Showbiz Sandbox 373: Is the Academy’s Diversity Fix Misguided?




Showbiz Sandbox show

Summary: After a controversy that faulted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for being too white, too male and too old, the organization has made great strides to broaden the diversity of its membership over the past two years. During that time the Academy invited over 1,450 new members to join its hallowed ranks, many of whom were women and people of color. Yet there are now grumblings that in the rush to bring in fresh blood the Academy may have lowered its standards for membership.<br> Major Hollywood studios are less concerned with the Academy’s membership than they are with whether Chinese exhibitors are reporting box office correctly. The MPAA and U.S. trade organizations have forced the Chinese government to let an international firm audit ticket sales for imported films at cinemas throughout the country.<br> We also review a listener email which goes to great lengths in explaining why satellite radio giant SiriusXM would want to purchase a stake in the online radio streaming service Pandora. The deal is setting up a senior management showdown over the digital music pioneer’s future business model.<br> Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including why Adele is canceling the final two shows of her tour at Wembley, how Sony plans on pressing vinyl records again after nearly 30 years and Oscar winning actress Olivia de Havilland lets FX know she doesn’t appreciate being portrayed in “Feud” by filing a lawsuit.<br> <br> <br> comScore Announces Official Worldwide Box Office Results for Weekend of June 18, 2017<br><br> <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comscore-announces-official-worldwide-box-office-results-for-weekend-of-june-18-2017-300475596.html" target="_blank">http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comscore-announces-official-worldwide-box-office-results-for-weekend-of-june-18-2017-300475596.html</a><br> Wonder Woman Keeps Breaking Records, Is Now the Highest-Grossing DCEU Movie to Date<br><br> <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2017/07/wonder-woman-surpasses-batman-v-superman-at-the-box-office.html" target="_blank">http://www.vulture.com/2017/07/wonder-woman-surpasses-batman-v-superman-at-the-box-office.html</a><br> Hollywood Is Auditing China’s Box-Office for First Time<br><br> <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-27/hollywood-said-to-be-auditing-china-s-box-office-for-first-time" target="_blank">https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-27/hollywood-said-to-be-auditing-china-s-box-office-for-first-time</a><br> Hollywood Conducting First Independent Audit of China’s Box Office<br><br> <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywood-conducting-first-independent-audit-chinas-box-office-1016930" target="_blank">http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywood-conducting-first-independent-audit-chinas-box-office-1016930</a><br> China Box Office Audit: Why Hollywood Needed to Get Tough<br><br> <a href="https://variety.com/2017/film/box-office/china-box-office-audit-mpaa-get-tough-fraud-1202479488/" target="_blank">https://variety.com/2017/film/box-office/china-box-office-audit-mpaa-get-tough-fraud-1202479488/</a><br> Netflix’s ‘BoJack Horseman’ Blocked on China’s iQiyi Streaming Service<br><br> <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflixs-bojack-horseman-blocked-chinas-iqiyi-streaming-service-1016941" target="_blank">http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflixs-bojack-horseman-blocked-chinas-iqiyi-streaming-service-1016941</a><br> SiriusXM is buying a big stake in Pandora for $480 million<br><br> <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/9/15767952/siriusxm-pandora-investment-ticketfly-sale" target="_blank">https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/9/15767952/siriusxm-pandora-investment-ticketfly-sale</a><br> It’s Official: Tim Westergren Steps Down as Pandora CEO Amid Top-Level Shakeup<br><br> <a href="https://variety.com/2017/digital/news/its-official-tim-westergren-steps-down-as-pando..."></a>