RIYADH: The development of the entertainment sector in Saudi Arabia has the full attention of Hollywood's executives, says Sheeraz Hasan, the founder and CEO of Fame by Sheeraz, a Hollywood-based advisory firm.
The latest guest on “The Mayman Show” by Arab News is no stranger to this region, and said: “The trend right now is Saudi Arabia. I keep hearing about Saudi Arabia, agents, managers, publicists, celebrities.
“The buzz is Saudi. So I’m out here right now. I’ve been invited by a lot of good people out here in the region.”
Hasan said that from his past experiences the Kingdom was not part of the conversation in Hollywood as a destination.
However, he added: “Now, because of the leadership and the vision of what they’re doing in Saudi Arabia, it’s hitting the boardrooms of Netflix, Apple, Disney, Hulu, all the biggest top agencies, companies, and brands.”
He added that while Hollywood was on pause because of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, Saudi’s industries were thriving and had nothing but greener pastures ahead.
Hasan recalled that when he used to speak of the benefits of Dubai, he was met with resistance from agents, managers and decision-makers.
Now, he said: “I tell the management that stars are telling the agencies ‘I need to get out in Saudi Arabia because of the massive projects.’
“You’ve had some of the biggest events that have happened in entertainment and sports. It’s shocked the world.”
He added that these projects and the talent in the Kingdom have shown a great time can be had, and money is there to be made.
He said: “When you see all of this right now, you aren’t getting that in the US.
“The word of mouth is out there and when you’re having some of the top female talent influencers and so forth talking about it, then of course brands want to come here; companies want to come here. You’re talking about a 40-plus million market that is such a fantastic market.”
He added that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had created “FOMO” (fear of missing out) moments that had benefited the Kingdom.
Hasan said: “Man, I love him. He’s Mr. FOMO. He creates so much excitement on the vision of building this.
“I’ve been in boardrooms and Hollywood and, like, flicking that thing thinking, ‘OMG, what is going on here? We are totally missing the boat here. We have got to get on’.”
Hasan and his team have been recognized multiple times for their media strategies, such as at the Agility Awards for Media Personality of the Year, and at the Virtuzone Awards where they took the honor for Media and Communications Company of the Year.
Hasan has worked with the likes of Kim Kardashian, Logan Paul, Zendaya, Paris Hilton and Ricky Martin.
Aishwarya Rai and Priyanka Chopra have said that the most successful content coming out of the region is made in Saudi, and added that it was time for Fame to educate Hollywood about the beauty of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
