EXCLUSIVE: KEITH DAVID JOINS WACHOWSKI’S ‘CLOUD ATLAS’ One of the most underused, under-appreciated actors in Hollywood is The Mighty Keith David, a true screen talent and presence who has made every project he’s been associated with better since his first
Movie Pass: All the Movies You Can Watch for $50 a Month Would you pay $50 a month to a subscription service that allows you to see as many movies as you want in theatres for that full calendar month?
UPDATE ON YESTERDAY’S NETFLIX POST… An email from a friend informs me that Netflix is currently being sued for their lack of close captioning. Also, a third of their streaming titles already include captions — with 80% expected by the
ROD STEWART PLAYS LAS VEGAS Hard to believe Rod Stewart could turn 66 but he has and is now packing Caesar’s Palace in Sin City. May he live forever. About ten years ago I saw Stewart perform live. He wasn’t
PACINO’S ‘SCARFACE’ CELEBRATES BLU-RAY RELEASE You’ll never hear me make any apologies for my unqualified love of this film. It’s just a fact (admit it) that when you’re in the right mood and have three-hours to kill, Brian DePalma’s completely
—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
What’s happening in the way we watch, receive, and choose our movie and television entertainment might just end up being as revolutionary as the switch from silent films to talkies. And in many ways, what we may be witnessing is
(Note: this is the first in a series of weekly film reviews I’ll be doing. Every review will be about a documentary that’s available on Netflix streaming, so if you’re interested you can just watch it right away. Just one
This seems desperate, a throw it up against the wall strategy to boost stagnant ticket sales and plummeting DVD purchases. If you want to see a movie thirty bucks-bad, wouldn’t you go to the theatre? And if you can wait,
Last week’s Hollywood Reporter has yet another excellent story (Variety who?) looking into the many fascinating details of where digital technology is currently taking home video — a subject I’m even more obsessed with than Jon Stewart. Powered mostly by
One saying often said in the Film Industry is that, if you want to go it alone in creativity (versus collaboration), then “buy yourself a paint set.” Whether we like it or not, that cheap paint set is becoming all
[audio: http://newledger.com/podcasts/CoffeeandMarkets022511.mp3] Download Podcast | iTunes | Podcast Feed On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson is joined by John Ross and Cole Abaius to discuss how movie studios are struggling to survive in a 3D and digital
What is not to love about this story? The levers of power in the world of popular culture are mostly held by the very few elite Watchmen who control the bottle neck of distribution. They are The Man and politically
Metro PCS is an American wireless phone service provider – with coverage reaching about 90% of the nation. Their slogan is “Wireless for All” – and their different price packages are certainly readily accessible for most people. Including a single
Over the last year I watched an interesting mini-social experiment play out: my sixty-something parents trying out Netflix. The company’s now-famous little red envelopes first gained fame around the time the dot-com boom went bust in early 2000. Video rental
America wants to watch their entertainment at home and when they want to watch it. Those in Hollywood holding out had better get on the streaming bandwagon and figure out a way to monetize it accordingly, or they will be