Boardwalk Empire

HBO just launched its new flagship program, Boardwalk Empire. It comes from the minds of Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese and Emmy Award-winning writer Terence Winter (The Sopranos). Mark Wahlberg also serves as an executive producer on the show. Boardwalk Empire takes place in the 1920s and follows businessman Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) as he navigates the treacherous waters of Prohibition-era Atlantic City.

In a world where networks churn out turkey after turkey, HBO consistently provides quality programming for its viewers. The premium cable network rules Sunday nights and its shows speak for themselves. Boardwalk Empire is the next Sopranos (which is widely accepted as the best TV show ever made). It even got picked up for a second season after the first episode, which is unheard of these days. Granted, the first episode was the most expensive pilot ever made (a staggering $20 million!) This cost includes the boardwalk they built which will be used in all future episodes. Scorsese directed the pilot and will act as executive producer for the rest of the series.

Boardwalk Empire is extremely cinematic in its approach – the first two episodes look like mini-movies. The period also lends itself to great fashion and décor. The costume and set designer must be having a blast working on the show. However, my favorite part of the program is the opening credits. In an homage to Belgian surrealist painter Rene Magritte, the credits center around Nucky in a bowler hat and black overcoat walking across the boardwalk on a cloudy afternoon.

While most networks are trying to cut costs, HBO is flouring and spending money right and left. With almost 30 million subscribers at $10 a month, it’s not hard to see how the cable network is able to spend so much on its programming. Boardwalk Empire, Sunday night, 9 pm, HBO, watch it.

Zucker Punched

After 10 years of terrible ratings and dreadful programming, NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker has finally been fired. NBCU was bought by Comcast last year and when the deal is final, Zucker will be ousted. This news comes as no big surprise because most media minds knew his head was on the chopping block. Comcast COO Steve Burke made the decision to fire Zucker. Burke plans on taking over as acting NBCU CEO when the deal is done.

The only noteworthy shows to emerge during Zucker’s time as CEO were 30 Rock and The Office. Under his reign of terror, he greenlit some of the worst shows ever (My Own Worst Enemy, The Philanthropist, Kath & Kim). Zucker also received a lot of criticism for terribly handling the Conan O’Brien – Jay Leno Tonight Show situation. He was so bad that the words “Zuckered” and “Zucked-up” became common media jargon intended to signfy an error in judgment.

GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt can’t protect you any longer Zucker. You took the presitigious name of NBC and flushed it down the toilet. After taking over as chief exec, he quickly took the company from first to fourth in ratings. Now that a cable company is operating NBC, maybe they’ll know how to get the company back on track.

Can Netflix Kill Television?

When I meet someone who doesn’t have Netflix, the first thing I do is punch them in the face. I then explain how they’re missing out on thousands of titles that can be mailed to them or streamed right off the internet. We live in a society where people want to watch shows and movies on their own time. Thus, in the past 5 years, we’ve seen a significant rise in Netflix and DVR (digital video recorder) users.

           

These two new platforms are sucking the profits away from the networks. When people DVR shows, they fast forward through the commercials. Advertisers are not happy about this and they’ve begun to demand lower CPMs (cost per one thousand exposures of an ad) from the networks because they think everyone is skipping their commercials. Also, rating points only reflect viewers that watched the show in its scheduled time slot. Lower ratings are another arguing point for advertisers trying to get lower CPMs.

The networks also have Netflix stealing their viewers too. I have my Netflix connected through my PlayStation 3 and with that, I can stream shows directly onto my TV. It’s simple, fast, convenient and commercial-free.

Netflix will have spent roughly $500 million on content by year’s end. Last month they inked a $1 billion deal with new premium cable channel EPIX (a joint-venture between Lionsgate, MGM, and Paramount). They will have exclusive rights to the EPIX library for the next five years. Netflix also closed a deal with Relativity Media this summer. The deal, which is said to be worth more than $100 million a year, will give Netflix sole back-end distribution rights for films produced under the Relativity banner.

Netflix single-handedly destroyed Blockbuster (they just filed for bankruptcy last week), will network television be next?

The King Steps Down

Last week it was officially announced that Piers Morgan would be taking over for Larry King when he steps down from his flagship program by year’s end. After more than 25 years at CNN, the legendary host’s last show will be on December 16. There’s no doubt that King has left his footprint in the talk-show world, but has he overstayed his welcome?

In the past decade, ratings for Larry King Live have been on a steady decline. The 76-year old used to have the highest rated show on CNN but people started to grow tired of his old school, no-frills talk show. King has had every living U.S. president as well as countless other political leaders from around the globe on his show.

So why do so many international celebrities and political leaders choose to appear on Larry King Live? Is it because of the tradition or the prestige? Maybe, but a more likely response is that King has always been known to throw softballs. He doesn’t ask hard-hitting, controversial questions or try to back his guests into a corner like some other talk show hosts. King maintains a light atmosphere by letting his guests guide the interviews.

His replacement, Piers Morgan (aka that British dude from America’s Got Talent) will take over for King starting next year. He blogged about how excited he is to take over for King, while also tooting his own horn a bit by name-dropping everyone from Simon Cowell to Jessica Alba. Personally, I don’t think Morgan’s high-brow, dry British style will be suited for the most coveted talk-show spot in the American cable news world.

So did he overstay his welcome? Yes he did, but who gives a shit? This is Larry King people. TV Guide named him “the most remarkable talk-show host on TV ever” and TIME Magazine dubbed him the “master of the mic”. This guy is an American legend and his show has produced some of the most noteworthy interviews of all time.

It’s time to hang up the suspenders Lar, you’ll be missed. 

Michael Bay Sucks

Everyone loves a good scapegoat and if there is one person to blame for the perpetuation of shit we call “film” these days, his name is Michael Benjamin Bay. For those of you unfamiliar with Bay, some of his works include Transformers, Pearl Harbor, and countless other turkeys disguised as movies. Sure his films rake in the loot, but at what cost?  

The guy doesn’t make a movie with less than a 9-figure production budget (that’s what happens when you average one explosion ever 15 seconds) but more importantly, his films encourage up-and-coming filmmakers to compromise their artistic integrity in favor of easy to watch, low-quality popcorn flicks.

This is all part of a larger trend of the championing of the glance aesthetic over the gaze aesthetic of cinema. When a movie is made as a visual stimulant as opposed to a work of art, the audience is not immersed in the storyline because their senses are occupied with all the pretty lights and deafening explosions. They glance at the screen, but no connection is made between what they see and what they connect on a deeper level. There is no stream between the eyes and the brain. This is the glance aesthetic (or what I like to call ocular masturbation). 

On the other hand, the gaze aesthetic is a characteristic of quality films. In Hollywood’s hay day, films were more than just pictures flashing across a screen; they were meant to be an experience. People went to the movies to not only be entertained, but also learn and understand the films on an intellectual level. 

With all the explosions and effects Bay uses, the filming of his movies can also be dangerous. Last week, a woman extra was rushed to the hospital in critical condition after filming a stunt scene on the set of Transformers 3. Gabriella Cedillo, a 24-year-old native of Chicago, was using her own car in a stunt scene and her car was hit with a metal object. The projectile went through her windshield and hit her in the head. They stopped production for the rest of the day. Not only does this violate guild requirements (she was using her own car and she’s an untrained extra performing stunts) it also puts the safety of his staff at risk.

Michael Bay, you suck. You will never win an Oscar (unless you CGI one for yourself). Go blow something up.