The Mayman Show: Sheeraz Hasan on Why Saudi Arabia Is the Next Hollywood
Recorded in Riyadh, Sheeraz Hasan makes the case that the centre of global fame is shifting to the Gulf - and explains why the stars, the studios and the money are following.
On The Mayman Show, recorded in Saudi Arabia, Sheeraz Hasan explains why he moved his work from Los Angeles to Dubai and why international founders and brands now treat the Gulf as a market in its own right.
"When I think of Riyadh and what's going on, it's the new Hollywood." - Sheeraz Hasan, The Mayman Show
Sheeraz says the centre of fame is moving to the Gulf
The interview's through-line is a market call. "The trend right now is Saudi Arabia. The buzz is Saudi," Sheeraz says, and he frames the shift in stark terms: "Saudi Arabia is like Uber, and Hollywood's like the taxi." The old centre is not disappearing, but the energy, the ambition and the investment are moving - and he argues the region is becoming the new Hollywood, not a satellite of the old one.
Sheeraz sees the studios and the stars following the money
Sheeraz says the shift is already reaching the boardrooms of the global entertainment industry. "The stars are telling their agencies, I need to get out in Saudi Arabia." Hollywood once treated the Gulf mainly as an audience; now its talent is travelling there to build relationships and business.
Sheeraz has already proven the region's pulling power
His authority on the subject is earned. "I'm known as the mall disruptor," he says - the strategist who has repeatedly turned online attention into real-world turnout at Gulf activations, most famously the Dubai event for Logan Paul. His pitch to anyone doubting the region's appetite is blunt: if you need online attention to become real-world turnout, you call Sheeraz. The Logan record is documented at /case-studies/logan-paul#the-record.
Sheeraz urges regional companies to build for a global audience
His counsel to Gulf talent, founders and brands is to aim wider than the home market. "Think international, don't think Saudi," he says - build a name that travels, and the region becomes a launchpad rather than a ceiling. It is the same principle he applied connecting Hollywood and Bollywood twenty years ago, now pointed at the Gulf: find the crossover before the market sees it, and own it.
The case for the Middle East, from the man building it
The conversation is particularly relevant to founders, family offices and brands working in the Gulf. Sheeraz explains why he moved his practice to Dubai and how he evaluates the region’s growing role in international media and business.
Sheeraz Hasan accepts a limited number of private advisory engagements.
