Neil Turitz

All articles written by Neil Turitz.

Shari Redstone ExcerptIt’s tough to target just how Viacom can turn things around, but even if there was a concrete method to do so, it’s not going to be easy, simply because of the nature of the cable business. It has to hope that Shari Redstone and her new board of directors can make changes that will help matters, and that both MTV and Nickelodeon can once again draw the viewership numbers it used to.

David Letterman ExcerptDoes late night television matter anymore? There is now the fact that nothing on late night is “must-see.” If something is must-see, it can be caught online the next day. There’s nothing that sets it apart from anything else we can find and in that regard, it is almost always lost in the morass of all the other stuff being pushed at us.

hulu excerptAs we discussed last week, it’s tough for anyone to compete with Netflix at the moment, but it becomes even tougher when the operation interested in doing so, Hulu, can’t really decide what it wants to be or how it wants to become it. However, Hulu’s upcoming fare sounds like it’s all smarter, more upscale forms of entertainment, which could be a good thing.

Uwe Boll excerptTurn out the lights and call the cops. Uwe Boll is retiring. The man who literally fought his critics and was behind several of what have been called the worst films ever made is stepping away from the camera, not out of shame, but because he says the market is no longer viable.

Ben Affleck ExcerptWhile Ben Affleck’s comeback has been fascinating to watch, and his success is well deserved, it’s important to remember that the best work he does in front of the camera — and by far the most appealing he is as a leading man — is when he is actually the one calling the shots behind it.

Billy Bush Except image

There’s been a lot of talk over the last week about a certain video that came out, on which we heard and saw some pretty vile stuff. The aftermath hasn’t really shaken out the way I initially thought it would, although it has led to major career issues for one of the participants. I’m talking, of course, about Billy Bush.

casey hbo excerptYou all know the slogan, as it’s one of the best known of any in the world of television. “It’s not TV, it’s HBO.” Home Box Office started out as a second-run movie network, and slowly became the most respected broadcaster of original content on television. While it has some challenges, it’s hard to argue that it doesn’t continue to hold that spot.

dalian wanda excerptOne of the things that has caught my attention of late, and that of others’, obviously, is the growing power of the foreign box office to the overall success of not just a given movie, but also the studios and distributors that put them in theaters. That is especially true of the fastest growing audience in the world, the one in China.