Freakfilms, Inc.

07/26/2024

🤪

07/09/2024

👀
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/08/paramount-skydance-merger.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3YI0KW2V8cv4gQeLV1jeOTYqEegU4TKW2B2UiL-c4XH0BlnV6OzZPQEnA_aem_-oRW8fCNq-7scMdcfOLLFg

Paramount agrees to merge with Skydance, bringing new ownership to the storied movie studio and CBS broadcast network long controlled by the Redstone family.

06/08/2024

👀

Shari Redstone will decide the fate of Paramount and the future of some of America’s most recognized cultural icons.

05/24/2024

Morgan helped to make docs "mainstream".

RIP Morgan. And incidentally, I met him briefly when he was at MTV. He was a character.

So sad. 😢

https://consequence.net/2024/05/morgan-spurlock-super-size-me-dead/amp/

Morgan Spurlock, the Academy Award-nominated documentarian behind Super Size Me, has died at the age of 53 due to complications from cancer.

05/23/2024

Calling all GenX... 👀

https://youtu.be/MxVNQkRM5Qw?si=D6BBvihzMgExZcSp



In the 1980s, everybody wanted to be in the Brat Pack. Except them. Director Andrew McCarthy reunites with Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy,...

04/22/2024

🤔

https://www.facebook.com/share/Gs2wMxqFgSWnfmyF/?mibextid=WC7FNe

The cast behind the 1999 horror classic was paid mere thousands for a movie that grossed almost $250 million. Now, it’s being rebooted, which was news to the actors.

02/13/2024

01/24/2024

53K likes, 519 comments. “ ”

01/13/2024

Nailed it.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8bd9hMy/

723.6K likes, 5402 comments. “mainstream misogeny”

01/08/2024

Haha.. For real, though.

97.7K likes, 987 comments. “Boo 🍅🍅. Greta & Margot deserved better than that nonsense. Team Barbie 4 life ”

01/08/2024

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT84EVYyE/

62.3K likes, 211 comments. “ Movie is the first-ever winner of the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement award at the ! Congratulations 🫶”

01/03/2024

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/03/movies/oscars-best-picture.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

It’s a very competitive year for the top Oscar. With precursor awards like the Golden Globes coming soon, here’s what may make the cut.

11/15/2023

This is an exceptional article about Warner Bros, the writer's strike, and saving Hollywood amidst the streaming era.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/15/magazine/david-zaslav-warner-media-discovery.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

A merger put him in the driver’s seat at Warner Brothers, one of the industry’s biggest studios. It has been a wild ride.

09/26/2023

https://www.npr.org/2023/09/25/1201498353/three-takeaways-about-the-hollywood-writers-tentative-agreement

Writers are set to vote to ratify a new contract before they can end their nearly five month strike against the studios.

09/08/2023

09/04/2023

https://www.dailyfreeman.com/2023/09/02/strikes-by-hollywood-actors-writers-costing-mid-hudson-valley-millions-film-commission-says/?fbclid=IwAR3ClvKjVI5ynkoBMWECjRCkhHZIXao_8vF-wWjHQfkCvGilqXzlNGc7Wqk_aem_AWgKP-MsIQETu0sQAoz-SqxDbmALsrvUYWFtTT55BPvZlhLWNc1EU4c6lYiCv-x94_k&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

KINGSTON, N.Y. — Strikes by Hollywood actors and writers have basically put a stop to major Hudson Valley film productions, costing the region an estimated $25 million in “direct spending,” accordi…

08/20/2023

07/26/2023

https://www.facebook.com/100059174186752/posts/672795658036234/?mibextid=aE13LE

“I think it was a particular ripple in the universe that allowed it to happen,” the director said on Tuesday of her highly anticipated movie making a staggering $162 million in its first weekend.

07/19/2023

For those who want to understand the writers' / actors' strike better:

(copied)

We're Fighting for the Survival of Our Profession

Here’s the simple truth: We’re up against a system where those in charge of multibillion-dollar media conglomerates are rewarded for exploiting workers.

The companies represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) — which include Amazon/MGM, Apple, Disney/ABC/Fox, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount/CBS, Sony, Warner Bros. Discovery (HBO), and others — are committed to prioritizing shareholders and Wall Street. Detailed below are some of the key issues of the negotiation and where things stand. We moved on some things, but from day one they wouldn’t meaningfully engage on the most critical issues.
Performers need minimum earnings to simply keep up with inflation.
Us: We need an 11% general wage increase in year 1 so our members can recover from record inflation during the previous contract term.
Them: The most we will give you is 5%, even though that means your 2023 earnings will effectively be a significant pay cut due to inflation and it is likely you will still be working for less than your 2020 wages in 2026.
Performers need the protection of our images and performances to prevent replacement of human performances by artificial intelligence technology.
Us: Here’s a comprehensive set of provisions to grant informed consent and fair compensation when a “digital replica” is made or our performance is changed using AI.
Them: We want to be able to scan a background performer’s image, pay them for a half a day’s labor, and then use an individual’s likeness for any purpose forever without their consent. We also want to be able to make changes to principal performers’ dialogue, and even create new scenes, without informed consent. And we want to be able to use someone’s images, likenesses, and performances to train new generative AI systems without consent or compensation.
Performers need qualified hair and makeup professionals as well as equipment to safely and effectively style a variety of hair textures/styles and skin tones.
Us: How about consultations with qualified hair and makeup professionals for all performers on set to ensure equity for performers of color, and a requirement to have the proper tools and equipment?
Them: Begrudgingly, we will do this for principal performers, but background actors are on their own.
Performers need compensation to reflect the value we bring to the streamers who profit from our labor.
Us: Consider this comprehensive plan for actors to participate in streaming revenue, since the current business model has eroded our residuals income.
Them: No.
All performers need support from our employers to keep our health and retirement funds sustainable.
Us: Contribution caps haven’t been raised in 40 years, imperiling our pension and health plans. Would you consider raising the caps to adjust for inflation and ensure that all performers, regardless of age or location, receive equal contributions?
Them: Here are some nominal increases nowhere near the level of inflation that won’t adequately fund your health plan. Also, background child performers under 14 years of age living in the N.Y. zone don’t deserve pension contributions, which is why we haven’t paid them since 1992.
Principal performers need to be able to work during hiatus and not be held captive by employers.
Us: These timelines we’ve proposed help series regulars by limiting the increasingly long breaks between seasons and giving them some certainty as to when they'll start work again or will be released.
Them: Take these select few improvements that will only help a select few.
Principal performers need to be reimbursed for relocation expenses when they’re employed away from home.
Us: Drop the ruse that series regulars are becoming residents of a new state or country when they go on location and adequately pay them for all of their relocation costs.
Them: Here’s some stipends which don’t realistically reflect the cost of relocating to an out-of-state or out-of-country production.
We marched ahead because they intentionally dragged their feet.

After we agreed to their compressed bargaining schedule, the AMPTP subjected us to repeated stonewalling and delay. It took more than four weeks of bargaining for the AMPTP to agree to simple basic issues of fairness and respect, such as:
Access to reproductive healthcare and gender affirming care for performers working away from home in states that restrict medical access.
A consultation process to guard against racist and sexist “wiggings” and “paintdowns” of stunt performers.
Safety for performers working with animals on set.

Is this enough? We need transformative contracts, yet remain far apart on the most critical issues that affect the very survival of our profession. Specifically, we need fair compensation that accounts for inflation, revenue sharing on top of residuals, protection from AI technology, and updates to our pension and health contribution caps, which haven’t been changed in decades.

This is why we’re on strike. The AMPTP thinks we will relent, but the will of our membership has never been stronger. We have the resolve and unity needed to defend our rights.

Transparency: THIS CHART reflects our proposals and illustrates just how far apart we remain on key issues. The document also indicates where we’ve reached tentative agreements, as well as proposals strategically withdrawn as part of the negotiating process.

For additional information, FAQs, picket locations and more, visit sagaftrastrike.org.

In unity,
The SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee

On 6/13, SAG-AFTRA’s National Board called a strike on TV, theatrical and streaming work covered by the TV/Theatrical Agreements. Our acting careers are in jeopardy. Now is the time to act.

07/12/2023

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/11/movies/ellen-hovde-dead.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&fbclid=IwAR1LCenMNDEw0AhPXPgw_DlUpC52j716wbL1Ml2TmvlsExqiBYu5ZAahc-M_aem_Ada-ZOpxi5WfXcBjbbQoIS4MDkfPb6sdh73wEdadOeejm34PTVhzHkHAoxwQZDVKmhs&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

She worked with the Maysles brothers on the groundbreaking film about two Long Island recluses, and she later shared an Emmy for a mini-series about Ben Franklin.

07/05/2023

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/30/movies/best-movies-2023-so-far.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Our critics picked six films that you can catch up with over the long holiday.

05/15/2023

https://variety-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/variety.com/2023/film/news/new-york-film-tax-incentive-700-million-1235570424/amp/

New York is poised to dramatically increase its film tax incentive from $420 million a year to $700 million, as it looks to stave off competition from New Jersey and Georgia. Gov. Kathy Hochul anno…

05/06/2023

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/05/business/media/drew-barrymore-mtv-awards-writers-strike.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Just days before the show was scheduled to air, the actress and talk-show host said she would pick up her hosting duties next year.

02/18/2023

Of all the viewpoints i n this article, I tend to agree most with Kathleen:

"Kathleen Finch, Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. networks chief content officer:

Linear TV will absolutely still be here. When you look at the size and scope of the linear TV business, it's huge. People still like to sit down as a group in front of the TV. It's very communal. And advertisers love it — whether they're selling a new movie coming out or launching a car sale. The linear TV business will be healthy for a long time. Obviously people's habits are changing, but as a business, it's a large, robust, high-margin business. One of the other things so important about linear is it provides the financial ecosystem to feed a lot of streaming platforms. In our group at WBD, it makes about 4,000 hours a year of content, and it's a huge amount of content that we make to feed the networks. A lot get a second life on streaming – or a first life based on what we determine. To fund the content just for streaming is a bit of a challenge. But because we really have a great margin with a dual revenue system, we super serve that audience on linear."

CNBC asked media insiders, including Barry Diller, Bela Bajaria and Bill Simmons, for their predictions about the future of TV.

12/31/2022

Navigating a concerning economy, rampant consolidation and a manic marketplace, the women leading the entertainment industry drove projects that brought moviegoers back to theaters, spent billions on the unrelenting content boom and — gasp! — even got the town excited about ... broadcast TV.

12/31/2022

RIP Barbara. 😢


https://www.npr.org/2022/12/30/172253629/barbara-walters-dead?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_term=nprnews&fbclid=IwAR2okPw3mW9Hwo9Vkl-onSN_fhLQAKSV34ZO8H8ty8fPtq3Uryts8njnoiE&mibextid=rhAWq2

Over more than a half century, the driven celebrity journalist built one of the most remarkable careers in TV news. She was 93.

12/29/2022

https://www.npr.org/2022/12/20/1143084568/the-best-movies-and-tv-of-2022-picked-for-you-by-npr-critics?utm_term=nprnews&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&fbclid=IwAR0nVo_oWuqtETfOLfLDgKdOy-mTTxWjYK61GpYKJcgv0Yr2AnCb4nJ3N2s&mibextid=rhAWq2

Whether you plan to head out to the theater, or binge from the couch, our critics have gathered together their favorite films and TV shows of the year. Happy watching!

10/25/2022

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/24/business/media/hollywood-metoo.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20221025&instance_id=75580&nl=the-morning®i_id=94709723&segment_id=110987&te=1&user_id=2da198e418bd6363c8bf647df925c3b6

The movement led to increased diversity and representation in the entertainment industry, but now there is worry that executives have turned their attention elsewhere.