Category: media

This year’s total will be about $200 million ahead of the previous record of $10,919,694,802 set in 2013. And it’s 7.2% ahead of the 2014 mark of $10,356,099,042, which declined 5.2% from 2013.

KBUU, the low-power FM station in the isolated L.A. beach community, had gotten a surplus NPR satellite dish and lots of support from two larger area public radio stations (whose signals don’t reach Malibu), and was set to go – until NPR unexpectedly denied permission, apparently at the request of another nearby affiliate (whose signal doesn’t reach Malibu).

“Some of the biggest blockbusters at the box office this year proved just as popular among torrent users: “Furious 7,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Jurassic World” were the top three worldwide, according to piracy tracking firm Excipio, which monitored activity from the beginning of the year through Dec. 25.”

“Game of Thrones” easily surpassed runner up “The Walking Dead” (6.9 million downloads for one episode), despite the AMC zombie drama earning higher U.S. ratings than Thrones.

“Jill Soloway’s stealth masterpiece … would have won polite praise even if it were merely a piece of well-made agitprop – a TED Talk on trans identity. Instead, it dived, quick and confident, into murkier waters, exploring themes less comforting but more interesting than ‘love makes a family’ sloganeering.”

“It’s been noted before that women write just 18 percent of the top reviews and constitute only 20 percent of top critics on Rotten Tomatoes—but it’s also the case that in four of the top film critics’ associations, women don’t even account for a quarter of the overall membership.”

“In India, piracy is pervasive, Internet connection speeds are pokey, and thousands of full-length movies and TV episodes are legally available for free. Cable and satellite TV subscriptions cost just $2 or $3 a month, which makes paying just 50 cents for a movie seem expensive.”

It’s becoming old hat to recount the various ways that the seventh film in the science-fiction fantasy is vaporizing records, but, familiar or not, “The Force Awakens” once again ground down high-water marks over the holidays, racking up $153.5 million domestically.

“Colorblind casting might land a few promising actors prestigious roles, but it isn’t a sustainable strategy: It neither addresses the systemic problems that exists behind the camera nor does it compel Hollywood to tell more racially aware stories.”

“It was the day after the first episode of the second season of the Serial podcast finally kerplunked into view – along with its subject, a soldier named Bowe Bergdahl, who in 2009 walked off his post in Afghanistan and was captured by the Taliban … – and the show’s host, Sarah Koenig, who doesn’t sound quite like her deliberately paced radio self in person, was a little unnerved by all the attention.”