On The Media - Movies

Quid Pro Ad Quota (On The Media)

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:41 GMT

The Nazi revenge thriller "Iron Cross" has received little notice and critics who have seen the film haven't been too kind. The Hollywood trade publication Variety initially slammed the film but removed its negative review following a major ad buy by the filmmakers. Was it a quid pro quo? Gawker's John Cook explains.

The Uncanny Valley (On The Media)

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:42 GMT

For the animators of films and video games, creating a truly human looking and acting character has long been the holy grail. But making characters close-to-real and yet not-real-enough leaves them in what's called the 'uncanny valley' where audiences find those characters unsettling, unnatural and zombie-like. OTM producer Jamie York looks at how the entertainment industry has dealt with this issue and what the 'uncanny valley' tells us about ourselves and our future.

Film Buff (On The Media)

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:58 GMT

Congress created the National Film Registry in 1988 to preserve cherished American films. Daniel Eagan, author of America’s Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry says the registry has become a repository of both classics and obscure titles, all saved from the dumpster.

Making Monsters (On The Media)

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:59 GMT

When Universal Studios released "Dracula" and "Frankenstein" in 1931, America's love affair with horror movies was born. Michael Mallory, author of Universal Studios Monsters, A Legacy of Horror, explains why these pivotal films revolutionized cinema and how they live on in the recent horror flick "Paranormal Activity."

The Industry Voice (On The Media)

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:36 GMT

For more than 40 years Don LaFontaine was the voice of the film preview. His sonorous, gravelly, ignore-me-at-your-peril delivery became virtually synonymous with the movie trailer. We originally aired this tribute to his career shortly after his death in September of 2008.

When America Went Psycho (On The Media)

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:30 GMT

Film critic and author David Thomson argues in his new book that Alfred Hitchcock's film "Psycho" marks the moment when America learned to love violence, sex and voyeurism. Thomson also says that "Psycho" marked the beginning of the end for the film censor's strict code.

The Wilhelm (On The Media)

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:57 GMT

In a galaxy of Hollywood stars, one cameo player can boast the longest career by far. But chances are you've never seen him and you never will. He's appeared in some of the most popular movies ever, but he isn't an actor, though he was probably created by one. Wilhelm is a sound effect, more specifically a scream. In a piece that has become a favorite from our archives, David Serchuk reports on the Wilhelm.

True Enough (On The Media)

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:51 GMT

Documentaries are supposed to represent the truth. But who decides what the truth is exactly? Patricia Aufderheide, professor and documentarian, explains a new effort to interview documentary filmmakers anonymously about their ethical lapses. She hopes that by understanding the extent of the problem the documentary community can come to some consensus on where the truth lies.

9/11 And Films (On The Media)

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:55 GMT

As Brooke reported eight years ago, witnesses of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and those watching on TV used a common vocabulary to describe the scene: it was like a movie. Not only did that day change the way people process images of mass violence, it also affected Hollywood itself. In his new book, Firestorm: American Film in the Age of Terrorism, Virginia Tech professor Stephen Prince explores how filmmakers have taken on the challenge of capturing the truth of the 9/11 attacks.

Getting to Know You (On The Media)

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:14 GMT

Two years ago, Netflix offered a $1 million prize to whomever could improve their movie recommendation software by 10%. Now a team has won (though the winning team has yet to be announced.) Writer Clive Thompson tells us why the competition is important and Bob Bell, a team member on the potential winning team, tells us how he crossed the 10% threshold.

Almost Blu (On The Media)

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:13 GMT

A year ago at the Consumer Electronics Show, Blu-ray was taking its victory lap as the winner of the hi-def home movie format war. But in the intervening year skeptics have argued that downloading and streaming movies may prematurely end Blu-ray’s reign. Home Theater Magazine editor Shane Buettner explains the stakes for movie lovers.

Call Into Question (On The Media)

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:56 GMT

Telephones have always figured prominently in film, as a plot device, a prop, a way to generate suspense or a way to reach out and touch someone. But now that we’re all reachable all the time, screenwriters have to contrive ways of using our phones in symbolic or surprising ways, and figure out how to take them away from us altogether. Freelance journalist Zachary Pincus-Roth wrote about the effect that cell phones are having on movie plots in this Sunday’s Los Angeles Times.

Celluloid Heroes (On The Media)

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:26 GMT

Filmmakers have long been fascinated by the idea of the grizzled reporter chasing a scoop. In the silent era, titles like “The Daring of Diana” and “The Final Extra” treated journalism as adventure – and it’s no different in the modern age. Joe Saltzman, director of the Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture, discusses the movie reporter.

Silver Screen's Silver Bullet? (On The Media)

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:01 GMT

With movie-ticket sales flat, the film industry is looking for a way to entice audiences back into the theater with new digital 3-D technology. Big name directors and major studios all have 3-D projects in the works, but Portfolio Magazine's Kevin Maney says many hurdles remain before 3-D becomes commonplace.

Depth of Field (On The Media)

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:02 GMT

In 1952, "Bwana Devil" began a decade-long boom in 3-D movie-making that has sputtered along ever since. Ray Zone, author of "3-D Filmmakers: Conversations with Creators of Stereoscopic Motion Pictures," walks us through some of the Hollywood's landmark attempts.

Picturing Science (On The Media)

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:31 GMT

Since the medium began, movies from “Metropolis” to “Iron Man” have plundered science, molding and sometimes mangling it. But physicist Sidney Perkowitz argues in his new book, Hollywood Science: Movies, Science and the End of the World, that science in cinema probably does more good than harm.

You Can't Write This Stuff (On The Media)

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:49 GMT

Private investigator Anthony Pellicano is on trial in Federal District Court in Los Angeles. He's defending himself against charges of intimidating reporters on behalf of his high-powered Hollywood clients. With wiretapping, celebrities, and lots of money and intrigue, David Carr of The New York Times says the story would make a great movie.

Death Ray (On The Media)

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:47 GMT

If you watch movies on DVD, you’re using an outdated technology. But no single high-definition disc has emerged as the replacement to the inferior DVD, mainly because of a battle between two competing formats: Sony’s Blu-ray and Toshiba’s HD-DVD. Shane Buettner of Home Theater Magazine explains that Blu-ray may have won the war.

The Role of a Lifetime (On The Media)

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 19:31 GMT

Do you LARP? Live Action Role-Playing is the subject of “Darkon,” a documentary about people who don costumes and characters and make believe. But co-director Andrew Neel says that LARPing, while partly escapism, is in fact a ticket to reality.

War Stories (On The Media)

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 21:37 GMT

Hollywood films helped Americans cope with the long and harsh realities of World War Two. That tradition continues today. Hollywood is still telling stories about the Second World War, even as it produces several films about the current war. WNYC’s Sara Fishko reports.

The Face of Russia (On The Media)

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 19:00 GMT

For as long as Hollywood has been making movies it has turned its eye to the Russians. Harlow Robinson, author of Hollywood's Russians, Russians in Hollywood, discusses Russian portrayals in American film and what those portrayals reveal about ourselves.

The Russian American (On The Media)

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 19:01 GMT

Russia’s film industry has returned the favor with its own portrayals of … us. From “The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks” (1924) to “Brother 2” (2000), we’re sometimes naïve, sometimes criminal. But Russian film historian Kirill Razlogov says that we’re also sympathetic.

Dreams of Electric Sheep (On The Media)

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 19:13 GMT

25 years ago this week, Blade Runner debuted in American theaters. It was set in a Los Angeles of the future, but its portrayals of race and racism had plenty of resonance in 1982. Reporter Phillip Martin looks back on a classic of cyborgian social criticism.

Bollywood Sirens (On The Media)

Mon, 07 May 2007 16:55 GMT

For some Indians, Richard Gere’s awkward embrace with Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty was not just offensive, it was criminal. NYU professor Tejaswini Ganti says the incident plays into the mixed messages about Indian women perpetuated by Bollywood.

Smoke Gets In Their Eyes (On The Media)

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 15:52 GMT

The impact of movie sex and violence on kids may be up for debate, but with smoking, the science is solid. Teens who see a lot of it are more likely to take up the habit than those who don’t. UCSF Dr. Stanton Glantz wants the MPAA to take smoking as seriously as it takes cursing.

Longitudes and Attitudes (On The Media)

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 18:07 GMT

42 years ago, Michael Apted began filming a group of seven year-olds plucked from the extremes of the British class system. Since then, he’s followed their lives with a new film every seven years. What began as a one-off BBC program has become one of the most important histories on film, and a prototype for our reality-TV culture. On the occasion of 49Up’s opening this weekend, Apted speaks to Bob about the series.

Junk Dealer (On The Media)

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 22:23 GMT

Want an all-expense-paid two-night stay at a luxury hotel, with free round-trip airfare, spending cash, and a private screening of the latest Hollywood movie? Get invited to a press junket. Last month, freelance film critic Eric Snider did just that for Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center,” and then blogged about it on his website. He talks with Bob about the experience and the fallout.

Blurbs (On The Media)

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 22:25 GMT

Almost every Hollywood movie ad includes a few endorsements attributed to one or more film critics – a process often requiring as much imagination, and editing, as the movie itself. A few years back, Bob took a closer look at the phenomenon of movie blurbs, and filed this report.

Working It (On The Media)

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 22:41 GMT

This summer, Hollywood is offering us close-ups of a variety of American workplaces, ranging from the silly to the sadistic. Tinseltown has always had a weird perspective on real life, which for most of us consists in large part of work life. WNYC’s Sara Fishko reflects on the daily grind as portrayed on the silver screen.

Woodstein's Muse (On The Media)

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 20:58 GMT

Watching the new DVD release of All the President’s Men recently, Brooke came upon a bombshell, buried in one of the DVD’s commentary tracks. It concerns the unlikely genesis of what has become the prevailing symbol of all that is fine in American journalism.

The Cleaning Agent (On The Media)

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 19:14 GMT

Say you’re a movie buff, eager to digest the latest Hollywood offering, but find some of the more lurid aspects of today’s films tough to stomach. Until recently, Ray Lines would have been your man – he founded Clean Flicks, a company that re-edits L.A.’s latest, filth-free. The Directors Guild of America, however, disputed the legality of Clean Flicks, and the U.S. District court agreed. Lines discusses the loss with Bob.

Borderline Entertainment (On The Media)

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 20:27 GMT

The Juarez murders have inspired songs, plays, and telenovelas, and now, feature films. In two movies scheduled for release later this year, Minnie Driver and J-Lo play journalists on the trail of the killers. You might think the attention would be welcome. But Diana Washington Valdez, who covered the story for the El Paso Times for almost 12 years, tells Bob why the Hollywood treatment might do more harm then good.

Hot in Hollywood (On The Media)

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 22:25 GMT

Climate change may be a tough sell for newspaper editors, but what about sitcom writers? Lately the subject has been popping up in some unexpected places, and behind many of these plot twists is actor and environmental activist Laurie David, a co-producer of the new Al Gore documentary. She tells Mike Pesca about her effort to make global warming a pop culture phenomenon.

Projecting Freud (On The Media)

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 16:16 GMT

Sigmund Freud was born 150 years ago this weekend. He’s certainly pop culture’s most-cited psychoanalyst, but his influence on media doesn’t end there – Freud’s ideas are cinema staples: flashbacks, projection, not to mention the sexual stuff. Brooke speaks with Andrea Sabbadini, a psychoanalyst and chairman of the European Psychoanalytical Film Festival.

Screen Shrinks (On The Media)

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 16:18 GMT

While the experts may assert that psychoanalysis can’t really be portrayed on film, this hasn’t stopped filmmakers from trying. A few years back, OTM asked Sara Fishko to assemble some of the more memorable attempts to put the unconscious on the big screen.

Continental Divide (On The Media)

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 17:09 GMT

In many of the historically-liberal nations of Western Europe, years of immigration from the South have raised difficult questions about assimilation and tolerance. Loath to admit to a clash of cultures, the European media often ignore the issues. But at the Berlin Film Festival this year, at least three movies addressed the internal divide. LA Times reporter Jeffrey Fleishman screened the films, and shares some of his impressions with Bob.

The North Will Rise Again (On The Media)

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 19:24 GMT

"CSA: The Confederate States of America" opened this week. The film imagines an America in which the South won the Civil War. Under the Confederate States of America, Abraham Lincoln is captured – in blackface – trying to escape to Canada and slavery is the law of the land. It all plays out in what looks like a Ken Burns documentary, complete with slow pans of still photos, and talking head historians. Bob speaks with filmmaker Kevin Wilmott about this weirdly plausible version of American history.

Wilhelm (On The Media)

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 23:00 GMT

You've heard him in dozens of movies, but you can't quite place his name. That's because he's not an actor, he's a sound effect. And among sound editors he's legendary. On the Media's David Serchuk reports.

Kept it at the Movies (On The Media)

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:12 GMT

Last month, Ted Peshak passed away. You might not recognize the name, but if you came of age just after World War II, there's a good chance you're familiar with one of his "hygiene films." The ten-minute black and white films, often screened in classrooms, illustrated the dangers of shyness and the virtues of soap and water. Brooke discusses Peshak's legacy with Ken Smith, author of the oral history Mental Hygiene.

Seeing Red (On The Media)

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 19:47 GMT

At the height of the red scare in 1954, Edward R. Murrow excoriated Senator Joseph McCarthy on CBS. The episode is now depicted powerfully in George Clooney's movie "Good Night, and Good Luck." Among the crusading journalists then working at the network were Joe and Shirley Wershba, who consulted on the film and tell Brooke about the bygone days of smoke-filled newsrooms and courage on the air.

The Moviegoer (On The Media)

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:15 GMT

From A Streetcar Named Desire to Down By Law, what many of us think about when we think about New Orleans is a result of its ongoing portrayal in movies. David Lee Simmons, culture critic for the city's alternative daily, The Gambit, talks with Brooke about the cinematic depictions of the old Big Easy that will endure as the city attempts to rebuild.

Spoiled Again (On The Media)

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 18:05 GMT

Is there a statute of limitations for not revealing movie plot twists? When can a surprise ending finally become part of pop culture conversation? In response to listener letters about our Million Dollar Baby giveaway and last week's attempt at an explanation, Brooke poses the questions to New York Daily News TV critic David Bianculli.

Reel Myths (On The Media)

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 21:54 GMT

At the same time that events on the battlefields of WWII were being documented by newspapers and radio, Hollywood was re-framing the wartime sentiments of the homefront. In his memoir, Good Morning, Mr. Zip Zip Zip, film critic Richard Schickel examined the myths that wartime America built for itself on the silver screen. He shares some of his favorite clips with Brooke.

The Detente Will Be Televised (On The Media)

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 16:41 GMT

Since its unsolicited selection for the axis of evil, North Korea has largely fulfilled its media role as America's Asian arch-nemesis. But there's at least one place where North Korea's image has been softening - South Korea. Wall Street Journal reporter Gordon Fairclough explains to Bob how the improvement of North Korea’s image is increasingly apparent in South Korean TV and film.

Moving Pictures, Moving Merchandise (On The Media)

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 16:24 GMT

In the 1940's, the Motion Picture Export Association, aka "the little State Department," went forth to sell the American way of life – not to mention American products – around the world. Toby Miller directs the Program in Film and Visual Culture at the University of California Riverside. He joins Brooke to discuss Hollywood-as-imperialist, then and now.

The Shape of Film to Come (On The Media)

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 16:27 GMT

This week, the Supreme Court heard the case of MGM v. Grokster, a case which pits the major music and film houses against "peer-to-peer" programs that allow anyone to freely trade material via the Internet. The entertainment industry claims the software makers are arming pirates. The software makers say the industry is strangling technological innovation. Bob speaks with Fred von Lohmann, senior attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Dan Glickman, president and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, argues on behalf of Hollywood.

Garfield vs. Hollywood (On The Media)

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 17:54 GMT

Six years ago, fresh from yet another disappointing visit to his local Blockbuster, Bob decided to take matters into his own hands. Armed with little more than an original treatment for a serious film set in the former Yugoslavia, Bob flew west. Here is the story of his mission to save the soul of Hollywood.

Spying Dull, Bureaucratic! (On The Media)

Tue, 20 May 2008 18:16 GMT

There's been plenty of finger-pointing within America's intelligence community in the wake of 9/11 and the lead-up to war in Iraq. But the many failures of the CIA are not only worrying. They're also rather shocking. And that's because they contradict everything that books, TV, and movies have led us to believe about the world of spying. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports on spies - real and imaginary.

Settling Down With a Good Movie (On The Media)

Wed, 21 May 2008 17:41 GMT

Most of the time, trial lawyers don't ever make it to trial. Personal injury lawyer Len Gabbay often serves his clients' interests by keeping them out of court. And he does it with the help of a video camera. Gabbay compiles documentaries on the suffering of the plaintiff, and screens it for the defendant. He tells Brooke that nine times out of ten they settle, and everyone is spared the ordeal of a trial.

Lollywood Goes Pop (On The Media)

Wed, 21 May 2008 21:52 GMT

In recent years, Pakistani film stars, musicians, and directors have been relocating to Bombay, the center of India's film industry. Some are motivated by improving relations between the nuclear neighbors. But others are simply fleeing a dying industry. OTM's Miranda Kennedy reports from Lahore - otherwise known as "Lollywood" - on the travails of Pakistani cinema.