Tonite was one such experience. I was invited to a dinner hosted by NBC/Universal. I had the extraordinary opprtunity to dine with the co-chairman of the studio along with his executive team.

If you are curious, it was hosted at Ca’Del Sole (http://www.cadelsole.com).  I had radicchio and arugula salad, creamy venetian dressing with shaved armesan cheese, (the entree) grilled marinated whole boneless corn-fed chicken, lemon zest, herb sauce, and (desert) warm chocolate and almond cake served with vanilla cream sauce, and lots of the pinot grigio. Food is always better when its… free. And frankly,  I have never felt so abundant than when it’s free alcohol!

One of the executive spoke about the upcoming film Twilight ( http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/twilight/). It’s his prediction that Twilight will generate $75M dollars this weekend. He said it was so frustrating to see this happening because it wasn’t his franchise. He decided to find out if it had ever been submitted to his studio.

What he discovered blew his mind. In 2002, this studio was introduced to the outline of the book. Thereafter, the manuscript, and finally the book itself. All of which received a pass. Here’s the rub. The person that passed is no longer in the entertainment industry. Ugh.

Since that discovery he has attended many previews, focus group screenings, and ultimately it confirmed for him what he knows to be true… know your market.

The reader/executive that passed on Twilight Lonely Hearts download didn’t understand their role in the system. He said that they were seeking in material what they personally connected to, not what an audience would connect to. And in this misunderstanding of their role… they missed an incredibly valuable opportunity to own a new HOT franchise.

He ended with the following, “you have to treat material from the point of view that I have an IQ of 80. I need to capture the broadest audience SO what I need are people who know their market!”