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May30
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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.
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May30
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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...
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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...
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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...
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May29
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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May28
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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...
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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...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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May27
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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May26
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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May25
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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...
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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...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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May24
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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,...
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May23
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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,...
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May22
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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...
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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,"...
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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...
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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...
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May21
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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...
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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...
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May20
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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...
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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...
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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...
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May19
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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...
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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...
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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...
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May18
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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May17
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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...
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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."...
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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...
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May16
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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...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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May15
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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...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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May14
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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...
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