UK's LoveFilm Strikes Warner International Deal

A small news nugget at Deadline caught my eye today:

Netflix competitor Lovefilm has entered what it calls a “milestone” deal with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution for the UK. From today, library content that includes The West Wing, One Tree Hill, Nip Tuck and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles will be available to subscribers. The Amazon-owned streaming service has 2M+ subscribers across Europe. Netflix entered the market in January 2012 where Sky also continues to build its business. The three companies each have deals with the major U.S. studios. In November, Netflix signed its own multi-year pact with WBITD that included shows like The Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl.

LoveFilm is an Amazon UK service like the all-you-can-eat video component of the Amazon Prime membership in the United States. The "New TV" war is finally heating up across the pond. I talked about UK streaming with Myke Hurley on Screen Time a few weeks ago.

Daily Grab 124: Saul

Here's Carl Reiner, one of the all-time greats, in a role that is so fun to watch (just like Bernie Mac in the same movie). He is one of the main reasons I put Ocean's Eleven on while I work more often than I should admit.

More Soderberghopolis is coming soon.

Apple Bans a Secondary Storefront from iOS

The AppGratis story is three days old, but bears re-examination in light of the "Saga Saga":

Over this past weekend, Apple pulled AppGratis from the App Store, explaining on Monday that the app discovery software violated two App Store regulations in particular: one banning apps that promote other apps in a manner similar to the App Store, and another forbidding apps using push notifications to send advertising, promotions, or direct marketing of any kind.

As the piece goes on to say, that the app was approved mutliple times and then suddenly got yanked is interesting, to say the least.

The behavior they're objecting to is technically the sort of thing that apps like ComiXology and other content storefronts could engage in as part of their core business. Some do. Many games actively engage in push notification behaviors like those described. If you want to read it a certain way, many in-app purchases could make that inventory considered a secondary storefront, whether in games or other apps.

This case makes you wonder whether Apple even gives content providers the level of attention or responsiveness they need to keep publishing, and instead pay more attention to what needs to be shut down (for their needs) like this.

GLEE Takes on Newtown

TVLine's Michael Slezak takes a spoiler-filled look at the events and consequences of shots fired in the school on Glee. The URL includes what some may consider a spoiler. I'll excerpt spoiler-free:

For starters, I know a lot of folks will probably ask if it was “too soon” for Ryan Murphy & Co. to tackle a story arc about gunshots ringing out in the hallways of McKinley High a mere four months after the real and unspeakable shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary. I understand that question, but the sad fact is Sandy Hook wasn’t the first tragedy of its kind, nor will it be the last. So perhaps it’s folly to debate the timing of such an episode: You’re either going to go there, or you’re not. You’re either going to use the real-life dread we experienced as a nation for dramatic purposes — and, yeah, to possibly make a political statement — or you’re not.

There's such a thing as topicality, but it's quite another, as the piece goes on to analyze, to potentially and permanently shift the status quo of a show. This is especially the case when it involves major, beloved characters.

BTIG: Netflix Holds More Attention Than Cable

I would link BTIG's data, but it's locked behind a registration wall. Deadline's David Lieberman gives us a look inside the findings of a recent study:

The analyst figures that Netflix had 28.1M subscribers here. Do some simple division, and it comes to 87 minutes per subscriber each day — up from his calculation last July of 79 minutes. At the new threshold, “Netflix is now likely the most watched cable network, essentially in-line with the Disney Channel,” Greenfield says.

Since Netflix's content is mostly analogous to the target audience of Disney Channel, this is a super-apt comparison.

On second thought...

Cinedigm Helps Take Drive-Ins Digital

Deadline's David Lieberman reports that one of the sleeping giants of content is going after screens it seems no one else is paying much attention to:

For the digital projection to work in drive-ins, the groups needed to team up with the United Drive-In Theater Owners Association and secure some exceptions to the Digital Cinema Initiatives specifications for the technology. It means that “the unique movie-going experience outdoor exhibitors offer will continue for generations to come,” says UDITOA President John Vincent Jr. Cinedigm says it hopes to sign additional drive in theaters next week to preserve what VP Business Affairs Alison Choppelas calls “such an important piece of Americana.”

I'm sure we'll get more of an idea why Cinedigm is getting chummy with these specific exhibitors at CinemaCon next week. Cinedigm own New Video, Flatiron Films, and much more. Most of their content falls into the categories of documentary, arthouse, and specialty/genre cinema. They are amassing a considerable stockpile of weapons-grade content alongside a very digital-friendly model, and I follow them closer than many emerging distributors.

Jonathan Winters

The AP reports that Jonathan Winters is gone:

Jonathan Winters, the cherub-faced comedian whose breakneck improvisations and misfit characters inspired the likes of Robin Williams and Jim Carrey, has died. He was 87.

Winters was one of the earliest comedy influences I had as a young actor, thanks to syndicated reruns of Mork and Mindy. When I discovered his records and his performances in movies and other shows in the pre-Internet world, his rapid-fire wit really blew me away.

Winters was a pioneer of improvisational standup comedy, with an exceptional gift for mimicry, a grab bag of eccentric personalities and a bottomless reservoir of creative energy. Facial contortions, sound effects, tall tales — all could be used in a matter of seconds to get a laugh.

In particular, his voice and mimicry work was most influential on me as a young, non-white (or "off-white") actor. I always played either the "ethnic other" or "the guy with an accent". He taught me by example that you can be funny and interesting without making yourself the joke. He transformed the art of silly into something more intellectually stimulating and dynamic. He has been one of my idols since I was a kid, and I'm less sad knowing that I still haven't seen everything he did that was recorded.

Chinese Theater Going IMAX

The cinema that was Grauman's Chinese is getting an IMAX retrofit:

Imax plans to make the Chinese Theatre one of its main venues for holding premieres of big budget action movies. The new Imax theater will be 94 feet wide and seat 986 people, making it the largest in terms of seating capacity among more than 730 Imax theaters in at least 50 countries. It would be the third-largest Imax theater in North America, only slightly smaller than Imax venues in San Francisco and Lincoln Square in New York City.

Although Imax has two dozen theaters in Los Angeles County, including AMC Universal Citywalk, none have been large enough to host premieres, an important source of business for Imax.

I assume the "third-largest" measure is of the screen size, right?

Disney Massively Downsizes Hand-Drawn Animation Department

From Cartoon Brew today:

According to former Disney animator Tom Bancroft on Twitter, Disney gutted their hand-drawn animation division this afternoon, and laid off some of the studio’s biggest names: Nik Ranieri, Ruben Aquino, Alex Kupershmidt, Frans Vischer, Russ Edmonds, Brian Ferguson, Jamie Lopez and Dan Tanaka. Two of the animators who still have jobs are Eric Goldberg and Mark Henn.

These people are all considered at the top of their field. Sad news indeed.

Daily Grab 123: A Flash of Light

Another grab from one of my personal Hitchcock favorites, Marnie.

Daily Grab 122: Framing, Color, and Contrast

I still can't get over Roger Deakins not having won a gold trophy that, in the grand scheme, only gives the owner as much satisfaction as said owner wishes it to give. One of the great modern era cinematographers, who has never been so much as spooked by the rise of new technology, techniques, or forms of moviemaking.

Will Forte: "There Will be Some Form" of "MacGruber 2"

Entertainment Weekly got a quote that lit the MacGruber-loving internet on fire today:

“We are going to make MacGruber 2 for sure,” he says. “Whether we have to do it with a video camera in our backyards – there will be some form of MacGruber 2.”

Forte says they had even discussed putting it on crowdfunding site Kickstarter — way before the Veronica Mars film raised its capital there. “Jorma [Taccone], the MacGruber director, he had the idea to do a Kickstarter like two years ago,” Forte laments. “He kept saying ‘We should do a Kickstarter’ and we were like ‘Yeah, maybe at some point.’ He’s always ahead of the curve. That’s the lesson you learn — always listen to Jorma.”

10 Days In, Warner Archive Instant Adds More Titles

To those who criticized the limited initial selection of titles, this doesn't look like a bad first update, huh?

Apple Bans SAGA #12 from iOS, Or: No Gay Sex Please, We're Apple

The issue has been refused from in-app sale on "inappropriate content" grounds from all iOS apps: ComiXology, the Image Comics app, everything...except for iBooks. That's odd, and smells anti-competitive, since Apple sells an enormous pile of radically more graphic content in iBooks and iTunes.

This enraged tweet from Merlin Mann is a good indicator of where the fan base is at the moment. God, if he were a superhero he would kick some bureaucratic ass and quick.

iOS wasn't properly scaled from the outset to transform into its present state as an impossibly broad content delivery machine. Steve Jobs originally and forcefully pushed for only web apps in iOS (or was that spin?). With native apps and content, Apple becomes the judge, jury, and censor regarding acceptable content. As far ahead as they think in some areas, they actively ignore a lot until its a big enough problem to matter, to infuriating effect. If you don't make noise, they won't feel compelled to act. Send some emails to the not-hard-to-find executive team's inboxes if you don't like this. They do listen, but if there's no noise to be heard...

Have you not read Saga and think comics are a lousy place to find sci-fi? Be warned: the book is for adult eyes, and earlier issues are more graphic than the two measly panels that caused this little fracas. Listen to Merlin and I talk about the first six or so issues between ourselves and take some calls from some muy interesante listeners on The Comic Shack. Go ahead and subscribe. The show is back very, very soon.

I'm stuck on this Merlin-as-a-superhero thing, God knows why. I think there's something there. Hm.

Update on 2013-04-10 22:08 by Moises Chiullan

See this update on the story, complete with more analysis.

Daily Grab 121: Bloodbath

As I expected, the new Evil Dead movie cleaned up this past weekend, slaying the competition rather handily. Typically, horror movies drop at least 50% on their second weekend. That may happen due to a combination of 42 and Scary Movie 5, but it'll really be something if it holds relatively strong.

This morning, Hollywood woke up with a new set of eyes with regard to star Jane Levy, who gets to play way outside the Suburgatory box (quite well, I might add), as well as director/writer team Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues.

Hot & Cold Branding: Ron Johnson Out, Predecessor Back at JCP

CNBC broke the news within the last hour. Plenty of people have speculated that this was going to happen for months and months.

If anything, not giving Johnson's reworking of the JC Penney a chance to work over time will end up being their next-biggest mistake to signaling that JCP really doesn't know what it's doing by re-hiring the guy who got them in bad shape in the first place. Their stock fluctuation in the short term, I suspect, will be indicative of the long-term trend.

The best things Johnson's overhaul brought to JC Penney were the streamlining of price structure (eliminating 70 different "Clearance" racks) and making checkout possible in less than 10 minutes. I started shopping there again. Maybe he belonged at Apple in the first place. I hear there's a job opening.

Everything old really isn't new again.

Andrew Lloyd-Webber's Richard Linklater's "School of Rock: The Musical"

"The Lord", as he's called on BBC singing competition shows I might have watched, says he's picked up the rights to translate School of Rock to the stage in one of the biggest no-brainers in licensed-from-a-movie musical history.

Are they going "jukebox" and keeping the actual covered songs plus the original music in the movie? If so, I don't know that they need many original tunes at all. I wonder whether they'll premiere it Stateside first or in the West End.

Oh shit, this means they're going to remake School of Rock, a movie less than 10 years old, sometime before or around its 15th birthday. Great.

Austin Gets Google Fiber Officially

Thank god. I can't wait to dump AT&T, and everyone else in town is happy to dump Time Warner. The oligopoly that has been in place among cable providers has gone on far too long, is bad for consumers and job creation.

Still, I don't want these pipes to live in the Google Data Mining Corp.'s hands permanently. I want internet access to be seen as a public utility just like water, sewer, and garbage disposal.