Mr. & Mrs. Smith

As with Fun With Dick and Jane, the Jim Carrey remake coming out later this month, the titles are a sardonic comment on the high adventure lives led by the plainly named. Behind the well manicured lawns, and prettily painted walls are couples with many secrets, high emotion and interesting lives. It's the contrast between the mundane and munificent that makes this type of film interesting.

We've certainly seen warring couples before. The classic is The War of the Roses, where they reach their mutual demise trying to divide the house. After years of built-up resentments, all either party wanted to do was win. There was no backing down from the relentless vengeance. No one was willing to walk away and see that that (exiting) was the win. They each became subsumed by the desire to beat the other.

With the Smiths, there's a slightly different twist. The mutually assured destruction (if you recall this is what kept us from blowing up the planet earth in the Reagan era) was actually their job. That's right, killing the spouse... it's a job, but somebody's gotta do it. I guess you only see that in the movies... huh? Come on. That's what spouses do, in real life, all the time. That's why the movies poking fun at the phenomenon are hits. We all see our own unmet desires and deeply buried feelings in their outrageously honest behavior.

I think it's a very unusual spouse that is led by a desire to see their partner grow. Most want to see their partner show.... up and be there as an adjunct to their lives: accompany them, help them, be there for them when they are needed, to do what they are needed to do. My husband left me, not because I was failing to grow and thrive, but because he was and realized I could never be the crutch he needed anymore. Americans are so trained to be materialistic, distracted and shallow, I guess it's not surprising we have such possessive attitudes about marriage.

I found Angelina Jolie's character refreshingly strong and honest. Is anyone still confused as to why Brad Pitt left his self-absorbed wife for someone who uses her considerable fame to bring attention to problems like war and starvation? Angelina had a difficult childhood, rose above it and developed a true global consciousness. She's one of the first female action stars, does everything the guys do, makes no apologies, is totally in touch with her sexuality. Unlike Jennifer Anniston who has this shrinking violet personality, Angelina is strong and honest in a fully feminine way and I find her a much better role model.

The Sick Dating Game

In the latest iteration of The Dating Game From Hell, we now have the cute couple of Dan Glickman and Bram Cohen. The spurned lovers are now as cozy as the Shawn Fanning/ Wayne Rosso /Andy Lack love triangle. Every day we are treated to another news story touting the industry’s new storebought poster child. The message is the same one that they spewed out from the Grokster battle in the High Court, “See, filesharing is dead, there’s no business model there and your boys are easy to buy.”

And, in a way it’s true. The twenty-something hackers are happy to be courted. It’s better than the alternative; prolonged persecution. Most of the journalists who write up these stories, and they are appearing on all the entertainment and tech vehicles constantly now, are like the old Vietnam War journalists, they just write up the industry quotes, they almost all read the same.

I’ll tell you what they won’t. Filesharing is not going anywhere. The operation of the BitTorrent site is unaffected by their little disclaimer. In the five years they have been claiming the death of these P2P networks, they have only grown, and they will continue to grow.

The entertainment conglomerate was a monarchy. There was a coup. Now there is a system of checks and balances. When the industry wants to pull its little tricks, like bait and switch Yahoo, offering up the $5. price point as, apparently, some kind of sick joke, or Disney pulling its successful DVDs off the shelves to drive up sales of their lesser titles, like Sony buying every copyright in sight so they can jack up prices ad infinitum, like the music labels tying to push their already exorbitant price points up on iTunes…etc., there is now a consequence for them. People will turn to networks of consumers who provide alternatives.

Without those checks in the system, we would be at the mercy of an incredibly consolidated industry that is determined to use artistic content as investment. What we should be investing in is the creative impetus of humans everywhere who are sick of being treated like drones that will just buy whatever art is promoted to them at whatever price the industry decides to charge. We have been empowered by these P2P networks. They give us choice. We need to approach these stories critically and assess our choices as consumers and participants in the creative currency of our culture.

Movielink Inks Fox

Movielink is a website that allows you to buy or rent major, and some indie films, directly online, assuming you have broadband and a PC. The company is a joint venture between MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal & Warner Bros., and has non-exclusive agreements with Disney & Miramax, among others. The addition of Fox today establishes Movielink as the company to watch in terms of VOD online. Looks like the studios have learned a lesson from the music industry; offer your product online, or we’ll do it for you.

I can’t tell you much about the operation of the service. As soon as I clicked on the site I was immediately fed a default screen that said, basically, screw you Mac user, stick to your iPod cause all you’re getting is Lost and other Disney fare, and even that only as long as Pixar & Disney stay in contract.

Also, the price points are still way too high here. For god’s sake, you’re not making disks or distributing them, how long do we have to support these seven figure corporate salaries to get content here?

The internet is not paying out on democratization yet. We’re seeing it marred by the same big business domination as every other medium. I do think that will change. Studies show that 26% of teens are producing content online, 76% are blogging. These kids have grown up looking for content through internet search, they do it naturally. They don’t need to be spoonfed, like their parents. I’m sure Movielink will do well, I hope so, it’s a step in the right direction.

Sour Cream

Cream’s last live gig was in the Royal Albert Hall in 1968 and their reunion there in May was a huge let-down. Cream was supposed to be just that, la crème de la crème, the best guitarist, bassist and drummer in blues-soaked Britain, rich in vocals. Clapton had just come off John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and was reaching his peak.

I saw him in concert last summer and he was in great form. He played blues, better Cream stuff than I heard on this, Yardbirds, solo stuff, you name it. He’s as happy as he’s ever been in his life and he played that way, clear as a bell. He’s sober now, happily married, just put out one of the cheeriest albums I’ve ever heard off the guy.

He was simply not into this Cream Reunion stuff. I mean, it’s still Clapton, it’s not like he could play bad or anything… he just was not really grooving with the old buds, or they with each other. They were tense, awkward and you could hear, as well as see it.

Anyone expecting to see Cream better get in their time machine, these are not young bucks excited about music, they’re gentry thinking about their prostates and how they’re going to use the money from the tour. Jack & Ginger should be facing Clapton’s estate five times a day cause that legend sure as hell doesn’t need them. He’s the only triple inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, deservedly so.

Anyway, rent the DVD to hear Stormy Monday, Born Under a Bad Sign & Sleepy Time Time & well, just to watch God play the guitar, it’s an awesome sight. But then crank up Disraeli Gears if you really want to hear Cream.

And, if you get your DVDs through the mail, make sure you waste your time on both or somehow figure out which disk has all the great classic Cream songs, I got stuck with the practically worthless disk and although I love the blues classics I mentioned above, I wanted to hear the classic Cream songs, but not enough to bother requesting the other disk.

Time To Short Sony

Attention stockholders: you know, I remember a day when Sony stood for the best technology available to bring entertainment to consumers. Now this misguided giant stands for sacrificing its unwitting buyers to security breaches so severe that Microsoft has to step in to try and salvage its own sinking brand. It just keeps getting worse for this company who decided to bring in Howard Stringer earlier this year, who begat Andy Lack and a string of seven figure execs who felt tech’s day was done, it was a commodity business and the big money was in content.

Fed by the success of Spiderman…. they went to town. Now after one of their worst quarters, their music division in a shambles from infighting… we have the biggest scandal yet, and it worsens by the day. If you haven’t already heard, don’t buy any Sony CD. They’re recalling them. Poor Neil Diamond, Rolling Stone was finally coming around to his schmaltzy rock. Anyway, if you put the CD on your PC, it opens a channel between your PC and Sony that can be entered by anyone else, which will monitor your PC. You’ll be vulnerable to one of the many hackers already downloading personal info off of Sony’s former customers.

If you already bought and uploaded, look out for the class action notices that will soon be appearing. So, if this isn’t the death knell of the CD, I don’t know what is. Does anyone still buy those things? Yes, there are plenty of people in little towns all over the place with no broadband. They didn’t put it everywhere. Those folks are disconnected enough to vote for Bush, and now this. Karl Rove is gonna be putting flyers in the church parking lots warning about this one, except that access to all those computers is just what he wants.

I love this story because it will alert everyone to the issues surrounding DRM – Digital Rights Management. The studios, record labels and all major content providers are obsessed with it. They have little Expos to show it to Congress. They won’t let their product off of hard files until they have it. Problem is, digital files are easy to copy. Ultimately, there is no way to completely protect against copying. Until the mechanism exists, on a widespread level, to make sure content providers get paid on the basis of the popularity their product in a transparent, quantifiable way, we will continue to see these entertainment giants at odds with their own consumers.

Sick Of Faking It?

The WGA held a news conference this week calling the mounting number of product tie-ins “stealth advertising” and seeking pay for writing that crap into their storylines, as well as calling for upfront disclosure of the practice, to comply with FCC rules. Similarly, SAG members want pay for holding the crap up, driving it, eating it, maybe even acting as though it tastes good.

The best one I ever saw was the hungry Survivors practically clawing each other to death over a Dorito. I hate Doritos, but almost wanted one after all that salivating and rhapsodizing over the frigging thing. No need to pay them, reality show participants are not unionized, nor are their writers/producers, whatever you want to call this new brand of entertainer personality and their, essentially, editors.

As with the airlines, who had to look for ways to profit in a heavily unionized industry, the entertainment execs need to find ways to grow in a changing industry. It is an environment where consumers are running from traditional advertising, which talks at them in non-targeted ways. Is there anyone over five who enjoys commercials? Do you enjoy them on your DVDs? Now they’re even in theatres, do you feel like a sucker paying ten bucks to be some captive audience for a commercial? You should.

As with their delivery systems, the traditional, huge companies that provide 95% of our entertainment have trouble changing long established, and highly profitable ways of doing things. Nevertheless, distribution and technology is changing, and consumers are constantly looking for ways to avoid inappropriate advertising, such as switching from commercial TV to VOD etc. This is where the product placement comes in… can’t fast forward through that. It’s now part of the storyline. At least it’s less obtrusive and distracting.

The real advance will come as advertisers learn to sell only to those who truly will want their product. Instead of mass hamburgers, smaller companies who successfully find customers will be rewarded and consumers may see a day where they won’t find ads or tie-ins offensive because the products and services advertised to them will be stuff they would truly be interested in using. That’s probably a long time away. Meanwhile, brace yourself while the unions and execs quibble about how to split the shrinking TV advertising dollar which is, and will continue to be siphoned off by internet companies… anyone heard of Google?

Big Bust On The Block

Blockbuster’s quarterly report, issued earlier this week, stated a loss of $491M. While most of this loss is a result of it being spun off from Viacom, there are plenty of big problems for Blockbuster. So many, in fact, they warned of seeking bankruptcy protection. Most of the problem stems from the fact that their business model is being supplanted by the internet. They will soon go the way of Wherehouse & Tower Records.

People are getting sick of going to the video store, just to make life easier for Big Entertainment. This leaves them with their Netflix rip-off division. However, while talk of takeover circles around Netflix, which is being courted by Amazon, I just terminated my mailing relationship with Blockbuster because, unlike Netflix, they can’t turn the DVDs around fast enough. Netflix was first on the scene, nimble, modern, so Blockbuster, with all its marketing muscle and name awareness was unable to go forward there.

I was in Fry’s the other day, looking around at a virtual warehouse of digital media that could all be fed directly onto my laptop, or the bigger screen downstairs, so easily. Why should I spend hundreds of dollars on a bunch of little disks to hold information I probably just want to see/hear/use a few times? Bill Gates is up in arms right now because he understands what is happening, all software, all digital media, will soon be online. Our grandkids will find the idea of going to a store for your software, movies and music laughable.

What is a blockbuster? The name came from the press from Jaws, the first movie ever to see people lined up around the block. That was 1975. Well, it’s 30 years later and now maybe people don’t want to wait in line for two hours to puke on the theater floor. Start delivering your product in a way which dignifies your consumer, giving them convenience and choice, and you’ll flourish. BUT, you’ll need to do it like you did it the first time, the way you originally built your company, by challenging the powerful studios that own the rights to all those great films you want to distribute.

Blockbuster was sued by the studios when it first started renting out movies. The studios saw them as an enormous threat (they see every new distribution model as an enormous threat) and sued to shut them down (they try to shut every new distribution model down), but Blockbuster won and flourished. Perhaps it’s time for Blockbuster to start renting films over the internet. The technology is there. Looks like it’s that or bankruptcy.

Wayne Rosso: Make A Buck Off Internet Music Or Die Trying

OK, before reading the story below in shock and disbelief about my mellow tenor and primer tone, keep in mind that this was written for Slashfilm, a film site I write for. The site is somewhat mainstream and its principal has been courting the studios, everyone does. So. apparently they (the overpaid bigwigs raping our culture) have been eyeballing the site, which has done quite well in the few months it's been running. Today I went to log the story (below) on, and the site was so full of pop-ups, it wouldn't function. The writers have been complaining. Anyway, here's your preview, along with your own title:
------------------------------------------------------------

Grokster, yesterday, reached a settlement with RIAA, MPAA & other entities representing Big Entertainment (we had Big Tobacco, then Big Pharma…. ) who had sued it in 2002 for offering software which allowed people to exchange files. Since most of the files “traded” (downloaded) were owned by five big record labels who had secured most of the money making value of those songs through far reaching Copyright laws that they pay $35M/year to have made, they were pretty miffed and continue to seek recompense where they can find it.

Unfortunately, for them, most of the value of their booty has seeped back into the hands of the people it belongs to, the kids of the people who made those songs hits and paid up the ying yang for them. Since the labels have no way to recoup from all these kids, except of course, the twelve-year-old Harlem girl, and the many grannies they’ve sued, they go for where the money is.

Well, they’re reporting the Grokster settlement is $50M. Hmmm, now Grokster isn’t a public company but if they have $50M in the bank, I’ll eat my iPod. No, no, that’s the value of Wayne’s (Shawn’s) new software. Wayne Rosso, former President of Grokster sold out to the labels a long time ago. His new company is Mashboxx, which should launch later this year.

He and Shawn Fanning have been in bed with any label they could find and were making great headway at Sony/BMG until Clive Davis decapitated their buddy Andy Lack. Andy actually was trying to bring music to the internet and wanted to use Shawn’s Snocap software, which promises to turn P2Ps legit through filtering software. To make sense of all this, we need to go back to the original Napster.

Shawn Fanning, staying up night after night, wrote a program that changed the world. It allowed anyone who downloaded it to find files that had been uploaded onto the internet. It slowly started to catch on, and when it was sued by the labels, written up in Newsweek and then Hank Barry got Hummer to put up $11M, things went nuts and it became the fastest growing application to ever hit the internet.

The labels took the position, hey, it took a lot of work ripping your cultural heritage off of the artists who created it, It’s worth about $12B/year dribbling it back to you, and we want our money. No one is innocent and idealistic enough to invest in these P2Ps now, so they continue to go after Hummer, which is insured. As to the others, they just want them down, take whatever assets are there, which, in most cases there are assets, including the 10 million eyeballs on these sites every year.

So, that’s the five minute skinny on what’s happening with the Grokster settlement and P2P music. What does this have to do with film? Plenty. Remember, Sony is Big Five in both music and film. Next time you go to the theater, or video store, think about this. You could be watching that film in your very own home theater, if you wanted to, whenever you wanted to see it. The technology is there, believe me. Big Entertainment does not want that to happen, at least not yet. While the gun lobby pays $2M/year for access to Congress, Big Entertainment pays $35M. That’s a lot of money, money that they get from you and me when we buy music and film. They pay that money for control over content and distribution, and for Copyright terms of over 75 years!

If this is how you want your money spent, fine. We’ve seen a huge democratization in music and film is following close behind. We’ll continue to see the internet play a bigger and bigger role in the film industry. My concern is that Big Entertainment will continue to slow the growth of the internet as an entertainment delivery system, which it is ideally suited to be, because of their paranoia about control, and their insistence in wringing every possible dollar out of their capital.