Showbiz Sandbox 612: No Easy Cure for Concert Ticket Troubles
March 28, 2023
Everyone from fans of popular music groups to Broadway regulars are still facing angst and high prices when buying tickets. When the English rock band The Cure decided to forego dynamic pricing and charge only $20 to verified fans for tickets to their upcoming tour, the service fees and facility charges added up to more than twice that amount. Now lead singer Robet Smith is calling out Ticketmaster to explain how this could happen.
Meanwhile, the awards season officially comes to an end as the 48th Annual IRA Awards are announced, highlighting at least 30 films, some of which were previously overlooked and definitely worth checking out.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the controversy over Disney’s firing of a top executive at Marvel, how ad supported streaming services are making their presence known and Apple plans to spend big money to make original films for movie theaters.
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Showbiz Sandbox 611: This Year’s Oscars Were Everything Everyone Could Have Asked For
March 15, 2023
As everyone expected, the big winner at this year’s Oscars was “Everyone Everywhere All At Once,” taking home seven of the 11 awards it was nominated for. Anne Thompson of Indiewire was at the ceremony and joins us to give us the scoop on what happened behind the scenes at this year’s Academy Awards, including two extended moments of “integrated marketing.”
Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom the BBC stirred up some controversy when they suspended popular sports commentator Gary Lineker for expressing political opinions via his personal social media account. The fallout has been epic, with essentially every sports broadcaster, commentator and soccer player boycotting the BBC.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including two new milestones in the music industry, J.J. Abrams gets into live theater and Disney says its theme parks are too expensive.
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Showbiz Sandbox 610: Hollywood Writers Prep For A Contentious Strike
March 7, 2023
The current Writers Guild of America contract with signatories ends on May 1st of this year. Television networks and studios are bracing for what feels like an inevitable writers strike. The guild, which represents TV and movie writers, recently settled on a list of demands it is seeking during upcoming contract negotiations.
Meanwhile AMC is defending its decision to raise ticket prices for movie tickets based on where a seat is in the auditorium. This kind of variable pricing is used by some cinemas in Europe, but will all moviegoers in North America find it too confusing?
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the big winners at this year’s Independent Spirit Awards, the controversy over self-taping auditions and why many of the hot new stars in China are in their forties.
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