The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is considering new rules to ensure diversity among its members and nominees; Kaiser and Blue Shield are being sued by Consumer Watchdog and others for allegedly dodging a state tax on health insurance premiums; With more ridesharing options, people may be leaning away from car ownership and TGI-FilmWeek!
Academy to consider controversial ways to make itself more diverse
How can the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ensure more diversity among its nominees and members?
Increase the number of nominees in the best picture and actor categories? Allow potential members to self-nominate rather than requiring sponsorship from its current largely-male, largely-white members?
Those are just some of the proposals the Academy is scheduled to grapple with at this coming Tuesday’s closed-door meeting.
The meeting is the latest shoe to drop in the ongoing outcry over this year’s all-white nominee slate in the acting categories, following Jada Pinkett and Spike Lee’s announced boycott of the ceremony and actors Charlotte Rampling and Michael Caine’s push back that black actors should be “patient.” Do you think certain measures will improve future outcomes? Could they have unintended consequences that could ultimately backfire?
Guest:
Pete Hammond, awards columnist at the entertainment news site, Deadline
Kaiser, Blue Shield go to court to fight $10 billion in state back taxes
A court hearing in Los Angeles today against two of California’s biggest health insurance providers could bring billions of dollars to the state coffer.
Kaiser and Blue Shield are being sued by Consumer Watchdog and others for allegedly dodging a state tax on health insurance premiums. The suit wants the two companies to start paying the tax, plus about $10 billion in state back taxes.
Kaiser and Blue Shield say that they should not be taxed because they are not technically insurers. And if they end up being on the hook for a huge tax bill, they might have to raise premiums on consumers.
Besides Kaiser and Blue Shield, Anthem Blue Cross and Health Net are also facing a similar lawsuit.
The four insurance providers make up 70 percent of California’s health insurance market.
Guests:
Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, the organization that’s bringing the lawsuit against Kaiser Permanente, Blue Shield of California, Anthem Blue Cross, and Health Net
Charles Bacchi, President and CEO of California Association of Health Plans, which represents all the managed health plans in California
As more ride-sharing and car-sharing options become available, are more people leaning away from owning a car?
GM announced yesterday (Jan 20) the launch of its new car-sharing service, Maven, on the heels of its $500 million investment in ride-sharing service Lyft, and acquisition of the assets and technology of out-of-business Uber rival, Sidecar.
GM’s president Dan Ammann said that the company sees “changes in consumer behavior and we see significant opportunity as that changes occurs. We want to make sure we’re at the forefront of this.”
Analysts see this as a means for GM to place a stake in the future where more people’s transportation habits are shifting. Mother Jones has even released an article on self-parking cars, and a study from the University of Michigan found that fewer Americans are getting drivers licenses.
What are the latest consumer trends in ride-sharing and vehicle ownership? What is the role of technology (apps, the emergence of autonomous vehicles) in shifting preferences? How are other car makers re-aligning their assets to adapt to this change? Or are low gas prices enticing more people to purchase a car? As the WSJ reported, US car sales jumped to a record high last year. Conversely, the publication also reported that millenials may not become car buyers.
Guests:
Michelle Krebs, Senior analyst for AutoTrader.com
Jeremy Carlson, Senior Analyst, Automotive Technology, IHS, a marketing research firm
FilmWeek: ‘The 5th Wave,’ ‘Dirty Grandpa,’ ‘Monster Hunt’ and more
Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Charles Solomon, Wade Major, and Lael Loewenstein will review this weekend’s new movie releases including the latest young-adult-novel-cum-dystopian-flick “The 5th Wave,” “Dirty Grandpa” starring Robert De Niro, the animated feature “Monster Hunt” and more. TGI-Filmweek!
Guests:
Lael Loewenstein, film critic for KPCC
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and host for IGN’s DigiGods.com
Charles Solomon, film critic for KPCC and Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine
Independent Stardom: Freelance Women in the Hollywood Studio System
Hollywood has a long history of being male-dominated, making it difficult for women to compete with their male counterparts for their place in the film industry.
Behind the scenes, actors often hired an agent to negotiate contracts and finances because freelancing, especially in the 1930s and 1940s, was only an option for top-tier actors. “Independent Stardom: Freelance Women in the Hollywood Studio System” recounts several careers in which women took control and challenged the industry’s patriarchal norm.
Carole Lombard, Irene Dunne and Olivia de Havilland are examples of business-savvy actors who used an alternative path to achieve stardom.
What gave these women the courage to take their careers into their own hands? How did freelancing shape the attitudes of present-day actors?
Emily Carman will be signing copies of her book at Book Soup in West Hollywood on February 3 at 7:00 p.m.
Guest:
Emily Carman, author of “Independent Stardom: Freelance Women in the Hollywood Studio System” (University of Texas Press). Assistant professor of film studies, Chapman University