With its racially charged themes striking a timely chord, “The Birth of a Nation” garnered acclaim and a $17.5 million distribution deal at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. However after it became known that its director and star was once accused (though acquitted) of rape, a question was raised over whether art can be separated from its creator. Many will argue that the answer lies in the movie’s poor critical reception and tepid box office.
What was touted as a contender for multiple Oscar nominations this year, “The Birth of a Nation” may ultimately break even in theatres before going on to earn most of its money in ancillary markets. If it were up to Reed Hastings though, the film would have been released on VOD and in cinemas at the same time. The Netflix CEO claims theater owners are strangling the movie industry with their insistence on release windows.
Meanwhile, there are calls by some in Congress for the Justice Department to review the growing number of business acquisitions being made by Wanda, a Chinese conglomerate. Having purchased multiple movie theater chains and at least one Hollywood production company, some legislators believe the U.S. is allowing Chinese state-controlled companies to gain too much soft power
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including why executives are disappearing from BBC’s Radio 1, how Disney cast a sequel to “Mary Poppins” without a script and what the future may hold for celebrity newscaster Billy Bush.

comScore Announces Official Worldwide Box Office Results for Weekend of October 9, 2016
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comscore-announces-official-worldwide-box-office-results-for-weekend-of-october-9-2016-300341627.html
Box-Office Milestone: ‘Finding Dory’ Crosses $1B Worldwide
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-milestone-finding-dory-936637
Nate Parker’s Failed Media Tour: Anger, No Remorse and Oprah’s Advice Ignored
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nate-parkers-failed-media-tour-936102
Classic Sundance Hype Conflated with Cultural Importance
http://variety.com/2016/film/columns/the-birth-of-a-nation-nate-parker-1201883000/
Justice Dept. Is Asked to Review Chinese Company’s Hollywood Purchases
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/08/world/asia/us-hollywood-dalian-wanda.html
Four Futures – Book Filter Entry
http://bookfilter.com/2014/06/16/four-futures
Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run’ Bosses Bestseller List
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/71688-born-to-run-roars-to-big-first-week.html
Billy Bush Will Not Be on Monday’s ‘Today’ Show After All
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/billy-bush-today-show-monday-will-not-appear-936654
How NBC Finished Second on the Trump Video Story