Category: media

“Movie rental revenue rose 8% in the first half of the year — a remarkable uptick for a business that many in Hollywood had thought peaked. At the same time, sales of DVDs have taken a shellacking, falling 13.5% for the period.”

“Despite critical accolades, high-profile guest stars and expanded finales loaded with resolutions, none of the dramas nabbed a major nomination Thursday.”

“Overall box office takings are already almost £100 million up on what they were this time last year. Admissions between January and May 2009 were up 16% on the same period in 2008.”

“Pledge drives instead of commercials. A greater focus on New York instead of a more generic classical-music sound. Longer works and fewer brownie-sized pieces. The possible loss of well-known honeyed voices.”

“A comic reworking of Sherlock Holmes, relocated to 21st century London, is one of the highlights of a package of drama greenlit by the BBC. Sherlock, which will air as three 90-minute episodes, is co-created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, Doctor Who‘s new showrunner.”

“Here is a film that explicitly confronts the director’s intertwined fears of primal nature and female sexuality. But does a fear of femaleness automatically equate to hatred? I’m not convinced that it does.” Half a dozen prominent women consider the towering scandal of this year’s art-film circuit.

“The ‘invisible art’ of film distribution wields significant power when it comes to who and what we see in cinemas. And some believe that distributors are still reluctant when it comes to promoting black stars in leading roles in an industry lagging far behind television and theatre — with black women faring worst.”

“The heirs to the Tolkien estate are suing New Line Cinema, the studio behind the Lord of the Rings adaptations, claiming $220m (£133m) in compensation for undistributed profits from the films. For good measure, they are also demanding the option to terminate further film rights to Tolkien’s work, citing breach of contract.”

“You know, for a year after we finished shooting I would still wake up in the morning thinking, ‘Thank God I’m not shooting that film.’ … Literally I’d wake up and think, ‘At least I’m not doing that today.'” He’s even contemplating retirement: “In terms of my career, I can see the end of it … I’ve got a list of stuff that I want to do – that I hope I can do – and once that’s all finished I may just disappear.”

“The Church has a tangled, fraught history with Hollywood’s offerings. The U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops has a whole site dedicated to evaluating whether films are appropriate for Catholics, including their top ten films for every year since 1965. While the Vatican’s condemnatory reactions to movies generally make for splashier headlines, the Church also has often embraced important films throughout cinematic history….”