What's wrong with OWN Network?

The much anticipated kick off of OWN Network started off with a high and now that high has fizzled and the ratings are showing low results. As a fan of Oprah Winfrey, I can say I was looking forward to her new venture in cable networking.  Oprah Winfrey was excited and I was excited for her. The Los Angeles Times, quoted Oprah saying “I’m betting on myself because no one else programs this way, thinking about the viewers the way that we do.” I wanted her to change cable networks to be inspiring like her tv show. However, after tuning in to the current network programming I can’t really be bothered to watch. I find the shows on the network depressing and uninspiring. Where is the uplifting 30-50 something programs that fill our hearts with warm fuzzy’s and make us shed tears over those heartfelt comments.  I can’t say breaking out in owning a cable network is easy, but it’s Oprah she can do anything it turns to gold. Maybe her network needs a younger Oprah-ish type of persona to take the network to the same level we see her at now. Maybe she needs a talk show host like “ME.” Even though OWN took over Discovery Health Channel and is meeting the projected numbers they had planned, as a viewer the current programming doesn’t want to make me turn in. I want to see the network have original programming concepts not more reality shows that seem to be like everyone else’s out there. Oprah even acknowledge recently in the The New York Times saying “What everyone told me about the cable business is the way you do cable is, you start with a couple of shows, people are used to repeats,” Ms. Winfrey said to The Hollywood Reporter recently. “Oprah viewers were not!” And as an Oprah viewer I would agree! She knows she screwed up listening to others and she admitted it. That’s why viewers like me like her. She comes across normal and relatable to American women. I feel like I can call her up for a cup of joe and talk for hours on end. In reality, she probably won’t ever take my phone call and have her assistant deal with me. But heck, everyone has a dream. We are always better off dreaming and trying rather than never doing it at all. Even though there is plenty wrong with the network programming to gain more viewers, at least Oprah did it and that’s enough for me.


Sources:

James, Meg. (2010, December 30). OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network launches with high expectations. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/12/own-oprah-winfrey-network-launches-with-high-expectations.html

Stelter, Brian. (2011, February 11). Oprah’s New Channel Struggles to Pull in the Viewers.The New York Times. Retrieved from:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/business/media/28own.html?_r=3&ref=business

Hollywood Filmmaking Gone Astray

Remember the end of the movie “Pretty Woman,” when the man walks down the street saying “Keep on dreaming. Everyone comes to Hollywood with a dream.” That statement is what significanies what Hollywood means to people who want to be in entertainment. It inspires individuals that they can make it BIG in their career when they make the move to come to Hollywood. Oddly enough when that movie came out in 1990, twenty years later, the dream of Hollywood still has its mark.

Hollywood has changed in those twenty years and with technology and tax incentives for filming in many states and countries, the lure of Hollywood is fading as many television and film productions are being made outside California. As a result the California economy is suffering and being in Hollywood while the writer’s union was on strike at the end of 2007, I saw first hand the beginning of the collapse of how strong the area of Los Angeles relies on the the entertainment economy to bring in revenue. When the writer’s were striking I have never seen a town more dead. Los Angeles in my eyes was turning into a ghost town as productions were halted and stores and restaurants were closing since people were spending less worrying over how long the strike would last. Even when the strike ended, it reminded people of how precious our work in entertainment actually is.

So, I found it reassuring that the oscar nominated film “The Kids Are Alright” to have shot the whole movie around Los Angeles. It reminded me of the Old Hollywood, were all the movies were once made. It made me appreciate how much the economy in Los Angeles relies on the movie industry and I was thankful that this movie created jobs for people in the area.

Although I am a fan of movie productions coming to other states to help other economies and of course, better tell the storyline, I feel as though we cannot forgot where entertainment all began. As entertainers we must preserve the past in order to better the future of movie making.

Even with technology advancements making it easier for young filmmakers to make their mark. As a collective whole, we must not forget the fundamental process of how movies are indeed a work of art and most importantly, how it all began with a filmmakers hollywood dream to make a movie.

So, I end this blog with that same man from “Pretty Woman” except this time he asks “What’s your dream.”

Sources:

Moroney, T. (2010, November 24). Strapped States to Hollywood: Stay Home. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved from: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_49/b4206031973534.htm.

Verrier, R. (2011, February 26, 2011).  Oscar surprise: Only 'The Kids Are All Right' shot entirely in L.A. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/02/oscar-surprise-only-the-kids-are-all-right-shot-entirely-in-la.html.


Verrier, R. (2010, May 5). On Location: California film tax credit helping keep Hollywood at home. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from: http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/05/business/la-fi-ct-onlocation-20100505.