TV / Film News

Jazz Video Guy Asks: How Cool is the Monterey Jazz Festival

Source: All About Jazz
January 12, 2009

The latest installment of the Jazz Video Guys blog is How Cool Is the Monterey Jazz.

Festival featuring highlights from the 51st edition of the extravaganza. Bret Primack, aka the Jazz Video Guy reports that he attended his first Monterey Jazz Festival this past September, at the invitation of Jason Olaine, and not surprisingly, I had a ball. The quality and quantity of music, the food, the whole vibe and sense of community made it a tremendously uplifting experience. That's ...

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Supreme Court Refuses to Clear Way for Cable Companies to Copy Shows

Source: Michael Ricci
January 12, 2009

The nation's high court asks the Justice Department to weigh in, delaying a decision in the case that could have a major impact on video-on-demand services.

The Supreme Court refused today to clear the way for cable TV companies to copy broadcasts for later viewing by their customers and instead asked the Justice Department to weigh in on whether this new video recording service would violate the Copyright Act.

The court's move will delay for months a final decision on ...

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MySpace Pushes Beyond Browser to TV

Source: HypeBot
January 9, 2009

MySpace has launched a widget designed on the new Widget Channel TV application framework being co-developed by Intel and Yahoo!. The MySpace Widget for TV allows users to interact with MySpace directly from their TV extending the MySpace experience beyond the browser and making the traditional TV experience more social.

Other social networks will certainly develop their own applications; and while adoption of compatible TV sets will take time, combining social networking with broadcast TV creates a myriad of possibilities ...

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BCS Bowl in 3D!

Source: Michael Ricci
January 8, 2009

How much more thrilling will it be to watch Tim Tebow throw for 400 yards and rescue a puppy from a burning building when the action is 50-feet high?

Sure, it'll never replicate the testosterone or tailgating of a live game, but you can make tonight's BCS National Championship Game a larger-than-life experience at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, which will air the game in 3D on the big screen.

Watch the shootout between Heisman-winning quarterbacks as Sam Bradford and the Oklahoma ...

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Hollywood's New Vocabulary

Source: All About Jazz
January 8, 2009

Tech terms reflect a changing biz Hollywood is adding to its marketing vocabulary at a rapid clip. Here are some of the terms describing new concepts and technologies now used in the promotion of movies and TV shows.

ARG (alternate reality game): Players access them via multiple methods -- including cell phones, email and websites -- to interact with a storyline that's influenced by their choices. Studios and TV networks have created them for movies and TV shows ...

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Ed Catmull Pixar Animation Pioneer Earns Honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement

Source: All About Jazz
January 7, 2009

One of the digital wizards behind such cartoon smashes as WALL-E, Ratatouille and Finding Nemo is getting an Academy Award.

Pixar Animation co-founder Ed Catmull is receiving the Gordon E. Sawyer Award, an honorary Oscar statuette, for lifetime achievement in computer graphics for filmmaking.

Catmull is receiving the prize at the academy's Scientific and Technical Awards ceremony Feb. 7, which precedes the Feb. 22 Oscars.

It's the second honorary Oscar for Catmull. He's a previous recipient in 2000 for developing ...

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A Bleak Picture for Big Studios

Source: Michael Ricci
January 2, 2009

The economic downturn hit while audiences were already turning to the Web. Experts expect more layoffs for the local industry.

There is no Hollywood ending in sight in 2009 for the entertainment industry, which along with the rest of the nation is experiencing its worst economic slump in decades. The fallout from declining local TV ad revenue, weakening DVD sales and diminishing sources of film financing will continue to pound Los Angeles' signature industry, which employs more than ...

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Hugh Hefner's First True Love? It Wasn't Women

Source: Michael Ricci
January 2, 2009

'Everything I learned about love I learned from the movies,' says the famous Playboy.

“You've caught me with my pants on," Hugh Hefner said with a sad smirk. There are days (or entire decades) when Hefner greets the midday sun in silk pajamas and a robe, but on this particular December afternoon, well, the playboy just wasn't in the mood. Hefner had arrived back at his 29-room Holmby Hills mansion after attending the funeral of Bettie Page, the pin-up queen, ...

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