Hollywood

The Hard Science Behind A Hit Screenplay

Virginia Prescott — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:33:15 +0000

Nate Silver opened the public’s eyes to the power of predictive statistics… now, having already conquered politics, marketing, and social media, data-crunchers are taking on their next big challenge: Hollywood. Brooks Barnes is a media reporter for the New York Times – he recently wrote about Vinny Bruzzese, a statistician and former professor who’s using big data to slice and dice Hollywood screenplays

There's A Razzie For That: Awarding The Worst Of American Cinema

Virginia Prescott — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:05:53 +0000

On Sunday, tens of millions of people worldwide will watch the dazzling gowns, jewels, and strained smiles on display at the eighty-fifth annual Academy Awards. On Saturday, a much, much, much smaller audience will watch the Razzies! For the 33^rd year, film buffs and industry professionals gather to recognize the biggest flops, lamest performances, and most tired screenplays of the year. It’s a dubious honor, but still, some, uh, winners do show up at the Razzies to accept their dis-honor...like Halle Berry for her worst-actress worthy performance in 2004's Catwoman (*note: the video contains some expletives).

The Curse Of The Golden Oscar

Virginia Prescott — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 16:12:44 +0000

Grab your ballots, Oscar weekend is coming up. This year's category for best actress includes a then-six-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis in "Beasts of the Southern Wild" and eighty-six-year-old "Amour" actress, Emmanuelle Riva. Neither is considered a front-runner, but could that save their careers? It might, if you believe in...THE OSCAR CURSE.

Hollywood, Hunger Games, and How Small Screens Survive

Virginia Prescott — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:30:26 +0000

We turn to Garen Daly, our resident film industry expert, for an update on Hollywood happenings.

Grand Theft Advertising

Jonathan Lynch — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:00:00 +0000

New glamour and gimmickry in the flashy world of Video game advertising.

Hollywood's 9/11

Virginia Prescott — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Film critic Garen Daly talks about how 9/11 has played out (and hasn't) on film.