Media

“If athlete-driven podcasts were once shoestring affairs, they’ve now been absorbed into the sports-media economy. Last year, [sports-podcast network] 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 reasons? – Los Angeles Times

“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 movies in the state and has helped to grow Georgia’s robust film business into the nearly $10 billion industry it is. – The Hollywood Reporter

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 [internally] 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 damaged in the amount of at least $20 million.” – The Hollywood Reporter

The province used to have a cap “that limited film and television productions to a maximum $10-million tax credit claim.” That cap is now gone. – CBC

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 while watching the film.” – Fast Company

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 is an angel whose long curly hair matches Vasari’s description of Salaì and whose tender pale face is magically androgynous. This angel is the most beautiful and most queer bit of painting in Britain. The Leonardo I want to see on screen is the man who painted this.” – The Guardian (UK)

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 members of the group that we will never work again if we speak up.'” – The Guardian (UK)

Some of the fashion world is really not happy with the guidelines for the in-person Oscars. One fashion writer, echoing many stylists who enjoyed their freedom: “Honestly, all it’s done is make me wish that all the invitees would show up en masse in flannel nightgowns and Ugg slippers, just to thumb their noses at it.” – The Guardian (UK)

And, they say, it’s past time for a change. Netflix has been particularly good at offering changing depictions this year, but the history of Asian women’s depictions in Hollywood is far from fixed. Film scholar Celine Parreñas Shimizu: “The notion of a self-sacrificing, suicidal, servile, suffering, sexually available Asian woman is a prison from which we need to be liberated. … I’m looking forward to the vast expanse of other characters and other stories we can see.” – Washington Post

The U.K.-based company also said it has secured binding commitments for $213 million in additional cash via a bond to boost its financial flexibility “in the event of continued disruption as a result of COVID-19.” The funding and an expected $200 million U.S. CARES Act tax refund “will provide the group with a liquidity runway to year-end in the event that cinemas remain closed,” it said, but it also warned of continued challenges and questions marks caused by the pandemic. – The Hollywood Reporter

“Even in the world of podcasting, Google Podcasts … stands alone among major platforms in its tolerance of hate speech and other extremist content. A recent nonexhaustive search turned up more than two dozen podcasts from white supremacists and pro-Nazi groups, offering a buffet of slurs and conspiracy theories. None of the podcasts appeared on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher.” – The New York Times

Producers and engineers have come to rely on specialized apps, and they’ve developed workarounds for the shortcomings of Zoom’s recording functions, among other solutions. – Current

But the window between theatre debut and release to streaming will be shortened. The shortened theatrical window matches recent changes from other studios instigated by the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating effects on the film business. – The Verge

“While the pandemic overturned the lives of workers industrywide, those just beginning to establish their careers in an industry that is notoriously difficult to break into were disproportionately impacted. The production shutdowns in L.A. and New York eradicated on-set gigs that PAs and extras rely upon, while furloughs and layoffs at agencies decimated entry-level office jobs.” – The Hollywood Reporter

“With more people home and glued to their streaming services, many of which don’t allow advertising, companies are finding they need to be creative about the ways they get in front of audiences no longer seeing 30-second commercials. More are turning to traditional Hollywood production companies like Imagine to partner on feature films like The Day Sports Stood Still, which is infused with Nike’s ethos but carries none of the traditional branding audiences are used to seeing.” – The New York Times

“[Here are] the results of an industrywide survey we conducted to answer one simple question: who are the most memorable character actors working today? To find out, we polled nearly 60 directors, showrunners, casting directors, and critics — and when we tallied the results, 32 names had emerged from a field of more than 300 suggestions.” (The only problem: anyone who has been nominated for an Oscar or won an Emmy was disqualified, thus leaving out the likes of J.K. Simmons and Melissa Leo.) – Vulture

“‘People are fooling themselves if they think we’re going back to a pre-pandemic work lifestyle,’ says Arianna Bocco, president of IFC Films. … To get a sense of the new contours of a business that has been battered by the pandemic, Variety spoke with dozens of entertainment industry players, almost all of whom predicted that the nature of office life and how movies and television shows are made, marketed and distributed will be fundamentally changed.” – Variety

How “democratic” are these streaming Oscars when they’re almost impossible to find, and expensive to subscribe to, in the UK? The coronavirus, and attendant openings and lockdowns, is mostly to blame, of course, but also: “Streaming infrastructure in the UK is less well-established than in the US, so outside major players such as Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and Apple, distributors do not have the deals in place for straightforward online premieres.” – The Guardian (UK)

At Netflix, Bridgerton (at least the first season) succeeded beyond executives’ wildest dreams. But the Shondaland production team wants a lot more than just Netflix success. No surprise, they need a lot more content, at all times. Podcasts, articles, behind the scenes snippets, TikToks, Instagram Stories, rebranded books (since the series comes from a book series). Welcome to 2021.- Variety