Category: media

Should Critics Be Reviewing Movies Showing In Theaters While COVID Is Still Rampant?

Richard Lawson: “If the reason for my hesitancy to go to a restaurant or, when New York theaters are open, go see a movie is safety, then is it a bit, I don’t know, morally compromised to review a movie that is coming out, thus offering a tacit encouragement for people to go watch the thing, out where it’s still dangerous?” – Vanity Fair

As Movie Theatres Reopen, Audiences Weigh The Safety Calculation

As high-profile titles like Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic “Tenet” and “The New Mutants” gear up to hit the big screen, marking the first major films to open since theaters were forced to close in March, audiences are faced with the choice of whether or not to return to the movies. Sure, they’re desperate for some entertainment and eager to do something more social after months of relative isolation, but do the risks associated with indoor activities justify a few hours of big screen escapism? – Variety

Bolsonaro Gov’t Is Dismantling South America’s Largest Film And TV Archive

The Cinemateca Brasileira in São Paulo houses more than 250,000 rolls of film and employed some of the continent’s best film-restoration technicians. Over the 19 months since Bolsonaro abolished Brazil’s Ministry of Culture, his government has fired the technical staff, stopped paying other employees and then fired them as well, terminated the contract with the foundation that managed the archive, and left it without security, air conditioning, or fire protection. – Artforum

Drop Local Content Quotas For Australian TV Networks And Industry Will Be Wrecked, Say Producers

Current licensing rules for free-to-air commercial TV broadcasters in Australia require a set number of hours of original, locally produced drama, nonfiction/news and children’s programming each year. Those broadcasters are lobbying the conservative national government to eliminate those rules entirely, but even their “fallback” position, accepting a “simplified” quota system, would see spending on Australian programming fall by half and the loss of up to 4,600 jobs, says Screen Producers Australia. – The Guardian

Actors With Disabilities Are Finally Starting To Break Through

“If a successful cultural transformation can be defined as the moment when you can finally stop counting heads, the first sign of that may be when you realize that at least there are heads to count.” Reporter Mark Harris meets with a crop of young performers landing roles and awards — but who still, always, find they have to educate producers, colleagues, and audiences. – T — The New York Times Style Magazine

Three Suspects Charged As Part Of Worldwide Movie Piracy Scheme

“The men, who have been charged with copyright infringement conspiracy, were accused of being members of the Sparks Group, a sophisticated piracy outfit spanning several continents … [that] ‘allegedly circumvented copyright protections on nearly every movie released by major production studios, as well as television shows.'” – The New York Times