Showbiz Sandbox 300: What is GamerGate and Why Should You Care?

November 3, 2015

South by Southwest (SXSW) set the tech world and media outlets aflame when they recently canceled two panel discussions on harassment in the gaming community scheduled for their 2016 conference. Organizers quickly reversed their decision realizing it sent the unintended message that the of the annual music, film and interactive festival not only tolerates online harassment but condones it.

SXSW officials claimed they were trying to protect attendees from violence threatening the panels from a group aligning themselves with GamerGate, an angry and misogynistic movement focused on sexism and progressivism in video game culture. Trying to define GamerGate is difficult since it has evolved from a debate raging through social media hashtags to real world death threats against prominent women in the video game industry. We’ll try to unravel the meaning of GamerGate and discuss whether SXSW can fully recover from the controversy it stirred up.

Meanwhile, tickets to hot franchise properties are getting hard to come by. When tickets for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” went on sale recently, web ticketing companies were crippled by demand. The same was true when tickets for the London West End production of “Harry Potter And The Cursed Child” which promptly sold out a year’s worth of performances.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including the return of “Gilmore Girls”, Internet music service Pandora settles a copyright dispute to the tune of $90 million and a new Star Trek television series is headed straight to online streaming.

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Showbiz Sandbox 242: Supreme Court Fumbles Aereo Ruling

July 1, 2014

Last week the United States Supreme Court ruled that the television streaming service Aereo violated copyright laws by using mini-antennas to deliver broadcast signals to paying subscribers. Denise Howell, an intellectual property lawyer and host of “This Week in Law”, outlines a decision that will have long term and wide-ranging effects for the entertainment and technology industries.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are attempting to alter their demographics by inviting younger, more ethnically diverse artists to join the ranks of those who nominate and vote for the Oscars each year. What’s truly remarkable is some of the legendary veterans who are just now receiving invites.

Meanwhile, as the publishing industry watches Hachette Book Group go to war with Amazon over the price of their books, the country of France is trying to protect its bookstores by passing a law meant to combat the online retailers influence.

Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including the gigantic opening of “Transformers: Age of Extinction”, why this summer’s domestic box office is considered anemic and “Community” heads to Yahoo for its sixth season.

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Showbiz Sandbox 239: A Gentleman’s Guide To This Year’s Tony Winners

June 9, 2014

This year’s Tony Awards spread the love around with many of the Broadway season’s most lauded shows taking home trophies. “A Raisin in the Sun” won several awards including best revival of a play. Actor Bryan Cranston earned a Tony for his portrayal of President Lyndon Johnson “All The Way”, which also won best play. The critical darling “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder” walked off with one of the night’s biggest awards, best musical.

Meanwhile Audra McDonald made history by winning her sixth Tony for acting, the most ever won by a performer. There were very few surprises during this year’s ceremony, accept for maybe host Hugh Jackman starting the telecast off by hopping (literally) through a dance routine that lasted four minutes. And even though Neil Patrick Harris didn’t host this year’s ceremony as he has for the past three years, he still managed to make his presence felt by performing a number from “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and winning the Tony for best actor in a leading role in a musical.

In the world of movies it appears the day-and-date release of movies both in theatres and online is quickly becoming the new normal, if the practice hasn’t done so already. Now, a new research report out of Europe suggests that overlapping release windows is not eroding cinema attendance.

Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including the latest movie from the Wachowski siblings gets pushed into next year, “Game of Thrones” becomes the the most watched show in HBO’s history and despite critical praise the latest Tom Cruise blockbuster is struggling at the box office.

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Showbiz Sandbox 193: Getting The Scoop On Great Live Music

June 3, 2013

If you ever wonder whether you should really go see a new hype band perform live or want to warn friends not to bother with a legendary act’s latest reunion tour, then then you’ll be happy to learn about ShowScoop. The new social media website and mobile app bills itself as a “Yelp for concerts”. Company founder Micah Smurthwaite tells us how you’ll never have to see a bad show again and how bands can use the service to help promote their work.

We also have a complete rundown of BookExpo America, the largest North American trade show for book publishers. Held in New York City over the last week, Michael Giltz fills us in on the event, specifically detailing how digital technology has shaken up the industry.

Broadway’s best and brightest will be honored this weekend during the Tony Awards. Unfortunately, attendance at Broadway productions declined six percent over the past season, though revenue remained flat.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including Disney’s ambitious long-term release schedule, Dan Harmon’s return to “Community” and a request to shorten the length of movie trailers.

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Showbiz Sandbox 171: Cost Of Sports Could Be Cable’s Unbundling

November 26, 2012

The rights to broadcast Major League Baseball games through 2021 were recently scooped up by ESPN for a cool $5.6 billion. That’s nothing compared to the $15.2 billion the network will be paying the NFL for “Monday Night Football” over the next eight years. Now News Corp. has coughed up billions for a stake in the New York Yankees network and are on the verge of paying a rumored $6 billion for the rights to air Los Angeles Dodger baseball games for 25-years. Some cable operators are now saying the skyrocketing costs of sports programming is out of control and unrealistic.

Since we’re talking about billions of dollars, we may as well mention Sony Pictures. Thanks to films such as “The Amazing Spider-Man” and “Skyfall” the studio has taken in more than $4 billion worldwide this year at the box office. Lionsgate isn’t doing too bad either, earning $1 billion with releases such as “Hunger Games” and “Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn”.

In fact, the North American box office is on pace to set a new record this year, much like the grosses recorded over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The $290 million was a new high for the four day period.

Of course, we also cover all the big entertainment headlines from the past two weeks including the ongoing sexual abuse scandal rocking Sesame Street, the death of actor Larry Hagman and NBC’s big win during the November sweeps.

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Showbiz Sandbox 148: Soaking Up This Year’s Cannes Film Festival

May 22, 2012

Uncharacteristic inclement weather drenched the first half of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, though the rain could not dampen the spirits of attendees or distributors looking to acquire hot titles. Are the selections at this year’s festival going to be future award contenders as they were last year with “The Artist” and “Tree of Life”? We’ll let you know.

Of course, Cannes has never been short on movie stars. This year’s festival has featured appearances from Bruce Willis, Nicole Kidman, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Brad Pitt, to name just a few. However some journalists are finding that getting access to such talent can be costly, especially if you have to pay thousands of euro for interviews. We’ll explain.

One film that didn’t make it into the festival is “Battleship”. The $200 million action film finally opened in North America over the weekend to poor reviews and tepid box office receipts. Like Disney was forced to do with “John Carter”, Universal will likely take a write down on the movie.

We also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including this year’s entries to the National Recording Registry, ABC’s plans to expand “Good Morning America” to the afternoon and the creator of “Community” gets fired from his own show.

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Showbiz Sandbox 127: Has NBC Lost Touch With Its Community?

November 28, 2011

When NBC removed the quirky sitcom “Community” from their mid-season schedule the show’s cult following went berserk. Fans launched petitions via Twitter and Facebook and in an ironic twist, got the show selected as TV Guide Magazine’s second annual Fan Favorites winner. In a desperate effort to find success with their primetime programming, NBC has given the “Community” time slot to another acclaimed comedy with mediocre ratings, “Up All Night”. Is anyone minding the store at the struggling network, or are all these calculated strategic moves?

Maybe “Community” can be saved by Netflix. That’s not such a far fetched idea now that the video rental cum streaming service is resuscitating the long-canceled “Arrested Development” by producing another 10 episodes. Yet, as Netflix moves into original content, it stock price continues to decline as some of the companies cash flow problems are made public.

Meanwhile, 30 years after it occurred, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s department has decided to reopen the case of Natalie Wood’s death. The legendary actress drowned under mysterious circumstances in 1981 while boating with her husband Robert Wagner. Could investigators actually find new evidence so long after the fact, or are they following tips from sources who might have ulterior motives.

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