Category: media

“The independent studio Lions Gate Films will distribute Michael Moore’s documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, which has gained wide notice for its critique of President Bush and was spurned for distribution by the Walt Disney Company. It will be released on June 25 in about 1,000 theaters.” Lions Gate, a Canadian company, has distributed other Miramax pictures in the past which Disney found too controversial.

Who’s going to replace Jack Valenti as head of the Motion Picture Association of America? Valenti’s a legend, and after his glamorous 38 years on the job, you’d think there would be no shortage of candidates to replace him. But the job is harder now and…

Miramax might have been barred from distributing Michael Moore’s new movie, but the company’s owners aren’t. “The studio’s founders, Harvey and Bob Weinstein, personally bought back the rights from parent company Disney, which had refused to distribute it.”

The world’s five largest recording companies are taking different approaches to dealing with their changing business models. “Five companies — Universal Music Group, EMI Group PLC, BMG, Sony and Warner — sell more than 80 percent of the industry’s music. Universal is the largest, capturing about 26 percent of the market so far this year, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks music sales. BMG and Sony are second and fourth, respectively; a merger would make them No. 1, with more than 30 percent of the market. Warner sits in third place, with about 15 percent, and EMI trails all, at about 11 percent.”

A growing number of online movie critics is having more influence on young movie fans than traditional critics. “Simply, broadband is beating out the newstand when it comes to finding a quick recommendation on a new release – especially because some websites post critiques earlier than print reviewers, often sidestepping embargoes set by the studios. But the freedom of the Web to print anything – no formal credentials or editor required – has set off a debate over whether the proliferation of online reviewers has strengthened the overall state of film criticism or weakened it.”

MTV Networks is refusing to run ads for the documentary Super Size Me, in which filmmaker Morgan Spurlock eats nothing but McDonald’s food for a month, inducing horrifying health problems. MTV executives called the ads “disparaging to fast food restaurants” by way of explaining their decision.

“The offices of Toronto-based Tapestry Pictures were trashed earlier this week, and the producers fear the vandalism is linked to its coming, controversial film, Prom Queen. In recent weeks, pro-family and anti-gay support groups have been using the Internet to denounce the made-for-TV movie, slated to air on CTV on June 1, about the so-called ‘Cinderfella,’ the media nickname for Marc Hall, a teen from Oshawa, Ont., who won the right in 2002 to bring his partner to a Catholic school dance.” One particularly disturbing online rant against the film accused one of the actors of being a pedophile, and listed the addresses of Tapestry and CTV.

Keeping kids out of R-rated movies has long been a task that movie theaters have performed grudgingly. After all, many action pictures aimed at the teen market are rated R, which technically excludes anyone under 17 from being admitted without a parent. But now, some theaters are trying out a new system, under which kids whose parents have been willing to grant them blanket permission to see R-rated films can bypass the system simply by flashing “the R-card”. The Motion Picture Association of America, which assigns the ratings, is not pleased.

MTV has announced that it will launch a new channel aimed at gay and lesbian viewers next February. LOGO, as the channel is being called, will air a mix of acquired and original programming. No word on whether MTV’s plans call for the channel to stick to its planned format for a few years, then veer off into a mix of whiny reality shows and insipid profiles.

Pixar has earned more than $2.6 billion at the box office for its five animated movies. Now its partnership with Disney is about to expire and the hottest movie company is being courted by the biggest players in Hollywood…