venerdì 12 febbraio 2016

 NEWS - Clamoroso al Cibali! Netflix è "tecnicamente in debito". Gli analisti si chiedono fino a quanto potrà reggere con le spese pazze di diritti, acquisizioni, espansione e auto-produzioni. Una delle mosse per risanare, l'avvio dell'operazione-nostaglia "sicura" ("Una mamma per amica", "Arrested Development"...)

News tratta da Mic.com
Netflix is the largest paid-subscription streaming site for films and television shows, boasting over 75 million subscribers (and countless password-moochers) worldwide. As many tech sites and consumer guides have pointed out, Netflix also happens to host the largest catalog of available content, in comparison to the remaining "Major Three": Hulu and Amazon Prime. But every few months, user searches for a specific film or show yield the dreaded "related titles." With a total revenue in excess of $6.7 billion reported after the end of Q4 2015, it would seem that Netflix doesn't have an issue with cash flow. In reality, Netflix hemorrhages money due to the exorbitant overhead of licensing titles and marketing expenses. And yet, Netflix continues to replace expired titles with others while also producing new original content.  
How is this business model fiscally possible?
To be clear, Netflix does use the majority of their revenue to pay studios for licensing agreements. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2015 that of the Major Three, Netflix had planned on designating the most funds toward acquiring content – more than what Hulu and Amazon had projected on spending, combined.

But the cost of licenses has become an expensive endeavor due to bidding wars with other streaming sites for exclusivity (not to mention new competition from formerly cable-only channels like HBO and Showtime creating standalone streaming services). Consequently, more and more titles disappear, suggesting that Netflix doesn't have the capital to sustain its breadth of content
Market Realist reports that while Netflix did beat their quarterly earning estimates for the Q4 of 2015 (which prompted the price of their S&P stock to rise), the company's cash flow was still $276 million in the red, which seems like a drop in a bucket compared to the overall company debt of $2.4 billion. Market Realist further reports that in order to continue developing the company's newly expanded international market, as well as pledging a proposed $5 billion toward more original content, Netflix anticipates incurring even more debt in 2016 and 2017.
It would seem that Netflix only continues to function due to an intricate game of selective bill paying; even though Netflix accumulates a lot of revenue from monthly subscription fees, streaming, DVDs and monetizing the export of licensed titles to other formats, Netflix's profit margins are low because they forfeit a lot of said revenue to overhead, distribution, and operating expenses.
Though Netflix is technically in debt, the bonds associated with them have a "BB credit rating," meaning the chances of the company running into issues due to nonpayment are relatively low. Therefore, whatever cash flow the company does have can be siphoned into development and infrastructure, going into debt in the interim but planting seeds for future gains.
In their "Letter to the Shareholder" published in January 2016, Netflix gushed about the critical successes of several new series – Aziz Ansari's Master of None, Marvel's Jessica Jones, 10-part miniseries Making a Murderer – before detailing their goals for the upcoming year.
In 2016, we plan to launch over 600 hours of original programming, up from about 450 hours in 2015. Beyond the sheer volume of content, the breadth of our original programming will continue to expand with current plans for new seasons of 30 or so original series (including The Crown and The Get Down), eight original feature films, 35 new seasons of original series for kids, a dozen documentaries, and nine stand up comedy specials.

We are now in our fourth year of original programming and we are putting special emphasis on shows that families can enjoy together, including the upcoming Fuller House, new seasons of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Stranger Things. We are also stepping up our non?English language original productions, including Marseille, a French political drama starring Gerard Depardieu, and then, shows from Italy, Japan, Mexico and Brazil. We expect some of these series to gain fans well beyond the markets in which they were made.

Increasingly, our goal is to own more of our original programming to allow for greater creative and business control and to ensure global access to content.
Additionally, Netflix noted that traffic continued to rise in comparison to their competition, suggesting there was an audience for the company's original programming despite their dissimilar genres and serial formats.
In "Netflix Movies: Producers Weigh Hidden Downsides," Hollywood Reporter's Pamela McClintock writes about Netflix's acquisition strategy through the lens of two recently commissioned feature-length war dramas (Cary Fukunaga's already-uploaded Beasts of No Nation, and Richie Smyth's Jadotville, currently in post-production), as well as multi-title deals with Adam Sandler (for four feature-length comedies) and Leonardo DiCaprio (for a documentary series on the environment). Although Netflix will shell out what seems to be handsome premiums for the distribution rights of a film, they are usually lump sums without any offer of backend, which is generally where most profits are made should a project be successful.
The ramifications of Beasts of No Nation's release, simultaneously available for streaming on Netflix and screening in theaters with a limited release, was unusual, to say the least. As CinemaBlend reports, Netflix "broke the sacred 90-day window that's typically observed from a film's theatrical release before moving to other mediums," which led to "theater chains like Regal, AMC, Cinemark and Carmike to go so far as to boycott the film altogether."
A person close to the film told McClintock that she and her producers at Participant Media debated "endlessly" before accepting the deal, saying, "Netflix wants to break new ground with this film and create a new paradigm for watching specialty movies" before conceding that "It was a buyout. Netflix has to make it worth your while to give up the lottery ticket."
However, the team behind Jadotville were a bit more optimistic because the agreement with Netflix helped alleviate the typically labyrinthine finance structure associated with a feature-length film. 
"The traditional 'independent' model would have meant an interparty structure of seven or eight individual parties wrapped up in a banking deal and the ever possible potential for differing creative objectives," Jadotville producer Alan Moloney told Hollywood Reporter. "This way, we have one source of financing and a very supportive creative partner. What's not to love?"
His optimism toward the partnership with Netflix is key, ostensibly referring to Netflix's good brand. Many directors/producers will "forfeit" any perceived revenue in order to associate with a company that played an important role in the "Golden Age of Television" (but in many ways jumpstarted the era of "Peak TV"). And if nothing else, at least there would be a receptive audience for a product that might be otherwise niche.
As a side note: Netflix can and will purchase the rights to older, syndicated shows in bulk because they are usually sold at a cheaper rate. Expanding their catalog at an economical rate continues to give consumers more bang for their buck, but it also gives the company the opportunity to bank on nostalgia; reboots of Arrested Developmentand Wet Hot American Summer have already been uploaded to Netflix's library. Elsewhere, purchasing rights to an entire series can contribute to a runaway nostalgia effect; Netflix's ordering of a Gilmore Girls miniseries reboot stemmed from public interest, the buzz of which undoubtedly started after Netflix uploaded the original series in its entirety to its catalog.

giovedì 11 febbraio 2016

PICCOLO GRANDE SCHERMO - Clamoroso al Cibali! Il film di "Battlastar Galactica" s'ha da fare!

News tratta da Slashfilm.com
Just as Bill Adama refused to give up on humanity, even after countless Cylon attacks and supply outages and political disputes, Hollywood is not giving up on the notion of a Battlestar Galactica movie, no matter how many false starts they’ve had in the past. The latest team to attempt to try and maneuver this big old spaceship to the big screen will be Michael De Luca and Scott Stuber, who are producing for Universal. 
THR reported on the latest iteration of the Battlestar Galactica movie. Bluegrass Films’ Dylan Clark will also produce. The studio, naturally, is hoping that the project will kickstart a “massive event franchise.” No writers, directors, or stars are on board, and no release date has been penciled in — this project is still in the very early stages.
In Battlestar Galactica, humanity has spread out to multiple planets across the galaxy known as the Twelve Colonies, and has long been engaged in war with a cybernetic race known as the Cylons. At the start of the series, the Cylons manage to pull off a massive attack on the Twelve Colonies, wiping out most of the population. The Battlestar Galactica is all that remains of the humans’ military fleet. The survivors then set out in search of a fabled colony called Earth.
Battlestar Galactica first debuted on ABC in 1978. The series only lasted one season — or two seasons, if you also count Galactica 1980, a reworking of the original concept — but its impact has lingered for much, much longer. Several attempts to resurrect the franchise followed, and in 2003 Syfy (then known as Sci-Fi Channel) finally succeeded with a miniseries reboot.
The mini was popular enough to launch a full-fledged TV series, which aired for four seasons between 2004 and 2009. The new Battlestar won strong praise, particularly for the strong parallels it drew to the post-9/11 situation in the U.S. and the Middle East. It spawned two prequel spinoffs of its own: Caprica, which aired for one season in 2010, Blood & Chrome, which was eventually released as a web series.
The Battlestar Galactica franchise has never released a feature film, but it’s not for lack of effort. In 2009, as the reimagined TV series was approaching its end, Universal began making plans for a movie. Bryan Singer signed on to direct, and John Orloff was hired to script. But that version fell apart, so in 2014 the studio tried to get a new version going with screenwriter Jack Paglen. That hasn’t gone anywhere, either, so now they’re trying again.
The appeal of a Battlestar Galactica movie for the studio is obvious. The original series was a cult hit, and the reboot was a critically acclaimed drama. It’s set in a distant corner of the universe full of countless histories, characters, and planets to explore. The franchise possibilities are basically endless. But as all those failed attempts show, they’ll need to make sure to play their cards just right if they want to get there.

martedì 9 febbraio 2016

L'EDICOLA DI LOU - Stralci, cover e commenti sui telefilm dai media italiani e stranieri

CORRIERE DELLA SERA
Attenzione a "Pretty Little Liars", ritratto generazionale senza prediche
"Che la televisione faccia sempre più fatica ad attrarre un pubblico giovane, sempre più restio ad affezionarsi ai suoi racconti non è certo un mistero, anche perché ormai molto più attratto da altri mezzi di comunicazione. Per questo merita uno sguardo attento la serie tv «Pretty Little Liars», che in America è un vero e proprio fenomeno e che in Italia è partita con la sua sesta stagione su Mediaset Premium (canale Premium Stories, domenica, 21.10). Come già successo per altre celebri saghe, vedi il caso Twilight, il racconto ha origine da una serie di romanzi: il tono è un misto tra il giallo e le convenzioni di quello che si definisce «teen drama». Ci sono tutte le difficoltà psicologiche della crescita, i primi palpiti sentimentali, il rapporto con il cosiddetto gruppo dei pari (la cerchia degli amici più stretti), c'è il mondo degli adulti, spesso segnato da fragilità maggiori rispetto a quelle degli adolescenti. A tutto questo s'intreccia una trama mistery: nella cittadina di Rosewood, la vita di quattro amiche è sconvolta dall'improvvisa scomparsa della loro leader, Alison, la più bella, la più sicura, la più forte caratterialmente. Quando la ragazza è ritrovata cadavere, le amiche faticano a superare il trauma, anche perché vengono perseguitate da una misteriosa figura che firma i suoi messaggi con la sigla «A» e che sembra spiare tutte le loro mosse. Prende così vita una sorta d'indagine parallela, che le quattro conducono per conoscere la verità sulla morte di Ali-son, ma anche per liberarsi una volta per tutte del fantasma di «A». Senza troppe prediche, com'è tipico della seria-lità televisiva americana, «Pretty Little Liars» racconta uno spaccato anche crudo dell'adolescenza di oggi, con i social che costituiscono il vero terreno (a volte spietato) di costruzione dell'immagine pubblica delle ragazze, dove l'estetica conta molto e una buona dose di spregiudicatezza anche". (Aldo Grasso, 09.02.2016)

lunedì 8 febbraio 2016

PICCOLO GRANDE SCHERMO - Ti aggiusto per le feste! "MacGyver" si sdoppia: nuovo serial (prodotto da Fonzie) e film!


News tratta da Slashfilm.com
Joining the barrage of remakes and reboots, the action adventure TV series MacGyver will be making a comeback. But what’s unique about the return of this property is that it has both a film adaptation and a TV series reboot in the works at the same time.
Just a few days ago, CBS officially ordered a pilot episode for a new MacGyver series, inspired by the show that ran on ABC from 1985 to 1992. In addition, today Lionsgate revealed that they’re working on a MacGyver movie, something that has been kicking around Hollywood for awhile, never finding any firm ground at various studios over the years. Find out more about each of these new MacGyver incarnations below.
First up, the TV series sounds like the more sure thing that we’ll see in the future. Variety reports CBS has just ordered a reimagining of the original show that followed Richard Dean Anderson with an outstanding mullet as secret agent Angus MacGyver, an employee of the Department of External Services. MacGyver became well known for using a mix of random items and his Swiss Army knife to get himself out of sticky situations and save the day.
James Wan is still attached to direct the pilot (he was previously attached to helm a film version years ago) which he will also executive producer along with Henry Winkler and Michael Clear. The script for the TV pilot comes from Paul Downs Colaizzo, an untested writer in the world of television.
If for some reason the pilot doesn’t impress CBS, perhaps the MacGyver movie in the works at Lionsgate will actually work this time. As of now 21 Jump Street producer Neal Moritz and MacGyver creator Lee David Zlotoff are producing the movie, but that’s all that was announced on an investors call from the studio today, as reported by Variety.
The question is whether audiences will be confused by and/or uninterested in one of these projects because of the other’s existence. Do we really need a new MacGyver TV show and a MacGyver movie at the same time? Maybe the TV show should be the priority while a MacGruber sequel is finally put into action elsewhere instead. I can almost guarantee that a MacGruber sequel will be 1,000 times better than any MacGyver movie.
Anyway, I’m willing to bet that one of these projects will end up falling to the wayside. But considering how crazy studios and networks have been for bringing old shows to television and the big screen again, there’s a chance that both of these could move forward and find success. We’ll find out soon enough.

"Il trivial game + divertente dell'anno" (Lucca Comics)

"Il trivial game + divertente dell'anno" (Lucca Comics)
Il GIOCO DEI TELEFILM di Leopoldo Damerini e Fabrizio Margaria, nei migliori negozi di giocattoli: un viaggio lungo 750 domande divise per epoche e difficoltà. Sfida i tuoi amici/parenti/partner/amanti e diventa Telefilm Master. Disegni originali by Silver. Regolamento di Luca Borsa. E' un gioco Ghenos Games. http://www.facebook.com/GiocoDeiTelefilm. https://twitter.com/GiocoTelefilm

Lick it or Leave it!

Lick it or Leave it!