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The Grim Reality Behind Comcast’s Spinoff Of Its Cable Channels

"Comcast's move is the strongest sign yet of alarm reverberating throughout Hollywood's traditional companies. Cable channels have long been a key economic pillar, generating billions of dollars in distribution fees that more than covered up the misses when big-budget movies flopped or during advertising recessions. No more." - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Louisiana Almost Killed Its Movie Tax Credit

Last week, the state House of Representatives voted to terminate the incentive effective June 30, 2025, as part of a sweeping tax reform package. In response, hundreds of people jammed the hallways of the state Capitol in Baton Rouge on Sunday to protest the move, which would threaten thousands of film jobs. - Variety

Comcast Will Spin Off Its NBCUniversal Cable Channels Into Separate Corporation

"The company, which last month said it was studying the idea, will separate off entertainment and news channels including MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen, E!, Syfy and Golf Channel. Those assets generated about $7 billion in revenue in the 12 months ended Sept. 30." - The Wall Street Journal (MSN)

The ABC Sports Producer Who Pioneered Real-Time Livestreaming Of A Calamity — In 1972

Geoffrey Mason, aged only 30, was a producer helping run coverage of the Munich Olympics when terrorists from the Black September group took hostage, and eventually murdered, 11 Israeli athletes. - The Hollywood Reporter

What You Get When You Train AI On Werner Herzog Movies

You get a film titled About a Hero, interspersing an AI-written narrative starring Herzog (as a character) investigating a mysterious death with interviews with artists, philosophers, and scientists on AI issues. Yes, Herzog is (in a way) involved, and no, he doesn't like the film. - The Hollywood Reporter

News Service AP Will Cut Eight Percent On Its Staff In Restructuring

The bulk of the changes will come in the U.S., where we remain committed to our 50-state footprint but must evolve to align with changing customer and market needs. - Deadline

Listen To The Victorians

Literally - here are some famous (and not as famous) voices of the 1880s. - Open Culture

World Of Warcraft Has Changed The Ways Humans Relate To Each Other

Yes, even if we don’t play, or know anything about it. The massive game has been a campaign tool, an academic study subject, one of the first social networks, and a test run for subscription services and micropayments. - The New York Times

A Perennial Sidekick Gets Her Own Movie, Sort Of

Judy Greer “was just another victim of Hollywood’s tendency to stick accomplished actresses in so-called personal roles, playing the wives and mothers of the people who actually the drive the action in the story.” Now she’s a mom in a Christian family movie. Is this progress? - Slate

Streamers And Men’s Basketball Work Something Out After Legal Wrangling

A new settlement gives Warner Bros Discovery “a chance to keep professional basketball in its overall lineup, even as it cedes U.S. rights to traditional TV games to rivals.” A very 2024 discussion, ending a lawsuit and having clauses about podcasts and . - Variety

Why Hollywood Suddenly Decided To Flip The May-December Romance Script

“Not so long ago, the entertainment industry tucked away women of a certain age on Sexless Mom Island while their male peers wooed girls young enough to be their daughters and granddaughters.” - Washington Post

Marvel Provides A Sort Of ‘Insurance’ For Actors Who Want To Make Indie Movies

At least that’s what Elizabeth Olsen, the woman who plays Wanda Maximoff, says. - Vulture

Spare A Thought For Historical Consultants, Often Completely Ignored By Movie And TV Directors

“'I’m afraid leather forearm bracers have nothing to do with ancient Rome,’ says Alexander Mariotti, a historian and specialist in gladiatorial combat who worked as a researcher and script consultant on . ‘They don’t appear in any imagery or sources … they just look good on film.’” - The Guardian (UK)

UK Media Industry Is Having A Crisis Of New Workers

The reality is that access to these careers often comes down to personal connections and the kinds of skills that are fostered through private education and existing networks in the arts. - The Conversation

Sacramento’s Public Radio And PBS Stations Sue Each Other Over Transmission Tower

"The legal battle arose after Capital Public Radio’s Endowment board, a nonprofit separate from the radio station, donated the tower used by CapRadio to PBS KVIE (following) a proposition to merge the two organizations. Those plans never materialized," and ownership of the tower is now in dispute. - The Sacramento Bee (MSN)

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