Showbiz Sandbox 539: What the Roku and YouTube TV Dispute Means For Streamers
May 4, 2021
Roku and YouTube TV are locked in a very public dispute over a distribution agreement. Roku claims YouTube is playing games with its user data, while YouTube says it won’t share its user data with Roku. Now the YouTube TV app has been removed from the Roku channel store and if the fight escalates Roku could block the service entirely. We explain how this dispute could shape how viewers access streaming services in the future.
Meanwhile the Grammys are dumping the nominating committees which made the big decisions on major categories. These secret committees were originally created because the voters at large were missing obvious critical and commercial successes like The Weeknd.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including how SAG-AFTRA is creating a certification for on-set intimacy coordinators, John Mayer will host his own music program and hockey gets a streaming payday.
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Showbiz Sandbox 533: Behind The Scenes At The Most Challenging Grammys Ever
March 16, 2021
Working within strict health and safety guidelines the producers of the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards telecast were uncertain how the show would come together or even when it would take place. David Wild knows this first hand. He was the lead writer and one of the producers on this year’s show. Wild joins us to detail all the challenges of pulling off music’s biggest night amidst a global pandemic.
Meanwhile, nods for outstanding achievements in motion pictures were announced en masse over the past week with the BAFTAs, Cesars, Directors Guild, American Society of Cinematographers and many more leading up to, finally, this year’s Oscar nominations.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including a trip to this year’s Berlin Film Festival, how Drake is dominating the music charts and Disney+ continues its staggering growth.
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Showbiz Sandbox 521: Words In Bubbles – Behind the Scenes of the Comic Book Industry
December 16, 2020
Everyone in the entertainment industry has suffered the disruption caused by the COVID pandemic, including those who create and publish independent comic books. Kyle Higgins knows a thing or two about that. He’s known for his work on the Batman franchise for DC and the Power Rangers franchise for Boom Studios, not to mention his own ground-breaking work on originals like C.O.W.L.
We talk to Higgins about his latest creation, “Radiant Black” as well as the challenges of creating comics during a pandemic. He gives us a unique peak into the world of conceiving, creating and publishing independent comic books.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including the fallout from Warner Bros. sending all their movies to HBO Max, all the big announcements from Disney’s investor day and the latest additions to the National Film Registry.
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Showbiz Sandbox 519: A Year Without A Blockbuster Comic Book Movie
December 1, 2020
Though 2020 saw DC Films launch a Harley Quinn vehicle and Marvel finally released an X-Men spin-off “The New Mutants,” neither film set the world on fire. As “Wonder Woman 1984” heads to a hybrid streaming and theatrical release, it’s the final gasp of almost an entire year without any big comic book movies.
We ask veteran entertainment journalist Geoff Boucher whether we needed a break from all the cinematic heroics. As someone who has hosted countless CinemaCon panels, Boucher explains whether, after an endless stream of blockbuster Marvel and DC films, a year without a major comic book movie is such a bad thing.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including this year’s Grammy Award nominations, Conan O’Brien is ending his late night talk show and why Quentin Tarantino’s next release may be headed straight to libraries.
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Showbiz Sandbox 498: Comic Book Industry Fights For Survival, Meanwhile China and US Simply Fight
June 16, 2020
While the coronavirus has shut down movies, concerts and live theater, it has absolutely decimated the comic book industry. Pop culture journalist Geoff Boucher joins us to look at the future for comic book stores and comic book movies. Spoiler alert – one of these is in dire straits.
Currently, Boucher is co-authoring a book on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel Studios. And this week he’s launching another his own podcast hosted by the legendary comic book magazine Heavy Metal.
Meanwhile, Chris Fenton, a longtime exec in Asia and the author of “Feeding The Dragon,” wrote a piece for Real Clear Politics saying Hollywood and China are headed for a divorce…but he explains why they should make certain it a conscious uncoupling.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including how media companies are jumping on the Black Lives Matter bandwagon, SAG-AFTRA reaches a new deal with producers avoiding a strike and the Oscars update their rules for the Best Picture category.
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Showbiz Sandbox 478: Setting Records at Sundance and the Grammys
January 27, 2020
With the Winter Olympics causing an abbreviated and frantic awards season, the film took a brief respite from Oscar-talk to head to Park City, Utah for this year’s Sundance Film Festival. We give you an update on all the hot titles and buzz being generated at this year’s festival, including a record breaking price for a Sundance film.
Meanwhile, the Grammys were held under a scandalous cloud due to the fallout from the Recording Academy dismissing its top exec, Deborah Dugan. The evening belonged to 18-year-old Billie Eilish who became the youngest person to win four of the top awards at the event including Best Pop Vocal Album, Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year.
In China, the Chinese New Year usually marks the highest grossing week on the calendar, however not this year. A highly contagious virus caused the government to quarantine large cities and the country’s cinema chains shuttered out of precaution leading to a loss of hundreds of millions yuan.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why country radio stations won’t play female artists, more talent agencies sign on to the Writers Guild code of conduct, and Netflix continues to gain subscribers.
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Showbiz Sandbox 470: The End of the Paramount Consent Decree
December 1, 2019
The Department of Justice has announced their intention to jettison the Paramount Consent Decree, the agreement that ended the studio system and under which the film industry has operated for the past 70 years. What will this mean for movie theater operators moving forward? Now that studios have become big media conglomerates will they behave anti-competitively?
Speaking of agreements, more mid-level talent agencies have signed the Writers Guild of America’s code of conduct. In the process, these agencies have gotten the WGA to agree not to enforce the ban on television packaging until one of four major firms signs on.
Meanwhile, the Thanksgiving holiday weekend was once again a time for audiences to return to cinemas en masse. However this year instead of going to see the latest blockbuster sequel, moviegoers actually sought out original films.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the Grammy nominations, why Netflix bought a movie theater in New York City and the controversy over the firing of Gabrielle Union from “America’s Got Talent.”
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Showbiz Sandbox 438: The Oscars Play It By The Book
February 26, 2019
In a year when diversity took center stage at the Oscars, with people of color and women taking home some of the major prizes, the Academy awarded Best Picture to “Green Book,” a film partially about race relations that has been faulted by some as being whitewashed. Anne Thompson, Indiewire’s Editor-at-Large, attended the Oscar ceremony and joins us to discuss all the winners, including how “Green Book” managed to overcome a number of obstacles to walk off with the top award.
Though “Roma” was a frontrunner throughout the Oscar race, and wound up winning three awards including Best Director for Alfonso Cuaron, it didn’t win Best Picture to the relief of some in the industry who did not want to reward a film which shunned a traditional theatrical release. The film caused quite a stir when it took home the top BAFTA award earlier in the month.
Meanwhile, in China, the Lunar New Year box office was extraordinary but it came at a price: record grosses and record ticket prices were matched with record piracy.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the layoffs at Activision Blizzard, why Celine Dion parted ways with her long-time agent and millions attend a virtual concert on the video game Fortnite.
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Showbiz Sandbox 437: Sinemia Seeks Profit In Subscription Moviegoing
February 11, 2019
Sinemia is taking on MoviePass in hopes of achieving what no movie subscription service has ever attained before: profitability. We are joined by Rıfat Oğuz, the CEO of Sinemia, who discusses the history of the service, how they chose their $30 price point and what lies ahead for this emerging business. If it catches on, it could dramatically change when and how often people go to the movies.
Meanwhile, in a complete reversal of fortunes, this year’s Grammy Awards finally honored female musicians as well as handing out prizes to hip-hop artists. Maybe next year some of the big stars won’t shrug off the ceremony like they seemed to do this past Sunday.
In the United Kingdom “The Favourite” was the favorite at the BAFTA Awards winning seven prizes, but it was Alfonso Cuaron’s Netflix film “Roma” which took home Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematography.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the deal between Actor’s Equity and the Broadway League, why NBC is dumping its live telecast of “Hair” and Spotify finally turns a profit.
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Showbiz Sandbox 435: Netflix By The Numbers
January 21, 2019
Despite having cultivated a reputation for keeping its viewership statistics under tight wraps, Netflix has made a complete about face and is now boasting about how many subscribers are tuning in to its original content. The company says nearly 45 million accounts watched its hit movie “Bird Box” and nearly as many watched its latest series “Sex Education”. In the midst of all this success, Netflix has decided to raise it’s monthly subscription fee by $2 in certain territories, including North America.
Unlike the Netflix subscription price, a number not on the rise is the theatrical box office in Germany. After edging up slightly in 2017, grosses in the 8th biggest movie-going market in the world were down 16% last year. Hollywood titles grabbed 75% of the $965 million box office as attendance also dipped 15.5%.
Meanwhile, award season continues with no clear frontrunner emerging as this year’s Oscar nominations are about to be revealed. We take a glance at the makeup, costume and directors guilds awards, not to mention the BAFTAS and nods from one group that really matters; the Producers Guild.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why RCA Records is dropping R. Kelley from its label, the Emmys are dumping DVD screeners and sportscaster Bob Costas is leaving NBC.
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