Media

Yahoo Shuts Down Four Entertainment Sites

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I completely missed this news.  Not that it surprises me as, well, it's Yahoo and they've been having their problems lately.  I'm not sure it means anything except likely more unemployed people, and makes me wonder how their talks about acquisitons are going – and Microsoft is a possible suitor.

With so many sites on the web I'm not sure Yahoo's offerings will be missed, though people writing in similar entertainment venues might want to be a bit concerned about A) a bit more competition, and B) they may be seen as unnecessary as well.

Also, if a buyout is coming, yahoo may be streamlining themselves . . .

– Steven Savage

In Which I Get the Cartoon/Toy Remake Thing

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Adaptions of Transformers?  A source of jokes.  GI Joe?  A film stunning in its mediocrity.  If it's not equine and friendly and little, it seems most re-adaptions of cartoons aren't too good, and of course I snootily turn my nose up at them.  Hell, we have one blogger here whose entire goal is to dissect adaptions, leaving me more time to be self-righteous if charming and personable.

Today I heard about J.J. Abrams and a Micronaut movies and I suddenly felt a visceral "yes!" echo in me head, and I understood just why people would be interested in these seemingly majority-terrible adaptions.

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Media and Fan Relationships: Zones Of Creativity

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A lot of us work in or want to produce media, including fiction.  For those of us writing fiction, or planning to film it, or whatever, there may be some concerns about how to deal with fanfic and the like.  Fans are why we're here and how we get paid, and their fanworks help promote our works and draw everyone into a community.  However fanworks can also accidentally "brand" your work, something creators don't always seek or like – as we've had discussed here by our own Rob Barba.

I'm pro-fanwork as long as there's mutual respect and understanding.  I also know some authors fear what happens when people begin "playing in their world," and it's not always irrational (i can immediately think of two series I avoided due to fanfic battles and fanwank that gave me the wrong impression).  For authors and creators who want the best of both worlds, I had an idea.

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