I’ve had better weeks, thank you, but I did vow to keep my personal bitching to a minimum. I developed a separate site for such content, and moved a great deal of what used to be contained here over there. This morning, I was prompted to pour out my frustration by a series of events … Read more
I’d contend one of the more impactful books I’ve read in my life was the 2000 best seller THE TIPPING POINT, which introduced most of the world to the mind and thughts of the brilliant albeit electrocutionally coiffed author Malcolm Gladwell. As Wikipedia accurately explains, the title referenced what Gladwell defined as “the moment of … Read more
When opportunity knocks, even briefly, you damn well make sure that you open the door and at least try to take advantage of it. That’s how I’ve approached my career and, for the most part, that philosophy succeeded me. At least until COVID made the very act of knocking on any door a non-starter for … Read more
People went back to movie theatres this week in droves, and most of them weren’t even going to a movie. Per FORBES’ Hugh McIntyre: Taylor Swift has conquered almost every chart there is, and that statement now includes the ranking of the biggest movies in America. The singer’s new concert film Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour launches … Read more
Even in the direst of times, people with business to do find the time to gather in person to help to solve the particular problems of their little corner of the world. No, last week’s CIMM Conference at the ARF, aka the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement at the Advertising Research Foundation, wasn’t quite up … Read more
This should have been a piece that ran Friday, in advance of the premiere of CBS and Sony’s new game show RAID THE CAGE. Well, actually, it’s only new in the U.S. As The NEW YORK POST’s Michael Starr reminded, it’s already been established in plenty of other territories around the globe: It’s based on … Read more
AVATAR 2: THE WAY OF WATER. GRAN TURISMO. SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE. BARBIE. Collectively, these four films released over the last 12 months raked in over $4.5 BILLION DOLLARS in box office revenue–nearly $1.75 BILLION DOLLARS in the US alone. Heck, I even saw two of them in theatres. These were not mere hits. They … Read more
Imagine if experience had been a requirement for one of the most iconic roles in movie history. Lana Turner, Katherine Hepburn, Loretta Young, Helen Hayes, and even Lucille Ball all auditioned for Gone with the Wind’s Scarlett O’Hara. But according to SLATE’s Rebecca Onion, it appearently wasn’t: The producer David O. Selznick took more than two years … Read more
Ted Sarandos had the cameras turned on him yesterday at the Bloomberg Screentime Conference, hours after he apparently led the Gang of Four ostensibly attempting to work a deal with the union that represents those who do it best out the door in a hissy-fit that have now stalled negotiations and has yet again brought … Read more
This is a story about the legendary John Gilbert. No, not the venerable announcer of JEOPARDY and one-time emcee of MUSIC BINGO, still going strong today in his late 90s. The one that died more than 80 years ago and never saw his 40th birthday. When Louis B. Mayer, cofounder of MGM, wanted to break … Read more