Devoted to show business and the entertainment industry

In one of the first major discussions on the new-media merger with traditional television, it was standing room only for all the panels involved with presentation and discussions at MIPTV, which began Monday.

Being an interesting, new subject wasn't the main thrust of the attendance, rather the uncertainty and concern over what it all means is what permeated the meetings.

Tom Toumazis, vp and managing director of Buena Vista International Television said "This time last year, we weren't anywhere in mobile, we weren't having those conversations, all our clients are talking about multiplatform opportunities. If they license a property, they are asking how to make it live and breathe across a number of platforms. They want to be synonymous with shows as they continue through a cycle of new windows."

He added that a number of European broadcasters are actively involved in mobile agreements, but many other platforms don't even have a path to follow as they don't even know yet what the terms of these types of structures will be or even what type of business model will be used or needed.

We recently talked about Hollywood moving into offering digital film online to own. With this move they understood that there is going to be a democratization of the film industry whether they got on board or not. Now that they... Continue Reading

(PRNewsFoto/Sean John Fragrances) Sean Diddy Combs, in partnership with Estee Lauder, has launched the number one selling men's selling department store fragrance in the U.S., it is called "Unforgivable." Combs is its creator and it was released nationally in February... Continue Reading

Hollywood has finally gotten the message and are beginning to offer digital versions of films for sale on the Internet this week, marking the first time that have been made available for downloading to own. One of the weaknesses of... Continue Reading

Courtney Love, 98% owner of the group Nirvana's work, sold a 25% stake in the material to record industry veteran Larry Mestel. According to Rollig Stone magazine the deal was worth over $50 million. When her late husband Kurt Cobain... Continue Reading

With the direct-to-video concept becoming more known and used as a tool by Hollywood, it is now going to a new level, going beyond the sequel stage, into full-blown branded video premieres. Warner Home Video senior vp theatrical catalog Jeff... Continue Reading

Comcast Corp. announced on Thursday that it would sell some of NBC's more popular television shows through its video-on-demand service beginning in May. It will include such hits as "Law & Order" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." The... Continue Reading

American Idol judge, Simon Cowell, announced on Monday that he is opening auditions starting next month for a new TV talent contest that he is bringing to Fox rival NBC. The show which will be called "America's Got Talent" Cowell... Continue Reading

In an article in Furniture Today, David Perry wrote an article called "Industry’s love affair with celebrities a good thing." He comments on some of the headlines offered in a recent Furniture Today publication. Here they are: * Trump to Union... Continue Reading

The studio division of Time Warner - Warner Bros. has announced plans to open a minimum of 200 stores in China in the years ahead. The move is sparked by a continual growth in extra spending cash by the Chinese... Continue Reading

Creative Artists Agency (CAA), for years has been most powerful agency in the world. The Agency was started 30 years ago when 5 of agents left the then-powerful William Morris Agency (WMA). The original five agents - Mike Ovitz, Ron... Continue Reading

When I read this article from the Houston Chronicle, it made me wonder when the height of ignorance will be reached. While it is nothing new that celebrities are doing voice-overs on commercials, evidently the prices they are getting for... Continue Reading

In a search of the list of the world's Most Powerfull Celebrities this year compiled by Forbes, Nike stands out as a common denominator of the 25 athletes that are included in the list. Twelve out of the twenty-five listed... Continue Reading

Short Message Service (SMS) which allows mobile phone users to exchange text messages, is emerging as a very popular activity in spite of the high prices involved with using it. In Europe they are becoming a very ubiquitous part of... Continue Reading

When Universal and Paramount purchased Dreamworks recently, former Universal Pictures chairman Stacey Snider found herself in a dilemma and waiting at home as her current contract binds her to the studio until the end of the year. The situation is that... Continue Reading

Theater owners across the U.S. have been getting a little uneasy about the tremendous downturn in moviegoers last year, and things doing only fair so far this year. While some are saying that it is the quality of the movies... Continue Reading

In a showdown between HBO and some of the cast members of Sopranos, there is a little nervousness as some of them are insisting that because HBO decided to extend the time period over which they would broadcast the final... Continue Reading

Electronic Arts, the videogame giant, has come upon hard times lately, and is attempting to score big with its realease today of The Godfather: The Game. There desire being that those who have been fans of the movie franchise will... Continue Reading

Scott Rudin, who will co-produce "Stoneheart" a Screenwriter Charlie Fletcher has signed a high-six figure deal with Paramount for the feature rights to his upcoming children's book Stoneheart. The story is premised upon statues in London of very famous... Continue Reading

In the tough Las Vegas show business market, some entertainers are participating in what is called "four-walling." All it means is that instead of being hired and paid by the casino, they pay for the stage themselves and are responsible... Continue Reading