In the Netflix show “House of Cards,” Kevin Spacey plays a powerful member of Congress who stacks the deck in order dispense favors and to help those who help him. The show may be fiction, but a real life, bigger
‘Monument’ Trouble: Clooney Is No Cary Grant But He Could Have Been Greg Bautzer For nearly fifty years, until his death in 1987, Greg Bautzer was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. The self-made mover and shaker was
Netflix Shares Cross $400 As They Hit All-Time High Be afraid, bundled cable. Be very afraid. I’m old enough to remember when people laughed at the idea of renting DVDs via mail and the Netflix Streaming service was started and
Hollywood routinely uses its content to influence hearts and minds, hoping the right heart-tugging storyline will make a difference on issues like fracking or gun control. At the same time, actors, screenwriters and directors alike say they cannot be held
Mitt Romney is going the full Bob Dole. You never go the full Bob Dole. Back in 1996, the media fed a portrayal of GOP presidential hopeful Dole as a dour, humorless opponent to President Bill Clinton. Dole lost. Then,
In response to Obama’s Imperial Presidency: Just what America really needed: a fusion of Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon. You know, I hate to sound cynical, but I don’t see how even a Supreme Court smackdown over NLRB appointments is
On Friday’s “Late Show with David Letterman” on CBS, Letterman introduced a different twist for the recently debuted documentary “Mitt” about former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential bid…
On Friday’s “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney “slow jammed” the news with Tuesday’s State of the Union address and the 2016 presidential race as two of the themes. Romney also participated in an interview
1. Hollywood Develops Mother Teresa Biopic If done right, great. But let’s not kid ourselves into believing that without Mother Teresa’s well-publicized (and poignantly God-affirming) crisis of faith, Hollywood probably wouldn’t find Teresa worthy of a biopic: The narrative, he
1. Netflix Streaming’s World Domination Marches On There is no way for me to prove this because all the old sites I used to write for have been pulled off the web, but before there was a Netflix Streaming I
Mark Duplass may not be a household name, but in indie film circles he’s practically a legend. The prolific actor/director/screenwriter is connected to some of the buzzier films in independent cinema, including The Puffy Chair, Humpday and Baghead, and he
1. Streaming Catching Up with Pay Channels The entertainment multi-nationals that make an obscene fortune forcing hundreds of millions of Americans to pay for dozens of cable channels they will never watch are as terrified of online streaming as the
Netflix and fellow streaming-based services enjoyed a subscriber boost over an 18-month span, while premium cable channels suffered a combined 6 percent drop. Coincidence? Trend? Or are the two unrelated? Variety posts those numbers while asking if the figures tell
Both liberals and conservatives agreed on one thing during the 2012 presidential campaign. Mitt Romney cleaned President Barack Obama’s clock in the first of three critical debates. The new documentary Mitt, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival this weekend
(AP) LOS ANGELESU.S. home video spending rose nearly 1 percent to $18.2 billion in 2013, the second straight year of growth as higher spending on video streaming subscriptions and digital purchases offset the decline in DVDs. The figures were released by
(AP) Netflix tests new price tiers for video serviceBy The Associated PressNetflix is testing new price plans for streaming video as it tries to lure more viewers. Among the plans being tested are a $6.99-a-month plan that allows only one
Netflix’s first political documentary appears to avoid partisan battle lines with its official trailer. That alone could set it apart from HBO and Showtime, two pay cable giants whose content leans reliably to the left. Mitt, a new documentary following
President Barack Obama on Tuesday huddled with executives from leading technology companies, including Netflix, Google, Twitter and Apple. Obama discusses a House of Cards cameo and the political productivity of Kevin Spacey. The White House says the government’s HealthCare.gov website
By DAVID BAUDERAP Television WriterNEW YORKNetflix, which didn’t exist as an original television programming source until February, snagged six Golden Globe nominations on Thursday _ more than stalwarts ABC, CBS and NBC.HBO led all TV networks with nine nominations. Starz
(AP) Over 2M Xbox One units sold in first 18 daysNEW YORKMicrosoft says more than 2 million of its Xbox One consoles have been sold since the system’s launch 18 days ago. That works out to an average of 111,111
Netflix, the streaming giant responsible for breakout hits like House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black, is getting political. The company will debut Mitt, a new documentary about the man who led the GOP’s Presidential ticket in 2012,
Eli Roth is known for his horror projects, from the grisly Hostel to Netflix’s spooky original Hemlock Grove. Now, Roth is one of a trio of horror auteurs behind a new History Channel project focusing on Jesus Christ–the early years.
Recent statistics show that the streaming revolution is taking its toll on the con job that is bundled cable faster than anyone imagined. In Obama’s economy, people just can’t afford to continue to pay around a $100 a month for
We learned earlier this week that cable providers lost 5 million subscribers since 2010, a partial result from the rise of streaming and online content options. Now, Variety reports that pay cable giants will be passing higher prices on to subscribers
Last Sunday, I chose to do nothing. Meaning, I pretended to do something by buying and then consuming bits and chunks of stuff I ordered from my laptop as I sat in my underwear, drinking strong coffee. It’s what I do
At Breitbart, RedState and elsewhere, people are having a healthy and important discussion regarding the proper role of government in the audio marketplace. One proposal in particular, the so-called Internet Radio Fairness Act (IRFA), deserves special attention from conservatives because it’s one of the
This weekend, riddled with sickness, I caught up on the latest series — available on Netflix — written and directed by Ricky Gervais. It’s called Derek, and it’s about a “simple-minded” guy named Derek who works at a retirement home.
Sarah Silverman’s latest move to support abortion rights involved selling a vaginal napkin to the highest bidder. Silverman co-hosted an online telethon earlier this week to raise money for various Texas-based abortion projects. The event drew Salon writer Joan Walsh,
Defenders of Amazon’s Alpha House will argue the show delivers a snarky, inside the Beltway comedy for the company’s streaming content launch. Here’s how “inside” the show is–in the opening moments of the first new episode we see Republican politicians
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 29 (UPI)–“Orange is the New Black” star Laverne Cox says she was not offended Julianne Hough darkened her skin when she dressed up as a character from the show. The former “Dancing with the Stars” professional dancer
The New York Daily News is trying to “Newt Gingrich” Speaker of the House John Boehner by “blaming” him and the Republican majority in the House for the government shutdown. Their cover art and headline for this morning evokes the
The Frozen Ground is a film about the hunt to catch real-life serial killer Robert Hansen. He was an Alaskan man that kidnapped and killed between 17 and 21 girls. Frozen Ground, out on Blu-ray Oct. 1, tracks the police investigation
(AP) Albuquerque set to say goodbye to ‘Breaking Bad’By RUSSELL CONTRERASAssociated PressALBUQUERQUE, N.M.The southwestern New Mexico city that’s played home to “Breaking Bad” is preparing for the end, with the Emmy-award winning series airing its last episode on Sunday. As
Sunday night’s Emmy Awards contained a few major shockers. But none was bigger than Jeff Daniels winning Best Actor for his performance in Aaron Sorkin’s Newsroom over Kevin Spacey in House of Cards (Netflix), Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad (AMC),
By LYNN ELBERAP Television WriterLOS ANGELESWhen Netflix’s “House of Cards” vies with cable series “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men” for best drama honors at the Emmy Awards, it will be a milestone in the coming-of-age of online entertainment. The political
Zombies and meth are doing wonders for AMC’s bottom line. The cable channel’s The Walking Dead is a ratings powerhouse, and now the final installments of the critically hailed Breaking Bad are drawing a sizable crowd. Breaking Bad, which stars
By JILL LAWLESSAssociated PressLONDONOscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey says television has overtaken cinema as the home of quality character-driven drama, but the industry risks failure if it doesn’t recognize that viewers want control over what they watch, and when. Spacey told
(AP) BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.–In a drive to add subscribers, Netflix has expanded on a movie licensing deal with The Weinstein Co. that will add more films to its Internet video service beginning in 2016. The multi-year agreement announced Tuesday builds
Republicans are from Venus and President Obama is from Mars. Nothing better demonstrates this than their stances on taxes, spending, and jobs. Obama wants to reform corporate taxes–shut loopholes, impose a mandatory levy on profits earned abroad, and lower rates
The streaming revolution has officially crashed the Emmys. House of Cards, the political drama from streaming powerhouse Netflix, picked up an Emmy nomination today for Best Drama among nine overall nominations. Emmy voters also selected stars Kevin Spacey and Robin
