CLINT EASTWOOD’S FAMILY GETS E! REALITY SHOW TO HELP PROMOTE SOUTH AFRICAN BAND
The only thing worse than celeb-reality narcissism is celeb-reality narcissism disguised as politically correct do-gooderism. Insufferable squared.
GAY, JEWISH BLOGGER SUGGESTS: HOW ABOUT A TV SERIES TREATING CHRISTIANS* WITH DIGNITY?
This is a piece written by my pal Dan Blatt aka GayPatriot West:
Just watch Sergeant York, the 1941 film the earned Gary Cooper his first Oscar. The very versatile Walter Brennan snagged his fourth Oscar nod for his portrayal of Pastor Rosier Pile, an honorable clergyman who helps Cooper find a path to God and stands by him as he wrestles with the merits of taking up arms for his nation. Or the 1954 Oscar winner, On the Waterfront where anther versatile actor secured an Academy nomination for his work as the strong moral center of an incredibly powerful film.
Why do we no longer see any TV shows with similar upstanding ministers — and members of their flock who live by the teachings of their faith and treat their fellows with dignity?
Hollywood is now governed by a Production Code that’s even worse than the original one. At least the first production code revolved around a morality that didn’t discriminate based on race, creed, religion, or gender. Today’s Production Code is bigoted, sexist and racist. It’s open season on Caucasians, conservatives and Christians, and most especially men. But gays, Muslims and the like are treated as sacred cows. It’s so bad that any satire directed their way results in boycotts and media-driven shaming campaigns.
As far as I’m concerned, when it comes to satire, it should be open season on anyone and everyone.
ANALYSTS: NETFLIX HAS FULLY RECOVERED FROM ITS QWIKSTER DEBACLE
And that recovery is thanks mostly to streaming. The last point made below is the most important:
As principal justification for its bullishness, the investment bank said simply that Netflix’s streaming costs are essentially fixed while the profit-margin growth remains buoyantly flexible.
Based on Netflix’s public statements, Citigroup believes the company’s content acquisition costs will be about $1.8 billion this year, while promotional spending will stay at around $300 million. And for each 1 million subscribers Netflix is able to add to its current U.S. base of nearly 25 million, Citigroup thinks it will add $90 million in incremental profit to its bottom line. And, importantly, the analysts believe the company won’t have to add much to the estimated fixed costs of $2.1 billion to acquire those extra subscribers.
Netflix Streaming has a ton of content, and a ton of great content especially in its television selections. For this reason, Netflix doesn’t have to add additional costs to acquiring even more programming. As long as Netflix keeps the same amount of stock but keeps that stock rotating with old programming out and new programming in, the customers will remain satisfied and the cost of inventory will remain pretty stable.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve flown twice and on the plane we had access to satellite television. I couldn’t even watch, though, due to the obnoxious amount of commercials, especially on the Discovery Channel. There are plenty of reason to hate cable, and non-stop commercials is one of them.
Netflix Streaming has no commercials and costs $8 a month. For that kind of savings (when compared to the standard cable package), I think I can wait a year or two to see what the fellas at “American Chopper” are up to.
More good news here: Amazon To Stream Prior Seasons Of Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet Shows
I’ve also signed up with Amazon, which is about the same price as Netflix Streaming and offers a number of benefits at Amazon to boot, like free shipping. So this is yet another opportunity to see all the terrific programming these outlets offer (true crime!) without the obnoxious commercials that make watching them on cable absolutely intolerable. And again, it’s MUCH cheaper.
WALMART LAUNCHES EXCLUSIVE DISC-TO-DIGITAL SERVICE TO SUPPORT VUDU
This is what I’ve been waiting for — what I said might make this whole UltraViolet thing work:
Starting on April 16 consumers will be able to take their home videos to some 3,500 WalMart stores and have them converted to digital files stored in the retailer’s Vudu digital storage facilities for Internet streaming. It will cost $2 to transfer a DVD or a Blu-ray disc, and $5 to have a DVD upgraded to a high-definition file. Users must open a free account with WalMart’s Vudu, and go to its site to access digital files. “It will encourage customers to continue buying physical DVDs,” says John Aden, WalMart’s EVP General Merchandise. WalMart has the exclusive right to convert discs to digital in stores. (Samsung has announced a Blu-ray player that will transfer discs to digital for UltraViolet.) The company also plans a “multimonth educational campaign” both in and out of its stores to help people figure out what to do with their discs and how to access movies on mobile and other digital devices.
So if you have a purchased copy of “Predator” on standard DVD, for two dollars WalMart will create a back up digital copy and store it online for you. Better still, for $5, you can upgrade that copy to Blu-ray quality and have that version stored.
This will all be done through WalMart’s Vudu system which is accessible on your Blu-ray player.
Imagine having your entire DVD collection available at the touch of a remote button.
Hollywood thinks this will increase DVD sales, but I’d like to hear the reasoning behind that. Also, I think the costs here might be a bit much, especially for a Blu-ray upgrade.
‘SIN CITY 2’ & ‘MACHETE KILLS’ TO FILM THIS YEAR
Robert Rodriguez might be the most overrated director on the planet. What Quentin Tarantino (one of our greatest directors) sees in this guy is beyond me.
The original “Sin City” was terrific but only because Rodriguez stuck about as closely as anyone could to Frank Miller’s original story. Other than that, Rodriguez hasn’t made a decent flick since “From Dusk Till Dawn” in 1996. His stories are confusing, his plots just lie there… and those dreadful “Spy Kids” flicks.
Who loves B-movies more than I?
Tell me what I’m missing here.
Speaking of B-movie love…
‘PIRANHA 3DD’ GETS A RELEASE DATE
A sequel to my favorite B-flick in years. Oh, yes, bring it.
TWO DUDS DON’T HALT BOX-OFFICE RECOVERY
Over last year, attendance this year is up 17.84% and revenues are up 20.55%. That’s great news for all of us. Thus far, Hollywood is pleasing the customers and that’s always a good thing.
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LAST NIGHT’S SCREENING
Scoop (2006) – I’m still reeling over the fact that Woody Allen won an Oscar this year for his marginal “Midnight In Paris” screenplay, a film with an entertaining first half and a redundant second half I could hardly get through. “Scoop” isn’t anything close to Oscar material either, but it’s a better film with some real laughs and a simple plot that’s at least going somewhere.
“Scoop” is also the last time we saw Woody on film, although he is set to appear in his next film, 2012’s “Nero Fiddled.”
I happen to like Woody’s movies better when Woody is in them.
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SCOTTDS’ EPIC LINKTACULAR
SCOTTDS TAKES A LOOK BACK AT THE “POLICE ACADEMY” MOVIES
INTERVIEW WITH RORY FLYNN, DAUGHTER OF ERROL FLYNN
‘GAME OF THRONES’ SEASON 2: PLOT SUMMARIES FOR EPISODES 1-5
MORE CAST MEMBERS ADDED TO KATHRYN BIGELOW’S BIN LADEN FILM
‘HUNGER GAMES’ ON COURSE FOR RECORD BREAKING BOX OFFICE DEBUT
“ACT OF VALOR” CO-DIRECTOR TO HELM TECHNOLOGY COLLAPSE THRILLER “GOD’S GULCH”
A LOOK AT “JOHN CARTER”‘S 100-YEAR JOURNEY TO THE BIG SCREEN
SHOWTIME SETS ‘HOMELAND’ AND ‘DEXTER’ RETURN DATES
JENNIFER ANISTON TALKS BEING ‘VIOLATED’ BY THE PRESS
‘AMERICA’S MOST WANTED’ RENEWED FOR 20 MORE EPISODES BY LIFETIME
THEORIES ABOUT “JOHN CARTER”S DISAPPOINTING BOX-OFFICE…
… AND CAN POSITIVE WORD OF MOUTH SAVE “JOHN CARTER”?
THE TOP TEN SONGS ABOUT BEING SWEET 16
“ANIMAL HOUSE” IS COMING TO BROADWAY
DOES “BRAVE” MARK THE START OF A NEW ERA FOR PIXAR?
WATCH ROBERT ALTMAN’S LOST FILM ‘MODERN FOOTBALL,’ BOUGHT FOR $10 AT A FLEA MARKET
WHY WORLD LEADERS CALL ON CELEBRITIES TO DO THEIR DIRTY WORK
PJ MEDIA: “WANDERLUST” AND THE RISE OF THE COUNTER-COUNTERCULTURAL COMEDY
TRAILER FOR MORGAN SPURLOCK’S COMIC-CON DOCUMENTARY
FIRST ON-SET PHOTOS OF THE NEW “STAR TREK” FILM…
…THE LINE “TO BOLDLY GO…” MAY HAVE BEEN INSPIRED BY A WHITE HOUSE PAMPHLET
GEEK DEALS: BLU-RAY THREE PACKS FOR ONLY $14.99
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CLASSIC PICK FOR THURSDAY, MARCH 15
10:00 PM EST: Whole Town’s Talking, The (1935) — A gangster hides from the law by trading places with a mild-mannered double. Dir: John Ford Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Jean Arthur, Arthur Hohl. BW-92 mins, TV-G, CC.
A forgotten John Ford-directed gem.
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