Scott Kirsner Gives a Glimpse Inside the Movies and the Creative Economy

Technology and the arts come together in an intriguing evening with the author and columnist at the Portsmouth Library on December 10th

What is the creative economy? What is an example of technology coming together with the arts in the creative economy? How are the arts and technology communities working together now in New England, New Hampshire and the Seacoast and how might they come together in the future and contribute to the areas’ economic and cultural vitality?

Scott Kirsner will address these questions and more in a Portsmouth presentation based on his new book, Inventing the Movies: Hollywood's Epic Battle Between Innovation and the Status Quo. Kirsner comes to Portsmouth after talks at Netflix, Google, Disney, the Rome Film Festival and the Boston Museum of Science. The presentation will be at the Portsmouth Public Library at 175 Parrott Avenue on Wednesday, December 10 starting at 5:30 PM. The event is free and open to the public.

For over ten years Scott has been writing about innovation for publications like the Boston Globe, the New York Times, Wired, Variety, Fast Company, the Hollywood Reporter, Salon.com, BusinessWeek, and Newsweek. A central theme to his writing and research is the question “how do innovations that matter get introduced to the world?”

Kirsner calls out the common challenges for all entrepreneurs, "I've been focused on innovation, and especially innovation in the New England region, for the past decade. In looking at the technological history of the movie industry -- some of it sparked by New England companies, believe it or not -- I found that it offers lessons for people trying to innovate in any field. Ideas that change industries are almost always met with phenomenal resistance."

“The film production industry has changed dramatically over the last decade,” says Van McLeod, commissioner of the Department of Cultural Resources which houses the New Hampshire Film and Television Office. “With all of the advances in technology through the production process to distribution, filmmakers have capitalized on these innovations and have brought a once out-of-reach industry right into their own backyards. I think this program will provide some very useful information and inspiration to our New England filmmakers who have always had to rely on a plenty of Yankee ingenuity to get their films made.”

The evening is being hosted by the Portsmouth Public Library with sponsorship from Borealis Ventures, Catapult Seacoast Young Professionals, eCoast Angel Network, NH Film and Television Office, NH High Tech Council and the University of New Hampshire Whittemore School of Business and Economics along with the UNH School of Sociology and Film Studies. Come see, hear and talk about the creative economy – how the arts and technology come together – in the past, in the present and in the future.

The organizers of the event, Jesse Devitte of Borealis Ventures in Portsmouth and Ross Gittell from the UNH Whittemore School of Business and Economics, along with all the sponsors encourage entrepreneurs from both the technology and arts communities to attend and enjoy their shared trip through the history of film and discuss opportunities for the technology and arts communities in New Hampshire and on the Seacoast to come together in the future.