Showbiz Sandbox 91: Super Bowl Ads Suffer Their Own Recession

February 8, 2011

More than 111 million people watched this year’s Super Bowl telecast; more viewers than any broadcast in U.S. television history. That’s great news for companies that spent big money to run ads during the game. Unfortunately, most of the usually entertaining commercials were downright dreadful. Whether praiseworthy or offensive, we give you the low down on all the adverts.

Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore is taking the Weinstein Brothers to court, suing them for the $2.7 million in “Fahrenheit 9/11” proceeds Moore claims he’s owed. Is it safe to say the Weinstein Company won’t be releasing Moore’s next film?

Turns out nobody will be releasing the White Stripes next album. Jack and Meg White have decided to call it quits. Meanwhile theater critics were so eager to see the new “Spider-Man” musical they couldn’t wait until it opened. Based on their scathing reviews, it’s probably best if it never makes it out of previews.

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Showbiz Sandbox 6: Down With ‘Up’ And Other Contrarian Opinions

June 1, 2009

We are excited to be joined by journalist Anne Thompson of Thompson On Hollywood who recently returned to the United States after covering the Cannes Film Festival. You may remember Anne as the West Coast Editor for Premiere Magazine and Film Comment, not to mention her stint as the Deputy Film Editor at The Hollywood Reporter. She’s also written for a plethora of media outlets including, The New York Times, Washington Post, Wired and LA Weekly. Anne fills us in on who scored big at this past year’s festival and who wound up spinning their wheels.

There was plenty to talk about this week with Pixar’s tenth animated film “Up” winning praise from both critics and audiences. The film earned $68.2 million during it’s opening weekend in North America, but not a dime from Karen Woodward who’s not a fan of animated films (or as she calls them. . . cartoons). “Up” may just give “The Hangover” a run for its money when it opens next week. The comedy flick from director Todd Philips has been receiving a lot of buzz as a potential sleeper hit. Another animated film trying to capture people’s attention is Robert Zemeckis’ take on “A Christmas Carol”. Though it’s not due out until November of this year, Disney has launched a promotional tour which will have clips of the film visiting 40 cities over the next six months by train.  Actor Jim Carrey tells us why another version of the classic tale is being made. Read more