No sooner do I sign up for Zip when Blockbuster Expands All-You-Can-View Plan (from Yahoo)

Blockbuster Expands All-You-Can-View Plan
58 minutes ago
By DAVID KOENIG, AP Business Writer

DALLAS – Video-rental giant Blockbuster Inc. is going national with a monthly subscription plan that lets customers rent an unlimited number of movies and keep two or three at a time without running up late fees.

Blockbuster will charge $24.99 a month for customers to keep two movies out, and $29.99 to keep three titles.

The Dallas-based company calls the monthly subscription plan a Movie Pass and says the promotion will be available immediately in more than 5,000 stores nationwide. It tested the concept for 18 months in 1,150 stores.

“This is a different way of renting movies,” said Nick Shepherd, Blockbuster’s chief marketing officer. “We wanted to make sure we had it right from the consumer’s point of view and the economics point of view.”

Blockbuster customers, who must drive to the store to return movies and pick up new ones, have more-convenient options for movie-watching, such as pay-per-view on cable, mail-order rentals by companies such as Netflix Inc., and cheap DVDs for sale from the likes of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Chief executive John Antioco said recently that the company hopes 10 percent of its customers sign up for the movie plan by the end of 2005.

Blockbuster is expected to add an online-reservation feature and mail-delivery to its plan later this year.

Analysts said the Movie Pass is designed to prevent more Blockbuster customers from defecting to Netflix, based in Los Gatos, Calif. About 2 million people have signed up for Netflix’s all-you-can-watch service — for $21.99 a month, they can get up to three DVDs at a time through the mail.

“This is a customer-retention program,” said Michael Pachter, an analyst for Wedbush Morgan Securities Inc. said of Blockbuster. “They’ll lose fewer customers, and it will probably limit the growth of Netflix. Why would anyone sign up for Netflix if you can get the same service from Blockbuster?”

David C. Joyce, an analyst with Guzman & Co., praised Blockbuster’s move, even though he believes it could cannibalize sales to customers who already spend more than $25 a month on rentals and late fees.

“But it’s better to eat your own lunch than let somebody else do it,” Joyce said.

Giving customers a way to reduce late fees is a double-edged sword for Blockbuster. The fees have contributed greatly to Blockbuster’s revenue.

Blockbuster no longer discloses how much it makes from late fees, but it probably earns a much larger share of its revenue from the fees than do its competitors.

Blockbuster said the new subscription plan would cover all DVD and VHS titles in the stores.

Blockbuster shares gained 57 cents to close at $15.68 in trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange (news – web sites). Netflix shares rose 15 cents to $32.10 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

I’ve just joined Zip, despite the fact that I live less than two blocks away from the best DVD rental place in all of Toronto. I joined mainly because said video store, in order to stay in business, has to keep their stock lean and therefore runs out of copies very quickly. The 3 nearby Rogers stores have practically no selection but the top ten new releases, and I refuse to rent from Blockbuster, so there we are. Plus, I love that I just create the list online and they send what’s there. Bitchin’.

Whatever happens, you’ll see my satisfaction (or lack thereof) posted here in no time.

As I mentioned a few months ago, I always revise my top ten halfway through the following year, as I discover more and more music. Here ’tis

1. Radiohead . Hail To The Thief
2. Metric . Old World Underground
3. The Fiery Furnaces . Gallowsbird’s Bark
4. Bonnie Prince Billy . Master And Everyone
5. The White Stripes . Elephant
6. The New Pornographers . Electric Version
7. The Fire Theft . The Fire Theft
8. Clearlake . Cedars
9. Explosions In The Sky . The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place
10. Mogwai . Happy Songs For Happy People
11. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club . Take Them On, On Your Own
12. The Kills . Keep On Your Mean Side
13. Grandaddy . Sumday
14. Snow Patrol . Final Straw
15. Pilate . Caught By The Window
16. The Raveonettes . Chain Gang Of Love
17. My Morning Jacket . It Still Moves
18. The Stratford 4 . Love And Distortion
19. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs . Fever To Tell
20. The Stills . Logic Will Break Your Heart

by way of boingboing:

Troy in Fifteen Minutes

Future Shop plans to get in on the music download biz with Bonfire (by way of P2Pnet). Please.

I think Eye has a pretty good handle on it: Download a clue. Read up, CRIA & music labels.

lifted from The Big Picture

Let’s review our plot so far:

We have an industry that is afraid of technology, its senior spokespeople lie to congress, they use Enron-like accounting, they somehow —WHOOPS! — forget to pay their artists, they are convicted price fixers, at the first sign of any kind of an economic rebound their instinct is to raise prices, they have ignored competitive pressures from other forms of entertainment such as DVDs, they ignore the devastatingly negative effects of radio ownership consolidation to their business model, they engage in all kinds of anti-competitive protectionism, they are unconcerned with the quality of their product, their customers are harried for time and distracted by other interests, their customers see nothing wrong with downloading music for free, some of their biggest stars are hoping the Internet will replace the labels, despite all too many signs that their product is over priced, they refuse to allow market forces to set competitive prices, they have consistently been one of the most mismanaged businesses in history, oh, and they somehow think they are immune from the business cycle.

How are these guys still in business?

from Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1218399,00.html

Cannes screening for most sexually explicit British film

Charlotte Higgins in Cannes
Monday May 17, 2004
The Guardian

Nine Songs: Winterbottom says of the most graphic scenes; ‘We can always take that out’

The most sexually explicit film in the history of mainstream British cinema, containing unsimulated sex scenes including fellatio, ejaculation and cunnilingus, many in close-up, yesterday had its first screening at Cannes. Michael Winterbottom, the Lancashire-born director of Nine Songs, a love story, said: “I had been thinking for a while about the fact that most cinematic love stories miss out on the physical relationship, and if it is indicated at all everyone knows it is fake.

“Books deal explicitly with sex, as they do with any other subject. Cinema has been extremely conservative and prudish. I wanted to go to the opposite extreme and show a relationship only through sex. Part of the point of making the film was to say, ‘What’s wrong with showing sex?'”

The film revolves around a young couple in London, Matt and his American girlfriend Lisa. The sex scenes, which occupy more than half of the film, are intercut with scenes of bands playing, including Franz Ferdinand, the Dandy Warhols, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Super Furry Animals. The story is framed by shots of Matt flying over the desolate plains of Antarctica, as he remembers the relationship from afar.

The screening yesterday was at 10am, too soon after breakfast for many viewers. The grunt and huff-and-puff factor in the film is notably high, and the language is strong.

Matt is played by Kieran O’Brien, with whom Winterbottom has worked on a previous film, 24 Hour Party People. However, the woman playing Lisa has asked that her name not be used in coverage of the movie, although it does appear in the credits. “She’s not an actress,” said Winterbottom. “She really likes the film but she is going back to university and I think she wants to keep a low profile.”

Despite the intimacy of the subject-matter, shooting the film was straightforward, according to Winterbottom. Having cast the two leads, a rehearsal was staged, after which they were given the opportunity to leave the project. “After a couple of days it was a case of that was what we were doing, and everyone adapted,” he said. It was a matter of going “one step further” than the requirements of conventional, simulated sex scenes.

The film has not yet been given a certificate, though Winterbottom is optimistic. Of the fellatio-and-ejaculation scene, the one likely to give the censors most pause, he said: “We can always take that out.”

In the film the couple also attend Michael Nyman’s 60th birthday concert, with shots of the composer playing the piano at the Hackney Empire in east London. “I’m very pleased to be in the most sexually explicit film in British film history,” said Nyman from Berlin yesterday, “especially as I am not doing anything sexual. I can’t wait to see it.”

Derek Malcolm, the Guardian’s veteran film writer, said: “Nine Songs looks like a porn movie, but it feels like a love story. The sex is used as a metaphor for the rest of the couple’s relationship. And it is shot with Winterbottom’s customary sensitivity.”

Winterbottom’s previous work includes the 1996 Jude, an adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s novel starring Kate Winslet and Christopher Eccleston, and Welcome to Sarajevo, about an ITN reporter’s adoption of a Bosnian child. He is currently working on a football movie, Goal.

Yet another movie that screened at last year’s TIFF that I wanted to see and didn’t, Prey For Rock and Roll (IMDB | rotten tomatoes) was a good little Sunday evening watch. As thick and fast as the clichés flew sometimes, I at least felt like the characters – Gina Gershon’s especially – were passionate about the music. So who cares if you’re mediocre as long as you play your ass off?

from the BBC: Rivals challenge iPod’s dominance

Rivals challenge iPod’s dominance

The iPod has become an object of desire
Apple’s iPod may be the flavour of the month, but there are better and cheaper choices, says a computing magazine. In a test of 18 digital music players, PC Pro found the iPod lacking in comparison with other devices.

The iPod is the most popular digital music player in the world and almost three million have been sold. “The iPod and iPod Mini are the two best known portable MP3 players because Apple has pumped money into a huge marketing campaign, but there are some fantastic lesser-known alternatives,” said Nick Ross, PC Pro senior writer.

MP3 appeal
In just the first three months of the year, Apple sold 807,000 iPods, a 909% rise on the same period a year ago. The latest and smallest version, the iPod Mini, has proved so popular in the US since its introduction in January that its international release has had to be put back until the end of July.

PC PRO RECOMMENDATIONS

• iRiver iHP-100 Series 20GB – £255
• Rio Karma 20GB – £269
• Rio Nitrus 1.5GB – £168
• iRiver iFP-300 Series 128MB – £109
• iRiver iFP-500 Series 256MB – £155

The success of the iPod has helped to increase the popularity and appeal of digital music players and consumers face a bewildering choice of devices. This month’s issue of PC Pro magazine looked at 18 portable MP3 players and concluded that there were several lesser-known brands that noticeably outperformed the iPod.

“The iPod is over-priced when compared with these competitors,” said Mr Ross. “It also falls down on battery life, with some portable MP3 players lasting three times as long, while its lack of support for Windows Media files will upset many PC users.”

Disk drive shortage
Apple declined to comment on the magazine report.

The California-based company is betting on the iPod mini to help maintain its position at the top of the MP3 player market. It is facing faces stiff competition from others like Dell, Digital Networks, Creative Labs and Archos which are seeking to challenge that dominance.

But there is good news for music fans still waiting to get their hands on an iPod Mini. Hitachi, which makes the 4GB disk drive for the player, has said it is going to spend about $200 million (£113.4m) to double production at its Thailand factory. It means that the six-week waiting list for the iPod Mini is likely to get shorter by the end of the year.

Remember Gladiator? Sure you do. It got lots of attention a few years ago. Remember how it went? Long, historical drama with lots of special effects, questionable (sometimes laughable) dialogue, stunning & frenetic action sequences, liberties taken with the historical story/background and a stud action star who always seemed to be oiled down and flexing? Yes? Then nothing much’ll stun you about Troy.

Don’t ge me wrong: I liked it. But I think I liked the movie in spite of itself. Brad Pitt was good — or at least interesting — as Achilles. Eric Bana made a good Hector. Orlando Bloom was useless. I’m sure he attended the Keanu Reeves school of only-ever-have-one-expression acting.

The special effects and battle sequences were good, but hardly groundbreaking. But the real star of the movie was the story; as butchered as it might have been, The Iliad is so compelling a story that not even a leaden screenplay and disinterested performances of two of the critical chacters (Paris & Helen) could completely kill it.

I’m buying The Iliad and The Odyssey.