Category: media

“Profits are down. Programming is wildly uneven. Grappling with change, the TV industry is rewriting the rules it has played by for half a century, and viewers are already seeing the fruits of those changes.”

“If people didn’t complain, we’d be in real trouble — it would mean people don’t value film at the museum. The stir … has already resulted in calls from people who can lend a hand.”

“The adult entertainment business, centered in the San Fernando Valley, has weathered several recessions since it took off with the advent of home video in the 1980s. But this time the industry is not dealing with just a weakened economy. A growing abundance of free content on the Internet is undercutting consumers’ willingness to pay for porn, and with it the ability of many workers to earn a living in the business.”

“They seemed to have cut out that tier of actors in film that used to make mid six figures – those working actors that didn’t greenlight movies but were reputable and good at their craft. Now they pay the Will Smiths of the world and then lowball everyone else. It has become so competitive that people will take what they can get.”

TV producers are discovering that fans want more. More of their shows. Not behind-the-scenes. Not additional information. Many producers are now churning out small webisodes that build on regular TV shows.

For the first time, a Bollywood producer has been forced to pay for plagiarising a Hollywood hit.

“3D movies are all the rage in Hollywood once again, and this time flatscreen TV makers are joining in the party, promising to release a slew of 3D-ready TV sets for our lounge rooms as early as next year.”

“[E]xpecting [Michael] Phillips and [A.O.] Scott to deliver network-sized ratings in an era where hardly anyone under 40 pays attention to critics is a fool’s errand. Despite their intellectual heft and engaging personalities … they are being asked to revive a format that is as moribund as a black-and-white detective series.”

“Who knows the wrath of a film community scorned? The Los Angeles County Museum of Art does. In a little more than a week, the controversy over LACMA’s decision to ax its 40-year-old film program has grown into a full-blown online debate, with the museum starting its own electronic forum Tuesday in response to an aggressive Facebook campaign and online petition seeking to restore the much-loved but debt-ridden program.”

“A.O. Scott, co-chief film critic of The New York Times, and Michael Phillips, film critic of The Chicago Tribune, will take over the seats made famous by Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel on At the Movies, the Chicago-based syndicated television program.”