Category: media

In a clear effort to show that it is serious about recapturing the imagination of the youth market, Disney has bought the rights to several of author Judy Blume’s novels for young adults, and plans to turn out a series of films based on them. The move comes less than two weeks after Disney announced that it had bought the rights to C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series.

And now… we give you the Next Big Thing – movieoke: “The concept almost explains itself: instead of making a fool of yourself singing in front of strangers, you do it by acting in front of a movie screen with the sound turned low.”

PBS has told Seattle affiliate KCTS it wants immediate payment of $3.8 million in back dues, part of $5.2 million the station owes for 2000, 2001 and 2003. “KCTS has until sometime next month to come up with a plan for repayment. Should Channel 9 be unable to do so, PBS could begin sanctions to force KCTS to become a “pass through” station, taking a direct feed through satellite and forgoing local content. Worse, KCTS could lose its affiliation.”

In another sign that the viewing habbits of TV watchers is changing, the ratings company Nielsen says it will begin tracking viewers that record TV shows on digital recorders such as Tivo for later viewing. “The company will keep track of shows that are recorded and watched within seven days but will not collect information on ‘trick modes’ like fast-forwarding, rewinding or pausing.”

Brits spend more per capita on DVDs than any other country in Europe. “Almost three billion euros (£2bn) were spent in the UK on DVDs during 2003. There are currently more than 50 million DVD players in western Europe – equivalent to one in every three homes.”

A strong majority of Britons would like to see a wholesale change in the way the BBC is funded, according to a new survey. The current system charges a license fee to anyone in the UK owning and using a television, and the funds from that tax go to support the government-backed broadcaster. But with the advent of cable and satellite networks, many of which target the same audience as the venerable BBC, the license fee has become increasingly controversial, and it no longer seems certain to continue in perpetuity.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation is considering killing off Radio National, the ABC’s news and culture network, and ABC Radio director Sue Howard has been quoted as calling the intellectually-focused network “boring as batshit.” The proposed elimination of one of the company’s six radio networks comes as the ABC is being forced to cut budget, but there is likely to be stiff opposition to Howard’s desire to kill off what many view as an icon of Australian broadcasting excellence.

“After years of pushing limits and pocketing profits, broadcasters find themselves in a gathering storm over indecency. And it is not likely to blow over soon. Too much is at stake. The FCC, having been blasted as inattentive, is seeking congressional support for a tenfold increase in fines for objectionable content. Last week, a U.S. House committee said the proposed increase – from $27,500 to $275,000 – wasn’t steep enough, voting to raise penalties to $500,000. Commission member Michael Copps is saying it is high time the FCC, which has never pulled a station’s license for indecency, got the attention of broadcasters by holding revocation hearings.”

When the British government announced that it was closing a tax loophole long used to finance big-budget movies being shot in the UK, industry observers warned that it would spell the death of the nation’s film industry. And indeed, movie production has ground to a virtual halt since the loophole closed. But on the tiny Isle of Man (seen by countless American moviegoers when it stood in for Ireland in Waking Ned Devine), two films are ready to roll, thanks to new subsidies from the island’s own film commission. It may not be the saving grace of the entire UK industry, says David Gritten, but it’s a start.

Many Americans are probably unaware of it, but Japanese movie studios have never actually stopped making Godzilla movies. In fact, the monster that stomped Tokyo has been the star of 28 full-length features over the last 50 years, including this year’s Godzilla: Final Wars, slated for a December release. But according to Japan’s Toho Studios, this really will be Godzilla’s final war, at least for quite a while. The studio plans to make no new Godzilla movies for at least ten years, regardless of how well the latest installment does at the box office.