Showbiz Sandbox 220: Content Owners Can’t Afford Your New 4K Ultra HD Television

January 13, 2014

Last week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas manufacturers stirred up a lot of buzz around 4K Ultra HD television sets. The proven and tested technology promises resolution four times greater than current high definition monitors. The biggest hurdle the industry must overcome for Ultra HD to work are the economics, specifically the high cost of delivering 4K content.

For those consumers who have given up on cable and broadcast television, commonly referred to as “cord-cutters”, the good news is they will now be able to watch wrestling via streaming video thanks to the WWE’s new online only network. However, the United States Supreme Court will decide whether they can continue using Aereo to stream local broadcast channels.

Meanwhile, this year’s awards season continues to chug along as the Golden Globes are handed out and the Director’s Guild of America announced their nominations.

Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including why Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus are too sexy for France, the demographics of last year’s Broadway ticket sales and whether a movie critic’s tweets can be used in advertisements.

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Showbiz Sandbox Special Episode: To Each Their Own Cannes Experience

May 22, 2013

With selections from world renown filmmakers like the Coen Brothers, Asghar Farhadi, Jim Jarmusch, Baz Luhrmann, Alexander Payne, Roman Polanski, Steven Soderbergh and Jia Zhangke, this year’s Cannes Film Festival is one of the most anticipated in recent memory.

Stephen Garrett is in Cannes this year as both a journalist covering for media outlets such as the New York Observer, and also as the head of Jump Cut, an advertising firm that specializes in producing trailers for foreign, independent and documentary films. Even at the halfway point in the festival he’s seen upwards of two dozen films and joins us to discuss some of the highlights and news items coming out of this year’s Cannes.

On the other hand, filmmaker Andrew Einspruch of Wild Pure Heart Productions is in Cannes to participate in the annual market. As he meets with sales agents, buyers and distributors in an attempt to sell his next movie, Einspruch hasn’t been able to see a single film.

It just goes to show how every attendee at the Cannes Film Festival has a different and unique experience.