Category: media

“If you and I ran a major Hollywood studio, we’d probably play it just as safe, sticking with modest variations of time-tested formulas. But independent filmmaking has become an important force, allowing for human-scaled productions with no moguls or bosses calling the shots.”

The latest idea for “reality” TV? A show where young comics slug it out in front of producer Lorne Michaels with the prize being a role on Saturday Night Live. (Does ths “reality” mean no lip-syncing on camera?).

“Taking a cue from recording companies, Hollywood movie studios are preparing to file copyright infringement lawsuits against computer users they say are illegally distributing movies online… The lawsuits will target movie fans who share digitized versions of films over peer-to-peer networks, with the first wave of litigation planned for as early as Thursday.”

Taking a page from Canada’s book, the nation of Iceland is attempting to lure American filmmakers to its shores. But unlike Canada, the reasoning behind the come-on is more than just financial: Icelanders go to more movies than residents of any other nation, and locally made films often get lost in the Hollywood shuffle. “The hope is that these filmmakers will bring revenue into a country that has struggled to diversify beyond fishing, and that the American and European crews will bring their expertise. The theory is that these skills will be passed along to local filmmakers, [and] the production values of Icelandic films will be raised.”

The new generation of cell phones promise big things. And so this week the first-ever dial-in cell phone concert took place. “At 9pm, some 300 Rooster fans were expected to flock to the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London to see their heroes perform a 45-minute set. At the same time, up to 1,000 customers on the 3 mobile network were watching the very same concert on their telephones. Live music broadcasts are billed as one of the major enticements of third generation – or 3G – mobile technology.”

“Twenty-five years after Miramax Films was founded and 11 years after it was purchased outright by the Walt Disney Co., the company is in the news as never before. After two rounds of layoffs that have eliminated 26% of Miramax’s work force — and amid speculation that Bob and Harvey Weinstein, brothers who founded the company, might contemplate striking out on their own — its achievements stand in even bolder relief.”

“Consumers want music rather than movies while on the move, says a report. Produced by Jupiter Research the analysis of the portable media player market found only 13% of Europeans want to watch video while out and about. By contrast, almost a third are interested in listening to music on a portable player such as an iPod.”

As shock jocks get squeezed off the broadcast airwaves, satellite radio is becoming a home to some high-profile raunch-meisters such as Howard Stern and Oppie and Anthony. But how raunchy do you get when the limits are off? Make it too gross and listeners might stay away…

As the BBC’s charter comes up for review, the government tells the broadcaster that it should refocus on its core activities. “Some of the diversity of the functions the BBC has developed over the last 10 years should now come under very close scrutiny.”

Does anyone really believe that pop stars don’t lip sync at least some of thye time? Okay, so what accounts for the storm of controversy after Ashlee Simpson was caught lip-syncing (or not) on last week’s Saturday Night Live?