Showbiz Sandbox 357: Oscars Can’t Win For Losing This Year
February 27, 2017
In a moment that will be discussed for years to come, this year’s Academy Awards ended with the wrong film being announced as the Best Picture winner. Ultimately it wasn’t “La La Land” that took home the prize as many predicted, but rather the socially conscious, racially diverse indie film “Moonlight” that won the award. Anne Thompson, Indiewire’s editor at large, tells us that by choosing “Moonlight” for its top award the Academy was making a statement about who they want to be as an industry.
Thompson also brings us backstage at this year’s Oscars, walking us through how such a huge mistake could actually happen, and what it was like in the press room when the error became apparent. Naturally, we touch on the some of this year’s Oscar winners as well.
Meanwhile, the way movies get distributed continues to be a contentious topic in Hollywood, with studios and cinema owners reportedly in negotiations on an agreement that might see new releases available for home viewing in as little as two weeks.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including how Netflix continues to book comedians, CBS cancels a brand new series and Beyoncé cancels her Coachella gig.
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Showbiz Sandbox 24: How To Get A Hero Complex
October 12, 2009
Our special guest this week is Geoff Boucher, full time entertainment writer for the Los Angeles Times and part time Wookiee. Geoff began the popular L.A. Times blog, Hero Complex, devoted to caped crusaders, zombies, wizards and all things superhero. With a tag line that reads “for your inner fanboy”, Hero Complex has quietly become a huge hit and recently won the award for best online commentary among large websites from the Online News Association.
Over the last week, Geoff wrote a series of posts on the blog that look at film franchises entering their fourth turn on the silver screen, including “Lord Of The Rings”, “Pirates of the Caribbean”, “Spider-Man”, and “X-Men”. (Check out the reader poll: ‘The Hobbit’ Will Triumph But ‘X-Men’ and ‘Pirates’ Franchises Should Quit Now)
Meanwhile, at this weekend’s North American box office, moviegoers made “Couples Retreat” the number one film, followed by “Zombieland” and “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”. The big surprise of the weekend was the little indie film “Paranormal Activity”. Made for peanuts, the film is now raking in millions based solely off a social networking marketing campaign. That might be why Michael Giltz and Karen Woodward are dying to see the movie. . . no pun intended. (See the movie, you’ll get the joke). Read more
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