As Hollywood looks to the Oscar telecast on April 25, the movie industry remains battered but has cause to be optimistic about better days ahead. On that bad news, the pandemic closed theaters, interrupted production and triggered large audience viewership declines for glitzy awards shows like the Oscars. Further, Hollywood is engulfed in painful self-evaluation about … [Read more...] about Movie Malaise Rattles Oscars
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Golden Globes Display Hollywood Civil War
The adage that “the show must go on” shined with the Golden Globe awards Sunday, Feb. 28, on NBC Television presenting a clunky event that indicates Hollywood’s problems are deeper than just the Covid-19 pandemic. Withering press coverage criticizes the foreign journalists trade group that hands out the award for lack of black members and its exclusionary membership; this … [Read more...] about Golden Globes Display Hollywood Civil War
Scandal! Marketing Downplays Disgraced Actor
Bad publicity over a suddenly disgraced actor has Hollywood’s publicity machine in high gear scrambling to minimize Armie Hammer in the latest marketing messaging for his two upcoming film releases. Hammer was exposed for communicating cannibalistic and sex-abuse desires toward women a month ago, creating a controversy imperiling audience reception for movies "Crisis" and … [Read more...] about Scandal! Marketing Downplays Disgraced Actor
Universal Mounts Horror Image Contest
A major studio built on a foundation of horror films 109 years ago, Universal Pictures now mounts a contest soliciting amateur-made posters and other marketing images celebrating the fright genre. Universal’s Out of the Shadows contest is partnered with onliner Tongal, which is a digital platform connecting businesses with vendors providing graphics/creative services to … [Read more...] about Universal Mounts Horror Image Contest
Streamers Supplant Films in Super Bowl
Movie distributors placed just one cinema commercial in TV’s Super Bowl telecast, although Hollywood was all over the Feb. 7 sports events with video streamers, celebrities, and loads of imagery from famous movie/TV content. The telecast carried six movie-related commercials in streaming and streaming platforms, especially Paramount+, which is a corporate sibling of Super … [Read more...] about Streamers Supplant Films in Super Bowl
Analysts Map Cinema’s Future
Business analysts looking beyond the current Covid-19 pandemic disruption see a comeback picture for the silver screen. That's the case even though the customary 120-to-90-day window shrinks between theatrical and TV (such as video streamers like Netflix) and Hollywood trying different combinations of cinema/streaming sequencing for individual movies or batches of … [Read more...] about Analysts Map Cinema’s Future
Researchers Track Film Audiences Across Media
Two industry research giants are expanding their data offerings that will immerse Hollywood with more insights about consumer viewing of movies across multiple media platforms. Comscore and Nielsen both announced separate film initiatives this month. Comscore unveiled its Movies Everywhere service for “a new reporting system to track box office movies performance across all … [Read more...] about Researchers Track Film Audiences Across Media
Netflix Originals Challenge Cinema Habit
Netflix promises a new premiere movie each week, which could disrupt the traditional “let’s all go out to a movie tonight” habit. The video streaming service marshals billions of dollars in marketing and content spending for that original-movies ambition, though there are some chinks in Netflix’s armor. Netflix just reported very good calendar 2020 earnings with 203.7 … [Read more...] about Netflix Originals Challenge Cinema Habit
Taco Bell Parodies Horror Film Trailers
Movie trailers are ingrained in popular culture evidenced by others imitating. These include TV series promotions trying to capture a cinema-like prestige and consumer goods, such as the Taco Bell restaurant chain. “The Craving” advertising campaign for Taco Bell spoofs youth horror film trailers. It’s the sixth round of Taco Bell TV commercials playing off film trailers, … [Read more...] about Taco Bell Parodies Horror Film Trailers
Hollywood’s ♥️ Affair: Still ‘Dating’ Cinema
Hollywood still shows its love for cinema, despite the naysayers. Lost in the current theatrical release depression is that movie distributors continue to aggressively schedule cinema premieres months and even years ahead, when the Covid-19 is expected to be gone. Such film release scheduling is known as “dating” in Hollywood parlance. And, yes, such dating can be undone. … [Read more...] about Hollywood’s ♥️ Affair: Still ‘Dating’ Cinema