ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip

May 8th 2008

Sundance Channel Sold For Almost $500 Million

Good news for the rest of us

Filed under: film-tv, television — michael @ 10:31 am

As we reported earlier, the Sundance Channel was recently put up for sale. Robert Redford and Co — who started the network in 1996 — were eager to a.) cash in on their investment and b.) have a larger entity scoop up and subsequently expose their fantastic array of programming to an even larger audience.

Now it’s been announced that Cablevision’s Rainbow Media Holdings will acquire the network for $496 million. For his part, Redford should expect to earn almost $30 million — not bad for something largely a labor of love. From the release,

“For Rainbow Media, the purchase expands and strengthens its entertainment presence with the addition of a recognizable and desirable brand that attracts loyal viewers. Sundance Channel will join AMC, IFC and WE tv as another valuable and distinct network within Rainbow Media’s portfolio of award-winning national services.

‘Robert Redford is a true visionary and, through everything he has accomplished with Sundance Channel, has made immeasurable contributions to the world of independent film,’ said Rainbow Media President and CEO Joshua Sapan. ‘Rainbow has experienced firsthand how impressive original programming like Mad Men and Breaking Bad can distinguish a network’s brand. Sundance Channel has already established its own distinct voice through impressive programming like The Green and Iconoclasts and our vision is to build on this type of original content, further strengthening the uniqueness of the network.’”

And speaking of The Green — if you’ve not been able to experience it through your current cable offerings — there’s a good chance that the pickup by Cablevision will give you the opportunity.

Thankfully, Redford will stay on as the network gets cozy with its new parent company. “We look forward to working with Rainbow to further distinguish Sundance Channel and to create even greater value for this important service,” he said.

March 20th 2008

Sundance Channel Sale Could Mean Good Things For The Green

Filed under: film-tv, television — michael @ 11:14 am

Word on the streets is that Robert Redford’s Sundance Channel is seeking buyers. The network could be worth as much as $400 million dollars — which would make Redford’s 10% vested pay off quite nicely. More than that, however, having a big name like Time Warner swoop in, purchase the channel, and subsequently throw it onto digital basic would seriously expand its reach. Currently, there are about 26 million subscribers.

Even better, Sundance Channel’s block of eco-programming called The Green could further be enjoyed by the masses; potentially much to the chagrin of Discovery. I’m currently without cable, but I have been fortunate to view some of Sundance’s green shows, and I think they’re wonderful. It would be great to allow more of the cable world access to this content. From the article,

“The Sundance Channel promotes itself as “independent-minded” and shows films, documentaries and original programming. While operating separately from the Sundance Film Festival, it seeks a similar audience. Better-known programs include “Iconoclasts,” where two famous people interview each other, and the eco-lifestyle show “The Green.” On Wednesday night it will present a pair of documentaries, “Nice Bombs” and “The Situation,” focusing on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war.”

Yup - I’m all for smart TV. What do you think of Sundance changing hands?

via NY Times

March 19th 2008

Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton And John McCain Can All Agree On One Thing…

Filed under: animals, campaigns, politics — parrish @ 10:25 am

Pop Quiz!

Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain all have what one thing in common?

A. A fiery passion for a well-made biscotti

B. The uncanny ability to tie perfectly knotted friendship bracelets

C. A desire to ban horse meat for consumption and prohibit their export for slaughter

If you guessed C you got it right. Congratulations!

While perusing one my very favorite green blogs, I stumbled upon a post debating a bill that “amends the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption.”

Basically here’s the deal: In the past 3 years the U.S government has pretty much banned the slaughter of horses and closed down the three primary slaughter houses associated with the trade. However, the bill wasn’t specific enough and now American horses are being brought to Mexico or Canada for butchering. The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act would end this mess entirely.

A myriad of senators and governors are co-sponsors of the bill, including all three of the remaining presidential candidates. And on the Hollywood side, both Robert Redford and Willie Nelson are supporting the cause.

Want to help stop this totally cruel and awful practice? The Humane Society Of The United States is asking supporters to sign a petition urging congress to pass the bill! So be presidential and walk, run or gallop over to the HSUS website and voice your thoughts! Free Mr. ED!!!!!!!!!

January 20th 2008

A Smattering Of Green Films Premiering At 2008 Sundance

Filed under: festivals, film-tv, movies — michael @ 12:33 pm

It was only two years ago that Al Gore premiered a little-known film called An Inconvenient Truth at Sundance 2006. Since then, the festival has experienced an increase in eco-themed documentaries and movies; not to mention environmental awareness in handling everything from programs to merchandise to transportation.

This year’s entries include such topics as America’s dependency on fossil fuels to the precarious future of water resources to, well, the end of the world.

First up is Field of Fuels — a film about U.S. dependency on fossil fuels and the potential of biodiesel to replace gasoline. Proving their point, the cast and crew traveled from Venice, CA to Sundance in a biodiesel caravan. Director Josh Tickell’s film was even selected to open up the festival at Robert Redford’s preserve this past Wednesday. He’s hopeful for a 200-1000 screen release in theaters during the election campaign in ‘08. You can check out their ‘Sundance Blog’ over on the official Fuels site. (Thanks to Earth Pledge, the film is also carbon-neutral. Interestingly enough, Oscar-Best-Picture runner There Will Be Blood also voluntarily offset their production through EP.)

Next up is FLOW: For Love of Water which documents the intense relationship between people and water, and examines the growing rate of depletion of the most precious of natural resources. From the official site,

“Armed with a thirst for survival, people around the world are fighting for their birthright; unless we instigate change, we face a world in which only those that can pay for their water will survive. FLOW: For Love of Water, is a catalyst for people everywhere: the time has come to turn the tide and we can’t wait any longer.”

On the fictional front, we have Half-Life. While some might be quick to think this is a movie version of the video game, it’s vastly different. Here’s the quick summary: “Set in the idyllic hills of northern California, Jennifer Phang’s marvelously original first feature, Half-Life, is a supernormal tale about self-absorbed and disillusioned suburbanites who live in a futuristic time of natural disasters, suffocating air quality, and accelerating global cataclysms.”

Sounds deep — but Sundance isn’t about thin films with little-to-no brain activity. Should be cool to see how these all fair against the traditional indies — but at the end of the day, we’re just happy to see more attention being paid to these topics. Look for most of these to be available to the public sometime this year.