‘Monsters U.’ and ‘World War Z’ score! Hollywood’s VOD experiment.
After the coffee. Before over analyzing the “Mad Men” season finale.
The Skinny: Actually, I don’t over-analyze “Mad Men.” Nor do I read anyone else’s critiques since most make “Moby Dick” look like a short story. It was a good episode that made me tear up at the end. There’s my take. Monday’s headlines include the box office recap and Hollywood’s experiment with early video-on-demand in South Korea.
Daily Dose: All eyes will be on the ratings tomorrow to see how CBS’ summer series “Under the Dome,” based on a Stephen King book, will perform. While cable networks have long used summer to launch new dramas, the broadcast networks have primarily stuck to reality. But that luxury no longer exists and broadcast networks can no longer ignore summer.
Monster performance. “Monsters University” graduated with honors in its opening weekend, taking in $82 million and finishing first at the box office. Also delivering was the zombie thriller “World War Z,” which made $66 million in its debut weekend. While “Monsters U.” was expected to be huge, there were a lot of questions about Brad Pitt’s “World War Z” because of all the problems the movie endured during production. However, the behind-the-scenes drama wasn’t enough to scare off folks hungry for big-budget summer movies. Box office recaps from the Los Angeles Times and Movie City News.
PHOTOS: Celebrities by The Times
The parking is probably better too. Want to watch new movies at home? All you have to do is move to South Korea, where Walt Disney Co. and Sony Corp.. are experimenting with releasing movies on video-on-demand just a few weeks after their theatrical debut. Movie studios are eager to see if it is possible to release movies on VOD earlier here but movie theater owners are resistant, fearing it will keep moviegoers at home. The Wall Street Journal on the South Korea experiment.
Locked and loaded. There is no shortage of gun imagery in the posters for this summer’s big movies. Although there was a lot of talk about whether Hollywood would tone down romanticizing guns and violence in the wake of last years massive shooting at a screening of “The Dark Knight Rises,” so far it appears to be business as usual. The New York Times on what it calls Hollywood’s gun passion.
A bigger show to run. Paris Barclay, a veteran television director currently working on “Sons of Anarchy,” was voted president of the Directors Guild of America. Barclay has won two Emmy awards for his work on “NYPD Blue.” More on Barclay and the DGA from the Los Angeles Times.
RIP. Gary David Goldberg, whose producing credits included “Family Ties,” “Brooklyn Bridge” and “Spin City,” died Sunday of brain cancer. Before creating “Family Ties” Goldberg cut his teeth writing on such CBS classics as “The Bob Newhart Show” and “Lou Grant.” An appreciation from Variety.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: Discovery Founder John Hendricks’ new autobiography “A Curious Discovery” tells the story of how he built a cable empire.
Follow me on Twitter and we’ll see where we can take this thing. @JBFlint.
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