π§ Your weekend listen: Paul & Jeff join a top Hollywood podcast
If you're looking for a good listen, we've got a great recommendation.
Legion M co-founders Paul Scanlan and Jeff Annison recently sat down with legendary movie strategist Kevin Goetz for a full hour on his top-100 movie podcast, Don't Kill the Messenger.β It turned into one of the most fun, wide-ranging Legion M conversations we've ever had.
THE HOST
Kevin Goetz may be the most plugged-in Hollywood insider you've never heard of. He's the founder and CEO of Screen Engine/ASI, the industry's premier audience-research company, and over three decades he's personally overseen the testing of more than 5,000 films from every major studio, network, and streamer. Los Angeles Times Magazine named him one of the 100 most powerful and influential people in Southern California, and in 2024 he received the American Cinematheque's Power of Cinema Award. The A-list talent he's worked with β including Ron Howard, Judd Apatow, Cameron Crowe, Ed Zwick, Ben Stiller β share their own behind-the-scenes stories in his bestselling book Audience-ology and How to Score in Hollywood.
On his podcast, Kevin has interviewed a veritable whoβs-who of industry luminaries. In the very same chairs Paul and Jeff were in, Kevin has interviewed people like Ron Howard,β Jason Blum, Jerry Bruckheimer, Jon M. Chu, and Sharon Stone β along with the studio chiefs who run Hollywood: Disney's Dick Cook, Fox and Paramount's Jim Gianopulos, Warner Bros.' Ann Sarnoff, and Columbia's Mark Canton. Pretty good company to keep.
A FELLOW INVESTOR!
The best part? Kevin is also a Legion M investor. He invested back in 2019, and talks about it in the episode (around the 20:46 mark). As he tells it, he wasn't sure if Legion M would succeed β he invested because he was intrigued by what we were doing and wanted a front-row seat. "I agree with how they're thinking," he says.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
So what's the episode about? The wide-ranging episode covers the Legion M origin story β and what weβre doing today. It talks about how two guys who once won an Emmy for putting live TV on a flip phone went on to create the world's first fan-owned entertainment company. And why a company owned by fans could become one of the most powerful forces in entertainment.
Episode highlights (with timecodes):
(01:48) How it started β Paul's lifelong love of film (starting with Jaws at age five) and Jeff's unlikely path from mechanical-engineer to movie producer.
(07:18) Putting TV on a flip phone β the backstory of MobiTV, where Paul and Jeff helped usher in the era of mobile streaming years before the smartphone existed.
(20:46) "Full disclosureβ¦" β Kevin reveals he's a Legion M investor, and why he got in early.
(25:49) Colossal β Legion M's first film investment, alongside distributor Neon, powered by 3,500 fan-investors.
(29:54) Community as an engine β how 60,000+ investor-owners have potential to become an organic, grassroots force that money can't buy.
(35:25) Saving Coyote vs. ACME β the film Hollywood almost buried, now finding new life with Ketchup Entertainment and Legion M.
(56:44) On the side of the audience β even in the age of AI, only human beings pay to watch movies β which could make betting on the audience the strongest position in Hollywood.
π§ Listen here: βDon't Kill the Messenger β Episode 92β (also on Apple Podcasts and Spotify). Give it a listen, and reply to this email to let us know what you think!
QUICK REMINDERS:
Round 11 is open now β with a 20% Friends & Family bonus available through next Thursday. If you've been thinking about investing, now's a great time.
The Legion M Film Fundβ is currently accepting investments for our NIMRODS allocation β a chance to invest directly in distribution of the films we're backing.
Ever want to explain to a friend what Legion M is all about? This podcast is a great way to do it. Kevin asks the questions everyone wonders about, and the hour flies by. Send it to someone who's curious about how we're changing the way movies get made.
As always, thank you for being part of Legion M. Every milestone we achieve is possible because of you.
Paul, Jeff and the Legion M Team
IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION
ROUND 11: RISK VS REWARD: Startup investments like Legion M are speculative, illiquid, and involve a high degree of risk. Statistically, most startups fail, so you should never invest more than you can afford to lose. But if youβd like to take a swing at making history, weβd love to have you aboard our moonshot!
This Reg CF offering is made available through StartEngine Primary LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment.
FILM FUND: Equity crowdfunding investments in private placements, and start-up investments in particular, are speculative and involve a high degree of risk and those investors who cannot afford to lose their entire investment should not invest in start-ups. Companies seeking startup investment through equity crowdfunding tend to be in earlier stages of development and their business model, products and services may not yet be fully developed, operational or tested in the public marketplace. There is no guarantee that the stated valuation and other terms are accurate or in agreement with the market or industry valuations. Further, investors may receive illiquid and/or restricted stock that may be subject to holding period requirements and/or liquidity concerns.
DealMaker Securities LLC, a registered broker-dealer, and member of FINRA | SIPC, located at 30 East 23rd Street, 2nd Floor, NY, NY 10010, is the Intermediary for this offering and is not an affiliate of or connected with the Issuer. Please check our background on FINRA's BrokerCheck. DealMaker Securities LLC does not make investment recommendations. DealMaker Securities LLC is NOT placing or selling these securities on behalf of the Issuer. DealMaker Securities LLC is NOT soliciting this investment or making any recommendations by collecting, reviewing, and processing an Investor's documentation for this investment. DealMaker Securities LLC conducts Anti-Money Laundering, Identity and Bad Actor Disqualification reviews of the Issuer, and confirms they are a registered business in good standing. DealMaker Securities LLC is NOT vetting or approving the information provided by the Issuer or the Issuer itself.