Lynda Obst: “We women roaming the plains of the dinosaur era had never heard the term ‘sexual harassment,’ but we were frequently moving errant hands on our thighs back where they belonged, with a small swat or otherwise. H.R. was not a concept we’d even dreamt of; screaming bosses and aggressive flirting were part of the fabric of everyday life. … If you wanted in on the decision-making you had to block out the vile language and the insulting sexism and just keep talking about the part. ‘Don’t get kicked out of the room’ was the rule.”
Category: media
How Video Games Devour The People Who Create Them
“Among video game developers, it’s called ‘crunch’: a sudden spike in work hours, as many as 20 a day, that can last for days or weeks on end. During this time, they sleep at work, limit bathroom breaks and cut out anything that pulls their attention away from their screens, including family and even food. Crunch makes the industry roll – but it’s taking a serious toll on its workers.”
American Film Institute Turns 50 – It Helped Redefine Movies As Art
“In those days, folks out here [in Los Angeles] were very uncomfortable being called artists, because they were making a lot of money. It seemed brash and inappropriate. It helped that an institution like AFI really provided that context for why this is America’s art form, how much it changed American culture.”
Podcast Behavior: Here’s When People Listen To Their Podcasts
The music streaming giant looked at what a typical day of music and podcast listening looks like for their listeners–and discovered that podcast listening peaked during the middle of the day. Interestingly, when they looked at weekday numbers versus the weekend, people listened to fewer podcasts on the weekend. In fact, the drop off is pretty significant, 45% to be exact.
Post-Charlottesville, How Is America Changing Its Approach To ‘Gone With The Wind’?
Aisha Harris: “How are cinemas, TV networks, and classrooms rethinking how they present this historical epic and all-time box office king? And could it go the way of Hollywood’s original historical epic and first megablockbuster, 1915’s The Birth of a Nation, leaving it shown very rarely and almost exclusively in academic settings? To find out, I talked to theater managers, academics, television programmers, and fans. The answers I received were mixed, not least because Gone With the Wind is still big business.”
Anything To Be Learned From This Wildly Popular Event?
“Last year there were more than 140,000 applications for tickets to be in the 200-strong studio audience of what is often Ireland’s most watched television event of the year. Audience members get to see young Irish performers, enjoy the latest toys up close, and are guaranteed to leave with a large stash of goodies.”
A Legendary Portland Video Store Has Gone Nonprofit – And Won Its Kickstarter Campaign Quickly
In Portland, the video store Movie Madness is a gem: “The labyrinth of aisles arranges some 84,000 films by countries, directors, actors, and genres, which get as specific as Rampaging Teenagers, Childhood Icons Gone Terribly Wrong, and Problems with Rodents.” But the 71-year-old owner wanted to sell, specifically to a nonprofit that runs Portland’s Hollywood Theatre. Then the Kickstarter began.
The Newseum Is Incredibly Relevant, And Incredibly Underfunded
The Newseum opened a beautiful new building in D.C. at the worst possible time, and its one major funder is having to tighten its budget. “News organizations who were generous supporters at the outset found themselves contending with their own financial challenges. Journalists, who do not have the deep pockets of some professions, were not a particularly bountiful source of money.” Can the Newseum survive?
The Departure Of Gustavo Arellano From The OC Weekly Points To The Endangered Status Of Latinx People In The Media
Though Arellano, who wrote the “Ask A Mexican” column, was with OC Weekly for 15 years, six as editor-in-chief, he was a rarity in the U.S. “According to census population estimates from 2016, Latinos account for almost 39% of the population of California and 18% of the total U.S. population, but remain conspicuously underrepresented in media both in the state and nationwide — especially at its top ranks.”
The Chickasaw Nation Takes Representation Into Its Own Hands With Indie Films
With the new film Te Ata, the sovereign nation shows that its film department is Hollywood-ready – or, if history is any guide, better than Hollywood. Actor Gil Birmingham, who is a member of the Comanche Nation and has acted in many movies, including the Twilight series, says, “Hollywood will take its licenses with characters and storylines, but it’s so much more encouraging and inspiring to hear the stories told from a tribe that originated the stories from the beginning.”