Showbiz Sandbox 556: The Emmys Crown the Streaming Era
September 21, 2021
When “The Crown” took home the prize for best drama at the 73rd Emmy Awards on Sunday it capped a years-long campaign mounted by Netflix to win one of television’s top awards. The streamer picked up a record-tying 44 Emmys including best limited series for “The Queen’s Gambit.” With the Apple+ series “Ted Lasso” winning best comedy, streaming services swept the awards.
Joining us to discuss the Emmys as well as all the movies she saw at the Telluride and Toronto film festivals is Anne Thompson, editor-at-large of Indiewire. She gives us a preview of all the films that were creating a buzz on their way to stirring up this year’s awards season.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why the West End is ditching matinees, Christopher Nolan heads to Universal Pictures and Fox picks up TMZ.
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Showbiz Sandbox 512: Pandemic Drives New York Film Festival to Push Boundaries
September 30, 2020
Over the last twenty years the annual fall film festival circuit has become the unofficial launching pad for movies looking to be seriously considered during awards season. Nobody was certain, however, how such festivals could be held amidst a global pandemic. Especially those whose jobs it is to produce and program such major events.
As the director of the New York Film Festival Eugene Hernandez had to not only watch movies and convince filmmakers to show them, he also had to research digital platforms for a virtual festival and prove to everyone from Disney to Apple that they could trust a new digital platform to do virtual screenings for critics and audiences, all while figuring out a safe way to show movies – at drive ins – and ultimately decide whether the festival should actually happen.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including the Hollywood Reporter and Variety now share owners, which new musical is planning to open on the shuttered West End in London and why CBS is licensing certain shows to Netflix.
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Showbiz Sandbox 502: The Entertainment Industry’s Slow News Week
July 14, 2020
With concerts and live performances canceled, cinemas closed, movie studios delaying releases, and streaming video or music the only entertainment audiences can enjoy, the industry is slowly grinding to a halt. Perhaps show business folk were recovering from the Fourth of July holiday weekend or are preparing for Bastille Day, but there was hardly any entertainment news to report.
Even so, we tell you why North America’s largest cinema chains are suing the state of New Jersey, what is happening to the release of the latest “Halloween” horror films and why music may be disappearing from elevators.
Plus, proving just how strange a year 2020 has become, the Venice, Toronto, Telluride and New York Film Festivals – usually fierce competitors – have decided to collaborate on what entries they present, not to mention how to do so safely.
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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.
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Showbiz Sandbox 457: The Biggest Touring Musical Acts Are Older Than Ever Before
July 29, 2019
Take a quick look at the top earning worldwide concert tours and you might be surprised to discover that half of the top ten acts are over 50-years-old. Heck, the number one tour of the year thus far is Elton John and he’s over 70. In fact, thanks to acts like Fleetwood Mac and Bob Seger, the average age of the top ten global touring acts has surpassed 50 for the first time anyone can remember.
Inversely, the age of the top ten recording artists of the year is getting younger, dropping below 30-years-old. This is due in large part to artists such as Ariana Grande, Post Malone, Travis Scott and Khalid who are all under 30 and in the case of Billie Eilish, under 20. We try to understand the age disparity between today’s biggest recording artists and those making their money on the road.
Meanwhile, in China, the burgeoning movie business has fallen on hard times. This is especially true in the cinema industry, where theater owners are contending with a drop in audiences flocking to the glut of new multiplexes that have opened in recent years. At the same time rents for theater locations have skyrocketed and the government imposed quota of foreign releases means many exhibitors are running out of content to show.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the latest on the dispute between the Writers Guild and talent agencies, the Toronto and Venice Film Festivals announce their lineups and how Metallica got caught scalping their own concert tickets.
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Showbiz Sandbox 424: Talking Telluride, Toronto and Emmys with Indiewire’s Anne Thompson
September 18, 2018
Every September the annual awards season begins to take shape at three major film festivals; Venice, Telluride and Toronto. Anne Thompson, Indiewire’s editor at large, was at the latter two and she joins us to explain how this year’s Oscars race looks like it will be filled with a bounty of great movies, including one from director Alfonso Cuaron, which is looking for a way to overcome the stigma of being released by Netflix.
Speaking of awards, the timing works out to have Thompson also give us her thoughts on the recent Emmy Awards, honoring the best and brightest prime time television series from the past year.
Meanwhile, the European Union passed reforms to copyright law that have proven to be contentious given that it could mean big changes for tech platforms such as Google, Youtube and others. Content owners, on the other hand, are delighted with the outcome.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including Time magazine gets another new owner, Spotify allows users to download more music and Paul McCartney enjoys his first #1 debut for his latest album.
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Showbiz Sandbox 381: Telluride and Toronto Continue To Shape Awards Season
September 18, 2017
Each year the Venice, Telluride and Toronto film festivals are held so closely together their programming often overlaps as each vies to land titles that will be in the running for major awards (read: Oscars). Anne Thompson, Indiewire’s editor at large, has just returned from Telluride and Toronto and she fills us in on all the festival season favorites.
While Thompson was in Toronto enjoying movies like “The Shape of Water” from director Guillermo del Toro, film buyers were struggling to find anything to pick up. There was a general sense that all the worthwhile titles had been cherry picked before the festival even began.
Meanwhile the Emmy Awards were held over the weekend honoring the best television from the past year. At this year’s ceremony a disruptive streaming video provider made a big splash, though not the one everyone expected. Hulu took home the Best Drama Emmy for “The Handmaid’s Tale”, despite Netflix having three shows nominated in the category.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including the head of NBC admitting most of its primetime viewership is not watched live, George R. R. Martin’s new TV series and MoviePass surpsasses 400,000 subscribers in under a month.
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Showbiz Sandbox 336: Telluride and Toronto Reaffirm the Importance of Film Festivals
September 20, 2016
With an ever increasing number of high profile movies competing for awards at the end of each year, film festivals such as those in Telluride and Toronto have never been more important in helping promote a release. Anne Thompson, Indiewire’s editor-at-large, has just returned from both festivals and gives us a complete rundown of all the films creating the most buzz.
And just as the number of movies worth seeing has grown, so too has the number of television shows. There’s so much good TV these days that in fact, the Emmys are more and more like the Academy Awards, where viewers haven’t even seen most of the Best Picture nominees. Maybe that’s why the Emmys keep honoring the same old shows year-after-year.
Meanwhile, the number of books on offer has grown at least 21% recently thanks to self-publishing. That includes both e-books and print. The crowdfunding platform Kickstarter has been responsible for thousands of titles, enough to make them the unofficial fifth largest publisher in North America.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including why Argentina is sending school-aged children to the movies, how the Rio Olympics proved profitable for NBC after all and the Lady Gaga is booked for the Super Bowl half time show.
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Showbiz Sandbox 335: FCC Has Big Plans For Television Set-Top Boxes
September 12, 2016
In a widely expected move, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Tom Wheeler, laid out a regulatory plan that would allow consumers to use the set-top box of their choice to access television. Naturally, pay television providers weren’t happy since they earn $20 billion annually by forcing their customers to rent such equipment. They claim Wheeler’s mandate is overreaching and his call for universal streaming app adoption could stifle innovation.
The September box office has kicked off the run up to the holiday moviegoing season in fine form. While ticket sales for the month are slightly higher than last year in the United States, it is international markets that continue to outperform. In fact, some films do so much better in China than in North America, that industry pundits wonder whether certain sequels should be China-centric and simply skip a U.S. release.
We’ll be back next week with our regular show that will cover all the news making headlines around the entertainment world.
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Showbiz Sandbox 295: Thompson Keeps Tabs On Telluride and Toronto
September 21, 2015
Two of the world’s most prominent film festivals are held each September in Telluride and Toronto and, without fail, you’ll find Anne Thompson, Indiewire’s editor-at-large, dashing off to both of them. Thompson gives us a feel for what both festivals were like this year, which films created the most awards buzz and which she thinks audiences should be looking forward to.
Thompson also joins us to discuss this year’s Emmy winners. The premium cable network HBO proved it is still at the top of its game, fending off the stiff competition of hot new shows being produced by upstart streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon. The network wept away the Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Limited Series categories, winning 14 awards in all.
Meanwhile, in case that seems destined to reach the U.S. Supreme Court, a federal judge ruled that copyright owners must take into account the possibility of fair use before sending a takedown notice. Rather than force possible infringers to mount what is known as an affirmative defense, the court is placing the burden on copyright holders to consider whether a work should be considered fair use.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including the new over-the-top and mobile streaming services being offered by the BBC and Epix, one of the creators of Batman will finally get the credit he has long deserved (though maybe not the money) and Denzel Washington will produce ten August Wilson plays for HBO.
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