Category: media

The internet has changed the media landscape, and a new UK study shows that, for a generation that has never known a world without connectivity, the web is fast outstripping all other forms of entertainment and intellectual pursuit. That’s good news for media companies with a significant online presence, but it presents an interesting challenge for TV, newspapers, and other traditional media.

Animation for adults is old hat in some countries, but in Hollywood, it’s still considered a daring and risky step. “In the right hands, animation is the perfect vehicle for subversion, but in the economic landscape of movie-making, the only way to make animation profitable is to pitch it broad… But costs have started coming down and it’s becoming possible to target niche audiences again. “

Teen movies used to focus on prom night, nerd abuse, and the trials and tribulations of puberty. But these days, movies about teenagers are dark as night, with suicide, drug use, and endless violence where the innocent growing pains used to be. Is Hollywood just reflecting the increasingly dangerous reality of youth culture, or are the movies projecting adult fears on a new generation?

“After almost 40 years with Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster and the androgynous Big Bird, ‘Sesame Street’ is getting a fresh injection of estrogen. When the PBS Kids series kicks off its 37th season on Monday … it will introduce the program’s first new lead character in 13 years. And it’s a girl.”

Video producers say the next big thing is video for phones and handheld devices. But “about half of young adults and 4 in 10 teenagers said they were uninterested in watching television shows or movies on computers, cellphones or hand-held devices such as video iPods, the poll found. While more than 2 out of 5 teens and young adults indicated they were open to viewing this kind of content online, only 14% of teenagers said they wanted to watch television on a cellphone, and 17% said they would view programs on an iPod.”

“The American ratings system is hugely inconsistent. It focuses too much on sexuality and not enough on violence. Their stock response to criticism of the way they operate is that the current system is ‘best for parents’. But the system which is best for parents would be one that gave them real information, not just a letter rating and a description of five or six words.”

“Hosts will be in charge of two-hour blocks of radio time, and they’ll be free to play whatever strikes their fancy that day. Maybe a host is still thinking about last night’s episode of America’s Next Top Model, so he cues up a field report from a recent casting call for the show. Next might come a slam poet’s musings on commercial beauty, then three of the fiercest songs off of a local band’s new LP, followed by a spoof remix of James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful,” then an interview with a fashion photographer. Or maybe a bunch of music, or a lot of commentary. The point is, pretty much anything goes. But—and here’s the major innovation—there’s a communal element, too.”

The Emmys are facing questions about nomination procedures “after Ellen Burstyn was nominated for a best supporting actress Emmy for a 14-second performance. Burstyn appeared briefly in the HBO movie Mrs. Harris, playing a former lover in a flashback scene reminiscing about Scarsdale diet doctor Herman Tarnower. She spoke two lines, totalling 38 words, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which measured her on-screen time.”

There are so many versions of movies floating around on DVD these days, it’s getting difficult for the real fan. “Anyone who really loves a particular film is going to want to own every nook and cranny of it, which means that, in some cases, you’ll have to buy the same title three or four times. At $10 to $50 each, that represents some serious bucks.”

“For decades, the movie business has followed an inflexible formula: Produce features, show them first in theaters, release them on video, then broadcast them on television.” But a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll shows that young people, though still hungry for films, aren’t interested in following the old rules about how and when they see them. “If teens and young adults are steering clear of movie theaters, where are they going? If you’re reading this story online, you’re staring at the answer: a personal computer.”