"The media-measurement giant informed TV networks and other clients Wednesday that it has, since September of 2020, undercounted so-called 'out-of-home' audiences — the people watching programs in offices, bars, hotels and other places — for national TV programming." - Variety
A YouGov poll of 1,000 Americans found that roughly 56% of 18-to-44-year-olds weren't deterred by the new, rapidly spreading coronavirus variant, with only between 20% and 27% actively deterred. That latter figure among those aged 45 to 64 is 39%, with another 37% neutral. - The Hollywood Reporter
2022 will be a chapter marked not only by bilateral friction between the two superpowers, but by the Chinese film industry’s decoupling from the broader global film industry as a whole, as the country turns inward under President Xi Jinping. - Variety
The reversal of fortunes in China has begun to accelerate in the past year. In 2021, just 25 U.S. movies were released theatrically in the country, many of which were minor indie titles instead of studio tentpoles. By contrast, some 45 Hollywood movies were shown on Chinese screens in 2019. - The Hollywood Reporter
Those ways aren't pretty: incels glommed onto the "red pill" idea; "free your mind" has been adopted by far-right populists; "post-truth" is now regularly applied to today's media environment; deepfake videos resemble the way Morpheus's group hacked the matrix. - BBC
He achieved quite a lot — far more than he, or skeptical observers, expected: rejuvenating the animation studios; acquiring Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox; opening major theme parks in China; pioneering in direct-to-consumer distribution; increasing Disney's stock value by 400%. - Variety
Biden is blazing a path that will make it harder for large internet service providers to exert their market control. The point of net neutrality is to force ISPs like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast to treat internet traffic equally. - CNBC
Shasta can record a conversation, automatically transcribe its contents in the cloud, and then make that audio every bit as easy to edit as a document. That means Shasta is a quietly revolutionary piece of software in the world of editing. - Engadget
Not sequels: people obviously love new installments in a franchise. The difference seems to be that fans want the characters they already know in new situations, not new actors as the characters they know. (Exception: when the previous version didn't work, as with Dune.) - The Guardian
"You know, I think I'm committed to doing this show until its 50th anniversary, which is in three years," said Michaels, who'll be 80 that fall. "I'd like to see that through, and I have a feeling that'd be a really good time to leave." - The Hollywood Reporter
Why did several generations watch old Looney Tunes alongside new work and actually prefer the stuff made before they were born? It was partly a historical accident caused by television’s demand for endless material at a relatively high cost. - The Walrus
The 88-year-old Abenaki filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin says Canada's commitment to making First Nations stories has grown tremendously. From where she began to now, she says, "to see our people being treated ... like human beings. It's such a big change." - CBC
They have the actors to suit any Hollywood twistedness or despair. And, let's face it, "There is clearly a very strong appetite for bleak nuance in current American entertainment." - The Observer (UK)
The third movie in the Tom Holland Spider-Man universe busted records, reaching the third biggest opening ever, not just during the pandemic. What does this mean for movie theatres as the omicron variant threatens Christmas showings? - Baltimore Sun
