Category: media

One year after YouTube, the online video powerhouse, invited members to become “partners” and added advertising to their videos, the most successful users are earning six-figure incomes from the Web site.

Another excellent year-end list from The Guardian, spoilers be damned. A sample: No. 8, Man on Wire – “A man breaks into the World Trade Centre and walks a tightrope between the towers. Yeah, right.”

“People always lament the decline of those quaint mom-and-pop stores as big chains like Target and Wal-Mart dominate… But here’s something no one considers: What if mom-and-pop are total lunatics?”

“One reason Hollywood has fared better than record labels in the digital age is that they sell their content in so many different ways — from expensive in-theater showings, to premium cable, basic cable, and eventually, free, ad-supported television.”

“Italian state television cut a gay sex scene from Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain, as well as a sequence showing the lead characters kissing when it aired the movie, drawing allegations of censorship from gay rights groups… Activists protested that RAI TV would never have dropped similar scenes had they involved a heterosexual couple, and politicians called for the incident to be discussed in parliament.”

The film bio of slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk took the prizes for Best Picture, Best Actor (Sean Penn) and Best Supporting Actor (Josh Brolin). Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky, the only other multiple prizewinner, took honors for Best Director and Best Actress (Sally Hawkins).

“As album sales continue to decline, gadgets and games may help ensure the survival of the music business. Indeed, the most tech-savvy bands are already recording songs for distribution exclusively through new channels opened up by the iPhone, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.”

The Victoria Film Festival may not be Canada’s biggest or most prestigious gathering of movie types, but it’s looking to make a name for itself as the springboard for up-and-coming Canadian filmmakers. At this year’s fest, 20 young directors will get the chance not only to have their work screened, but to speak directly about their ideas to an influential audience.

Lisa DeMoraes thinks it’s absurd to assume that the election of Barack Obama will cause Hollywood to start putting more black actors in leading roles. But she sees a glimmer of hope in CBS’s decision to elevate Laurence Fishburne to the lead in one of its signature dramas. “The bad news about the TV industry is that it assumes a failure is an indictment of the idea, when it’s usually just an indictment of the show.”

Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button are up for best dramatic film honors, and Heath Ledger received his expected posthumous nomination for his turn as The Joker in The Dark Knight. Sean Penn is up for best film actor, and best TV actress nominees include veterans Tony Shalhoub and Mariska Hargitay, and TV newbie Anna Paquin.