Showbiz Sandbox 194: Tony Awards Prove Broadway Knows How To Put On A Show
June 11, 2013
Once again actor Neil Patrick Harris proved he knows how to host an awards show with a dazzling turn as master of ceremonies at this year’s Tony Awards last Sunday. The ceremony provided its share of surprises and dramatic speeches from the likes of Cicely Tyson and pop-star Cyndi Lauper as “Kinky Boots” walked off with six Tonys including Best Musical. Though the telecast may have been poorly directed, it was filled with a mixed bag of performances from this season’s top Broadway shows.
For Broadway play or musical, a Tony can provide a huge boost at the box office, though it’s no guarantee. There has never been a magic formula for investing in the arts which is something JP Morgan and its partners should have looked into before loaning Paramount Pictures a load of cash to finance movies. Now everyone is suing each other after the bank discovered their Hollywood investments weren’t as risk free as they had initially thought.
That kind of inside news is usually reported by the likes of Nikki Finke over at her Deadline Hollywood blog. However, if a scoop from a competing online news source is correct, Finke’s days at Deadline may be numbered. Has Finke’s conentious reputation finally caught up with her, or will a crosstown rival need to eat some crow?
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including Amazon’s European tax problems, Disney’s digital distribution plans, and the possibly illegal limitations of Microsoft’s new Xbox.
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Showbiz Sandbox 193: Getting The Scoop On Great Live Music
June 3, 2013
If you ever wonder whether you should really go see a new hype band perform live or want to warn friends not to bother with a legendary act’s latest reunion tour, then then you’ll be happy to learn about ShowScoop. The new social media website and mobile app bills itself as a “Yelp for concerts”. Company founder Micah Smurthwaite tells us how you’ll never have to see a bad show again and how bands can use the service to help promote their work.
We also have a complete rundown of BookExpo America, the largest North American trade show for book publishers. Held in New York City over the last week, Michael Giltz fills us in on the event, specifically detailing how digital technology has shaken up the industry.
Broadway’s best and brightest will be honored this weekend during the Tony Awards. Unfortunately, attendance at Broadway productions declined six percent over the past season, though revenue remained flat.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including Disney’s ambitious long-term release schedule, Dan Harmon’s return to “Community” and a request to shorten the length of movie trailers.
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Showbiz Sandbox 190: How The Academy’s New Voting Rules Will Affect The Oscars?
May 6, 2013
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced it will now be allowing members to vote in all 24 Oscar categories, including Documentary Short Subject and Foreign Language Film. Anne Thompson, Indiewire’s editor-at-large and host of the Oscar Talk podcast, believes the change is long overdue. She explains what the old voting rules were and how these new ones will affect the Oscars moving forward.
The Rolling Stones are also making changes, at least to the ticket prices for their current North American tour. With face-value prices upwards of $600 has the legendary UK band and its tour promoters misjudged fan’s appetites for paying top dollar for big acts? Based on the number of unsold tickets to the first few shows of the tour, the answer is yes.
Meanwhile on Broadway, the Tony Award nominations were announced last week. “Kinky Boots”, “Matilda” and “Lucky Guy” lead the pack with the most nominations. We try to make educated predictions, and blind guesses, as to who might walk home with a Tony in June.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including six billion hours of YouTube videos, trademarking superheroes and why studios don’t want to pay a tax on movie tickets in China.
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Showbiz Sandbox 178: Sex Sells At Sundance
January 21, 2013
The Sundance Film Festival has a reputation of programming edgy, independent films that often reflect the spirit and sentiment of the country. The festival must think the nation is in a lascivious mood since many of the films at this year’s event are rather racy.
In fact, at least three films at this year’s festival focus on pornography, including “Lovelace” a biopic of the world’s first pornstar. Whether it’s suburban lesbian mothers turning into prostitutes or two best friends having affairs with each other’s sons, Sundance has been hot and steamy.
If the number of distribution deals at this year’s festival is any indication however, Sundance is surely on the right track.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including controversial action figures for “Django Unchained”, Hanks and Spielberg head to war again, and Robert Iger’s big salary raise.
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Showbiz Sandbox 169: How TV Networks Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The DVR
October 29, 2012
Major networks used to bemoan the use of DVRs out of fear that audiences would use them to skip over commercials. However, with DVRs in almost half of all US homes, they have begun touting the big audience increases some of their shows get after factoring in time shifted viewing. Scott Collins, a television reporter with the Los Angeles Times, discusses modern-day TV ratings and how the industry is coping as viewing habits change.
And if you thought television networks were in trouble, they’ve got nothing on the film industry. If you were to believe folks like film critic David Denby and a recent New York Times article, movies may not even be relevant anymore.
Talent agencies aren’t immune from all the changes affecting the industry. Last week the longtime head of ICM Partners, one of the world’s largest ten percenteries, announced he’d be leaving to start a new agency.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including how a child sex abuse scandal at the BBC, the merger of publishing giants Penguin and Random House, and an Amy Winehouse musical.
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Showbiz Sandbox 147: TV Networks Are Upfront About Their New Schedules
May 14, 2012
It’s the time of year when North American television networks put on big presentations to introduce their fall lineups to major advertisers; a process referred to in the industry as “the upfronts”. It’s also the time when TV audiences find out which of their favorite shows are sticking around for another season and which have been canceled. We’ll fill you in on some of the shows that didn’t make it some of the new series we have to look forward to this fall.
Adele continues to make news in the music world. Her album “21” sold 18 million copies last year which accounted for 1.6% of all the music sold around the world. The pop singer even helped the United Kingdom increase their share of global music sales to 13%.
Tom Hanks appears to be headed to the Great White Way to make his Broadway debut. So is Zooey Deschanel who will be starring in a musical based on Loretta Lynn’s autobiography “Coal Miner’s Daughter”.
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Showbiz Sandbox 116: Will Hollywood Miss Steve Jobs?
August 30, 2011
Last week’s news that Steve Jobs was stepping down as the CEO of Apple caused headline writers all over the world to work overtime. Sure Jobs became a household name by helping revolutionize personal computing, but he also helped shape the modern entertainment industry with products such as iTunes, the iPod and the iPad. And we shouldn’t forget his role in founding a little animation company called Pixar. We discuss what Jobs departure from Apple means to Hollywood and why some entertainment execs may be secretly relieved to see him exit the stage.
On the other hand, news that filmmaker Ridley Scott was working on a sequel to his sci-fi masterpiece “Blade Runner” didn’t seem to please anyone. Some showbiz pundits went so far as to call the idea “catastrophically bad”. We’ll explain why.
Over in the world of television, one of the husbands on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” committed suicide causing Bravo to re-edit episodes for the upcoming season. Will the death of Russell Armstrong cause networks to rethink how they handle reality television?
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