Category: media

A new Iraqi “reality” show “Labour And Materials, broadcast on Iraqi satellite channel Al Sharqiya, does not merely redecorate a room, but reconstructs entire properties destroyed in the ongoing conflict in the country. The programme makers select families whose homes have been made uninhabitable either during the war or since, and reconstruct it to the extent of supplying new furniture – and even shiny new kitchen gadgets – for free.”

More than a million viewers tuned in to the BBC2’s debut of a new arts program – The Arts Show. The first program featured Andrew Marr interview David Hockney.

In its first 24 hours after release, the video game Halo 2 took in $125 million. “Halo 2 hit the stores Tuesday in the U.S. and Canada, with some retailers opening at midnight to meet the rush. Xbox, the game system Halo 2 is played on, called the launch the biggest in video game history.”

“In Hollywood, figuring out Pixar’s secret has become a matter of panicky necessity. Since 1995, when Toy Story became the first computer-animated feature film, the company has had an unbroken record of triumphs, as popular with critics as the box office, resulting in 17 Oscars and sufficient millions to make Pixar, movie for movie, the most successful studio of any kind in the history of cinema.”

Video gamers love to point out that video games are now a bigger business than movies. But the two really aren’t comparable. Movies play to much wider audiences. “Playing video games is still a minority sport, though its popularity has soared. Not everybody wants a games console. It is only because games cost so much more than film tickets ($50 versus $7) that games can outsell films, despite their narrower appeal.”

Are we close to being able to enjoy holographic 3D TV? Recent research suggests we are…

The Afghan government has banned some cable channels, including a channel that shows raunchy Bollywood movies. “The high session of the ministers have decided to ban cable TV until a cable broadcasting law is made. More than a dozen cable stations broadcasting from places such as India, Pakistan and Dubai have been available in Kabul.”

The makers of a new animated movie about the live of Muhammad knew it would be a hard sell to get the picture distributed in the US. So when no theatre company would pick up the film, producers decided to rent the theatres themselves and show it. Even then, the theatre chain Loews refrused to rent out its theatres…

Dozens of TV stations across the US are pulling out of airing Saving Private Ryan on Veterans Day. “They say they’re afraid the film’s scenes of extreme violence and intense adult language will lead to sanctions by the Federal Communications Commission under its new, supersize anti-indecency standards. Ironically, most of them already aired “Saving Private Ryan” when ABC ran it, unedited, to commemorate Veterans Day in 2001 and 2002.”

Lion’s Gate is back in the black again. The movie company saw a 205% increase in its motion picture revenue to $202.8 million thanks in large part to Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11,” which it co-distribbed. The picture brought in about two-thirds of its $119 million domestic box office take during the second quarter starting July 1.