Inside Harry Potter, Family Guy and Dead Space. One Producer Tells Everything.

Andrew Green has spent his career inside the rooms most people never get access to. He negotiated the Harry Potter mobile license when no one had ever extended J.K. Rowling's universe without her writing it herself. He worked with Matt Groening and the original Futurama cast to create brand new content for a mobile game. He voice directed Arnold Schwarzenegger in his guest house, Benedict Cumberbatch on his way to dinner, and got kicked out of a recording session by LeVar Burton.He helped build games that did hundreds of millions of dollars. He became a partner at a16z and backed companies like Roblox. Then he left one of the most prestigious VC firms in the world to build a collaborative storytelling platform for webcomics.In this episode, we explore what it actually takes to license the world's biggest IP, why the games industry is broken and what comes next, and why Andrew believes the future of entertainment belongs to the people who just stop thinking and go do.We dive into:00:00 Introduction00:40 Growing Up on Media: DVDs, Games and Storytelling02:10 How He Got the Harry Potter Mobile License03:00 The Art of IP Licensing07:00 Pitching the CEO of Warner Brothers at a16z09:00 Why J.K. Rowling Was Ready to Open Up the Universe12:00 Too Many Cooks: WB, Jam City, Netmarble and JK Rowling in One Kitchen14:30 Creative Control and the Eye of Sauron18:00 Why the Indie Realm Is Where Everything Has to Happen Now19:30 Voice Directing Arnold Schwarzenegger, Benedict Cumberbatch and Bruce Willis27:00 Getting Kicked Out of a Recording Session by LeVar Burton32:00 Working With Matt Groening and the Futurama Cast35:30 Neil deGrasse Tyson, Stephen Hawking, George Takei and Bill Nye in One Animated Spot37:30 The Future of Entertainment and Why He's Optimistic39:00 Why There's Too Much of Everything and What Comes Next49:00 Community-Driven Franchises and the Dream of Studio Scale IP by Individuals54:00 Advice: Just Stop Thinking and Go Do ItThis conversation spans Hollywood licensing, the collapse and reinvention of the games industry, and the deeply human question of what happens when creativity finally gets freed from the machine. If you've ever wondered what goes on behind the world's biggest franchises, this is the episode for you.