Basically, because they can. Jason Zinoman explains how the huge changes over the past decade in the way television series are distributed and consumed have allowed the creators of comedies to break with what was always a fairly strict template.
Category: media
Now The Season Of Minority Casting On TV. Too Much?
“As is the case with any sea change, the pendulum might have swung a bit too far in the opposite direction. Instead of opening the field for actors of any race to compete for any role in a color-blind manner, there has been a significant number of parts designated as ethnic this year, making them off-limits for Caucasian actors, some agents signal.”
Seriously? Too Much “Ethnic” Casting On TV This Year?
The story prompted lots of reaction, foremost among the tweets was one from Shonda Rhimes: “1st Reaction: HELL NO. Lemme take off my earrings, somebody hold my purse! 2nd Reaction: Article is so ignorant I can’t even be bothered.”
As The Internet And TV Converge, A New Free-For-All Competition For Eyeballs
“To prosper, analysts say, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu will have to spend even more on the production and marketing of exclusive comedies, dramas, films, documentaries and other shows. The greater the acclaim and the more exclusive the offerings, the easier it will be to distinguish the services and persuade people to pay up every month.”
America’s Public Radio Challenge: Good Local Reporting To Match The Quality National Stuff
“NPR’s own staff sets a national standard for serious, if often entertaining, national coverage; local coverage can be as good, but often flags in reporting smarts, voice and quality. Anyone who has ever listened to local public radio traveling across the country can recognize the great disparities in reporting. Closing that gap is central to the next generation of NPR News – and public radio itself.”
Fox TV Sues To Keep “Empire” Name For New Hit Show
“Unfortunately, success today can often make creators a target for a myriad of baseless legal claims. They hope you will just pay a little something from that success to make them go away. As underscored by today’s complaint, Fox has no intention of allowing anyone to leverage Empire’s success for their own unwarranted financial gain.”
What ‘Pretty Woman’ Would Have Been Like If They’d Shot The Original Script (Ugly)
“In its original form, which you can read here, it was neither a Cinderella story nor a romantic comedy – it was a cynical, rather depressing tale of a junkie prostitute and the rich asshole she spends a week with. Neither of them is particularly likable, either at the beginning of the story or its conclusion.”
How Akira Kurosawa Mastered The Art Of Movement In Movies
“Back in January, Tony Zhou shared a sharp little video essay on Akira Kurosawa’s geometric style, a video that was technically culled from a much larger, more expansive piece on the director that Zhou was still fine-tuning. That piece is now finished, and it’s a bracing analysis that applies Zhou’s insight to Kurosawa’s use of movement in general.”
No, Pay-As-You-Go Cable Won’t Lower Your TV Bill
“The big misunderstanding about the current system is that we are somehow paying through our cable bills the actual per-channel cost for all the channels we don’t watch. Broadcasting distributors are really selling us access; the bigger the bill, the more choice is offered. Complaining about unwatched channels is a bit like complaining about the fancy elliptical machine at the health club. You may never use it, but somebody else does and their fees are helping pay for your treadmill.”
How “Pretty Woman” Revived Romantic Comedies
“[The film], released 25 years ago today, remains one of the most popular movies, and also the highest-grossing romantic comedy, of all time. It revived the languishing career of Richard Gere; it catapulted Julia Roberts to mega-stardom. … It is also, along with When Harry Met Sally, generally credited with reviving the romantic comedy as a genre.