You should never yell fire in a crowded movie theater. You should never wear wearable technology in a movie theater either.
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)? and National Association of Theater Owners are commanding wearable devices such as the smartwatch and Google Glass to be shut off while the movie is playing. Those who fail to comply will be asked to leave the theater. That’s not all. If it’s discovered the film was being recorded on the device, police will be called in. It’s part of their anti-piracy zero-tolerance crusade. This new ruling comes in the wake of last year’s MPAA ruling, urging theaters to check bags and jackets for cameras and other things, as to look for ‘suspicious activity’ among customers.? The MPAA is using 21st century technology of their own to enforce their zero tolerance anti-piracy crusade, such as night-vision goggles and low-light binoculars. Google Glass has been specifically targeted. The United Kingdom and theaters in five US states have banned Google Glass altogether, whether you’re using it or not. If you’re thinking about recording in a movie there, don’t do it. Penalties can be severe. Under the federal law, film piracy recordings can carry a maximum three year prison sentence. That doesn’t include state and local sentences.
I’ve never been a fan of Google Glass. I think the device can be easily used to invade peoples’ privacy and civil liberties. Maybe the smartwatch will be manipulated to do the same. So I can see the concern there. But I’m equally as concerned with how the MPAA and National Association of Theater Owners are acting. Three years in prison for piracy? I’ve read about violent criminals who serve less time. And I’m kind of weary of checks at theaters. I’ve never experienced this myself, but don’t we get enough of that at airports? I understand piracy takes food out of mouths and they want to put a stop to it. But are these policies good for stopping piracy or are they going too far?
Good news: One day you can have a You Tube with no commercials or any other advertising. Bad news: You’ll be the one paying for it.
You Tube CEO Susan Wojcicki is working around the clock to make this social medium a better place. One option includes ad-free service. It would be up to the customer to decide whether deal with advertisers or pay a monthly fee for no ads at all. In May 2013, You Tube allowed channels to sell either videos or subscriptions. For example, if a TV show wants to put reruns for the previous season, they can charge .99 cents per episode or $9.99 for the season. She also talked about the relationship between You Tube and it’s parent company, Google, and other ways You Tube can make profits. Another thing Ms. Wojociki noticed it You Tube is being uploaded from smartphones and mobile devices at least half the time. As of today, You Tube attracts over a billion visitors a month, and has made over 5.6 billion dollars in ad revenue alone in the last year alone.
I bring this up because it’s obvious ad revenue is paramount to You Tube’s success and has been for throughout the company’s nine year history. So for those of us (I’m talking to myself) fearing we’re all going to have to pay for You Tube, I wouldn’t worry. They’re smart enough to know not to let this good thing go. I understand how some are tired of the ads and would rather pay out of pocket. And I appreciate paying for subscriptions for certain shows. But You Tube needs to keep that advertising option open. Keep in mind these are just options being thrown around, except for channel and video subscriptions. Nothing is set in stone. These are just You Tube’s options. What do you think of these options and how would you make You Tube, already good, even better?
Hey techies, it’s Halloween time and if you haven’t gotten your Halloween costumes yet, we have a few suggestions for you.
10. Steve Urkel: This 1990s icon is the stereotypical epitome of the geek. But glasses, suspenders, and hitched up pants are all you need to pull it off. Eventually, Urkel got the girl, so there’s hope for all of us.
9. Astronaut: Technology and the space age has gone hand in hand since the 1950s. To enhance the costume, carry Tang around. See if anybody under age 30 understands.
8. Any Big Bang Theory Character: You can get Sheldon’s ‘Great American Hero’ T-shirt online for around $25. That t-shirt alone should be a clear giveaway. The Periodic table t-shirt works well too.
7. Neo from Matrix: This Matrix leader’s costume is fairly simple. Dress in all black, including the glasses and long coat, and a belt with toy weapons would make a great touch. As far as those cool moves and the blue pill vs. red pill, we can’t help you with that.
6. Dr. Who: A staple of pop culture for over 50 years, a suit, bow tie, and British accent should pull it off. Maybe this one’s a little too easy.
5. Any Robot: A few famous ones like Robocop, Transformers, and Wall-E come to mind. Who remembers the 1980s TV sitcom Small Wonder? Again, see if anybody under 30 will get it.
4. A Walking Computer: This takes a lot of effort to pull of, but from costume contests I’ve attended in years past, it’s well worth it.
3. Aliens: Again, you can go anywhere with this. Go as an X-Files alien. Go as the alien that terrorized Sigourney Weaver. Go as Marvin the Martian on Bugs Bunny. But my favorite alien is The Twilight Zone’s ‘To Serve Man. “It’s a cookbook!”
2. Any Star Wars character: This doesn’t need to be explained. We all get it.
1.? Any Star Trek character: Bring the next Star Trek convention to your Halloween party or trick or treat venture. Come on, you know you want to. This is the time a year you unleash your inner Star Trek without being considered…well… a geek.
You remember Edward Snowden? He’s the one who turned virtually turned the federal government and technological world upside down by revealing the NSA (National Security Agency) is spying on people’s computers, smartphones and social media accounts. Now comes Edward Snowden’s documentary.
Submitted for your approval is the documentary called Citizenfour. Launched by Laura Poitras, the documentary hints Snowden was higher in the US intelligent game than most gave him credit for and had rare access to minute-by-minute information on government surveillance. It talks about his current residence in Russia, his relationship with his girlfriend (she moved to Russia to be with Edward), and the reality of being in a foreign nation. Despite Snowden being in Russia, he still has to look over his shoulder. Sometimes, he’ll get a hand written notice warning him that he might be bugged or followed. The movie will be released October 24. It was pre-screened at a film festival in New York City and got some good buzz. In an interview with the New Yorker, Snowden talked about the documentary. He talks about missing his life here in the US and the people he left behind. He also working on a foundation to protect journalist in violently high risk areas.
The question is how many movie theaters will host this documentary? Because of who this is, and because of the controversy surrounding him, many movie theaters may pass on even hosting this documentary. Something tells me this will be heavily restricted to independent theaters. But what about the consumer? I think there will be quite a bit of support for this documentary. In 2013, Snowden was voted second only to Pope Francis in Time’s Person of the Year poll. I doubt the fascination with Snowden has slid that much in the last ten months. How does one live in Russia under his circumstance? Would you see Edward Snowden’s Documentary?
When I was a little kid, one of my favorite cartoons was Tom and Jerry.? Me and my peers thought little of the violence and sometimes racial overtones. But times have changed.
Social media venues iTunes and Amazon Prime offer the classic cat and mouse cartoon. But they have put on a warning label saying Tom and Jerry can be potentially racist and offensive, claiming some scenes may contain, “racial and ethnic prejudice”. Keep in mind most of these cartoons were done in the 1940s. One Tom and Jerry character in the center of the controversy is Mammy Two Shoes. The black mammy with the thick southern accent and incorrect grammar was one of the most used stereotypes in entertainment at the time. The last time Tom and Jerry put out a DVD, actress, comedian, and co-host of The View Whoopi Goldberg put on a disclaimer about the cartoon’s potential stereotyping. But she also says eliminating or censoring Manny Two Shoes and other controversial subjects would be like pretending they never existed.
I agree with Goldberg on this one, and I’m glad Amazon Prime and iTunes are taking the high road. Censorship does nobody any good here. But you do need to respect people’s sensitivity. I think this is the perfect call on their part of Amazon and iTunes. Besides, if we? censored every entertainment venue between the 1920s-1950s that contain ethnic stereotypes (and I don’t want to encourage them) then half of what came out during that period would be gone. Isn’t it bad enough there’s a school in Missouri that’s trying to censor US history? I think we need to see Mammy Two Shoes and other Tom and Jerry cartoons. These shows can start a great dialogue of ethnic portrayals in decades past and what we can learn from it today, and how far we’ve come. Or have we come so far?
The Netflix invasion of Hollywood has no end in sight. They’ve produced critically acclaimed and popular shows. These shows have won awards. A veteran movie star has taken notice and wants in on this ever increasing medium.
Netflix just announced it will produce four movies with Saturday Night Live alum, stand up comedian and A-List movie star Adam Sandler. All these movies will be exclusive to Netflix and their subscribers. It’s their latest quest to push the medium into Hollywood movies. We don’t know the financial details, but Netflix executive Ted Sarandos came to Sandler because Sandler’s movies are so popular on this medium. Sandler immediately jumped at the chance. This is just a part of the Netflix movie plan. It’s part of an exclusive distribution of a coming sequel to 2000’s mega-hit ‘Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon’. They’re venturing into the increasing popular talk show circuit too. They’re in talks with comedian, author and talk show host Chelsea Handler to give her her own show that will be exclusively on Netflix. Not bad for a company that started as a simple mailing video rental company.
But if Netflix is going to expand in the movie business like this, I wonder if Adam Sandler is a wise choice. I respect everything this man has done.? He’s been entertaining us and humoring us over 20 years, from Saturday Night Live to the Wedding Singer, form Anger Management to Grown Ups. Grown Ups was the last hit Sandler ever had. This was back in 2010. Now I know Sandler’s movies have been highly requested, but this is a new realm. They’re asking him to make new movies. They’re asking this from a man that hasn’t had a box office hit in over five years. I respect Netflix for taking it to the next level. But is Sandler the way you want to go? Shouldn’t they go with someone whose making hit after hit after hit right now?
