Category: media

A compromise is being worked out between critics and the Motion Picture Academy to send Oscar voters tapes of films nominated for Oscars. “The plan would call for the studios to send out only videotapes of the films, not DVDs, and each tape would be coded with the recipient’s name for tracking purposes. If a tape is illegally copied, or “pirated,” for resale on black markets or digitized for Internet downloading, the tape’s recipient would be sanctioned, and punishment could include dismissal from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars, the U.S. film industry’s top honors.”

“Afghan director Siddiq Barmak’s “Osama” has won the top prize at the International Festival of New Film and Media in Montreal. “Osama,” a joint production of Afghanistan, Japan and Ireland, was one of the first features produced in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban almost two years ago.”

Tivo pioneered digital video recorders. But cable companies are getting into the act. “So far, 2.5 million to 2.8 million of the nation’s roughly 110 million homes have digital video recorders. But DVR’s inspire fierce loyalty from those who have them, terrify advertisers (because they can be used to skip commercials) and are seen by many media experts as the future of television. The Yankee Group estimates that in four years, almost 25 million homes will have digital video recorders and that about two-thirds of those will be DVR’s that have been integrated into satellite or cable set-top decoders.”

“Across the country, low-power FM radio stations are banding together to denounce a mounting crackdown by the FCC. Supporters claim that FCC Chairman Michael Powell, whose recent efforts to further deregulate the radio industry have met with resistance in the courts and in Congress and have been something of a PR disaster, is retaliating by ‘having his people go out and pick on the little guys’.”

NPR ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin says that interviewer Terry Gross was unfair to Bill O’Reilly last week. O’Reilly walked out of the interview part way through, objecting to Gross’s questions. “I believe listeners were not well served by this interview. It may have illustrated the ‘cultural wars,’ [but it] only served to confirm the belief, held by some, in NPR’s liberal bias.” By the time the interview was halfway through, it felt as though Gross was indeed ‘carrying Al Franken’s water.’ … It was not about O’Reilly’s ideas or attitudes or even his book. It was about O’Reilly as media phenomenon. That’s a legitimate subject, but in this case it was unfair to O’Reilly.”

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has voted to cancel its annual movie awards this year in protest of the Motion Picture Association’s decision not to send DVDs of nominated movies to critics this year. “The ban has prompted widespread criticism in the United States movie community, including protests by many independent producers who feel that screeners are the most effective way of getting critics to see their films, which are often released commercially in only a few smaller movie theaters.”

Even if a movie is ultra-violent, it can’t afford to get an NC-17 rating. “An R rating means a child cannot be admitted to a movie without an adult or guardian. An NC-17 rating means no children are admitted. With such a rating, most mainstream newspapers will not run ads. But more important, video stores like Blockbuster will not offer the DVD’s on store shelves. And mass-market retail chains like Walmart, where studios can earn as much as 50 percent of a movie’s revenue, will not sell them, either.”

Will California Governor-elect Schwarzenegger create some incentives for movie producers to film in California? “Tax breaks, labor credits and other sweeteners are considered by many to be crucial if California is to compete more aggressively with lower-cost foreign locations such as Canada, Australia, Britain and Eastern Europe, as well as states offering incentives such as Illinois, Louisiana and New Mexico.”

TV studios are releasing TV shows on DVD, and they’re a hit with consumers. But music found in the original TV series is often being replaced. “It all comes down to a matter of money. (Studios are) saying, ‘We couldn’t afford to license the music we used in the show. It’s happening more and more, actually.’ Indeed, studio executives acknowledge that the price of obtaining those rights is prohibitive.”

A New York movie theatre chain begins adding a surchare for its best seats. “It appears that Loews’ already has isolated the best middle sections in three theaters at its 34th Street megaplex near Ninth Avenue. For a mere 50 percent markup from the customary $10, moviegoers can stop worrying that they’ll be sitting too close to the screen or too far from the screen or that they’ll miss the previews and look stupid trolling the aisles in the dark-and still be forced to sit separately from their friends.”