Category: media

“The June 2 ruling overturned a Sept.  8 warning by the Basmanny District prosecutor’s office that said a commission of experts had determined that the South Park episode ‘Mr. Hankey’s Christmas Classics’ was extremist in nature because it promoted ‘hatred between religions’.”

“When Google representatives recently invited dozens of prominent artists to contribute work to be featured on its new Web browser, the company enthusiastically sold the idea as an opportunity to have artwork shown to millions.” The catch: Google was not offering payment. “In the ensuing weeks, a tide of indignation toward Google swelled among illustrators,” already suffering from the downturn in print publications.

“China needs to open up its market to foreign movies to match the country’s increasingly sophisticated film market, Dan Glickman, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, told an audience of biz leaders at the Shanghai Film Festival on Sunday. China needed to ‘make the most of the collective economic opportunity by nurturing the health and growth of the legitimate marketplace,’ Glickman said.”

“Internationally, last year consumers spent $26.4 billion on video software, with $18.1 billion of that spent on buying DVD discs. The overall figure represents a 3.6% drop on 2007 spend and a 4.7% drop on disc sales alone, the research shows.”

DF Indie Studios, a venture to be based in New York and set to be introduced on Monday, will focus on films with budgets of up to $10 million. “There is going to be a dearth of quality product in the marketplace because financing has dried up for so many people, and that means we can move into that open spot.”

“Revenue from advertising in U.S. movie theaters grew just 5.8% last year, marking the slowest gain in the seven years that such statistics have been kept. Still, the Cinema Advertising Council, which is expected to release its 2008 report Monday, can boast of an ad industry still showing growth while most others are not.”

“Conceived with great fanfare, big media’s attempt over the last two years to capitalize on the Internet video phenomenon embodied by YouTube and “Saturday Night Live” digital shorts has fallen victim to recession-triggered cuts and inflated expectations about the advertising revenue they would command.”

“America’s film critics, an ornery lot, are not dead yet. In fact, their craft has shown flickering signs of new life lately — though not the kind that leaves ink-stained cinephiles entirely comfortable. The last few weeks have brought the debut of Moviereviewintelligence.com, a new Web site committed to monitoring, scoring and proliferating the work of critics at some 65 print and broadcast outlets.”

A five-year study shows “networks are shunning the city, which has seen its share of total U.S. pilot production drop 42 per cent in the past five years. Overall, pilot production in the United States is down 17 per cent over the same time period. Instead, places such as Canada and New York – as well as a number of other locales – are luring the runaway productions away from Los Angeles, according to FilmL.A.”

The well-known director and a partner are joining forces “to launch the e30 million ($42 million) Paris Studios, France’s first modern megastudio. […] With nine soundstages, including one at 23,680 square feet, Paris Studios will be part of the ambitious La Cité du Cinema film complex, located at a former power station in Saint Denis, northern Paris.”