In prior years, the Göteborg Film Festival, in Sweden's second city, has put viewers in coffins and kept one lucky attendee alone in an island lighthouse. For 2022, at three gala evenings, a professional hypnotist will attempt to mesmerize the entire room before the screenings. - The Hollywood Reporter
Disney had its worst year since 2008. Discovery, ViacomCBS, AT&T and AMC Networks also ended down. Netflix, Fox, Lionsgate and Sony rose. Comcast was flat. Fubo, a leader last year, took a hiding. Newcomer Endeavor, which went public in April, had a great run, as did Live Nation. - Deadline
Of course, there has been grumbling for decades about Nielsen’s methods or the validity of box office projections, but there was generally some kind of verdict once a show aired or a movie opened. Today, not so much. - Deadline
Bob Chapek must simultaneously steer Disney through a cataclysmic transformation while keeping it the world’s most powerful and recognizable entertainment company — despite incursions from powerful and deep-pocketed streaming competitors Netflix, Apple and Amazon. - Los Angeles Times
"It's about more than who you see on screen, she said, but how those characters are written. And who's doing the writing. And what (if any) studio notes they are required to heed — and what's motivating those notes." - Yahoo! (Chicago Tribune)
Regardless of where it sits, TikTok is no joke when it comes to popularity. It had a surge of growth during the pandemic which has seen its demographics expand from mostly just Gen Z to countless people around the planet looking to connect and kill time. - PC Gamer
For Hollywood studios, 2021 was a year of great experimentation and the rare chance to relentlessly test movie distribution patterns in ways they had salivated over prior to the pandemic. - Variety
"They don't want another NeverTrump Republican who will chummily respond to the liberal hosts' musings with 'yes, but' qualifications (their focus groups suggest that viewers like clash). But they also don't want an unvaccinated authoritarian who's going to spit venom in Joy Behar's face." - New York Magazine
It shouldn’t have to be restated every time a lackluster movie is released that a critic’s job is to evaluate a film’s quality and how well it conveys the ideas it presents, not applaud filmmakers on the basis that the ideas they present are correct. - The Daily Beast
This is not the film Idiocracy, depicting us all as dumb consumerist sheeple. This is a film with great faith in humanity, and cynicism only about the institutions we have built and the particular people who hold power. - Current Affairs
Says one exec, "While we don't live or die by ratings, as at commercial stations, learning when and for how long people are listening helps us make programming decisions. Since we sell sponsorships, being ranked in the top 10 is helpful especially when approaching media buyers." - Inside Radio
It is impossible to overestimate the volume of stuff that is being produced, edited, and put online today. The content cup runneth over, and much of what’s in it is baffling and bizarre. - Wired
You can sense it in all the calculations Disney has been making with regard to what goes to theaters, what’s PVOD, and what goes directly to Disney+. - Slate
"Vulture's theater desk, Helen Shaw and Jackson McHenry, discuss the 2021 version, how it alters a hugely familiar piece of art, and how and where those changes worked." - Vulture
In many countries these days, including Spanish-speaking ones, the Turkish serial dramas are replacing telenovelas on TV schedules. The popularity of dizis has now made Turkey a larger exporter of television programming than any country but the U.S. - PRI
