Category: media

“Because new generations of filmgoers seem to be looking less and less to publications like The New Yorker, The New York Times, Time, Newsweek and many others to find out about upcoming films and are turning to Web sites like rottentomatoes.com — which provides an approval rating based on a collection of reviews by critics — newspapers and magazines are shucking their ranks of critics in alarming numbers.”

“Year to date, only one movie, Fox’s “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” has topped the $100 million mark. Although total domestic grosses for 2008 are running just 2% behind last year, that’s thanks to the Christmas releases; the spring slate actually lagged 18% behind last year’s numbers. Meanwhile, the specter of recession is bearing down on the United States, gas prices are rising and consumers are feeling the pinch.”

“Some of Italy’s cultural stars are already bemoaning the end of a golden age following the election of the rightist candidate Gianni Alemanno as Mayor of Rome, which has placed a question mark over the future of the city’s lavish film festival.”

“Moviegoing historically has proved more than resistant to downturns — theater attendance actually increased during three of the last four recessions. And this year, Hollywood hopes the downturn could kindle a near record-breaking May-to-September season.”

Gone are the days when marketing a movie online involved simply buying a URL like DarkKnight.com and uploading a trailer. Warner Bros. has launched more than 30 Web sites during the past year in support of the latest in the “Batman” franchise, a trail of virtual bread crumbs intended to sate fans until the July 18 release.

“Having read endless Top 100 film lists, we felt short-changed. Sure, they’re definitive in their way, but they don’t have many surprises. This one aims to be all-encompassing, certainly, and authoritative. But it is also intended to cause debate and maybe consternation.”

Within the last few months, television distributors have opened up their libraries of classic content online, making thousands of episodes of programs like “The Twilight Zone” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” available free.

“While the industry made a slight recovery in 2004, the rise of the Canadian dollar – now hovering around par with the U.S. dollar – combined with a wave of intense competition from U.S. states and countries around the world has since left Toronto’s struggling film/TV industry humbled but determined to regain its former status.”

In the first part of 2008 movie production in LA is up 11 percent as studios anticipate ahead of a possible actors’ strike.

“Do films really change the world? Do films about changing the world make any money? To the first question, the Hollywood answer is probably a shrug, but to the second, for the moment at least, it would appear to be yes.”