Instagram will police content for ages 18 and under using Hollywood’s PG-13-rating standard, as the website is under regulatory and legal pressure over child protection. Implementing the off-the-shelf PG-13 standard (image above), which is proven in decades of cinema use, aims to blunt complaints that Instagram makes it too easy for sex predators to connect with teens and for … [Read more...] about Instagram Adopts Filmdom’s PG-13 Rating
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‘Wicked’ Merch Casts Magical Spell
“Wicked” was a surprise theatrical boxoffice hit last year, so Universal Pictures is ready with a licensed-merchandise extravaganza for sequel “Wicked: For Good.” Some 300 movie-themed items are licensed by Universal Products & Experiences, including two models of singing toy dolls from Mattel. Universal hopes that the movie about a wizard, witches and a mythical land … [Read more...] about ‘Wicked’ Merch Casts Magical Spell
Film Schools, Universities Besieged
The higher-education industrial complex is under siege from both within and outside, and film schools are experiencing collateral damage. Two former executives of the Los Angeles Film School have filed a civil lawsuit that recently surfaced claiming the for-profit entity misstated the employment success rate for its graduates. Those insiders allege this was done to keep … [Read more...] about Film Schools, Universities Besieged
Distributor Going Public Validates Indies
Smallish independent film distributor Angel Studios went public earlier this month at a hefty $1.6 billion in pro forma enterprise value (sum of stock value and borrowings). That’s an amazing validation of economic value for a company in domestic theatrical distribution, which is a hardscrabble business outside of Hollywood’s five major movie studios, and also video streaming, … [Read more...] about Distributor Going Public Validates Indies
Film Talent Stars as Hucksters
Top Hollywood film talent is increasingly comfortable endorsing products and services, evidenced most recently by Timothée Chalamet and director James Mangold shilling for Lucid electric cars. The actor and the director/writer collaborated for hit theatrical movie “A Complete Unknown,” with both getting Oscar nominations for the Bob Dylan-biographical flick. Above, Chalamet … [Read more...] about Film Talent Stars as Hucksters
Experiential Adaptations Tout Filmdom
Movie properties are being transplanted into other venues, for fun and profit. Beloved 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz” is being staged in an immersive experience at the mammoth Las Vegas Sphere arena (screen grab pictured above of a promotional image). Also, Netflix is soon launching Netflix House, which is envisioned as a retail chain of permanent physical entertainment … [Read more...] about Experiential Adaptations Tout Filmdom
Amazon Film Panned But Viewership Huge
Amazon Prime’s adaptation of sci-fi classic “The War of the Worlds” is drubbed by critics as the worst film of the year, but it’s topping the video streaming viewing charts. The new “War of the Worlds” has a rock-bottom 3% approval in the Tomatometer metric for aggregate professional critics’ reviews. The lowest favorable rating on the Rotten Tomatoes digital website devoted … [Read more...] about Amazon Film Panned But Viewership Huge
Attribution Exercise: Content Driving Subscriptions
Audience-researcher Parrot Analytics developed what it calls its Content Valuation system that attributes specific numbers of subscriber growth at video streaming platforms to specific program content. “Examples of titles that illustrate [Disney+] ‘Streaming Window of Theatrical Movies’ strength in 1H25 [first half of calendar 2025] include ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ … [Read more...] about Attribution Exercise: Content Driving Subscriptions
‘F1’ Success Revs Up Apple Films
The cinema success of car-racing yarn “F1: The Movie” propels Apple TV+’s original film ambitions that have been an enigma since the late Steve Jobs ran the tech giant. In 2007, journalists demanded to know why the company didn’t drop its then-foundering Apple TV hardware product suite, to which Jobs answered, “For us, Apple TV is just a hobby.” That flip reply drew chuckles … [Read more...] about ‘F1’ Success Revs Up Apple Films
‘F1’ Film Trailer Smacks iPhones
The Apple trailer for its “F1: The Movie” makes its iPhones vibrate, in a new wrinkle. The author experienced the trailer that physically rattles an iPhone, finding the “haptic” accompaniment is a little gimmicky (haptic means multi-sensory experience). “In the two-minute trailer, whenever an F1 car is in motion on the screen, your iPhone will vibrate with an intensity … [Read more...] about ‘F1’ Film Trailer Smacks iPhones