The awards, mostly predicted with one or two slight surprises, have been shelved for 2024, but some wounds are fresh. Diane Warren has 15 nominations and no wins. Then there’s Bradley Cooper. (And Glenn Close! Ah, Glenn Close.) - Vulture
Americans are spending 27% more on streaming than they did last year, up from $48. That $13 increase could have something to do with Netflix and Max raising prices in 2023, or a slew of streaming services cracking down on password sharing. - Gizmodo
"In February, the state House of Representatives passed a bill that would limit the tax credits that could be sold annually to 2.5% of the state budget — or about $900 million next year. The Senate Finance Committee effectively torpedoed that provision at a meeting on Wednesday night." - Variety
"Former host and reporter Vic Vela, who rose to prominence in recent years through his podcast about addiction, recovery and mental health, filed complaints Tuesday with state and federal disability authorities alleging he was fired in January because he asked for accommodations to help maintain his sobriety." - The Colorado Sun
The Free Blockbuster movement slowly gained traction and eventually, more than 200 other community boxes had opened from Louisiana to Canada and even Britain — though it is unclear how many of them remain operational. - The New York Times
The news ends a deep and decades-long relationship between one of the world’s largest news organizations and one of the nation’s largest newspaper publishers. - The Wrap
"In the fourth quarter of 2023, the video service lagged Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. Yes, you read that right: The ancient big blue app grew faster than TikTok." How has this happened? Adulting, that's how. - Business Insider
Industry lobbyists, and the lawmakers on their side, insist that the subsidies create $6 or $7 of "economic activity" for each $1 of state expenditure or forgone revenue. Independent experts keep finding that state coffers get back between 15 and 35 cents for each of those dollars. - The New York Times
"It took hours for firefighters to get the blaze under control and several buildings near (Al-Ahram Studio) in Cairo's Giza district had to be evacuated. … The studio was founded in 1944. Several films and TV series were produced there and broadcast across the world." - BBC
"While the U.S. TV business has seen a sharp downturn, with a drop in the number of shows commissioned and broadcast and headline-making layoffs across the major studios, European TV production is still on the upswing, according to a new (industry) report." - The Hollywood Reporter
"Simply put, there’s no clear line between the state and society in China in the same way that there is in democracies. The Chinese Communist Party – which is synonymous with the Chinese state – both owns and is the nation. And that goes for private enterprises, too." - The Conversation
In a year where new content is trickling in, the cinema chain has turned to Blumhouse’s seemingly limitless horror library. Like A24’s “Lovers’ Series” in February, this one has some marketing power behind its (inaccurately titled) “Halfway to Halloween” push. - The New York Times
Then what happened to The Callahans and the Murphys? "Released in June 1927, the comedy initially received encouraging reviews.” Then things got ugly, and fast. - The New York Times
VFX is for a lot more than explosions. “For every Kraven the Hunter or Argylle, there’s a Ferrari, Maestro or Killers of the Flower Moon, movies with sophisticated visual effects that the filmmakers hope you’ll never realize was an effect at all." - The New York Times
