Category: media

When you have to ask yourself, “Am I actually dying to see this movie?” it might be too early for the theatres to reopen. “Infections are still going up in many states, and there is no federal plan in place to halt that spread. Simple acts to contain the coronavirus, like wearing a mask or staying at home, have now become so hopelessly politicized that it’s all but impossible to imagine our country flattening the curve by Aug. 12.” – The New York Times

Why? Well … drive-in movies and a summer that’s full of actual horror as well. “It turns out that inexpensive horror flicks, which have been part of the Hollywood ecosystem as long as cinema has existed, are thriving as a result of a sparse film landscape and a largely quarantined moviegoing populace.” – The Atlantic

Truly embarrassing themselves again, major studios released 118 films in 2019 and, well, they all got low grades from GLAAD. “Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, United Artists Releasing and Universal Pictures were marked as ‘insufficient’ by GLAAD, while Sony Pictures Entertainment and Walt Disney Studios received ‘poor’ grades and STX Films was slapped with a ‘failing’ grade as it had no LGBTQ representation in its 2019 film slate.” But they all failed at trans representation. – The Hollywood Reporter

Broadcast ratings for nearly all of NPR’s radio shows took a steep dive in major markets this spring, as the coronavirus pandemic kept many Americans from commuting to work and school. The network’s shows lost roughly a quarter of their audience between the second quarter of 2019 and the same months in 2020. – NPR

Documentarian Anthony Baxter writes about how his 2016 film You’ve Been Trumped Too — which shows how the seizure of land for and the construction of Trump’s Scottish golf resort affected nearby residents, including one farm family whose water supply has been cut off ever since — was suppressed by legal threats from the Trump Organization and the exorbitant premiums demanded by companies for providing errors-and-omissions insurance. – The Guardian

“China will begin reopening cinemas in ‘low-risk regions’ from July 20, the China Film Administration announced Thursday, ending nearly six months of closures that left thousands of theaters bankrupt. … When a small portion of cinemas reopened briefly in March, business was dismal. Venues were unable to attract much of a crowd by offering stale local titles that most people had already seen. Fresh content will now be crucial to getting people through the door.” – Variety

Kate Knibbs: “Occasionally, circumstances arise where someone or something so high and mighty takes such a ludicrous tumble that the pratfall practically begs for a gleeful response, even from the most generous of spirits. Case in point: the disastrous debut of Quibi, a lavishly funded new streaming service that may currently have more jokes made at its expense than loyal subscribers. … [And laughing is] not sinful. In fact, there’s something akin to virtue in recognizing why Quibi deserves a ribbing.” – Wired

Dan Kois: “What are these displays? Whatever they are, they are not authentic expressions of rage. … Rather than citizens pushed too far by onerous mask policies — finally sent over the edge — the people in the videos are recognizably acting, delivering tiny one-person shows. Perhaps they’ve rehearsed these lines in their head for weeks, cooped up at home, seething about the news. … And here, in the grocery store, finally granted an audience — the lights bright and the cameras running — they seize their moment to act. And they’re bad actors.” – Slate