Governments around the world have been considering legislation regulating sale of violent and pornographic computer games. Australia recently banned two controversial games. But social scientists say “more careful research before we can reach a definitive conclusion, (but) I know of no scientific evidence that the interactive nature of computer games makes them more harmful than other popular media.”
Category: media
How Will Radio Evolve?
Does webcasting help promote recordings in the expectation that listeners will go out and buy? Or is it just theft of free music? Should webcasters have to pay substantial royalties for the privilege of using recordings? Have big corporations consolidated the life out of traditional radio stations? These are questions confronting those trying to determine the future of music-casting.
How Canada is Stealing Hollywood:
From 1999 to 2002, money spent on making films in Canada has doubled, as production crews look to save money by exploiting the weak Canadian dollar. By a remarkable coincidence, the number of U.S. cities that give a darn about the Northern migration of moviemaking has also recently doubled, from one (Los Angeles) to two (L.A. and New York.) What made the Big Apple sit up and notice? Well, you don’t really expect New Yorkers to sit still while a TV movie about the life of former mayor Rudy Giuliani is filmed in Toronto, do you?
Anti-Tobacco Forces Target Hollywood:
Product placement has been a staple of big-budget Hollywood films ever since E.T. followed a trail of name-brand candy into Elliot’s bedroom. But a coalition of activist groups and health organizations is demanding that the film industry draw the line at in-film cigarette advertising. “The groups want the industry to encourage the Motion Picture Association of America to impose an R rating on films that include smoking, except those that ‘clearly and unambiguously’ reflect tobacco’s dangers.”
Egoyan’s New Role:
Atom Egoyan knew his film Ararat, which tells some hard truths about the World War I-era slaughter of Armenians in Turkey, would be controversial. He wasn’t prepared for just how controversial. Since Ararat debuted several months ago, Egoyan has been called a liar, a propagandist, and had his life threatened via e-mail. It’s enough to make a director long for the days when he was only being called an anti-Semite by a Toronto critic…
Australia Film Industry Booming:
Australia’s film and TV production industry grew by 8 percent in the past year. “But while budgets boomed, there was also concern about the drop in locally made television drama, with not one adult television mini-series made here for the first time in more than 20 years.”
Sotheby’s Trust Problem
How will the public regain trust in auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s? Fines are not enough. Confidence in the auction houses won’t come until everyone who had any hand in the price-fixing scandal has departed. One problem. Former Sotheby’s chairman Alfred Taubman, currently serving a prison term in remote Minnesota, is still the company’s biggest shareholder. And he’s not likely to sell anytime soon.
National Gallery Makeover
London’s National Gallery has unveiled a £21 million makeover project to improve access to the museum. “Gallery officials and architects believe the refurbishments will turn the area into the capital’s cultural focal point.”
Spiderman Sets Record
On its first day in stores, the movie Spiderman sells a record 7 million DVDs and videotapes. Last spring Spidey shattered box office records with a $114.8 million opening weekend in movie theatres.
State of Shock:
Shock jocks on American radio get away with the most outrageous stunts and foul language. But while pop culture that finds an audience on one side of the Atlantic usually finds success on the other, the shock jock phenomenon hasn’t.