“I’m not really that concerned overall to let any sort of licensing tail wag any dog,” says McFarlane. “My mindset is that…if I’m going to do any sort of animation…I do the best animation. I don’t really care if it makes sense if I can’t sell a t-shirt, or if I can’t sell a movie.”
When McFarlane founded his two companies, the one focused on toys and the other on films, he found them to be double-edged swords. While he enjoyed expanding his operations, he found his colleagues to be so focused on their own activities that they would each want all of their companies to be involved in every endeavour. So, even where McFarlane felt something was not suited to be made into a movie or into an action figure, his colleagues were pushing him to exploit all the available opportunities to their fullest.
“To give you an example, some of the other projects we're working on in Hollywood wouldn't necessarily translate into comic books or toys. Why? They're just not those kinds of stories,” says McFarlane, prior to the release of the Spawn sequel. “The sequel to the Spawn movie, between me and you, my toy guy is going to have a heart attack if we push that one through because there's no toys in it. But I think it's a better movie.”
Before McFarlane determines down which avenues to pursue a project, he examines both the stories he is trying to tell and the medium through which he is telling it. If there is a mismatch, the project must not be pursued no matter what his executives may be pushing for. “So, you [ask yourself], ‘Ok, what would actually work?’” says McFarlane. “Play to the strengths of that medium; tell the story that you need to tell, and then go off and tell some other one.”
In the end, in every end, what must come first according to McFarlane is the project. “Do you worry about selling toys and owning a toy company, or do you say, ‘No, when you make a movie, you’re supposed to make good movies, and forget the rest of it?’” asks McFarlane. “So they’re going to be a little bit disappointed,” he says, again referring to the release of the Spawn sequel. “‘Todd, what are you talking about? What happened to the bazooka?’ No, I got rid of all that, because I just want to sell tickets. A movie is about the movie; it’s not about licensing.”
McFarlane admits that there are many brilliant ideas that come through the pipelines of his company that are perfect to be “able to cross-pollinate.” However, “it doesn’t mean all of them have to be like that,” he says. “You know what? I make toys, and like I said, even with my own character Spawn, I'm willing to make a Spawn sequel that has no toys in it, but I think it'll be a better movie.”
McFarlane acknowledges that some others have called his refusal to exploit all possible and profitable avenues “silly,” but so far, his silliness has proven quite successful.
Lesson #3: Do Not Sell Out Your Vision or Values
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