Category: media

It hasn’t taken long for the political changes sweeping through the Arab world this year to be reflected in the region’s cinema. Documentaries about the uprisings have already started to appear, and even films that don’t treat the events directly are profoundly affected by them.

“[The] the demand for original Arabic content is fueling more investment in an industry once looked upon as a children’s play space, rather than a money-making, cross-generational, affordable Internet and cell phone genre. Online Arab creativity has also been galvanized by high Internet and mobile penetration … [as well as] censorship in traditional media outlets.”

“The studio has said it will no longer authorize the video store chain to carry its new movies when they are released on DVD. At issue is Warner Bros.’ desire to have outlets such as Blockbuster offer its films only for sale for the first 28 days of release before allowing consumers to rent titles. Netflix and Redbox also have to wait 28 days before offering Warner Bros. titles for rent.”

“[Tax credits are] bad economics, they don’t make a film better (at times I think they actually make them worse, since trying to make one location look like another is never as impressive as just going to the place the movie is set), and they’re a misuse of public funds, especially during this seemingly unending recession.”

“Unlike with biopics about athletes, musicians, and artist, there’s no visual appeal to a writer’s craft. So you tend to end up with embellishments, falsifications, and gimmicks … The struggle to pen a classic novel may play a role in these films, but often it’s secondary to the role played by juicy romantic plot lines. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

“Authorities are concerned at the “vulgar tendencies” of light entertainment shows, particularly reality TV, dating and talk shows. From next year, satellite channels will each be permitted to screen only two programmes of this type a week.”

“The biggest driver of traffic to those sites is music videos (33%), followed by TV shows (17%), film (11%), gaming (10%) and news (9%).”

“China will limit the number of entertainment programmes allowed to air on television, from match-making game shows to dance broadcasts, and push to replace them with morality-building programming, Chinese media reported on Tuesday.”

“After the press show I attended, we were all given bottles of anti-bacterial handwash. Cute gimmick, we chortled, as we tossed them unopened into the bin. … Oddly, the genuine dangers posed by disease seem to frighten us far less than childish fancies.”

“The BBC Audio Drama Awards will be held in January next year, and will feature categories including best audio drama, best actor and actress in an audio drama, and best scripted comedy drama. There will also be awards for best online only audio drama, best supporting actor or actress in an audio drama and best adaptation, as well as one for best use of sound in an audio drama.”