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Los Angeles Times
Columnist and blogger for the Los Angeles Times
PROFILE
Patrick Goldstein
Guest
FROM Patrick Goldstein
To the Point
Damaged Children, Clueless Adults and Hollywood Ratings Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is releasing the documentary Bully without a rating after Hollywood's Motion Picture Association of America said it would get an "R" rating because the "F---word" is used repeatedly. Weinstein says that would prevent the target audience, teen-age kids, from seeing it and learning important lessons. Bullying is now recognized as the source of long-term emotional damage, aggravated by adults who don't get it. Can a documentary make a difference? Is Weinstein seeking publicity? Should the MPAA update its criteria in the age of the Internet and cable TV? Note: Both Harvey Weinstein and the MPAA have declined our invitation to participate in our discussion.
Which Way, L.A.?
Hollywood Meets the Internet and Economic Reality Hollywood is waking up to technology and economics. Studios are becoming revolving doors for executives, and the standards for "green-lighting" new projects aren't what they used to be.
To the Point
Hollywood Meets the Internet and Economic Reality With so much free content on-line, the business model for movies just doesn't work any more. Revenues from DVD's are declining fast, as is backing from wealthy "angels" with big money to spend. And this was a summer of box-office flops. Studios are becoming revolving doors for executives, and are basing productions on comic books, graphic novels, webisodes and video games that can be serialized and "branded" for easy marketing. "Specialty" projects aimed at adults are fewer and farther between. We see how the wide world of entertainment is changing.
Which Way, L.A.?
Talks Between Writers and Studios Break Down. Why? What’s Next? Thousands of people are going to be out of work for a long time if the producers and writers can’t reach an agreement and at the moment, they’re farther apart than ever. On Friday , the film and TV producers told the writers to put up or shut up. The writers accused them of bad faith. The producers came back with the charge that the writers were “ideological.” In any case, they’re not talking.
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To the Point
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.
To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.