Blogcritics reviews 'Darknet'

Thoughtful review of Darknet in Blogcritics.org (a site I've admired for a long time). Excerpt:

The past year has brought a wonderful trilogy of seemingly unrelated books that expose the downward spiral of Hollywood. Open Wide: How Hollywood Box Office Became a National Obsession by Dade Hayes and Jonathan Bing explores the unfortunate importance of marketing in the movie business by examining multiplex history and its cultural effect, test screenings and their conciliatory effect, and the deceptiveness of press junkets and the ability to pass off publicity as news. Edward Jay Epstein’s The Big Picture more completely examines the economics of Hollywood and how, as part of trans-global media clusters, studios are less concerned with quality and more intent on cross-merchandizing. Epstein also gives a competent history of the business, particularly its competitive issues with television and video, and discusses the present attention to cable and DVD exploitation as opposed to the less profitable theatrical run. The first book is extremely fluffy, while the second can make laymen's heads spin during its exposition of financial juggling.

Darknet completes the arc, despite a larger interest than movies alone. By reading the other books prior to Lasica, though, a deeper disdain for Hollywood contributes to the more cynical cautionary side to the digital argument. ...