Category: media

Lars Von Trier isn’t a director, he’s a Happening. Picking up the top prize at Cannes only inflamed his supporters and critics. For some, “Dancer in the Dark” confirmed the flamboyant 44-year-old Dane as a posturing charlatan. “The director’s work is undoubtedly ambitious and original, and he has an ardent band of followers. But for many he remains as specious as the fake aristocratic Von he has attached to his name.” – The Telegraph (UK) 06/02/00

Presidential candidate announces an investigation into why so many Hollywood movies are fleeing Canada. “One recent report by the Screen Actors Guild and the Directors Guild of America said so-called runaway production has cost the Los Angeles film community 20,000 jobs and cost the U.S. economy $10 billion. But Canadians question the claims. B.C.’s production industry, the biggest in Canada, is worth about $1 billion, so where’s the rest? – Vancouver Sun 06/02/00

A look at Roman Polanski’s turbulent career and the morbid fascinations at the heart of his film work to date. “All are disturbing works which showcase his ability to invest the everyday with psychological terror, and the other way round.” – The Sunday Times (UK) 06/01/00

Was Cannes a success? Ask film lovers and they’ll answer yes – plenty of interesting movies to get engrossed in. Ask film distributors and you’ll hear a chorus of NO – nothing to buy, they complain (translation: nothing that would guarantee them big bucks.) – Village Voice 05/31/00

DivX video compression technology is supposed to  turn the web into a big video library, doing for video what MP3 has done for music. “I just wanted, longed in fact, to spend half a day – which is what the DivX savvy told me to expect from my T1 line – waiting for a movie to amble onto my computer. It apparently takes anywhere from two to 10 hours to download a DivX version of a film, but I was ready.” With all the hassles and complications, though, as it stands now DivX “remains a technology with a lot of theoretical potential and some very practical failures. Great it may become; MP3 it is not.” – Salon 05/31/00

It takes as long as eight hours to download a full-length movie over the internet. But people are jamming onto the net to get bootleg copies of Hollywood’s latest blockbusters – and the movie-makers are fuming. – New York Post 05/31/00

Web company buys classic San Francisco theater with the aim of webcasting every show that comes to town ( if the artists agree, of course). – Wired 05/31/00

Last fall minority groups complained that the television networks didn’t have enough programs featuring minorities. Now next fall’s lineups are shaping up – how are they doing? – The Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (Baltimore Sun) 05/30/00

Hollywood is on a pace to score its third record year in a row at the box office. “Through May 21, U.S. audiences had spent $2.44 billion on movie tickets, up from $2.25 billion in the same period a year ago.” – Chicago Tribune (AP) 05/29/00

“Five years ago, Vancouver animation studios couldn’t find people to fill positions. Today, it’s a different story. Every eight weeks, another 22 Vancouver Film School grads are sent out into the marketplace, competing against more than 100 others who graduate annually from another half-dozen animation schools in the area. The city’s industry is closely linked to what happens in Los Angeles, and animators here are feeling L.A.’s downswing. Vancouver is in a downcycle.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada) 05/29/00