Category: media

There’s been much buzz about Mike Figgis’ digital movie. How’s it look? “Shot simultaneously by Figgis and three other cinematographers, the unedited film takes place in real time at various locales on Sunset Boulevard. The plot, mostly improvised by the film’s cast, is sure to reassure Hollywood’s insecure screenwriters that they’ll always have work. But then “Time Code” isn’t really about anything except digital filmmaking.” – Washington Post 05/12/00

• TIME TO BURN: Figgis talks about the difficulty of making a movie like “Time Code.” – Salon 05/12/00 

• There’s something about movies that makes dance pop out at you. No, you can’t do some of the moves you do on a stage and make them translate. But the movie-dance tradition is electrifying. – St. Louis Post-Dispatch 05/12/00

Over-elaborate plans for the opening of the Cannes Film Festival mar the event for those actually trying to see the movies. – Dallas Morning News 05/11/00

It’s all too easy to proclaim a movie an instant “classic.” But real cult status doesn’t become just any “Rocky Horror” wannabe. It takes seasoning and … – Daily Mail and Guardian (South Africa) 05/11/00

The chairperson of India’s film censor board is under fire for some recent cuts of “American Beauty.” “I was adamant about all the expletives being deleted. I won’t allow filthy language in any film.” – Times of India 05/11/00

After losing its copyright case over music downloading last month, MP3.com says it will remove major-label music from its site. The company is said to be negotiating with recording companies over a million-dollar settlement. – Boston Globe 05/11/00

About 100 new radio stations go online each month, streaming their programs directly onto the internet and into people’s computers. There are about 3,500 stations now online, but everyone in the radio industry is watching the phenomenon anxiously, trying to sort out what it means for traditional broadcasting. – The Globe and Mail (Canada) 05/11/00

George Lucas says he’ll shoot most of the next installment of the “Star Wars” franchise with digital equipment, foregoing celluloid.  “Lucas’s move this month reverberated like the first loud shot in a digital revolution that a growing number of people, both in and outside of Hollywood, believe is now unstoppable. Some insurrectionists are even convinced the cheaper digital cameras will unshackle them from some studio control. Before it’s all over, it could even bring the studio walls tumbling down.” – Boston Globe 05/10/00

Cannes 2000 Film Festival gets underway Wednesday. Twenty-three films (from Europe, Asia, the U.S., and the Middle East) will be competing for the Palme d’Or. – BBC 05/09/00

• Official Cannes 2000 Web site

Last week’s Time Warner/ABC debacle point up the complex considerations of who gets to decide what channels get to live where in your TV box. – Los Angeles Times 05/09/00