Is Comic-Con the Linear TV of Fandom Events?
►A cliffhanger: The San Diego event has long reigned supreme, but as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to complicate in-person gatherings, a wave of virtual experiences from studios and streamers is filling the void and could become the new standard.
--“While it was created because of the pandemic, through the process there were so many [lessons] about going straight to the fan base, launching globally all at once and the value of keeping it within the DC Comics branded banner,” recalls former Warner Bros. TV Group president and chief marketing officer Lisa Gregorian, who helped spearhead the company's DC Fandome event. “Suddenly, we had the technology tools, access to talent and audience participation to go live ourselves, and the question became: How do we create something really special to super serve the fans globally?”
The story.
+What about the trade shows? The uncertainly surrounding the 2021 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show, currently slated to take place Oct. 9-13 in Las Vegas, keeps growing. Sony Electronics — traditionally one of the event’s largest exhibitors — said on Tuesday that it has made the decision to withdraw, followed by another large exhibitor, Canon, which announced that it pulled out on Friday.
The story.
►A split decision in Epic v. Apple: In a highly anticipated decision, a California federal judge has handed down a nuanced ruling with respect to how Apple controls its app platform. Apple has escaped the determination that it is a monopolist, but thanks to conduct that a judge finds to be anti-competitive, Apple must now allow developers to tell consumers how to make purchases outside of apps.
More.
►Critic’s Notebook: How post-9/11 Hollywood has mirrored our anxieties — and redefined its love of disaster. In everything from first-person documentaries to tentpole spectacles, a broad spectrum of filmmakers — among them Spike Lee, Paul Greengrass and Kathryn Bigelow — have grappled with the horror of the attacks, the geopolitical ramifications and, less directly, the emotional fallout, Jordan Mintzer writes.
The notebook.
In other news... --Andy Garcia
has joined the magnum-muscled cast of the latest installment of
The Expendables, the action franchise from Lionsgate and Millennium Media.
--MGM has
snatched up rights in most of world outside of North America for
Queen Bees, aka
At Last, Michael Lembeck’s comedy drama starring Ellen Burstyn, Jane Curtin, Loretta Devine, Ann-Margret, and James Caan.
--A year on from its seismic review that saw more than 120 wide-ranging changes to its voting, membership and campaigning process, the British Academy has
unveiled a number of considerably smaller tweaks to its BAFTA film awards voting rules, while also extending and amending eligibility criteria put in place during the pandemic.
--English actress Kathryn Prescott, known for her roles in
A Dog’s Journey and
Finding Carter,
has been hospitalized after being struck by a concrete truck.
What else we're reading... --"On TV, 9/11 was last huge story for ‘Big 3’ network anchors" [
AP]
--"How Disney Channel sold patriotism to kids after 9/11" [
Jezebel]
--"A photographer's vision of the World Trade Center" [
Vanity Fair]
--"A key legacy of 9/11? The way conspiracy theories spread online" [
Washington Post]
Today's birthdays:
Harry Connick Jr, 54,
Moby, 56,
Brian De Palma, 81,
Ludacris, 44,
Taraji P. Henson, 51.
