Showbiz Sandbox 527: Sundance Film Festival Overcomes Pandemic Hurdle
February 4, 2021
How do you hold a film in the midst of an infectious health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic? Just ask the Sundance Film Festival who managed to pull off a virtual film festival that felt quite similar to the real deal right down to the blockbuster acquisition deals for this year’s most popular titles. There was even a virtual bar for attendees to hang out and network with one another. We’ll fill you in on all the movies from this year’s festival that you’ll be hearing about throughout 2021.
Meanwhile, last year’s noteworthy movies and television shows are heading into a delayed awards season with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announcing their Golden Globe Nominees. If the Globes are any indication, which is not always the case, then streaming services may dominate this year’s round of awards.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including the AMC stock price surge, Warner Music goes solo and we may finally have seen the end of Peak TV.
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Showbiz Sandbox 194: Tony Awards Prove Broadway Knows How To Put On A Show
June 11, 2013
Once again actor Neil Patrick Harris proved he knows how to host an awards show with a dazzling turn as master of ceremonies at this year’s Tony Awards last Sunday. The ceremony provided its share of surprises and dramatic speeches from the likes of Cicely Tyson and pop-star Cyndi Lauper as “Kinky Boots” walked off with six Tonys including Best Musical. Though the telecast may have been poorly directed, it was filled with a mixed bag of performances from this season’s top Broadway shows.
For Broadway play or musical, a Tony can provide a huge boost at the box office, though it’s no guarantee. There has never been a magic formula for investing in the arts which is something JP Morgan and its partners should have looked into before loaning Paramount Pictures a load of cash to finance movies. Now everyone is suing each other after the bank discovered their Hollywood investments weren’t as risk free as they had initially thought.
That kind of inside news is usually reported by the likes of Nikki Finke over at her Deadline Hollywood blog. However, if a scoop from a competing online news source is correct, Finke’s days at Deadline may be numbered. Has Finke’s conentious reputation finally caught up with her, or will a crosstown rival need to eat some crow?
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including Amazon’s European tax problems, Disney’s digital distribution plans, and the possibly illegal limitations of Microsoft’s new Xbox.
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