and financial practices, the MBAs in positions of prominence -- like Horn, Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO Michael Lynton is a Harvard Business School alumnus, while former MGM chairman Chris McGurk is an MBA grad from the University of Chicago and producer and former Sony Pictures chairman Peter Guber earned his MBA at New York University -- are, in many ways, far more prepared for the modern world of show business than legendary tycoons such as MGM's Louis B. Mayer or Columbia's Harry Cohn, who famously made decisions based on "the seat of my pants."

An MBA "helps you view what a lot of people see as a crazy, creative enterprise as a business," McGurk says. "It also helps you with dealmaking because a good MBA program will focus on value creation. And it helps you become a better problem solver. A real key to solving problems is sorting through the 95% of information that is useless and focusing on what's important -- an MBA teaches you how to do that."

Today, Horn, Lynton and their peers are involved in acquiring other businesses -- Sony's multibillion-dollar investment in MGM, for example -- or working with hedge fund managers on major deals -- as Horn did recently when his studio brokered a multihundred-million-dollar pact with Legendary Pictures. While these men continue to oversee their studio's overall slate, these days, they typically leave the day-to-day operations to their production presidents. [/b][/color]

Despite the increasingly corporate nature of Hollywood, however, executives with MBAs are just beginning to infiltrate studio ranks in large numbers, primarily because other industries pay them more. Considering that many MBA graduates come out of school with $200,000 or more in tuition-related debt, they often don't have the luxury of taking a $500-a-week job in an agency mailroom.

Lionsgate Chief Acquisition officer :-"The (financial) trappings of being an MBA (in other industries) are such that you have to really want to be in the entertainment industry," Lionsgate acquisitions chief Peter Block says. "You come out of an MBA program and see all the big dollars being dangled at you, and no matter how many times during your studies you said, 'I want to get into the (film) business,' the dollars dangled by accounting firms and others make it unattractive.
"When I was at business school, many people wanted to work in 'the business,' but when they realized the disparity between that and other businesses, they much preferred the paycheck in other areas," Block adds.

Principal Communications Group communications associate Hans-Dieter Kopal says he had to consider the salary gap when he was debating whether or not to pursue a career as a publicist. "If I wanted to be a stockbroker, I would make a grip-load more money," says Kopal, a graduate of Loyola Marymount University who worked at Universal Pictures before moving to his current job. "But in the long run, I will get there, and I will enjoy my ride more."

World Poker Tour Head of Business development :-"Now, because the industry is changing so much and it is such a dynamic world with new business models being created every day, this attracts many of the business school students," says
Jon Kaplowitz, who graduated from Harvard Business School in May and now serves as head of business development for World Poker Tour. "Also, because there are so many entrepreneurial activities within entertainment now, thanks to the new technology and the YouTubes and Googles, everybody is circling the wagons and trying to figure out how to capitalize on this. All these things offer not only an interesting opportunity (for graduates) but a way to explore entrepreneurial opportunities that weren't there a couple of years ago.

IMPACT :- Harvard Business School already has begun to pursue these opportunities by creating an Entertainment and Media Club, which organizes a four-day "trek" to Hollywood each winter, when students meet top executives -- which is precisely how Kaplowitz found his current job.


In the next post we would see as to which MBA's are worth it to get the seat at the table with Kevin Tsujihara or Bob Iger or Tom hanks or hey maybe Katy Perry

We would also look at some data w.r.t same

Articles referenced -> Hollywood reporter and the GC data.

Thanks for the post. Such an interesting read.
A dreamy part in me still wants to get an MBA as a stepping stone to join entertainment industry.
I'd love to know what B-schools we should go to for a career in this industry. UCLA seems like an obvious choice.

Fantastic article. Would be interesting to see which B schools other than the ones on the west coast can help one to make it to Hollywood post MBA.

great post, looking forward to part 2

stonecold wrote:

MBAs in Hollywood: Introduction

As Hollywood becomes increasingly corporate, MBAs are finding unprecedented career opportunities in the industry. A few questions that we, the naive MBA applicant have are:-
Can I join Hollywood after having an MBA degree?
What will it take? How much will I get paid? Where can I work?
What do the CEO's in the Major Entertainment industries really think about the MBA degree?

Before we get to the part of where to go for an MBA to make a career in Hollywood, lets talk about the MBA connection to Hollywood for a bit.

Warner bothers and Walt Disney CEO/president(former):- In an era when studio chiefs are spending just as much time dealing with stockholders, government lobbyists and multinational operations as deciding which projects to greenlight, is the MBA becoming an increasingly invaluable asset for the industry's power brokers? Some say the degree provides the kind of training that enables them to look at the business from, well, a business standpoint.
"The entertainment industry is very much a business today," says Alan Horn, previous president and chief operating officer of Warner Bros and the current chairman of Walt Disney. Entertainment. "And in a world where all the (film) companies are owned by large conglomerates, it helps to speak their language."

Sony Pictures Entertainment :- With a keen understanding of management techniques, accounting, investment and financial practices, the MBAs in positions of prominence -- like Horn, Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO Michael Lynton is a Harvard Business School alumnus, while former MGM chairman Chris McGurk is an MBA grad from the University of Chicago and producer and former Sony Pictures chairman Peter Guber earned his MBA at New York University -- are, in many ways, far more prepared for the modern world of show business than legendary tycoons such as MGM's Louis B. Mayer or Columbia's Harry Cohn, who famously made decisions based on "the seat of my pants."

An MBA "helps you view what a lot of people see as a crazy, creative enterprise as a business," McGurk says. "It also helps you with dealmaking because a good MBA program will focus on value creation. And it helps you become a better problem solver. A real key to solving problems is sorting through the 95% of information that is useless and focusing on what's important -- an MBA teaches you how to do that."

Today, Horn, Lynton and their peers are involved in acquiring other businesses -- Sony's multibillion-dollar investment in MGM, for example -- or working with hedge fund managers on major deals -- as Horn did recently when his studio brokered a multihundred-million-dollar pact with Legendary Pictures. While these men continue to oversee their studio's overall slate, these days, they typically leave the day-to-day operations to their production presidents. [/b][/color]

Despite the increasingly corporate nature of Hollywood, however, executives with MBAs are just beginning to infiltrate studio ranks in large numbers, primarily because other industries pay them more. Considering that many MBA graduates come out of school with $200,000 or more in tuition-related debt, they often don't have the luxury of taking a $500-a-week job in an agency mailroom.

Lionsgate Chief Acquisition officer :-"The (financial) trappings of being an MBA (in other industries) are such that you have to really want to be in the entertainment industry," Lionsgate acquisitions chief Peter Block says. "You come out of an MBA program and see all the big dollars being dangled at you, and no matter how many times during your studies you said, 'I want to get into the (film) business,' the dollars dangled by accounting firms and others make it unattractive.
"When I was at business school, many people wanted to work in 'the business,' but when they realized the disparity between that and other businesses, they much preferred the paycheck in other areas," Block adds.

Principal Communications Group communications associate Hans-Dieter Kopal says he had to consider the salary gap when he was debating whether or not to pursue a career as a publicist. "If I wanted to be a stockbroker, I would make a grip-load more money," says Kopal, a graduate of Loyola Marymount University who worked at Universal Pictures before moving to his current job. "But in the long run, I will get there, and I will enjoy my ride more."

World Poker Tour Head of Business development :-"Now, because the industry is changing so much and it is such a dynamic world with new business models being created every day, this attracts many of the business school students," says
Jon Kaplowitz, who graduated from Harvard Business School in May and now serves as head of business development for World Poker Tour. "Also, because there are so many entrepreneurial activities within entertainment now, thanks to the new technology and the YouTubes and Googles, everybody is circling the wagons and trying to figure out how to capitalize on this. All these things offer not only an interesting opportunity (for graduates) but a way to explore entrepreneurial opportunities that weren't there a couple of years ago.

IMPACT :- Harvard Business School already has begun to pursue these opportunities by creating an Entertainment and Media Club, which organizes a four-day "trek" to Hollywood each winter, when students meet top executives -- which is precisely how Kaplowitz found his current job.


In the next post we would see as to which MBA's are worth it to get the seat at the table with Kevin Tsujihara or Bob Iger or Tom hanks or hey maybe Katy Perry

We would also look at some data w.r.t same

Articles referenced -> Hollywood reporter and the GC data.

Hey stonecold where can I find the next post?

The above post was insightful 🙌. I am interested in reading more about 'MBAs & Media and Entertainment industries'. Do let me know

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