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.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 506: Apple Gets Into An Epic Battle Royale
August 18, 2020
Online gaming allows participants to take part in massive multiplayer battles, but no one ever gets hurt. Well, in real life, Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite is taking on both Apple and Google with an antitrust lawsuit and one of these companies is definitely going to get hurt where it counts most…the bottom line.
Meanwhile, as movie theaters around the world start to re-open after being shut down for months due to the coronavirus pandemic, the box office is sputtering back to life. Even Comscore has started publishing a weekend box office report again. Still, the industry has lost billions of dollars and is far from returning to normal grosses.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including why thousands of actors may lose their health insurance, women are ruling the Billboard music charts and how Warner Music Group is getting a bit more social.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 468: A Rundown of This Year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Nominees
November 10, 2019
Next year’s nominees for placement into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio include candidates considered in previous years, including Depeche Mode, Judas Priest and Todd Rundgren. They join new nominees such as Pat Benatar, Dave Matthews Band and Whitney Houston, among others. We speak with Sal Nunziato, a music blogger and drummer for the band The John Sally Ride, to get his encyclopedic thoughts on which of the nominees should actually get the nod.
We also discuss the pros and cons of streaming music services. There is no dispute that it’s great to have an archive of music, not to mention new releases, all available for listening within a few seconds. On the other hand, it’s also nice to support the music we really like by actually buying physical copies.
Meanwhile, the video game industry made some headlines this week after a Chinese team won the latest “League of Legends” world championship. At the same time the latest “Call of Duty” release has generated some controversy since it is set amidst the Syrian Civil War and depicts child soldiers, the killing of civilians, among many other issues.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why Woody Allen dropped his lawsuit against Amazon Studios, HBO Max sets its subscription price and technology is allowing filmmakers to cast the late James Dean in an upcoming movie.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 462: Netflix and Amazon Take Advantage of Fall Film Festivals
September 16, 2019
Though the Cannes Film Festival avoids programming movies from streamers like Netflix and Amazon, internationally renowned festivals in Venice, Telluride, Toronto and New York embrace them. And no wonder. As Anne Thompson of Indiewire tells us, the streamers used the fall film festival circuit to premiere some of the year’s most award-worthy movies.
Just back from Toronto and Telluride (and on her way to the New York Film Festival), Thompson fills us in on what new releases movie lovers should look forward to as we kick off awards season. She explains how making a big splash at such festivals can turn a middling movie into a hit collecting both big box office and plenty of kudos. Yes, we’re looking at you, Hustlers.
Meanwhile, with the imminent launch of their own streaming service, Disney wants to rewrite the rules — or at least the contracts — on how the profits from hit television shows gets shared, or as the company would prefer it, not shared. If successful, other networks and studios are sure to follow Disney’s lead.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why YouTube is revamping its music charts, Apple announcing the price for its streaming service and “Saturday Night Live” stumbling in a casting move.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 321: New Power Players Emerge In Cannes
May 16, 2016
The Cannes Film Festival has become one of the most important annual cinema events because it programs a diverse array of movies from all over the world. We’ll head to the French Riviera for this year’s festival to tell you which of the hundreds of films are generating buzz and argue over the elements necessary for the successful exportation of European films.
Meanwhile the Marché du Film, or Cannes Film Market, takes place alongside the festival each year. New industry players such as Amazon Studios and other streaming companies have made some bold moves during Cannes, stealing the thunder from veteran power brokers.
Speaking of streaming companies, Amazon is opening its video platform to users, allowing them to upload content and make money off ads, just like they do on YouTube. And YouTube is dreaming of selling its many customers a skinny bundle of TV channels.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including the Ukrainian winner of the Eurovision song contest, Sean Penn gets an apology from Tyler Perry and Disney sets a historic box office milestone.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 183: Going Inside This Year’s Oscars With Anne Thompson
February 25, 2013
As one of the hosts of the Oscar Talk podcast and the editor of Indiewire’s Thompson on Hollywood blog, it’s no wonder Anne Thompson beat out most other award season experts by correctly predicting 19 out of 24 winners at this year’s Academy Awards. Thompson attended the Oscar ceremony in-person and confirms that Seth MacFarlane was no better live than on television.
Less than 24-hours after “Argo” won Best Picture and shortly after returning from the Governor’s Ball, Thompson recaps a whirlwind weekend that had her hobnobbing at the Spirit Awards awards on Saturday then walking the red carpet at Sunday’s Oscars. Rough life, to be sure.
In television news, it turns out most the of the hour-long network dramas premiering at mid-season have failed to find an audience. Maybe now that Nielsen is including online streaming in their ratings viewership will rise for some of these shows, but we wouldn’t count on it.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including Billboard revamping music charts to include YouTube views, Shia LaBeouf drops out of his Broadway debut and Google’s plans for music streaming.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 159: Raiders of the Lost Email
August 20, 2012
We are incredibly proud of our audience here at Showbiz Sandbox and believe our dedicated listeners are the most important members of our team. Imagine how upset we were upon discovering some listener email hadn’t been making it to our inbox for the past few months. We rectify that situation on this episode, revisiting a few of the popular topics from past shows.
We debate the merits of bringing “Raiders of the Lost Ark” to the big screen again… the incredibly big screen. In fact, it’s been restored for presentation in Imax theatres.
Turns out the Olympics was the most watched television event in U.S. history, but even with that success NBC confirmed that they were lowering the salary of popular late-night talk show host Jay Leno, and laying off two dozen staff members from his show.
We also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including saying goodbye to “The Closer” , the untimely death of filmmaker Tony Scott, a Nordic expansion for Netflix and why YouTube is where all the cool kids discover new music.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
