Category: media

A German court has has ruled that America Online must take ultimate responsibility for music piracy on its websites. The judgment by the Bavarian state court in Munich, published yesterday, opens the way for the music industry to sue companies that provide a gateway to the internet. AOL was sued after discovery that digital music files belonging to the complainant were being swapped on some of AOL’s music forums. – The Independent (UK) 04/14/00

“Blame Canada,” the scurrilous little ditty in the Oscar telecast featuring Robin Williams sashaying across the stage sandwiched between high-kicking Mountie chorus girls, gave Canada the highest visibility it has had in years south of the border. New York cabbies are cursing midtown traffic and insisting their passengers “Blame Canada.” Talk-show hosts and newspaper columnists are throwing up their hands at the various ills besetting the world, insisting people “Blame Canada.” And just in time, a festival of Canadian cinema opens tonight in New York with the best brand name going: Blame Canada.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada) 04/14/00

• The new generation of video recorders has advertisers worried. The machines can automatically skip ahead of commercials or zap them altogether. When the devices first came out, ads trumpeted the ad-busting features, but now they’re not mentioned so prominently. Without the ads, who’d pay for the programming? – Chicago Tribune 04/14/00 

“Re-versioning” is the little-known term for the process of remaking a television series for a foreign market. Recently a slew of popular Australian shows have been flooding foreign markets in re-versioned formats, but the trend is nothing new: “All in the Family” was a re-versioning of the British classic “Till Death Do Us Part”; “Sanford & Son” was based on the UK’s “Steptoe & Son”; “Man About the House” became “Three’s Company”; and “George and Mildred” was known as “The Ropers”. – The Age (Melbourne) 04/13/00

They’re making a movie of Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” and it’s being breathlessly awaited by fans of the books. When a two-minute excerpt from the project went up on the web last week it was downloaded an astonishing 1.7 million times in the first 24 hours following its release. – Wired 04/12/00

Matt Brutacao was a sophomore in high school when he wrote, shot, directed and edited his first movie – a two-hour action-adventure flick with original score and more than 80 members of the cast. He filmed it over nine months in about 30 locations, including his school bus and the local jail – where his friend’s father works – and premiered it in his school’s gym. His budget for the project?  About $130. He’s already made more than 100 movies. – Los Angeles Times 04/12/00

“It took more than a decade for the government and industry to get the next generation of TV off the ground. If consumers thought that was a bumpy ride, they’d better hold on tight: The road to digital TV is filled with potholes and little agreement on who is responsible for fixing them. This week’s National Association of Broadcasters meeting has focused attention on the need for the broadcasting and TV manufacturing industries to share the responsibility for change. – San Francisco Chronicle (AP) 04/11/00

One of France’s giant movie-theater chains – one that has already taken over 40 percent of the market by showing big American movies – recently came up with a deal for film-goers – a yearly pass with unlimited admission at a low price. The move is killing Paris’s tiny boutique theaters that specialize in small French films that get only limited distribution. – The Age (Melbourne) (The Telegraph) 04/11/00 

• The biggest-grossing film last year in Namibia was “The Matrix.” The only cinema in Windhoek – Namibia’s capital city with a population of 300,000 – is a Ster-Kinekor three-screen complex consisting of a total of 400 seats. Here, the entrance fee is N$20 during the week and N$25 on weekends, far beyond the reach of most locals. “Two entrepreneurs are walking around Windhoek, asking passersby what their favorite movie is: ‘Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Wesley Snipes, Jean-Claude van Dammy [sic].’ ” The entrepreneurs want to revive a beat-up old cinema for African film. – Daily Mail and Telegraph (South Africa) 04/11/00 

• Sunday night production was the first live drama shown on American TV in 39 years. Filmed on two sound stages, with 18 different cameras, the production had the boon of an all-star cast. – The Telegraph (UK) 04/11/00
  
  
  • A success that suggests an underused aspect of the TV medium.– New York Times 04/11/00