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Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

reuters.com

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Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#221

Post by ctrlc-root »

ACS_Solver wrote: post #128
someperson wrote: post #17

This makes it very likely that the beloved Stargate franchise will return as an Amazon Prime exclusive franchise, which will be great news for those of us like myself with appetite for 60+ more seasons of that show (after the 17 seasons that have already been made). I watched the sci-fi show "The Expanse" on Amazon Prime Video. Season 4 (the one made by Amazon Prime Video) felt like it had a tenth of the budget compa…

SG-1 is a great show. It holds up surprisingly well for its age. Strikes a great balance between serious and light-hearted, and the self-contained episodes often have interesting ethical or social issues. I'm also fond on how the early episodes emphasize that humans are new to interplanetary travel and are still figuring things out. There are several episodes where SG-1 travels to another planet and actually messes t…

Well, I don't know about succeeded, but they did have two more movies that take place after SG1:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0929629/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0942903/

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#222

Post by tl »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #141
Eric_WVGG wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m guessing that you’re young-ish, then? Because that’s not how it was when I was a kid. That changed in the mid-nineties, and it was a fairly controversial decision. From about 1970 to 93, antitrust regulations were put in place because only three networks could determine over 90% of broadcast media. A judge ended that rule under the rational that upstart networks like Fox and CW were now competitive. https://www.n…

> But fortunately the Internet came along Yes, that’s the difference. There used to be a gatekeeper to reaching your audience, but now there is none. A kid can take their 4K phone and make their own TV show with their friends and distribute it worldwide, or a company can get a professional crew and spend a couple billion dollars and distribute it worldwide. If the contention is that a few companies owning all the con…

> Yes, that’s the difference. There used to be a gatekeeper to reaching your audience, but now there is none. A kid can take their 4K phone and make their own TV show with their friends and distribute it worldwide, or a company can get a professional crew and spend a couple billion dollars and distribute it worldwide.

Until Google or Facebook decide that your content is objectionable. Don't worry, punishment is instant and Court of Big Tech appeals process is even slower than actual due process [1].

[1] https://www.jwz.org/blog/2021/05/fucking-facebook-4/#comment...

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#223

Post by margaretdouglas »

w0m wrote: post #121
joombaga wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think we're at or approaching a tipping point. For a long while I've not been able to justify the effort it takes to maintain automatic content downloads and a streaming server. But that maintenance cost isn't higher when I want content from an additional platform. If I'm gonna pirate an Amazon/MGM exclusive then I'm gonna cancel Netflix, Hulu, Paramount+ and Apple TV+ too.

Piracy was the Easiest/Only way to get content until ~2008ish. Since then; Netflix and (...x streaming platform) made it easier/better to Pay for the content than pirate it. It does feel like we're approaching a tipping point now in the other direction with all of these streaming fiefdoms. My household has Netflix, Hulu, D+, and Prime streaming now - that's already too many and needs pairing IMO.

Cable providers were charging you $80/mo for commercial laden network aggregation. You cut that cord and complain when paying less for more content, without commercials, and is on demand, because it is unbundled and you need to manage each $5-15 "network" fee individually, instead of a single itemized bill.

This is like complaining you have to pay for NBC to watch Friends when you'd much prefer to watch it on ABC so you can avoid paying for both.

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#224

Post by bovermyer »

halfmatthalfcat wrote: post #73
xixixao wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I started watching SG1 again (I saw it incomplete as a kid). It’s incredibly good. It pushes rationalism and feminism in a sane way that I’m not sure would happen in today’s environment. It’s incredibly rich in historical references and concepts. It’s rarely dumb and often preempts cliches. It’s still worth watching imho (and is much less known that Star Trek in US).

The characters are so good. The plot lines are great. The enemies are actually bad. While TNG is idealistic and more or less wholesome, SG1 definitely lines up with DS9 in that it's more real/gritty yet still has all the hope, fun, morals, ethics, etc.

With the possible exception of the Ori, the villains in SG-1 weren't usually the "like the last one, but MORE POWERFUL" villain trope we see in most series.

And the evolution of the replicants... that was a complicated adversary.

Also, golfing through the Stargate.

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#225

Post by divs1210 »

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #66
scyzoryk_xyz wrote: post #23

So what we're seeing is a repeat of the film industry from 1930's-1950's. You want to see a Paramount movie, you must go to a Paramount theater. Today you want to watch an Apple show you must go to Apple's VOD. We could really use laws that force, once again, some sort of separation between production and distribution. Better stuff gets made in this kind of ecosystem.

> We could really use laws that force, once again, some sort of separation between production and distribution. Piracy is competition to bad content behavior. It's a meaningful consumer response to monopoly, balkanization and other anti-consumer practices.

THIS.

Forcing consumers to sign up to 10 platforms to watch 10 movies will no doubt lead to a shift back to torrents.

YouTube is pretty good in this regard, as it allows paying for renting a single movie for a weekend for a reasonable price.

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#226

Post by qilo »

jerf wrote: post #49
xixixao wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I started watching SG1 again (I saw it incomplete as a kid). It’s incredibly good. It pushes rationalism and feminism in a sane way that I’m not sure would happen in today’s environment. It’s incredibly rich in historical references and concepts. It’s rarely dumb and often preempts cliches. It’s still worth watching imho (and is much less known that Star Trek in US).

I consider it hands down better than any Star Trek except possibly TNG. And that's giving TNG some grace due to being a bit older; take that away and I'll give SG-1 the prize. I will agree that people can reasonably disagree about Deep Space Nine vs SG-1. But that's the level of quality we're talking about, in my opinion. It's top tier, and much less well known. Also strongly recommend binging the first season in par…

> I kinda recommend the Stargate movie first... [...] But I will say that if you kinda dislike it, continue on to SG-1 anyhow.

Thanks for pointing this out. Watched the movie as a kid, didn’t like it, and thus never even bothered to check out the tv series.

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#227

Post by null_object »

As others suggest, simply opt-out of these destructive monopolies. I’m in Europe and have been immensely enjoying MUBI[0] for the last few months.

Many classic and new films, updating all the time - and I’ve had none of the streaming problems that some AppStore reviews have mentioned. Also supports new independent film-makers (which piracy sadly does not do).

Thoroughly recommended.

[0] https://mubi.com/showing

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#228

Post by lotsofpulp »

lostgame wrote: post #215
w0m wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Piracy was the Easiest/Only way to get content until ~2008ish. Since then; Netflix and (...x streaming platform) made it easier/better to Pay for the content than pirate it. It does feel like we're approaching a tipping point now in the other direction with all of these streaming fiefdoms. My household has Netflix, Hulu, D+, and Prime streaming now - that's already too many and needs pairing IMO.

>> Piracy was the Easiest/Only way to get content until ~2008ish. Since then; Netflix and (...x streaming platform) made it easier/better to Pay for the content than pirate it. Fragmentation still hurts this to an extreme, and - worse - God-awful region locks. As a fan of obscure, cult and independent cinema in particular it’s a wasteland of titles strewn across 5 different services, and being Canadian, piracy is jus…

> Nothing beats the convenience of typing in what you’re looking for and actually finding it right away. That pretty much defines convenience. It’s what I expect.

You can do this for most items. For example, go to apple’s TV app or play store and purchase or rent the item.

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#229

Post by hboon »

brightball wrote: post #197
abcc8 wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here, but we haven't gone as far back as the 50s. Mostly we've been enjoying family movies from the 70s, 80s, and early 90s, back when sets were elaborate and most effects were practical. Many of these older movies have really stood the test of time. Hook, The Goonies, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Muppets movies, Ernest Scared Stoopid, Willy Wonka, etc are all family favorites.

Yep. Agreed completely. Even early 2000’s shows like Smallville and The Flash have been pretty safe and fun.

I’m being pedantic, but the 2 Flash series ran during the 90s and mid-2010 :)

Re: Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5B

#230

Post by DrBazza »

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #66
scyzoryk_xyz wrote: post #23

So what we're seeing is a repeat of the film industry from 1930's-1950's. You want to see a Paramount movie, you must go to a Paramount theater. Today you want to watch an Apple show you must go to Apple's VOD. We could really use laws that force, once again, some sort of separation between production and distribution. Better stuff gets made in this kind of ecosystem.

> We could really use laws that force, once again, some sort of separation between production and distribution. Piracy is competition to bad content behavior. It's a meaningful consumer response to monopoly, balkanization and other anti-consumer practices.

> Piracy is competition to bad content behavior

I really wish we had the bandwidth we have now, back in the Napster-era.

Napster, and others forced, persuaded and cajoled the music industry to consolidate, whether they liked it or not, on Spotify, and iTunes.

If we'd had easy free sharing of movies, it's not hard to envisage something similar to what we see now in the music industry forced on the movie companies. Now it's honey pot torrents all over the place.

No customer wants to spend X on Shudder, Y on Netflix, and Z on Prime, plus Hulu, HBO, and your cable/satellite fee either. Paying 200 GBP/USD a month is utterly absurd.

Frankly, I'm glad I have a waning interest in modern movies as I get older, and I'm actually more interested in watching old black and white movies that are "free to air" in my country.

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