“As part of the New York issue, THR asked studio heads, marketing chiefs, directors, screenwriters and a slew of industry types for their collective ranking of the city’s top critics.”
Category: media
There Is No Element Of Cinema That “Monty Python And The Holy Grail” Did Not Brilliantly Make Fun Of
“You barely notice the subtitles at first, beyond chuckling at their pointless inclusion, then realize what’s going on – that the edges of reality are being blurred; that there’s no premise, not even a simple credit sequence, that this film won’t seek to subvert.”
Here’s Our Kind Of Video Game: It Lets You Wander Through De Chirico Paintings
The Brazilian designer Carlos Monteiro has developed SURREALISTa, a free computer game tribute to the Italian artist that simulates it in three dimensions. The goal is to find the secret gateways from one level to the next (there are five), each just a bit more eerie than the one preceding it.”
Dear Norman Lear: Is PBS Failing Its Mission? Maybe Not If You’re Thinking About The Future
I agree with Lear that “Freedom of expression is hollow if you can’t be seen or heard” — ie, if a film airs in a forest, does it change the world? — but here is where we differ, because I would argue that there are so many places to be seen and heard beyond primetime.”
‘A Ridiculous, If Ingenious, Invention’ – Frank Rich Asks Why TV News Anchormen Still Exist
“The network anchor’s roots are not in journalism but in the native cultural tradition apotheosized by L. Frank Baum. … NBC’s [Brian Williams] train wreck played out as corporate and celebrity farce … because it doesn’t actually matter who puts on the bespoke suit and reads the news from behind a desk.”
Norman Lear: PBS Is Stepping Away From Its Core Mission
“Unfortunately, PBS is now threatening, for the second time in four years, to downgrade documentaries, which are at the heart of its public mission. As it chases ratings, PBS risks neglecting the core of its public mission and mandate.”
What The Success Of “Mad Men” Tells Us About The Economics That Made TV’s Golden Age Possible
“It was a cultural moment that not only helped AMC negotiate higher fees with cable providers but also made it a worthy destination for the show-runners behind slow-growing cult hits, like Breaking Bad, and mainstream behemoths, like The Walking Dead.”
Reality TV Has Become Less Profitable For Networks. Why? The Internet
“The shelf life for Viacom’s reality shows like “Teen Mom” and “Jersey Shore” is shorter than it used to be, because why watch a reality show rerun when you can watch something on YouTube or Twitch, or play around with Vine and Snapchat, or Clash of Clans or whatever. So the company has to knock down the value it had attributed to those shows in its catalog. The same goes for some reruns the company had purchased from other providers.”
Short Movies Are Hot Right Now, Even Sparking Bidding Wars (They Just Don’t Make Money)
“The short film is becoming a hot commodity as actors and/or directors want to showcase their talents in a digestible format that can land deals, win awards and lead to features. The catch is: they just don’t make money.”
How Reviews Of Books, Movies, TV, Music Are Morphing Into A Strange Commodity
“Movie reviewing has been reduced, largely, to data production for Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes. Song and album reviews rarely precede the actual release of the music, so they’re treated as broad cultural writing prompts. Five or so years ago TV writing split into reviewing and recapping, which in the last couple years have merged into a strange hybrid, one which talks casually about what has happened, and which signals fandom along the way just enough to let the reader know that he has tastes in common with the writer (and that whatever recommendations might follow are worth hearing).”