It hasn’t exactly been a stellar year for Disney on any level so far, and there isn’t an MCU franchise coming to the theatres this summer to kickstart it. Judging by the ever-growing expectations and massive costs that have effectively doomed their most recent efforts to performances which the investment community has been left underwhelmed … Read more
It was yet another story of a change in management and direction of a struggling media company that VARIETY’s Ethan Shanfield authored yesterday, the kind that have become commonplace in recent years in an industry filled with underrealized expectations, splintering and the resulting necessity of truncation. This one offered an opportunistic twist for its rank … Read more
I have a particular affinity for anyone who works in movie or TV production, and not just the folks in front of the cameras. Some of the hardest-working people in any industry I’ve come across are those who labor intensively upon demand, work dawn till way past dusk under intense pressure almost every minute, and … Read more
Life seems to be an endless array of ironies at times. Of all the days I could have chosen to make a return to the Paramount lot that I love so much (thank you yet again, Uncle Tommy), it’s one that will follow a potentially monumental day for the company. By the time I get … Read more
Another media milestone was reached over the past weekend, but you’d be truly hard pressed to find any mention of it by even the most obsessive of observers. Were it not for a few personal friends and former business colleagues with a soft spot for history, I probably wouldn’t have remembered, either. But there it … Read more
In Judaism, one of the ultimate acts of intimacy is to invite a stranger, or these days more like a casual acquaitance, into your home for a Passover seder. For those unfamiliar with one, it’s indeed a religious service that’s segmented by a lengthy, often alcohol-infused meal, but it’s usually lead by the head of … Read more
With all the hubbub and machinations ongoing on studio lots these days, there’s nary a month that goes by without seeing some observation or controversy involving its CEOs, especially the ones running the so-called “old school” companies. We’ve seen time and time again how ubiquitous and sometimes outspoken the likes of Bob Iger and David … Read more
Oh, you think that it’s Paris and the Olympics that’s hoping to command our attention and viewershio on NBC and Peacock, do you? I know my readership pretty darn well and I know for a fact that a great deal of you are already watching what you consider to be the real Summer Games. On FOX, … Read more
I don’t profess to have many friends in high places, at least lately. At one time I kinda did but, arguably, to an outsider I could have been seen as being among them. I never personally felt that way at the time, but in hindsight I guess I had access to the minds and mindsets … Read more
There’s a lot about Bill Maher that one could find objectionable. In my case, it was a long-ago experience I had when he was simultaneously hitting on and harassing friends and relatives I knew who were working the now-defuncy Santa Monica Improv comedy club. Apparently a few beers in, he was both charming and belligerant. … Read more