People are consuming more news than usual. Monthly readership of NPR’s website has more than doubled and average weekly streaming of its radio shows has gone up 31 percent since the crisis began. Podcast downloads have also increased. – The New York Times
Category: media
No Matter What The Governor Says, Most Movie Theaters In Georgia Won’t Be Reopening Next Week
Gov. Brian Kemp has said that cinemas in the Peach State may begin welcoming customers again beginning April 27. People actually in the business of showing movies say there’s no way things can ramp up that fast: there are issues of reassembling furloughed staff, actually getting films to show, developing and maintaining safety and distancing protocols, and liability if customers start getting sick. – Variety
The Backstage Creatives Trying To Keep Hollywood Going
Shooting may not resume until at least August for most productions – or it may be far later – but while most everyone in cast, crew, and production teams are out of work, some are frantically trying to figure out everything from socially distanced musicians creating a score for finished films to walking with a face mask and taking phone call after phone call. – The New York Times
When The Telenovelas Ground To A Halt
The writers scrambled to end the last episode on a cliffhangar from footage they’d already shot. This is a first: “Neither military dictatorship nor the Rio Olympics halted production of Brazil’s famous novelas, which are broadcast six days a week for single seasons of around 150 episodes apiece.” – The Economist
Weirdly, It’s A Great Time To Pitch A TV Show
Of course, streaming services are dominating at the moment for whenever the industry can start shooting again. “The market is active enough that even companies with stacked-up development slates, like HBO Max, are shopping, said one Hollywood literary agent. ‘They have FOMO, so they’re still taking Zoom pitches from writers.'” – Slate
A Podcast Adapts To Rapidly Changing Times By Returning To Good Advice
The hosts of the podcast Were You Raised by Wolves? used to answer questions about the etiquette of using your cell phone flashlight to read restaurant menus. Then things they answered at the beginning of the pandemic were more focused: How do I decline a real-life hangout with a friend? Now, as the Wolves cohosts work from home, they say the questions are returning to normal. (By the way, they split on the flashlight question.) – Los Angeles Times
When Will Blockbusters Return To Movie Theatres?
It’s going to be quite some time. Why? “‘New York and Los Angeles are going to take a lot more time [to reopen] than Montana,’ predicts Jeff Bock, a box office analyst with Exhibitor Relations. ‘Nobody is going to open Mulan or Tenet if it’s just submarkets.'” (Sorry, Montana.) – Variety
The Halt Of Everything May Speed Up Writers Union Negotiations With Studios
This is not a great time for writers (or anyone else, of course). Before this plot twist, “many were predicting writers would stage their first walkout since 2007, but WGA leaders recently told members they would not seek a strike vote during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a devastating effect on Hollywood.” – Los Angeles Times
One Theatre In The United States Is Showing New Movies
And that’s a drive-in in Ocala, Florida. (Of course it’s Florida.) “the Ocala drive-in made up the entire revenue of the top-grossing film of last weekend, Swallow, which brought in $1,710.” – WJXT (Florida)
Cinemark Aims To Reopen Movie Theatres In July
Cinemark CEO and Board Director Mark Zoradi said there will be two weeks of “showing library product, high profile library product” as the chain expects a slow flow of attendance. The big blast off anticipated here is the weekend of July 17-19 which is when Warner Bros. Christopher Nolan’s Tenet is blasting off. – Deadline