Van Toffler ran Viacom Inc.’s MTV from 1987 until his departure last year to launch Gunpowder & Sky, a multiplatform media company that debuted in January. But what’s new is old: Toffler is using the tactics he used to make MTV a smash hit with his millennial-focused venture.
During his 28-year tenure at Viacom, Toffler helped establish MTV as a media brand, launching extensions such as MTV Films and MTV Digital and overseeing the creation and production of a diverse slate of programming, including “Beavis and Butt-Head” and “The Real World.” He also produced a slate of irreverent cult-classic films, including “Election,” and “Napoleon Dynamite,” and supervised creation of digital content, including VBS – a partnership with Vice Media. With in-house development, production, financing, and distribution capabilities, Gunpowder & Sky looks to create video content that can be delivered across a variety of platforms. The Playa Vista company was co-founded with Floris Bauer, former global head of corporate development and strategy at Endomol Shine Group, and financed through the Otter Media Inc. joint venture of AT&T Inc. and Chernin Group.
You told the staff when you left Viacom that you wanted to pursue “the loud and insatiable part of my failed musician/poet soul.”
I started writing in high school and playing the piano and guitar. I always knew I wanted to be around creative people, especially people involved in music. I was hired at MTV when it first started. It was a startup. We were fearless.
Who inspired that fearlessness?
Tom Freston. He only had one rule: no full-frontal nudity (pauses) in the office. We followed that rule for the most part. We were like those kids in the back of the classroom that might be goofing off but still get good grades.
How were you able to maintain that?
We knew we never wanted to grow up with our audience, and that meant that every three to five years we would have to say goodbye to our audience. That means that we would have to throw out the rules every so often.
Can you do still do that at 57?
I really have the mentality of a 19-year-old. And that’s why what we’re doing works. It must be authentic, especially for millennials, which is our target demographic.
How has the transition been from corporate to startup?
It’s scary, but also exciting. It’s been great to be able to do things like give notes on a script, and to be free of the structure associated with managing 1,000 people. I wanted to get back to creating media that stands for something.
What works best in that environment?
We know that music travels really well globally, and so do science fiction and horror. “Drawn & Recorded,” a new anime music series produced by T Bone Burnett is expected to be released at the end of the summer or early fall. “Eat, Brains, Love” will be a digital feature based on a series of popular books of the same name by Jeff Hart in the horror/zombie genre.
How do you and Floris Bauer select content?
We’re looking for the novel and the unique, not the influencers that everyone else is chasing in the marketplace. I’m interested in who is behind the camera. At MTV, then-unknown directors David Fincher, Spike Jonze, Shonda Rhimes, and others were just getting their start. We want to find the next generation through referrals to find that diverse, young talent.
You produced a lot of social-impact work at MTV. Will you continue to seek that?
Being didactic doesn’t work. We got a lot of flak for shows like “Beavis & Butt-Head,” but we also had shows that allowed us to talk about HIV/AIDS, discrimination, and important social issues like … voting with our “Choose or Lose” campaign. We have access to every living room, so why not get the message out there?
How did you come up with the name for the company?
It’s a song lyric that to me stands for infinite possibilities. I woke up at 3 a.m. – as I often do – and the lyric was stuck in my head. It’s from an Aimee Mann song called “Fourth of July” and has such vibrant and potent imagery. She told me as long as I “treat artists fairly,” I could use it.
