Re: Re: As someone who keeps close tabs on the movie industry...
True enough, but the fact that NATO commissioned it is still worrisome to me...I wish it had been a totally independent study to make sure it's completely without bias..
As someone who keeps close tabs on the movie industry...
I think the survey is good news...IF it's accurate. And to me, it's accuracy is thrown into serious question by the fact that it was commissioned by the major theater owners group, in the way that telecom surveys funded by Verizon are questionable at best...
It reeks of NATO trying desperately to convince people that theatres are still viable. I personally think they are, but I can say this - NONE of my friends who go to the theater on a regular basis stream all that much, most of them still use Redbox for home viewing. And the ones who stream regularly rarely if ever set foot in a multiplex, although some of our areas' smaller indie-centric theaters benefit from them more often...
But ESPN is hitting hard times...all that cord-cutting, I guess...I mean you have the elite of the sports networks, one of if not the first sports-dedicated networks on the air, and they've lately went back to their original standards of broadcast, which is "we'll carry ANY Sport no matter if only five people are watching" which is how you explain ESPN's recent coverage of Professional Cornhole (REALLY?) and Spikeball tournaments...now can we start covering the now very real sport of Quidditch sometime soon? :-) ON the other hand, I think gamers definitely deserve this honor, and it's about time too, now let's try getting ESPN to cover their tournaments...they've been around a lot longer than some of the stuff ESPN is carrying lately...
Ah there you go again, Mr Voss, twisting words to mean something entirely different...so how long have you been lurking on the TechDirt comment section?
Re: Re: I see nothing wrong with cutting off EU members
You Know, you're absolutely right. I think a full embargo until the the EU accepts and guarantees that the internet belongs to the world, not just the EU, is a far more effective idea...but then again, isolation breeds contempt, so you have to be careful or we could have World War III on our hands...
The idea that I have to supply my blog readers and listeners the ability to listen if they reside in the EU doesn't wash with me, and we have quite a few listeners of our podcasts over there. But we've already decided that if they pass this monstrosity, our little site will survive, but only by blocking ALL EU countries. We run a small movie news site and several entertainment podcasts. If I can't have the freedom to do what I need to do to report on EU celebs, their movies, music, and the like, then fuck 'em. I think the whole of the world should just cut the EU off from EVERYTHING For one week. One Week. Think about ONE WEEK not being able to access ANY major corporations like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and the like. Just cut them off. You show the people of the EU, who cannot like this mess, what they will be in for and just like here with SOPA, it will die a fast and resounding death. It's the ONLY WAY to show the EU that they're going to destroy the entire internet if this keeps going forward. Period. They refuse to listen to the experts, to the press, even the UN for pete's sake. Maybe the people can make the difference. And cutting them off is the only surefire way to make them get up and start working to save their own butts, along with the rest of the world.
Actually, I don't need to hear it - I've always thought it was kinda corny. And I certainly see your point with respect to the UK anthem and how someone with your personal beliefs wouldn't approve of that sort of song; I wouldn't either under those circumstances. I think my idea about finding a song to celebrate the country and it's people rather than static ideals, like the flag, the Royals, and such, falls in line with that, a little bit at least. And for the record, I'm not a fan of football at all, either American or UK...i'll take my extreme sports any day...:-)
And as for Trump, he wasn't the first and won't be the last to make us all look like idiots to everyone in the world - there are 535 people in the Capitol building who have been doing that since the country began...a lot longer than the billionaire in chief has been doing it...sure they change every few years, but the idiocy they all love to do doesn't change...and people like Nancy Pelosi and Maxine Waters have it down to an artform...heh heh heh...
"The sad thing is, you're blaming the press for accurately reporting that the president is using their protests to attack them, rather than blaming your president for attacking them to begin with."
I don't have to like him to acknowledge that he's 'my' president; he IS in the office, after all. I didn't particularly care for the last two occupants of the office either. It is what it is. And I was referring to the way the media hijacked the issue - I agree that they were absolutely correct in pointing it out, but isn't it their duty to also try in their reports to highlight the REAL reason for the protests? Many of them couldn't be bothered to do that, and I think they should have been a bit more explanatory in their coverage in that way, and it would have been nice if they had bothered to be a bit more sympathetic to the players; by focusing the arguement on the President's tweets, it turned the issue in a completely different way, and the players, who were/are genuine in what they were protesting, got the blame from everyone, which made things worse than they already were/are - sorry if I didn't make that more clear.
"Why do you think that a song deserves respect, especially one that hasn't been your national anthem for a century yet? Shouldn't the constitution, freedom and equality be more important than the song?"
to me, the song deserves respect because it officially represents our country, not because of what it says; the song was an odd choice to begin with and it is VERY dated, and in reality is more representative of our FLAG more than our country. Hell, in all honesty, I'd prefer "America The Beautiful" or even "This Land Is Your Land" or something as goofy as "The Great American Melting Pot" as an anthem lyrically, because they speak of the beauty of the land (or in the case of "Melting Pot" of our country's diverse immigrant-centric population), and not one battle fought in a time of a war that no one remembers and that history doesn't teach us much about. I guess I'm thinking of it this way - if an athlete had an attack of "crazy feet" (VERY dated Steve Martin reference, heh heh) when our anthem was played after winning a gold medal at the Olympics, people would be outraged...not because of the song but because the person representing us made an asshat of himself and in turn made everyone in the US look like idiots...
The players in the NFL have completely lost their message by the news media turning this into another chance to bash the President because of his inability to stop shooting his tweet off...the players should be coming down HARD on the networks, the cable news stations, and the print media for diluting what they're trying to do. I admit, I wish they'd find another way to get their point across, because I do feel it's a bit disrespectful to the Anthem, but they absolutely have the right to do it unless it's prohibited by the team's rules. And most of the teams have avoided that hot potato for right now, but may not in the future if they keep taking massive hits in ratings and thus in revenue generated for the greedy bastard owners ...heh heh..
..about Moral Rights. True they've never been accepted for music in this country, but notice that it hasn't stopped dozens of artists - Bon Jovi, Mellencamp, Springsteen, et al - freaking out when someone they don't support uses one of their songs, even when the song has been properly licensed, and most of them are. I don't remember which artist had a moral hissyfit about John McCain using one of their songs, but even though McCain was able to prove the song had been appropriately licensed for use at one of his rallies when running for President, he still stopped using it because the person asked him to. He didn't have to, but he did. I'm not sure how I feel about that either. On the one hand, it was a goodwill gesture. On the other hand, if the candidate properly licensed the tune, the artist got his 1/10th of 1% royalty on it, and as such, should have probably have sat back and collected his check. The whole thing is bogus anyway, and hopefully the courts can set the FCC back on the correct path and force them to enforce net neutrality...honestly, how this simple issue turned into a political hot potato I will never understand...it's just ridiculous...and like Mike, I had to be converted - I was against it until I did some really thorough research and realized the Wheeler FCC was right on the money with their rules...anyway, just my 2 cents on the matter...
Whenever a country - in this case Canada - makes one of these utterly preposterous determinations, Google should simply de-list the main domain of that country - in this case, .ca - from the ENTIRE Google network, and flag anything that comes up mentioning Canada or a specific city in that country. And lock up Google Canada as well. That way, no one in the world will have Canadian sites come up in their search results. And make Google itself unavailable to the same rule. After about 30 days of howling and pounding by local businessmen and patrons in the country the issue is with, when their investment and tourism dollars drop like a stone, they'll rethink how they plan to do things when it comes to so-called "global" decisions...
Sure, it's technically blackmail, I suppose...but well worth the fun and hijinx it might cause...and since Google is NOT based in Canada, and is not subject to Canadian laws unless it specifically pertains to that country, I don't think they'd have any way to fight back... Just think of it as another SOPA campaign...
All of this will be moot in a year or two - Chance The Rapper has broken the model by refusing to sign with a label, and the Grammys have now agreed to recognize independent artists. The labels are more desperate than ever to block Chance's kind of success, and will do anything to keep other artists from following his lead. It means that more and more artists will come around, much like Hanson did a decade ago, and eventually the labels will be a true dinosaur instead of just on life support. And so much the better...
Ho Ho Ho...fairly compensated...that's a laugh. Seriously though, if the labels actually want artists to be "fairly compensated", then let's do it. Record labels today are basically simply talent managers, right? So, the math is easy - give them the Hollywood Standard - TEN PERCENT of the profit, and NOTHING ELSE. The rest goes to the artists. And make it illegal for the labels to do any funny business. Honestly, I have NEVER figured out why the Occupy movement never hit the entertainment industry - they are and always have been worse than the ultimate baddies on Wall Street or the oil industry...the entertainment industry practices legal blackmail, legal extortion, legal harrassment...and Congress won't do nn F'N thing about it...
He doesn't need a pardon, he needs realistic charges
Snowden doesn't need a pardon per se; all he needs is the charges against him dropped as they are currently active. He has always said he is willing to return to the US for a fair trial, so make the charges what he actually did (if you can) and have him come back. The ridiculous espionage charges are what is keeping him away, and rightfully so - he did not intend to help foreign governments with his revelations, nor did he sell state secrets to any of them. And if given a fair unbiased trial (yeah, right), I don't think a jury of his peers would ever convict him.
In regards to the theatre issue, they actually will make very little money. The chains will do well if they sign on, but the smaller mom and pop arthouse cinemas will not.
Studios currently take a huge bite of tickets - up to 90%. And they're trying to raise it to 98%. The only way these theaters can make money is through concessions and other in-house sales. Their cut of tickets is so minuscule now that what Parker is offering won't even begin to offset their lost revenue if even just 1 or 2 percent of their audience subscribes to Screening Room.
Me, as someone who loves movies, critiques them and podcasts about them, I'd much prefer to see a film on the big screen. Sure, I do OnDemand, and older stuff on Netflix, Fandor, etc. But it's not the same as experiencing the film in a theatre with an audience. Take "The Wave" a recent film available in theatres AND on Video OnDemand right now - Norway's first ever disaster film. It's a doozy, a great movie, and the effect of the title disaster wouldn't be nearly as impressive on a home screen as it was in the theatre.
Just my two cents, but I understand where the chains are coming from. We have a lot of great small theaters in our area, and I want to see them stay up and running. Which they may not if this kind of big day-and-date service takes over.
On the post: Study Shows That No, Netflix Isn't Killing Movie Theaters
Re: Re: As someone who keeps close tabs on the movie industry...
On the post: Study Shows That No, Netflix Isn't Killing Movie Theaters
As someone who keeps close tabs on the movie industry...
It reeks of NATO trying desperately to convince people that theatres are still viable. I personally think they are, but I can say this - NONE of my friends who go to the theater on a regular basis stream all that much, most of them still use Redbox for home viewing. And the ones who stream regularly rarely if ever set foot in a multiplex, although some of our areas' smaller indie-centric theaters benefit from them more often...
Just my 2 cents...
On the post: eSports Milestone: Pro Gamer Ninja To Be The First Pro Gamer Featured On ESPN Magazine Cover
All respect to gamers...
On the post: EU Parliament's Legislative Affairs Committee Is Now Misleading Members Of Parliament In Effort To Fundamentally Alter The Internet
Re: 'Over' would be the better option actually
On the post: EU Parliament's Legislative Affairs Committee Is Now Misleading Members Of Parliament In Effort To Fundamentally Alter The Internet
Re: Re: I see nothing wrong with cutting off EU members
On the post: EU Parliament's Legislative Affairs Committee Is Now Misleading Members Of Parliament In Effort To Fundamentally Alter The Internet
I see nothing wrong with cutting off EU members
On the post: UK Security Minister Says Only A Drivers Licence For The Internet Can Bring Back Online Civility
Re: The REAL solution
On the post: Indiana Legislator Wants To Force NFL Team To Hand Out Refunds To Fans 'Offended' By Kneeling Players
Re: Re: Re: Re: Sad thing is...
And as for Trump, he wasn't the first and won't be the last to make us all look like idiots to everyone in the world - there are 535 people in the Capitol building who have been doing that since the country began...a lot longer than the billionaire in chief has been doing it...sure they change every few years, but the idiocy they all love to do doesn't change...and people like Nancy Pelosi and Maxine Waters have it down to an artform...heh heh heh...
On the post: Indiana Legislator Wants To Force NFL Team To Hand Out Refunds To Fans 'Offended' By Kneeling Players
Re: Re: Sad thing is...
I don't have to like him to acknowledge that he's 'my' president; he IS in the office, after all. I didn't particularly care for the last two occupants of the office either. It is what it is. And I was referring to the way the media hijacked the issue - I agree that they were absolutely correct in pointing it out, but isn't it their duty to also try in their reports to highlight the REAL reason for the protests? Many of them couldn't be bothered to do that, and I think they should have been a bit more explanatory in their coverage in that way, and it would have been nice if they had bothered to be a bit more sympathetic to the players; by focusing the arguement on the President's tweets, it turned the issue in a completely different way, and the players, who were/are genuine in what they were protesting, got the blame from everyone, which made things worse than they already were/are - sorry if I didn't make that more clear.
"Why do you think that a song deserves respect, especially one that hasn't been your national anthem for a century yet? Shouldn't the constitution, freedom and equality be more important than the song?"
to me, the song deserves respect because it officially represents our country, not because of what it says; the song was an odd choice to begin with and it is VERY dated, and in reality is more representative of our FLAG more than our country. Hell, in all honesty, I'd prefer "America The Beautiful" or even "This Land Is Your Land" or something as goofy as "The Great American Melting Pot" as an anthem lyrically, because they speak of the beauty of the land (or in the case of "Melting Pot" of our country's diverse immigrant-centric population), and not one battle fought in a time of a war that no one remembers and that history doesn't teach us much about. I guess I'm thinking of it this way - if an athlete had an attack of "crazy feet" (VERY dated Steve Martin reference, heh heh) when our anthem was played after winning a gold medal at the Olympics, people would be outraged...not because of the song but because the person representing us made an asshat of himself and in turn made everyone in the US look like idiots...
On the post: Indiana Legislator Wants To Force NFL Team To Hand Out Refunds To Fans 'Offended' By Kneeling Players
Sad thing is...
On the post: This Whole Mess With Ajit Pai, The Harlem Shake And Copyright Is Bad And Everyone's Wrong.
A Quick word...
On the post: Canadian Supreme Court Says It's Fine To Censor The Global Internet; Authoritarians & Hollywood Cheer...
The easiest way around this is the simpleist
Sure, it's technically blackmail, I suppose...but well worth the fun and hijinx it might cause...and since Google is NOT based in Canada, and is not subject to Canadian laws unless it specifically pertains to that country, I don't think they'd have any way to fight back... Just think of it as another SOPA campaign...
On the post: Spotify (Basically) Tells Its Free Users, 'Go Pirate!'
The ball has already fallen
On the post: RIAA Still Pushing Its Bogus Message Of A 'Value Gap' And 'Fair Compensation'
Where creators are fairly compensated
On the post: ACLU Launching Campaign To Have President Obama Pardon Snowden
He doesn't need a pardon, he needs realistic charges
On the post: Sean Parker's New Service Offers Theaters A New Revenue Stream But All They Can See Is Business Model Intereference And Piracy
Re:
Studios currently take a huge bite of tickets - up to 90%. And they're trying to raise it to 98%. The only way these theaters can make money is through concessions and other in-house sales. Their cut of tickets is so minuscule now that what Parker is offering won't even begin to offset their lost revenue if even just 1 or 2 percent of their audience subscribes to Screening Room.
Me, as someone who loves movies, critiques them and podcasts about them, I'd much prefer to see a film on the big screen. Sure, I do OnDemand, and older stuff on Netflix, Fandor, etc. But it's not the same as experiencing the film in a theatre with an audience. Take "The Wave" a recent film available in theatres AND on Video OnDemand right now - Norway's first ever disaster film. It's a doozy, a great movie, and the effect of the title disaster wouldn't be nearly as impressive on a home screen as it was in the theatre.
Just my two cents, but I understand where the chains are coming from. We have a lot of great small theaters in our area, and I want to see them stay up and running. Which they may not if this kind of big day-and-date service takes over.
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