So, How Would You Like to View This Movie?

 If you haven't noticed, your movie admission can be purchased at different prices in different formats. 

• There is the basic, or standard, format which as a digital presentation with a 5.1 sound system. This format can be enjoyed at a large circuit to a small-town cinema.
• Next, is a 3D version with glasses. Usually marketed as RealD-3D. This makes the movie more immersive, but many moviegoers find it disorienting or just plain not worth the extra up-charge and this format has lost favor with the public.
• Dolby Digital Cinema, the next format, uses dual 4K resolution laser projectors. This system provides 500 times the contract ratio and twice the brightness of a standard single projection system. Again, is it worth the up charge?
• Dolby Atmos Sound. Over 90% of cinemas use surround sound, or 5.1 channel sound. This consists of a left, center, right stage speaker channels, left and right surround channels, and a subwoofer channel. The Atmos System carries sound to a new dimension. It can handle up to 64 channel feeds and is calibrated to the specifics of each auditorium - including ceiling, side, and height speakers in addition to five stage channels and three surround channels. 
• Then there is IMAX. This format has been around since the 70's, but not every IMAX Theatre is the same. The largest ones boast a 60'h x 80'w screens but there are plenty with much smaller screens. Most use dual 4K laser projectors with behind the screen speakers, surround speakers, and some utilized 'top center' speakers to take advantage of the large screen height. Is the IMAX worth the admission price? The average admission is between $15-20. It's really up to the viewer.
• Then there are circuit specific formats. For example, Regal Cinemas have the RPX, which is their version of a large-screen format. Basically, the RPX is better than a standard system, but it is not a premium system, such as IMAX, Dolby Digital Cinema, or Dolby Atmos - so it's really not worth the up charge.  

Let's face it, bigger screens, laser projectors, enhanced sound systems do make a difference and provide for a better viewing experience. But one thing that will be noticed is the comfort level of the theater. Moviegoers want comfort and this could be more significant than a larger screen and improved sound.

Different formats for the same film come with different price points. The average movie admission is now about $9 nationwide for standard format viewing. What's nice about all of these format options is just that, they provide choice. And they are all much better than in-home viewing.

By: Jim Lavorato

"The Equalizer' is BACK"

 

Denzel Washington as "The Equalizer'

Like the 'John Wick' franchise, which is scheduled for a 5th series film, 'The Equalizer' will return with 4th and 5th sequels. 

Although it was thought that Denzel Washington, who stars as Robert McCall in the series, was not in favor of any more sequels after the 3rd Equalizer, it has now been reported that the $573 million franchise will be returning to the big screen. 

Washington with Dakota Fanning in 'Equalizer 3'

"We've come to realize that the Equalizer films are for me, too, because they're for the people. They want me to get the bad guys," says Washington.

This is good news for an 'Equalizer' fan, like me. For Washington, the McCall anti-hero role, provides him the franchise series he never had. Known for his serious dramatic roles, the 'Equalizer' role is much less demanding but are guaranteed box office successes.

The past films have co-starred lesser, but very good, B-list actors, i.e. Dakota Fanning, but the next two films can cast bigger stars to supplement Washington and provide bigger box office bank. It is not known if Fanning will return in the 4th and 5th installments.

By: Jim Lavorato

Warner Bros. Discovery Uses AI to Sell Products Embedded In Their Content

 

Secondary Pop-up Screen for Products a Viewer Can Purchase

Warner Bros. is trying to turn their Discovery Channel into a shopping mall for items resident in their shows. This will all be driven by AI programs using QR codes. 

A QR code is scanned from their TV screen, upon which the potential consumer is presented a second screen where they can see the chosen product, read its specifications, and make a purchase.

"We see an opportunity to broaden how we make ads more relevant to the consumer, especially in streaming", says Ryan Gould, Head of Advanced Advertising for WB Discovery.

Wayfair, the online retailer, has inked an agreement with WB to use this new technology. Kara O'Brien, Head Brand Marketing for Wayfair, stated that, "These new solutions will make it easy for viewers to discover and purchase items for their homes inspired by the content they're viewing and enjoying."

Many media companies are eager to tie commerce to streaming content for obvious profit motives. For example, Peacock, the NBC/Universal, streaming hub allows subscribers to order food that is delivered in advance of or during a movie or sporting event.

My feeling is that this is just the beginning of a huge trend in using viewed in-home content as a means to purchase goods and services directly from our TV screens. This type of marketing offers great convenience and fosters the impulse purchase. 

AI is with us, and it will continue to impact our lives in ways we can't even imagine. Buckle-up because we're going to be on a technology-driven ride over the next decade.

By: Jim Lavorato

Hollywood First-ever Faith and Spirituality Awards Ceremony

 

Several sponsors of the Awards

On December 4, Variety will be hosting the first-ever 'Faith and Spirituality Entertainment Honors'. So, what is this new awards show? Well, according to Variety the event celebrates and honors, "Individuals who are supporting often underrepresented themes of faith in storytelling and entertainment. The Awards honor diverse portrayals of faith and spirituality that are broadly compelling and nuanced."

This inaugural event will be honoring:

• Viola Davis, as co-founder of Juvee Productions
• Bob Marley, for 'One Love' which will be accepted by Ziggy Marley
• Erica Lipez, producer/writer of 'We Were the Lucky Ones
• Jessica Matten, for lead actor in 'Dark Winds'
• Arian Moayed, acting in 'Succession' and 'Inventing Anna'

According to the Global Faith and Media Study Group, "82% of the world's population identifies as religious, spiritual, or a person of faith." This annual event is committed to ensuring that faith is meaningfully portrayed in films and other media.

Like it or not, we live in a spiritual world and there is a huge global demographic that cares deeply about this topic. In entertainment this means accurate films that reflect authentic experiences people have every day.

Variety's sponsorship and hosting this event honoring those who are doing faith-based media is meaningful and significant to the movie industry. The ceremony will be available for viewing on Varitiy.com and on Variety's social platforms.

By: Jim Lavorato

'An American Pastoral' - A Tale of Two Ideologies

 As the Democratic Party and its supporters lick their wounds from a decisive defeat in the recent elections, a film ('An American Pastoral') provides a snapshot into the chasm that exists between the left and right in U.S. society.

Aubari Edler

The film captures the election of a local school board in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania in a non-partisan view by French journalist and filmmaker Auberi Edler. There is no narration or commentary on the ideological split between leftist Democrats and rightist Republicans. 

The movie calmly 'watches' the on-going battle between the two opposing sides and lets the viewer decide which to place their support. 

To non-American audiences, school board elections, with voting even by residents without children, seems contrary to normal thinking. But Edler easily makes the micro-issue in this small community a metaphor for the larger social battleground the U.S. finds itself in.

Edler, selected the title to reflect ruralism and the Christian undercurrent that runs throughout the right-leaning thought it is built upon. 

Edler in Tikrit, Iraq war zone, 2003

'An American Pastoral' is an uncovering exercise. Acting as her own camerawoman, Edler avoids interviews and editorials and even omits identification of key figures and locations in the film. She lets the viewer decide and find their own path to the ambiguities it presents. She sits on the sidelines and doesn't participate and that's what makes 'An American Pastoral' a great film. If you get the chance to view it, do so. 

Edler's other works include American Laundry (2022), Etoiles de la SCAM (2020), Clean Torture (2019), and Le Blues de la Nouvelle-Orle'ans (2010).

By: Jim Lavorato

Behind The Camera Awards

 

Not given the attention or accolades they deserve, the Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards, sponsored by Variety, were held on November 14th.

Introduced in 2006, the BTCAs celebrate the visionary artists who help tell stories through their crafts and the work happening behind the scenes which bring films to life.

Ryan Reynolds won for 'Deadpool & Wolverine'

Some of the artists that received Awards this year included:

 

Editing - Joe Walker - 'Dune Part 2'

Stunts - Chris O'Hara - 'The Fall Guy.

Animation - Kelsey Mann - 'Inside Out 2'

Sound - Steven Marrow - 'Joker: Folie a Deux'

Hair & Makeup - Julia Flock - 'Carbonel'

Direction - Gia Coppola - 'The Last Showgirl'

Screenwriters - Ryan Reynolds - 'Deadpool & Wolverine'

Score - Jon Batiste - 'Saturday Night'

Congratulations to all of this year's winners. It the work behind the cameras that make the movies magic.

By: Jim Lavorato

Kimmel Out - O'Brien In

 

                                            https://x.com/i/status/1857416541056225636

Conan O'Brien, the stalworth comedian will emcee the Academy Awards show - which will be aired on ABC, March 2nd, '25. 

O'Brien, 61, will host the 97th Oscars replacing Jimmy Kimmel, who was lackluster in his hosting last year and drew much deserved criticism.

This will be O'Brien's first-time hosting, but he has decades of television experience. He currently presides over a podcasting company called 'Team Coco' - which has a number of well-viewed podcasts, including: 'Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend' 

He has had 31 Emmy nomination, which includes five wins for his work on Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons. 

When asked about the upcoming Oscar gig, O'Brien quipped, "America demanded it and now it's happening: Taco Bell's new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme. In other news, I'm hosting the Oscars."

For me, O'Brien will be a breath of fresh air for the Oscars. He is funny, self-deprecating, and a great announcer. He will be a vast improvement over Kimmel.

By: Jim Lavorato

Asian Governments Fund Coproduction of Movies

 

Not unlike the European model, governments across Asia are moving to expand and extend cross-border film production. 

Last week, during the Taiwan Creative Content Festival, four Asian countries - the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Turkey - discussed their funding and coproduction movie agreement. All of these countries agreed that film policy would be overseen by a film department under their Education Ministries.

Coproductions are to be encouraged, and the participating countries will match funds from private movie producers or from groups such as the World Cinema Fund. This will essentially be a new model for coproduction financing. 

Since its inception in 2004, the World Cinema Fund (a German Federal Cultural Foundation program) has funded hundreds of film projects. These projects are coproduced by the German Cultural Ministry and the partnering country.

The WCF is now the leading entity for obtaining international film funding for artistic and innovative film production. It concentrates its funding for films in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Central and Southeast Asia, and the Indian sub-continent. 

The Turkish government, through its Ministry of Culture, has stated that they will also fund movie scriptwriting, production consultancy, and pay for Master Classes for aspiring filmmakers in the areas of coproduction and project development.

These are all good projects and certainly aid filmmakers in funding which would otherwise be unavailable to them. Currently, the U.S. is not part of nor a participating member of any coproduction group, as this is seen as a competitor to studio productions. It should be said that funding for U.S. domiciled filmmakers is available from many sources from the Ford Foundation to Netflix and the National Geographic Society, to crowdfunding sources.

By: Jim Lavorato

Motion Picture Association Garners Favor with Trump Administration

 

The Motion Picture Association, the trade/lobbying group, which represents the major movie studios sent congratulations to President Trump on his 2nd Presidential victory. The MPA also congratulated new members of Congress - which now have Republican majorities.

This was a prudent but hypocritical move on the MPA's part given Hollywood's and mass media's very vigorous and outspoken distain and dislike of the MAGA movement and Trump on a personal level. 

In their public statement, the MPA said, "We look forward to working with the Trump Administration on a wide range of important issues for the film, TV, and streaming industry. We commend everyone who worked this year to ensure fair elections and preserve our nation's legitimate democratic processes." 

Wow! Why in the world would the MPA think the Trump administration would want to work on behalf of the movie industry? One can only surmise there are looming issues which impact MPA members and which the new Administration may not favor. So, getting out in front, at the get-go, maybe the best strategy for the MPA to take.

Big Media

For example, big media is very fearful that new appointees at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will approve the auctioning of the radio frequency bandwidth, now used free-of-charge by legacy networks (ABC, NBC, CBS) but which is valued in the billions of dollars. Or a change to the tax code which currently allows the immediate expensing of the full cost of film or TV production, rather than depreciating the expense over time.

On the flipside, the entertainment industry is a major U.S. export industry, to the tune of over $11 billion per year. Other countries, such as the U.K., India, Canada, and Australia, have subsidy programs geared toward building up their domestic film and TV industries. Additionally, due to high labor costs and excessive government regulations content production in the U.S. has the highest cost structure of any country, ergo U.S. based content production is down 40% from pre-pandemic levels.

The MPA is lobbying, not only for favored tax status and subsidies but also for controls on AI, copyright, and online piracy which are big negative impactors. 

To all of this, I say, 'Good luck'. Most of the issues facing the major studios are self-inflicted. Embracing a very woke posture socially, voicing and pushing a rabid distain for MAGA, and agreeing to labor union wage and work demands over the last several years does not bode well for them now. Hollywood needs to do some heavy soul-searching and get out of the business of producing moral message movies and TV shows. Playing it straight and producing content people are interested in and eager to view - a real 180 is called for by MPA members.

By: Jim Lavorato

 

John Willimas the GOAT

 

John Williams is the GOAT

It has been some time since I wrote anything about John Williams. With a career that spans seven decades, John Williams has penned the most iconic movie scores of all time. Scores from 'Star Wars', and Indiana Jones', to 'ET' and 'Saving Private Ryan'.

He is now being honored with a documentary entitled, "Music by John Williams" which will be aired on the Disney+ channel. 

Growing up in a musical household, Williams played the piano at a very young age. In 1951 he joined the U.S. Air Force and played piano and conducted and arranged music for the Air Force Band. He then journeyed to Hollywood where he worked as a studio pianist and session musician. In his early career, he worked on many movie and TV scores and then began to write songs and scores which, to this day, he pens with paper and pencil.

From 1980-1993 he was the conductor for the Boston Pops. He has been prolific in his music compositions and has been intuitive in his uncanny feel for the storyline he is writing for. For example, he composed the 'Harry Potter' score without viewing a single frame of the film and only was inspired by the Potter books.

At 91, Williams was the oldest person to be nominated for an Oscar - his 54th, a record only surpassed by Walt Disney with 59 nominations. 

Williams at 92 - still going strong

Williams has won five Oscars including those from 'Jaws' and 'Fiddler on the Roof' and is the only person to be nominated for an Oscar in seven different decades. His work has influenced many music composers, not only in classical, but in popular and jazz genres. For example, he composed the theme music for the Olympics and Sunday Night Football. 

John Willimas is the Greatest of All Time in composing and arranging musical scores for the most iconic motion pictures and at 92 he is still working.

By: Jim Lavorato

Japan's PM Vows More Yen for Entertainment Industry

Japan is the world's third largest cinema market after China and the U.S. - and the majority of that market is locally produced content. Moreover, the Japanese cinema industry has become the toughest market for Hollywood to penetrate. This year, only one foreign produced film, "Inside Out 2", will crack the top ten of Japanese cinema grossers. 

Shigeru vows more funding for Japanese based film production

To maintain its local dominance of the movie business, Ishida Shigeru, Japan's newly elected Prime Minister, recently stated, "the government is working to lay the groundwork to further encourage the development of Japanese entertainment content."

Big Six Will Spend $126B on Original Content

The six biggest global content producers are projected to end 2024 at a record $126 billion spend. Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix, Comcast, Google, and Paramount Global will account for over 51% of all entertainment content worldwide.

Disney, the largest spender, will end the year at $35.8 billion, followed by Comcast (NBC/Universal) at $24.5 billion, Google at $17.6 billion, Warners at $16.8 billion, Netflix at $16 billion, and Paramount at $15.1 billion. 

Who owns what in entertainment industry 

Of the $126 billion total, about $40 billion is currently spent on subscription streaming services, as spending on original content remains king.