More favourite CBC Radio shows move onto podcast
CBC has launched 22 radio programs on podcast as part of a major expansion of podcasting by the public broadcaster.
CBC Radio began podcasting — that is provided recordings of its radio programs that could be downloaded to a digital player or computer — last April. Shows are available free through iTunes, over CBC.ca and from other download services.
Initially four shows went on air — the science show Quirks & Quarks, a column called The Mood and selections of Radio Three and Metro Morning.
On Wednesday, CBC began offering a greatly expanded podcasting service, with selections of popular national shows such as As It Happens, The Current, Sounds Like Canada and DNTO, as well as some regional selections.
CBC decided to expand its service because of huge demand for CBC podcasting and the results of a recent survey of podcast users, Bob Kerr, director of business development and digital programming at CBC, said in an interview.
"The most popular podcasts were Radio Three and Quirks & Quarks — they went through the roof," Kerr said. "They have become the most popular podcasts in Canada."
About one quarter of podcast listeners download programs and listen to them en route to work, but most listen at home, or in a single spot like a workplace, he said. Podcast listeners tend to be younger than regular CBC Radio listeners, with more falling in the 18-to-39 age group.
They're spread right across the country, with the greatest number, 35 per cent of listeners, in Ontario and 18 per cent in British Columbia. U.S. residents make up six per cent of podcast listeners; a further four per cent live in other countries.
The 22 CBC shows available on podcast are updated regularly, and often are different from the original radio programs, Kerr said, with some, like World at Large, being compilations of several shows.
CBC plans to monitor demand for the new service and then decide on how to further expand its podcasting project, Kerr said.
"There's the whole world of video as well," he said. Apple's iTunes music store does not yet offer video in Canada, but there is potential for CBC television to be made available once it does, he said.
'Star Wars' goes back to basics
Die-hard Star Wars fans soon can see the original theatrical versions of the first three Star Wars films on DVD.
Even though George Lucas adamantly declared 2004's digitally restored Star Wars Trilogy DVDs the definitive versions of his movies, fans have held out hope for DVDs of the originals.
Their wishes will be granted Sept. 12 when Fox releases new two-disc DVDs ($30 each) of Star Wars (since retitled as Episode IV: A New Hope), The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi that include the films as they first appeared in theaters, along with the new, restored versions (now available in the four-disc $70 Star Wars Trilogy).
The individual DVDs will be taken off the market on Dec. 31, a strategy that Disney uses on many of its classic releases.
Lucas re-released his original three Star Wars films in theaters in 1997 with inserted scenes and improved special effects. Those "special editions" were further enhanced for the four-disc DVD set. With the original versions coming to DVD, here's what you'll see again:
• In Star Wars, Han Solo shoots a bounty hunter named Greedo. Lucas changed the scene later so it seemed that Greedo draws first, and changed it again for the DVD so that they appear to shoot simultaneously.
• In Empire Strikes Back, the ice creature that captures Luke Skywalker gets less screen time.
• In Jedi, Sebastian Shaw returns as Anakin in the movie's final scene. Lucas substituted Hayden Christiansen, who plays Anakin in the more recent films, for the 2004 DVD.
Back in 2004, Lucas told the New York Post, "The special edition is the one I wanted out there."
This new set of DVDs does not constitute "George changing his mind," says Lucasfilm's Jim Ward. "What we've always said is George viewed the revised versions of the films as the definitive versions."
Fan attachment to the originals is strong. The movies topped entertainment website IGN.com's recent chart of Top 25 Most Wanted DVDs.
"People want the option of having the movies that they remember and people are opposed to George Lucas' revisionist tendencies," says the site's Chris Carle.
The original films' video quality will not match up to that of the restored versions. "It is state of the art, as of 1993, and that's not as good as state of the art 2006," Ward says.
LEGITIMATE QUESTION
During an appearance on The Late Show, David Letterman reminding Tom Cruise that he is not married to Katie Holmes, the mother of his newborn daughter. "Did you have to bring it up?" Cruise replied, adding, "I can't wait to get married." Call it a hunch, but we're guessing that'll happen right around the time of his next promotional gig.
Star salaries coming down in Hollywood: report
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Poor Jim Carrey. His movies have raked in nearly $2 billion at box offices, but now a leading entertainment magazine says the comedian's asking price of $25 million a film has become "a bit of a gamble."
In its issue out this week, Entertainment Weekly rates top stars on whether they are worth the money.
Among those whose asking prices have become too high are Carrey, Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell and Eddie Murphy, the magazine said.
It added that after years of ever-rising star salaries, the prices for top talent are now coming down because the cost of making movies is going up, among other issues. "It's long overdue," former Twentieth Century Fox Chairman Bill Mechanic told the magazine.
Entertainment Weekly quoted several studio executives as saying the rising cost of production has led many stars to take large parts of their fees from revenue and profit participation that may never materialize if films flop at box offices.
Carrey, star of hits like "Bruce Almighty," had been a big beneficiary of the 1990s' salary run-up during which he saw his paycheck hit the $25 million mark.
However, his recent big-budget movies like "Fun with Dick and Jane" barely topped $100 million in domestic ticket sales, leaving his star tarnished, the magazine said.
Carrey's not the only one. Kidman is considered a risky bet after the box office failure of "Bewitched" and "The Stepford Wives" among other recent films.
Will Ferrell's $20 million also made the list of risky bets given recent box office disappointments and Eddie Murphy's $20 million was considered downright "too pricey."
But Tom Hanks' $25 million was thought to be "worth every penny" because he remains "one of the most bankable brand names in the world." Oscar nominee Jake Gyllenhaal, at $5 million to $7 million a picture, and Rachel McAdams at $3 million to $4 million, were bargains.
Movie piracy losses bigger than expected
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lost sales from pirated DVD movies and Internet downloads are higher than previously thought, a report in the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday.
A study showed the industry was losing $6.1 billion annually in global wholesale revenue, about 75 percent higher than earlier estimates, it said.
Losses came not only from fewer ticket sales, but also from fewer DVD sales, considered one of the industry's biggest profit centers, the report cited unnamed sources as saying.
The newspaper said some in the U.S. movies industry sought to suppress the report.
The study was conducted by LEK Consulting LLC and commissioned by U.S. films industry lobbying group the Motion Picture Association of America.
The MPAA was not immediately available for comment.
According to the report, losses in the U.S. alone totaled almost $1.3 billion.
The study also dispelled commonly held beliefs. Mexico, for instance, now ranked as the world's largest market for pirated U.S. films, overshadowing China and Russia, with $483 million in lost revenue in 2005.
The study was conducted in 28 countries, over 18 months, and cost $3 million, according to the Journal.