Category: media

This fall, ABC will become the first American network to make its primetime schedule available in Spanish, as part of an effort to draw in the country’s ever-expanding Hispanic population. The network will use a combination of voice-dubbing and closed captioning to translate its entire lineup of entertainment programs. Hispanics, the fastest-growing minority population in the U.S., make up 1/7 of the overall population, and studies have shown that a high percentage watch mainly Spanish-language channels, eschewing the programming offered by the larger broadcast networks.

One of the more frequent complaints from survivors of Hurricane Katrina has been the government’s utter failure to coordinate and distribute the information they need in order to begin rebuilding their lives. So when a group of well-meaning Houston residents decided to set up a low-power FM radio station aimed at the refugee-choked AstroDome and dedicated to repeating crucial information 24 hours a day, public officials at all levels were excited. But it didn’t take long for the tangled bureaucracy governing relief efforts to first delay, and then completely shut down the volunteers’ efforts, for reasons passing understanding.

Everyone’s been predicting it for years, of course, but it now seems to be a fact that the Toronto International Film Festival, which kicks off this week, has established itself as the most important event of its kind in North America. Mark Caro says that TIFF has achieved that perfect blend of celebrity glitter and outsider ambition, functioning simultaneously as Hollywood’s sneak preview clearinghouse and as the most promising location for unknown filmmakers to display their wares.

Tickets to Toronto International Film Festival screenings have a little something extra built in this year: a surcharge of $1 to $5, with the money earmarked for TIFF’s building fund, which already has $175 million of the $211 million needed to construct a new home for the festival. “By tacking on an involuntary contribution towards bricks and mortar, the festival is taking a less familiar path among arts organizations where capital cost fundraising is a separate matter from the continuing relationship they cultivate with their audience.”

A bill backed by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, which would have provided $50 million in tax breaks to film companies that keep their productions in California, is apparently dead for the year after state legislators objected. “Hollywood lobbyists have argued that the state’s dominance in entertainment production is in danger because of pressure from Louisiana, New Mexico, Illinois and other states with generous tax-incentive packages, as well as from countries like Canada and Romania with favorable currency and labor rates.” The devastation of Hurricane Katrina, of course, took Louisiana out of the mix for the time being, and many in Mr. Schwarzenegger’s own party questioned such a large subsidy being given to a single industry.

In what is believed to be a groundbreaking move for a major national broadcaster, the BBC has released more than 100 clips from its television archive to the public, for use by anyone who wants to download, remix, or sample them. The “rip, mix, and share” idea was launched in conjunction with a BBC Radio 1 contest encouraging listeners to design their own music video, but the implications for broadcasters as a whole are far greater than a simple video challenge. Where most content providers make a point of zealously protecting their copyrighted content and even taking legal action against anyone “sampling” from such work, the BBC has made a conscious decision to encourage the public sharing of its archival material.

It’s almost never difficult to spot the bad guy in a Hollywood film – he’s immediately recognizable by whatever characteristics Americans have currently devised to indicate people who are not to be trusted. In the 1940s and ’50s, it was German accents and jackboots, and the Nazi archetype served the movie business well for decades, even when the villain in question wasn’t actually German. Now, with 9/11 fresh (but not too fresh) in the American mind, Hollywood villains are taking a decided turn for the Arabian. Even so, “the most popular enemies of the 21st century are still the ones without nation, religion or creed who aren’t going to offend anyone.” Another alien invasion flick, anyone?

The Venice Film Festival may have traded some of its credibility for the allure of Hollywood glitz, but one critic says that there are still great films to be found, if you can force your way through the bantering celebrities and “execrable” Calista Flockhart flicks. “There have been some good, even great films in the festival’s first few days. Two are outstanding. And one, although it is in the competition, is nothing short of a blockbuster, complete with big stars and Oscar-worthy everything being trumpeted from massive posters along the Venice Lido’s main drag.”

The beleagured Montreal World Film Festival wrapped up last weekend amid speculation that it would not live to see another summer. “Funding agencies gave $1 million of [World Film’s] funding to a new event after an analysis criticized the festival’s operation.” But founder Serge Losique insists that the show will go on in 2006, and claims that 34 countries have already signed on to provide films. Where the money will come from is another question, and one which likely will not be answered for months to come.

It’s been nearly a month since the CBC locked out its workers, including all its on-air talent and journalists, and John Doyle says that what is currently masquerading as news on Canadian TV screens is embarrassing and pathetic. Coverage of the hurricane aftermath has been farmed out to NBC and the BBC, and advance copies of what should be a serious documentary on Quebec separatism were distributed to Anglo critics without translations of the French contained in the film. Meanwhile, some CBC radio hosts have begun to do their shows without benefit of a radio signal, launching podcasts of new shows available to the public free of charge.