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Show BusinessMirror
Friday, April 12, 2019
www.businessmirror.com.ph
Prince Harry, Oprah work on mental-health program for Apple
CHARACTERS from Disney and Fox movies are displayed behind Cathleen Taff, president of distribution, franchise management, business and audience insight for Walt Disney Studios during the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures presentation at CinemaCon 2019. AP
LONDON—Kensington Palace says Britain’s Prince Harry will be partnering with Oprah Winfrey to create a documentary series on mental health for Apple’s new streaming service. The documentary builds on Harry’s work on mental-health issues, which included work with brother Prince William and his wife Kate in their Heads Together campaign. Harry says the series will share “global stories of unparalleled human spirit fighting back from the darkest places” and the “opportunity for us to understand ourselves and those around us better.” Earlier this year, Apple enlisted Winfrey, together with Jennifer Aniston and Steven Spielberg, to try to overcome the TV and movie streaming service business dominated by Netflix and Amazon. The service, dubbed Apple TV Plus, will feature Apple’s original shows and movies. AP
JAMES REID
NADINE LUSTRE
CINCO DE MAYHEM MUSIC FESTIVAL ON MAY 4
IN a historic first, premiere events producers ProMedia Productions brings a unique musical experience with the firstever Cinco de Mayhem Music Festival (www.cincodemayhem. com). The event brings together top local artists and DJs in a vibrant and festive celebration of music, youthful spirit, community and life at the Vista Mall Daang Hari Open Grounds this coming Cinco de Mayo weekend on May 4. The brainchild of actor and host turned musician Alexander Diaz, Cinco de Mayhem is slated to create a gathering like no other—mixing the richness of Mexican culture and the unrelenting spirit highlighted in this widely celebrated annual world event. “I’ve always been passionate about good music and a good party, and Cinco de Mayhem combines just that. Not only are we bringing the festivity of Cinco de Mayo to the Philippines, but we are elevating it by ushering in topnotch Filipino talent with our lineup of game changing musicians,” shared Diaz, the festival’s creative director. Hold on to your sombreros (and maracas, if you will) and marvel at this unique artistic revelry headlined by local performers James Reid and Nadine Lustre, along with the rest of the Careless Music Manila crew: Astrokidd, Massiah, KINGwAw, Curtismith, and Sofia Romualdez, together with rising and legendary musicians and DJs from Quest, Kiana Valenciano, Divine Smith, DJ Euric, Deuce and Nix Damn P. To spice the lineup even further, the country’s first and only female MC Marga Bermudez joins the roster, along with a special surprise performer to be unveiled soon. Apart from the high-octane performances, expect fun activities set up at the event venue, backdropped by beautiful scenery, merely 30 minutes outside of Metro Manila. “We are not just thrilled to share a lineup that is so fresh and diverse, but we are also excited to bring together an epic night that will surely be unforgettable—a first of many Cinco de Mayhems to come. With this caliber of local acts and this Mexican utopia we have set up for everyone to enjoy, we sure have an experience that will make this the perfect way to cap off your summer,” said Lahaina Mae Mondonedo, director of operations. Tickets are available priced at P3,500 (VVIP), P2,000 (VIP), and P950 (General Admission).
From Disney to Netflix, the big takeaways from CinemaCon By Lindsey Bahr The Associated Press
but only if they play by the same rules as all the other studios in Hollywood.
AS VEGAS—The movie industry has returned to their day jobs on Friday after four days of schmoozing, deal-making and watching movie studios and stars sell the best of what’s to come to theaters at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. It’s a time of great change in the movie business. The film distribution landscape has been irrevocably altered with Disney’s still-fresh acquisition of Fox, the competition from streaming is only getting more intense, and, even though last year was a record one at the box office, this year isn’t off to the best start. Publicly at least, the big Hollywood studios were unwavering in their message: We’re committed to the theatrical experience. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from the annual gathering of theater owners and distributors.
THE FOOTAGE THAT HIT HOLLYWOOD studios spend a lot of money to bring stars like Charlize Theron, Jim Carrey and Arnold Schwarzenegger, trailers and footage to Las Vegas, but the downside is that no matter how charming or funny they are, only a few really ever manage to break out in a big way. Paramount’s Elton John musical Rocketman got everyone jazzed and singing along to his classic hits, while teasing the high-highs and lowlows of rock star life. Universal’s Yesterday, about a struggling musician who wakes up from an accident to find that he’s the only one in the world who knows the music of The Beatles (and uses it to his advantage), also looks like it will be a fun summer charmer. Disney brought out the classic “everything the light touches” scene from its CG/live-action adaption of The Lion King. The stunning landscapes and life-like fur shown of Simba and his father gazing out at the sunrise had many seeing dollar signs in their future. And Lionsgate brought out a late-game charmer in Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson’s next film, Knives Out, a sharply written Agatha Christiestyle whodunit about a wealthy family whose patriarch turns up dead.
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THE STREAMING ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM NETFLIX has never attended CinemaCon, nor has the streaming giant even asked to be part of the splashy product showcase. Yet veiled, and sometimes explicit, references seem to come up in every presentation every year to the looming competitor that’s seen as a threat to the theater-going experience. Helen Mirren even said, “I love Netflix, but [expletive] Netflix.” This year was a little different since Netflix recently joined the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). “We are all stronger advocates for creativity and the entertainment business when we are working together. All of us,” said MPAA Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin. AMC CEO Adam Aron even said that he’s even open to Netflix playing in his company’s theaters,
DISNEY SHOWS OFF ITS NEW TOY: FOX THE Disney/Fox deal may have been an arranged marriage, at least for the remaining executives at 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight, but everyone put on a good face for the theater owners while also referencing the magnitude of the change. It was a little strange to see a montage featuring Avatar, Titanic, Hidden Figures, Toy Story, Frozen and the Avengers all together. But the 2019 Fox releases have been officially
blended in with the Disney releases (and some will have to move as they currently occupy the same release date). “We believe that together we will be more than the sum of our parts,” said Alan Horn, the chairman of the Walt Disney Studios. BUSINESS WAS UP, BUT... DID you hear? 2018 was a record year at the box office with $11.9 billion in ticket sales. (Of course you did, because every studio and trade association chief made sure to mention it over and over again this week.) And yet, this year the box office is still down nearly 16 percent. Privately, some smaller theater owners grumbled about the lousy first three months of 2019 in movies for their bottom lines, even with hits like Us and Captain Marvel. Avengers: Endgame is coming after all. But it takes more than one mega-hit to save an entire industry. DIVERSITY BRINGS AUDIENCES FOR an industry propped up by the successes of superhero films, every studio seemed keen to remind theater owners that they don’t just make those kinds of movies. And indeed, the message remains that diversity sells. Last year, when films like Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians became massive hits, ticketbuyers were younger and more diverse than ever. It’s fitting, then, that the convention brought out Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu to talk about why when faced with a choice between a streaming release or a theatrical one for his film, he chose the theater. “The weekend became a can’t-miss cultural event. This story would not have happened without the theatrical experience...we made movie stars,” Chu said. “In a time when we need shared experiences more than other to help see each other, [cinema] can be the most powerful potent tool.” n
GMA launches online newscast ‘Stand for Truth’ BEGINNING April 15, the most internationally awarded broadcast news organization in the country GMA News and Public Affairs brings the future of online news as it launches Stand for Truth—a weeknight online newscast produced and reported by the young for the young, headlined by Atom Araullo with Richard Heydarian and Joyce Pring. Airing weeknights at 8 pm, the 15-minute news program will be livestreamed via GMA Public Affairs’ YouTube account (www.youtube. com/gmapublicaffairs) and GMA News Online, and shared on GMA Network’s various socialmedia sites. It will incorporate music, the latest in mobile journalism and new storytelling tools for online publishing. Leading the young team of anchors is multi-awarded young documentarist, writer, photographer, and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees advocate Atom Araullo. He anchors Stand for Truth from the middle of the GMA Social Media Hub. From there, he will also be an active reporter and a mentor to the young reporters. Joining Atom is GMA resident political
analyst Richard Heydarian. He will provide on-the-spot analysis of the biggest news of the day, and also present a data-driven segment showing the numbers involved in an issue, the history and the policies behind it. Born in Baguio, Richard took up Political Science at the University of the Philippines-Diliman and previously taught at De La Salle University and the Ateneo de Manila University. Richard is known for his expertise in the South China Sea dispute and Philippine current affairs. Meanwhile, Joyce Pring will be in charge of the music segment of Stand for Truth using the language of the generation. The GMA host will also interview some of today’s biggest bands and musicians in the country. Joyce is one of the hosts of the longest-running morning show Unang Hirit and GMANetwork. com’s Kapuso Artistambayan. She also produces the podcast #AdultingWithJoycePring and uploads vlogs on her YouTube channel every week. Aside from these experienced media personalities, a new breed of young reporters will take the spotlight in Stand for Truth. Young,
aspiring journalists from Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao sent in their sample mobile video reports using GMA’s YouScoop facility. They went through several levels of auditions until only 10 of them were chosen to undergo trainings and workshops by some of the
country’s most-awarded and highly esteemed broadcast journalists to continue the legacy of the GMA newsroom. These short-listed Stand for Truth reporters include Bhea Jeem Docyogen, an Igorot and radio disc jockey from Baguio;
Anthony Esguerra, a multimedia reporter, fellow in New Media and Journalism at Ball State University, Indiana, USA; Asmarie Labao, a former forester and environment information officer from Marawi; Shai Lagarde, former TV producer and currently a lifestyle vlogger; Ardo Miravalles, Certified Public Account specializing in media and the entertainment industry; Darwin Quirino, communications officer for the Department of Foreign AffairsOffice of Middle East and African Affairs; Manal Sugadol, a licensed English teacher and former administrative assistant from Cotabato; Larize Lee, a Chinese-Filipino and a GMA Artist Center public relations executive; Eduard Faraon, a senior high-school campus journalist; and Jerald Uy, former TV reporter, road safety advocate and vlogger. It was in December last year that GMA News and Public Affairs received an innovation grant from leading online video platform YouTube for Stand for Truth. It aims to reach younger news viewers, while continuing the legacy and the principles the GMA newsroom has always stood for.
FROM left: Richard Heydarian, Atom Araullo and Joyce Pring