Disney to Restrict Advertising of Junk Food

Posted on June 5, 2012 at 8:37 am

The New York Times reports that:

The Walt Disney Company, in an effort to address concerns about entertainment’s role in childhood obesity, plans to announce on Tuesday that all products advertised on its child-focused television channels, radio stations and Web sites must comply with a strict new set of nutritional standards.

A Mickey Check identifies products that meet Disney’s nutrition standards.

Cereal will have to contain less than 10 grams of sugar a serving to be advertised on a show like “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.”

The restrictions on ads extend to Saturday-morning cartoons on ABC stations owned by Disney. Under the new rules, products like Capri Sun drinks and Kraft Lunchables meals — both current Disney advertisers — along with a wide range of candy, sugared cereal and fast food, will no longer be acceptable advertising material.

This is encouraging news, mostly because it will encourage companies that want to advertise to kids to make products that meet healthier nutritional standards.

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Advertising Marketing to Kids

Kevin Smith’s new “Spoilers” Show on Hulu

Posted on June 5, 2012 at 8:00 am

Writer/director/actor Kevin Smith (“Clerks,” “Life Free or Die Hard”) has a new web series about movie on Hulu called “Spoilers.”  He brings a group to a new movie and they discuss it, and he also interviews guests and does some animated skits.  For the first episode they saw “Snow White and the Huntsman” and Carrie Fisher comes over to sit in “the high chair” and talk about how much fun she had decapitating Jabba the Hutt.  Smith is a huge movie fan and he loves interacting with the crowd.  And yes,  Jay (Jason Mewes) shows up, too.  NOTE: as its title suggests, the show is best watched after seeing the movie.

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Internet, Gaming, Podcasts, and Apps

Why Do Critics Hate Movies Audiences Love?

Posted on June 4, 2012 at 3:57 pm

David Carr and A.O. Scott had a lively discussion about the role of critics and whether they should lighten up a little bit when it comes to popular films.  It is well worth watching for anyone who is interested in movies, pop culture, or seeing smart people debate about something that matters to them.

 

Thanks to Adam for suggesting this!

 

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Critics

MTV’s Movie Awards

Posted on June 4, 2012 at 9:13 am

They are brash, rude, silly, immature, and disrespectful, but the MTV Movie Awards are a lot of fun.

Over at the NPR blog Monkey See, Linda Holmes writes:

At the same time, there’s something to be said for these loose, largely fan-voted awards that dispense with awards like Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay (fans are not great at knowing what elements of a movie come from the director versus the screenwriter anyway) in favor of awards like … Best Kiss. Best Fight. And in some years, Best Scared-As-S—t Performance. (I kind of love the fact that last year, they nominated Ryan Reynolds in Buried in that category, because no, that movie isn’t great, but it’s creepy, and yes, he is scared.) And this year, they’re giving out Best Dirtbag. Well — it’s actually Best On-Screen Dirtbag. It’s probably easier to get somebody on stage to accept an award if the chyron doesn’t just say “Best Dirtbag: .”

While the Oscars are great at recognizing movies that have certain admirable qualities – distinctive and energetic acting, say, or beautifully stylized dialogue – they have never been nearly as good at recognizing the value of the entertainment side of moviegoing. They have been reticent to acknowledge on an institutional level that people go to the movies, much of the time, to experience something exhilarating. They go to laugh, to weep and swoon, to look at beautiful places, to be scared and excited and surprised. They don’t always go in order to see the most skilled artists at work. Sometimes they just want to be made to react.

It was a big year for “The Hunger Games.”  Emma Stone was a highlight with her exceptionally thoughtful and gracious acceptance of the Trailblazer award and its message about blazing your own trails, and Fun. was a great choice for the kick-off song.  This year’s winners are:

Movie of the Year
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1

Best Male Performance 
Josh Hutcherson, The Hunger Games

Best Female Performance
Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games

Breakthrough Performance
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Best Cast
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Best On-Screen Transformation
Elizabeth Banks, The Hunger Games

Best Fight
Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson vs. Alexander Ludwig, The Hunger Games

Best Kiss
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1

Best On-Screen Dirtbag
Jennifer Aniston, Horrible Bosses

Best Music
“Party Rock Anthem,” LMFAO (21 Jump Street)

Best Comedic Performance
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids

Most Gut-Wrenching Performance
The cast of Bridesmaids

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Awards

“Graceland” — 25th Anniversary Re-Release

Posted on June 3, 2012 at 8:00 am

Paul Simon’s brilliant song and album of the year Grammy-winning Graceland album celebrates its 25th anniversary next week with a re-release that includes bonus tracks and a new documentary by Joe Berlinger (Paradise Lost, Metallica – Some Kind of Monster) that covers the controversy about the making of the album.  Back in 1987, Simon traveled to South Africa to work with local musicians at a time when the racist apartheid laws had led to widespread boycotts.  Berlinger’s film includes commentary by anti-apartheid activists and a thoughtful consideration of the role of art in addressing political issues and lingering questions of the line between cultural cross-pollination and appropriation or exploitation.

 

 

 

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Documentary Music
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