Category: media

Canadian TV producers have all but stopped making dramas. So the CRTC is hoping a little bribe might help. “The carrot will be more allotted advertising minutes per hour in return for more home-grown content, and increased viewership of that content, the broadcast regulator said yesterday as it released details of a three-point package.”

“The cost of making a movie at a major Hollywood studio rose 9 per cent last year to an average $64-million. Add to that the average $39-million spent on TV commercials, print ads and other promotions, and you’ve got a per-film total of $103-million, the first time in history that an average movie’s costs — the ordinary, the median, the norm! — top $100-mil. I reiterate, these are now our average films.”

The movie industry is vigorously trying to stop digital pirates. But some say industry indisers are the biggest source of piracy. “People want to buy good-quality films, and insiders are the only ones who can really provide that. It’s usually someone inside in need of some extra money who’s willing to do this.”

The European Union is considering applying the same film classifications across all its member countries. But the British Film Board says the idea is impractical…

Michael Moore’s UK distributor says it will release Farenheit 911 in the UK, even though Disney won’t allow its release in the US. “We feel it is important that artists and commentators are always free to express their opinions.” Meanwhile, in the US, Disney is “accusing Moore of engineering a dispute about the film’s release to gain maximum publicity for it.”

Disney officials are accusing filmmaker Michael Moore of using their decision not to release his latest film as a publicity stunt to get his film noticed at Cannes. Moore admits that he knew about Disney’s objections nearly a year ago, but says that he has been working “behind the scenes” for a solution, and only went public after determining that Disney was not willing to negotiate.

A French reality TV show has sparked protests by farmers. “La Ferme Celebrites – Celebrity Farm – sees 14 French celebrities live in a farmhouse for 70 days without running water or electricity. Tasks include sheep shearing, milking cows and tending as animals give birth. But the show, which attracts eight million viewers, has infuriated the Farmers’ Confederation, who consider the show ‘degrading’ to rural people.”

“The Walt Disney Company is blocking its Miramax division from distributing a new documentary by Michael Moore that harshly criticizes President Bush. A senior Disney executive elaborated that the company had the right to quash Miramax’s distribution of films if it deemed their distribution to be against the interests of the company. The executive said Mr. Moore’s film is deemed to be against Disney’s interests not because of the company’s business dealings with the government but because Disney caters to families of all political stripes and believes Mr. Moore’s film, which does not have a release date, could alienate many.”

“PBS program execs plan to begin a formal process of judging primetime programs by predetermined goals, including minimum ratings levels, outreach successes and other factors. Programs that fail to meet goals may lose PBS funding or slots in the schedule.”

“The Day After Tomorrow, a global-warming disaster flick due to be released this summer, has “become a lightning rod for criticism of the Bush administration’s environmental policies. The movie’s histrionics and dubious science – New York City is flooded and transformed overnight into a polar metropolis – also raise issues of scientific validity and activist filmmaking.”