Category: media

“First the bad news: When it comes to Oscar nominations, cinematography rivals the best actor category in number of women honored: zero. That comes as no surprise to Women in Film president Jane Fleming, who calls the discipline ‘by far the worst’ in its male-to-female ratio.” The good news? “This year, two female d.p.s stand a good chance of bucking the trend….”

“The future-predicting technology that drives the premise of the sci-fi blockbuster Minority Report is silly at best. And when the film hit theaters in 2002, the gadgets seemed pretty unrealistic, too. But eerily enough the slew of dreamed-up gizmos showed off throughout John Anderton’s daring escape are hardening into reality.”

Once again, the five broadcast networks made it into November without one breakout, game-changing hit — or any show, old or new, that has caused any palpable audience excitement.

With gloom and doom in the real-world economy, will moviegoers be even more reluctant to catch dark, dreary Oscar heavyweights and head instead for the happy place that a “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” can take them?

“New digital camera technology, in which take after take with inexperienced actors doesn’t waste expensive film, has given a push to the trend. And some productions using amateur talent have won critical acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival and elsewhere, fostering more funds and creative development for these types of project.”

The unit of News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox, known for picking quirky films that resonate with the public, has released only a handful this year, far fewer than in the recent past. Two pictures it had high hopes for flopped. Others performed adequately but hardly with distinction.

“Many TV networks already run short clips on YouTube, which also offers millions of home videos uploaded by users. But until now, YouTube videos were predominantly short clips of ten minutes or less.”

“As a public station, WHYY received nearly $4 million in tax dollars in 2007. It spent $2.63 out of every $100 in expenditures on its CEO – more than any other public station in the largest markets.”

“When I saw that the Vue chain of cinemas had banned children from certain performances, such as the new James Bond film, at first I had some sympathy with the decision.” But not for long — and not only because young adults tend to be more obnoxious than kids at the movies. “It’s by going to [things with their parents], over time, that children learn how to behave properly. And it’s by leaving their children behind that adults learn how to behave badly.”

“[T]he shifting political landscape is … a perilous one to make fun of, and many questions remain unsettled, even for those who are paid to do the mockery. What’s funny, and what’s fair game, about a President Barack Obama? Is it too soon to start ridiculing his achievement? Can blacks make fun of him? Can whites? No two comedians seemed to have the same answers to any of these questions.”