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A Literary Magazine Dies — What That Says About Our Culture

The American magazine is in a state of decay. Now known mostly as brands, once sumptuous print publications exist primarily as websites or YouTube channels, hosts for generic scribblings, the ever-ubiquitous “take.” - Washington Post

In Record-Setting Numbers, Writers Guild Members Vote To Authorize A Strike Against Hollywood Studios

"Nearly 98% of the 9,218 votes were cast to authorize the strike, with nearly 79% of guild members voting. … The writers' three-year contract expires May 1, and leaders could call for a walkout the following day, but could extend the deadline if the two sides are close to a deal." - AP

Why Aren’t Canadian Movie Box Office Numbers Reported?

The website Box Office Mojo lists data on the top grossing films in more than 70 countries, but not Canada. Why are there no easily accessible Canadian box office figures, and what could be gained from sharing them? - CBC

The Return Of The RomCom

The popular genre, derided and outcast from the movie theatres for a while, has made a return - but with different values, and often on streaming. ("Thirty-six new romcoms are coming out this year on film and streamed TV. That’s three a month!") - The Guardian (UK)

Podcasts Are On YouTube Now

So are they Tubecasts? PodTube? Anyway, "more podcast listeners in the U.S. prefer to watch podcasts on YouTube than listen to audio-only version," and also, "people listening to podcasts on YouTube are more likely to be younger." No more "voice for radio" jokes. - Nieman Lab

Hollywood Writers Vote This Week On Whether To Allow A Strike

"The strike authorization vote is meant to turn up the heat on companies such as Netflix and Walt Disney and convince them to raise the pay for writers, who say their compensation has suffered because of the streaming revolution." - Reuters

It’s Incredibly Hard To Find Canadian Box Office Figures

Except for Quebec, Canada's film numbers are lumped in with the U.S. But would knowing them make much difference? - CBC

The Secret Cinema In The Back Of A London Shop

"The dimly lit space, which is sandwiched between a former Victorian public baths and a burger shop in Clapton, east London, is a cinematic Aladdin’s cave, its floor reduced to a narrow path between stacks and shelves of film paraphernalia." - The Guardian (UK)

Why Not Have A Cinema That Looks Like Beautiful Pile Of Melting Ice Cream?

The designer of many of India's single-screen cinemas created "visually enticing places that transported you from the commonness of the streets and prepared you for the fantastical world of movies and storytelling that was to come." AMC, take notes. - BBC

Successful Video Game Adaptations Have Some Common Threads

Respect the source material, pay for talent, use visual cues from the games, and pick wisely. (The latter seems like it might be the most difficult one to get right, considering how many adaptations have gone wrong. - Washington Post

Has The Metaverse Been Put On Hold?

A challenging macroeconomic environment discourages both consumers and tech giants from investing heavily in metaverse technologies that lack a solid history of performance and compelling applications. - JingCulture

Hollywood Retreats To The Basics: Making Money

As entertainment’s largest conglomerates face a perfect storm of financial pressures and macroeconomic uncertainty, there’s been a clear shift again to embrace the fundamentals and focus on profits, not market share, for new services.  - Variety

PBS Follows NPR In Stopping All Further Posts On Twitter

"PBS said it has suspended posting to Twitter after Elon Musk's social network pinned a 'government-funded media' descriptor to its primary account. The public TV broadcaster joins NPR in ceasing Twitter activity following the Twitter changes, which the organizations say inaccurately represent them." - Variety

Nobody In Hollywood Would Finance A Film Titled “How To Blow Up A Pipeline”

"Shot in the deserts of Texas, the film takes (climate activist Andreas) Malm's call to action and builds it into a heist movie. … As with the ragtag group of radicals in their film, each (of the moviemakers) brought their expertise to pull off a job no one thought was possible." - Vulture

Elon Musk, Lauren Boebert Demand “Defund NPR” After NPR Quits Twitter

“Defund @NPR,” Musk tweeted on Wednesday, after sharing an email that said the media outlet was no longer using Twitter. - The Hill

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