Category: media

“Monday’s lawsuit saw some of Bollywood’s biggest names, including superstar actors Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar, come together against news channels Republic TV and Times Now.” The case concerns the national frenzy of media speculation over the likely suicide of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June. – AP

“Nearly 10,000 theaters closed in mid-March following coronavirus restrictions. Now, they will become one of the last few public places to reopen outside high-risk areas. But they still pose some of the biggest infection risks: the virus can spread easily in closed spaces. To minimize the danger, seats are separated. Show timings will be staggered and digital payment encouraged. Masks and temperature checks are mandatory.” – The Hollywood Reporter

Basically, yes, argues Kathryn VanArendonk, and the docuseries boom we’re seeing now couldn’t have happened without “a television landscape primed by decades of reality TV.” What’s more, the qualities the two genres share “are key to why [a docuseries can be] so delicious.” (Besides, “Anglo-American culture has yet to meet something lowbrow that it didn’t find a way to repackage as classy and valuable.”) – New York Magazine

Major movie releases that were previously scheduled to be released in the fourth quarter have either been rescheduled for 2021 or slated for streaming releases, “leaving a reduced slate of movie releases for the remainder of the year, and release dates may continue to move.” – The Hollywood Reporter

The easy answer is that by the April 25 ceremony date, movie theaters will have been effectively hobbled for more than a year, and people will need a reminder why movies matter. Or, perhaps more accurately, after the public has grown accustomed to watching movies at home. – Los Angeles Times

For many stations, the pledge drive has become a brand-identity paradox. To attract the most money to support their mission of quality television, many stations diverge from their usual lineup and resort to pledge programming of more doubtful merit — infomercials, specials that promote pseudoscientific advice, music documentaries that exist just to push you to choose a six-CD set as your “thank you” gift. – The New York Times

“As a more-than-full-time TV watcher I have a tremendous fondness and respect for the Public Broadcasting Service — and for the public-TV ecosystem that surrounds it — that aren’t based on grumpy butlers or colorful puppets. They’re based on something PBS and its member stations do more thoroughly than anyone else in TV: educate us to be better citizens.” – The New York Times

“Any veteran of the video games industry will tell you that good games are products of miracle. … Yet Amazon’s total inability to excel in gaming is remarkable. Breakaway wasn’t its first fiasco, or its last. After more than a decade of concerted effort, the tech company that brute-forced its way to dominance in books, retail, and cloud computing has failed to produce a single successful big-name title.” Why? As one former employee put it, “There’s this hubris. We’re Amazon. We can do it all. We can spend our way to success.” – Wired

The actor who found fame in 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians talks about making indie movies before he hit it big. “It was magical as an actor to be able to sit in a character’s feelings and confusion and history. I’ve been trying to find great material to work from like this, much more independent styles of movie making.” – The New York Times

“Under the new structure, Disney is creating a Media and Entertainment Distribution group responsible for both the dissemination and ad sales for all of its content, including across streaming services including Disney+. … The newly created group will be responsible for the profits and losses for the entirety of Disney’s media and entertainment businesses and will oversee distribution, operations, sales, advertising data and technology for all of Disney’s content arms.” – The Hollywood Reporter