ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

MEDIA

After George Floyd And Breanna Taylor, Do We Need TV Cop Shows To Change?

"The ways in which Brooklyn Nine-Nine and NCIS: New Orleans reacted to a changing cultural and political environment were rudimentary: some timely references inserted into scripts and plotlines touching on contemporary issues. Going forward there are deeper issues to confront, in redressing key elements of the genre." - BBC

Grandmaster Sues Netflix Over “Queen’s Gambit” Portrayal

The complaint accuses Netflix of disparaging Nona Gaprindashvili's achievements to make for a more dramatic story and dismissing her earlier allegation of defamation without issuing a public apology or retraction. - NPR

Kevin Spacey Ordered To Pay ‘House Of Cards’ Producers $31 Million

At the end of a confidential two-year process, an arbitrator ruled, and an appeals panel confirmed, that Spacey is liable for breach of contract for violating the production company's sexual-harassment policies. - Variety

How Saturday Night Live Turned Itself Into The Internet

"Given the anxious state of the world today, watching the show has started to feel uncannily like doomscrolling through a social-media feed." That's mixed with daffy bits, of course - just like Twitter. - The Atlantic

This Year, Says The Palme D’Or Winner, Women Kicked ‘Serious Ass’ In Film

The winner at Cannes, Julia Ducournau is excited "about the current boom in female horror; she particularly rates British films by Rose Glass (Saint Maud) and Alice Lowe (Prevenge)." Women, she says, have a special relationship with horror. - The Observer (UK)

The Documentary Effect

In recent weeks, documentaries about R. Kelly, Britney Spears, Malcolm X's killers, and Julius Jones appear to have had real-world effects. Why now? Theory: Unscripted content is cheaper; there's more of it; and social media exists. - Washington Post

Professional Armorers Say Guns Belong On Film Sets

One armorer: "You can’t keep hiring people who aren’t qualified just to get your movie made because you have a time constriction. ... Getting rid of the guns is not going to get rid of the problem." - Los Angeles Times

The Best Set For A Teen Comedy Is A High School You Bought For Yourself

At American High, "the school has not had actual students in the halls for years, but it is once again home to high school drama of the sort generally captured in R-rated teenage comedies." - The New York Times

The Synergy Between Cinematographer And Camera Operator Can Be The Lifeblood Of A Film

When it works, anyway. One cinematographer: "What I look for in an operator is basically a clone of myself. An idealized clone. Somebody who will be able to do exactly what I want, but better." - Variety

Do We Really Need Netflix Viewing Numbers?

Netflix has released its Top 10 lists. But "the obsession with the numbers generated by films in the first few days of their release has had ... a negative effect on the quality of the films themselves, squeezing out the offbeat in favour of franchises and sequels." - Irish Times

What Are You Buying When You Buy An NFT?

Critics of NFTs assert that it’s ridiculous to try to claim ownership of something that can be infinitely reproduced on the internet, and pranksters will try to annoy collectors by simply copying and pasting the NFT image. - Slate

Will This Movie Be The Last Of Its Kind, The Big-Budget World War II Epic?

"Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, a $100 million historical drama about … the creation of the atomic bomb, could be considered one of an endangered species. These days, it's rare for traditional studios to pump nine figures into a film that isn't inspired by popular toys, novels or comic books." - Variety

How Children’s Radio Grew Popular And Then Faded Away

"Back in April, the only real player in the kid-centric terrestrial radio space, Radio Disney, which started life on the airwaves 25 years ago this week, quietly wound down. … Today's Tedium looks back at the many attempts to sell kids on radio." - Tedium

Finally, A Creative is Suing Over A Hollywood Studio’s Creative Accounting Of Profits

Studios have long had a reputation for promising actors or writers a percentage of a movie's profits, then using accounting tricks to show that the film made no profit, no matter how large the grosses. Bohemian Rhapsody screenwriter Anthony McCarten has had enough. - The Hollywood Reporter

Harry Potter Cast To Reunite For 20th Anniversary TV Special

The release made no mention of Rowling when listing those participating in the retrospective. While Harry Potter remains a beloved franchise, Rowling sparked backlash from the trans community after saying that transgender individuals should be defined by their biological sex. - The Hollywood Reporter

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');