There is a movie coming out about infamous whistle blower Edward Snowden. This isn’t the Academy Award winning documentary that came out last year; this is an all-out Hollywood film with a legendary director and ensemble cast. This is Edward Snowden: The Movie.
This upcoming movie is directed by Oliver Stone. Joseph Gordon-Levitt will play Snowden, the former CIA systems administrator who told the world about the NSA spying on Americans through their computers and smartphones. In late 2013, Snowden was charged with espionage, then fled to Russia, where he’s been staying ever since. That same year, he was first runner-up to Pope Francis as Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. To this day, many debate whether Snowden is a hero or a traitor. Nicolas Cage signed on to play a US intelligence officer. This film will simply be called, ‘Snowden’. It’s currently in shooting around the world and should finish in May 2015. The film is expected to be released Christmas Day 2015. Open Door Films and Pathe Films, both independent movie houses, are backing and producing this film.
Oliver Stone is the perfect director for a movie like this. For over a quarter of a century, Stone has tacked controversial subjects like JFK, Natural Born Killers and Platoon. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has come a long way since 1990s sitcom Third Rock From The Sun. Levitt has starred in masterpieces like 500 Days of Summer, Inception, and The Dark Knight Rises. Adding Nicolas Cage to the pot and you have a great pot of gumbo brewing, and a great heap of controversy. To those who call Snowden a traitor, they’re going to be some open wounds. To those who hail Snowden as a hero, I’m sure they’re going to flock to this film. And how is the Federal government going to respond to this film? Can we expect a sudden hacking attack to delay or cancel this film, like a sudden hack attack delayed and cancelled The Interview last Christmas?
There is hardly a bigger target for cyber bullies than celebrities. Their personal life is often out in the open for all to comment on, using anonymous and hidden names. One star is tired of the madness and meanness. Now, this rap star quits social media.
Australian born rap star Iggy Azalea announced on her Twitter feed she is quitting social media. This started while on a Valentine’s Day vacation in Hawaii. While in a one-piece bating suit, paparazzi took photos of her. I’m guessing this was without Azalea’s knowledge or approval, but that’s another subject for another time. But the brutal, ugly and nasty comments poured in, simply because…surprise, surprise, her body isn’t perfect! Cyber bullies target the cellulite on her thighs. On February 18, Azelea announced she was taking time away from social media. She says the hate has made her an angry person, and that the Internet has become an ugly reflection of humankind. Azelea tweeted from now on, her management team will be running her social media accounts.
This post vacation cyber bullying isn’t the first run-in Iggy Azalea had with social media. In the past several months, she’s had online feuds with everyone from Snoop Dogg to Papa John’s Pizza. I think this latest episode was the final straw. I respect Azalea for making this bold move. If this is what it takes to have peace of mind, then good for her. No amount of fame, fortune or celebrity is worth losing peace over. But she’s only partially right about something: the Internet is an ugly reflection of humankind. While many lives has been lost and destroyed because of cyber bullying, think of all the lives that have been saved and made better because of all the good the Internet is doing. Can we dish out less of the bullying and more of the encouragement, please? And who gave the paparazzi permission to take those photos of her anyway?
I read an article that says the Millennial generation, those born between 1981-late1990s, is turning away from traditional TV in record numbers. Is TV production following the same route? Is a TV show and MacBook going hand and hand?
Popular TV sitcom Modern Family will debut an episode on February 25 called Connection Lost. What makes this episode unprecedented is the entire story will be told through a character’s Apple MacBook Pro. Experts call this ‘screen capture’ film making. The episode starts as Claire (portrayed by Julie Bowen) on her MacBook. Her daughter Haley (portrayed by Sarah Hyland) gets into a confrontation with her, and can no longer be tracked. Now, MacBook apps and video chats has to be used to find her. Every character somehow has access to these apps and video chats. But why are pictures of Yosemite National Park used in the background? Is there some kind of message behind that?
Connection Lost is the brain child of Modern Family creator Steven Levitan and scriptwriter Megan Ganz. Levitan drew inspiration from his love of gadgets, particularly Apple gadgets. There was a similar real life incident between Mr. Levitan and his daughter that inspired this episode. His daughter and Haley are around the same age and in college. For over five years, Modern Family has pushed the envelope in prime time TV and has broken new ground. Now they’re breaking new technological ground. But the concept of a child (an adult child) getting lost has been done so many times. But if the story is told through a laptop computer screen, maybe it will work. Keep in mind one reason why Modern Family is an Emmy award winning show: the creative writing. So will Connection Lost be a history making hit? Or will Connection Lost be a history making embarrassment?
Later this year, Apple is expected to release it’s own streaming music service. Apple’s iTunes already has powerful music allies in their corner. Is Apple getting it’s own record label?
It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. Apple, with all it’s money and power and influence, could offer to stream music that their competitors can’t touch. I’m talking about competitors like Spotify. Keep in mind, best selling country/pop artist Taylor Swift withdrew her multi-platinum album 1989 from Spotify because of a royalty dispute. What’s to stop her from offering all of her music exclusively to Apple streaming service? Taylor Swift is one of the most popular and influential music stars of her generation. What if other musicians get encouraged make exclusive deals to the Apple brand?
That’s not the only thing streaming competitors have to worry about. Like I said before, look at Apple’s power. iTunes has approximately 800 million customers from over 140 countries. As of January 2015, Spotify only has 60 million users and 15 million subscribers in 60 some nations. Add that to the one billion Apple devices, including the iWatch. Not only is Apple’s new streaming service intertwined with other services like Apple TV, the soon to come streaming service will soon be available on Android products!
I almost forgot, trusted sources speculate the price for the streaming service will be $7.99 a month, two dollars less than competitors like Google Music Play. I’m sure Apple is probably coddling up to music stars now about making their rights totally exclusive to them. But I’m sure Spotify, Google Music Play, and other streaming services are too. The days of the record label, FM radio and physical stores being the triangle of an artist’s bread and butter are all but over. Now, anybody from anywhere can put a You Tube video up and become a star. Remember Susan Boyle or Justin Beiber? Musicians know this and are looking to streaming services to carry out their art. So with all this being said, can Apple really become it’s own record label?
Super Bowl 49 was perhaps the greatest Super Bowl of all-time, speaking of the game. The ads, not so much. But mediocrity didn’t stop the relationship between advertising and social media.
Hashtags slipped, but still dominated the super bowl ad scene. Hastags were in half of all ads, 28 in total. Facebook was only mentioned in in four ads, Twitter in three ads and Snapchat in only one. These don’t include promos for NBC television. So while Hashtag made it in 50% of all non-NBC Super Bowl ads, that’s down from 50% last year. You Tube, Instagram, or Google Plus were not represented at all. Snapchat’s only representation were to promote upcoming film comedy Picture Perfect 2. T-Mobile was the only company to include Facebook and Twitter in their ads. Some company ads, like those backed by Geico and Budweiser, ?didn’t feature any online or social media mentions at all. Some others, like Turbo Tax and Nationwide, only featured their own Internet address. In fact, nearly half the companies advertised last night had their online address URL in the ad.
It’s estimated that Super Bowl commercials influence at least 10 million people to buy the sponsor’s product or service. This nation’s population is over 318 million, so that may not sound like a big number, but it is. If you can convince millions of people to support your business on this occasion, you’re doing something right. I’m still wondering why Hashtags still dominate so well over all online forms, except for URL’s. I think every commercial should include a web address in this day and age, and more should include Facebook and Twitter as well. So how did the advertising do? Well, I found a website that had a playlist of all the non-NBC based Super Bowl ads of 2015. To me, some of them were way too long. At 4.5 million for a 30 second ad, it’s good to know some companies have this much money to gamble with. But you be the judge.
Tonight is Super Bowl 49. The halftime show will be headlined by platinum record selling recording artist and A-Lister?Katy Perry. But she’s not stopping there.
This year, the halftime show and social media will be intertwined like never before. During her show tonight, February 1, Perry and her sponsors will be advertising her products throughout the Internet and social media. Katy Perry merchandise will be promoted and sold on Twitter, You Tube and Shazam and through devices like Roku, Samsung and LG electronics. It’s the first shopping enabling Super Bowl halftime show in history. We can thank online commerce provider Delivery Agent and credit/debit card giant Visa for backing this potentially historic occasion. For example, You Tube has Katy Perry’s VEVO channel, which has nearly 15 million subscribers. The subscribers should be able to ‘click to buy’ through that channel tonight. Roku customers can use their remotes to shop through the Shop TV app, on certain, but not Samsung and LG devices. Won’t be able to get your hands on Perry backed products tonight? I bring you good news. These products will be available until 8pm Tuesday, February 3rd, assuming there’re still some goodies left by then.
I must say, this is a bold step linking the Super Bowl and advertising. For decades, it’s been the most watched TV event of the year, at least in the USA. Advertisers spend millions for 30 second ads during the game. But this is the first time fans can buy merchandise from the halftime show headliner while the headliner is performing. Other ads convince you to buy their cars, beer, snacks, etc tomorrow. This new venture is getting you to buy right now! But how many people tonight can pry their focus away from the game or show to go online shopping? That’s the question. Will this venture be a hit or flop?
