Showbiz Sandbox 485: Coronavirus Is Trolling the Film Industry
March 16, 2020
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is causing the biggest disruption the global entertainment industry has had to contend with in the modern era. In the movie business alone it has shut down cinemas, delayed film releases and halted productions in all corners of the world.
Andrew Wallenstein, co-editor-in-chief of Variety, proposed that now might be an opportune time for studios to finally reach an agreement with movie theaters on release windows. No sooner had the virtual ink dried on his piece Universal Pictures announced it would be distributing some of its current and future theatrical films via premium video on demand. It would, he suggests, be the entertainment industry equivalent of peace in the Middle East.
Wallenstein joins us to discuss this fast moving story and what the future may hold for cinemas and the film industry at large.
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Showbiz Sandbox 184: How Authors Rig The Bestseller Lists
March 4, 2013
When Soren Kaplan’s “Leapfrogging” was published last summer it immediately appeared on the Wall Street Journal’s list of best-selling business books, a position that would be maintained for only a week. That was more than enough time for Kaplan to cement his status as a best-selling author which, in-turn, helps him land lucrative speaking and consulting gigs.
That is precisely why Kaplan hired a marketing firm to purchase copies of the book upon publication to assure it would appear on bestseller lists. During an interview with the Journal, Kaplan reveals how authors buying their way onto the bestseller list is a dirty little secret the publishing industry would prefer you not know about.
Dreamworks Animation is not being completely honest either. They took huge write-downs on their most recent release “Rise of the Guardians” and faulted the film’s weak performance as the reason for laying of 400 employees. However many question whether the company’s decision to move some of their production to China may have more to do with it.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the best yearly music sales since 1999, the end of Daily Variety and whether NBC is looking to part ways with Jay Leno (again).
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Showbiz Sandbox 95: The Media Is Charlie Sheen’s Worst Enabler
March 7, 2011
It’s hard to believe that we’re writing headlines about Charlie Sheen for the second week in a row. Alas, the actor went on a whirlwind media campaign let the world know he was ready to go back to work on his hit sitcom. Mainstream media reveled in an endless supply of Sheen’s erratic and manic behavior, portraying him as a deluded, drugged out narcissist.
Eric Deggans, the television and media critic for the St. Petersburg Times, stops by to discuss his NPR commentary piece on how mixed-race couples are portrayed on network television. However, we get sidetracked when news arrives that Sheen has been fired from “Two And A Half Men”.
During Inside Baseball we are joined by Andrew Wallenstein of PaidContent (and soon Variety) who explains why movie studios should start a war over premium video-on-demand.
We also cover all the week’s top entertainment news including Google’s rumored music service, “American Idol’s” ratings dominance, Courtney Love’s Twitter lawsuit and Oprah’s struggling cable network.
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