Showbiz Sandbox 456: The TV Shows That Will Benefit Most From An Emmy Nomination
July 22, 2019
Television audiences have become so fragmented these days that almost every show can benefit from Emmy Awards attention. Sure, you think everyone knows about shows like “Stranger Things” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” We ask which series might get a needed ratings boost from being in this year’s Emmys race.
HBO took home the most Emmy nominations helped by “Game of Thrones” which set a record earning 32 nods, the most ever for a single show. However, with “GoT” and “Veep” in their final seasons is HBO’s award enjoying a swan song over its Emmy dominance?
Meanwhile, Disney’s latest live-action adaptation opened internationally to $531 million on its way to what is likely another billion dollar gross for the studio. In fact, Disney may have five billion dollar movies this year alone.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the headlines from Comic-Con, Netflix subscribership drops and why you may not be able to find that hot new album at your local record store.
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Showbiz Sandbox 356: The Future of 4K Ultra HD Streaming Is Upon Us
February 20, 2017
FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly has a history of voting against raising the standard level of what constitutes high-speed broadband service. Now he’s publicly dismissed 4K video streaming as a figment of the future, so far off it won’t be adopted for many years. Could O’Rielly be correct in his dim forecast about the foreseeable future of Ultra HD? Short answer: no.
The arguments against media technology adoption revolve around the availability of content and devices. However, neither seems to be presently lacking. More and more consumer electronics manufacturers are phasing out HD televisions in lieu of new 4K models, while the likes of Netflix and Amazon offer 4K streaming of movies and television shows.
Meanwhile, we review the latest accolades handed out by the Writers Guild and the Berlin Film Festival as we gear up for next week’s Oscar ceremony by making a few haphazard predictions of our own.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including why Disney is dumping a YouTube star, the New York Times is ditching one of its longtime theatre critics and the reason Playboy magazine is going all in on nudity.
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Showbiz Sandbox 290: Disney Plans A Trip To Star Wars Land
August 17, 2015
Last week the Walt Disney Company held its annual fan club convention, the D23 Expo, which gave the company a chance not only to promote some of its highly anticipated movie releases, such as a live-action “Jungle Book”, but also announce some new additions to their popular theme parks.
Disney plans to leverage its acquisition of Lucasfilm by creating an immersive Star Wars Land at both of its theme parks in North America. The company is also working on a “Toy Story” themed land for both parks as well. This is all on top of the “Avatar” attraction Disney is building in its Animal Kingdom park in Florida.
Meanwhile, the dog days of summer are usually a slow time for live theater productions, especially on Broadway. However this year multiple shows are bringing in million dollar grosses each week, including “Hamilton” a new musical that had the courage to premiere during August.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including Sesame Street’s move to HBO, the end of Columbia House and how the late talk show legend Johnny Carson is returning to late night.
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Showbiz Sandbox 216: Last Year’s Unknowns May Be Next Year’s Grammy Winners
December 9, 2013
When the Grammy Award nominations for 2014 were announced last week, they were filled with names of artists and musicians who at this time last year few had ever heard of. One hasn’t even graduated from high school yet. Lorde, country singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves and the rapper-producer duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis rose to stardom on a wave of self-distribution, YouTube and social media.
Accolades are also being handed out for some of the year’s best movies. There’s only one problem; nobody can agree on which films to award. One critics group was so divided over Best Picture that it led to a tie for two different movies.
Meanwhile, producer Jerry Bruckhiemer’s year will be ending on an up note. Though he might be on the outs with Disney after the disappointing performance of “The Lone Ranger”, the mega-producer announced a new first-look deal with Paramount Pictures.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including Indiana Jones heads to Disney for a reboot, Billy Joel takes up residency at Madison Square Garden and television audiences tune-in en masse for a live performance of “The Sound of Music”.
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