Category: media

“The Boston station produces or co-produces nearly 35 percent of PBS’s prime-time lineup – an output rivaled only by WNET-TV in New York – and also generates roughly 20 percent of the children’s programs. The advent of the Internet has expanded the station’s reach: More than one-third of all visits to PBS Web sites are for WGBH programs. As for the numbers that matter most – ratings – WGBH accounts for more than half of PBS’s 10 most-watched shows in any given month.” – Boston Globe 07/23/00

“Though it was never a part of the show’s design, ‘Big Brother’ is broadcasting in prime time many of the unresolved fears that stretch across the nation’s racial divide. The series already is being labeled groundbreaking television, with the raw footage captured by the cameras that film around the clock generating heated discussions in cafes and Internet chat rooms across the country.” – Los Angeles Times 07/20/00

Director Roman Polanski – exiled from the U.S. since a 1978 conviction for statutory rape – is now being sued by Artisan Entertainment which claims he siphoned $1 million in VAT refunds into a private bank account after the release of the film “The Ninth Gate.” – Sydney Morning Herald 07/20/00

This year’s Emmy nominations were announced this morning. “West Wing” and “The Sopranos” each got 18 nominations. – St. Louis Post-Dispatch (AP) 07/20/00

Lawyers for eight movie companies tell US federal judge the movie industry never would have begun issuing movies on DVD if they had known they could be copied on computers. – The Age (Melbourne) (AP) 07/19/00

Earlier this year the Australian government announced it was withdrawing funding from the Australian Film Institute. The AFI is the only distributor of Australian short films and independent documentaries in the country, and the primary source of information about Australia’s television and film industry. Aussie film luminaries are criticizing the government’s decision, saying the cuts “would harm the long-term health of the Australian culture and economy.” – The Age (Melbourne) 07/18/00

• QUIT TALKING AND RAISE MONEY: “In what is turning into a battle for industry support, the commission has hit back by saying that the AFI, which has twice claimed during the past six months to be facing insolvency, has failed to seek additional funding sources, sponsorship or strategic partnerships to maintain the threatened activities. Instead, it has devoted its resources to campaigning against the decision.” – Sydney Morning Herald 07/18/00

The roar of protest over the distortions of history in the movie “The Patriot” has been deafening in recent weeks as the movie opened in Britain. So what is up with this month’s Smithsonian Magazine article trumpeting how it helped the movie-makers get the details of history right? Has “the nation’s attic” sold its soul? – Washington Post 07/18/00   

Internet radio is music to the ears of many listeners tired of the predictable hit-list programming of mainstream radio. But whereas traditional radio is an inherently mass medium uniting listeners on common musical ground, “the very multiplicity that makes Net radio so appealing also makes it somewhat depressing. If Net radio delivers us from everything banal and venal about analog radio, it also endangers what’s vital about old-fashioned broadcasting.” – New Republic 07/17/00

Movies like the “X-Men” are all about special effects, things being destroyed and shooting. So why do you need Royal Shakespeare Company-trained actors like Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan for that? “Shakespearean actors need to make a living too; why should the Keanu Reeveses and Tom Cruises of the business grab all the money and the fame? And one can imagine that a Hollywood blockbuster like ”X-Men” gives actors such as McKellen and Stewart a few months to rest their well-trained acting muscles – the equivalent of reading a beach book after a year of classics.” – Boston Globe 07/16/00

“China’s film censors have blackballed popular actor-director Jiang Wen because his award-winning film was judged to be unpatriotic. A well-placed source in China’s cinema world said Jiang, who won this year’s Grand Prix jury prize at the Cannes film festival with ‘Guizi Lai Le’, had been banned from acting or filming in China, or even appearing on television for seven years.” – China Times (Taiwan) 07/14/00