Thompson on Hollywood

Target Aims for Branded Entertainment Trend with Short Film 'Falling Into You'

News

Target is taking big strides into branded entertainment with the 12-minute short film "Falling Into You," which shows off more than 100 fall season fashion, home and beauty items, while starring the likes of Kristen Bell, Nia Long and Zachary Abel. The short is directed by regular "Mad Men" helmer Phil Abraham, and unspools in three parts. Part 1 releases online October 2.

By Beth Hanna
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September 25, 2012 5:07 PM
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Call Tilda Swinton Ishmael on 'Moby Dick' Big Read Site

News

The Moby Dick Big Read site calls the Herman Melville classic "the great unread American novel." To rectify this, the site has gathered a group of participants, ranging from famous to unknown, to each read and record one of the 135 chapters from the whaling tome. First up: Tilda Swinton.

By Beth Hanna
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September 25, 2012 12:35 PM
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Rudin and Diller Go Into the E-Book and (Gasp!) Real Book Business

News

Media titan Barry Diller and uber-producer Scott Rudin are joining forces for a new e-book publishing house, Brightline; they are partnering with Brooklyn-based start-up Atavist, already well known for publishing long-form articles for tablets.

By Beth Hanna
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September 19, 2012 12:58 PM
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YouTube's Original Content Sinks or Swims: Underperforming Channels Get Cut as YouTube Looks for More Winners

News

YouTube is reportedly abandoning some of its less successful original content channels, while simultaneously launching new channels that fall in line with the company's content initiative. What establishes the criteria for a losing channel vs. a winning channel? Logged viewership time, and total number of views.

By Beth Hanna
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August 27, 2012 4:28 PM
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It's Hammer Time: UK's Celebrated Genre Studio Launches YouTube Channel

Video

Britain's historic horror studio Hammer recently launched its own YouTube channel, which includes content from contemporary Hammer films (like the sequel to the Daniel Radcliffe-starring box office hit "The Woman in Black") as well as beautifully restored classic Hammer titles available for streaming...

By Beth Hanna
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August 24, 2012 5:00 PM
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Visit the Lido Without Spending the Big Bucks: Ten Venice Features to Stream Online

Festivals

For the first time in the history of the Venice Film Festival (August 29-September 8), 10 features films and 13 short films from the Orizzonti section of the fest will be available for streaming all over the world, concurrent with the films' debuts on the Lido.

By Beth Hanna
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August 22, 2012 1:02 PM
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Immersed in Movies: Talking Virtual Production and Higher Frame Rate at SIGGRAPH

Features

Virtual production and higher frame rate dominated the conversation at this week’s SIGGRAPH conference in LA, just as they did at FMX earlier in the year. Despite Warner Bros. scaling back on the number of screens that it will play “The Hobbit” at 48 fps on December 14...

By Bill Desowitz
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August 9, 2012 3:53 PM
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Venice's Restored Classic Lineup for 80th Fest Includes Welles, Hawks, Bergman, Rosselini and Cimino, In Person with 'Heaven's Gate'

Festivals

In celebration of the Venice Film Festival's 80th anniversary, the fest will screen a program of restored classic films, titled "Venezia Classici." Included in the cinephile-dream lineup is Welles' "Chimes at Midnight," Bergman's "Fanny and Alexander," Hawks' "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," Rosselini's "Stromboli" and Cimino's restored "Heaven's Gate."

By Beth Hanna
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July 25, 2012 2:51 PM
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Barry Sonnenfeld's 'Dinosaurs Vs. Aliens' Debuts, Joins Web Series Trend

News

Yet another filmmaker heads to web series territory. Like Tom Hanks with "Electric City" and Bryan Singer with "H+ The Digital Series," Barry Sonnenfeld introduces his motion comic "Dinosaur Vs. Aliens" on Yahoo! Screen. The first episode (below) launched today. The series is created by Sonnenfeld ("Men in Black") and written by comic writer Grant Morrison for digital media production house Liquid Comics.

By Sophia Savage
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July 23, 2012 1:41 PM
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Sundance Institute Adds 10 Titles to Artists Services Program, Fellows Self-Distribute Online

News

The Sundance Institute announces today that 10 additional titles are now available on the Artists Services access to distribution program, which makes films from previous Sundance festivals available for rent, download and streaming on various digital platforms and storefronts (iTunes, Amazon, SundanceNOW, YouTube, etc).