Category: media

The Federal Communications Commission wants to take on violence on TV. “Hundreds of studies over decades document the harmful impact that exposure to graphic and excessive media violence has on the physical and mental health of our children. Wanton violence on the people’s airwaves has gone unaddressed for too long.”

A study commissioned to review Canada’s four largest film festivals offered up some sharp criticism to Montreal’s sagging offering. “The report, which surveyed film professionals from around the world, is a preliminary step as Telefilm and SODEC review their festival funding priorities. It could lead to Montreal getting a smaller portion of the millions of dollars in government grants given each year to film festivals. The study also praised festivals in Vancouver and Atlantic Canada, which rank third and fourth after Toronto and Montreal and which also continue to grow. The most significant findings highlighted the rise of Toronto and the decline of Montreal.”

The FCC takes a break from slapping down broadcast obscenity this week to weigh in on an increasingly important issue within the TV industry: whether consumers should have the right to select the cable channels they wish to pay for a la carte, or whether cable companies have the right to offer packages (as they do now) with dozens of channels grouped together. “The report won’t include any specific recommendations, but its tone — especially on whether a la carte could result in huge price hikes — could influence whether forces in Congress continue to pursue the issue.”

Spike Lee is calle by some the black Woody Allen. He doesn’t like the comparison. And, he still has difficulty getting funding for projects. “Why is it so hard? For me, I’ll give you three reasons. One is I’ve never had a blockbuster. No. 2, I don’t necessarily do standard Hollywood films. And No. 3, when studios do decide to do films that are geared toward an African-American audience, their vision of who African-Americans are is different from mine — a lot of times it’s in direct conflict with how I see African-Americans.”

It’s the latest thing – movieoke. People watch a movie together with the sound off, performing the script themselves into a microphone. “It’s harder than karaoke. People don’t watch movies over and over again the way you listen to songs over and over again. And there’s no music in the background to help when you mess up.”

The FCC crackdown on content commissioners believe might be offensive is having an effect on broadcasters. “We’ve got to err on the side of restraint because we can’t make any one of our stations liable for legal action, for FCC fines. That would be irresponsible.”

Many have predicted the death of the video rental business. But Blockbuster, America’s largest video rental chain, is fighting back. “Blockbuster is expanding programs that let customers trade both videos and video games. The strategy is to transform Blockbuster from a place you go to rent a movie to a place you go to rent, buy or trade movies and games: new or used, in store or online.”

PBS president Pat Mitchell has a proposition: Congress should give the network $5 billion in return for giving up its analog broadcast signals. “Trading analog signals for digital is a big regulatory issue right now. The old analog signals are worth billions, since they can be used to transmit streaming data. Mitchell’s idea is that a one-time ‘grant’ is better than the feds’ reluctantly doling out a mere $300 million to PBS annually.”

Hollywood has always been obsessed with politics, and there is a long tradition of films with political stories. “Such movies provide windows on the vast changes that have sculpted the political landscape over the years; if Frank Capra’s Depression-era civics lesson is innately optimistic, then Michael Moore’s wartime anti-Bush-administration harangue seems afflicted by a whopping dose of cynicism. But in ways that may not be immediately apparent, the two films share similarities; each is a snapshot of a political system that works only if the citizenry pays attention and, perhaps more importantly, is given the opportunity to pay attention.”

Michael Moore joined the $100 million club as his political assault ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ became the first documentary ever to top that mark at the domestic box office.”