Category: media

“There are some signs of home voting, if fewer than previous years. BAFTA’s minor deviations from the Oscar consensus almost all favor either British talent or work in British movies. “

“Binge-viewing, empowered by DVD box sets and Netflix subscriptions, has become such a popular way for Americans to watch TV that it is beginning to influence the ways the stories are told — particularly one-hour dramas — and how they are distributed.”

“Streaming media companies are positioning themselves as the place where writers, directors and producers can do what they want, without fear of micromanaging.”

“Not only do you have to deal with widening perspective and creating a larger world, you also have to deal with the fact that from outward appearances the hero is a mumbling, stumbling, brainless bag of meat that spends every moment dreaming of devouring human flesh. This was the principal issue facing Jonathan Levine when he first came aboard to adapt Isaac Marion’s novel Warm Bodies.”

“A protest about control of an image paradoxically publicizes the image even more. It is unfair that the Technoviking made no money from his fame, but it’s too late to undo: his image has now passed into mythology, and so belongs to all of us.”

“For the time being, at least, consumers still like to own and rent movies and TV shows on DVD and Blu-ray, even in a world where connected devices and digital rental, streaming, and ownership options are becoming more accepted and commonplace.”

“Fey’s 30 Rock success … just so happened to occur on the front end of what has been a very encouraging time for women working in the industry. More high-profile comedies … are being created or co-created by women and placing dynamic, dysfunctional, and funny female characters at the center of their narratives.”

Nikolaj Arcel’s A Royal Affair, a nominee for the Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar, is completely un-Dogme-tic: a period costume drama about an obscure (to us) historical incident known to every Danish schoolchild.

“The entire film was surreptitiously shot inside of Disney World. … Though the filmmakers may have committed trespass when they broke Disney World’s rules and if it violated the terms of entry on their tickets, the film itself is a different matter. As commentary on the social ideals of Disney World, it seems to clearly fall within a well-recognized category of fair use.”