Category: media

“Television technology is poised for another sea change, and when that happens, a curtain drops between generations, thick and impenetrable. Those growing up on one side of the curtain, the one represented by the new technology, cannot move backward into the previous technology any more than a person who discovers double-stuffed Oreos can ever go back to eating single-stuffed.”

“‘Newsreels’ seems inadequate” as a name for these short films made from 1935-51; “they are longer, more detailed and much more opinionated than the standard-issue newsreels that preceded them. ‘Documentaries’ is closer, but the blaring orchestrations and outlandish voice-overs sound nothing like a modern documentary.”

“Most major television producers, including CBS, NBC, ABC, Warner Bros, and Sony Pictures, aren’t part of the 99-cent rental deal. Nor are powerhouse cable networks Showtime and HBO. Each has a vested interest in protecting their existing businesses, which brings billions of dollars into the TV industry through cable and satellite subscriptions and advertising revenue.”

“Until six weeks ago, all that existed at 100 Clerkenwell Road, north London were the remains of an abandoned petrol station, a concrete lull on a busy road whose only inhabitants were nocturnal graffiti artists. Since then the space has been radically transformed by 16 young artists and designers into a pop-up cinema.”

“Less than 10 days from the annual Toronto International Film Festival, a Twitter tweet claimed a moviegoer had been bitten by bedbugs at one of the main festival venues, Scotiabank Theatre. Within hours, the scare story zapped through cyberspace, capturing unflattering headlines on such tabloid websites as Hollywood Reporter and Perez Hilton.”

“Amazon.com Inc. is working on a new subscription service that would deliver TV shows and movies over the Internet, ramping up the battle among Web companies to control entertainment in the living room.”

“A $30m (£20m) production involving an all-Indian cast of mainly children will begin shooting on location in the Holy Land in October and is scheduled for release next year. As yet untitled and unscripted, the film” – with versions in English and three other languages – “will cover Jesus’s life from birth to crucifixion.”

“The actual number of tickets sold was expected to be 552m – the lowest since 2005, when the figure was 563.2m. The drop in attendance is thought to be due to a steep rise in ticket prices, mainly for 3D screenings.”

Paul and Sandra Fierlinger’s animated adaptation of J.R. Ackerley’s book My Dog Tulip used about 60,000 drawings, but no paper or ink. “Unlike studio cartoons, which often involve computer-generated imagery, the Fierlingers’ work is hands-on, sort of. What’s eliminated is wasted motion: the shuffling of paper, the sharpening of pencils, the setting up of shots.”

“While the initial reviews for the 62nd annual Emmy Awards have been mostly positive, the low point, some say, was the clunky insertion of Twitter to the NBC broadcast.”