What Fresh Hell Is This?
First came the news that there’s a computer program that evaluates the merits of a script by comparing its “creative elements” to previously successful films in the same genre to assess how audiences might react to specific scenes. Now we hear that Disney will not finance films costing more than $100 million unless the project can demonstrate its characters can be sold around the world as merchandize. All this does not bode well for originality or creative breakthroughs.
The Devil’s Work
A new service uses a database to compare a script’s creative elements to those of similar films in order to predict how audiences might react to scenes, as well as to target demographics and potential marketing opportunities. Is this the cutting-edge of the cookie-cutter?
Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
Toby Harnden, the Telegraph’s entirely objective Man in Washington, writes that Barack Obama’s approval rating of 47% makes him “the least popular president at the end of a first term since polling began.” Mr. Obama’s first term ends in January 2013 (perhaps this was a Freudian slip and Mr. Harnden meant to say “first year”.) [...]
