Showbiz Sandbox 120: Netflix Must Adapt To A Hollywood It Helped Create

Ryan Lawler has spent the last two years writing about online video and digital media trends for GigaOm, a beat he’s covered for a number of publications. Who better to help us sort out what’s been going on with Netflix over the past two weeks? Despite a plunging stock price, slower subscriber growth and increased competition from the likes of Dish Network, Lawler says we shouldn’t be too worried about Netflix. He discusses what the future holds for the company during an in-depth interview.

Meanwhile, the fall television season was jumpstarted by “Two and a Half Men” as more than 28 million viewers tuned in to see Ashton Kutcher replace Charlie Sheen. Don’t feel too bad for Sheen though; he had 6.4 million people watching him get roasted over on Comedy Central and it appears he’s settling his lawsuit with Warner Bros. for a cool $25 million.

“The Lion King 3D” continues to dominate the worldwide box office, despite the fact that it’s a 17 year old movie that most have already seen. “Titanic” and “Top Gun” are already getting 3D makeovers, and it’s likely we’ll see studios reaching back into their archives to find even more titles.

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Showbiz Sandbox 98: Why New Distribution Models Terrify Hollywood

Movie studios, television networks and record labels still haven’t updated their business models to account for video and music streaming services like Netflix and Spotify. Now companies such as Amazon, Google and Apple plan on introducing a whole new group of media subscription services. With premium video-on-demand on the horizon it’s no surprise the entertainment industry is concerned about all these disruptive distribution methods.

One of the biggest players in the current content licensing wars has been Netflix. Showtime and Starz began pulling shows from the video rental giant, while Fox and Paramount offered up popular series and hit movies. Cable operators have also entered the fray by allowing viewers to watch live television on mobile device apps.

The creator of “Mad Men” was embroiled in his own fight with AMC and Lionsgate over the future of the series. In the end, Matthew Weiner was able to reach an agreement on a new contract, though new episodes won’t air until 2012.

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Showbiz Sandbox 14: Zooey Deschanel Proves It’s Twee To Be You And Me

First off, we took care of a little internal business by welcoming entertainment journalist Michael Giltz as an official co-host.

Alonso Duralde joins us this week. Alonso is the film critic at MSNBC.com and the author of “101 Must-See Movies for Gay Men“. His reviews are featured regularly on The Rotten Tomatoes Show. A member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Alonso spent six years as Arts & Entertainment editor at The Advocate where he is still a contributing writer. His work has also appeared in such publications as the Village Voice, Movieline, Detour among many others. This month Alonso will be curating a the series “So Bad They’re Brilliant” at the American Cinematheque. You can follow him on Twitter at @MSNBCalonso.

We asked Alonso to join us because of a story he wrote for msnbc.com called “Do You See What I Twee?”, as it related to the latest movies. He described the essence of twee as “avoiding the fashionable, the obvious, the predictable, the mundane in an attempt to be, for lack of a better phrase, showily unshowy…It’s about replacing one calculated technique of visual and cultural cues with another.” It’s an apt description of one of the more popular movies out this summer, “(500) Days of Summer,” and its lead, Zooey Deschanel. We also just love saying the word “twee.” Read more

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Showbiz Sandbox 1: The Replicability Podcast

Talks to merge the William Morris and Endeavor talent agencies continue, while the Screen Actors Guild and the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers may have finally reached an agreement on a new contract.  Critically acclaimed movies tank at the box office.  Fox closes Atomic, reshuffles release dates and hires Angelina Jolie for a biopic.  David Slade is selected for the third “Twilight” film.

MPAA visits Washington D.C., script doctors are kept busy writing for Tom Cruise.  Cannes unveils it’s festival lineup and Francis Ford Coppola is not in it (though he is down the street at the Fortnight).  Jay Leno visits the hospital and Rod Blagojevich visits Hollywood (but not Costa Rica like he wanted).

A classic Pedro Almodovar film gets remade for the small screen, PBS goes online with its content and Oprah learns Twitter etiquette.

WMA Finds Devil In The Details
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118002694.html?categoryid=29&cs=1

SAG National Board of Directors Approves Tentative Television and Motion Picture Contacts
http://www.sag.org/press-releases/april-19-2009/sag-national-board-of-directors-approves-tentative-television-and-motio

Flush times for theatrical movies? Don’t tell A.O. Scott
http://www.riskybusinessblog.com/2009/04/good-movies-struggle-at-box-office.html

Down Economy = Dumbed Down Movies/TV? Stop the Inanity!
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20269754,00.html

Fox Folding Atomic Label
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118002584.html?categoryid=13&cs=1
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/exclusive-fox-atomic-shutting-down/

Fox Shuffles Film Schedule
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118002645.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Angelina Jolie Teams With Fox 2000
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118002704.html?categoryid=1238&cs=1

Slade Slated For Third Twilight
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118002751

MPAA Reaches Out To Lawmakers
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118002688.html?categoryid=18&cs=1

Script Doctor’s In For Tom Cruise
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118002702.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1

Digital Governator Set For Termininator
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118002743.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Robert Rodriguez Wields “Machete”
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118002792.html?categoryid=1237&cs=1

Cannes Unveils Lineup
http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=festivals&jump=story&id=1061&articleid=VR1118002762&cs=1

Coppola’s Thinking Outside The Cannes
http://www.riskybusinessblog.com/2009/04/by-steven-zeitchik-we-remember-interviewing-francis-ford-coppola-last-year-upon-the-release-of-his-slightly-lugubrious-you.html

Coppola’s “Tetro” To Open Fortnight
http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=festivals&jump=story&id=1061&articleid=VR1118002806&cs=1

Leno Misses First Tonight Show in 17 Years
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE53N0BE20090424

Blagojevich Says Still Wants Piece Of Reality Show
http://weblogs.redeyechicago.com/showpatrol/2009/04/blago-to-be-part-of-im-a-celebrity-.html

Pedro Almodovar On “Verge” Of TV Series
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i360cdd62fc9ca5a8db5e24f4b2b51779?imw=Y

ABC Announces Several Renewals
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i202b681b4f137513e078e67f0d29aa46

Watch PBS Online? You Can If You Visit Its New Video Portal
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-fi-ct-pbs22-2009apr22,0,56403.story

Oprah Gets Pwned By Shaq On Twitter
http://news.cnet.com/oprah-gets-pwned-by-shaq-on-twitter/?part=rss

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