Showbiz Sandbox 123: DVR Data Can Save TV Shows From Cancellation
October 17, 2011
It turns out your DVR can be helpful beyond just recording your favorite television shows. Examining which commercials you skip past might be able to help predict box office flops and monitoring which shows you watch can save a borderline series from being canceled. We’ll debate whether television networks and movie studios can benefit from the data being collected from your DVR.
Apple however may be trying to make your DVR obsolete. The long standing rumors that Apple might be working on a next generation television set have heated up once again. Would you welcome Apple into your living room?
Dozens of entries make up this year’s Best Foreign Language Oscar list, though all of them will ultimately be nominated. We’ll explain how the list ultimately gets whittled down to just five movies.
We also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why Hulu is no longer for sale, why Jonny Depp’s “Lone Ranger” is back in production and how Amazon plans to make publishers unnecessary.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 117: Crunching The Numbers Behind Summer’s New Box Office Records
September 6, 2011
Big budget sequels and super hero movies helped push the bar on summer box office records slightly higher. North American grosses rose to $4.4 billion as overseas markets improved to $8.2 billion in receipts. But how much did all those blockbusters actually cost to produce and market? After all the money is counted, how profitable will the latest installments of “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Transformers” truly be? We sharpen our pencils and do the math to answer all these questions and more.
One future blockbuster that was recently axed by Disney may actually get made after all. The studios is lowering the budget on “The Lone Ranger” by asking star Johnny Depp and filmmaker Gore Verbinski to take a pay cut.
The publishing world also seems to be doing quite well lately thanks to strong sales of digital titles. Even though the e-books may be getting all the love in mainstream media stories, Random House wants everyone to know that print books aren’t dead. In fact, the sale of hardcover and paperback books still outpaces their digital counterparts.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 113: Hollywood Studios Think Twice About Comic-Con
July 25, 2011
Attendance at this year’s Comic-Con was higher than ever. Geoff Boucher of the Los Angeles Times and Alex Billington of First Showing were in San Diego last weekend sitting in on, if not moderating, panel discussions with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Francis Coppola and “Game of Thrones” cast members. In filling us in on all the highlights they explain why some studios skipped this year’s festivities and why next year’s convention is set to be the biggest Comic-Con yet.
There was also some sad news this past weekend as we learned about the untimely death of soul singer Amy Winehouse at the age of 27. The troubled young singer battled with drug addiction since rising to stardom in 2006 and her death raises the question over what responsibility the entertainment industry has in helping artists with drug or alcohol problems.
There was better news on Broadway where at least three recent shows turned a profit with even more shows about to follow suit. Even the much-hyped disaster “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark” is shaping up to be a financial success.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 112: Why Netflix Had To Raise Its Prices
July 18, 2011
You would have thought the world was coming to an end last week after popular movie streaming service Netflix raised its prices by 60%. The company’s customers took to blogs and social networks in revolt, threatening to cancel their subscriptions. However, between the cost of mailing DVDs and paying increased licensing fees for content, a Netflix rate hike was inevitable. Is Netflix still one of the best movie bargains available today, and if not, are there any alternatives?
Speaking of subscription offerings, one of Europe’s hottest music streaming services is finally available in the United States. Will Spotify be able to displace some of the entrenched players in the space like Spotify and Rdio? You can find out for yourself since we have some Spotify invitations to give away to a few lucky listeners.
Over in television-land the Emmy nominations were announced and as usual, there were a few noticeable omissions. Just ask “Sons of Anarchy” producer Kurt Sutter who chastised the Academy via Twitter for not recognizing the show’s star Katey Sagal (who also happens to be his wife).
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 105: The Dark Truth About Digital Cinema
June 1, 2011
When Ty Burr, film critic for The Boston Globe, noticed that the films he was seeing didn’t appear as bright as they usually do he did a little investigating to figure out why. What he discovered, and documented in a recent front page article, is that some major theater chains are leaving moviegoers in the dark by regularly misusing digital projection equipment. Burr joins us to explain why this is happening and what cinema patrons can do about it.
Meanwhile, the market for streaming music online hasn’t cooled off. Apple is about to announce a service the company has dubbed iCloud and it is rumored that Facebook may integrate Spotify into its website. It seems more people are listening to more music than ever before. That may be why the Coachella Music Festival is doubling down and expanding the event to two weekends next year.
Oprah Winfrey ended her long-running talk show last week and nearly 17 million people tuned in to watch. Yet that audience pales in comparison to the 28 million viewers that watched the final episode of this season’s “American Idol”. That’s nearly a 20% increase over last years finale.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 99-B: The Special Excuse Episode
April 17, 2011
The dog ate our homework! Here we were, all prepared to fill you in on the week’s top entertainment headlines during this week’s episode, when unexpected travel plans got in the way.
Entertainment journalist extraordinaire Michael Giltz was hoping to talk about daytime soap operas “All My Children” and “One Life To Live” being canceled by ABC. Of course, we’ve pointed out on numerous occasions that soap operas have been dying a slow death, so it should really come as no surprise. We had a whole bunch of news about “The Hobbit”, as well as some info on how much it will cost to purchase a 30 second commercial during Oprah’s finale this May.
Co-host J. Sperling Reich attended the Coachella Music and Arts Fetival and was going to fill us in on all the hot acts worth checking out. But have no fear, we plan on returning next week for our 100th episode and will catch you up on all the news then. In the meantime, feel free to catch up on some of our past episodes.
Podcast: Play in new window
| Download
Showbiz Sandbox 95: The Media Is Charlie Sheen’s Worst Enabler
March 7, 2011
It’s hard to believe that we’re writing headlines about Charlie Sheen for the second week in a row. Alas, the actor went on a whirlwind media campaign let the world know he was ready to go back to work on his hit sitcom. Mainstream media reveled in an endless supply of Sheen’s erratic and manic behavior, portraying him as a deluded, drugged out narcissist.
Eric Deggans, the television and media critic for the St. Petersburg Times, stops by to discuss his NPR commentary piece on how mixed-race couples are portrayed on network television. However, we get sidetracked when news arrives that Sheen has been fired from “Two And A Half Men”.
During Inside Baseball we are joined by Andrew Wallenstein of PaidContent (and soon Variety) who explains why movie studios should start a war over premium video-on-demand.
We also cover all the week’s top entertainment news including Google’s rumored music service, “American Idol’s” ratings dominance, Courtney Love’s Twitter lawsuit and Oprah’s struggling cable network.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 81: Kanye West Spins His Own Hype
November 30, 2010
The week of Thanksgiving is usually slow when it comes to entertainment news, but not this year. There was a horse race at the box office as Disney’s 50th animated feature nearly toppled the seventh Harry Potter film at the box office. “Tangled” received positive reviews and earned an impressive $69 million over the four day holiday weekend.
Also bowing last week was Kanye West’s fifth studio album which is being hailed by critics as a masterpiece. But even before critics had weighed in West had jumped on popular social networking platforms to promote the release and his image. A story in the Los Angeles Times claims the hip-hop star has become a master at creating and controlling his own hype. If that’s the case, then why does West have such a terrible reputation as a troublemaker?
Also trying to promote themselves via social media was Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster. The furry blue “cookie enthusiast” is campaigning to host “Saturday Night Live” starting with a video on YouTube. Don’t laugh too hard though, since “SNL” seems to be where the Oscars are scouting for hosts. Just ask two former SNL guests James Franco and Anne Hathaway who will be co-hosting the 83rd Academy Awards.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 71: Missing Good Movies In Toronto, Eh?
September 14, 2010
Trying to record a podcast when your hosts are half a world apart in three different time zones is no easy task, but still we persevered. We even managed to land Megan Garvey from the Los Angeles Times as a special guest. She tells us all about the Times’ new iPhone app which provides an interactive tour of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Host Michael Giltz is at the Toronto International Film Festival and he fills us in on all the movies that people are buzzing about. Unfortunately, he’s been shut out or has missed most of the future Oscar contenders that make their annual debut at the festival.
The MTV Video Music Awards were held over the weekend and Lady Gaga was a big winner. The pop sensation showed up in a dress made of red meat and walked off with eight trophies.
Big Deal or Big Whoop is abbreviated this week due to travel schedules, but we still manage to fill you in on some of the week’s top entertainment news, including a return to “At The Movies” for Roger Ebert and Oprah’s fading ratings. During Inside Baseball we discuss the Hollywood Reporter’s decision to go from a daily trade paper to a weekly magazine.
Podcast: Play in new window
| Download
Showbiz Sandbox 61: Andrew Garfield Fills Spider-Man’s Reboots
July 5, 2010
That “Twilight Saga: Eclipse: wound up at the top of the box office over the Fourth of July holiday weekend with $280 million worldwide was not a big shock, however the casting of Andrew Garfield to play Spider-Man in the next installment of the franchise came as a surprise. Entertainment journalist Michael Giltz has been following the 26-year-old actor for several years, but the selection of the unknown had most industry insiders searching for his resume.
In all likelihood the next “Spider-Man” film will be shot in 3D though the format is not a guarantee of box office gold. Just ask M. Night Shyamalan whose “Last Airbender” had a disappointing opening despite being converted to 3D in post-production. Film critic Roger Ebert was not alone in trashing the film.
This week also saw Larry King announce his retirement from the nightly talk show he’s hosted on CNN for 25 years. King’s program has been slipping in ratings recently, as have late night talkers hosted by Jay Leno and David Letterman. But viewership continues to grow on cable television, not to mention on Hulu which will begin offering monthly subscriptions for expanded content offerings.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
