In my umpteen years as an Academy Member (in excess of 20, I’m afraid), I have seen the Award freebies change considerably. Used to be we would get boxes of VHS video cassettes (remember them?) configured like treasure chests accompanied with over-priced, useless brochures. Then came the DVDs in fancy boxes. Lately, those have been scaled down some to simple mailing envelopes (an improvement… but maybe they’re ashamed of the movies).
They also send me copies of the screenplays up for best script. I almost never read them because I don’t have the time. Seeing the movie is more than enough.
But this year Warner Brothers has come up with a clever new approach, which got my attention. They have sent us scripts for The Brave One, The Bucket List, The Assassination of Jesse James and Michael Clayton on a flash drive. Popped right up on my Mac. Will I read the scripts? Doubt it. But I’ll remember them fondly when I see the movies. (Now… will the screenplays drag and drop into the trash, yielding a clean flash drive?… Hmmm….)
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4 Comments
1. Wellspring:That happened with software reviewers, too. They would get flash drives with some brochures or something included as a freebie with the gear they’re reviewing.
Then some companies started including the marketing materials on a free ipod mini. Even better right? Then you can upload the data like a flash drive, but then watch the video ads without even a computer handy.
Of course the conflict of interest and the subtle pressure that comes from these gifts lead to a minor revolt in the computer press. If hollywood doesn’t care about conflicts of interest, you may be in on the money next awards season.
Dec 1, 2007 - 5:23 am 2. photoncourier.blogspot.com:I don’t get it. Are there actually people who would rather read a script on a screen than on paper? Most people seem to *hate* reading long documents on screen.
A classy but expensive way to do it would be to send out the scripts on a Sony eReader or on the new Amazon Kindle.
Dec 1, 2007 - 6:33 am 3. Jamie Irons:Roger,
If you want a “clean” flash drive, don’t “drag and drop” its contents to the Trash, rather click on it to select it in the finder. Then go to:
Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility
and double-click Disk Utility.
In the field on the left select your flash drive, then click on “Erase” and confirm that you want to erase the drive’s contents.
As a check, then run, also in Disk Utility, “Repair,” and you should be told something like “This disk appears to be in good shape,” or words to that effect.
VoilÔøΩ!
Jamie Irons
Dec 3, 2007 - 7:39 am 4. Blue Spider:THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS ‘YES’
Dec 19, 2007 - 4:18 pm