“After its separation from parent company Liberty Media is complete, the fate of Starz will be a bellwether of how Wall Streeters and media moguls view the long-term prospects of the premium cable biz.”
Category: media
Beirut’s Conflicted Culture Reflected In Its Movie Theatres
“Old movie theaters here, it turns out, are not just aging structures that conjure up an earlier era. They also reflect the conflicting versions of Beirut that are always competing for prominence, like the political parties and militias that fight for power.”
Russia’s Answer To The Onion
“The best news in Russia these days comes from www.fognews.ru. It’s a news agency – sort of – whose home page warns readers that the news is ‘new things we have made up’.” For instance, a story this month that conductor and friend-of-Putin Valery Gergiev had interrupted a performance to give a speech in defense of Pussy Riot.
Anti-Obama Movie Scores Surprising Success At Box Office
“In its first week in wider distribution, the documentary grossed an estimated $6.2 million, far exceeding industry expectations, according to independent distributor Rocky Mountain Pictures. That was virtually the same amount as the major studio action film “Premium Rush” collected — and “Obama’s America” was playing in roughly 1,100 fewer theaters.”
For 100 Years, American Movies Have Been Protected By Copyright
“It’s basically been a Noah’s Ark effort to save the creative history of the United States.”
When Pauline Kael Ruled The Movies
“Nobody will ever again reign supreme over the movies, because the movies don’t reign supreme over anyone.”
What Drives Hollywood’s Movie Business Model
“The entire business model for today’s movie business is rooted in an aversion to originality. When it comes to marketing an expensive movie, brand familiarity is the name of the game.”
Hollywood’s Switch To Digital Projection Spells End For Many Smaller Movie Theatres
“The analog projectors that have whirred along for decades will be suddenly rendered incapable of playing modern movies. For many seasonal theaters, the dog days of this summer may be the only days they have left.”
What The Apple/Samsung Verdict Will Mean For Innovation
“Allowing companies to take a good product and make it better and cheaper is good for consumers. But the patent lawyers won today.”
Movie Industry Experiments With Timing Of Releases Online And In Theatres
“Digital sales, including video on demand and sales of downloads, increased 51% in 2011 from the prior year, to $3.4 billion, according Digital Entertainment Group, a trade organization. At the same time total U.S. home entertainment spending, including sales and rentals of DVDs and Blu-ray discs, dropped 2% to $18 billion.”