Category: media

Movie flops cost Australian taxpayers “$90 million over the past seven years with up to 85 per cent of projects getting Australian Film Commission grants never returning a cent from box office receipts.”

“In the last 10 years, female screenwriters in Canada have made huge strides, muscling their way onto TV screens, leaving an indelible stamp on comedy, drama, and action series across network schedules.”

“While our standard of living has increased during the 40 years studied, our happiness levels haven’t. Too much television is to blame, according to David Schkade, a professor of management at the University of California, San Diego.”

“Looking to tap new revenue through online ads, attract new viewers and keep loyal fans, broadcast networks are making bigger, riskier bets on Internet delivery of their shows. The challenge is to grow viewership online without cannibalizing traditional ratings and DVD sales while making more money on programming seen on the Web.”

“The success of the BBC’s iPlayer is putting the internet under severe strain and threatening to bring the network to a halt, internet service providers claimed yesterday. They want the corporation to share the cost of upgrading the network — estimated at £831 million — to cope with the increased workload. Viewers are now watching more than one million BBC programmes online each week.”

If you’ve been hearing a lot about the new wave of 3-D movies and wondering why Hollywood would try to resurrect a half-baked technology that no one liked in the first place, you’re not alone. But “3D is finally poised to come of age, backed by the rapid deployment of digital projection infrastructure and a roster of evangelists who swear blind it will transform the way we watch films once and for all.”

Those who work in the Canadian film and TV industry may be screaming about censorship, but “the government’s attempt to deny tax credits to film and television productions that it deems offensive received rare applause yesterday from groups that argue tax dollars should not support depictions of graphic sex and violence.”

“Grassroots local TV has been a source of community information and a training ground for future professionals. But as part of a sweeping review, [Canada’s broadcasting regulatory commission] may rule cable distributors will no longer be required to carry the service.”

In the wake of hits like “The Sopranos” and “Six Feet Under,” running HBO is one of the tougher jobs in the TV industry. How to keep the pay-TV network on its pedestal, when the next big Sopranos-like hit has yet to materialize? A new exec will take a stab at the job beginning this week.

MYSpace has signed a deal to distribute the TV shows it “airs” online to an array of overseas broadcasters. “The deal covers DVDs and merchandise but MySpace retains all net rights to its programmes.”