“The exit of 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens in the face of Trump administration pressure has roiled CBS News and alarmed journalists, fueling speculation about where the organization goes from here, especially if there are further concessions to clear the path to parent Paramount Global's merger with Skydance Media.” - TheWrap (MSN)
While a few dramatic events aren’t credible (for instance, Sister Agnes wouldn't be poking around while the cardinals are sequestered), experts say the film is very well-researched. Said one historian of Catholicism, “It was remarkable the way that they took something that’s secret and really got a lot of it right.” - The Guardian
Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, admitted as much during more than ten hours of testimony, over three days last week, in the opening phase of the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust trial against Facebook’s parent company, Meta. - The New Yorker
“(Moby Group) remains, not just hanging on, but a dominant player in the Afghan market, producing TV and radio entertainment shows and a 24-hour news channel that employs about 400 people. The result is an odd co-existence with the Taliban – a ‘strange dance’, as (Saad) Mohseni put it.” - The Guardian
The film, which won best picture at the Baftas earlier this year and was nominated for eight Oscars, is available on assorted streaming platforms worldwide. According to Luminate, which tracks streaming viewership, Conclave was viewed for about 1.8m minutes on 20 April, and 6.9m minutes the next day – an increase of 283%. - The Guardian
Just in time for Easter, the physical video store has risen again. This month, Night Owl Video in Williamsburg became New York City’s first new physical video store in a long time. The store’s provocative slogan is: “Death to streamers! Physical media forever!” - The Guardian
“In a memo obtained by CNN, (Bill) Owens said to 60 Minutes staff that the last few months have made it clear that he ‘would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it’ or make ‘independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes.’” - CNN
“Judge Royce C. Lamberth … wrote that the administration's decision to dismantle the agency was ‘arbitrary and capricious. … Not only is there an absence of 'reasoned analysis' from the defendants; there is an absence of any analysis whatsoever." The order also apples to Radio Free Asia but not Radio Free Europe. - NPR
That wasn’t a rule already? No, it wasn’t, except for Best Foreign-Language Film (now Best International Feature Film) and Best Documentary Feature; otherwise, things were on the honor system. The change could lead to more upsets and surprise wins, although it might also reduce the number of Oscar voters. - TheWrap
The stakes are high. WrestleMania, which began in 1985, is being treated as a litmus test - not just for WWE's global expansion, but for Netflix's potential move into live sports. - BBC
I think Hollywood used to propose itself as a place where artists and creative people could sustain themselves, perhaps even strike it rich, and that’s gone. The loss of that idea is … incalculable. - Los Angeles Times
“Directors owning their own movies is the opposite of business as usual — and to studios, cause for freaking out. According to senior executives at rival studios, the Sinners deal sets a ‘very dangerous’ precedent.” - Vulture
This author thinks so: “When you stop making middle-class movies — movies with a moderate budget, as opposed to ones made on a shoestring or ones that cost $200 million — you’re hollowing out a middle class of people who make them.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
“During the pandemic, when I was watching a lot of old movies, it occurred to me that every person who worked on this movie is dead now. The director, the producers, the actors — they’re all dead, and I’m watching their ghosts.” - The New York Times
It’s easier to make a profit when the people of the country where you film underwrite the whole thing, no? At least it’s transparent: “Studios set up separate companies for movies made in the UK to show more than 10% of the total cost was spent here.” - The Guardian (UK)
