Listen up, Bridgerton fans, blame streaming (and the focus switch of each Bridgerton book, from which the series draws). At Netflix and other streamers, "the goal is to draw paying subscribers and there’s little incentive to extend even the most popular shows for more than a few years. In that case, Soltman said, it wouldn’t be surprising to have...
Like the so-called "pivot to video," a lot of the industry was built on a house of cards that one might, with some justification, call lies. Starting new publications seemed so easy on the internet. "From the start, though, there was a problem. The super-low costs of entry and the lack of geographic limitations that were key to the...
The diversity is a silver lining of the awards season's weirdness. "A deeper, post-Covid existential crisis is on the cards. What is the point of awards, after all? Are they about recognising artistic excellence and the importance of culture? Or are they about showbiz glitz and beautiful people? How much impact do they have? And who gets to do...
"The decades-long interdependence of PBS decision-makers, philanthropists, and corporate funders with one white, male filmmaker highlights the racial and cultural inequities perpetuated by this system. The amount of broadcast hours, financial support (from viewers like who?), and marketing muscle devoted to one man’s lens on America has severed PBS from its very roots," said Grace Lee. - The Hill
Eric Nuzum: "The average number of unduplicated shows aired over Saturdays and Sundays is 25. Do all those programs help build audience? Station listeners — including even core listeners who love your station and are its heaviest users — usually listen for a total of one or two hours every weekend. By scheduling so many programs, most stations are...
"If athlete-driven podcasts were once shoestring affairs, they've now been absorbed into the sports-media economy. Last year, The Ringer was acquired by Spotify for around two hundred million dollars." And the athlete-hosts don't talk only about the game; they sometimes have on as guests rock musicians, movie stars, entertainment execs, and politicians. - The New Yorker
Several prominent individuals in the industry have spoken out against the restrictive election laws just passed by the Georgia legislature and signed by Gov. Kemp. Yet studios and other companies — who have been willing to threaten boycotts in the past over such issues as Georgia's abortion laws — are keeping silent so far this time. What are their...
“Cinema-going will inevitably initially be at much lower levels, the question is what level will they return to,” says Richard Broughton, research director at Ampere Analysis. “There have been changes in consumer habits, with the boom in streaming, and theatre owners aren’t in the same position to put their foot down with studios over exclusivity.” - The Guardian
Some of those outspoken industry figures have even gone as far as to call for a boycott of the state, a movement that's waxed and waned over the years as other controversial legislation, largely concerning abortion and LGBTQ rights, has come and gone. The impact of a boycott could be significant, though, as Hollywood regularly shoots TV shows and...
In the backroom, staff members have been busy packaging thousands of online orders for Blockbuster T-shirts, hats and face masks, which are all made by Bend businesses. “It’s a little bit crazy, but it’s a very good thing,” said Bend Blockbuster Manager Sandi Harding. “We’ll take a little crazy if it means keeping the store open.” - Bend Bulletin
"Alan Schwartz, the trustee of a Truman Capote charity, is advancing a new copyright claim that arises from how Paramount has circulated a screenplay with the intention of turning it into a feature and selling it to a streaming platform. The project remains unproduced; nevertheless, Schwartz alleges … that because of the infringement, his side has already been...
The streamers battled it out with crates of artisanal food, top-drawer scotch, and other gifts to draw voters' attention to their movies. When Nomadland "premiered" (or rather re-premiered) on Hulu, for instance, "Fox Searchlight announced a virtual global premiere. ... Invitees to the event were sent the aforementioned crate—stuffed with gourmet cheese, 'humanly raised' salami, and trail mix—to enjoy...
Amazon Prime Studio's use of a fictional woman ("a complete piece of tosh, invented by a 19th century Romantic") to bring Leonardo and his life to the small screen isn't just fiction, it's flat-out wrong. Suggestion: "Why not go to the National Gallery when it reopens and look at Leonardo’s Virgin of the Rocks. The most hypnotic figure in it...
Yikes: "India Eva Rae, who joined Bafta’s Elevate programme in 2019, told the BBC that a casting director told her she was an 'exotic talent,' and that they 'can’t understand the English coming out your mouth.' Rae also said that she had been told not to report the incident by a 'mentor' on the scheme: 'This mentor told me and other...