Category: media

A woman who says she was “taping parts of her sister’s surprise birthday party” at a showing of “Twilight: New Moon” “faces up to three years in prison after being charged with a rarely invoked felony designed to prevent movie patrons from recording hot new movies and selling bootleg copies.” She’s already spent two nights in jail.

It was the hottest social network out there. Now it’s an also-ran…

Sony will surpass $2 billion in international boxoffice during the coming weekend as the studio marks its biggest worldwide haul ever at $3.36 billion and counting.

“The Friday series finale of the USA Network comedy-drama drew about 9.4 million viewers, 3.2 million of them in the adults 18-49 demographic. That represents the largest audience and demo turnout to date, not only for the show and for a USA scripted series but also for a drama series on basic cable.”

“ISPs would have to scan the contents of every chunk of data, using what is known as “deep packet inspection” technology, which is used by China and Iran to monitor and censor internet communications. But even if ISPs install such technology, identifying infringers will be far from straightforward.”

“Enthusiasm for the new medium has been tempered by a growing unease among many performers that their pay for voice work in video games isn’t keeping pace with the industry’s breakneck growth.”

Taking a look at recent comic book/superhero films and how they handle their video game adaptations shows how studios are trying just about anything for tie-ins to work.

“The closing of Toronto’s Carlton Cinemas Sunday may mark not just the end of an era for the art-house theatre. It’s part of an overall downturn in independent cinema, say distributors, as more films compete for fewer screens, and as blockbuster theatres and a plethora of other media divides audiences.”

“How thrilling it would be if BBC2 suddenly put on a Christmas season of films by Jean Renoir or Federico Fellini or Preston Sturges. Or a season of screwball comedies, or French new wave or, I don’t know, past winners of the Palme d’Or. Just one well-chosen film, every night at the same time, after the news, say, for eight days.”

“Canadian film and TV series earned about $85 million in foreign sales in 2008, up roughly 21 per cent from the previous year.”