Showbiz Sandbox 618: The 2023 Cannes Film Festival Lives Up to the Hype
May 30, 2023
The 76th annual Cannes Film Festival wrapped up over the weekend handing out prizes to some of the 21 official selections appearing in competition this year. Justine Triet’s film “Anatomy of a Fall” took home the Palme d’Or though that was one of many deserving titles programmed at what many festival goers felt was one of the stronger lineups in recent memory. We were in attendance and will take you with us to the south of France to fill you in on all the important news coming out of the festival.
Meanwhile, in a legal case that could have a major impact on Fair Use in the arts, the Supreme Court ruled that the late Andy Warhol was a copycat. Ok, they used some fancy legal terms, but that’s the gist of the decision over a work the artist created for Vanity Fair that used a photograph of the musician Prince.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why actors in the United Kingdom want some rules to limit taped auditions, Broadway’s post-pandemic box office rebound and broadcaster plan to stream the 2024 summer Olympics live.
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Showbiz Sandbox 585: Entertainment Industry Stumble Into Sociopolitical Pitfalls
June 7, 2022
Social justice and political issues have been making life complicated for movie studios, record labels and concert promoters. Whether you’re casting a movie, choosing a director, booking a live performance or releasing a new album, you’ll also be having to deal with their past, present and sometimes even future behavior. Just ask Johnny Depp, filmmaker Cary Fukunaga and comedian Louis C.K.
Rolling Stone knows a thing or two about digging into the past of the musicians it covers. As the war in Ukraine marches on the magazine published a piece on all the big name pop stars who’ve been paid millions over the years to perform at private parties and events for Russian oligarchs.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why Mariah Carey is being sued for plagiarism, the most watched television shows from the past year and musician Kate Bush has a new old hit thanks to “Stranger Things.”
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Showbiz Sandbox 584: Cannes Film Festival Showcases Industry Revival
May 31, 2022
Unlike some years, there was no frontrunner or obvious favorite to win the Palme d’Or at the 75th annual Cannes Film Festival which concluded over the weekend. Instead, the social satire “Triangle of Sadness” from Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund took the festival’s top prize, the second time he has won the award. We discuss the highlights and big winners from this year’s Cannes.
Meanwhile “Top Gun: Maverick,” which was shown at Cannes, finally premiered in movie theaters setting all kinds of box office records. It is far and away the biggest opening weekend its star Tom Cruise has ever had as it looks to go on and become his biggest hit.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the winner of this year’s Eurovision song contest, Justin Timberlake sells his recording catalog and politicians hope to strip Disney of its Mickey Mouse copyright.
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Showbiz Sandbox 578: The Oscars Get Slappy With It
March 29, 2022
If there was ever a year to speak with Indiewire Editor-at-Large Anne Thompson the day after the Oscars it would be this one. In what should have been a celebration of first’s; from the first deaf actor to win an Oscar (Troy Kotsur), to the first openly gay actress to win a prize (Ariana DeBose) to the first streaming film to win Best Picture (CODA). Instead, all of this was overshadowed by Will Smith taking the stage to assault comedian Chris Rock over a joke about his wife.
Thompson tells us what it was like to be in the room where it happened (she was), the industry’s response to Smith’s actions and what the incident means for the future of the Academy Awards.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including audiences (and profits) returning to Broadway, the music industry pulls in $26 billion in 2021 and an Indian Telugu language action film nearly tops the worldwide box office.
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Showbiz Sandbox 577: Why The Biggest Japanese Game Is Actually Chinese
March 21, 2022
Over the last year the mobile video game “Genshin Impact” has earned over $2 billion. From its anime-like visuals to its bug-eyed characters the role-playing game appears to be Japanese in every way. However, while Japan may have a reputation as the world’s leading video game developer, “Ghensin Impact” was made in China. We explain why this is so significant and what it means for those playing the game.
Meanwhile, there is only one week to go before this year’s Oscars ceremony. All the guilds have now weighed in with their top honorees making it even more difficult to predict which movie will win Best Picture.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including how HBO Max and Discovery+ will be combined into a single streaming service, Netflix wants you to pay for sharing accounts and the world’s largest movie theater chain is going for the gold (quite literally).
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Showbiz Sandbox 576: Director Frank Marshall Strikes A New Note With Jazz Fest
March 15, 2022
Frank Marshall is probably best known as a producer of some of Hollywood’s biggest films, but he has also directed four successful narrative features throughout his career. More recently he has turned to directing documentaries, including “Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story,” which he co-directs with Ryan Suffern. Marshall joins us to discuss the film, which premiered at this year’s SXSW Film Festival ahead of its theatrical release.
Meanwhile, as we inch our way closer to this year’s Academy Awards ceremony, the Directors Guild, BAFTA and the Critics Choice Awards were all announced over the weekend, helping to better define who may take home an Oscar.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including how compact disc sales are on the rise (sort of), Amazon launches a live DJ streaming service and this year’s Olivier Award nominations.
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Showbiz Sandbox 575: Should Movie Theaters Charge More For Blockbusters?
March 8, 2022
The opening weekend of “The Batman” was the anticipated blockbuster everyone was expecting, though an ongoing pandemic and a political crisis in Europe softened its global take. AMC Theatres on the other hand saw an opportunity to raise ticket prices, but only for the latest entrant to the Batman franchise. Is this a strategy that was a long time coming or one that will keep casual moviegoers at home.
Meanwhile, the cultural boycott of Russia over its invasion of Ukraine has escalated over the past week with film festivals banning Russian delegations, movie studios pausing new releases and Netflix halting its streaming service in the country.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including video game publisher Epic gets into the music business, Amazon closes its physical bookstores and the big winners at this year’s Spirit Awards.
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Showbiz Sandbox 574: Entertainment Industry Shuns Russia
March 1, 2022
After Russia invaded Ukraine it didn’t take long for various sectors of the global entertainment industry to respond by canceling concerts, sporting events and film releases in the territory. While this is insignificant in comparison to the loss of life and liberty currently taking place in Ukraine, it still serves to show how art, culture and sports can play a role in protesting unprovoked military aggression.
Back in Hollywood, France held it’s annual César Awards and the Screen Actors Guild shook up the awards season race by handing out a few prizes that made history.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why the Oscars are cutting with award presentations from the live telecast, why China’s moviegoing declined from last year during its Spring Festival and CNN gets a new leader.
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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.
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Showbiz Sandbox 300: What is GamerGate and Why Should You Care?
November 3, 2015
South by Southwest (SXSW) set the tech world and media outlets aflame when they recently canceled two panel discussions on harassment in the gaming community scheduled for their 2016 conference. Organizers quickly reversed their decision realizing it sent the unintended message that the of the annual music, film and interactive festival not only tolerates online harassment but condones it.
SXSW officials claimed they were trying to protect attendees from violence threatening the panels from a group aligning themselves with GamerGate, an angry and misogynistic movement focused on sexism and progressivism in video game culture. Trying to define GamerGate is difficult since it has evolved from a debate raging through social media hashtags to real world death threats against prominent women in the video game industry. We’ll try to unravel the meaning of GamerGate and discuss whether SXSW can fully recover from the controversy it stirred up.
Meanwhile, tickets to hot franchise properties are getting hard to come by. When tickets for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” went on sale recently, web ticketing companies were crippled by demand. The same was true when tickets for the London West End production of “Harry Potter And The Cursed Child” which promptly sold out a year’s worth of performances.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including the return of “Gilmore Girls”, Internet music service Pandora settles a copyright dispute to the tune of $90 million and a new Star Trek television series is headed straight to online streaming.
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