ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

MEDIA

Director Michael Winterbottom On Finding His Passion

"In my teens, I went to ... fortnightly foreign-language film screenings religiously. I was always desperate to escape, and these films briefly transported me all over the world." - The Guardian (UK)

Face It, Prestige TV Is Over

"It’s a story of dizzying success, followed by hubristic overreach and cautious retreat." - The Observer (UK)

Prince Harry’s Lawsuit Against The Daily Mail Publisher Is Allowed To Continue

"As well as Prince Harry, the newspaper group faces multiple claims of 'gross breaches of privacy' from Sir Elton John, David Furnish, Elizabeth Hurley, Sadie Frost, Sir Simon Hughes and Baroness Doreen Lawrence." - BBC

Disney CEO Declares New Era For The Company

Mr Iger blamed some of Disney's woes on an emphasis on quantity over quality, as it tried to expand its offerings for the streaming service. He said the company was now focused on producing fewer, better titles, which could help improve its profits and popularity. - BBC

Post-Strike Hollywood’s New Compensation Plan

Sag’s hard-won agreement includes performance-based bonuses for actors on streaming shows that become big hits. For the studios represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, or A.M.P.T.P., the concept was a non-starter before the strike. Now it’s Hollywood’s new reality. - The New Yorker

Yay! The Actors And Writers Strikes Are Over. So Why Is Everyone So Glum?

The mood in the entertainment capital is decidedly mixed, as celebratory feelings compete with resentment over the work stoppage and worries about the business era that is coming. - The New York Times

Streaming Tech Broke The Hollywood Model. AI Could Obliterate It

Studios may be able to use AI to deepfake performances or write scripts, but given enough runway the tech could be used to cut studios out of the picture altogether. - Wired

Rhode Island’s Public TV, Public Radio Plan To Merge

“This was not a financial decision for either one of us. I mean we’re two both very strong organizations financially. This is purely about being stronger together and better serving the Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts community.” -InsideRadio

The Ukrainian Filmmakers Who’ve Become Experts At Drone Warfare

Cinematographer Yaroslav Pilunskiy uses his skills to give the best possible sense of depth and scale to, say, trenches hidden in forests. Film editor Ivan Bannikov compares surveilling the enemy to planning the edit of a film scene: "It’s the same here, you are looking for the right angle." - The Guardian

Robert De Niro’s Ex-Assistant Awarded $1.2 Million For Gender Discrimination And Retaliation

The actor was not found personally liable, but his Canal Productions was found liable for former staffer Graham Chase Robinson's "emotional distress and reputational harm." Jurors rejected Canal's $6 million countersuit against Robinson alleging embezzlement and financial malfeasance. - BBC

Disney+ Adds Three Million Subscribers, Tops 150M

These results come after a quarter that saw an exodus of 12.5 million Disney+ Hotstar subscriptions amid a strategy shift to move away from low-margin subscribers. - Variety

How Streaming Reinvented TV (Then Broke It Again)

Eliminating the intervening week between episodes meant they could fracture their narratives. They used flashbacks, flashforwards and even flashsideways to begin episodes without totally disorienting viewers. - The Hollywood Reporter

HBO Max Loses 700,000 Subscribers

Despite the huge drop, streaming revenue at Max, which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, were up 5 percent—with a 30 percent year-on-year jump in advertising revenue. These numbers raise a big question for the streaming industry: People like Max, but they don’t really want to pay for it. - Wired

The Hot New Platform For News Publishers? Messaging On WhatsApp

"We talked to 13 major publishers around the world about how they’re using Channels. They stressed it’s too soon to define an official Channels strategy, especially since WhatsApp doesn’t offer much in the way of metrics. … Still, they shared some of what they’re seeing early on." - Nieman Lab

Let The Unpacking Begin: What Lessons Can Be Taken From The Months-Long Hollywood Strikes?

"In truth, we’ve learned a ton. The industry’s problems with overproduction and the disconnect between capital expenditures and audience return were writ large on SAG-AFTRA and WGA picket lines. … The biggest takeaway is that Hollywood's labor contract negotiating process needs to be taken apart and rebuilt for the modern era." - Variety

Our Free Newsletter

Join our 30,000 subscribers

Latest

Don't Miss

function my_excerpt_length($length){ return 200; } add_filter('excerpt_length', 'my_excerpt_length');