Media

“Discomfort has now become an essential part of pop culture connoisseurship, and it has forced audiences to become much more sophisticated as they decide what, if anything, is worth salvaging in the films, music and novels they most cherish, by people they find morally flawed.” – Washington Post

A 22-page white paper with dozens of requirements and recommendations, delivered to Govs. Gavin Newsom (CA) and Andrew Cuomo (NY) as well as the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, was drawn up by a 50-member committee with representatives of studios, the trade guilds, and the unions SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, DGA, and the Teamsters. – Variety

“TV has long had a police’s-eye perspective that helps shape the way viewers see the world, prioritizing the victories and struggles of police over communities being policed. Order, a police imposed status quo, is good; disruption is bad. There are many, many reasons why a cop’s point of view has become the default way to frame national unrest, including institutional and systemic racism, the capitalist urge to prioritize property over human life, and a political system that benefits those already in power. But TV plays a role, too.” – New York Magazine

Yay women doing TV! Also, having to “yay” this means it’s not going that well with the whole ending of inequality thing. “The good news: The number of women working behind the scenes in television is growing. The bad news: It still ain’t great.” – Los Angeles Times

In other words, it doesn’t work very well for writers. The Writers Guild of Great Britain: “‘Things are stacked up, not necessarily in favour of the writer.’ It added that funding, which is much easier to get for a film with an established name onboard, makes it even harder for new writers to break through.” – The Guardian (UK)

When directors, cast, and crew make decisions about a movie like High Note, they’re aimed at the big screen. So this weekend’s on-demand streaming release is a bit of a technical let-down, even if the content offers some lighter fare than reality right now. Director Nisha Ganatra:”The movie was shot anamorphic and widescreen, so it’s really a big-screen experience. All of the sound engineers made the concert scenes to feel like you’re right there. … I definitely need people to turn up the sound system and not just watch it on the iPad!” – Los Angeles Times

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced more than a week ago that counties could set reopening plans for the entertainment industry. That hasn’t happened because Hollywood’s various unions are pretty clear that the industry won’t get to shortchange safety. But “the high-wire act for the unions is that while they have a great deal of power, they also have members who’ve been idle for months and are itching to get back to work.” – Los Angeles Times

What’s the point, they say, when social distancing restrictions would mean they wouldn’t survive more than three months anyway? – BBC

“I want stuff that has not been made in response to the pandemic, that would exist if we weren’t all in the same boat. Or things I know I won’t have time for once the real world begins to make its usual demands once again. I want to use my brain in ways that it didn’t ordinarily get exercised in the pre-pandemic world, things that I know I probably won’t have the time or patience for once this all gets back to some kind of normal.” – Washington Post

“Police arrested CNN journalist Omar Jimenez and his crew on air early Friday during a live broadcast in Minneapolis, as they covered riots sparked by George Floyd’s death, sparking intense outrage as well as an apology by Minnesota governor Tim Walz to top executives at the cable-news network . CNN called the arrests a ‘violation of First Amendment rights.'” – Variety

“Much like the ‘stans’ of pop figures and franchises, members of TikTok cults stream songs, buy merch, create news update accounts and fervently defend their leaders in the comment sections of posts. The biggest difference is that TikTok’s cult leaders are not independently famous. They’re upstart creators building a fan base on social media.” And the biggest cult of them all is the Step Chickens, who are devoted to their “mother hen,” techie-turned-comedian Melissa Ong, who started the cult less than three weeks ago. – The New York Times

“The July 18 attack on Kyoto Animation, a famed anime studio that produced popular ‘slice of life’ shows and movies,” killed 36 people and was the worst mass murder in Japan in decades. “Officials said that the attacker had shouted ‘Die!’ as he entered the building and then tried to escape, but collapsed on the street outside and was subdued by workers.” – The New York Times

“What I like about streaming right now is I get excited about it … My mom’s in Guatemala. My mom and dad are retired and my mom tunes into the streams,” Nonfiction said. “My parents never really got a chance to see me DJ … but with the streaming, they can be involved. They get to see me do what I do.” – Voice of Orange County

The controversial documentary — produced by Moore, directed by Jeff Gibbs, criticized by many mainstream scientists, and championed by parts of the far right — incorporates a clip from the project Rare Earthenware by videographer Toby Smith, who opposes Planet of the Humans and went to YouTube alleging copyright infringement (which gets a video automatically removed). Gibbs and Moore invoked the fair use doctrine and say their work is being censored. – The Guardian

Not just for this year, when the change makes sense due to the coronavirus, but forever? Well, says one critic, “I believe there’s something sacred in the moviegoing experience that I can’t re-create at home. And relaxing Oscar rules risks chipping away at the institution you and I hold dear: going to see movies in the dark, on the big screen, among crowds, where they hold our undivided attention — as opposed to competing with incoming emails, phone calls and other distractions. But the truth is … the Academy risks irrelevance when it stands in the way.” – Variety

And that’s partly because of who’s controlling the narrative. There’s a small, but perhaps growing, “cultural trend in which black women, especially those of medium-to-dark-brown complexions — long positioned at the bottom of the aesthetic and social hierarchy in the United States because of racist standards — are increasingly appearing as leading ladies and romantic ideals in interracial relationships onscreen. In some cases, these are works created by black women themselves.” – The New York Times

Some things may change until there’s a vaccine – constant testing, small pods of workers instead of a huge crew, no craft services table – but others, like board meetings by Zoom, are here to stay. Director/producer Frank Marshall; “I know there’s a future, I know we will get through this, but the big question is when.” – Los Angeles Times

Tyler Perry wants to start filming in early July, and Georgia seems amenable – as long as the actors follow guidelines including dealing with clear barriers between them until just before a shoot begins, and as long as craft services provide individual food packages, and as long as SAG-AFTRA eventually signs on to Georgia’s recommendations (not a given). – Los Angeles Times

Take Daughters of the Dust, for instance. ” Julie Dash’s astonishing debut is a portrait of a multigenerational South Carolina Gullah family as they prepare to migrate north in 1902.” (But truly, you could get a decent film education watching most of these movies as lockdown continues, or staying at home seems the safest move.) – The Atlantic

“The industry task force that was assembled last month to address the safety issues has generated a 30-page draft of a white paper that is designed to convince governmental officials to give Hollywood the greenlight to resume production. … But the white paper is not complete and has not been signed off by all of the participants in the task force, which has spurred anger and finger-pointing among union and studio officials and … the labor negotiating body for the major studios.” – Variety

When new temporary rule changes for Oscar eligibility were announced in April because of COVID-19, Academy president David Rubin told Variety it was too soon to know how the 2021 Oscar telecast could change in the wake of the pandemic. – Variety

Some performers get their fans involved – whether by taking requests or doing Q&As, virtual charity festivals or tutorials like Duran Duran star John Taylor with his bass masterclasses and Oti Mabuse with her dance lessons. Listening parties have also been a big hit. Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess has carved out a sideline as host of #timstwitterlisteningparty. Fans and musicians listen together in real time, tweeting their thoughts and memories. – BBC