Category: media

The standoff about packaging has lasted 18 months, and the writers’ union wants it to end. The negotiating committee wrote, “CAA and WME enter these negotiations more deeply conflicted than any of the other agencies. … But that does not give them the right to come out on the other side of this process still conflicted.” – Los Angeles Times

Director François Ozon: “I believe in cinemas. If you look at French attendance figures, they’re 50% down from last year but that’s because there are no American films – whereas French films are maybe only 20% down. There’s a lot going on in French cinema at the moment – a lot of variety, a lot of debate, commercial films, auteur films, some very strong personalities, it’s pretty healthy. And there are a lot of film shoots happening in France right now – everyone’s making the most of it, in case there’s another lockdown.” – The Observer (UK)

With Netflix and Disney controlling so much content, and with both companies now indifferent to movie theatres, things are looking grim. “What if the pandemic, rather than representing a temporary disruption in audience habits and industry revenues, turns out to be an extinction-level event for moviegoing?” – The New York Times

As the Danish series Borgen returns to filming after seven years away, thanks to Netflix’s deep pockets, many people are finding the series on the streaming service for the first time. Its star is Sidse Babbett Knudsen, but she wasn’t eager to return to the role. “It’s taken them – what? Eight years? I mean, we talked about it once in a while. I met with Adam [Price, the creator of Borgen] and we both agreed that we had a really nice run, but let’s just stop there … Unless a good idea comes up.” Apparently, it was a very good idea. – The Guardian (UK)

Movies and TV shows are, of course, great ways to get wide swaths of people interested in history. But “as popular culture tries more and more to address the international tragedy that is the slave trade, it is still far from accurately portraying that history onscreen — especially when it comes to Canada.” – CBC

Heating bills so the four-screen cinema does not get damp, water rates, insurance, monthly servicing projector costs, card reader machine contracts, IT costs and staff tax and national insurance have all contributed to the huge monthly outgoings. – BBC

From offering patrons the chance to have their names grace cinema walls for a price, to selling concession stand staples at the front door, the theatres say they’re doing what they can to stay afloat. – Toronto Star

“For nearly 30 years, the internet’s culture has been defined by a corporation’s move that seemed to, without any care about what was left behind, ensure that a sense of order would never again drive the growth of this series of tubes. This phenomenon is, in many ways, the central tension on which the modern internet is built. And it’s a tension that most people aren’t aware of, even though it is an undercurrent secretly framing our online interactions.” – Tedium

What are the owners of the Dominion cinema in Edinburgh paying £20,000 for each month? “Heating bills so the four-screen cinema does not get damp, water rates, insurance, monthly servicing projector costs, card reader machine contracts, IT costs and staff tax and national insurance have all contributed to the huge monthly outgoings.” – BBC