INDUSTRY NEWS PRO NEWSLETTER FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 2018

August 5, 2018August 5, 2018 Leave a comment

What Happened Inside The Trader Joe’s Hostage Crisis
The Gist: A survivor discusses the hostage crisis as it unfolded at the Silverlake, CA store – located on Hyperion Avenue – two weeks ago. The store recently re-opened this past Thursday, August 2.
Source Article: The Los Angeles Times
Author: Robin Abcarian

“Inequality in 1,100 Popular Films”: The USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative Study
The Gist: Here is the published study from the University of Southern California on hiring/diversity patterns from the decade of 2007 – 2017.
Authors: Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Marc Choueiti, Dr. Katherine Pieper, Ariana Case, Angel Choi
Source: USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative

Headline: Reboots, Remakes & Returns: TV’s Blasts From The Past In 2018-2019
The Gist: Here’s your all-on-one-page look at shows that have confirmed pickups, are in talking stages, in doubt (Heathers, X-Files, Mad About You), and not picked up (Cagney & Lacey).
Source Article: Tampa Bay Times
Authors: Caitlin O’Conner and Steve Spears

Movie Pass Is Teetering, But The Takeaways Are Major
The Gist: Movie Pass stock was worth 25 cents a share just 4 days ago. The author of the article takes a look at how the core execs of the company weren’t poised to assume massive debt until they became profitable. On the other hand, the company tapped into the data of what viewers wanted to see and perhaps changed the mindset of Millennials, primarily, to discover movies they may not have opted in for paying as they went.
Source Article: IndieWire
Author: Chris O’ Falt

Weekend Box Office: Sony and Buena Vista Take 5 of the Top 10 Slots
The Gist: The gross for 43 films over this weekend are here as the top 10 is dominated by Buena Vista (Disney’s Christopher Robin, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Incredibles 2) and Sony (The Equalizer 2, Hotel Transylvania 3)
Source: Box Office Mojo

Peak TV Hasn’t Peaked: Streaming Leads The Way
The Gist: John Landgraf, CEO of FX Networks, coined the ‘Peak TV’ term and offers a revised prediction of what the content boom holds in store. Also, see the numbers of original content produced in each sector and how streaming and premium cable are leading those investments.
Source Article: Adweek
Author: Jason Lynch

Jessica Lange Back For Season 8 of “American Horror Story”
The Gist: It’s been 3 seasons since Jessica Lange left American Horror Story as troubled carnival owner and German snuff film survivor, Elsa Mars. Now, her AHS: Murder House character – failed actress and scary neighbor, Constance Langdon – returns.
Source Article: Vanity Fair
Author: Emma Stefansky

The “Stranger and Sadder” Story of Otto Wambier
The Gist: Otto Wambier was the 21 year old student from Cincinnati, Ohio sentenced to 15 years hard labor in North Korea for stealing a propaganda poster. GQ magazine tackles the true story of the factors leading to his tragic return, beyond the initial talking points.
Source Article: GQ
Author: Doug Bock Clark

Is The Indian Film Industry Struggling? A Veteran of the Industry Says Crisis Is ‘Perpetual’
The Gist: The Indian film industry produces over 2000 films a year for a shrinking number of screens, resulting in roughly 400 of that number making a substantial profit. Indian industry executive Amit Khanna, breaks down the intricacies and roots of Indian cinema from the 1950s to now, as well as the genres popular today. Grab a pen and check your Netflix/streaming service queue for a cinematic history lesson.
Source Article: BloombergQuint
Author: Amit Khanna

#FlashbackRead: “I Have Seen God.” – Nina Simone’s Liberian Hiatus
The Gist: It was in 1974 that Nina Simone and her daughter Lisa went to Liberia for what would be a 3-year stay after Simone’s emotional turmoil in the States. Eclipsed by her global celebrity, yet adored for being her distinct self, here’s an overview of those years before Liberia’s military coup in 1980, which Simone missed by just three years.
Source Article: Guernica
Author: Katherina Grace Thomas

Back Together…. & Back In The News Pro Groove!

February 18, 2018February 18, 2018 Leave a comment

Hello Subscriber Friend,

This is Karl Gibson and it’s been a while since I posted here; the site was evergreen during the hiatus since curating news and coming across good, deep-dive pieces is one of my passions.
(I tried to leave it looking nice!)

I also did not work any of the news cycles of the last 4 years in any editorial capacity, so the ‘fake news’ nadir is flat-out laughable as a general chant and you won’t find that division here. Listen, there are several unfortunate realities I take issue with privately within my industry – the diversity statistics are, frankly, appalling… I think click-bait/ratings/letting algorithms dictate cacophony and thinking that engineering will replicate editorial standards will take time to realign in the news business. The sooner the better.

Still, journalism is a high-wire profession, it is increasingly dangerous on many levels, and there is the talent who make up the editorial and literary worlds where standards still matter, new voices emerge, familiar voices grow tall, and readership and engagement are the crux of that community.

In 2014, I resigned from my job as Editor of Studio System News. I wrote about it here, That company’s site no longer exists, long after I left. This site was created in 2016 as a passion to continue news discovery and to reconnect with long-held and new subscribers again in real-time.

The 2 years I worked on Studio System News were personally powerful in still meeting and hearing from subscribers all over the world from curating AM and PM newsletters with a very specific, media-savvy audience. It was a great connection and there will be more. There’s years prior that we go back – from 7 years at The Hollywood Reporter (THR) and a year with the NYT in Hollywood – so we’ve been around each other for a long time. It’s a pleasure to see everyone’s career evolution and creative paths fly. We’re still here!

Shortly after creating this site, I got a job as a metadata coordinator for over 20 film studios. My employer had a newsletter product as well. This newsletter wasn’t a competing product, but I paused this newsletter on my own to avoid any potential conflicts since I was working on studio assets.

After finishing that season, a studio brought me on as a consultant for 6 weeks and it has now been 15 months.
18 months is the legal consulting limit in CA, so it’s a perfect time to start the newsletter again. There’s no set schedule yet, but I’d like to do one at the end of the week starting very soon!

Thanks for reading, thank you for your support, thanks for your patience. I also appreciate and thank many for the communications of friendship, moral support and professionalism.

See you soon!
Sincerely,
Karl Gibson EditorialKarl@gmail.com

The Past 48 Hours: March 14, 2016

March 14, 2016 Leave a comment

What Water Crisis? Beverly Hills’ Water Wasters Put On Blast: “It’s Not Brain Surgery.”
The Gist: California’s State Water Resources Control Board ordered Beverly Hills residents to reduce usage by 32% compared to 2013 levels. So why isn’t it happening? Now, fines are being handed out in the five figures and some of the A-list water wasters – most blaming “pipe leaks”- are being publicly named and shamed.
Source Article Here: The Los Angeles Times
Author: Matt Stevens

“These girls are hauntingly real to me, and should be to everyone.” – The Case Behind The “Beware The Slender Man” Documentary
The Gist: An update on the real-life case of two 12 year-old Waukesha, Wisconsin girls who – thinking an Internet meme was real – stabbed a classmate 19 times in the woods, is now an HBO Documentary that premiered at SXSW last Friday. The victim survived the 2014 homicide attempt and it is still in appeal whether the teenagers will be tried as adults.
Source Article Here: Twin Cities
Authors: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Sexy” experiences that are anything but; a desire for stability foiled by an inability to make concrete life choices.” – The Millennial Sitcom Trope
The Gist: Girls, Broad City, Love, and Master of None are just some of the millennial sitcoms reflecting the demographics of those “who have had the world’s information at their fingertips for most of their adult lives, and learned to take in conflicting information from different sources at once.” A comparison/contrast is here.
Source Article Here: Vulture
Author: Jenny Jaffe

A Living Testament: Life After Death In Social Media
The Gist: It’s estimated that 8,000 Facebook users die each day and 30 million Facebook users passed away in the first 8 years of the platform. Yet, many accounts are left open to comment and persusal, which can be helpful to future family and generations. Here’s a look at how living databases are progressing in the social media sphere.
Source Article Here: BBC
Author: Brandon Ambrosino

Fake IRS Thieves Netting $26.5 Billion: How To Avoid The Latest Scams
The Gist: Scammers posing as IRS agents who ask you for your social security number or any other information have even created alter Caller IDs to mimic the federal agency. The IRS Commissioner: “The IRS won’t be calling you out of the blue asking you to verify your personal tax information or aggressively threatening you to make an immediate payment.”
Source Article Here: Forbes
Author: Kelly Phillips Erb

Zadie Smith’s Top 4 Books Ranked
The Gist: A literary-world favorite since her 2000 debut novel, White Teeth, here’s a look at her Top 4 books, in advance of the Fall 2016 release of her next novel, Swing Time.
Source Article Here: Ebony
Author: Demetria Irwin

The Past 72 Hours: March 12, 2016

March 12, 2016 Leave a comment

“See, I just do things, and I never see the consequences.” – Kate del Castillo On The El Chapo Connection
The Gist: Kate del Castillo was already a working actress in Mexico when she landed a career-catapulting role as fictional drug trafficker Teresa Mendoza in the 63-episode series La Reina del Sur. In 2012 she tweeted to El Chapo and he actually responded. The New Yorker interview with del Castillo at home in Brentwood, The Go-Between, is here in its entirety.
Source Article Here: The New Yorker
Author: Robert Draper

Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake and Palmer: 1944 -2016
The Gist: Keith Emerson was a founder, keyboardist, and one-third of the eponymous progressive rock group Emerson, Lake and Palmer, whose 1970 recording of Lucky Man is a classic rock staple and featured Emerson’s Moog synthesizer work. The Santa Monica police department is investigating Emerson’s death at home as a suicide.
Source Article Here: Vulture
Author: Jackson McHenry

Media Industry Comings & Goings As of 3/11/16
The Gist: A one-page listing of who’s gone where and who has left (for now). Companies include: The New Yorker, Star Magazine, OK!, Wrap Media, Collab, Prodigy PR, and more.
Source Article Here: Mediabistro

The 25 Top Paying Jobs In The U.S. Right Now
The Gist: Glassdoor’s list of the 25 highest paying jobs by median salary, as well as how many job openings exist for each title. The list is on one page for ease of viewing.
Source Article Here: Glassdoor
Author: Glassdoor Team

The CW Renews 11 Shows For 2016-17 Season
The Gist: Jane The Virgin, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and The Flash are among the 11 renewed TV shows, including Supernatural, making history for the network as it’s renewed through Season 12.
Source Article Here: Entertainment Weekly
Author: Natalie Abrams

#Video Watch: “I was the 7th C.E.O. In 61 Months.” – Charlie Rose Interviews Yahoo’s Marissa Meyer
The Gist: The entire hour-long interview with Yahoo’s C.E.O. and President on mobile growth, declining revenue, talent acquisition, Alibaba, talent flight, activist shareholders, and the work-from-home controversy. Mayer: “We haven’t turned Yahoo around yet.”
Source Article Here: CharlieRose.com

The Fast Rise & Low Simmer of An App: What Happened To Meerkat?
The Gist: Meerkat became the darling of SXWS in 2015 – the live-streaming app that showed real-time tweets in response to content streaming on your smartphone. The media, partnerships, and $14M in funding came fast, but then came Periscope and Facebook Live. CEO Ben Rubin has no regrets, but admits mobile broadcasting isn’t feasible for 99% of users. The story of Meerkat’s year-long glide back to earth is here.
Source Article Here: USA Today
Author: Edward C. Baig

The Past 24 Hours: March 9, 2016

March 9, 2016June 13, 2016 Leave a comment

With An Oscar Firmly In Hand, Is Leonardo DiCaprio’s Cinematic Chill Mode Next?
The Gist: Vulture’s cover story features an overview of all of Leonardo DiCaprio’s film performances and posits that with “Oscar bait” out of the way, there may be some new surprises.
Source Article Here: Vulture
Author: David Edelstein

Peeple – The App That Rates You On Your Professional, Personal, & Dating Reputation – Goes Live Today: ‘Peeple has hit a nerve…It’s also terrifying.’
The Gist: Julia Corday, the talent recruiter who created the Peeple app, dubbed a “Yelp”- style of rating human beings, received death threats and a storm of criticism when she announced the app in 2015. Now it’s available for a free download, with tweaks. Here’s what you need to know. Corday: “Right now, you’re at the mercy of trolls.”
Source Article Here: CNET
Author: Ian Shorr

Legal Denials & Corporate Backlash In Kesha’s Battle With Sony Music Over Producer Dr. Luke
The Gist: Attorneys for the Sony-based producer “Dr. Luke,” Lukasz Gottwald, deny reports that the label is going to terminate his deal, which is set to expire in 2017. A look at the support from artists in the social and print media sphere, and a heightened outpouring for Kesha since filing suit with allegations of mental, physical and sexual abuse by the producer.
Source Article Here: Los Angeles Times
Authors: Gerrick D. Kennedy and Lorraine Ali

John Goodman: “‘Cloverfield’ was bupkis.”
The Gist: Text and audio from John Goodman’s interview with Howard Stern on sobriety, drinking vodka on the set of Roseanne, his shrinking encounter with Kristen Wiig (“I shrunk down to atom size.”), working with Brie Larson on the upcoming Kong: Skull Island, and his one SNL hosting gig he felt ran out of steam.
Source Article Here: HowardStern.com

Google’s New Travel Tool, Google Destinations, Gives You Research, Flight Info, Hotel Booking & Cost Estimates In One App
The Gist: The New York Times’ review of the app, which debuted today and is available on your browser, Google, or Anroid and iOS devices. Type in a location and get estimates, select hotel star-ratings, flights and pricing without opening multiple sites.
Source Article Here: The New York Times
Author: Stephanie Rosenbloom

#Trailer Watch: ‘I Am Wrath’
The Gist: The trailer for the film, and the eponymous back tattoo sported by John Travolta as he becomes a vigilante to avenge the murder of his wife. Christopher Meloni and Rebecca De Mornay co-star. The film’s VOD window begins April 15th; theatrical release is May 13, 2016.
Source Article Here: Coming Soon

Skype Ending Support Of Its Smart TV App
The Gist: The BBC was first to notice, via a Skype support page, that the Skype TV app, which was pre-loaded into some TV models (Samsung and LG) and available for download via three other TV brands, will no longer receive updates after this June 1. The reasoning is that mobile devices are where Skype thrives most for viewers, not their TVs.
Source Article Here: Tech Crunch
Author: Jon Russell

FLASHBACK READ

‘San Francisco Is The Second Temple of The Second Tech Boom. But Nothing Lasts Forever.”
The Gist: The culture clash and policy differences between the tech industry arrivals in San Francisco and the native residents who loathe them. The article, California Screaming, is below.
Source Article Here: The New Yorker (July 7 & 14, 2014)
Author: Nathan Heller