|
May30
|
In an interesting public battle over the count of ticket sales internationally, Sony Corp. has challenged Disney's (DIS) assertion that they have broken the six-day record for sales worldwide, bringing in a $404 million total, which they claim beat Sony's "Spider-Man 3," which brought in $382 million over the six-day period they opened with. According to Sony (SNE), Disney counted seven days for their totals, which if they had done the same, they would have finished at $418.1 million. "There are some irregularities in their claim regarding record-setting," Sony said in the statement. "There should be a consistent standard in international box-office reporting." Sony added that Disney included Italy and France in their totals on May 22, which would make it a seven-day period which they counted. Disney countered saying that they only earned $1.4 million in those two countries; meaning they would have still beat Sony. Of course if Sony added an extra day, they would have beat Disney. When Disney changed their launch at the last moment and allowed showing on Thursday night, I thought that was a little odd. Then when Disney announced that they were going for a Memorial Day record rather than a three-day record, it started to make sense.
|
|
May30
|
Jeff Zucker, when he was the president of NBC Entertainment in 2000-2001, started the super-sizing of shows as a tool to keep viewers from going to to the start of strong shows of competitors at the time. Super-sizing of shows...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Viacom (VIA-B) has come to an agreement with Sony (SNE) to sell it the Famous Music publishing business for a reported $370 million.Sony Corp. of America Chief Financial Officer Rob Wiesenthal said, "Famous Music is one of the world's largest...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
After acquiring the Travel Channel from Discovery Communications, Cox Communications is looking to move beyond the linear model and expand the brand to the Internet and other platforms.“In the category, we’ve owned the television space, but we’re looking to be...
Continue Reading
|
|
May29
|
It doesn't seem like over a year ago when retouched photographs were considered a big negative, as people would change photos to make their story seem more true.While it isn't as important when talking about celebrities and their photos, many...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
A new study by pediatric researchers at the University of Washington discovered that 90 percent of children by the age of 2 have been watching television for an average of 90 minutes a day. The study also found that 40...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The upcoming shareholder meeting of Viacom at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York promises to be lively as a number of women's groups are coming together to challenge Viacom to remove the indecent lyrics and images from the airways.Among...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
We've talked a lot on bizofshowbiz about the changes that would have to come to NBC, as corporate parent General Electric (GE) wasn't going to allow things to sit as they were with the company having settled into a perennial...
Continue Reading
|
|
May28
|
For only the second time in the history of the Miss Universe pageant, a contestant from Japan has won the title. The other Japanese winner was Akiko Kojima in 1959. Riyo Mori, Miss Japan, was filled with emotion on the...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M, Jimmy Iovine, announced that Justin Timerlake has partnered with him in a joint venture to launch a new record label "Tennman Records.""Whenever you have the opportunity to get into business with someone as gifted as...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The figures we're talking about today are for the entire Memorial Day weekend totals, so they'll be a lot larger than the normal three-day weekend we usually show the figures on.With the four and a half days it was shown,...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The producers of the comedy "Poor Things," which is based upon true stories about elderly women who have been involved with numerous illegal activities like cons, fraud, drugs and murder, have decided they needed to inject some young blood into...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Actress Kirsten Dunst is excited about her first chance to get behind a camera and direct her first movie. In her first time around she'll not only be directing but taking on the writing also, which will be drawn from...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Reports in British newspapers are Providence Equity Group, a private equity firm, is getting ready to make a $15 billion bid for Virgin Media.Most of the interest in Virgin Media comes from its battle with BSkyB which has resulted in...
Continue Reading
|
|
May27
|
Being billed as the largest auction of Jackson family memorabilia ever, the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino prepared for what they believe will be millions in dollars in bids for the assorted items."This really is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence," said Arlan...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Saying they haven't reached a final decision yet, MSNBC executives have said that Florida Congressman Joe Scarborough has impressed them on his trial runs in the morning slot to replace Imus in The Morning.At this time Scarborough hosts a newscast...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
With the acquisition of the rights to air "Murder, She Wrote," the Hallmark Channel gets itself over 250 episodes to add to its catalog of shows. They bought the rights from NBC Universal Domestic Televison Distribution.Hallmark will run the series...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Ozzy Osbourne is releasing his first album with new material since 2001's "Down to Earth," with the introduction of "Black Rain," which will be part of the Ozzfest celebration.While it's probably not much of a surprize to most, this album...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
On the Retirement Living TV channel, which targets viewers aged 55 and over, there will be a special called "Countdown to Conversion," which will focus on the upcoming transition to digital television on February 17, 2009. That's the date when...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Talking about the special magic that he and John Lennon had when working together, Paul McCartney said that working with others is always disappointing in comparison. That's quite a statement when considering some of the former duets he's done in...
Continue Reading
|
|
May26
|
In the first week of its release, "Pan's Labyrinth" took top rental honors with a healthy $6.48 million in rental revenue. Among the top five, "Pan's" was the only new rental release able to crack into it. The rest were...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Fox won the important 18-49 key demo on Thursday night as they started up their summer season with reality show "So You Think You Can Dance."Nielsen showed the 90-minute premiere winning the 8 to 9:30 time slot with a 3.6/12...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Bindi Irwin, daughter of the late Steve Irwin, says that she wants her new TV show "Bindi: The Jungle Girl" to continue the conservation and educational work of her fatherAt the Australian launch of the new show, Bindi said, "I'm...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The last-minute decision by Disney (DIS) to show "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" on Thursday obviously took away any chance at the movie competing for the top opening in history; and the numbers showed it.On Friday the movie...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
With the conflicting interests of maintaining strong diplomatic relations with Japan and Chinese nationalism concerning the Nanjing massacre, Hong Kong director Yim Ho and his Chinese counterpart Lu Chuan have struggled to get permission to go ahead with the project...
Continue Reading
|
|
May25
|
Barbra Streisand has liked to push her weight around concerning her own pet causes and ideas, but when others push back, evidently she runs. That's the case in the European tour she was set to launch in Rome, Italy. Consumer...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
In a late decision by Disney (DIS) to premiere "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" on Thursday, the company brought in a $17 million windfall from its initial screenings. Included with the $17 million figure was about $3 million...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The History Channel is going to offer the world premiere of "Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed" on May 28 at 9pm ET. It will be a two-hour special which explores why the Star Wars series had such a powerful, lasting,...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
I thought I had seen the largest pig I would ever see when I saw a picture of Hogzilla, which is now the basis of a horror film. I was wrong. At a commercial hunting preserve an 11-year-old boy shot...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Mary-Kate Olson will be performing on Showtime's "Weeds," a edgy story about a pot-selling mom played by Mary-Louise Parker. It will be the first time Mary-Kate has played a role without her sister Ashley Olsen.This will be new territory for...
Continue Reading
|
|
May24
|
With the promotion the of the new season of The 4400 in mind, the USA Network, through Campfire Media, has created an online, interactive video bonanza that play from 30 seconds all the way up to five minutes, that will...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
With the approval by European regulators of the purchase of BMG Music Publishing by Vivendi, it will make the Universal Music Group both the largest record company and music publisher in the world. The purchase of the company came at...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The ad revenue for broadcast TV was down by 5.3 percent in the first quarter, finishing up at a total of $11.8 billion. Network television revenue fell by 6.5 percent during the quarter to end up with $6.7 billion. Syndication...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The TV upfront looks like it will be real slow this year, with some predicting that it will not move in the next few days, and some thinking it won't start moving until the middle of June or later.This year...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Commenting on the plight and expectations concerning Katie Couric and her inability at this time to build a large audience, former CBS (CBS-A) News president Andrew Heyward said that he doesn't believe she will be going anywhere soon.In Heyward's estimation,...
Continue Reading
|
|
May23
|
In what wasn't a surprise to most people, Jordin Sparks walked away with the 2007 "American Idol" title, beating Blake Lewis in the finals. Sparks is the youngest to ever win the coveted crown.When host Ryan Seacrest revealed the winner,...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Viacom (VIA-B) is looking to the international market for growth, and is specifically targeting the Indian television market for a big move in that direction.On its slate is a proposal to launch a Hindi-language channel sometime in the next 12...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
In a close match, Apolo Anton Ohno and dance partner Julianne Hough took the trophy home for winning the "Dancing with the Stars" contest.Ohno, who is an Olympic speed skater said, "I feel amazing. If you put your mind to...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
We're coming to that time of the year when all the major networks will start taking selective data and spinning it to their advantage. CBS (CBS-A) has taken the first shot, saying they've finished the season as the most-watched network...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The original plan for the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series was to end after the third installment. Johnny Depp, for one, hopes there's more "Pirates" down the road.At the premiere of "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" in Tokyo,...
Continue Reading
|
|
May22
|
In a country that loves opera as much as anything else, Italian consumer groups were outraged over the price of Barbra Streisand tickets which were going for as high as $1,210. The lowest ticket price was $295.4. Calling the prices...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
At the end of June when the contract of Stone Philips expires, he will no longer be with "Dateline NBC," as in a move to cut costs the network says they won't renew his contract."It's been a wonderful 15 years,"...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The battle between Virgin Media and Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB has weakened "Virgin" in the eyes of some people, and has renewed interest in making a bid for the company.Last year a consortium led by US group Providence Equity Partners, talked...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
John Abraham, a Bollywood actor, has been picked to star alongside Rachel Weisz in the story of Julia Hill who lived in a 1000-year-old tree for a couple of years so loggers wouldn't cut it down.Hill's character will be played...
Continue Reading
|
|
May21
|
A group led by Thomas H. Lee Partners LP and Bain Capital Partners LLC have made an offer to the Clear Channel Communications (CCU) board that looks like it will finally be accepted by shareholders.The offer of $39.20 per share...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Toshiba is partnering with movie studios and technology companies to promote their line of high-definition DVD players.Last year the partnership, called HD DVD Promo Group, was put together to let people know about the advantages of the technology behind HD...
Continue Reading
|
|
May20
|
Shareholders of Time Warner (TWX) are starting to get restless as the stock has been languishing since 2003 ... although there has been a 25 percent move up since the last shareholder meeting.At the recent annual meeting shareholders took steps...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
While the European audience has been aware of Javier Bardem for some time, as he's one of their more popular actors, the english-speaking public hasn't heard about him as much. That's about to change.In Cannes, Bardem has been surprisingly recognized...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The top film for the weekend, to no ones surprise, was Shrek the Third. It's strong Friday opening of $39 million helped to launch it off to an estimated weekend take of $133 million, better than most projected. That was...
Continue Reading
|
|
May19
|
While the idea that the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen being the next Bond girl(s), may be either a fantasy or a nightmare depending on your thoughts on the ladies, the rumor seems to have been shot down from their publicist.The...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Norah Jones and Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai's "My Blueberry Nights" made their debut at Cannes and Jones was concerned about how she looked as she walked down the red carpet."Did I look terrified? ... I'm still processing it," Jones...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Shrek the Third is already outperforming all expectations as Dreamworks/Paramount had been downplaying the animated sequel for some time. The Friday opener took in a huge $38.1 million, already surpassing Shrek 2.With the expected disconnect of critics, who said the movie...
Continue Reading
|
|
May18
|
While there was no surety that Donald Trump's "The Apprentice" was going to return this year, the real estate titan made the decision himself, telling NBC (GE) that he wouldn't be coming back for another season if the show was...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Robert De Niro and Al Pacino have been waiting a long time to work on a film together where they would share significant time onscreen together. They now have the deal in place to do it as the two will...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
In the past Discovery has been a company with several owners and its hands in too many cookie jars. With the goal of becoming a publicly traded company, they bought out one of their owners, Cox Communications recently, and now...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Jeff Bridges has been chosen to play the part of Graydon Carter in the film adaptation of Toby Young's book, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People." Young based the book about the time he worked for Vanity Fair while...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
To coincide with the release of the latest album of Paul McCartney, "Memory Almost Full," Starbucks (SBUX) has planned a debut at over 10,000 of its stores globally where visitors will be able to listen to the album while they...
Continue Reading
|
|
May17
|
With their state neighbors Rhode Island and Contecticut, along with all but about 10 states, offering film incentive packages to Hollywood producers, the Massachusetts Governor and lawmakers are looking at increasing their incentives to attempt to draw the industry to...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
According to online ticket sites, the advance sales of "Shrek the Third" are equal to or exceeding "Shrek 2." For movietickets.com, they reported that Internet sales are about the same for "Shrek the Third" as they were for "Shrek 2."...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Good news for "The Mummy" franchise fans as it will definitely be continued for its third installment.Called The Mummy 3: Curse of the Dragon, it will see Brendan Fraser return as Rick O’Connell. Unfortunately, Rachel Weisz won't be returning to play...
Continue Reading
|
|
May16
|
Disney (DIS) is about to go interactive with their new video-on-demand service which they will debut toward the end of the month. They will be offering "Disney's Travel on Demand" service to about 9 million subscribers through Cablevision (CVC) and...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
In a dance that is familiar when considering China's response to entertainers performing in the country, Christina Aguilera wasn't going to be allowed to perform in the country. The reason given was her performance was "too sexy."Now in another turnaround,...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Talking about the long spells of being alone in a sound booth while recording for the animated hits series "Shrek," Michael Myers says he has ended up creating imaginary friends so he doesn't feel by himself."It does at times feel...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Lifetime is serving up a bunch of movies and miniseries with military themes over the memorial day weekend, along with a special salute to the men and women of the armed forces.All of this will lead up to the introduction...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
In an annual ritual for the last three years, Kenny Chesney was again awarded with the entertainer of the year honors at the Academy of Country Music.When Chesney accepted the award, he paid tribute to George Strait and the late...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
While most of us knew that Fox (NWS-A) would renew "24," the question was for how long, as Kiefer Sutherland had already been signed on through May of 2009.The rumblings out of the network are that the series will go...
Continue Reading
|
|
May15
|
DirecTV (DTV) is looking at experimenting with a high-speed Internet service delivered through power lines in a top 50 U.S. city sometime in 2008, said CEO Chase Carey.Carey added that they aren't the only company seeking out this possibility, "We're...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
With the firings of Don Imus, Donnell "Ashy" Rawlings and JV and Elvis, and now the 30-day suspension of Opie and Anthony, many are wondering if the shock jock days are coming to an end.Tom Taylor, editor of Inside Radio,...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
ABC (DIS) has rewarded Salma Hayek with a two-year deal based upon her success with excutive producing "Ugly Betty."The two-year deal will be with Hayek and her production partner Jose Tamez to develop new series' for the studio via their...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Acknowledging that last year's schedule demanded too much of viewers with the serials they offered up, ABC (DIS) has changed their strategy this year with more self-contained fare on their schedule.The network will have seven new dramas this year with...
Continue Reading
|
|
May14
|
With the announcement of their upcoming fall TV schedule, NBC (GE) surprised a lot of people by revealing they're going to spinoff their only new hit of the season "Heroes," with a new series called "Heroes: Origins."The new series will...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The saga of the Richard Gere kiss and hug of Indian actress Shilpa Shetty continues as Shetty requested that the Indian Supreme Court change the obscenity case to to a closer court so she can battle the allegations, said her...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Australian tennis player Mark Philippoussis will be the center of the new reality series "Age of Love" from NBC (GE). The show is scheduled to premiere on June 18 at 10 p.m. ET.This show will be similar to Average Joe...
Continue Reading
|
|
May13
|
When the Sci Fi channel announced that it would be offering 22 episodes of "Battlestar Gallactica" next season, instade of 13, the rumors almost immediately started that it would be the last season for the Cylon, Human Race battle.Then when...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
"Law & Order" will return to NBC (GE) for its 18th season, putting in second-place all time for the longevity of a series on TV. The number one series of all time is "Gunsmoke," which ran from 1955 to 1975.For...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The DVR has been lingering in the background of the upfront this year as agencies and networks jockey for their respective positions concerning the impact of the device on advertising sales.Last year the inclusion of counting DVR viewing was rejected...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
There has been a lot of buzz concerning whether Kate Walsh and her character, Addison Shepherd would get their own series next season. ABC (DIS) has confirmed that there will be a new series next season spinning off from "Grey's...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
There was no doubt that Spider-Man 3 would finish No. 1 for the weekend, the question was how much it would drop over its first frame. Among the top openers of all time, it has dropped higher than most. X-Men:...
Continue Reading
|
|
May12
|
First quarter results for the Hallmark Channel show the company has strengthened itself over the last year, with sales for the quarter increasing by 20 percent to reach $46 million. The channel is now available in 82 million homes.Since Hallmark...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
When the tickets for rock musician Prince went on sale for his London performance, the demand was so great that an online booking site went down under the traffic. He sold the 140,000 available tickets in 20 minutes.At the beginning...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The Fox (NWS-A) network picked up a batch of new offerings for next season said The Hollywood Reporter.Those slated for the upcoming season will be "K-Ville," a New Orleans based police drama and "New Amsterdam," a detective type show.Patricia Heaton...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Fans of the Indianapolis 500 will be able to watch the race in high-definition for the first time on May 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the 91st Indy 500 race.The ESPN production will be aired on ABC (DIS) at...
Continue Reading
|
|
May11
|
Fox's "American Idol" is still the biggest thing by far on network television, with nobody coming even close to competing with them. Even so, the numbers have been dipping a little this year, and raises the question of how long...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share on all its Class A and Class B common stock. The record date will be on June 15, 2007, while the payment date will be...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
To promote their upcoming animated film Ratatouille, Walt Disney Pictures (DIS) and Pixar Animation Studios are launching their "Big Cheese Tour" at Walt Disney World Resort i Orlando, FL. It will go on throughout the summer stopping at numerous events...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
In a regulatory filing, Fidelity Investments revealed that it now owns 3.4 million shares of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (MSO), making it the largest shareholder of the company, surpassing Mazama Capital Management. It now owns 13 percent of the company. As...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The contention between Hollywood studios, TV networks and writers been growing as studios and networks have been accelerating production on movies and shows in preparation for a possible strike.One of the strategies being used by the networks is to create...
Continue Reading
|
|
May10
|
The top satellite TV operator in the U.S., DirecTV (DTV) disclosed that its profits in the first-quarter increased by 43 percent over a year ago.The rise in profits came from existing customers signing up for its high-definition service, along with...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Fox (NWS-A) continues to own Wednesday night as it clobbered everything in sight to take another Wednesday primetime ratings victory. "American Idol" finished with 27.4 million viewers and a 10.5 rating/27 share for the key 18-49 demo.For ABC (DIS) and...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Citing huge marketing expenses and the restructuing of its MTV group, Viacom's (VIA-B) quarterly earnings dived by a large 36 percent, according to an AP report. Even with the poor showing the company beat analysts' projections.This quarter earnings came in...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Profits for the Walt Disney Co. (DIS) were up a healthy 27 percent for the quarter ending on March 31, exeeding all expectations. The major profit drivers were its international TV syndication, the film studio and ESPN's strong advertising draw.On...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
With video games one of the key competitors to movie theaters, as they cater to the same demographic of teens and young males, National Amusements is looking to draw them back to theaters by focusing on their gaming behaviors.The theater...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Chris Albrecht chairman and chief executive of Home Box Office had originally announced that he would be taking a leave of absence from the company after being arrested for assaulting his girlfriend in Las Vegas. Just a few hours later...
Continue Reading
|
|
May 9
|
The Sci Fi network has been growing older in its demographic as it now currently stands at an average of around 45 years of age.In response to lower that total, Sci Fi is getting together with Manga to launch what...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
One of the misconception in the health of the music industry has been the attention on the difference between dropping CD versus growing digital sales.Most that follow the industry know that digital sales won't compensate for the loss of CD...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
With the movie studio and cable networks making strong gains, News Corp. (NWS-A) reported a strong 6.2 percent increase in profit for the quarter ending March 31. Profits for the quarter came in at $871 million, a $51 million increase...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The upfront is a week away and with statistics showing that viewership for the year is down by 2.5 million for ABC (DIS), CBS (CBS-A), NBC (GE) and Fox (NWS-A) from last year.While there has been numerous reasons thrown around...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Tom Selleck, whose best known for his role of Thomas Magnum in "Magnum, P.I." will join the cast of "Las Vegas" on NBC (GE) next year.According to the network, Selleck will play the new billionaire owner of the Montecito Resort...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
After a long 10-year stint at CourtTV, Nancy Grace is calling it quits for her justice-themed talk show "Nancy Grace: Closing Arguments.""Court TV will always hold a special place in my heart, and I will always look back at my...
Continue Reading
|
|
May 8
|
America's largest cable operator Comcast (CMCSA) has been in negotiations with Hollywood studios to offer movies the same day as their releases in theaters. If a deal is ever made, Comcast says they will charge between $30 to $50 to...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) through ABC and ESPN have made a deal with Cox Communications to offer their sports and broadcast hits on demand. What's different about the deal is there's a condition included that forbids the cable operator...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
ESPN (DIS) has partnered with Gas Station TV to give you another place where you can get your sports information. If you can't wait to get to where you're going, now you'll be able to get your sports news while...
Continue Reading
|
|
May 7
|
Time Warner (TWX) CEO Dick Parsons says in the next five years there will probably be only two or three big cable system operators remaining, as the industry braces for fierce competition from the Telcos.At the National Cable & Telecommunications...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Kelly Clarkson is set to release her third album "My December" on July 24, which follows her highly successful "Breakaway," which sold 10 million around the world and 6 million in the U.S. She aleady has her first single from...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Having hinted and marketed last Thursday's Grey's Anatomy as a potential spin-off for Kate Walsh's Dr. Addison character, ABC (DIS) was able to draw a large crowd with the two-hour special to lead it to its second win in the...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
While ABC's "Lost" has still managed to remain in the top 15 shows on television, there has been an increasing rumbling from fans and critics concerning the seemingly aimless direction and just producing shows to end up putting on DVDs,...
Continue Reading
|
|
May 6
|
Happy with the performance of "Blood Ties," Lifetime made the decision to order up another nine episodes. The network has decided to put the series on hold until October, when it will run the nine episodes over 5 back-to-back weeks. They...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The popular novel by Susie Sebold, "The Lovely Bones" has found a film home as DreamWorks will be teaming up with Peter Jackson to bring it to the big screen.The novel, which was published in 2002, and has sold over...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Spider-Man 3 became the 7th movie all-time to reach the $100 million mark on its opening weekend. Better than that though, it beat all comers in that category as it became the largest-grossing opening weekend in film history, bringing in...
Continue Reading
|
|
May 5
|
Fox has decided to bring back Gordon Gekko, a part played by Michael Douglas in the movie that the financial community loved: "Wall Street." Douglas won an Oscar for the role.The end of the first movie came with his young...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The Institute for Media and Entertainment has put together a two-day class for media and entertainment professionals who want to increase their leadership strengths and their performance results. The purpose of the program will be to "help you maximize your...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
While EMI continues to give profit warnings, potential suitors continue to hover around the company making offers to take it over.EMI gave its second profit warning of the year in February and suspended its dividend payment last month. They've also...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
With the huge buildup and pent up demand for the 3rd installment of Spider-Man 3, all the efforts paid off big time as the Webslinger was able to beat Pirates of the Caribbean 2 to become the biggest opening day...
Continue Reading
|
|
May 4
|
Turner Broadcasting System Inc. president Mark Lazarus reported that they've named Stuart Snyder as head of their portfolio of properties for children and young adultsIn a press release they said that "As executive vice president and chief operating officer of...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
While the American Idol has been narrowed down to its last four contestants, plans have already been made for The American Idols Live 2007 Tour, as they've released the schedule for the upcoming tour.The top ten finalists will depart on...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The good news for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO) is that their revenue for the first quarter increased by 7.4 percent over last year's first quarter. The bad news is that they also posted larger losses of $11.87 million, close...
Continue Reading
|
|
May 3
|
It seems like a new deal is revealed every day as the media industry continues to consolidate, be bought out or taken private. Today it happened again as EchoStar Communications Inc. (DISH) reportedly made a $2.13 billion buyout offer to...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
In response to Paris Hilton violating her probation, prosecutors in Los Angeles have recommended that Hilton be jailed for 45 days in a county jail.When Hilton was arrested last September, she was ordered to enroll in an alcohol education class...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
While CBS (CBS-A) was able to increase its revenue by 2 percent to bring it to $3.66 billion for the quarter, they weren't able to grow their profits as they fell to $213 million, to 28 cents a share. That...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Celine Dion's five-year run at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas is coming to an end in December, and the hotel-casino has chosen to replace her with the "Divine Miss M," Bette Midler.Midler will have big shoes to fill as Dion...
Continue Reading
|
|
May 2
|
With the focus on giving last week, "American Idol" didn't toss any of the remaining contestants. That changed as Phil Stacey and Chris Richardson said goodbye to their fellow contestants.While no one was tossed last week, they did include the...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The "Night at the Museum" DVD sold 6 million units in its first week to give the business a huge boost and finish in the number one position, knocking out "Smoking Aces," which finished at No. 4.Not only did it...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Early in the year SnoCap, the digital music store partner of MySpace (NWS-A) let the music industry know that it was interested in selling their music in whatever format their customer (the label) chose.Warner Music Group (WMG) has taken them...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
"Spider-Man 3" put smiles on the face of Sony (SNE) executives as it beat Spider-Man 1 + 2 openers with a take of $29.15 million to start its run.In a number of countries it took in record opening amounts, like...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
After two tries the Dolan family has made an offer that was finally acceptable to shareholders of Cablevision (CVC). In October of 2006, the family made an offer of $27 per share that was rejected, then upped it to $30...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
When Don Imus was fired from his CBS (CBS-A) Radio job, most people probably felt that it was over. Evidently it's not. A clause in his contract may come back to bite CBS for $40 million, or maybe even more.One...
Continue Reading
|
|
May 1
|
In a concert by a band that no one seems to know a thing about, rumors are flying all over Southern California that the pop diva will be making surprise performances at the concerts of The M+Ms. In response to...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
In the quarter which ended on March 31, 2007, Dreamworks Animation, Inc (DWA) has reported their financials in a press release.The company said that their total revenue increased to $93.7 million net income for the quarter, which compares favorably with...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
While true fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy probably wouldn't care about what reviewers of the newly released "The Children of Hurin" would say, nonetheless, so far reviews have been good for the book; a prequel to...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
The decreasing viewership of major broadcast shows has been a concern for the networks as they've been dropping considerably for weeks.On Sunday one of the usual big shows, "Desperate Housewives," finally broke out some as it increased its viewership by...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
With some of the comments being thrown around by those that have seen Spider-Man 3, it seems that the film has fallen short of its predecessors. Here are what some people are saying:Philipines Cinemas Sold Out"The third and latest installment...
Continue Reading
|
|
|
Sponsored ReviewThe Kentucky Derby isn't the only "Derby" around, as the Banana Derby has become an increasingly powerful attraction and draw to numerous fairs and festivals around the country. What exactly is the Banana Derby? This new fair attraction is a...
Continue Reading
|