Showbiz Sandbox 108: China Becomes Hollywood’s New Best Frenemy

June 20, 2011

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Hollywood movie studios have been raking in the yuan at the Chinese box office over the past year. This despite China missing the most recent World Trade Organization deadline to open its market to more foreign films. Forced to work through government sanctioned monopolies, studios have been aggressive about getting their movies in front of China’s billion plus citizens. Meanwhile, actors such as Christian Bale have headed east to star in China’s big blockbusters, such as Zhang Yimou’s Heroes of Nanking.

Maybe a film from China will be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar in the near future. Of course, contenders will have to figure out the new Best Picture nomination process put forth by the Academy last week. In an effort to create an air of suspense, the number of nominees for the year’s big film prize will fluctuate between 5 and 10 entries, depending on how balloting shakes out. We’ll explain all the new rules.

It looks as if Spotify, the popular European music streaming service, may be launching in the United States as early as July. They’ll go up against well established offerings like Pandora, which went public last week.

“Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark” finally opened on Broadway and we were there to tell you all about it. We also cover the week’s other top entertainment news including new writer’s on “Glee”, a crowd sourced Michael Jackson video and whether Jennifer Lopez will return to “American Idol” next season.

‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’ Is Disney’s Top Film of All Time Overseas
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-shocker-pirates-ca….

Academy Revises Best Picture Rules
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/academy-revises-best-picture….

Why Oscars’ 10 Best Picture Nominees Experiment Failed And What Happens Now
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/why-oscars-10-best-picture-202986

Academy Invites 178 Artists and Execs As New Members
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/academy-invites-178-artists-e….

Clarence Clemens, Springsteen’s Soulful Sideman, Dies At 69
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/arts/music/clarence-clemons-e-street….

Nic Harcourt Departs KCRW
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-nic-harcourt-2011061….

Spotify Gearing Up For U.S., Raises $100 Million
http://allthingsd.com/20110617/spotify-gearing-up-for-u-s-launch-closes-….

Pandora Dips Way Below It’s Offer Price
http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/061611hypeover

Six Join Writing Staff For Season 3 Of ‘Glee’
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/glee-six-join-writing-staff-202566

Theater Review: Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/spider-man-turn-dark-theater-200916

‘Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark’ – What The Critics Say
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/spider-man-turn-dark-critics-201465

Taymor Calls New Spider-Man Much Simpler
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/18/former-spider-man-director….

Jennifer Lopez and ‘Idol’: 35 Million Reasons Why She Might Not Be Back
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/idol-worship/jennifer-lopez-idol-35….

Borders Headed To July Sale Or Bust
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/booksell….

Billie Joe Armstrong Playing St. Jimmy In American Idiot Film Adaptation
http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/the-beat-goes-on/posts/billie-joe-armstrong….

More Harry Potter? Rowling Reveals Pottermore.com
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book….

From Tonys To Billboard Chart, A Good Week For “Book Of Mormon”
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/from-tonys-to-billboard….

The Miracle Of ‘The Voice’
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/miracle-voice-202039

The Real Reason Sony Movies Disappeared From Netflix
http://gigaom.com/video/netflix-sony-starz-dispute/

The Fairy Tale Continues: A Musical About Susan Boyle
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/17/the-fairytale-continues-….

Judge Kicks Charlie Sheen Suit Against Warner Bros. And Chuck Lorre To Arbitration
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/06/….

Crowd Sourced Video For Michael Jackson’s ‘Behind The Mask’ Premieres
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2011/06/michael-jackson….

Skype And Comcast Offer TV Video Chats
http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/skype-and-comcast-offer….

Warner Bros. Becomes First Studio To Offer Films On Demand Via TV Nationally In China
http://www.deadline.com/2011/06/warner-bros-becomes-first-studio….

MPAA’s Chris Dodd Presses China To Open Film Market
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mpaas-chris-dodd-presses-china-200784

Christopher Dodd & Rupert Murdoch Have Different Ideas About How To Talk To China
http://www.deadline.com/2011/06/christopher-dodd-rupert-murdoch-have….

How Christian Bale Is Raising The Bar In China
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-christian-bale-is-raising-202580

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