Category: media

Kids movies are hot. Kids movies made from classic stories are right on top. “They make great gobs of money when they work. Pretty decent money even when they’re just passable. And that’s why movies that would have once been seen as kid stuff have become the toast of Tinseltown.”

“Sirius and XM Canada, two competing U.S. services newly launched in Canada, offer a plethora of music divided by minute genre distinctions, along with talk-radio, news, sports and comedy channels. The question now is whether Canadians will find this a fascinating new world of digitally transmitted radio or, as with cable and satellite TV, a vast array of nothing.”

DVDs have become an effective way of getting political messages out. “DVDs are cost-effective in terms of marketing. If theatrical is prohibitively expensive, DVDs are a great way to get out a political message. You can get free media play in such conservative strongholds as the blogosphere and talk radio.”

NBC is joinging the rush to video podcasting. The network follows ABC in making some of its series available for download. “The shows, taken from NBC, the USA Network and the SciFi Channel, include current and older programming, the companies said.”

“Why don’t the movies have plausible, real-world villains anymore? One reason is that a plethora of stereotype-sensitive advocacy groups, representing everyone from hyphenated ethnic minorities and the physically handicapped to Army and CIA veterans, now maintain liaisons in Hollywood to protect their images. The studios themselves often have “outreach programs” in which executives review scripts and characters with representatives from these groups, evaluate their complaints, and attempt to avoid potential brouhahas.”

BBC’s Radio 2,3 and 4 went off the air for a while Monday afternoon. “The break in transmission was caused by a staff evacuation at BBC Broadcasting House in London which led to the networks being taken off the air.”

The British government proposes instituting a tax credit for producers making films in the UK, with 16% relief for large budget films and 20% for small budgets.

It’s been such a bad year for actresses in Hollywood, that it’s difficult to find worthy nominees for Oscar. “There are names being bandied about, but they’re the product of desperation rather than honest cultural buzz, and they go to the heart of what’s wrong with Hollywood at the moment. More than ever, male movie stars sell movies. Consequently, more than ever movies are built around male roles. Increasingly, the pickings for women aren’t just slim but nonexistent.”

“The story of the current rise of Christianity in Hollywood is a tale of the lion, the nun and the billionaire. The movie industry has become a big time born-again believer after experiencing the power of faith-based marketing.”