Category: media

Hey, this is America, where it’s pretty much required that you be outraged by a little flash of near-nudity on TV. And religion – that’s a charged subject too – another something to get uptight about. But gunning down somebody, killing people, maiming them, torture… violence.. well, that’s entertainment!

Bill Moyers is retiring from PBS and his show “Now.” “The veteran journalist said he had pondered the new course for some time, and originally considered stepping down in June, when he turns 70. Instead, he will scale back his duties after that, but stay on through the presidential race.”

The Jim Henson estate has agreed to sell TV and movie rights for the Muppets to Disney. “In the months before his death in 1990, my father, Jim Henson, pursued extensive discussions with the Walt Disney Co., based on his strong belief that Disney would be the perfect home for the Muppets.”

“Reality TV is entering a chilling new phase. The old format of shows based on voluntary participation isn’t producing the kind of spontaneous, voyeuristic thrills it once did. All traces of naturalism are gone; nowadays people play up to the camera, so that producers have to go further and further in pursuit of the “real.” The only way to find unselfconscious reactions today is to catch people unawares.”

Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ is generating the biggest buzz of any movis this year. “Gibson has said he wanted to make the ‘most realistic’ Jesus movie ever made. The R-rated subtitled film, which contains scenes of blood-drenched violence and physical suffering, has generated intense interest among religious audiences, especially evangelical Christians, who have been identified by Gibson as his core audience — and by some Jewish leaders who fear that the portrayal of Jesus’s scourging and crucifixion in such excruciatingly realistic detail will spark anti-Jewish feelings.”

Yes, Australians seem to have caught the reality TV bug. But they also seem scared off of any show that is new and unfamiliar. “Every new series launched for the ‘official’ ratings year so far has fallen well short of programmers’ expectations, while the tired and true get stronger.”

Public broadcasting has a long and respected history in Europe. “But lately, public broadcasters have been thrust into the harsh glare of their own klieg lights. At the BBC and at a French public television network, France 2, top executives have resigned after journalists were cited for mistakes in reporting. In Italy, the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has moved to increase its oversight of the public broadcaster RAI, raising concerns about independence of news and other programming. The new concerns come at a particularly bad time for broadcasters…”

The struggle for what will be the next generation of DVD is underway. “The DVD is one of the success stories of the electronics industry of recent years. In the US alone, more than half of all homes have a DVD player. And it is now rare to find a computer that does not come with a DVD drive. The successor to the current discs are unlikely to be in the shops before 2005 but the tussle to become the standard for a multimillion dollar industry is already well under way.”

What are the most romantic movies of all time? The Telegraph compiles a list…

The Berlinale Film Festival is a workhorse festival. “Attracting an audience this year of more than 60,000, the Berlinale conjures up neither the glitz nor the summer sun of the more celebrated Cannes and Venice festivals. But, as it has increasingly done since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the festival is spiced with independent films and disheveled directors from countries such as Argentina, South Africa, Cuba and Slovenia.”