Month: March 2019

“Saturday Night Live” aired last October a sketch about a pumpkin patch where the employees, much to the consternation of the proprietor, engage in sexual intercourse with the product. “The Pumpkin Patch” was lewd, funny, and seasonally appropriate. But according to Nick Ruggia and Ryan Hoffman, it was something else — theft. Ruggia and Hoffman
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The romantic drama “Five Feet Apart” has opened with $715,000 on Thursday night, barely beating previews for the animated film “Wonder Park,” which earned $700,000. Focus Features’ sci-fi movie “Captive State” generated $300,000 on Thursday. The trio of wide openings is expected to be dwarfed by the sophomore frame of Brie Larson’s “Captain Marvel,” which
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March 15, 2019 9:17AM PT In Friday’s early hours, Spotify and Apple traded potshots in their ongoing battle over the App Store. That conflict centers around Spotify’s longstanding complaint that Apple charges excessive fees, routinely blocks Spotify upgrades and unfairly promotes its own streaming service in its App Store; early Wednesday, Spotify lodged an anti-competition
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Dominique CharriauGetty Images In January, Virgil Abloh presented his second Louis Vuitton collection, inspired the legacy of the late Michael Jackson. From the soundtrack to the set to the diamond-encrusted white gloves given as invites, the King of Pop’s influence touched every aspect of the show. Victor VIRGILEGetty Images But in the following weeks, the
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Among the many musical genres spawned during the 1960s was a sophisticated strain of orchestral pop purveyed by songwriter/producers such as John Barry, Burt Bacharach, Jimmy Webb, Scott Walker and various Frenchmen — a kind of aural noir; moody, melodramatic and atmospheric, heavy on orchestras and drenched in echo but with prominent drums and electric
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With TV advertising in decline and stark competition from the likes of Netflix and Amazon, European broadcasting giant RTL Group is looking to significantly boost its own streaming services in its major markets. The company, which owns London-based production and distribution powerhouse Fremantle, said this week that it would invest at least €350 million ($396
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MIPDRAMA BUYERS’ SUMMIT: SCALE, COMEDY, NOIR European drama serie production continues to scale up, is driving ever more into comedy, while Nordic Noir’s is still going international, if the selection of 10 productions at this year’s MipDrama Buyers’ Summit is anything to go by. Meanwhile, established players are driving ever more into drama series production.
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March 15, 2019 7:22AM PT Def Jam Recordings has signed an exclusive long-term joint venture agreement with Grammy-winning producer/artist Timbaland and his Mosley Music Group. The announcement was made today by Def Jam chairman & CEO Paul Rosenberg and Tim “Timbaland” Mosley. The first release from the partnership, 21-year-old Chicago artist Cosha TG’s debut EP, “Summer Nights,” (produced by Timbaland
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Cinedigm is making a big new leap into online video: The entertainment distributor and digital-network operator is acquiring Future Today, a video-platform company that operates over 700 free, over-the-top channels including HappyKids.tv and Fawesome.tv, in a deal valued at $60 million. Cinedigm has agreed to pay $45 million in cash and $15 million in common
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When it comes to name recognition, few American detectives rank as high as Nancy Drew with audiences, owing to the fact that millions devoured the yellow-spined novels, and no small number of celebs (including executive producer Ellen DeGeneres) went on to credit the character with inspiring them at a young age. As a result, it’s
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Given the allusions to literal and thematic Trojan Horses that pepper its third act, one probably shouldn’t be surprised that “Captive State” — which opened cold on March 14 after Focus mysteriously canceled screenings for critics — actually is something of a purposefully camouflaged interloper. Although the TV ads and other promotional material appear to
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The iHeartRadio Music Awards show is many people’s favorite awards show of the year, by virtue of lasting only two hours. If it’s not music’s biggest night, it’s music’s shortest, which counts for a lot. But Thursday night’s telecast, broadcast live on Fox from L.A.’s Microsoft Theater, had even more going for it than that—
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March 14, 2019 9:28PM PT Netflix has picked up global rights to Mandarin-language TV horror-thriller series “Green Door.” It debuted on Taiwan’s Public Television Service from Feb. 16, with new episodes playing every Saturday. On-demand streaming on Netflix begins from March 16, 2019. The six-episode show is adapted from Taiwanese author Joseph Chen’s novel of
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