Category: media

The highly uninhibited actress and cupcake chef will create, write and star in a series for 20th Century Fox TV. “While the show will be scripted, there will be room for the Second City alumna to showcase her improv skills. ‘She is a loose cannon and always adds something when we’re shooting,’ [writing partner Paul] Dinello said.”

“The television networks are up against a perfect storm: Ratings stink; piracy is rampant, as viewers migrate to the web; and now, thanks to this little credit crisis, advertisers are expected to cut ad spending or cancel buys.” Meanwhile: “Network television is underperforming the GDP (gross domestic product) the most it has in nearly five decades.”

“Canada’s Next Great Prime Minister, a competition in which young Canadians discuss political issues in a bid to be named a great political leader, has earned a nomination for an international Emmy Award.”

“Filming for a new John Travolta movie in a troubled suburb of Paris has been cancelled after ten stunt cars were destroyed by fire.” So much for that initiative by Luc Besson.

“Airlines, worried the wi-fi services they’re rolling out will turn planes into flying porn theaters, are installing filters to prevent passengers from surfing smut. The decision is hailed by flight attendants — who’ve so far been responsible for preventing porn peeping — and by activists concerned that children and other passengers might be subjected to objectionable material.”

“Movie distribution today has more in common with carpet bombing than with any carefully thought out marketing strategy. With a movie print costing well north of a grand, hitting 100+ cinemas is a gamble many are unwilling or unprepared to make.” But how to get that review and avoid the stigma of video-only release? “Many movies sidestep the DTV tag by playing in as few cinemas as possible. This provides a chance for the movie to get reviewed as a theatrical release, and justifies shelling out for a celluloid print.”

“A group of French intellectuals has now gone one step further in the quest to integrate hardcore erotica into mainstream cinema by holding Paris’s first alternative pornographic film festival: a no-holds-barred celebration of X-rated action that organisers say showcases a new wave of progressive porn that not only titillates but empowers.”

“Hollywood believes that shows like Saturday Night Live, which has featured Tina Fey’s spot-on impersonations of vice presidential contender Sarah Palin – seen by millions on YouTube – and Jon Stewart’s nightly comedy talk show, have helped make politics sexy and entertaining to Americans who were previously turned off by it. But the big question remains: do Americans really want to be confronted by the issues and wars that define their world and lives?”

“I’m trying to envision what kinds of movies we’ll see as the largest population bulge in human history starts to age. Surely someone is ready to step up and serve this enormous demographic? Movie-makers’ prime targets are pubescent suburban boys with hard-ons and paper-rounds, but these oldsters have the last half-decent pensions and retirement-plans left, and thus a lot more money to spend on movies than their striving juniors.”

“Network television has such a long way to go in terms of actually reflecting the lives of people who are not white, male-female between the ages of 18 and 34. Most of the leads, if not all of the leads, on the major network shows fit into that demographic.”