Showbiz Sandbox 564: Film Critics Start Selecting the Best Movies of 2021
December 7, 2021
It’s that time of year when Film Critics Start Selecting the Best Movies of 2021 for newspapers, magazines and websites begin naming their favorite movie releases. The National Board of Review named its favorite film of the 2021, then proceeded to name 32 more in various categories. The New York Film Critics were tougher however, naming five top films in categories like nonfiction, debut film, animated feature and foreign language. We discuss where any awards season favorites are beginning to stand out.
Thankfully, movie theatres around the world are mostly open, allowing audiences to catch up with some of the critics top picks. However, a new COVID variant named after what would appear to be a character out of a Transformers movie, is temporarily shuttering cinemas in various parts of the world such as China and Russia.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why CNN fired the host of its highest rated news program, the Grammys clarify who can be nominated as a songwriter and the reason Middle Eastern countries won’t show Steven Spielberg’s take on “West Side Story.”
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Showbiz Sandbox 549: Second Guessing Disney’s “Black Widow” Distribution Strategy
July 20, 2021
In its second weekend the latest Marvel movie “Black Widow” dropped over 67% at the box office; the largest decline for any film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Could it be that the movie’s availability via premium video on demand cannibalized its theatrical returns? The ongoing pandemic makes it difficult to draw any conclusions, though one thing is clear; “Black Widow” is one of the most pirated movies of the year.
Meanwhile, the Cannes Film Festival wrapped up over the weekend with Spike Lee and his jury awarding Julia Ducournau’s “Titane” with the Palme d’Or. It is only the second time in the festival’s history that a woman has taken home the prize. Whether it will go on to Oscar glory like “Parasite” did two years ago remains to be seen, but the feeling was this year’s festival may not generate a lot of awards-worthy movies.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including how artificial intelligence helped bring Anthony Bourdain back to life, the United Kingdom wants to revise music copyright and filmmaker Frank Darabont settles his lawsuit over “The Walking Dead.”
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Showbiz Sandbox 545: Writer Paul Rudnick On The Royals, Romance And Rudin
June 15, 2021
When multi-hyphenate Paul Rudnick isn’t writing hit movies or award winning plays he is working on Broadway musicals with the likes of Elton John or busy writing novels. Rudnick joins us for a detailed and humorous conversation about his work and his latest novel, “Playing the Palace.”
We’ll also take a look at the final ratings figures for the primetime television season. Only four network shows increased in total viewers out of over 120 programs that aired during primetime. The numbers for key demographics don’t look much better.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including how Sony Music is changing up how they pay royalties to artists, country singer Morgan Wallen returns to radio and North Korea bans all things K-Pop.
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Showbiz Sandbox 542: TV Networks Are Upfront About Streaming Plans
May 25, 2021
Last week all the big television networks in the United States went through the old fashioned ritual of inviting advertisers to big presentations of their fall programming. Besides being virtual a lot has changed for the networks, including primetime scheduling, which is now an afterthought. Instead they emphasized streaming and the range of content available through numerous platforms including network, broadcast and their new subscription services.
Meanwhile, the global box office is revving its engines with “F9” opening to huge numbers internationally, pushing the “Fast & Furious” franchise over the $6 billion mark. Movie theaters in Europe are reopening just in time to show the movie.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including why Amazon may purchase MGM, this year’s Eurovision contest and the return of music festivals.
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Showbiz Sandbox 528: Crunching The Numbers On Cinema Attendance Trends
February 9, 2021
With media reports constantly declaring that cinema admissions have been steadily declining for the past two decades, we set out to determine if such proclamations are actually true. Has moviegoing kept pace with population growth or fallen off? With some help from our listeners we do the math to answer the question once and for all.
Meanwhile, the Writers Guild of America is taking a victory lap after they reached a deal with William Morris Endeavor, the last of the major Hollywood talent agencies yet to sign a new franchise agreement. This means that television packaging fees and ownership of affiliated production companies will be winding down at agencies over the next two years.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including why TikTok will start paying for music, Nielsen revamps its streaming charts and this year’s SAG Award nominations.
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Showbiz Sandbox 526: Hollywood Reshuffles 2021 Blockbusters
January 26, 2021
The coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc throughout the film industry. With most movie theatres around the world currently closed due to COVID, Hollywood studios have delayed almost all of their major releases into the latter half of this year. There is even talk that the Cannes Film Festival will move from May to sometime in July.
Unlike cinemas, streaming media companies are currently thriving, with Netflix surpassing 200 million subscribers worldwide. Despite all of the competitors entering the marketplace, the company set a record high stock price after announcing they won’t need to borrow any additional money to fund new content.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including the new “High School Musical” generates a chart-topper, Viacom changes up its streaming strategy and Spotify ventures into audiobooks.
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Showbiz Sandbox 525: A Non-Netflix Show Finally Tops Nielsen’s Streaming Charts
January 19, 2021
For the first time in history, or at least since Nielsen started its U.S. weekly streaming chart, a non-Netflix show claimed the top spot. For the week ending December 20th “The Mandalorian” was the number one steamed show in the nation, with over 1.33 billion total minutes viewed by Disney+ subscribers. As more streaming services come online with their own original programming, Netflix’s domination of the Nielsen chart may ultimately fade.
Speaking of ratings, a new leader among cable news networks has emerged since last year’s presidential election. For the first time since 2000, CNN and MSNBC beat out Fox News. Do these ratings reflect the unprecedented political crises we’ve been facing or a sea change in viewership?
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including country star Morgan Wallen’s new streaming record, Disneyland ditches annual passes and Shakira sells the publishing rights to her music.
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Showbiz Sandbox 524: Cable News Networks Make Big Moves
January 13, 2021
Thanks to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and amped up political unrest, viewership of cable news networks has reached record levels. Now that the presidential election is over in the United States, some are making changes to both their anchor and programming lineups. Maybe the biggest move is Fox News, which is moving an opinion show to their early evening rotation.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. is subtly pushing back against critics of its workplace environment on DC titles, despite top talent like Gal Godot and Jason Mamoa weighing in with concerns. Walter Hamada, the head of DC Films, seems to be taking most of the heat.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including the return of “Sex and the City,” Kevin Hart heads to Netflix and the Grammy Awards get postponed.
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Showbiz Sandbox 432: Peak TV Just Got Peakier
December 17, 2018
When John Landgraf, head of the FX network, proclaimed we had reached a state of “peak TV” back in 2015, he predicted the 422 television shows being produced at the time would inevitably decline since there was no way for audiences to keep up. Last year however, that number rose to 495 series being produced. To put this increase in perspective, there were 182 shows on the air in 2002.
It’s safe to assume these numbers are bound to rise with new entrants into the video streaming market launching in 2019 including Disney and WarnerMedia. What’s more, the annual amount of money being spent on all this content is astonishing with the likes of Netflix and Amazon each spending $8 billion and $5 billion respectively. And that’s nothing compared to the $22 billion Disney is shelling out.
Meanwhile, the awards season is underway with all sorts of groups weighing in on their favourites, including the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Golden Globes and the first awards that matter: the Screen Actors Guild. Spoiler alert: “Roma” just hit a roadblock.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the Grammy nominations, new entrants to the National Film Registry and Mariah Carey’s latest chart-topping hit is a quarter century-old Christmas song.
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Showbiz Sandbox 388: Contemplating A Fox In The Mouse House
November 13, 2017
The Walt Disney Company reported earnings for the past year fell 1% as media networks help drag down profits. With revenue from its sports network ESPN declining, the entertainment conglomerate is now looking to get even bigger through acquisitions that will bolster its streaming media service. Specifically, Disney has been eyeing key assets of 21st Century Fox’s film and television holdings.
As the media landscape shifts, becoming more fractured, so too have the ways in which content such as movies and television shows is monetized. In an age where new entrants make their money selling electronic devices (Apple) or other products (Amazon) it would appear that size matters. Thus the reason investors are bullish on a deal between Disney and Fox.
Once again we can not avoid discussing the sexual harassment allegations that have erupted in Hollywood and started to spread into other industries, even politics. With each passing week another celebrity or power player sees their life fall apart amidst accusations of misconduct. The latest is comedian Louis C.K. who says the claims against him are all true.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including Taylor Swift’s latest album shattering sales records, Jennifer Anniston starring in Apple’s first scripted television series and Vanity Fair names a new editor-in-chief.
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