Paul Allen and a sci-fi shrine

[quendi]

You can read the entire article from NY Times here (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/17/arts/design/17SCIF.html?ex=1051156800&en=0fe59d4a591d6478&ei=5062) .

"Paul G. Allen, a billionaire businessman and co-founder of Microsoft, is planning to build a "cultural project" in Seattle that will seek to draw visitors into the science-fiction experience."

Can we seek his help in saving the greatest science-fiction television show of modern popular culture?

[SabaceanBabe]

I'm all for it, Quendi. Billionaires who not only love science fiction but do so publicly are some of my favorite people. ;)

[Mike@Pilots Chamber]

I'm not sure we could ask him to financially support a fifth season, but I believe his cultural project should probably feature Farscape in some way, even without us asking, even if it's just as something to compare Star Trek to, and an example of a different type of science fiction than most.

[Dominar of Action]

Hey, maybe we could send *him* the bunny! :D

Seriously, though, from what Juliet Blake said in her BBC interview a few weeks ago (namely, that she had been contacted by billionaires and corporations to see what could be done to continue Farscape), I wonder if money is really the issue right now or if it is really the need for a television distribution outlet.

And before anyone says, "well, just release new eps on DVDs!," I'm thinking that perhaps Henson is looking at a bigger picture -- if they want syndication, marketing tie-ins, movies... in short, if they want a franchise, they will want the broadest exposure possible. And they won't get that through a DVD-exclusive release. If our campaign has done nothing else, it must certainly have convinced certain PTB by now that Farscape has captured the ever-elusive lightening in a bottle. It fairly screams FRANCHISE! So, to just release the new eps on DVDs now would possibly short-change the long-term potential.

Anyway, it never hurts to have a billionaire in one's corner, but I just don't know how much he can help if he doesn't have a TV network in his back pocket as well.

Just my mindless speculation this fine spring morning :)

[Digger]

DoA, you stole my thoughts!!! The first thing I thought of when I saw this thread was the Juliette Blake interview. Also, your thoughts on Henson are very interesting, consindering their response to my letter a couple of weeks ago stating that they still had "other opportunities for it to grow."

[blue]

I tried to find a suscinct article about P.A., who is a very interesting man with wide interests, but instead I just compiled a bunch of stuff that gives an idea-he likes sports, Jimmy Hendricks, Seti, Dreamworks, communications companies.....
This is a link to one of his sites:
http://www.vulcan.com/setver.asp

Paul G. Allen
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul G. Allen-visionary, businessman, and philanthropist-owns and invests in telecommunications, media, sports and entertainment companies that strive to improve the way we live, learn, do business and experience the world.

The primary holdings in his portfolio include Vulcan Inc., Charter Communications, the Portland Trail Blazers NBA team and Seattle Seahawks NFL franchise, and more than 100 other enterprises and investments. Allen is also the founder of Experience Music Project (Seattle's one-of-a-kind, interactive music museum), Vulcan Productions (an independent film production company), and is a partner in the entertainment studio DreamWorks SKG.

A leader in the digital and online revolution, Allen maximizes synergy between his companies to encourage creativity and innovation. For the past 12 years, he has also contributed to communities in the Pacific Northwest and beyond through the six Paul G. Allen Foundations, which support the arts, health and human services, medical research, forest protection, technology education and other community needs.

After co-founding Microsoft Corporation with Bill Gates in 1975, Allen served as the company's executive vice president of research and new product development, helping to engineer many of the company's most successful products. He left Microsoft in 1983, moving on to develop other software applications and to launch Vulcan. Allen is a Seattle native, educated at Lakeside High School and Washington State University.

http://www.who2.com/paulallen.html
In 1975 Paul Allen and Bill Gates founded Microsoft, which grew into one of the great success stories of the personal computer era. Allen left the company in 1983 after a bout with Hodgkin's disease; he remains a member of Microsoft's board of directors and his company stock has made him one of the world's richest men. On his own he has made a name for himself as a founder of and shrewd investor in hi-tech firms like Starwave, America Online and Ticketmaster, and as the enthusiastic owner of the NBA's Portland Trailblazers and the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.
Extra credit: Extra Credit: Allen has bankrolled a Seattle museum, the Experience Music Project, inspired by late guitarist Jimi Hendrix.


Paul Allen foundation:
http://www.pgafoundations.com/

The link below discusses Paul Allen's gift to Seti:
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/seti_funding_000801.html
Microsoft Founder, Former CTO to Help Finance SETI Radio Array
By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
posted: 07:00 am ET
01 August 2000

WASHINGTON -- Two high-tech moguls are reaching deep into their pockets to help build the world’s most powerful instrument to listen for radio signals from other intelligent life in our galaxy.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft's former chief technology officer, together will donate $12.5 million to build a huge array of small radio dishes that will serve as a technological ear on the cosmos....
From 2003 Business Week:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_02/b3815649.htm
JANUARY 13, 2003
SPECIAL REPORT -- THE BEST & WORST MANAGERS
Paul Allen
Charter Communications
Photo: Paul Allen
The Best (& Worst) Managers of the Year

In his spare time, billionaire Microsoft Corp. (MSFT ) co-founder Paul G. Allen plays the guitar in a rock band called Grown Men. He might be better off paying more attention to his day job, managing his portfolio--especially his investment in the troubled cable company, Charter Communications (CHTR ).
In the late 1990s, Allen hit on the notion of cable as the crucial link for his "wired world," which would bring the Internet into folks' living rooms. He paid nearly $7 billion to create Charter, now the country's third-largest cable company, with nearly 6.7 million subscribers. These days, his 56% stake would go for about $423 million. Though the company is hobbled by some $18.5 billion in debt (taken on so it could lay miles of superfast fiber-optic wires), a spokesman says Allen "remains confident in the vision of the wired world." Good thing. Because Allen may have to dole out more money if Charter's financial situation deteriorates further.
Or he could take it private. But he'll have to wait until a federal grand jury and the Securities & Exchange Commission finish investigating accounting issues and whether Charter overstated its subscriber count. The company says it is cooperating with the probes and has fired its CFO and COO. It's enough to make a Grown Man cry.

From 1997:
http://www.businessweek.com/1997/16/b352356.htm

PAUL ALLEN, EVERYWHERE MAN

How many hats can one busy billionaire wear? Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen may be going for a record. He has founded or invested in dozens of technology, new-media, and entertainment companies. Over the years, his holdings have grown to include stakes in DreamWorks SKG, Ticketmaster, c/net, and others. He's a nearly ubiquitous presence in the world of digital ''content.''

So ubiquitous, in fact, that the 44-year-old finds himself in situations that could lead to thorny questions about where his allegiances lie. Can Allen fulfill his fiduciary duties to Microsoft Corp.--where he's a director and the second-largest shareholder--while not slighting his other companies?

WEBCAST NEWS. Two recent deals point up the risk. On Apr. 3, Walt Disney Co. announced that it was acquiring a stake in Allen's Starwave Corp., a producer of CD-ROMs and Web sites. Starwave, where Allen remains the largest single shareholder, is developing a 24-hour news site with Disney's ABC called ABCNEWS.com. Microsoft competitors Netscape Communications Corp. and America Online Inc. are also partners in ABCNEWS.com. The site will compete with MSNBC, which is owned by NBC and Microsoft. Industry sources estimate that Disney paid $100 million for 30% of Starwave.

Then, on Apr. 6, Microsoft announced it was paying $425 million to acquire WebTV Networks Inc., which has a system for letting consumers cruise the Internet via their TV sets. Allen, who paid about $10 million for a 9% stake in WebTV, will receive $38 million in the deal. Neither Allen's spokeswoman nor a Microsoft spokesman would say whether or not Allen voted with other Microsoft directors on the deal.

In Silicon Valley, blurry loyalties are commonplace. Venture capitalist Arthur Rock served simultaneously on the boards of Apple Computer Inc. and Intel Corp. And to his credit, Allen appears to have no ''secret agenda,'' says Stanford University law professor Joseph Grundfest. ''As far as I can tell, no one has pointed to a situation where anyone was disadvantaged by Allen's [overlapping] involvement.''

Still, the potential for conflicts is growing. ''There's a possible antitrust problem here,'' says corporate-governance expert Nell Minow of the Lens Fund. ''If both companies are in the same business, there's no way a human being can give each of them the best of his energy and focus. [Allen's roles] create an appearance problem that an investor really shouldn't have to worry about.''

HANDS OFF. Allen's spokeswoman says he ''is very cognizant'' of the possibility of conflicts and ''takes steps to mitigate that on a personal level.'' She points out that Allen is not involved in the day-to-day operations of Microsoft or Starwave.

Microsoft Chairman William H. Gates III has no qualms about his pal's extracurricular activities. ''The fact that Paul's out making investments in these things makes him a better [Microsoft] director,'' Gates says. In fact, Allen's far-ranging business interests helped him grasp the significance of the Internet before Gates did. Still, Allen's networking is hardly a model for corporate governance.

By Elizabeth Lesly in New York

I think this article is from 1998:
http://www.time.com/time/digital/cyberelite/12.html

PAUL ALLEN
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chairman, Vulcan Northwest (last year No. 11)
NET WORTH $21 billion
AGE 45
ADDRESS www.paulallen.com
BIO Paul Allen knows what he likes, and he buys it. A 150-ft. yacht, an Impressionist art collection, the Seattle Seahawks. But when it comes to tech, Allen's particular taste really gets him places. After co-founding Microsoft in 1975 and engineering such breakthrough products as MS-DOS and Word, Allen left the company in 1983 to battle Hodgkin's disease. Since then he has practiced an investment strategy based on his vision of a "wired world," linking entertainment with technology.
1998 POWER PLAY These days, like Gates, Allen is betting on the potential of cable in the years ahead. In April he gobbled up Marcus Cable, the nation's 10th largest cable company, for $2.8 billion--his biggest investment to date. Also this year Allen grabbed a stake of the Internet video-sales market with his purchase of Hollywood Entertainment. And he took another software group public. This time it's Asymetrix Learning Systems, maker of products for online classes.
PLACE YOUR BETS You can't invest in Vulcan Northwest, but you can invest in Allen's ideas. His investment strategies are already proving as prescient as his work on a little program called Windows back in 1983. Get your own stake in some of his picks such as reel.com, U.S. Satellite Broadcasting and wireless-networking company Metricom.

[Stargate2077]

hmm...I don't think it would hurt to send letters to him and send a Best of Season 1 DVD so he sees what Farscape is like, if he hasn't watched the show already.

[grapeshot]

Someone involved with this project gave a presentation on it at MarsCon last month. Unfortunately, I didn't go (was busy at the fan table) and the person who did neglected to take down contact names. I remember at the time thinking that the SaveFarscape campaign should have an exhibition to itself in this museum. So we should all hang on to our campaign artifacts.

DoA, I agree with you about Henson not wanting to make a fifth season on direct to video. They (and quite probably the actors) would want a higher profile exposure, and to make more money off of this than simply making DVDs would get them. I agree, too, that the real problem at this time may be getting a broadcast venue. And yes, Farscape simply does scream FRANCHISE, doesn't it?

The fat lady has by no means sung yet.

[blue]

Maybe there will be another presentation at another convention soon. It would be nice to have contact information. It would be nice to be in contact with Paul Allen about Farscape in his museum or Farscape in general.