Showbiz Sandbox 122: The Real Story Behind Steve Jobs And Pixar
October 10, 2011
Millions mourned the loss of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs this past week when the innovator behind the Macintosh computer, the iPod and others died at the age of 56. Though the endless eulogies of Jobs always mention Jobs Pixar tenure, they rarely provided any real detail. Truth is Jobs lost money with Pixar for ten years trying to turn the company into a successful computer hardware business. We’ll dive into the story of how Jobs came to own Pixar and how the company stumbled upon success in computer animation.
Of course, there has never been a Pixar film that didn’t make money. However, we often blithely dismiss one movie as being a box office loser and another as a hit even though they might seem similar in budgets and box office. When we consider a film a hit or a flop, we’re making numerous assumptions on various factors. It’s always a judgment call, but to try and explain what sort of judgments we’re making, we’ve decided to look at several different movies and explain why we consider them a hit or miss.
It’s not as hard to tell when a new television series is a flop, especially after the network cancels it. A number of new shows (“Playboy Club”) got axed this past week, while others (“New Girl”) were picked up for an entire season. One series which nearly didn’t make the cut was “The Simpsons”. After its 23rd season the animated show was nearly canceled over a contract dispute with the cast providing voices for its lovable characters.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 92: The Awards Otherwise Known As The Grammys
February 13, 2011
Indie rock darling Arcade Fire provided an upset at this year’s Grammy Awards by taking home the prize for Album Of The Year. Rolling Stone contributing editor David Wild helped write the Grammy telecast and he provides an insider’s perspective on the show as well as a peak backstage. Unfortunately, nobody can explain why Lady Gaga arrived in a glass coffin.
Teen pop sensation Justin Bieber didn’t take home any Grammys on Sunday, but does he really care? After all, his concert film “Never Say Never” earned an astonishing $30 million during its opening weekend.
Meanwhile, the movie industry had their own awards show over the weekend and we’ll go over who the big winners were at the BAFTAs and how they might affect the Oscar race.
We also review and provide analysis on all the week’s top entertainment headlines, including how to get tickets to LCD Soundsystem’s last concert, Pandora’s IPO, Zooey Deschanel’s move to television and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return to acting.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 91: Super Bowl Ads Suffer Their Own Recession
February 8, 2011
More than 111 million people watched this year’s Super Bowl telecast; more viewers than any broadcast in U.S. television history. That’s great news for companies that spent big money to run ads during the game. Unfortunately, most of the usually entertaining commercials were downright dreadful. Whether praiseworthy or offensive, we give you the low down on all the adverts.
Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore is taking the Weinstein Brothers to court, suing them for the $2.7 million in “Fahrenheit 9/11” proceeds Moore claims he’s owed. Is it safe to say the Weinstein Company won’t be releasing Moore’s next film?
Turns out nobody will be releasing the White Stripes next album. Jack and Meg White have decided to call it quits. Meanwhile theater critics were so eager to see the new “Spider-Man” musical they couldn’t wait until it opened. Based on their scathing reviews, it’s probably best if it never makes it out of previews.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
