Drew Turney
Fortunes continue to rise and fall on the new media paradigm. Ascendant and triumphant in several markets around the world, VOD giant Netflix is finding that sometimes it faces more entrenched players. As a recent Hollywood Reporter story says, when it was preparing to launch in Germany it was set to occupy fourth place on the ladder, not just behind the other VOD services (although Amazon was in the top three) but local businesses. It’s proof that you have to be a first mover to truly conquer the world.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflix-faces-uphill-battle-germany-709837
Not that the company doesn’t have a clear strategy, judging by this rare interview with the vice president of original content.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflixs-original-content-vp-development-712293
Doing better judging by the number of new ventures is YouTube. A few months back we told you about Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s pact with Discovery to start a digital entertainment service. Well it’s shaping up, with the venture signing 14 filmmakers on YouTube.
And YouTube is playing the same game, trying to schmooze its most popular channel owners by offering them the big end of town including intros to Hollywood power players and plans to help pay for their productions.
Lastly, the Google-owned video powerhouse is getting into gaming, having bought the streaming service Twitch for $1bn.
New on VOD, you’ve probably heard of the 3D printing revolution and are wondering what it’s all about beyond plastic dinosaur toys. Let Print the Legend (http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/80005444) introduce you to a much wider world where machines will soon build everything from steel car parts to human tissues right there on your work table.
Let love sweep over you no matter what age you are in the romantic comedy drama Elsa and Fred (https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/elsa-fred/id927835049?uo=4&at=10lorC), starring Hollywood luminaries Shirley Maclaine and Christopher Plummer.
Finally The Heart Machine (https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/the-heart-machine/id923227937?uo=4&at=10lorC) highlights the perils of falling in love in the modern age. When a boy and a girl fall in love from across the world, things seems great until the hero starts to suspect the girl of his dreams might not actually live so far away but right in his hometown. The question is, why is she pretending?
