CineBUZZ REPORT - 24 January 2013

MEDIA DODGES BULLET

Movies, TV shows, and Video Games were excluded from the White House announcement last week regarding new initiatives to reduce gun violence in the wake of recent school shootings.

The President did direct the Center of Disease Control to "conduct studies on the causes of violence, including the impact of media" - but these are long-term investigations and pose no threat to big media.  Most of the actions were directed against guns and back-ground checks for gun purchases.  In fact, there was no harsh rhetoric aimed at media violence, and the media-related portion of the anti-violence proposals was confined to a single graph.  Citing the movie, TV, and game rating systems and parental controls that, "the vast majority of Americans know about".

The National Academy of Sciences will also be asked to undertake a 'comprehensive study' of the impact of violent content, including games and programming on children.
Funding for this will have to be approved by Congress.

Statistics are funny.  Last year, Chicago, Illinois (President Obama's home town and state) had the highest murder rate in the U.S. at over 500.  Illinois has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation. Hmmmm.  Did you know that more murders were committed with hammers than rifles in the U.S. in 2012.  Go figure.

DISNEY TESTS EARLY PAY-PER-VIEW vs. DVD RELEASE

Disney has decided to test the concept of online release before the DVD release of the film Wreck-It Ralph.  The goal is to see if Disney can boost home video viewing revenue on digital platforms before the disc release.

Disney plans to release HD and digital 3D versions of the film on February 12th before two and four disc combo packs of the film are available on DVD and Blu-ray on March 5 at retailers.

This move by Disney is the latest in its experiment with online distribution methods for its films.  Last month, it signed a deal with Netflix which will allow the content streamer exclusivity to classic Disney films and offer all Disney movies eight months after their theatrical release.

GIVING DOGS THERE 'THEATRICAL' DUE

There is a school of thought that postulates that every movie ever made could be improved by replacing the original stars with dogs - talking dogs.  And as weird as this may seem, I think there is some merit to it.

So, Django Unchained becomes Django Unleased and Argo becomes Arffgo. Why not?  Let's give credit where it is due and man's 'best friend'  a chance at fame and fortune.