—DVD SALES DOWN 18.3% IN 2011; ITUNES DOMINATES DIGITAL MOVIE SALES— Interesting Variety article, that for some reason isn’t behind their suicidal paywall. Bottom line is that even though digital sales are picking up, they only make up a fraction
MIRAMAX TO LAUNCH FACEBOOK STREAMING VENTURE While Miramax already has a deal with Netflix, this is still a fascinating move on the studio’s part. Warners, Universal and Paramount have already moved onto Facebook, as well. On a less horrifying scale,
–CHARTER SOLVES THE PROBLEM! — A extremely nice and patient tech professional from Charter spent the day with me and my Internets yesterday and refused to leave until the problems were solved. It took some doing, a few routers, phone
–SORRY FOR THE DELAYED MORNING CALL SHEET– Before moving, I apparently made the mistake of getting Charter Internet — and it went a little something like this: ME: Hi, I’m moving to North Carolina, work online and want Netflix to
—“DESPERATE TIMES FOR TV NETWORKS”– Jace Lacob has an excellent article at the Daily Beast about the demise of scripted television, especially the serialized drama. Most telling is when he reminds us that up to 30 million people once watched
We movie fans love our Blu-ray and DVD collections, our shelves overflowing with the titles we love, but pretty soon they’re going to be like vinyl records, premium product for the die-hard consumer. It’s no big statement to point out
–NEW FEATURE DEBUTS TOMORROW– Hunter Duesing, who does an excellent job covering the latest in DVD and Blu-ray releases, has seen the future and its name is STREAMING. And so he will now do double duty with a weekly column
“RUNAWAY SLAVE” NEEDS YOUR HELP— How’s that for a headline! The folks behind “Tea Party: The Documentary Film” have started a new project with C.L. Bryant, a one-time NAACP leader who saw the light and moved to the right. The
One of the primary reasons we started the Morning Call Sheet was that it would allow us to promote contributors and right-of-center artists in a way that wouldn’t affect the editorial format of the overall site. This is a win-win
–FOUR TIMELESS COMEDIES HIT BLU-RAY TODAY– Not sure why the Reuters headline calls the 1978 film “Animal House” an “80’s comedy,” but aren’t these the same idiots who forever label all-too expected bad economic news as “unexpected.” Anyway, “Animal House,
–‘ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK’ REMAKE DEAD … FOR NOW– A draft I read of this intended remake was extremely well written but also an environmental allegory and warning. If memory serves, Manhattan had become a prison due to the flooding
—— Don Rickles is hilarious in this clip being … Don Rickles. If you haven’t seen 2007’s “Mr. Warmth,” a terrific documentary directed by John Landis that looks at the last comedian still allowed to stick his finger directly in
—“THE UNDEFEATED” OPENS TODAY. “THE UNDEFEATED” OPENS TODAY. “THE UNDEFEATED” OPENS TODAY. “THE UNDEFEATED” OPENS TODAY. “THE UNDEFEATED” OPENS TODAY. Don’t know if you’ve heard, but “The Undefeated” opens today. Buy your tickets here. Vote here to have it screen
—REPUBLICAN PARTY ANIMAL 2011 HOLLYWOOD BASH! Suddenly I’m almost sorry I left Los Angeles. Almost. But this looks like a blast and you won’t believe what a mere $15 buys you food and drink-wise — not to mention the opportunity
Benjamin Franklin, “The First American,” would have loved the Internet. He was, first and foremost, a printer, author, and publisher. He established the Pennsylvania Chronicle firing up the Colonies against British tyranny. He made his fortune with “Poor Richard’s Almanack”
If Zack Snyder has shown us anything with his movies, it’s that the guy has an agenda when it comes to directing that is as follows: Make everything look really cool Other stuff This is not an attack against Snyder,
Courtesy of a superb story from The Wrap’s Brent Lang, we get a fascinating look at the possible future of the ever-changing home entertainment world. Hollywood’s biggest problem right now is that consumers are moving away from purchasing DVDs and
The legendary Peter Falk — multiple Emmy winner, two-time Oscar nominee (“Pocketful of Miracles,” “Murder Inc.”), and one helluva character actor best known for playing television’s slyly bumbling Lt. Columbo, died today at the age of 83. Beyond his iconic
Thus far, my only wowza! moment courtesy of Hollywood this year has been the drop-dead gorgeous Blu-ray transfer of “The Ten Commandments.” From my review: What’s most remarkable about the new Blu-ray is that it is easily the most beautiful
Hollywood and those who write about it need to face a very simple fact. Yes, new technologies like Netflix Streaming and outlets like Redbox are most certainly a part of the reason DVD sales are slumping. But another reason for
I love when companies stand up for free speech and refuse the speech-supressing bully tactics of entities whose entire purpose is to eliminate the diversity of thought from the airwaves. Media Matters was slapped, hard, by Orbitz today. Media Matters
Today’s New York Times: Netflix posted a first-quarter profit of $60.2 million on Monday and said it had added 3.3 million subscribers in the United States in three months’ time, its fastest rate of growth yet. “It took us four
This past tax day I wrote an article examining whether the government might soon be coming after content creators like Google or Netflix. Such a notion would leave many in complete befuddlement after the past two years have seen the
Late last week, Emmy award-winning producer Joel Surnow (co-creator of “24”) was gracious enough to give me a sizable chunk of his time for a broad-ranging interview that touched on everything from the current controversy surrounding the History Channel’s decision
BH: But I think in the end, it’s turned out great. JS: I think if we can continue to do well in the ratings, anecdotally, it continues to do well. And if we are lucky enough to get nominated or
