Founded in 1997, Trigger Street Productions is located in Los Angeles, California.
Background
In 1997, Kevin Spacey sought to give back to the eager young screenwriters of the film industry by creating Trigger Street Productions. His partner, Dana Brunetti, has since turned the small project into an award-winning entertainment production company. The company is credited with producing Oscar winning films such as The Social Network and Captain Phillips (Spacey, n.d.). Beyond film, Trigger Street made a name for itself in the online streaming industry with the production of House of Cards, as seen on the video streaming site, Netflix.
Assets
Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Trigger Street operates under the parent company, Relativity Media, as of January 2016. With this acquisition, Relativity has put Kevin Spacey as chairman of their film division, and has made Dana Brunetti active President and CEO of Trigger Street Productions (Fleming Jr., 2016). Thanks to Brunetti’s leadership, Trigger Street owns the rights to a variety of different assets that stay true to the company’s mission of producing great original content for film and television (Trigger Street Facebook, n.d.). One asset is Trigger Street Labs, an interactive web platform that allows amateur screenwriters to receive critical feedback and exposure to their intellectual property (Zumberge, 2015). Another asset is Jameson First Shot, a competition created in partnership with Jameson Whiskey that gives young screenwriters exposure to some of Hollywood’s most established professionals.
Finalists and victors of the competition have their material shown in Jameson’s YouTube channel (Jamesonfirstshot.com, n.d.). These assets are considered new and visionary in a world of growing online interaction. However, the most notable and profitable ventures include hit blockbusters like Social Network, 21, Captain Phillips, Fifty Shades of Grey, and the popularized streaming television series, House of Cards (Fleming Jr., 2016).
Actors and producers of the film ‘Love’s Routine’ attend its premiere, the winning US film from the Trigger Street Productions Presents Jameson First Shot competition at the Wythe Hotel on June 19, 2013 in Brooklyn, New York.
(June 18, 2013 – Source: Craig Barritt/Getty Images North America)
Business Model
The business structure of Trigger Street involves financing and coordinating the production of the film and then selling the content to the major studios to be distributed. For example, in the case of The Social Network, Trigger Street along with the other producers of the film sold the film over to Columbia Pictures to be distributed to theatres. These “other producers” include the likes of Media Rights Capital, Warner Brothers, Focus Features, Picrow Productions, independent producers, and many other production companies (IMDb, 2016).
The suppliers of a production company like Trigger Street are screenwriters, talent, and all the necessary human and physical capital that it takes to put a film together (Fleming Jr., 2016). In addition, law firms are also suppliers since they are hired by Trigger Street to negotiate and close on contracts with film and television studios (Ge, 2016). The foundation of a film or streaming video is the intellectual property that coordinates the creativity of the entire production. This is why Trigger Street heavily focuses on recruiting up-and-coming screenwriters with potentially successful ideas.
Revenue Model
To generate revenue from these ventures and projects, Trigger Street has licensed its online streaming material Netflix. Though they are not the only producers of House of Cards, the company profits from the licensing agreement between Netflix and the producers of the series. In addition, the films that are produced generate box office revenue in which Trigger Street producers make an undisclosed portion of the profits (Schulte, 2014).
The Future
In the future, Trigger Street hopes to expand their ability to tap into the online streaming market after the wild success of House of Cards. While they continue their mission to lend a helping hand to aspiring screenwriters who need a chance at being noticed, they simultaneously make deals with film and television studios for the years to come. In June of 2015, Trigger Street and 20th Century Fox Television Studios agreed to a two-year deal that will go into producing Trigger Street’s new product, The Resident (Ge, 2015). Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti led the pursuit of this acquisition and it is without a doubt that their thoughtful and strategized leadership will bring them to quality projects as it has done in the past.
Works Cited
Fleming, Mike, Jr. “Relativity Media Acquires Trigger Street; Sets Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti To Run Studio As It Emerges From Chapter 11.” N.p., 06 Jan. 2016. Web. 01 Feb. 2016. <http://deadline.com/2016/01/relativity-media-kevin-spacey-dana-brunetti-trigger-street-1201677412/>.
Ge, Linda. “Trigger Street Signs First with 20th Century Fox TV.” Thewrap.com. The Wrap News Inc., 23 June 2015. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.
Imdb. “Trigger Street Productions.” N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2016. <http://www.imdb.com/company/co0148949/>.
“Jameson First Shot – Short Film Competition.” N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2016. <http://www.jamesonfirstshot.com/about>.
Schulte, Erin. “How “House Of Cards” Producer Dana Brunetti Knew The Netflix Model Would Win.” Fast Company. Mansueto Ventures LLC, 13 Feb. 2014. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.
Spacey, Kevin. “Trigger Street – Kevin Spacey.” N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <https://www.kevinspacey.com/film/triggerstreet/>.
Tamblyn, Robin. “Chapter 4: Spacey’s Journey.” Looking Closer: Kevin Spacey, the First 50 Years. New York: IUniverse, 2010. 24-27. Print.
“Trigger Street Productions | About.” N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2016. <http://triggerstreet.com/about>.
“Trigger Street Productions Facebook Page.” N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <https://www.facebook.com/triggerstreet/info/?tab=page_info>.
Zumberge, Marianne. “Kevin Spacey-Dana Brunetti Production Company Triggers New Talent.” N.p., 08 Jan. 2015. Web. 01 Feb. 2016. <http://variety.com/2015/scene/news/adrien-brody-will-perform-for-winner-of-screenwriting-contest-1201391231/>.
