Showbiz Sandbox 578: The Oscars Get Slappy With It

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

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

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?

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

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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