Of the world’s biggest media companies, the one that might seem in the best position to ride out the recession is Vivendi, whose headquarters in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe oversees a sprawling empire of music, pay television, video game and mobile phone businesses.
Sunday, 18 Oct 2009 | Source: The Associated Press
Movie fans are eagerly making the journey to "Where the Wild Things Are." The live-action adaptation of Maurice Sendak's beloved picture book led the box office with a $32.5 million opening weekend.
While the demographic for video games and action movies is basically the same, the track record for films based on games has been a pretty dismal one. For every “Tomb Raider”-sized hit, there are a handful of flops like “BloodRayne.”
Thursday, 17 Sep 2009 | Source: The New York Times
For the music industry, the soundtrack for last year's vampire romance movie Twilight" was practically a miracle. So like vampires drawn to the scent of blood, record labels, publishers and artist managers have spent much of the last year aggressively pursuing “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” which opens on Nov. 20.
Wednesday, 16 Sep 2009 | Source: The New York Times
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the keenly anticipated Florida theme park, will open in the spring and allow visitors to tour Hogwarts, buy quidditch gear and drink butterbeer.
This is familiar terrain for Oliver Stone: his father was a broker, and his 1987 film, “Wall Street,” became emblematic of an era of excess. Now he is here to make a sequel, to capture greed on celluloid all over again, set against the backdrop of the financial collapse.
The growing demand for vintage apparel has produced a surge of collectors on the prowl for pieces that reflect the craftsmanship and one-of-a-kind flair of a bygone era— not to mention the potential for investment returns.
Almost 48 years after it was first published, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” by Julia Child is finally topping the best-seller list, bringing with it all the butter, salt and goose fat that home chefs had largely abandoned in the age of Lipitor.
A-list movie stars have long been measured by their ability to fill theaters on opening weekend. But never have so many failed to deliver, resulting in some rare soul-searching by motion picture studios about why the old formula isn’t working — and a great deal of anxiety among stars (and agents) about the potential vaporization of their $20 million paychecks.
Walt Disneyreported lower quarterly earnings that topped analysts' forecasts, but the company's shares declined in extended trading as its revenue missed predictions.
Stocks finished lower Wednesday despite a late comeback attempt as the weight of disappointing economic news and a weak Treasury auction dragged down major indexes.
Rupert Murdoch's latest gambit has the potential to have huge impact on the value of content industry wide; he could also risk losing a huge chunk of News Corp's readership.... Read More