Showbiz Sandbox 619: Directors Strike Deal for New Contract With Producers
June 6, 2023
The Directors Guild of America reached a deal with studios, networks and streamers on a new three-year contract avoiding what some believed would be the first true strike in its 87 year history. Entertainment and technology attorney Jonathan Handel joins us to explain the proposed agreement the directors negotiated with producers. He wrote the book on labor in Hollywood, quite literally, as the author of “Hollywood On Strike.”
Meanwhile, Tom Cruise is facing another impossible mission. First he saved Hollywood with Top Gun: Maverick. Now he wants to save his new “Mission: Impossible” movie from being exiled from IMAX screens less than two weeks after it opens in July. We’ll explain what’s going on in the battle over premium screens.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including how the French Open is protecting tennis players from toxic social media, why David Byrne’s upcoming Broadway show has no musicians and which summer blockbusters are sinking at the worldwide box office.
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Showbiz Sandbox 618: The 2023 Cannes Film Festival Lives Up to the Hype
May 30, 2023
The 76th annual Cannes Film Festival wrapped up over the weekend handing out prizes to some of the 21 official selections appearing in competition this year. Justine Triet’s film “Anatomy of a Fall” took home the Palme d’Or though that was one of many deserving titles programmed at what many festival goers felt was one of the stronger lineups in recent memory. We were in attendance and will take you with us to the south of France to fill you in on all the important news coming out of the festival.
Meanwhile, in a legal case that could have a major impact on Fair Use in the arts, the Supreme Court ruled that the late Andy Warhol was a copycat. Ok, they used some fancy legal terms, but that’s the gist of the decision over a work the artist created for Vanity Fair that used a photograph of the musician Prince.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why actors in the United Kingdom want some rules to limit taped auditions, Broadway’s post-pandemic box office rebound and broadcaster plan to stream the 2024 summer Olympics live.
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Showbiz Sandbox 617: Why the Writers Strike Will Last for Months, Not Weeks
May 9, 2023
There are few people that know more about labor issues in the entertainment business than attorney and journalist Jonathan Handel. So when members of the Writers Guild of America went on strike last week, grinding most television production to a halt, we asked him to join us to discuss all the nuanced details. Handel not only tells us how the last writers strike was resolved in 2007, but explains why the writers are facing an existential problem after the entertainment business was disrupted by streamers.
As well, Handel reminds us that the Directors Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild contracts both end on June 30th, forcing producers, studios and networks to negotiate three different contracts at the same time. This is why nobody, not even Handel, believes the writers’ strike will end before July.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including what Ed Sheeran’s copyright trial victory may mean for the music business, Kevin Costner walks away from “Yellowstone” and this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.
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Showbiz Sandbox 616: Movie Theaters Celebrate Recovery at CinemaCon
May 2, 2023
Movie theater operators from around the world gathered in Las Vegas last week for CinemaCon. Though the last two pandemic suppressed editions of the conference were filled with artificial optimism about the business, this year’s event showcased an industry that had survived and is indeed thriving thanks to a robust release schedule with plenty of new films to show.
Meanwhile, the cable news landscape was shaken up last week when Fox News fired its highest rated personality Tucker Carlson and CNN parted ways with longtime host Don Lemon. This came only one week after Fox News paid out $787 million to settle a defamation lawsuit.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why Disney is suing the state of Florida, what caused the head of the BBC to step down and Netflix announced the end of its original DVD rental business.
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Showbiz Sandbox 615: Warner Bros. Takes Streaming to the Max
April 18, 2023
Warner Bros. Discovery had long promised to merge its two major streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+ into a single, combined offering. This past week the media giant unveiled the name of the new service to the public; Max. Despite having decades of positive brand recognition, HBO will be dropped from the name. The company also announced a ton of new content for the service including a Harry Potter television series.
Meanwhile, the Writers Guild of America has authorized a strike against studios, networks and streamers. Producers believe that a strike is now inevitable after the writers’ current contract ends in May.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the latest additions to the Library of Congress National Registry of Recordings, Latin music becomes a $1 billion industry and a proposal for new safety guidelines for film and TV productions.
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Showbiz Sandbox 614: Streaming Fraud Is Costing Musicians Billions
April 10, 2023
When the recording industry first moved online in the early 2000’s piracy was driven by fans illegally downloading music through services like Napster. These days piracy is being committed by the music industry itself through streaming fraud. Artists and/or record labels are generating millions of fake automated streams to pump up playback numbers with the aim of receiving higher royalty payments. It’s costing musicians a lot of money and, though the industry knows it’s a problem, they haven’t agreed on a way to fix it.
Meanwhile, all those news stories during the pandemic about the death of movie theaters aren’t aging very well. Box office is recovering all over the globe thanks to surprise hits such as “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” And the best is yet to come since most of this year’s Hollywood blockbusters have yet to be released.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including how two new “Shrek” films are in the works, the musical “Wicked” the fourth longest-running Broadway show in history, and why the members of Motley Crue are suing each other.
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Showbiz Sandbox 613: Author James Patterson Questions New York Times Best Seller List
April 4, 2023
James Patterson has been a perennial presence on the New York Times best seller list after his most recent book failed to make the list, he accused the newspaper of “cooking the books” in the way it compiles its lists. According to BookScan, which uses actual sales figures, Patterson’s latest book should have made the list, but the Times uses a proprietary formula and method for determining its list and now he’s publicly calling them out.
Meanwhile, we signed up for the new version of MoviePass just to find out what it offered. It turns out it is very hard to pull off a moviegoing subscription service when you don’t have deals with movie theaters.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including how Cineworld, the owner of Regal Cinemas, plans to restructure and exit bankruptcy, why the cast of the television series “Blue Bloods” took a pay cut, and the stage adaptation of Hayao Miyazaki’s “My Neighbor Totoro” wins six Olivier Awards.
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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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