http://variety.com/2015/film/news/major-theater-chains-to-boycott-netflixs-beasts-of-no-nation-1201445636/

This article is about four major exhibitors who refuse to show "Beasts of no Nation", a drama about child soldiers in Africa.  These major theater chains, which included AMC, Regal, Cinemark, and Carmike, did not want to show this film for the purpose of not providing screens to films that do not honor the 90 day delay between a theatrical debut and home entertainment release. At the same time, Netflix bought the Cary Fukunaga drama this week for about 12 million dollars and will in fact debut the film simaltaneously on its streaming service. Netflix also mentions how the film will be a qualifying run for an Oscar consideration in select theaters. In addition Netflix had announced its partnership with Weinstein Company and Imax on a sequel to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". This caused most exhibitors to also refuse the showing of the film. This article caught my eye because I've never heard of a film being released through Netflix because major exhibitors refused to. As a consumer, it benefits me and others because a lot more different kind of people will have the opportunity to watch "Beasts of no Nation" other than those who will watch on the traditional platform. As a filmmaker and student, it makes me wonder about and learn how home-entertainment companies like Netflix have the power to purchase big future films to debut themselves, instead of companies like AMC, Regal, or Cinemark .This surely raises questions like, can making films being made be purchased by netflix and never actually be shown on the big screen? Have there been films or tv shows specifically made for Netflix or other home entertainment companies? Will Netflex ever become more successful than some major exhibitors? Would that effect the cost for membership in the future?

Sony Cyber Attack Delay Actor's Residuals Checks

This article is about the recent Cyber attacks on the Sony company and how exactly it's still affecting the lives of actors today. The studio has told SAG-AFTRA, (Screen Actors Guild) which is a union that most actors are apart of, that the member's residual checks will be delayed in an estimated time of 3 months. This is due to the fact that Sony Pictures computer systems were hacked. Residuals were said to be delayed by one quarter, meaning fourth quarter 2014 residuals and first quarter 2015 residuals will most likely not be posted for members online SAG for the residual tracker until after June in 2015. I chose this article because i was surprised to hear that the Sony hack is still a big concern in the industry because it continues to affect the lives of others. This is important/affects me as a filmmaker because it's important to understand how business works between companies like Sony and unions like SAG work together. As a student it's important to learn about unions, such as SAG-AFTRA, which is full of members who are actors. This union has certain conditions that its members must work in otherwise who ever is using the actors can in fact be sued. Lastly as a consumer, this affects me because actors aren't getting paid meaning they will be exposed to more work and we will have an opportunity to see them act more in films. Questions can rise up from situations like this such as, Are others being affected by the Sony Cyber attack (directors, Producers, etc)? If so, how? Will actors be in fact exposed to more work? Will SAG-AFTRA and Sony Pictures continue to collaborate with each other.

Spiderman Movies To Restart Again?

http://www.gamesradar.com/new-spider-man-movie-will-send-peter-parker-back-high-school/

This article is about how Marvel and Sony are currently both sharing the rights to the famous super hero franchise, Spider-man, and how new details have emerged for its future films. The new to come, Kevin Feige produced Spider-man movies are said to bring Peter Parker back into high school once again. This would be the third time we see Spidey in high school. The reason for this is because they want the audience to be able to "explore his awkward relationship with other students while fighting crime out of the classroom. " In addition to new films, Marvel announced the future appearance of Spider Man in the soon to be in theaters, Captain America: Civil War, along with Kevin Feige having important input when it comes to casting roles. Spin-offs are also in the process of being made, such as Venom and Sinister Six, but in much bigger news the search for a new Spider-man is on. The 31-year old Andrew Garfield will no longer play the role and instead Logan Lerman or Dylan O'Brien are being closely evaluated. I chose this article because I read the headline, which stated yet again restarting the Spider-man franchise, which I'm totally in support of. As a consumer, I would be glad to hear this considering the fact that the Andrew Garfield Spideys didn't reach my high expectations. It would be exciting to see what sort of new ideas and conflict they incorporate into the new films. As a filmmaker and a student, I can clearly see how there are new films being constantly planned for different movie franchises that already have been around for several years. Especially now that companies like Marvel ands Sony are sharing rights to something so well known from audiences around the world. It shows me how there are endless ideas and possibilities that can help build a new film from something that has already been made. Just goes to show you how a film doesn't necarsarily have to be original for it to be considered a great movie. This raises a lot of questions for me like: Will restarting the entire franchise from having the Spider-man back in high school make some fans unhappy? Are spin-offs a good idea? How will the incorporation of Spider-man in the new Avengers movie effect the box office?

Stephanie Meyer Giving Female Filmmakers a Chance

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Twilight-Coming-Back-Very-Cool-Way-Get-Details-69582.html

This article is about the future plans for the high-grossing film franchise based off Stephanie Meyer's book series called Twilight. It's going to make its return with several short films and screenplays that you can actually read right now. Stephanie Meyer announced her new project that she launched called "The Storytellers: New voices of the Twilight Saga" This project will allow female filmmakers to direct their very own short film based on a character from Twilight. As the process continues with the search of directors for the project, The Hollywood Reporter states that six screenplays have been done and are online and ready to download. Of course there were rules that went along the making of the screenplay, which included the already mentioned: be based off a character from twilight, must take place before Bella moved to Forks and changed the character Edward and his life. The reason I chose this article is because Iv'e never heard of a director allowing filmmakers from anywhere to incorporate their own ideas into something she created in the first place. This is important to me as a filmmaker and student because it shows me that opportunities like these are now known to come up. This could be a chance to be recognized not only as a fan, but a new director in the film industry. You never know, this could just be a major step forward in your future film career. As a consumer, I guess for those who love the Twilight franchise will enjoy seeing what other female directors/fans come up with story/plot wise of the short films. If it were some other franchise like Harry Potter, then I could understand what that fan base would be feeling because I'm a huge fan of that. Some questions that could come out of this is: Will other film franchises give the opportunity for filmmakers to do the same thing? Will these short films be screened? Is it competition where the best one wins something?

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31036857

This article is a devastating incident that occurred on the set of Martin Scorsese's upcoming film called Silence. A Taiwanese construction worker (Chen Yu-Lung) was killed after a ceiling collapsed on top of him and two other men during pre-production of the film in the Chinese Culture and Movie Center. According to a spokes person for the film, the incident occurred after a specific building on CMPC studios backlot was said to have been unstable. The whole plan was to hire and independent contractor in order to reinforce the building and make it "safe". It is apparent that idea didn't work out all for the poor two men who suffered head and leg injuries along with the death of one person. The Taiwanese spokes man for the film also mentioned that the accident was not expected to affect the filming schedule and they must try their hardest to keep moving on. Martin Scorsese regrets the fatal accident as well, but knows that he must continue with his work. The film is due to be released by next year 2016. This is important to me as a filmmaker and student because it really makes you strongly think about how little mistakes can turn out to be deadly ones. In this case, simply choosing location for the film, but taking the risk knowing that the building was pronounced unstable. It was a dangerous decision to be made that ended badly. Everything you do in Film must be properly planned out and safety should always be your first concern. This could have taken the lives of many more if the ceiling hadn't decided to fall that early on those three men. That's why you must always take precaution when it comes to location selection and think about the cons. As a consumer, this makes me feel really bad about the families of those three men. It felt as if the incident happened, but everyone had a brief moment of sadness and then it was back to work from there. It's the sad truth, but things like these aren't supposed to stop the planning of an entire movie in the film industry. They can't afford to lose time, which is why Martin Scorsese told the public the film's schedule wouldn't be affected.This raises questions like: Are the amount of deaths on set high? Will this continue to be an issue in the future? Will dangerous location sites for action films be avoided?

DreamWorks Animation Restructuring

http://deadline.com/2015/01/dreamworks-animation-restructuring-to-cut-500-jobs-with-290m-charge-1201355918/

Last week it was reported that Dreamworks was in the verge of laying off some of it's employees. That time has come. 500 people will loose their jobs in the new restructuring of Dreamworks Animation who is closing down one of it's studios and bringing everything to the Studio in Glendale, CA. This comes after a series of failures at the box office. The studio was once producing hit after hit but recently, the hits have been few and far between. The restructuring involves a lot of people loosing work, mostly from the top of the company. Vice Chairman Lew Coleman is retiring and COO Mark Zoradi and marketing chief Dawn Taubin will leave the company. As a consumer this affects me in a big way. Dreamworks will no longer be able putting out as many movies but I suspect the quality of the films will rise again. As a filmmaker this affects me because this is proof of the consequences of not making money in a studio. The last few films for dream works were terrible and now people are getting fired. The money comes first and that is an important lesson. As a student this gives me insight to the economics of the film industry and it shows me how a company reacts to having poor results. Because it was once so successful, I can see the kind of steps they take to get back to success. Some questions that come up are: Can Dreamworks get back to making hit after hit or will this change be for nothing? How important were the top executives to the creative process if there is no change to the company?

Dreamworks Animation Layoffs

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/layoffs-underway-at-dreamworks-animation-1201409054/

This article is about Dreamworks Animation planning once again another round of Layoffs due to disappointing box office number with films, such as Rise of the Guardians, Turbo, and Mr. Peabody and Sherman. “Three of our last four films have not delivered in terms of audience turnout or financial performance,” Katzenberg told analysts. It is clear that Dreamworks Animation has been dealing with a big decline in the company, with no award winning films for the past 3 other than How to Train a Dragon 2, which did manage a nomination for best picture animation for the Academy Awards after winning in the same category in the Golden Globe Awards. It was rumored that the most affected by the layoffs are going to be the animators, storyboard artists, and production personnel. I chose this article because I haven't been really happy about how their turnouts have been going with films. I  rarely watch Dreamwork Animation films because they are no longer what they used to be. I've heard nothing but bad in their work, and i didn't bother watching. This news is probably important to the customer because, even though it's a sad thing to do for those who have been working hard, it has been disappointing lately and a change needs to happen. It was said that the company will reduct production budgets, so theres no telling what the future holds for it. The customer wants a better Dreamworks Animation. It's important to me as a filmmaker and student because it shows me that you can't get away with just making films out in the real world. People expect greatness and that's what you should shoot for all the time. If not, then you bring about disappointing numbers which in turn can get you laid off and lose your job for good. Filmmaking isn't just about making movies. It's about being creative and loving what you do. Making a bad film doesn't get you recognized and only hurts you more instead of growing into a better/experienced filmmaker. Questions that might come up from this can be: Will Dreamworks lower production budgets continue to hurt the company even more than it already is? Will new animators, storyboard artists, and production personnel be given a chance at working for the company?