“Why do two movies with nearly identical sex scenes get different ratings for sexual content? And why does the same thing happen with violence, drugs, and swearing? Is our ratings system totally arbitrary? Not quite. … In this episode of Watch Smarter, we explore how the subject shown on screen matters to the MPAA less than how that subject is shown – and the impression the MPAA believes a certain depiction leaves on the audience. Our journey begins with the F-word.” (video)
Category: media
Total Entertainment And Real Perpetual War Have Melded Into One
It’s a cliché of aristocratic military lore that Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton—but like many clichés, it contains more than a kernel of truth. In our frenetically digitized mass society, meanwhile, we casually understand that combat presented as harmless fun in the guise of sports, video games, and television probably goes a long way in softening the military’s image.
How Jack Benny Became A Template For Comedians
In May 1932, with vaudeville in a death spiral due to the Great Depression, Benny turned to the growing entertainment medium of broadcast radio. It was Benny’s understanding of radio’s unique challenges—and his ingenious solutions to them—that helped him become the number one comedian in radio history, forging a template that many imitators and competitors would follow.
Growing Like Mad But Hemorrhaging Cash, Can MoviePass Survive The Summer?
“With the service’s subscriber base exploding from 20,000 ([last] August) to nearly two million users in under one year, MoviePass faces fresh doubts about its ability to remain in the game. Specifically, the embattled company is facing existential reckoning about its gigantic negative cash flow, financial sustainability, and protection of user data.” Chris Lee explains the situation.
The Curse Continues? Terry Gilliam’s Don Quixote Film Loses U.S. Distribution As Amazon Pulls Out
Because there’s just no way that this endlessly jinxed movie should get some uncompromised good news: Amazon Studios, which helped revive the prospects of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote in 2015 when it became a co-producer of the film, quietly decided several weeks ago not to distribute the title, apparently because of a last-hour rights dispute.
Some Good News For Terry Gilliam’s Don Quixote Film: French Court Rejects Injunction To Stop Cannes Screening
“In the long-running quest of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, the movie has scored a victory. Directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Adam Driver and Jonathan Pryce, the film has gotten the go-ahead to close the Cannes Film Festival next week after a judge in France rejected a lawsuit by producer Paulo Branco that would have blocked it.”
How Once-Golden Univision Has Imploded
Once upon a time, Univision, an American broadcasting operation aimed primarily at Spanish speakers in the United States, was a tremendous golden goose laying tremendous golden eggs: It made incredible amounts of money and had to do essentially nothing for it other than run programming produced by Televisa, a Mexican broadcasting operation. The fairy tale ended long ago. Univision has been in decline for years, thanks to a disastrous private equity buyout finalized in 2007; an aging audience; a burdensome program-licensing deal with Televisa; competition from Telemundo and Netflix; layers of overpaid and useless middle management; and a general failure to position itself for a digital future.
Terry Gilliam’s Ill-Starred Don Quixote Film Is Finished And Has The Closing Slot At Cannes – Yet *Still* Its Problems Aren’t Over
Reporter Nicholas Barber gives a refresher on the calamitous three-decade long history of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, the run of good luck that finally saw the movie completed, and the last-minute monkey wrench that has been thrown into the works.
Terry Gilliam Suffers Stroke As ‘Quixote’ Curse Seemingly Rages On
“French newspaper Nice-Matin reports that a minor stroke prevented director and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Terry Gilliam from attending May 7 court arguments on whether his The Man Who Killed Don Quixote will be permitted to close the Cannes Film Festival. … Paulo Branco (Cosmopolis), a onetime producer on the project, sought an injunction to stop both, claiming he has held the rights to the film since August 2016.”
An Edgier, Warier Cannes Festival This Year?
Things start to feel edgier. Those hotels have made it more difficult to access their lobbies; La Croisette, the main boulevard, has huge new planters in place to prevent the kind of truck attack that devastated nearby Nice two years ago; and according to the Hollywood Reporter the city “recently doubled its annual anti-terrorism budget by adding a hefty $2.4 million,” including a new K-9 force. And the ongoing Netflix fight got even testier this year with the streaming service pulling its slate to protest the festival’s rules requiring that all films in competition have theatrical release in France. The festival itself is undergoing changes.