Extracting vs. Building
“An entire generation has grown up thinking that extraction, as opposed to building, is the path to riches.“ - Tim Wu, NYT
That line captures what’s infected Hollywood and gaming for twenty-five years. The real money flows to middlemen controlling distribution, platforms, algorithms. Meanwhile creators are basically hustling craft services at our own party.
My son graduates film school in 2028. The ladders I climbed are dissolving. He’ll need new ways to break in. These new paths are exploding everywhere. This isn’t a crisis, it’s an opening.
Everyone Profits From Your Creativity Except You
When I started in TV in 2001, extraction wore different outfits.
Now, studios are drowning us in remakes of remakes, algorithms puree old IP into creative applesauce. I’ve pitched in rooms where execs asked, “What existing property can we attach this to?” Original ideas enter through the service entrance.
Platforms want shorts, reels, companion podcasts. You become a twenty-four-hour content buffet. They own the audience. You supply the calories.
The contracts young creators sign would make my Heroes-era lawyer slide under the table. No backend. No merch. No transmedia. A flat fee and a pat on the head.
Four Pillars of Building
After watching what works and what dies, I’ve boiled the building options down to four pillars:
Build Worlds, Not Just Works: A single script feeds you once. A story world with expandable mythology becomes renewable. That Flash Gordon script that I never got made? Its worldbuilding lives in three other projects.
Build Bodies of Work, Not Viral Moments: A TikTok spike is nice. A consistent voice across twenty-five years is a career.
Build Direct Channels, Not Just Credits: Credits are rented status. Craft connections that circumvent the algorithm.
Build Structures Around Your Art: My story-breaking system, character templates, ADD-driven mnemonics - not just tools. They’re the production line keeping my creative engine running.
The Builder’s Playbook
When my son asks for advice, I tell him:
Stop waiting for permission. Rodriguez made El Mariachi for seven grand without anyone’s blessing. That launched his career.
Own your channels. Newsletter, Discord, Substack - whatever. If the app disappeared tomorrow, what would you still have?
Protect your IP like the infinity stones. I’ve seen creators sign away universes for rent money. Those choices haunt careers.
Create expandable worlds. Every time you create, ask: Is this compounding for future me, or just extracting quick results?
Use platforms as laboratories. TikTok, Shorts, Reels - they’re test labs. Prototype ideas. Study what lands. Then bring those people into your world, not just the platform’s.
Your Decision
The extraction economy sees you as a replaceable cog. Forget that. Build something only you can make. Create worlds that are so specifically you that no platform or AI could duplicate them.
My son’s generation can shoot features on their phones. Distribute to millions from dorm rooms. Build fanbases without needing agents or waiting for meetings with execs.
The future belongs to those who build engines, not just episodes.
