Video Age International articles from November 1998

Video Age International archives from November 1998

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls.(Review)
November 1, 1998... Most cinephiles would agree that the early-to-mid-'70s represented the last great period of moviemaking in America. The proof is in the pictures: A not-so-random sampling includes two Godfathers, Five Easy Pieces, The Last Picture Show,...

U.S. TV industry bullish on the Emmy for the world's broadcast community.
November 1, 1998... The International Emmy Award is the symbol of excellence in television. Instituted nine years ago by the International Council of the U.S. National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), this year's Emmy Award is to be held in New...

An itsy bitsy business: CEO talks about bringing TV to toddlers.(itsy bitsy Entertainment's Pres and CEO Kenn Viselman)
November 1, 1998... If you're a parent, you've no doubt heard of Teletubbies by now. The surreal show featuring four brightly-colored babbling sprites has been the talk of the preschool set in the U.K. for more than a year now, and the Teletubbies dolls were the...

Roberto Morrione: Italy's ambassador to the world.(RAI International head)
November 1, 1998... To understand Roberto Morrione's role in Italian television around the world, consider the following anecdote. During a live TV interview on the streets near the Vatican, a group of South Korean tourists were asked if they were familiar with...

A truly global Emmy.(1998 International Emmy Awards)
November 1, 1998... When the curtain goes up on the 26th International Emmy Award Gala at the New York Hilton Hotel on November 23, tile presenters will banter, the glittering grateful will give their thanks,and tile audience members will come away with a better...

RAI Trade at MIFED: jubilee & selling movies.
November 1, 1998... Roberto Di Russo, president of RAI Trade, and his sales team will be at MIFED with a slate of high quality Italian-made movies. They will also be promoting projects that tie in with the Vatican's Third Millennium Jubilee Year 2000. For the...

Viewing, buying and selling TV programs online.(TV Files on-demand service in Italy)
November 1, 1998... In italy, money and minds have converged with technology to form TV Files, a screening-on-demand service based on a multimedia database. Developed by the Rome-based Interface-Telemarket (IT) in association with the European Broadcasting Union...

Telefilm: a catalyst for Canadian TV.(Telefilm Canada)
November 1, 1998... Telefilm Canada has a worldwide reputation as a champion of Canadian film and television production. Indeed, since its inception in 1967, Telefilm - a corporation through which the Canadian government provides funds to private film and TV...

MIPCOM looked to the future.(199 conference)
November 1, 1998... Pervading this year's MIPCOM was a concern less for the present than for what lay just around the corner. Thoughts of the future loomed as large as a giant inflated promotional doll. For one thing, the word "digital" was on every lip. MIPCOM...

Japanese companies offer Internet via cable.(Secom Co and Musashino Mitaka Cable TV Co)(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... Secom Co. and an affiliate, Musashino Mitaka Cable TV Co., have developed technology that will enable residents of apartment buildings in Japan to use cable TV networks to access the Internet. In the joint project, the companies have developed...

SND? No, CLT.(CLT-UFA's acquisition of Societe Nouveau de Distribution)(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... The European media group CLT-UFA has assumed control of French theatrical distribution company Societe Nouveau de Distribution (SND). At the end of September, CLT-UFA purchased an 85 percent stake in SND. CLT-UFA International's Heinz Thym will...

Microsoft's event programming.(MSN Web Events Web site)(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... Microsoft has launched MSN Web Events, a Web site that will offer streaming video services and provide links to a range of media outlets. The site, unveiled on October 7, plans to incorporate animation, interactive chat rooms and streaming...

No Internet at BIB.(British Interactive Broadcasting)(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... British Interactive Broadcasting (BIB), a U.K. pay-TV shopping and banking service partly owned by BSkyB and British Telecommunications, is taking a rather unusual tack in the world of new media. In attempt to better fulfill its goal of...

Brazil gets re-cabled.(cable TV competition)(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... Media giants Globo TV and the Abril Group had better get ready for some fresh competition. Brazil's National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) has authorized a number of smaller companies to provide cable TV services in the country. Offering a...

Q&A with Int'l Council President Kay Koplovitz.(National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' International Council)(Interview)
November 1, 1998... The International Council, an arm of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, is known primarily as the organization that recognizes overseas TV excellence by awarding the International Emmys. But, as President Kay Koplovitz...

My two cents.(webcasting)(Editorial)
November 1, 1998... After grinding through our special report on Webcasting (see Video Age's October 1998 issue), I came to the realization that, while video streaming technology has great potential for independent filmmakers, it must be taken out of the hands of...

Hong Kong studio finds site.(Hong Kong Movie City Co)(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... The Hong Kong Movie City Company, a consortium of six film production companies, has purchased a 90,000-square-foot site and is moving ahead with plans to build a new motion picture studio in Hong Kong. The studio, which is budgeted at $600...

Mexican movie houses under fire.(opposition to Mexico's proposed Federal Cinematography Law)(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... In a rare show of unity, Mexican movie house operators Cinemark, Organizacion Ramirez and Cinemex have teamed up in an effort to halt the passage of potentially damaging legislation. The Federal Cinematography Law, proposed by Mexico's Culture...

TVP goes digital.(Polish TV broadcaster Telewizja Polska)(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... Looking to challenge @ Entertainments digital satellite Wizja TV, Polish state broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP) is teaming up with stations in the private sector to establish its own digital platform. Wizja TV, which launched in mid-September...

NATPE does New York.(National Association of Television Program Executives)(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... "How To Pitch a Show to the U.S. Networks" was one of two seminars NATPE organized in New York last month. The "green-lighters" who presided over the pitching seminar panel were The Children's Television Workshop's David Britt, The Learning...

To bundle, or not to bundle?(case involving Flextech, Sci-Fi Channel Europe and Independent Television Commission)(Brief Article)
November 1, 1998... In the U.K., the pay-TV group Flextech and Universal's Sci-Fi Channel Europe are taking on the powers that be - more specifically, the Independent Television Commission (ITC), which in June outlawed the bundling of large numbers of channels to...

The U.N. World Television Forum.(1998)
November 1, 1998... The impact of modern technology on the role of the media in public affairs is one of the most remarkable phenomena of our time. The introduction of television, which almost coincided with the birth of the United Nations, was a landmark event in...