Category: media

Twins, timing, and the Werner Herzog slot.

“The current system of sneaks, leaks and embargoes is phony, with fan mash notes passing as critiques, and ratings that can be easily manipulated by anonymous posters. By the time the professional critics arrive, the job often seems less about reviewing a new film that trying to offer a correction to an already-formed consensus.”

“Networks started on the radio and then they moved to television, and then cable came about, and then hundreds more networks arrived. And now I think we’re going to see a slew of new networks that are being born on YouTube and other digital platforms.”

“Critics are forever spouting off about TV’s ‘golden age.’ Not a few of them think we’re in the middle of it right now. But the fact is that virtually all of TV’s formulaic programming genres were in existence 60 years ago, and that some had already been perfected.”

“Companies that own and operate other forms of media are making presentations, but television looks to be having a moment, in large part because marketers remain keen on buying commercial time during video programming despite the uncertain outlook for the economy.”

Researchers found that those who played the violent video games showed less activity in areas that involved emotions, attention and inhibition of our impulses. “Behavioral studies have shown an increase in aggressive behavior after violent video games, and what we show is the physiological explanation for what the behavioral studies are showing.”

“If moviegoers find the sensory experience of watching the new silent film The Artist dramatically different from taking in the average 3-D blockbuster, it’s not just in their heads – audiences are actually using the auditory parts of their brains to create their own soundtracks.”

“When the news broke last week that director Adam Shankman would be helming a new feature film version of The Nutcracker, fans of Shankman’s career could be excused for assuming the movie would evoke the classic ballet.” (He began his career as a dancer and choreographer.) Yet Shankman is clear: “No ballet.”

“Increasingly, sophisticated filmmakers who once relied on American studios for backing are turning to a globe-straddling independent finance system for their most expensive projects.”

“A raunchy musical version of Alice in Wonderland, which the director had been working on at the time of his death, is expected to be made by the same team who were working with him, incorporating his ideas but with a new director.”