Category: media

“Wait a second. What’s this? CashPoint, an outfit that makes quick-fix loans, is advertising in . . . prime time? On some of TV’s most popular programs? … It won’t make most economists’ radar screens, but the rise of such ads might be a leading economic indicator.” As bigger advertisers pull out and airtime prices fall, lower-budget operations seize the opportunity.

“In an obvious setback for health campaigners throughout the country, an Indian court has reversed a federal ban on showing smoking in movies and on TV. A High Court in New Delhi … said that the ban was a restriction on creative freedom. ‘The directors of films should not have multifarious authorities breathing down their necks when indulging in the creative act,’ Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, said.”

“Until now, Wikipedia has allowed anybody to make instant changes to almost all of its 2.7m entries, with only a handful of entries protected from being altered. But under proposals put forward by the website’s co-founder Jimmy Wales, many future changes to the site would need to be approved by a group of editors before going live.” Users aren’t happy about the prospect.

“Doug Allen is stepping down as national executive director and chief negotiator of the Screen Actors Guild following a brutal internal battle over how he’s handled SAG’s long-stalled negotiations. … The move came a few hours after SAG’s elected delivered a ‘written assent’ document to SAG headquarters in Hollywood authorizing the replacement of Allen as national executive director.”

“Netflix showed little sign of the economic slowdown that’s been nailing other companies this corporate earnings season. But it attributed its fourth-quarter jump in revenue, profit and subscribers to a surprising factor: surging popularity of its online video streaming service.”

The porn industry sells about $12,6 billion worth of product. “The conventional wisdom about the adult entertainment business is that it is recession-proof. This time in the adult industry, though, it may be different, partly because of the current conditions and partly because of the drift by consumers toward new options.”

The film festival was the hottest thing in independent film. “Twenty years later, the festival has cooled to an uncertain ember, reflecting a business model that is slowly but surely dying.”

Buyers proved fussy. Sellers were a bit frustrated. And despite some prominent deals — including Sony Pictures Classics’ buying the rights to “An Education,” a British coming-of-age drama set in the ’60s, for a reported $3 million — there was no blockbuster sale to match the $10 million that Focus Features spent last year on a single picture, “Hamlet 2.”

Buyers proved fussy. Sellers were a bit frustrated. And despite some prominent deals — including Sony Pictures Classics’ buying the rights to “An Education,” a British coming-of-age drama set in the ’60s, for a reported $3 million — there was no blockbuster sale to match the $10 million that Focus Features spent last year on a single picture, “Hamlet 2.”

Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire, “a dark film about an overweight, pregnant teenage girl abused by her parents prevailed at the Sundance Film Festival with three trophies, including best picture and the audience award for top film.”