Podcasts have been around for many years, with topics ranging from critical true crime analysis to comedy shows. Another popular podcast theme revolves around movies and the film industry.
These often vary between podcasts made by industry fans and those made by professional companies behind blockbuster films.
“Seen on the Screen” is one of the latter — a collaboration between Universal Pictures and Rotten Tomatoes. The show is hosted by Jacqueline Coley, awards editor at Rotten Tomatoes. She gives listeners a behind-the-scenes look at the newest projects from Universal Pictures and NBCUniversal as a whole.
The biweekly podcast began in April 2024 with Raheem Dawson, the director of creative advertising for international at the time.
In a roundtable interview with Coley and Universal Pictures’ President of Domestic Marketing, Dwight Caines, several publications, including The Daily Illini, asked questions about the podcast and their respective industries.
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Izzy Betz from Chapman University’s publication The Panther kicked off the roundtable interview, inquiring about why film students and college writers should tune into the podcast.
“Why do you think that film students or people interested in entertainment should listen to your podcast over any other ones?” Betz asked.
Caines and Coley highlighted their origins and the different experiences the employees have at NBCUniversal .
Caines commented on how Universal employees have multiple stories and come from unique cultures. Additionally, Coley went into detail about growing up in Texas and how that impacts her experience in the industry.
“There’s such an interesting array of paths that got people there, but they all, for the most part, just started out as people who love storytelling, love movie making, love craftsmanship and then all of this born from that,” Coley said.
The Daily Illini asked how many movies released nowadays receive word-of-mouth marketing despite not being out for a long time.
Many films receive early screenings, which shape marketing rollouts and journalism coverage. This is because of the quick turnaround between the film’s release and the attention it receives through social media.
Caines talked about the process where a movie is positively or negatively received during the early screenings of its worldwide release.
“If a movie is good, it ends up being your best marketing asset, and you want to screen it and screen it and screen it so that people hear about it,” Caines said.
Caines explained that if a movie is received negatively, they might rely on press reactions until the movie has been out for its full run.
Caines cited Warner Bros.’ “A Minecraft Movie,” which has not been received well by critics. However, it has been adored by general audiences, allowing Warner Bros. to use the popularity for its marketing.
“The critics gave it a 48% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the audience gave it 87% right?” Caines said. “That’s the difference between the audience saying ‘you made something for me, that I like, that I want,’ and the critics are reacting to it differently.”
Since its inception, several notable guests have appeared on the podcast, including Ke Huy Quan, Jon M. Chu and Kris Bowers.
With the podcast’s first anniversary approaching, fans can expect more guests and sneak peeks into what Universal has planned.
