Category: media

Oscar’s Documentary Problem

“In a year that was widely hailed (as was 2003) as the Year of the Documentary, with nonfiction films playing in record numbers of theaters and to record attendance, the Academy’s recently published list of the 12 semifinalists for 2004’s best-documentary statuette suggests that all is still not well in the house of Oscar.”

Plan: Create Iowa Public Radio System

A report endorsed by Iowa’s three public radio licensees recommends that the state’s three major stations combine into a statewide system. “The study found that lack of cooperation and overlapping broadcast areas cause the university stations to lag behind pubradio’s national performance in audience and fundraising. ‘Each has probably reached its full potential as a totally independent university station. Public radio in Iowa has not reached its full potential, however’.”

Shoulda Been An (Oscar) Contenda

Two-hundred-and-sixty-seven movies have qualified for this year’s Oscar race. “The number is within the average range of films that have been in contention during the past half-decade. Last year, 254 films were considered, down from 279 in 2002. The numbers were lower in 2001 and 2000, when 248 and 242 pics, respectively, were eligible. The recent numbers are down significantly from the highs of the 1940s and ’50s, when films considered annually numbered in the 400s.”

The Documentary That Can’t Be Shown In The US

“Eyes on the Prize, the landmark documentary on the civil rights movement, is no longer broadcast or sold new in the United States. It’s illegal. The 14-part series highlights key events in black Americans’ struggle for equality and is considered an essential resource by educators and historians, but the filmmakers no longer have clearance rights to much of the archival footage used in the documentary. It cannot be rebroadcast on PBS (where it originally aired) or any other channels, and cannot be released on DVD until the rights are cleared again and paid for.”

It’s Groundbreaking, Innovative, And It Must Be Stopped

Peer-to-peer file trading software, the bane of movie producers and recording company executives everywhere, is nothing new. But the overwhelming epidemic of illegal movie-trading predicted by some has never quite come to pass, mainly because peer-to-peer swapping is incredibly slow and cumbersome for large files like movies. But a new piece of software is changing that – BitTorrent allows a user to download, say, an hour-long episode of The West Wing in minutes, rather than the hours it would take with traditional peer-to-peer software. And if you think this development has Hollywood running scared and ready to fight, you’d be right.

“Junket” Press Movie Awards Gaining A Rep

“In just 10 years, the Broadcast Film Critics Association has transformed its awards show from a small luncheon for winners into a nationally telecast special. Nearly half its voters are part of the “movie junket press,” a cadre of mostly out-of-town reviewers and writers who travel to interview filmmakers and performers at events that are paid for and orchestrated by the studios. Their often-gushy quotes are then splashed across advertisements for many of the year’s worst-reviewed films. Studio publicists say they make certain to pay attention to the group’s members, and they say the Critics’ Choice Awards are gaining on the Golden Globes.”

Lobbyists Push Culture Crusade

The Parents Television Council is a self-appointed lobbyist for their brand of broadcast “morality.” “What stands in the way of their success? Oh, not much: Just the seemingly irreversible trend that has all of American culture becoming cruder and more explicit. Then there are the passionate defenders of the First Amendment and the equally passionate defenders of the free market, who argue that people must want sex and violence since they sell.”