Category: media

“The federal broadcast regulator has ruled in favour of the CBC in a challenge by a private broadcaster against the launch of internet portal CBC Music. The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission ruled that the CBC does not have an undue preference and does not disadvantage other new media players in launching the free internet service.”

“Almost 52 million people – 90% of the UK population – watched the Olympics for at least 15 minutes, the BBC said. That made it the biggest national television event since the current ratings system began – ahead of the 2002 World Cup, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.”

“The plaintiffs point to 20th Century Fox, among other FEG business units, saying that until July 2010, interns hired to work there were not paid, even though they were required to fill out I-9 forms, sign confidentiality agreements and were deemed “employees” covered under workers’ compensation laws.”

“Television, movies and books can be more than leisure activities; in some cases, they fulfill needs, like restoring self-control, that people are reluctant or unable to fulfill through other means.”

“Currently, 7,000 of China’s 11,000 screens are 3-D capable. … In 2008, two 3-D films were shown in China; roughly 30 will appear in the country by the end of 2012. From January to June, 21 3-D films – 13 percent of all 159 theatrical releases – accounted for 46 percent of the box office gross.”

“[D]espite his gifts, Scorsese has never returned to his early form while, for all his ambition, Spielberg’s supreme achievements remain his pure entertainment machines … Two other contenders, David Lynch and Brian De Palma, have each made brilliant films … but more often than not their experiments have blown up in the lab … [while] Cronenberg’s career-long consistency is unmatched.

“Leave it to Lars von Trier to find a connection between Nazi architect Albert Speer and Rat Pack singer Sammy Davis Jr. The controversy-courting Danish filmmaker has invited the public to reintrepret one or more of six great works of art for a community film project that will be unveiled at the Copenhagen Art Festival.”

Alan Powdrill takes photos of tourists taking photos. It’s a bit of a challenge to find the right enraptured faces without letting on. “Capturing tourists in the wild wasn’t easy, and required much staking out of their terrain.”

As they film the third season, the actors have been ordered to burn or shred scripts – not just recycle or toss them – so the storylines stay secret.

“Since the first flicker of a nickelodeon, movie-theater owners have invested in many upgrades, from stereo sound to stadium seating, even while losing large portions of their audience to television, home video and the Internet. But the cost of the digital conversion is unprecedented: about $50,000 per auditorium.”