In yet another sign that the entertainment industry is consolidating, Creative Artists Agency, one of Hollywood’s most powerful talent agencies, announced it would acquire ICM Partners, the fourth largest player in the space. Is the move meant to help CAA gain leverage when negotiating with streaming giants like Netflix, or is it all about ensuring […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 557: Talent Agents Strike A Deal… for Themselves appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox. 

Showbiz Sandbox

Showbiz Sandbox 557: Talent Agents Strike A Deal… for Themselves

When “The Crown” took home the prize for best drama at the 73rd Emmy Awards on Sunday it capped a years-long campaign mounted by Netflix to win one of television’s top awards. The streamer picked up a record-tying 44 Emmys including best limited series for “The Queen’s Gambit.” With the Apple+ series “Ted Lasso” winning […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 556: The Emmys Crown the Streaming Era appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox. 

Showbiz Sandbox 556: The Emmys Crown the Streaming Era

Keeping track of television ratings, streaming viewership and music revenue has become a hopeless task in the digital age. Everyone is mad at Nielsen though how can they realistically capture all the eyeballs content on TVs, phones, laptops and tablets? Meanwhile, Billboard keeps changing the formula they use to count album sales by working in […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 555: Modern Media Consumption Metrics Are A Big Mess appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox. 

Showbiz Sandbox 555: Modern Media Consumption Metrics Are A Big Mess

For years analysts have breathlessly insisted China would become the largest movie market in the very near future. Well, last year after North American movie theatres spent most of 2020 shuttered, China did manage to become the top earner and did so primarily with local content. However, after COVID gave it a win with an […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 554: China’s Love Affair With Hollywood May Be Over appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox. 

Showbiz Sandbox 554: China’s Love Affair With Hollywood May Be Over

After more than a year in which most blockbuster releases headed to streaming services, movie theater operators gathered in Las Vegas last week for CinemaCon, their annual convention. Ryan Faughnder of the Los Angeles Times moderated a panel discussion at the event featuring the heads of major movie chains, distribution executives and director Patty Jenkins. […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 553: CinemaCon Makes A Case for the Big Screen appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox. 

Showbiz Sandbox 553: CinemaCon Makes A Case for the Big Screen

First Disney tried to shame Scarlett Johansson for daring to sue them over the studios distribution strategy on “Black Widow.” Then during an earnings call the company’s CEO described the upcoming Marvel “Shang-Chi and the Legend Of The Ten Rings” as an “interesting experiment.” Simu Liu, the star of “Shang-Chi,” was quick to push back […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 552: Disney and the Great “Shang-Chi” Experiment appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox. 

Showbiz Sandbox 552: Disney and the Great “Shang-Chi” Experiment

Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney for breach of contract after the studio released “Black Widow” both in movie theaters and its own streaming service at the same time. The actress believes Disney’s distribution strategy is preventing her from earning millions in box office bonuses but instead enriches the company’s top executives. The outcome of the […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 551: The Significance of the Scarlett Johansson vs. Disney Lawsuit appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox. 

Showbiz Sandbox 551: The Significance of the Scarlett Johansson vs. Disney Lawsuit

Like music, movies and television, the Olympics have put streaming front and center during the summer games. It’s easier than ever to watch the hundreds of events taking place in Tokyo over the next two weeks. However, it can be torture figuring out what sport is playing on what channel or streaming service and when. […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 550: The Olympics Win A Streaming Gold Medal appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox. 

Showbiz Sandbox 550: The Olympics Win A Streaming Gold Medal

In its second weekend the latest Marvel movie “Black Widow” dropped over 67% at the box office; the largest decline for any film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Could it be that the movie’s availability via premium video on demand cannibalized its theatrical returns? The ongoing pandemic makes it difficult to draw any conclusions, though […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 549: Second Guessing Disney’s “Black Widow” Distribution Strategy appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox. 

Showbiz Sandbox 549: Second Guessing Disney’s “Black Widow” Distribution Strategy

After COVID canceled the festival in 2020, the Cannes Film Festival is going ahead this year, albeit two months later than usual. Still, it’s remarkable that organizers were able to pull off the world’s largest film festival amid these uncertain times. We’ll tell you about all the COVID protocols at this year’s festival, not to […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 548: The Cannes Film Festival in the Age of COVID appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox. 

Showbiz Sandbox 548: The Cannes Film Festival in the Age of COVID

With exclusive theatrical release windows having disintegrated during the COVID pandemic, new movies are being released through so many methods and on so many platforms that it has inevitably confused audiences how and where they can watch a film. Initially, most movie watchers turn to Netflix, assuming most or all titles will be available on […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 547: Is Netflix The New Kleenex? appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox. 

Showbiz Sandbox 547: Is Netflix The New Kleenex?

Musician Sal Maida and music writer Mitchell Cohen have been thumbing through record store bins for decades looking for great albums. Now they’ve teamed up to write “The White Label Promo Preservation Society: 100 Flop Albums You Oughta Know,” a book that dives deep into great music which doesn’t make the usual “best of” lists […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 546: The Best Music You’ve Never Heard — 100 Flop Albums appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox. 

Showbiz Sandbox 546: The Best Music You’ve Never Heard — 100 Flop Albums

When multi-hyphenate Paul Rudnick isn’t writing hit movies or award winning plays he is working on Broadway musicals with the likes of Elton John or busy writing novels. Rudnick joins us for a detailed and humorous conversation about his work and his latest novel, “Playing the Palace.” We’ll also take a look at the final […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 545: Writer Paul Rudnick On The Royals, Romance And Rudin appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox. 

Showbiz Sandbox 545: Writer Paul Rudnick On The Royals, Romance And Rudin

Anne Thompson, the editor at large at IndieWire, believes “a lot of things have to go right for the two-hour movie theatrical release to endure.” Thompson said as much in an opinion column she recently wrote for the New York Times. In a detailed opinion column for the New York Times. In a detailed conversation […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 544: The Existential Crisis Facing Theatrical Movie Releases appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox. 

Showbiz Sandbox 544: The Existential Crisis Facing Theatrical Movie Releases

In a move that had been rumored for weeks, Amazon became the first tech company to purchase a Hollywood movie studio in an $8.45 million deal. The acquisition will arm Amazon with over 4,000 movies like the Bond Franchise, “The Pink Panther” and “Robocop,” not to mention upwards of 17,000 television episodes. The real question […] The post Showbiz Sandbox 543: Amazon Grabs a Lion’s Share of MGM appeared first on Showbiz Sandbox. 

Showbiz Sandbox 543: Amazon Grabs a Lion’s Share of MGM

Industry pros J. Sperling Reich and Michael Giltz provide insightful analysis, humorous viewpoints and insider opinions on the latest entertainment news headlines. The weekly podcast features panel discussions with renowned industry guests, as well as phone calls and emails from listeners who voice their own opinions on the child’s play of the entertainment business.

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Showbiz Sandbox

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