Category: media

“A strike would have serious implications. When writers walked out a decade ago, the impasse cost the Los Angeles economy an estimated $2.5 billion. As production halted, income dried up not only for writers but also for set decorators, caterers, limo drivers and florists. Fans were not thrilled, either, as television schedules became a sea of reruns.”

“The sight of a Syrian toddler’s lifeless body washed up on a Turkish beach was among the horrors that drove Vanessa Redgrave to make her directorial debut with a feature documentary about the refugee crisis, she said.”

“Shows like [teen suicide drama] 13 Reasons Why are very honest and raw and I’m not sure you’d find that on terrestrial TV and old school channels. Netflix has taken the model of [US cable channel] HBO, which revolutionised quality TV drama with shows like The Sopranos, and flown with it.”

“In recent years, many of the indie-boutique shingles that the major studios once supported — Paramount Vantage, Warner Independent Pictures — have closed up shop. They’ve become victims of an increasingly corporatized, IP-centric major studio strategy. Those that remain, including Fox Searchlight, Miramax, and Focus Features, have been weakened.”

From inside these communities, there is a clear, rich stream of storylines that are less concerned with the physical details and more with the interior life of LGBT characters. “Look, we know what straight, white men think, what their hopes, desires and fears are, because we’ve been told nothing but them on TV. Which is precisely why a younger generation no longer owns TV sets. Programme-makers have to catch up or they’ll make themselves extinct.”

“This is an astonishing feat for a decade and a half old franchise that launched as a marginalized car culture movie with no stars and no imaginings of a long-term franchise future.”

Few shows have earned more ink of fascination and fury during their runs. “In addition to a magnificent deployment of Tracy Chapman’s ‘Fast Car,’ the episode (which is discussed further in this critical dialogue) offers up a glimpse of what growing up might look like for these characters.” [If you’re the kind of person who cares about Girls but didn’t have time to watch it, fair warning: The article contains many spoilers.]

But films – especially documentaries after the recent rule change at the Academy – on Netflix are shut out of Oscars consideration next year. Still, “for filmmakers like Mr. Leon, the flexibility of the Netflix option is an artistic lifesaver.”

The company appears to have fixed its problems with the festival: “Up until now, Cannes had snubbed Netflix, saying the company’s online-first approach to film releases bypasses cinemas and should be discouraged. It is notable that both Okja and The Meyerowitz Stories will have theatrical releases.”

Shooting car chases, for instance, “is way more dangerous than you’re used to,” says the director of the newest installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise. “There are so many fans of the franchise in Cuba. We had to hire 100 locals to lock down a 20-block straightaway, because there were over 10,000 people watching us shoot. That’s phenomenal energy that you can feed off of to create, but there’s also safety considerations.”