Showbiz Sandbox 282: Broadway’s Not So Big Night at the Tony Awards
June 8, 2015
A musical about family, sexuality and suicide along with a play about an adolescent with Aspberger’s syndrome won the top prizes at this year’s Tony Awards over the weekend. Based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir, “Fun Home” was awarded Best Musical and “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” earned Best New Play. On paper, both could have been marginal longshots to win Tonys, which can at times go to more commercial productions.
We go over the list of this year’s Tony Award winners and choose a few highlights from a ceremony in which they were quite sparse. It was great to see Kelli O’Hara win a Tony for Best Actress In A Musical after she had been overlooked the last five times she was nominated. Yet, in a year which saw Broadway break box office records, the telecast flirted with all-time low ratings.
Meanwhile, as we record this episode Apple appears set to announce their streaming music service which some big record label executives see as a tipping point that could save the industry. That seems like a tall order given how late the company is getting to market, but it’s never a good idea to underestimate Apple.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including how Netflix is heading to Spain, Senator Chris Dodd is staying on as head of the MPAA and Showtime is going over the top with its new streaming service.
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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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