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Welcome back to Insider Pix, where we uncover what entertainment and culture insiders are watching, reading, and listening to! Next up:
Dermot McCormack
Dermot McCormack is a transformational CEO, President, and investor with a track record of scaling media, streaming, and technology companies through bold strategy, operational excellence, and creative disruption. Today, he is CEO and Founder of Bravo Mondo, a growth-stage advisory and investment firm.
Dermot’s 5 Picks
A 5-star-worthy book you’d recommend to anyone?
The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis
Best movie you watched recently?
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (now streaming on Hulu)
Best TV show you’ve watched recently?
The Dry from RTE & ITV
A hidden gem you wish more people knew about?
Probably not a hidden gem but Desert Island Discs from the BBC. They put all episodes for over 30 years or more up as a podcast. It’s basically your favorite songs and a book and one item you would bring to a desert island.
Go-to weekly podcast?
Raging Moderates with Scott Gallaoway & Jessica Tarlov
Pix: Having been born and raised in Dublin, what are your top 3 picks of Irish media that you think every American should check out?
DM: Music: Glen Hansard
Movie: In Bruges, starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson
TV show: The Dry
Pix: What's one piece of entertainment—whether it's a documentary, podcast, or book—that you think every entrepreneur should experience, and why?
DM: If you are an entrepreneur or starting a company of any type, please read Shoe Dog by Phil Knight about the story of Nike…and then don’t do it!! Just kidding.
Pix: You've spent your career at the intersection of media and technology. What's one entertainment trend you're genuinely excited about right now?
DM: I’m working on several projects that blend the physical and digital in terms of narrative. Think immersive or experiential (although we need better words). Because a whole generation has been doing less and less in the physical world, I think entertainment will step in and fill some of this gap but be blended with new digital experiences. Think the Sphere, Cosm, or Outernet in London! This is a really exiting and fun trend in my view.
Pix: Looking back at your MTV and digital media days, what was the first moment that made you realize the way people consumed entertainment was fundamentally changing? How have those experiences shaped the way you think about AI in entertainment today?
DM: I think when Lost was the first show that came out and you could buy episodes from iTunes for your Mac and iPod! It was the first show I watched solely in a non-traditional TV environment. It also just happens to be an awesome show. I would watch on planes!
What it tells me about AI in entertainment today is, first of all, the entertainment had to be great. No amount of technology will make a bad story into a great story (yet). In the Lost example, technology gave the audience more choice for content and flexibility on how, when, and where you could watch. Hopefully, AI will allow new stories from new voices in ways we could never imagine and will democratize who gets to make what. There will also be some bad effects that I assume, if you are reading this, you can imagine. I’m hopeful the good will outweigh the bad, and I think the journey is just beginning and like all revolutions, it will be bumpy!!