Category: media

“The backlash [against Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation] was apparent on state-run television recently when Masoud Ferasati, an Iranian writer whose views are close to those of the Islamic regime, said: ‘The image of our society that A Separation depicts is the dirty picture westerners are wishing for’.”

“Many directors have said that you can’t direct a child. … It’s a delicate balancing act. If you direct or instruct him too much, he’s a child doing what an adult is telling him to do.”

The Guardian has mocked up a few entertaining suggestions. For example, a tagline and title for The Help: “You’re welcome, black people. – White People Solve Racism“

It’s the party game for non-Super Bowl fans! When Newt Gingrich suggested this week – in all seriousness – that Brad Pitt should play him in a biopic, Slate staffers got the idea of deciding (a) which actor each candidate thinks should play him/her, and (b) which actor really should play which candidate.

“Film school can be a cruelly Darwinian place, with the push-and-pull of competition and friendship, multiple layers of contest and reward, and a rigid hierarchy in which some write and direct and others find themselves unloading trucks and picking up coffee. Students want to be clever, perfect, special, the best. Competition infuses and informs every aspect of the experience.”

“Comparing piracy to radio is a smart way of looking at the issue: in the early days of the music business, when live performances and record sales were the main revenue generator for artists and publishers, radio itself was seen as a form of piracy (as sheet music was before that).”

“According to the survey, the majority of television viewers believe credits are important for both actors and audiences and more than half would like to see credits available online as well as on television.”

“Born-digital materials allow access to these kinds of revisions, and the timing, much more than paper drafts would have.”

Bernard “Schlink, who filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, claims he is entitled to between 2.5 percent and 5 percent of gross receipts from the film, which won Kate Winslet an Oscar for best actress, based on a $1.5 million option deal he signed in 1998 with the Weinsteins’ former company Miramax.”

David Harewood, Birmingham-born star of US cable series Homeland: “Unfortunately there really aren’t that many roles for authoritative, strong, black characters in this country. We just don’t write those characters, that’s a fact. … I would encourage, particularly young, black actors, to get to America … as quickly as they can.”