Thompson on Hollywood

Media Watch: Unthink's Anti-Facebook Grows Users, Klout Bends Freebie Rule, Comcast Falls Behind

The “Anti-Facebook” social network Unthink, which launched a week ago, has already scored 100,000 users, reports TechCrunch. The number of visitors to the website is doubling daily. The burgeoning growth of this social network--which promoted itself via Facebook bashing and a $2.5 million fund from DouglasBay--is impressive indeed, but their continued progress through the next year will tell the tale.

By Maggie Lange
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November 2, 2011 5:42 AM
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Media Watch: Amazon Prime Instant vs. Netflix, Selling YouTube at Denny's, Zuckerberg's Regrets

Able to report some much-needed good news, Netflix renewed its contract with ABC, adding more shows including Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy. After losing 800,000 domestic subscribers after its recent price increase and the controversial fissure between streaming and sending DVDs, the company is doing its best to please their remaining consumers. However, Netflix's primary rival Amazon is making its own moves as Netflix’s primary competition with Prime Instant, a video library that will include over 800 titles from Disney-ABC including Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, and Felicity. Prime has also secured licensing deals with CBS, Fox, NBCUniversal, PBS, Sony and Warner Brothers.

By Maggie Lange
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October 31, 2011 4:28 AM
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Weekly Wrap: Oscar Talk, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Moneyball, Gordon-Levitt Interviewed on 50/50

WEEKEND PREVIEW:

By Maggie Lange
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September 23, 2011 10:29 AM
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Media Watch: Dish Network Unveils Blockbuster Movie Pass, Facebook's Push to the Past

Today, the Dish Network revealed Blockbuster Movie Pass, its competitor to Netflix. Blockbuster Movie Pass will resemble the previous Netflix model, bundling DVD-by-mail rentals as well as online video streaming. However, its customers must sign up for the satellite provider for access to streaming. The new program, which will be available Oct. 1 and costs $10 a month, will offer 100,000 movies and TV programs to rent by mail, with another 4,000 movies available streaming. Read more at the Wrap.

By Maggie Lange
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September 23, 2011 8:24 AM
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First Look: REM Remix The End of TV As We Know It

This YouTube REM Remix captures the frenetic pace of obsessive screen-watchers. Like me.

By Anne Thompson
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September 22, 2011 12:09 PM
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Media Watch: Dish Network May Launch Blockbuster Streaming Site, Facebook Real-Time News Ticker

On Friday, the Dish Network is expected to announce a Blockbuster-branded streaming service. Their program will be a direct competitor to the recently criticized and faltering Netflix.

By Maggie Lange
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September 21, 2011 7:51 AM
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Facebook Debuts Its First Film: The Perfect House

The Perfect House, a horror anthology, will be the first film to debut on FlickLaunch, Facebook's new movie distribution platform. The first to be built on Facebook, FlickLaunch is intended to support indie filmmakers and connect them to a global audience without the prohibitive cost-barriers of traditional distribution.

By Maggie Lange
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September 14, 2011 7:13 AM
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Wonderful Winklevoss Pistachios; Summers Calls Twins Assholes, Armie Hammer Escapes Their Fate

Mark Zuckerberg may be No. 1 on Vanity Fair's New Establishment list, but The Winklevoss Twins are in bed with big money Pistachios. Wonderful Pistachios that is, and what a wonderful Winklevoss way to wake up to Tuesday. HuffPo shares this video and also relates the exchange between the made-famous-by-the-Facebook-movie twins and Harvard president Larry Summers. He says, "One of the things you learn as a college president is that if an undergraduate is wearing a tie and jacket on Thursday afternoon at three o'clock, there are two possibilities. One is that they're looking for a job and have an interview; the other is that they are an asshole, this was the latter case. Rarely, have I encountered such swagger, and I tried to respond in kind." They then responded with this letter.

By Sophia Savage
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September 13, 2011 3:36 AM
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Media Watch: LATimes.com Traffic Rises, Facebook Hides Google+ Invites, Netflix targets Kids & Asia

Netflix is creating a Just-for-Kids streaming option, the company reported yesterday. Aimed at the 12-and-unders, it offers content like Dora the Explorer or SpongeBob SquarePants, and groups its elements into categories that operate with total child-logic: "Dinosaurs," "Girl Power," "Princesses," and "Superheroes." Meanwhile, Netflix is also aiming to distribute in select Asian locations, like Japan or South Korea, by the end of 2012.

By Maggie Lange
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August 17, 2011 11:45 AM
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Sundance Institute Pushes Deeper Into Digital Distribution Alternatives--Analysis

Festivals

Two things pop from this week's announcement from Robert Redford's Sundance Institute about their "Artists Services Initiative." First, who it's for--Sundance Institute filmmakers only--and second, how it contrasts with Robert De Niro's for-profit New York-based Tribeca Films, which picks up films to release, some of them from its own festival.