http://www.showbizsandbox.com Showbiz Sandbox is a podcast featuring industry professionals J. Sperling Reich, Karen Woodward and Michael Giltz’s humorous viewpoints, insightful analysis and insider opinions on the latest entertainment news headlines. The weekly podcast features renowned industry guests, as well as phone calls and emails from listeners who voice their own opinions on the child’s play of the entertainment business. Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:48:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 en hourly 1 Showbiz Sandbox is a podcast featuring industry professionals J. Sperling Reich, Karen Woodward and Michael Giltz’s humorous viewpoints, insightful analysis and insider opinions on the latest entertainment news headlines. The weekly podcast features renowned industry guests, as well as phone calls and emails from listeners who voice their own opinions on the child’s play of the entertainment business. J. Sperling Reich, Karen Woodward & Michael Giltz no J. Sperling Reich, Karen Woodward & Michael Giltz sperling@showbizsandbox.com sperling@showbizsandbox.com (J. Sperling Reich, Karen Woodward & Michael Giltz) 2009 The podcast that brings you all the dirt on the news making headlines around the entertainment world. Entertainment, Movies, Film, Television, TV, Music, Theater, Broadway http://www.showbizsandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/showbiz-sandbox-podcast-artwork-with-photos.png http://www.showbizsandbox.com http://www.showbizsandbox.com/2010/02/03/showbiz-sandbox-special-episode-and-the-oscar-nominations-go-to/ http://www.showbizsandbox.com/2010/02/03/showbiz-sandbox-special-episode-and-the-oscar-nominations-go-to/#comments Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:23:00 +0000 J. Sperling Reich http://www.showbizsandbox.com/?p=656 http://www.showbizsandbox.com/2010/02/03/showbiz-sandbox-special-episode-and-the-oscar-nominations-go-to/feed/ 0 "(500) Days Of Summer","Avatar","District 9","Inglorious Basterds","The Blind Side","Up In The Air","Up",Academy Awards,James Cameron,Kathryn Bigelow,Oscars Early Tuesday morning the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences handed out their nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards. This is the first year since 1943 (when Casablanca won) that the Academy is expanding the list of Best Picture nominees to ... Early Tuesday morning the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (http://www.oscars.org/) handed out their nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards. This is the first year since 1943 (when Casablanca won) that the Academy is expanding the list of Best Picture nominees to 10, up from the traditional five. The Academy's original goal in increasing the field of nominees was that more popular films would be nominated, rather than a handful of independent films few are familiar with. It's safe to say, they got their wish. Not only were predictable entries nominated, such as "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker", but so were a few surprises that included crowd favorites such as "The Blind Side" and "District 9". Even Pixar's "Up" was nominated, making it the second film to ever be nominated for an Oscar. Of course, this year even if the list of Best Picture nominees hadn't expanded, "Avatar", the biggest box office winner of all time, was a lock for one of the slots. If "Avatar" wins Best Picture it will be the first time in 12 years that a movie which wasn't nominated for Best Screenplay takes home the top prize. The last time that happened was when another James Cameron film won in 1997, "Titanic". You'd have to go all the way back to "The Sound of Music" to see such a win. Based on the complicated way votes will be counted for Best Picture, we could have a real surprise winner in the Best Picture category. In fact, a film that receives more second place votes may actually win. On the other hand, Michael Giltz (http://www.michaelgiltz.com) believes the acting nominees were lazy and filled with the usual suspects. He was hoping the Academy would take a few chances in selecting some performances which hadn't been chosen by the Golden Globes or the SAG Awards. That happens to be the case for Jeremy Renner, who is nominated in the Best Actor category for his performance in "Hurt Locker". As well, despite a strong crop of animated releases this year, "Up" will probably take home the Best Animated Feature trophy. That film was also nominated for Best Original Score and Best Screenplay. We'll have to wait until March 7th when the Oscars are handed out to find out who all the winners are, but before then we plan on handicapping them with your help. Please email us (mailto:dirt@showbizsandbox.com) your thoughts on who might in each category. You can also leave us a voicemail (888-567-7263) or leave a comment on this post. Your emails, comments and voicemails will be included in a future episode. Nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/82/nominees.html (http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/82/nominees.html) J. Sperling Reich, Karen Woodward & Michael Giltz no 27:53 http://www.showbizsandbox.com/2009/12/07/showbiz-sandbox-32-grammys-and-spirits-and-comcast-oh-my/ http://www.showbizsandbox.com/2009/12/07/showbiz-sandbox-32-grammys-and-spirits-and-comcast-oh-my/#comments Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:26:10 +0000 J. Sperling Reich http://www.showbizsandbox.com/?p=538 http://www.showbizsandbox.com/2009/12/07/showbiz-sandbox-32-grammys-and-spirits-and-comcast-oh-my/feed/ 0 "The Blind Side","The Princess and the Frog","Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn","Twilight Saga: New Moon",ABC,Adam Lambert,Comcast,David Wild,Eugene Hernandez,IndieWire,Lala,NBC Universal Rolling Stone contributing editor David Wild joins us this week to talk about the 52nd Annual Grammy nominations, a subject he knows a lot about since he's one of the writers on the awards show. If music isn't your thing than maybe independent film is. Rolling Stone contributing editor David Wild (http://www.twitter.com/wildaboutmusic) joins us this week to talk about the 52nd Annual Grammy nominations, a subject he knows a lot about since he's one of the writers on the awards show. If music isn't your thing than maybe independent film is. Eugene Hernandez (http://www.twitter.com/eug), editor of indieWIRE (http://www.indiewire.com) drops by to discuss the Spirit Award nominees as well as the official selections of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. In other news, Sandra Bullock continues to impress moviegoing audiences in "The Blind Side" which knocked "Twilight Saga: New Moon" out of first place in the North American box office over the weekend. Speaking of "Twilight" who would you like to see direct the fourth installment of the franchise, "Breaking Dawn"? J. Sperling Reich (http://www.twitter.com/sperling), Michael Giltz (http://www.michaelgiltz.com) and Karen Woodward (http://www.twitter.com/kwoody3939) agree that it's probably not going to be Tim Burton, Peter Jackson or Quenten Tarantino as Moviefone suggests. But then stranger things have happened. Kind of like Apple buying Lala (http://www.lala.com). What could they possibly be planning to do with the struggling music social network?  Singer Adam Lambert's performance controversy gets moved back to Big Deal or Big Whoop this week where we also debate whether an Entourage movie and Alec Baldwin's acting future are worth our attention. Finally, we end with some Inside Baseball and review Comcast’s proposed purchase of NBC Universal. Should anti-trust regulators be concerned? Is this the beginning of the end or the beginning of the beginning? David Wild's Book: He Is . . . I Say: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Neil Diamond (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ECEUT4?ie=UTF8&tag=showbsandb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002ECEUT4)(http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=showbsandb-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002ECEUT4) Surprise! Few Surprises In Grammy Nominations http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/04/arts/music/04grammys.html (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/04/arts/music/04grammys.html) Spirit Awards: The Nominees http://www.indiewire.com/article/spirit_awards_the_nominees/ (http://www.indiewire.com/article/spirit_awards_the_nominees/) Fewer Films And A New Section For Sundance 2010: Competitions Lineup Announced http://www.indiewire.com/sundance_10_competitions_lineup_announced/ (http://www.indiewire.com/article/fewer_films_and_a_new_section_for_sundance_10_competitions_lineup_announced/) 5 Directors Who Could Tackle 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn' http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/2009/12/02/directors-who-could-tackle.... (http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/2009/12/02/directors-who-could-tackle-the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn/) Apple Buys Music Service Lala At A Fire Sale Price http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20091204/apple-in-talks-to-buy-lala/ (http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20091204/confirmed-apple-in-talks-to-buy-music-service-lala-com/) Apple Strikes Deal To Buy Music Startup Lala http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/05/technology/.... (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/05/technology/companies/05apple.html?_r=2&hpw) ABC Drops Lambert From Kimmel and New Year's Eve Slates http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/2008-12-6-the-beat-goes-on/posts/abc-drops-adam.... (http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/2008-12-6-the-beat-goes-on/posts/abc-drops-adam-lambert-from-kimmel-and-new-year-s-eve-slates) FCC Complaint Is At Center of ABC and Adam Lambert's Woes http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/12/even-though-lambert-was.... (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/12/even-though-lambert-was-received-well-last-week-for-his-performances-on-the-early-show-and-the-ellen-degeneres-show-abc-has-o.html) Alec Baldwin Says He'll Quite Acting After '30 Rock' http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/01/alec.baldwin.quits/index.html (http://www.cnn. J. Sperling Reich, Karen Woodward & Michael Giltz no http://www.showbizsandbox.com/2009/11/30/showbiz-sanbox-31-blind-sided-by-adam-lamberts-double-standard/ http://www.showbizsandbox.com/2009/11/30/showbiz-sanbox-31-blind-sided-by-adam-lamberts-double-standard/#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:41:01 +0000 J. Sperling Reich http://www.showbizsandbox.com/?p=524 http://www.showbizsandbox.com/2009/11/30/showbiz-sanbox-31-blind-sided-by-adam-lamberts-double-standard/feed/ 0 "Avatar","FlashForward","The Blind Side","Twilight Saga: New Moon","Up In The Air",Adam Lambert,Eminem,George Clooney,James Cameron,Jason Reitman,Jay Leno,Lachlan Murdoch While we all still may be sluggish from all the turkey and stuffing on Thanksgiving, the North American box office sure wasn't. It set a record for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend as once again "The Blind Side" surprises everyone. While we all still may be sluggish from all the turkey and stuffing on Thanksgiving, the North American box office sure wasn't. It set a record for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend as once again "The Blind Side" surprises everyone. The Sandra Bullock m... J. Sperling Reich, Karen Woodward & Michael Giltz no http://www.showbizsandbox.com/2009/11/23/showbiz-sandbox-30-modern-warfare-stuns-hollywood/ http://www.showbizsandbox.com/2009/11/23/showbiz-sandbox-30-modern-warfare-stuns-hollywood/#comments Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:08:57 +0000 J. Sperling Reich http://www.showbizsandbox.com/?p=513 http://www.showbizsandbox.com/2009/11/23/showbiz-sandbox-30-modern-warfare-stuns-hollywood/feed/ 0 "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2","Lost","Soapdish","The Blind Side","Twilight: New Moon",Academy Awards,Adam Lambert,Ben Fritz,Disney,Documentaries,Hulu,Jessica Bendinger As predicted, the teen vampire romance “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” opened this week and earned record breaking box office. The second installment of the "Twilight" franchise made $140 million in North America, As predicted, the teen vampire romance “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” opened this week and earned record breaking box office. The second installment of the "Twilight" franchise made $140 million in North America, making it one of the largest openings in history. The film did manage to break the record for highest grossing midnight screening when it opened Friday morning. What might be more amazing is that the Sandra Bullock vehicle "The Blind Side" came in second with an impressive $34 million. Opening so strongly against a powerhouse tent pole like "Twilight" makes Bullock one of the more bankable stars in Hollywood these days. Of course, even "Twilight's" $258 million worldwide opening pales in comparison to what the new video game "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" raked in during its first five days in stores. Ben Fritz (http://www.twitter.com/benfritz) an entertainment business reporter for the Los Angeles Times (http://www.latimes.com) joins us to talk about the wild success of the video game. Actually, calling it a video game is almost an insult - it’s more like an interactive action movie, and one that made $550 million within five days of its November 19th launch. Fritz is a prolific journalist who this past week wrote tons of stories for the L.A. Times Company Town (http://www.latimes.com/companytown) column and blog. One such story was on the controversy over the Academy Awards’ Documentary short list. Specifically, everyone wants to know why all the documentaries people actually saw, like “Capitalism: A Love Story” and “The September Issue” were left out of the 19 films still in contention for Best Feature Documentary? Who picked the short list docs anyway? Meanwhile over in the land of television talk show host Oprah Winfrey has decided to end her successful daytime show after it's 25th season in 2011. year Maybe it could air on Oprah’s new network. After much prayer and thought, Winfrey is making the decision that she can make more money and build her brand better by launching her own cable network. The next season of “Oprah” will be her last and she will shift her focus to her new network OWN which will debut in 2011. Smart move? Who wins and who loses with Oprah's decision? Speaking of questionable moves, remember the 1991 movie “Soapdish”? Well, it’s coming to a theatre not near you. It’s headed to Broadway instead, where Michael Giltz (http://www.michaelgiltz.com) believes it will probably meet a quick death before being relegated to high school musicals. As usual our popular segment Big Deal or Big Whoop stirs lots of debate on subjects ranging from the nutritional value of movie theatre popcorn to the entertainment value of Adam Lambert’s performance at the American Music Awards (speaking of high school musicals!). Finally, we finish off by discussing Disney's new chief Rich Ross during Inside Baseball. Ross has begun to put is own plans in place at the Mouse House, and he started by ending the remake of "Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea", which had already begun preproduction. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Video Game Gets Hollywood-Scale Launch http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-duty18-2009nov18,0,5238209.story (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-duty18-2009nov18,0,5238209.story) Oprah Winfrey Announces 2011 End To Her Show http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704888404574546331059957374.html?.... (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704888404574546331059957374.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories) http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091120/ap_on_en_tv/us_winfrey_show_ending (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091120/ap_on_en_tv/us_winfrey_show_ending) The Oprah Effect: Winners and Losers http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2009/11/the-oprah-effect.... (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2009/11/the-oprah-effect-winners-and-losers.html) Frustration Over Oscars' Documentary Short List J. Sperling Reich, Karen Woodward & Michael Giltz no