Showbiz Sandbox 611: This Year’s Oscars Were Everything Everyone Could Have Asked For
March 15, 2023
As everyone expected, the big winner at this year’s Oscars was “Everyone Everywhere All At Once,” taking home seven of the 11 awards it was nominated for. Anne Thompson of Indiewire was at the ceremony and joins us to give us the scoop on what happened behind the scenes at this year’s Academy Awards, including two extended moments of “integrated marketing.”
Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom the BBC stirred up some controversy when they suspended popular sports commentator Gary Lineker for expressing political opinions via his personal social media account. The fallout has been epic, with essentially every sports broadcaster, commentator and soccer player boycotting the BBC.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including two new milestones in the music industry, J.J. Abrams gets into live theater and Disney says its theme parks are too expensive.
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Showbiz Sandbox 367: Netflix Makes Waves At the Cannes Film Festival
May 24, 2017
If the Cannes Film Festival’s decision to premiere two Netflix films in competition was controversial when it was announced, it was all anyone could talk about once the festival actually began. It didn’t help that this year’s jury president, director Pedro Almodovar of Spain, made headlines on the first day when he was mis-translated as saying he wouldn’t award films that won’t play in cinemas with any prizes.
Just about every filmmaker and movie star attending Cannes has been asked about their opinion on the streaming versus cinema debate, though most have offered ambivalent answers, realizing that their next paycheck might be coming from Netflix or a similar service. To be sure, the discussion is far from over.
Meanwhile, after recent terrorist attacks throughout Europe, including nearby Nice, security has been tighter than ever for the more than 50,000 attendees in Cannes this year. This has caused delays at festival events for the first time in recent memory, though everyone has been very understanding. Especially this week, after bomb was set off at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England killing 22 people.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including how TV networks are learning to take advantage of Ramadan to boost viewership, King Kong will try to tackle Broadway and Jimmy Kimmel will return as the host of next year’s Oscar telecast.
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Showbiz Sandbox 251: In the Digital Age, Content Rights Are King
September 29, 2014
Whether an illustrator creating legendary comic book characters for Marvel or a 1960’s pop group that hasn’t had a hit in decades, owning the rights to the content one produces has never been more important thanks to emerging digital distribution platforms. Unfortunately, determining who owns the rights for specific content is becoming increasingly more difficult.
For example, last week’s landmark court ruling against satellite radio provider Sirius XM could mean the company has to start paying public performance royalties on pre-1972 sound recordings. The case has huge copyright implications not just for Sirius XM, but also to streaming radio services like Pandora.
Access to content is likely the reason Softbank is making a play to acquire DreamWorks Animation. Should a deal be struck then only time will tell whether there is actually any synergy between the animation studio and the Japanese conglomerate.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including the approval of drones for film production, new stars for the upcoming season of “True Detective” and remixing actor Stephen Fry’s new memoir.
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