Category: media

Are audiences getting weary of blockbuster movies? “Except for “Finding Nemo,” “Bruce Almighty” and “X2,” virtually every mega-movie released since May has failed to live up to its hype at the box office – if it hasn’t tanked altogether. And even some movies with record openings – like “The Hulk,” which set the all-time mark for June – suffered steep second-week drops (70 percent for “The Hulk”), suggesting audiences are suffering from ever-shorter attention spans. Overall, ticket sales this summer are off a whopping 7 percent from last year.”

“This autumn the BBC is to help launch a groundbreaking nationwide talent competition. The project, designed as a cross between Pop Idol and the BBC’s current literary initiative, The Big Read, will take BBC writers and producers to theatres and public venues in 12 cities and towns across Britain in search of hidden writing talent. Six of the BBC’s leading television writers will go out to meet and advise hopeful entrants on their work, before five final winners are selected.”

“The Fox Movie Channel — citing protests about Asian stereotypes and white actors playing a Chinese sleuth — pulled its summer festival of antique Chan mysteries recently for the wrong reasons. Black stereotyping is much more offensive than Charlie in some of the Chan movies that Fox Movie Channel had planned on beaming to the 20 million homes it reaches.”

Why is anyone criticizing the BBC’s new arts show? It’s barely got to air. “Having recognised that in recent years we lost our focus with arts programming, the BBC is now injecting new energy and verve, along with extra money, into its cultural output. What makes me proudest of arts on the BBC right now is the increasing richness and diversity of its programmes, which are tailored for a range of channels and their specific audiences.”

The internet is becoming a big force in the success or failure of a movie. “The net has a very big effect on the success of a movie. If you took a journey through all of those sites and read about Hulk for six months, by the time it comes along you’re either excited or not excited. I wasn’t – and that’s due to all the reviews I’ve read and the reviews that have been sent to me.”

Police raid a theatre planning to show an American movie that has been banned in Australia. “The crowd was reported to be more than 500-strong with another 100 outside due to overcrowding. Organisers, under the banner of Free Cinema, said last night’s event was not just about one film, but rather a wave of films that had been banned in recent years. ‘Where does it stop? I hate what is happening as far as censorship in this country is concerned. We are not allowed to see a film that millions of people around the world have seen’.”

It’s been 30 years since sketch-comedy has been popular on the radio. Now there’s a plan to try to revive it. “In an age dominated by channel-surfing and accelerated lifestyles, a disparate group of national and Chicago-based writers, performers and programmers are hoping America is ready to sit down and listen, really listen, to something that is, for all intents and purposes, retro radio with a 21st Century sensibility.”

All sorts of A-list actors are showing up as voices in new animated features. What’s the attraction? Animators get to cash in on the big names. As for the actors, it’s easy work. “No hair and make-up necessary, not a personal trainer in sight and a four-hour work day: these are just a few of the enticements luring A-list actors, including Jim Carrey, Will Smith and Robin Williams, to headline animated features.”

“This summer, more than ever, the creative and marketing logic behind the movie sequel has reversed. With the exception of the odd original picture – ‘Finding Nemo’ or a comic-book franchise like ‘The Hulk’ – sequels have become the movie industry’s core product. They are bigger, more expensive, more heavily hyped and – arguably – sometimes superior to their progenitors.”

America’s Federal Communications Commission has released details of its new regulations on media ownership. “The rules as released yesterday – bound in a 257-page document that includes a historical survey of the 20th-century media industry – represent Powell’s belief that the FCC has little role in regulating media content. The language in the rules is likely to inflame opponents, who say that the agency cares more about enriching big media companies such as Viacom Inc. and NewsCorp Inc. than fostering equal access to the airwaves and encouraging minority viewpoints.”