Category: media

The Difficulty of The Da Vinci Code (As A Movie)

The Da Vinci Code seems like a natural movie blockbuster, an easy slam dunk. But “Da Vinci, set for release in May, is shaping up as one of the movie world’s more complicated exercises – so much so that Sony has dropped a scrim of secrecy over the affair, refusing to discuss anything but the barest details. The script has been closely controlled. Outsiders have been banned from the set. And those associated with the film have had to sign confidentiality agreements.”

EU Considers New Anti-Piracy Law

The European Union is considering anti-piracy legislation that would be stricter than that in the US. “A directive being pushed by the European Commission would, among other things, criminalize “attempting, aiding or abetting and inciting” acts of copyright infringement. The EU parliament will take up the proposal later this year.”

Video Games – Mainstream Mass

“Gaming has gone from a minority activity a few years ago to mass entertainment. Video games increasingly resemble films, with photorealistic images, complex plotlines and even famous actors. The next generation of games consoles—which will be launched over the next few months by Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo—will intensify the debate over gaming and its impact on society, as the industry tries to reach out to new customers and its opponents become ever more vocal.”

Homolka Film Canceled In Montreal

The Montreal World Film Festival has canceled plans to screen the premiere of a new Hollywood film based on the horrific killings perpetrated by Canadian serial killers Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo after half a dozen sponsors threatened to pull their funding. Lawyers representing the families of some of Homolka and Bernardo’s victims had previously tried to stop the screening by invoking Canada’s child pornography laws, but in the end, it was good old-fashioned capitalism that forced the festival to bow to pressure brought by the people writing the checks.

A New News Network For Scotland?

The Scottish executive has endorsed a controversial BBC plan to form a new news network to cover Scotland. “BBC Scotland’s head of news and current affairs, set out proposals for local news services which involve splitting Scotland into six regions covered by a network of 36 video journalists, who will shoot and edit their own reports.”

Well, That’ll Teach ‘Em

“Movie studio Sony is to pay $1.5m to film fans who accused it of using a fake critic to praise its movies, according to the fans’ lawyer. In 2001, ads for films including Hollow Man and A Knight’s Tale quoted praise from a reviewer called David Manning, who was exposed as being invented. People who saw the films can now get a $5 refund from Sony’s pay-out.”

Groups Protest Satellite Radio In Canada

A group of Quebec arts and culture groups has filed a complaint over the decision by the CRTC to allow satellite radio into Canada. “The group says that the decision violates Canadian broadcasting policy. According to a press release, it believes “the CRTC has made a grave error in judgment that threatens the foundations of the broadcasting system in Canada – the very system that the CRTC should be protecting.”

What’s Wrong With Public Broadcasting

“The result of public broadcasting’s failure to reinvent itself has been a steady drop in ratings that PBS President Pat Mitchell said in an address to the annual PBS meeting in 2002 threatened to reduce public broadcasting to “irrelevance” in the television universe. Loss of ratings has led in turn to increased time allotted to corporate sponsorship segments and laxer standards concerning their content, making PBS stations less distinguishable from commercial television. It has also forced local stations to rely more heavily on endless “pledge” drives with their pablum programming of mediocre motivational speakers and Lawrence Welk re-runs.”