Category: media

An essay in Le Monde titled “French Actors Are Paid Too Much!” has occasioned a great debate among cinéastes about how many and what kind of films get made in France – and how government funding supports, or distorts, the country’s film industry.

Revisions are not any easier when the starting point involves someone else’s words.

The NBC sitcom The New Normal and an Israeli dramedy series titled Mom and Dads have “won the battle for acceptance. For the most part Israeli society … has reacted to the baby bump and the programs about it with nonchalance. Even the country’s sizable religious segment has merely shrugged at the series.”

It’s two words: viral video.

“Shoppers spent £1.033 billion – an 11.4% rise – on downloads, with video games accounting for more than half that figure with sales of £552.2 million. Physical sales of CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray and videogames still account for more than three quarters of the entertainment market, but sales fell by 17.6% compared to 2011.”

“Theatrically released films grossed about $10.8 billion this year, but just five films in 2012… accounted for nearly half ($4.99 billion) of that tally.”

“As with most splintering relationships, there’s plenty of blame thrown back and forth: Studio chiefs blame audiences and stars, directors and producers blame studios and audiences, and agents blame their clients.”

“Directed by Sam Mendes and marking Daniel Craig’s third turn as 007, the movie reached the milestone Sunday when its worldwide tally hit $1 billion, by far the best showing of any Bond pic, not accounting for inflation.”

“Voting to determine this year’s Oscar nominees began Dec. 17, but with less than one week remaining until Oscar nomination ballots are due, some members have complained that snags in the Academy’s complicated new electronic voting procedures are preventing them from successfully casting their votes before the Jan. 3 deadline.”

“In every lane and every alley in this neighbourhood, there are actors such as Bansal, stepping into the street with hair slicked and carrying glossy postcards of their face and phone numbers, looking for the shoot where a director will finally realize their potential.”