Showbiz Sandbox 606: Beyoncé Makes Grammy History As Harry Styles Wins Album of the Year

February 8, 2023

Though Beyoncé led the 2023 Grammy Award nominations with nine nods, in the end she did not win the top prize for Album of the Year for “Renaissance.” Much to the dismay of some, that honor went to Harry Styles for “Harry’s House,” though Beyoncé did break the record for the most Grammy wins ever. We have a run down of all the winners and big surprises at this year’s Grammys.

We’re also joined by Sal Nunziato, whose blog Burning Wood has become a must-read for music aficionados. He and Michael Giltz discuss their favorite albums from the past year, and for once they are in agreement on most of them.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why a Bruce Springsteen fanzine ins calling it quotes after 43 years, Spotify continues to struggle with profitability and how “80 For Brady” tries to woo older moviegoers back to theaters.

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Showbiz Sandbox 568: Catalog Music Dominates Consumption on Streaming Services

January 11, 2022

Last year consumers listened to more music than ever before. However, according to a report from the analytics firm MRC Data, catalog music, albums and songs at least 18 months old accounted for 75% of music listening on streaming services. When it came to new music, artists such as Morgan Wallen, Olivia Rodrigo, Drake and Doja Cat, dominated streaming services. Maybe there’s a reason big legacy acts keep selling their back catalogs.

Speaking of legacies, unfortunately the first week of 2022 saw a number of beloved and legendary entertainment figures die, including actor Sidney Poitier, comedian Bob Saget and filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including how a spike in COVID cases has canceled an in-person Sundance and indefinitely postponed the Grammy Awards. Meanwhile, the Golden Globes were announced and we’ll tell you who won and whether anyone actually cares.


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Showbiz Sandbox 565: Are COVID Rules Unfairly Targeting Movie Theaters?

December 13, 2021

As COVID cases rise in various parts of the world, local governments are quick to restrict movie theater attendance, while at the same time allowing restaurants and pubs to operate normally. Patrick von Sychowski, editor of Celluloid Junkie, explains why these rules unfairly target movie theaters and discusses a new study that highlights which moviegoers are reluctant to return to cinemas. Plus, we’ll shine a light on LED movie screens and whether they’re the future everywhere…or just in China.

Meanwhile, the Golden Globes announced this year’s list of nominees, but since the ceremony will not be televised it remains to be seen whether they will still influence the ongoing awards season.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including how the United Kingdom will get its own version of “Saturday Night Live,” Adele helps revive the sale of compact discs and all the big winners at this year’s video game awards show.

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Showbiz Sandbox 563: The Grammy Nominations Are Bigger and More Baffling Than Ever

November 30, 2021

When this year’s Grammy nominations were announced last week the Recording Academy made a last minute decision to expand some of its biggest categories from eight to 10 nominees. This allowed popular artists like Taylor Swift, Kanye West and Lil Nas X to be included in this year’s list. While this generates a small amount of grumbling, we discuss why it may not be such a bad move.

Meanwhile the Thanksgiving weekend helped the worldwide box office continue to recover from the ongoing pandemic. Still some industry watchers are dismayed that popular releases like Disney’s “Encanto” and the latest “Ghostbusters” aren’t opening to bigger numbers. Though, when you have studios claiming blockbusters such as the Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” are still in the red after earning nearly a billion dollars, would it really matter if they doubled their opening weekend gross?

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including how Adele got Spotify to stop shuffling around, The Weeknd breaks a long-standing record on the music charts and Netflix (sort of) becomes more transparent with viewership data.

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Showbiz Sandbox 375: The Seedy Side of Show Business is Revealed in “Walking Dead” Lawsuit

July 30, 2017

Six years after AMC fired Frank Darabont from “The Walking Dead,” the hit TV series he created and oversaw, details about why he was axed are emerging during a lawsuit filed by the filmmaker over profit participation. Citing unprofessional and erratic behavior AMC provided profanity filled emails Darabont sent to producers and executives during his tenure as showrunner. This has lead to many in Hollywood asking whether Darabont’s behavior was out of line or if he was simply trying to defend his show?

The lawsuit itself hinges on Darabont’s deal and whether the revenue AMC earns from “The Walking Dead” is significantly lower because the network is making deals with itself at a significantly reduced cost per episode. This is not the first self-dealing lawsuit to be filed by a creative in Hollywood, but given the $280 million being sought, its outcome could affect how the business operates in the future.

Meanwhile, under pressure from the Chinese government, the Dalian Wanda Group says it will no longer seek to acquire international entertainment properties, causing AMC Theatres, one of its own subsidiaries, to publicly distance itself, and leaving Hollywood wondering if funding from China might be drying up.

Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including how Amazon will start to distribute its own movies theatrically, Hulu gets nostalgic and Daniel Craig is set to return as James Bond in the next 007 movie.

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Showbiz Sandbox 373: Is the Academy’s Diversity Fix Misguided?

July 3, 2017

After a controversy that faulted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for being too white, too male and too old, the organization has made great strides to broaden the diversity of its membership over the past two years. During that time the Academy invited over 1,450 new members to join its hallowed ranks, many of whom were women and people of color. Yet there are now grumblings that in the rush to bring in fresh blood the Academy may have lowered its standards for membership.

Major Hollywood studios are less concerned with the Academy’s membership than they are with whether Chinese exhibitors are reporting box office correctly. The MPAA and U.S. trade organizations have forced the Chinese government to let an international firm audit ticket sales for imported films at cinemas throughout the country.

We also review a listener email which goes to great lengths in explaining why satellite radio giant SiriusXM would want to purchase a stake in the online radio streaming service Pandora. The deal is setting up a senior management showdown over the digital music pioneer’s future business model.

Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including why Adele is canceling the final two shows of her tour at Wembley, how Sony plans on pressing vinyl records again after nearly 30 years and Oscar winning actress Olivia de Havilland lets FX know she doesn’t appreciate being portrayed in “Feud” by filing a lawsuit.

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Showbiz Sandbox 347: Who Should Perform What at the 59th Grammy Awards

December 13, 2016

When the nominations for the 59th Grammy Awards were announced last week Beyoncé continued her annus mirabilis by picking up no fewer than nine nods including one for album of the year. She’s in the mix with the likes of Adele, Drake, Justin Bieber and Sturgill Simpson. With musical acts that include Rihanna, Kanye West and Radiohead also up for awards, producers have a wealth of talent to choose from when selecting performers for next year’s ceremony.

The Golden Globe nominations were also announced recently and this year the Hollywood Foreign Press Association actually managed to categorize their film entries properly, unlike last year when the space drama “The Martian” won the prize for best comedy.

Meanwhile, the 2016 Black List survey was published on Monday, highlighting some of the best unproduced screenplays from the past year. Nine of the last 18 Best Screenplay Oscars were featured on the annual list, including “Spotlight”, “Juno” and “Slumdog Millionaire”.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including the winners of the European Film Awards, why the CBS-Viacom merger collapsed and actress Emmy Rossum demands to be paid as much as her mail co-stars.

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Showbiz Sandbox 331: Apparently Warner Bros. Needs to Start Making Donuts

August 16, 2016

In a scathing open letter published last week, an alleged ex-Warner Bros. employee took the studio and its chairman Kevin Tsujihara to task for a number of recent missteps. The author mocks studio brass for doubling down on the talent delivering critical duds such as “Batman v Superman” and their inability to make a hit movie, despite somehow managing to keep their jobs.

Though the veracity of the letter is questionable, it caused ripples in Hollywood not because it revealed a trove of inside secrets, but more due to the fact that it publicly stated what so many have been whispering about Warner Bros. lately; a lack of leadership and a confused executive team have led to a year of mixed results.

Meanwhile, we’ve been watching the Rio Olympics, along with three or four billion viewers around the world. Despite audience figures that are down from the London games in numerous territories, the Summer Olympics is arguably still a ratings juggernaut hard to compete against, giving networks broadcasting the event a serious advantage.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including how a Netflix documentary helped overturn a murder conviction, why Thomas Gibson got fired from “Criminal Minds” and Comedy Central cancels “The Nightly Show”.

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Showbiz Sandbox 322: Cannes Film Festival Spurs Critical Debate

May 24, 2016

This year’s Cannes Film Festival ended over the weekend with the awarding of the Palm d’Or, the festival’s top prize, to an unlikely, albeit quite solid, movie from director Ken Loach. A critically panned movie from filmmaker Xavier Dolan was given the runner up award, the Grand Prix, leaving many in Cannes baffled over how the jury made its selections. However festival director Thierry Fremaux has always said, Cannes is not set up for critics.

The Broadway season also came to a close last week earning a record $1.3 billion in ticket sales. Musical productions took in most of the revenue over the past year, though it was “The Lion King” and not “Hamilton”, which only opened in August, which ruled the box office.

Over at HBO Michael Lombardo, the longtime head of programming for the premium cable network is stepping down, whereas at Viacom Sumner Redstone has stirred up a hornets nest by ousting his longtime protogé, the company’s chief executive, from the trust that will eventually control the company.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including whether the wave of summer blockbusters will prove to be too much competition, rumors of Adele’s massive record deal and Bill Cosby gets his day in criminal court.

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Showbiz Sandbox 314: As Expected, The Oscars Shine A Spotlight On Diversity

February 29, 2016

In a year when the Academy Awards were faulted for a lack of diversity among its nominees, ceremony host Chris Rock addressed the #OscarsSoWhite controversy head on in his opening monologue by mixing pointed criticism with biting humor. Anne Thompson, Indiewire’s editor at large, brings us along as she attends the 88th annual Oscars and explains just how difficult it was to predict this year’s winners.

Mind you, award season never really ends. France handed out their own awards for last year’s top movies and we’ll tell you who won all the big prizes at the Cesars. We even look at the nominations for the Olivier Awards, the London theater equivalent to the Tonys. Literally hours after winning his first Oscar, Mark Rylance was nominated again, this time for his performance in “Farinelli and the King”.

Meanwhile, Barnes & Noble is planning to imitate its online rival Amazon by, oddly enough, opening new brick and mortar stores. And a reissue of the Alex Haley bestseller Roots brings up everything from copyright to the question of when a book goes out of print to ebook pricing.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including how Netflix and other streaming services have decimated video sales, PBS will launch its own cable network and Adele tops the Brit Awards.

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