CBS: Viewers' Age and Sex Shouldn't Matter to Marketers (Ad Age)

...The data confirmed what other smaller studies have shown in the past, according to Mr. Poltrack: "There is no link, none, between the age of the specified demographic delivery of the campaign and the sales generated by that campaign." ...

Looking at snack foods, only three among the dozens of TV shows most watched by "heavy snacking households" also appear on the list of top shows among viewers aged 18-49, Mr. Poltrack said during his talk, "yet many of the advertisers in this category buy based on age demographics." ...

Mr. Poltrack added that reliance on the 18 to 49 demographic is hazardous to all media and marketers, partly because it doesn't strongly correlate with purchases and partly because it's declining fast. That group's share of U.S. population declined from 62% to 57% between 2002 and last year, he said, and will drop another two points to 55% by 2016.

It will be interesting to see how this information changes the way television sells advertising and how corporations decide where to buy. And will any of that filter over to the film industry or will it be forever obsessed with young teenage boys. Um, wait - that didn't come out right....

Read the full article here.

Secret Fears of the Super-Rich (The Atlantic)

The lesson that Mammon is a false or inadequate god goes back a long way, and a glossy spread in SuperYacht World is just one place to relearn it. Another is Boston College’s Center on Wealth and Philanthropy, which since 1970 has minted a diverse array of studies of the wealthy. For four years, the Gates Foundation has supported an effort by the center to determine exactly how the American wealthy think and live — and in particular how, when, and to what degree they make the shift from accumulating fortunes to giving them away philanthropically. (The John Templeton Foundation, which is concerned with spiritual matters, kicked in additional funding to study correlations between wealth, philanthropy, and religion.) The project has produced one of the most remarkable documents in the center’s history: a survey that invited the very rich to write freely about how prosperity has shaped their lives and those of their children. From the anonymity of their home computers, the respondents wrote anything from a few words to a few pages, volunteering not only their net worth and sources of wealth but also their innermost hopes, fears, and anxieties.

A fascinating article that only proves the old adage, money can't buy happiness, while giving an inside look into the real issues the super-rich face.

Read the full article here.

Books To Help You Remember The Great Elizabeth Taylor (NPR) / Elizabeth Taylor Memorial Program on 4/10 (TCM)

...It is still shocking to lose a woman who, besides being outlandishly gorgeous, was the very template for American celebrity as we understand it today. There will be many ways to grieve this loss — you can cry, you can rage at the moon, you watch some of her best on-screen moments, like her cackling "Angry, Baby" monologue in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf from 1966. Or...you can turn to books.

There have been many books written about Taylor (she even wrote three herself)... [Here are] three that...are most worth reading if you want to remember her talent, beauty, and drive.

1) "Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century" by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger
2) "How To Be A Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood" by William Mann
3) "My Love Affair With Jewelry" by Elizabeth Taylor

Most of us probably didn't grow up following Elizabeth Taylor's every move, but we all knew she was a true movie star and a remarkable actress - reasons enough to put a bio on our reading list.

Read the full article, with more in-depth info about each book, here.

And if you prefer to catch up visually, Turner Classic Movies is hosting an Elizabeth Taylor tribute in the form of a 24-hour movie marathon on April 10. More info, including the schedule of films, can be found here.

Julian Schnabel on the Controversial Miral and His Empathy for Steven Soderbergh (New York Magazine) / TONIGHT - Julian Schnabel on Charlie Rose (Charlie Rose)

Julian Schnabel is no stranger to being the subject of intense debate and discussion in his primary career as a painter, but now he's feeling that heat in his side gig as a filmmaker. With two rapturously reviewed movies included in his sparse filmography (2000's Javier Bardem drama Before Night Falls and 2007's Oscar-nominated The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Schnabel decided to mount a big-screen adaptation of Rula Jebreal's novel MIRAL, but the response to it has been divisive: Festival audiences gave the movie mixed reviews in the fall (it's now being released in a shorter, leaner cut), and some Jewish organizations are protesting the film for its sympathetic take on conflict in Israel through the eyes of a Palestinian woman. Vulture sat down with Schnabel this week to discuss how he feels about the controversy and his reluctance to making movies.

An interesting and quick interview with Julian Schnabel that certainly makes me want to see his new film Miral.

On a related note, Schnabel will be on Charlie Rose tonight. If you can't watch it tonight, you can watch it online here tomorrow.

Read the full article here.

I'm Now Writing for Suite 101 ! Check it out!

I am now writing about the entertainment industry and career advice for Suite 101. You can check out my profile here.

So far, I've posted three articles, with many more to come!
Stupid Mistakes to Avoid in Your Résumé and Cover Letters
Feeling Stuck as a Hollywood Assistant?
Is Agency Experience Really Necessary to Work in Hollywood?

If you have any topics or questions you'd like to see me to address, please feel free to send me an email.

Explaining the Google Books Case Saga (Time)

A federal court yesterday rejected a settlement between Google, authors and publishers, throwing into doubt the search company's plans to make every book ever published searchable online.

Acknowledging in his opinion that “the creation of a universal digital library would benefit many,” federal district court judge Denny Chin ultimately decided that the proposed agreement was “not fair, adequate and reasonable.” ...

Because it was a settlement to a class-action lawsuit, it meant that all authors who had ever published a book were bound. Google could scan any book without first asking for permission. If an author didn't want his book to be scanned or included in Google's database, he had to contact Google and opt-out. This would have turned copyright on its head.

This article offers a nice, easily understood round-up of the events around the Google Books case, the pros and cons, and what the next steps may be. A universal library would be amazing, but it also opens a huge can of worms for all other forms of media - something we all definitely need to pay attention to.

Read the full article here.

DVD Pirates Running Rampant in China (LA Times)

With no outlets akin to Netflix, Blockbuster or iTunes legitimately selling or renting a broad selection of titles, Chinese movie buffs opt for illegal Internet downloads or pirated DVDs. More and more piracy has migrated to the Web in China, though reliable estimates of its magnitude are hard to find. Still, bootleg DVDs — slickly produced and packaged, some with "extras" even better than those found on legitimate discs — remain a huge business and give an indication of the scale of the problem: According to a report in state-run media, the country's pirate DVD industry raked in $6 billion in 2010. By comparison, China's box-office receipts totaled $1.5 billion last year. ...

Given that the government has demonstrated it can stamp out the online and street sales of material it objects to, such as religious texts or democracy literature, many outsiders believe Beijing has good reason for looking the other way on commercial piracy. The business interests of the country's military, the People's Liberation Army, may be a factor.

The article states that it is estimated that nine out of every ten DVDs in China are bootlegs, many of which are of very good quality, and are priced at about $1.25 each. Can you imagine?! I know we're all interested to see how this plays out, but personally, I don't think piracy is going anywhere any time soon.

Read the full article here.

The Hobbit's Troubled 75-Year Journey From Page to Screen (Movieline)

On Monday, somewhat incredibly, The Hobbit finally started filming. Amid the seemingly weekly reports of turmoil and lawsuits surrounding the two-part Hobbit film over the last few years, it’s easy to forget just how long this movie has been in production — and the minor miracle it is that not only is The Hobbit being filmed, but Peter Jackson is behind the camera. So let’s take a quick look back — a “Dummy’s Guide,” if you will — at the timeline associated with the long, torturous journey that finally got us to where we are today.

I, for one, am stoked that this film is underway and as much as I love Guillermo del Toro, I could never imagine this film without Peter Jackson behind the camera. The article is really just a timeline of all the steps along the way to making this film - including the much hated animated version of The Hobbit, the myriad studios involved, and then, the happy ending. Take a peek.

Read the full article here.

Hollywood Shadows (The New Yorker)

By far the most common problem afflicting the writers in Michels’s practice is procrastination, which he understands in terms of Jung’s Father archetype. “They procrastinate because they have no external authority figure demanding that they write,” he says. “Often I explain to the patient that there is an authority figure he’s answerable to, but it’s not human. It’s Time itself that’s passing inexorably. That’s why they call it Father Time. Every time you procrastinate or waste time, you’re defying this authority figure.” Procrastination, he says, is a “spurious form of immortality,” the ego’s way of claiming that it has all the time in the world; writing, by extension, is a kind of death. He gives procrastinators a tool he calls the Arbitrary Use of Time Moment, which asks them to sit in front of their computers for a fixed amount of time each day. “You say, ‘I’m surrendering myself to the archetypal Father, Chronos,’ ” he says. ‘I’m surrendering to him because he has hegemony over me.’ That submission activates something inside someone. In the simplest terms, it gets people to get their ass in the chair.” For the truly unproductive, he sets the initial period at ten minutes—“an amount of time it would sort of embarrass them not to be able to do.”

Sorry kids, Barry Michels rate starts at $360/hour. You'll just have to read the rest of this fascinating article to get Michels and Phil Stutz' advice and therapy. Really, really interesting.

Read the full article here.

Where Will You Be in Five Years? (Harvard Business Review)

...You need to be prepared to do some serious introspection and consider parts of your life that you may not regularly think about. "It starts with a reflection on what you are good at and what you are not good at," says Weintraub. Far too many people spend time doing things they are not suited for or enjoy. Weintraub suggests you ask yourself three questions:

What are my values?
What are my goals?
What am I willing to do to get there?

The angle of this article is mostly about how to answer this question when it comes up in interviews or within a job setting. While that's important and certainly relevant, I actually think we could all benefit from thinking about our five-year-plans - there's no rule they have to be set in stone or inflexible, or even just about your career. Just mulling it over in your head for a little while will bring up questions and ideas that can help you better plan - and better enjoy - your life in big and small ways. You might be surprised where your future takes you.

Read the full article here.

Off-Topic / Teacher Layoffs - A Destructive Annual Event by Dave Eggers (San Francisco Chronicle)

How can we hope to attract and keep talent in this profession when, at every step, we make it so difficult, so insecure, so unvalued?

I've often wondered how lawmakers come to the conclusion that money from the state's education coffers is what should be used to plug holes in the budget. Isn't it more likely that a poor school system has some correlation with a poor state? Eggers makes some great points about what this constant threat of being laid off does to teachers, schools, and students - worth the quick read.

Read the full article here.

Cosmonaut Crashed Into Earth 'Crying In Rage' (NPR)

The space vehicle is shoddily constructed, running dangerously low on fuel; its parachutes — though no one knows this — won't work and the cosmonaut, Vladimir Komarov, is about to, literally, crash full speed into Earth, his body turning molten on impact. As he heads to his doom, U.S. listening posts in Turkey hear him crying in rage, "cursing the people who had put him inside a botched spaceship." ...

"Starman" [by Jamie Doran and Piers Bizony] tells the story of a friendship between two cosmonauts, Vladimir Kamarov and Soviet hero Yuri Gagarin, the first human to reach outer space. The two men were close; they socialized, hunted and drank together.

In 1967, both men were assigned to the same Earth-orbiting mission, and both knew the space capsule was not safe to fly. Komarov told friends he knew he would probably die. But he wouldn't back out because he didn't want Gagarin to die. Gagarin would have been his replacement.

If this book isn't already optioned, I'll eat my shoe. And then, with my mouth full, I'll thank you very much for the finder's fee - cash or check are both fine with me.

Read the full article here.

Should We Should Stop Making Movies About The End Of The World? (The New Republic)

Apparently, when a house floats like that, it follows the iceberg principle, with only the tops showing. But perhaps the houses are drowning. It might be...well, it might be from Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter, with its spectacular CGI tsunami scenes. Actually, the tsunami in Hereafter is a great deal more impressive, or dramatic, better framed and photographed, than the material I have been describing. It’s more to the point. But Hereafter now has been withdrawn in Japan, while the kind of footage we have seen in the last week was not planned or designed. It was an improv that is now inescapable, unforgettable, unendurable. Here is film to alter your life and let you know how swift its end might be. ...

Photography and film proposed a relationship with the world—yes, you can see this, but only if you accept that it is a part of your world and your life, only if you realize that, as you see it, so it is happening to you, and to us. And I wonder if we haven’t broken that faith and its bond in surpassing “mere” photography and assuring ourselves that we can fabricate these things, as if they are somehow in our power.

This is a toughy for me, because I am a SUCKER for natural disaster flicks. They might actually be my favorite genre (and yes, I can feel you judging me.) The right answer to this quandary isn't made any easier by David Thompson's meandering article. Is he saying the slickness of Hollywood makes the real footage more "inescapable, unforgettable, unendurable," or if the movies make the real thing less powerful, as we "[assure] ourselves that we can fabricate these things, as if they are somehow in our power."

But at the end of the day, I'm 100% for continuing to make disaster flicks. I think - for the most part, anyway - audiences can figure out what's manufactured entertainment and what's true tragedy. One doesn't take away from the other.

Read the full article here and then weigh in with your thoughts.

CEO Pay Up, Average Worker Not so Much (Time)

Executives in the corner office now make 62 times more than the average worker, and that's just in bonuses alone.

A study done for the Wall Street Journal, found that incentive pay for the chief executive officers of 50 major corporations jumped 30% in 2010. That's on top of their base pay. And it also doesn't include a whole bunch of other things, like generous retirement packages, gold-plated healthcare plans and use of the corporate jets. Remember how the financial crisis was supposed to wipe away the bonus culture of pay for short-term performance in corporate America? Yes. Well, not so much. ...

Some of lucky (they would say deserving) recipients included Walt Disney's CEO Robert Iger, who received a $13.5 million bonus. That was an increase of 45.5% from a year ago.

I get it. CEOs have a lot of responsibilities. Their jobs are hard. But do they deserve to make 62 times more than the rest of us? That means if you're getting paid a "generous" $600/week, a CEO is making - in that same week - more than you do the whole year. No joke. Do they deserve $37,2000/week? Say it with me, folks... Not so much.

Read the full article here.

Is It Too Late for Matthew McConaughey to Be Taken Seriously? (New York Magazine)

Hailed as the second coming of Paul Newman with his breakout role as an earnest lawyer in A Time to Kill, it didn't take long for McConaughey to undermine that totally by presenting himself as an unserious, frequently shirtless ladies' man (both onscreen and off). This weekend, he'll try to recapture that initial promise as a shady attorney in The Lincoln Lawyer, but is it too late for McConaughey to reestablish himself as a real actor? To find out, we spoke to industry insiders to answer the question: If Matthew McConaughey were a stock, would you buy, sell, or hold? ...

When McConaughey was arrested in 1999 for playing bongos in the nude while stoned, it was jarring, since he'd just come off of serious films like Amistad and Contact. If he was busted for the same today, however, no one would bat an eye. It's a sign of just how much McConaughey has transformed himself in the public eye over the last decade — and maybe even an encouraging sign that it's always possible to change back, if he wants to.

I agree, though I would have advised him to take baby steps. Instead, he's playing a "an AIDS-afflicted medicine smuggler" in his next film, "The Dallas Buyer's Club." Not sure I'm ready to line up for that one, but I do know I haven't seen my last McConaughey film. "The Lincoln Lawyer" anyone?

Read the full article here.

And in a related post:
A Movieline Investigation: Is Matthew McConaughey Really Shirtless in Every Movie? Get the answer to that age-old question here.

Bret Easton Ellis: Notes on Charlie Sheen and the End of Empire (The Daily Beast)

In getting himself fired from Two and a Half Men, this privileged child of the media’s sprawling entertainment Empire has now become its most gifted prankster. And now Sheen has embraced the post-Empire, making his bid to explain to all of us what celebrity means in that world. Whether you like it or not is beside the point. It’s where we are, babe. We’re learning something. Rock’n roll. Deal with it.

Post-Empire started appearing in full-force just about everywhere last year while Cee Lo Green’s “Fuck You” gleefully played over the soundtrack. The Kardashians so get it. The cast (and the massive audience) of Jersey Shore gets it. Lady Gaga arriving at the Grammys in an egg gets it, and she gets it while staring at Anderson Cooper (Empire!) and admitting she likes to smoke weed when she writes songs—basically daring him: “What are you gonna do about that, bitch?” Nicki Minaj gets it when she sings “Right Thru Me” and becomes one of her many alter-egos on a red carpet. (Christina Aguilera starring in Burlesque doesn’t get it at all.) Ricky Gervais’s hosting of the Golden Globes got it. Robert Downey Jr., getting pissed off at Gervais, did not. Robert De Niro even got it, subtly ridiculing his career and his lifetime achievement trophy at the same awards show.

I don't get this article.

Read the full article here.

POLL: Content questions

In an effort to make The Call Sheet Report the best it can be, I'm hoping you'll be so kind as to answer a couple of questions for me.

1. How many articles would you like to see per day? (I can find hundreds of interesting articles a day, but that defeats the purpose. What's the sweet spot between too few and too many?)

2. Do you prefer the highlights from the "big" publications, or would you prefer to see more articles from smaller, less well-known outlets?

3. Any other suggestions or comments?

You can email me at callsheetreport@gmail.com, or respond in the comments.

Many thanks!
Courtney

Television's Senior Moment (Wall Street Journal)

For decades the TV industry has operated on a currency of youth, creating shows that appeal to 18- to 49-year-olds, the age group advertisers traditionally consider most likely to buy new products, switch brands and spend on everything from cars to soft drinks. But as the nearly 80 million baby boomers continue to age out of the coveted demographic—the oldest boomers are turning 65 this year, the youngest 47—networks want to charge advertisers more to reach them. After all, these viewers still watch a disproportionate amount of TV, and they control half of all U.S. consumer spending. ...

The networks want marketers to ignore age and pay for viewers based on income and other factors—in effect paying more for affluent viewers who are 55-plus. CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler says the network has always created shows that appeal to all ages. But "boomers have always been a priority customer for us," she adds.

"Rather than saying a 22-year-old is more valuable than a 58-year-old, we're saying, 'Look, the fact is an affluent 58-year-old is certainly more valuable than a 22-year-old who is just getting by,' " says David Poltrack, chief research officer at CBS Corp., parent of the CBS network.

Makes sense to me - and a step away from the youth obsession in Hollywood is good news for everyone, in my opinion. Changes in TV will lead to changes in film, which could mean fewer movies that are retreads, sequels, or based on "established properties" that don't necessarily mean anything to the Boomers. More original fare all around! Unless someone wants to make "Cocoon 3" - then I'm totally on board. :)

Read the full article here.

Hollywood Feels Ripples From Libya (New York Times)

...Mathew Beckerman, the producer who made a splash in Variety last year with word that he had rounded up $100 million in financing for the company from Mr. Qaddafi and others, is suddenly getting a very cold shoulder. ...

Speaking through an intermediary on Monday, Mr. Beckerman declined to discuss his company, or a Qaddafi investment that had been treated as routine here until the uprising against the Qaddafi regime in Libya turned bloody.

In recent days, the pop stars Nelly Furtado, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé and Usher all said they were giving away money they had received for entertaining at Qaddafi events. Hollywood, meanwhile, has pretty much joined Mr. Beckerman in doing what it does best when trouble crops up — hiding out.

As the article states, "So it goes when Hollywood begins to suspect it has made a mistake."

Read the full article here.

Show the Monster (The New Yorker)

Del Toro was a playfully morbid child. One of his first toys, which he still owns, was a plush werewolf that he sewed together with the help of a great-aunt. In a tape recording made when he was five, he can be heard requesting a Christmas present of a mandrake root, for the purpose of black magic. His mother, Guadalupe, an amateur poet who read tarot cards, was charmed; his father, Federico, a businessman whom del Toro describes, fondly, as “the most unimaginative person on earth,” was confounded. Confounding his father became a lifelong project. ...

Although del Toro makes suspenseful movies, he often seems less like a disciple of Alfred Hitchcock than of Hieronymus Bosch. “I don’t see myself ever doing a ‘normal’ movie,” del Toro said. “I love the creation of these things—I love the sculpting, I love the coloring. Half the joy is fabricating the world, the creatures.” The movie that he most longs to make is an adaptation of a grandly ridiculous H. P. Lovecraft novella, “At the Mountains of Madness,” in which explorers, venturing into Antarctica, discover malevolent aliens in a frozen, ruined city. Some of the aliens mutate wildly, which would allow del Toro to create dozens of extreme incarnations. He said, “If I get to do it, those monsters will be so terrifying.”

This profile of Del Toro was mentioned in the article from the previous post, and I'm sorry to say I missed it when it was first published. I'm a huge fan, so even though this is from Feb., I'm posting anyway. Definitely worth the read.
Read the full article here.