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How Sundance’s Move To Boulder Could Reinvent The Festival

Sundance’s move to Boulder is coinciding with a fortuitous moment in the specialty film space, with an uptick in post-pandemic interest from younger moviegoers. - The Hollywood Reporter

Paramount Sweetens Its Offer To Buy Warner

On Tuesday, the Skydance-owned company said it would pay Warner shareholders an added “ticking fee” if its deal doesn’t go through by the end of the year — amounting to 25 cents per share, or a total of $650 million, for every quarter after Dec. 31. - AP News

Inside The Dismantling Of Voice Of America (As Recounted By One Of The Dismantled)

“An international media outlet employing hundreds of foreign journalists with the stated mission of promoting civil liberties abroad was bound to be incompatible with an administration that was attacking the same liberties at home and had made xenophobic nationalism central to its political platform.” - The Point

BBC World Service Will Run Out Of Funding By April If Government Doesn’t Step Up

Most of the World Service’s £400 million budget comes from the licence fee which funds the entire BBC, though the Foreign Office contributes a sizable amount, £137 million in the last year. BBC director general Tim Davie has just warned that the government must not delay further in deciding on Foreign Office funding. - The Guardian

Master Cinematographer Roger Deakins On His Half-Century Behind The Camera

“Deakins – cinematographer to the Coen brothers, Martin Scorsese and Sam Mendes, whose work has earned him 14 Oscar nominations and two wins, five BAFTAs, a knighthood and a reputation for being the greatest practitioner of his craft alive – is struggling to explain just exactly what he does.” - The Guardian

Hollywood Unions Begin New Contract Negotiations

The sides will be negotiating in a Hollywood far different from 2023. Production has slowed significantly industrywide, as many entertainment companies struggle to adjust to the streaming world. Work has dried up for many actors, writers and directors. At the same time, the rise of generative artificial intelligence has become more central. - The New York Times

Letterboxd Has Become For Movie Fans What GoodReads Was (At Its Best) For Lit Lovers

“Browsing Letterboxd, you find an eclectic range of tastes, tones and approaches to movie-watching, a buffet of high and low, mainstream and esoterica. … If Rotten Tomatoes has become a tool of Hollywood’s homogenizing marketing machinery, Letterboxd is something else: a cinephilic hive buzzing with authentic enthusiasm and heterogeneous tastes.” - The New York Times Magazine

Justice Department Investigating Netflix’s Business Practices

The Justice Department is investigating whether Netflix  has engaged in anticompetitive tactics as it probes the streaming giant’s proposed acquisition of Warner Discovery’s studios and HBO Max streaming service. - Wall Street Journal

As ICE Roils Minneapolis, Minnesota Public Radio’s Numbers Soar

“(The network) finished the fourth quarter of 2025 as the No. 1 local public radio outlet in the United States in terms of web traffic. … In December, MPR’s traffic was 41% higher than that of the country’s No. 2 public radio website, WNYC’s Gothamist.” - Nieman Lab

Directors Guild Anoints Paul Thomas Anderson

Other Directors Guild winners: Amanda Marsalis for an episode of The Pitt, and the guy who directed Game 7 of the World Series. - Los Angeles Times

The Year Young Black Comedians Stole The Super Bowl’s Thunder, And Thence Created The Modern Halftime Show

“The final ratings were the big headline. Altogether, 22 million people switched from CBS to Fox for the In Living Color alt-cast, outdrawing Winter Magic and cratering ratings for the second half. Washington dominating the game didn’t help. The NFL was shook.” - The Guardian (UK)

This Year’s Super Bowl Ads Were Bleak For The Future Of Creativity

This Super Bowl was “the first with A.I. taking center stage—a revealing gametime moment for the tech as it confronts investor anxiety, broader fatigue, and fears of impending economic crisis. ...The real twist is that consumers seem to loathe this marketing ploy.” - Slate

Days After Gutting The Washington Post, Murdoch Media Veteran Will Lewis Abruptly Steps Down

“‘Will Lewis’s exit is long overdue. His legacy will be the attempted destruction of a great American journalism institution,’ said the union representing most Post employees.” - The Guardian (UK)

The Academy Held A ‘Bake-Off’ For Ten Shortlisted Casting Directors To Explain What Casting Actually Is

“Only members of the casting branch vote on the nominations, but the bake-off is open to members from across the Academy, since they’ll be the ones voting on the winner.” - Vulture

Where Has Hollywood’s Production Money Gone?

Quite a bit went to Great Britain last year, actually. - The Guardian (UK)

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