Category: media

If Hollywood’s screenwriters go on strike, as they have said they will in the absence of a new contract, TV viewers will be inconvenienced. But the impact on the industry could be much more severe. “During the last Hollywood writers’ strike in 1988, a five-month impasse over residuals – payment for shows and films that aired in perpetuity – nobody won. Writers were out of work for half a year; production support workers – caterers, gaffers, crew – were, too; networks had to push their fall schedules back to mid-winter; viewership dropped by 10 per cent. Enter a fragmented media universe of cable TV; some say it never recovered.”

It hasn’t been a good fall for independent film. Despite multiple releases that garnered approval from critics, audiences have been thin for indie releases. “And a crew of classy star vehicles from studios — essentially art films with bigger budgets — has been flailing at the box office.”

USC’s film school has long been one of the top places in the US for aspiring filmmakers to get their start. But these days, it’s the school’s interactive media division that has become a magnet for creative types. What does one create with an interactive media major, you ask? Video games.

Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas was a modest hit when it was released in theaters in 1993. But no one could have predicted that, 14 years later, the stop-motion film and its associated merchandise would have become some of the most sought-after objects for collectors around the world. “Seizing on fans’ appetites, and the movie’s maturing and eager-to-spend audience, the Disney Store has released a new Nightmare line this season.” A 3D theatrical release is also in the works.

“Control, Anton Corbijn’s biopic of the Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis, leads the nominations for this year’s British Independent Film Awards. The film, which traces the life of the singer who killed himself when he was 23 and on the brink of international fame, is nominated in 10 categories for the awards, which recognise the best of home-grown cinema.”

“A British film-maker is stirring renewed controversy over America’s attitude towards abortion, with a documentary that contains shocking and explicit footage of an advanced stage termination… The film, which has opened in New York and is set for release across 23 US cities, has divided critics, with some hailing it as the documentary of the year, others denouncing it as sensationalist.”

“A trade challenge over Canadian film incentives launched by a group of Hollywood unions has been rejected by U.S. trade officials. The Hollywood lobby group had hoped to launch trade action against Canadian film subsidies under World Trade Organization rules, claiming that “runaway production” in foreign jurisdictions is robbing Los Angeles talent of work.”

The Academy Awards rules about which films are eligible for Oscars are out of date, writes Patrick Goldstein. “The academy may find its rule book a sacred text, but every year it gets them in more trouble… If you’re consistently keeping great films out of competition, then you must be doing something wrong.”

Southern California’s raging wildfires shut down production on some TV shows monday…

“Fine arts, classical music and opera gatherings have spent centuries cultivating a mood of finely mannered erudition. As for television, Americans celebrate it not in public but at home on the couch every night. Now comes the mass-market video game festival, perhaps a surprising latecomer to North America.”