Live from the 2010 WGA Awards!

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith attends and broadcasts an edited version of the 2010 WGA Awards!

Copyright Unlikely Films, Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Not Currently Available

The New Quarterly launches essay and occasional poetry contests

The New Quarterly magazine has announced two new writing contests that pay the winners $1,000 for "one glorious poem" or "one winning essay". The Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse Contest  is sponsored by Kim Jernigan, the longtime editor of TNQ and her family "in celebration of the man who sparked their love of poetry". Occasional poems are defined as being written in response to an occasion,

ZoomerMedia, publishers of Zoomer magazine, reports six month loss of $1.7 million

ZoomerMedia Limited, the publishers of Zoomer magazine and its co-branded suite of websites, ended the first six months of its current fiscal year with flat revenues and a slightly increased after tax loss. For the six months ended December 31, 2009, the company reported revenues of $5.4 million, exactly the revenues of the comparable six months the year before. Expenses in the first six months

Curtis And Jeff

I don't know about you but a well organised workshop gets me everytime, this is Curtis's place in Utah. Man I love it, everything is stored away in its right place, full of great tools and machines, everywhere you look in fact. Curtis builds film props for a living and he is the best there is, he is very skilled and this workshop is a glimpse of the man himself and the quality of his work. I am always gobsmacked at places like this, if it was me there would be crap everywhere and I wouldn't be able to find a thing. Isn't it great that people like Curtis are still doing their thing in this day and age?









Curtis is Jeffs uncle. Jeff and Curtis are building this brilliant Vincent together, bouncing ideas of each other and getting busy with all the fabrication. This bike is going to fly, its super trick and a thing of rare beauty

U.S cellphone data shows more texting than web browsing

Research released by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and reported in Silicon Valley Insider notes that while 86% of Americans now own cellphones*, accessing the mobile internet on them is far less common than sending pictures or text messaging. Only 28% access web pages (it goes up to 48% for 18-29 year olds) and 20% download apps. Older cellphone owners 50 - 64 use text messaging (51%

They are everywhere....

... HIPSTERS that is...

Masthead brings back cover critique feature

Masthead has brought back one of the most popular features of its late print edition, to its online version with the monthly Cover Critiques. The first is a comparison of the March issues of Flare and Fashion, with guest commenters Arjun Basu, Spafax editorial director, Stacey May Fowles, circulation marketing director of circulation and marketing at The Walrus and volunteer publisher of

More than 80% of Canadian magazine $2.4 billion in revenues were in Ontario and Quebec in 2008

Some highlights of Statscan's just-released comparative data for the periodical publishing  industry in Canada for the year 2008:Total operating revenues for the periodical publishing industry reached $2.39 billion in 2008, up 1.2% from 2007. Operating expenses totalled $2.10 billion, up 0.1% from a year earlier. As a result, overall operating profit margins increased to 12.3% from 11.3% in 2007.

New company responsible for research and compilation of Globe's Canadian University Report

Responsibility for the Globe and Mail's annual survey of student higher education rankings has now been shifted to a new company called Higher Education Strategy Associates.The company's president, Alex Usher, previously with the Toronto office of the Virginia-based Education Policy Institute, has announced that EPI Canada has closed its doors and, in its place several new Canadian-based ventures

Onwards and upwards: Canadian Magazines is 5 years old today

Today is the fifth anniversary of the launching of the Canadian Magazines blog. In that time there have been almost 4,190 posts and almost 922,000 page views, which tends to belie any scepticism about whether there is interest in the Canadian magazine industry. 

Since the very first post, it's been our intention to share information with people as interested in the magazine industry as we are.

Magazine world view: No Magic at Ebony; GQ.com relaunches; East-West closes; Dow wants to buy other half of SmartMoney

Magic Johnson's bid to buy Ebony and Jet publishers falls through (Folio:)
Reader's Digest emerges from Chapter 11 (Folio:}  
Active Interest Media buys nine equine magazines, seven web sites (Audience Development) 
U.S. and U.K. ABCs partner for international product report (Audience Development) 
Murdoch's paywalls are 'antithetical to everything' claims Guardian's Rusbridger (Brand Republic) 

Adbusters imitates the Economist...again

A friend writes:I was at Indigo today and was briefly fooled by this Economist look-alike by Adbusters. They were racked together in the Current Affairs section, with Zoomer between, so the consumer gets a pretty good side-by-side comparison. I wondered how Adbusters knew what the Economist was going to run, but I guess they were banking on the design being similar to the 2009 issue, or the

New magazine Friday Night launched to serve Toronto Jewish community

A new magazine for Toronto's Jewish community called Friday Night has just been launched. Delivered six times a year, the magazine's stated aim is to provide Toronto's Jewish community with inspirational, thought-provoking, entertaining and useful journalism that is non-partisan.It will celebrate Jews making an impact on our great city and the traditions and lifestyles that continue to bond

Canadian Geographic wins four travel journalists' awards

Canadian Geographic won four awards -- two first place and two awards of merit -- in the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) 2009 awards competition. The awards are announced now, but presented May 11 in Reno, Nevada.
Robin and Arlene Karpan won gold for best Landscape/Seascape photography (“Sandland,” March 2009)
Lisa Gregoire for best Budget Travel article (“Hut spot,”

Vogue's Anna Wintour to be named to Magazine Editor's Hall of Fame

Vogue magazine editor Anna Wintour has been named  a member of the Magazine Editor's Hall of Fame by the American Society of Magazine Editors. She will receive the honour at the annual National Magazine Awards in New York City on April 22.
It’s about time ASME recognized Wintour [says Jason Fell of Folio:]. She joins fellow Hall of Fame inductees including Hugh Hefner, Martha Stewart, Tina Brown

Twitter may launch ad platform next month

Twitter, the microblogging phenomenon, is planning to launch an advertising platform within a month, probably at the South by Southwest conference.
Declining to confirm exactly when Twitter would release the platform, Anamitra Banerji, head of product management and monetization at Twitter, told MediaPost ...that "we are working on an ad platform, but it's only in the test phase." There is a

San Francisco Skyline 2005

Musink

The Musink Festival that was held in Orange County this past weekend was a great time!
Thanks Shane!!
Pic: Andrew Youssef
The Black Tibetans

Maybe Its Time

So, I have been wanting to build something like a Dick Mann type of CB 750 for ages, like years. Only make it for the road, with lights and all that. I reckon a doner bike is no problem and should be cheap enough, mainly 'cos it doesn't need to be original. Right, well Seat and tank no problem. Pipes easy peasy, just a couple of Biltwell kits and some good welding. Rearsets and central oil tank again pretty simple. Paint? a no brainer. However, its that fairing, hard to find and well expensive, it needs to be one with the perspex bubble for the front light too. Or maybe some leds frenched into the race one. I can muck about with it to make it all fit. mmmmmmmmmmm.

Frisco, Wednesday Night!

Anklebiters is going to raise the roof.

Atlantic Business builds awareness of print creative and fine looking magazine ads, too

Atlantic Business magazine has come up with a nifty way to build awareness and commitment with its advertisers and demonstrate the power and value of magazine creative work, according to a story in Marketing magazine. Regular advertisers (those having booked 3 ads between 2009 and 2010) have until the end of February to respond to the statement "Why I believe in magazine advertising". The staff

Vegas Swap. March 7

I'm looking forward to this, its going to be a doozie

World's oldest Sunday newspaper, The Observer redesigns

The Observer, the world's oldest Sunday newspaper, is relaunching this weekend and, with it is a wholly new design and a new arts section called The New Review, designed by the paper's creative director Carolyn Roberts. A preliminary look shows that the Berliner format hybrid (newspaper/magazine) has considerable charm. 

You can look at a funny promo video for the relaunch, read the editor John

Maclean's magazine reports on how The Beaver changed its name

Maclean's magazine has published a story on how The Beaver magazine managed its name change to Canada's History. The story, by Martin Patriquin, quotes editor Mark Reid (who, with publisher Deborah Morrison, must be shell-shocked by the worldwide, salacious attention paid to what is, after all, simply a rebranding).“Yes, I like beavers, the animals, just as much as anybody else,” Reid said

Two examples of how playing well with others seems to be an endangered concept

I've never made any secret of my belief in collaboration in the magazine industry; or in my belief that cooperation makes good sense, financially and in terms of the greatest good for the greatest number. Now, in one day, we have two object lessons in short-sighted thinking in other media to remind us (if a reminder is necessary) of the virtues of togetherness: the announcement that Sun Media

Road Trip, Inland Vans Berdoo Style

Van events were the best of times. We need to bring them back everyone, this is where its at.

In The Wind

A C(h)ooper

2010 Oscar Screenwriting Nominee Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews Nick Hornby, Terri Tatchell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche, Simon Blackwell, Alessandro Camon, Geoffrey Fletcher, Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner about their Oscar Nominated Screenplays

Copyright Unlikely Films, Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Not Currently Available

Magazine world view: Continuing Variety; Playboy up; Lotsa launches

Reed Elsevier reaffirms that Variety will be ‘retained’ (Folio:) 
New magazine launches: A big January 2010 comeback (Mr. Magazine) 
RBI profits down 35% in 2009 (Press Gazette)
Playboy magazine swings to profit in fourth quarter (Folio:) 
The benefits of Twitter for B-to-B media brands (Folio:) 
Gay rights group criticises PCC after Jan Moir/Stephen Gately decision (Guardian)
Custom

Former publisher of Style launches Trends quarterly for fashion and retail industry

A new quarterly magazine for the fashion and retail industry has been launched by the former vice-president and publisher of Style magazine and Canadian Jeweller, Kait Walker. According to a story in Marketing magazine, Walker believes Trends will be serving a market niche left unserved by the suspension of Style."I was looking out for Style to relaunch but it never happened," [Walker] said. "I

MagNet launches 2010 website with details about conference events

You can start planning your agenda for the first week of June, as the new website for Magnet: Canada's Magazine Conference is now available for viewing. The conference is held June 1 - 4, 2010 in Toronto. Now in its fourth year, MagNet is a multi-disciplinary seminar, professional development and networking event that is produced collaboratively by Canada’s key industry associations: Canadian

New digital technologies will gobble up to 20% of print business says Transcon head

While Transcontinental Inc. sees the print medium co-existing with new media for a very long time, its chief executive Francois Olivier says he expects that new technology like e-readers will take away up to a fifth of its business in the next couple of years.He told the Canadian Press in an interview following the company's annual meeting:"We believe that things like the Kindle (and) iPad are

Nick Hornby - An Education Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews screenwriter Nick Hornby about An Education

Copyright Unlikely Films, Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Not Currently Available

The Messenger Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews co-writer Alessandro Camon and co-writer/director Oren Moverman about The Messenger

Copyright Unlikely Films, Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Not Currently Available

Yep...

Best Tattoo In The World

You know it.

The Girls Are Back In Town

This is a picture of me and Rosie, my daughter, back in London in 1994 when she was about 4 or 5. I had this great Matchless G12 CSR as a daily driver and I used to take her to school and back on it for many years. That was followed by a Norton Atlas that she was equally at home on. I folded the rear pillion footpegs up and cranked the bolt down really hard so they wouldn't fold open, that way she could reach the pegs no problem. All we needed then was helmet that fitted and Bobs your uncle. The only trouble we had was she used to fall asleep sometimes, I would have to ride down the road with one arm behind my back holding on to her so she wouldn't slip of the bike. Rosie is still, to this day, the best pillion passenger ever. This was in a Sunday magazine at that time, I don't know who wrote the caption just below the photo but what a load of bollocks.


Anyways, fast forward like a million years and she is now 21, Yikes!. Her and Deans sister, Maria, have moved back over to LA for a little while, its really good to have them here. Even though they are eating us out of house and home, a bit like those soldier ants in fact.

Bogo Pogo

Yeah baby! what? no, you will just have to wait!