al jazeera culture critic bill wyman. >>> good evening. >> how are you bill? the hobbit was the most pirated film with 8.4 million illegal downloads. are you surprised by any of the movies that topped the list? >> one or two definitely. the hobbit's going to be up there because this is a fan boy universe it is a very deep and dark universe down there and it's not surprising to see movies like the hobbit, which is the ultimate fan-boy movie topping that list. on the other hand, this year it's really -- there's a really interesting phenomenon this year django unchained and silver linings play book, art movies for adults, they are a couple of theories as to why they're there. as time goes by, more and more people of sort of mature age know how to down load these movies. you're going osee more and more quote unquote about movies instead of fantasy movies and the like. the second explanation is this is a deep and dark underworld. a we can't trust these movies, there are cyberand streaming sites and sneaker net, carries around things like this, this is a 16-gig driv

i asked al jazeera's cultural contributor bill wyman if online video may be the way forward. >> thisa pretty time. there's a lot of outsiders coming in - first of all to the tv industry where the cost of getting in is less than the movie industry. it's really grate for cop assumers on one level, because it gives us a myriad of choices. the tv industry will always be dominated by the cable companies that we are shelling $150 a month to, making it difficult for new things to happen. the great thing about netflix and amazon prime, they are coming through the internet, not the cable. that will worry not just the mainstream tv creators, but the cable companies. >> how do you think the popularity of the netflix, amazon prime will change the way cable companies do business. >> hopefully it will lower their power, and it's beginning. people with apple tv - it's a little difficult to get internet content on to your tv, but with the rise of apple and google has chrome class. you plug it in the back of your tv and anything on the laptop goes on to the tv screen. once that is typical household a

let's bring in bill wyman, the culture critic. >> high.out mcillmoor and the route to fame. is this the norm where artists don't need to rely on big record labels? >> boy, i think i can speak for many when i say boy i hope so. the music industry has been a callsified institution for the past 20, 30, 40 years. it made all its money by having this monopoly, by paying radio stations to get songs on to the radio and into people adds homes. the fact that we see it cracking, and there has been a few, mack miller had a number one record that was an independent artist. mcillmore and ryan louis, not only did they do it on their own, and we should get to that, but they are flying the flag for it. one of the things that is in their songs is how they are independent and proud and they took a solid shot at jimmy. >> ving, the head of universal records, which i can't remember anyone in history on their level doing. >> how does it happen that an artist like mcillmore strikes cold. a lot of people think they'll put a song on youtube and the rest happens.

bill wyman spoke to us earlier. industry has been a callsified institution for the past 20, 30, 40 years. it made all its money by having the monopoly. by paying radio stations. and the fact this we see these - the eddy fats cracking. there has been a few recently. mack miller had a number one record. not only did they do it on their own, almost. our terms - they are plying the flag. one of the things in their song is how they are independent. they took a shot at jimmy, the head of a record label. >> i can't understand how an artist like mag - a lot of people out there put a song on youtube. we make it clear there's two kind of artists. destined for star dom. madonna. the great unwatched and 80% of the rest, which record labels helped. your chances of being a star were better. and what youtube does is gives the top 10% away into the hearts and minds without having to go through the record labels, controlling the action to press, tv, radio. those are the things that broke down. what broke down is the record labels co

bill wyman is with us.hat responsibility to artists have to their audiences in being careful not to glamorize this when the subject is a criminal. >> that's a great question. and they are no obligation. they have an obligation to their art. but on balance this ends up seeming a little callus. it tends to leave a little bad taste in your mouth once you start thinking about the implications. i think in the end it is almost like a porky's or a frat comedy, and despite the film making which is extraordinary, but it seems to be a little empty. >> but you are talking about a movie that shows a guy who ripped off clients for millions and millions of dollars, but you show him having yachts and sports cars, millions of dollars, the most beautiful women in the world. so if you are a young person and you are watching this, if this guy goes to prison for a couple of years and then comes back out and has a nice life, whatting kind of statement is this? >> seriously that's true. i'm always suspicious of saying it is goin

. >> bill wyman and ben mankowitz will join me. a. >> a new year means a fresh start in culture and it looks like a blockbuster for films. >> every day i wake up knowing that the more people i try to save, the more enemies i will make. and it's just a matter of time. before i face those with more power than i can overcome. >> the amazing spiderman 2 is one of several big sequels on the way. and let's get the low down on all things culture from bill wyman, and ben mankowitz, host on turner classic movies and the film review online, what the flick. bill, spiderman 2 just one of a host of sequels open the way. what have we -- on the way. just a trend of these total franchises seems to be a bigger and bigger deal in hollywood. >> thanks for having me antonio. as usual it's a tsunami of sequels that we will be seeing. start coming up with the list, i gave up after hitting 25 or so. major sequels, these are major sequels not just crappy horror films. in 2013, we've got the seventh fast and furious, gets to be a ridiculous number, second

bill wyman joins us. question is what responsibility do filmmakers have to their audiences in being careful not to glamourize a subject like this where the subject is a criminal? >> that's an interesting question. the hard answer is filmmakers have no responsibility to their audience. and this is where you start to feel that this is an artist who isn't engaging in artistry, but looking for some sort of crowd-pleasing thing. it tends to leave a bad taste in your mouth once you start thinking about the implications. i think it's a film making failure. there's no sub -- sub text. it's more like a porky's. it seems to be a little empty. >> but you are talking about a movie that shows a guy who ripped off millions and millions of dollars, but you show him having yachts, and sports cars, the most beautiful women in the world. and this guy only goes to prison for a couple of years, and then comes out and has a perfectly nice life. >> you can make that argument, on the other hand, people who go toward that kind o

the oscar nominations were surprising in a lot of ways and we'll return them down with bill wyman andl press in los angeles host of the online movie review show, what the flick. billet's start with the biggest snubs which surprised you the most? >> question the whole premise of snubs times, because the people that were nominated don't think they were snubbed. but i think they thought mr. banks, tom hanks would get nominated for that. and oscar loves the coen brothers, but didn't come through for them this time. >> how about you ben? >> i tend to agree with bill in the snub i think was flawed. two or three weeks ago if you looked on offshore gambling accounts to see who the favorite in best actor was, it was a two man race. so i was very surprised that robert redford didn't get a best actor nod, but it is an amazing year for actors. and oprah winfrey surprised me too. >> bill doesn't seem surprised he laughed. what about open pa? sgrfrms well, just that oprah doesn't get to win everything. she didn't get the nobel prize this year either. [ laughter ] >> let's go toment some of the posi

let's bring in bill wyman from 15 e, a former npr arts editor. it's gotten buzz. why is it so hard to get two women in a film together having a normal conversation? >> twice ever thus. when you go back, you apply the same to the iniad, the odyssey and the interesting thing for us today is whether it's a market issue, whether there just in fact isn't an awedous for such things, there is something subconsciously or consciously blocking it. >> let's look at some of those things. best picture nominees, more than half failed the test including 12 years a slave, captain phillips, gravity, although gravity is one of the dubious ones. her, the wolfe of wall street, american hustle and nebraska barely passed the test the. as you said, it is 2014. it may have been ever thus, as you said, it is i am precise. i don't think gravity which features a strong female character is a sexist movie. to say wolfe of wall street if he would the beck tell test is to under state the issue. a movie like her is sympathetic in an interesting way as well. so the whole market has expanded so we

bill wyman joining us, and we're joined by ben mankiewicz, the host of the online movie review show "he flick." bill let's start with the biggest snubs, which one surprised you most? >> it's funny. i question the whole premise of snubs sometimes, because the people who got nominated they don't think they were snubbed. but saving mr. banks that has to be a disappointment for disney. and he also didn't get nominated for captain phillips. the coen brothers are big, but oscar didn't come through for them this time. >> what about you bill? >> i tend to agree with him with the term. two or three weeks ago if you looked at off-shore gambling accounts to see who the best actor was it was [ inaudible ] and robert redford. but it's an amazing year for actors. there were easily 12 guys eligible. and oprah winfrey surprised me too. >> what about oprah? >> oprah doesn't get to win everything. she didn't get the nobel prize this year either. [ laughter ] >> let's go to some of the positives what nominations were you glad to see? the >> what i like is a horse race. and you have gravity, american hus

let's bring in bill wyman, an al jazeera culture critic. good to have you with us.e hear constantly about questionable activities, but rarely see action on the part of the academy. why this song, in this movie. >> it seems to have been something that really raises the appearance of inappropriate possess, and the academy runs a very tight ship. we talked about the grammies, they are really run - they do a lot of things that most would frown on. i admire the academy for taking the action when they find something. this is an obscure movie, playing in l.a. no one heard of it. for it to come up with a high-profile nomination, at least you could see why some radar went off. >> bruce routin at the center of the scandal responded in dismay saying it's somewhere between devastated, disappointment, dejection. the academy awards have in the pulled a nomination for a long time. do you think this will change things, that there'll be tougher control, even than the one you are describing that already exists? >> i think that it's good. it reminds everyone. remember 10-15 years ago

let's bill in bill wyman. a former npr arts editor. we hear about the questionable activities, but we rarely see action on the part of the academy. why this song and this movie. >> it's something as they said in the announcement that raises the feeling of inappropriate innocence much the academy runs a tight ship. they are run, they do a lot of things that most people frown on, i admire the academy for taking this action. this was a very, very obscure movie. it played for a week. at least you could see why some radar went off. >> there may have been impropriety. >> bruce, at the center of the scandal responded in dismay, devastated, disappointed. the awards have not pulled a nomination for a long time. do you think this is going to change things. that this will be tougher control than the one that exists. i think it reminds everyone. 10 or 15 years ago there was a fame out director who wrote an essay, writing about martin scoresaysy's editorial. it wasn't written by him. it caused consternation and the academy didn't take action, but a

and let's get the low down on all things culture from bill wyman, and ben mankowitz, host on turner classic movies and the film review online, what the flick. bill, spiderman 2 just one of a host of sequels open the way. what have we -- on the way. just a trend of these total franchises seems to be a bigger and bigger deal in hollywood. >> thanks for having me antonio. as usual it's a tsunami of sequels that we will be seeing. start coming up with the list, i gave up after hitting 25 or so. major sequels, these are major sequels not just crappy horror films. in 2013, we've got the seventh fast and furious, gets to be a ridiculous number, second or fifth spiderman, we have to take into account reboots. and mergings like the avengers where you have the iron plan, avenger and captain america, and the crazy things where you have avengers and iron men training your hob bits. or something of that nature. >> remakes we have coming out we have got god zilla, noah, about noah's arc, it goes on and on. ro robo cop, does hollywood have anything left? >> of the 100 best reviewed movies of 2013 what you

let's bring in bill wyman from phoenix.test has been around for years but gotten a lot of buzz recently. why is it so hard? >> it's a great question, and the short answer is twus, ever, thus. if you try to apply the same test to the iliad, and others, i think you would come up with some of the same answers. the real test is whether it is an market issue, whether there isn't an audience for such films, or if the there's something inherent in the making of movies -- >> we're looking at best picture nominees more than half failed the best. gravity -- although it is one of dubious ones. nebraska barely passed the test, but it is 2014. it may have been ever thus as you said, but is this proof that hollywood is behind the times. >> yeah, and this is a very provocative test. to say that wolf of wall street failed the test is to understate the issue, right? and a movie like her is interesting as well. so it depends on how you look at it. what has been happening recently is the whole market for movies and tv has expanded and i think

let's bring in bill wyman. this test has been along for years, but has buzz because of the news from sweden. why is it too hard to get two women in a film together having a normal conversation? >> the short answer is twas ever thus. the really interesting thing for us today is whether it's a market issue, whether there just in fact isn't an audience for such films, or something inherent in the history of movie making that there's something in there subconsciously or consciously blocking it. >> looking at the best picture mom knows, more than half fame the test, 12 years a slave, captain phillips, gravity, the wolf of wall street, barely pass the test. it is 2014. is this proof that hollywood's behind the times? >> this is a very provocative testify and a trifle imprecise. i don't think you would say a movie like gravity is a sexist movie. to say the wolf of wall street understates the issue. it depends how you look at it. what's been happening recently is the market for movies and t.v. has expanded that i think

. >> that was "12 years a slave" bill wyman is here to shed light on the golden globes and the oscar presentation. who chooses these winners? >> well, that is a good question. it's a strike against journalism that it doesn't get asked. the hollywood form press association is like a creepy old uncle this everyone has to be nice to. they own the brand. it's a useful marketing tool for the studios when it comes to the oscars. it is a weird band of people, a lot of whom do not write and jealously guard their per og tifs in terms of junkets and happening out with stars. people should know while the award show is going on, hollywood is nice to these people. tina fey said, "there's no cure for the hpfa." speaking about laughing at them, let's talk. it sounds like they have to toe a line between mocking the awards and challenging them. what are the things that will have to be faced? >> ricky gervais, there was controversy, but was the host. tina fey came up with tough shots. they put on one show, make $7, $8, $9 million. they give away a million or two in charity and the rest - they are sitt

bill wyman is in phoenix this morning. good morning. any surprises? >> no big surprises. it confirms it's going to be a really good horse race thisee. there's a lot of movies getting a lot of nominations in different categories. the front runners of "12 years a slave," eye gravity" and" american hustle." there's a lot of nominations for "wolf of wall street" and" captain phillips" got a nomination. a relatively small art film got three or four nominations. when you go down to the technical awards, just about all those movies are down there. particularly i notice "12 years a slave" didn't get a cinematography nomination. >> best actor, who's up? >> that is the hardest to crunch. a titanic performance in 12 years a slave, that's the one to beat. matthew mcconaughey did a great job in dallas buyers club. so did bruce dern. he's been in hollywood a very long time. he can't be counted out. leonardo decaprio is not a big favorite, and christian bale, as well. >> best actress? >> what people tend to see the favorite is indicate cate blanchette. most people seem to say that's the