But the Golden Globes could, and the intrigue was great as Taylor Swift faced off against Barbie. The doll won. Can the Academy ever go down this path? - Vulture
And that's not just the Palme D'Or winner, Anatomy of a Fall, but several others that came out in 2023. "Arthouse film-makers are subverting and reinventing the courtroom drama genre to explore faultlines in French society and raise questions about gender, race and prejudice." - The Guardian (UK)
Then an arbitrator ruled that since his jokes "were funny," he had to be re-hired by Philadelphia NPR affiliate WHYY - but he also had to take down some of his jokes that violated WHYY's social media code of conduct. - Vice
Judd Apatow, for one, is not having it. Sure, there were dolls, but dolls aren't a narrative. "It’s insulting to the writers to say they were working off of existing material. ... There was no existing material or story." - Variety
The company after whom the entire genre is named (remember the iPod?) maybe shouldn't kill podcasting, and indeed, the numbers might be an accident: "In September, Apple introduced iOS 17, which included a small change that has had a big impact on downloads." - The Verge
Awards season is what one might call compressed due to the Hollywood strikes of the spring and summer (and fall). Thus: "HBO’s post-apocalyptic drama The Last of Us topped night one of the 2023 Creative Arts Emmys presentation with eight awards." - The Hollywood Reporter
You see, "while modern Mickey is known for his charming personality, Steamboat Willie Mickey was more menacing with his propensity to use his fellow animals as musical instruments." - CBC
"At a time when the film industry is still struggling with deep existential anxieties, ... for many in Hollywood the impetus to look past the Globes’ rocky past is simply too strong to resist." Heck, there's even a new trophy. - Los Angeles Times
The scariest media moments of 2023 involved watching Internet-led disruption come for familiar forms of media, like late night TV and cable systems. - WBUR
When Chrome’s cookies are fully removed the open web will have mutated from a place where up to 90% of users were in some way targetable by advertisers, to a vast desert in which most users are essentially invisible to publishers and their clients. - Press-Gazette
Employment in motion pictures and sound recording climbed by 11,400 jobs to 463,000. After months of declines, industry employment began rising again in November. - Deadline
"While recent rumors suggest the pair had a falling out, (Benny) Safdie insists his split with Josh is amicable. 'It’s a natural progression of what we each want to explore,'" says Benny, who has found himself with a healthy acting career. - Variety
"'Most contracts have arbitrary termination clauses and offer paltry fees, especially to newcomers,' says a leader of the Indian equivalent of the Writers Guild of America. … 'They also don't pay writers for reworking drafts and give producers the right to decide whether a writer should be credited for their work.'" - BBC
"This year’s class of teacher movies is more concerned with individuals’ flaws than their knowledge-imparting skills. It could also be a reflection of the post-COVID assaults on scholarship that are roiling culture and politics. Or maybe filmmakers just want to deliver multifaceted characters rather than place them on idealized pedestals." - Los Angeles Times
