Category: media

“While Hollywood still loves the summer escape movie, sophisticated real-life dramas are filling up the latter part of the year, attracting top-flight stars and directors and finding a niche with audiences continually wired into unfolding news events.”

“Blockbuster cinema may have finally reached the point where it’s eating itself. With something new and exciting every week, the turnover has become so rapid that it’s almost ridiculous.”

“Two programs created for that Internet streaming service, the drama House of Cards and the comedy Arrested Development, are leading contenders … And if they are nominated, it would be the first time that slots in the most avidly pursued categories went to programs not specifically produced for the medium of television.”

“Wadjda director Haifaa al Mansour talks to Xan Brooks about being the first Saudi Arabian woman to make a feature film. Mansour directed parts of the film from a van in order to adhere to restrictions on men and women working together. She describes how her country is changing as its artists address the conservatism of their society.”

“According to Laura Martin, only about 20 cable channels would survive in an a la carte world. Industry execs have repeatedly raised the specter of niche-oriented and minority-targeted channels becoming unsustainable in such a marketplace.”

“Film-maker Mania Akbari fled her native Tehran last summer. She is determined to examine marriage, abortion, infidelity and lesbianism at home in Iran. She has explored what it’s like to lose your breasts to cancer. She has made films that have upset and shocked the religious establishment. Now, after 15 years of censorship, ‘of living in fear and frustration’, Akbari is finally seeing her films screened commercially for the first time.”

“The common refrain I hear from venture capitalists is that nine out of 10 start-ups fail within the first two years. In Hollywood, only seven of 10 movies fail at the box office — meaning they do not make back their original investment, according to producers and executives. But that one tech company in 10 that does not fail can reap huge returns. Far larger than Hollywood.”

“When people aren’t at the mercy of the TV Guide schedule, it turns out they seek out higher quality programming than when channel surfing.”

“The music industry is being taken over by the back door and if we don’t try and make it fair for new music producers and artists then the art will suffer. Make no mistake. These are all the same old industry bods trying to get a stranglehold on the delivery system.”