Hollywood

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Movie Stock Exchange Proves Wall Street's Mad
Movie Stock Exchange Proves Wall Street's Mad
Steven Pearlstein
Mar 12, 2010 11:38 AM CST

Movie Stock Exchange Proves Wall Street's Mad

Speculation doesn't really help anyone

(Newser) - The announcement that investors can soon buy “futures” in Hollywood movies, shouldn’t be too surprising—it’s the logical extension of what financial markets have become. Once tools for raising capital for real businesses, the markets “have turned themselves into high-tech casinos,” writes Steven Pearlstein of...

Like a Movie's Chances? Now You Can Bet on It

First futures market for films about to begin

(Newser) - 3D isn’t the only immersive movie experience out there—soon, filmgoers will be able to play Hollywood mogul and bet on box office in the nation’s first film industry futures exchange. Cantor Futures, expected to gain regulatory approval next month, will allow anyone to buy contracts starting at...

Oscar's Worth Depends on Your Agent

If actors are smart, they negotiate bonuses before filming starts

(Newser) - Figuring out the worth of an Oscar is tricky business, but the Vulture blog at New York gives it a try for some of this year's big winners. Jeff Bridges, for instance, likely picked up $125,000 for being nominated and another $125,000 for winning Best Actor. Those bonuses—...

Alice in Wonderland Opens Huge at $41M

It's well above expectations, on track for March record

(Newser) - Audiences are just mad about Johnny Depp and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, helping it earn a whopping $41 million in its first day. After its big start yesterday, the 3D Disney release should be on track for a $100 million weekend, well above expectations. It could end up being...

Sarah Palin Shopping Reality TV Show

She's reportedly shopping Alaska docudrama

(Newser) - Good news for those who can't get enough Sarah Palin: You may soon have the chance to watch TV produced by her as well as watching her on TV. The conservative polebrity and reality show producer Mark Burnett (of Survivor and Apprentice fame) have reportedly been pitching a TV docudrama...

Hopper Wife to Stay 10 Feet Away

Actor upbeat about new cancer treatments

(Newser) - Dennis Hopper's wife has agreed to stay at least 10 feet away from her husband as the two bicker over their divorce. The agreement followed Hopper's request for an emergency restraining order, charging his wife of 14 years with "outrageous conduct." The two are fighting over child custody...

Land Trust Group Makes Deal to Save Hollywood Sign

Land behind icon will be off-limits to development

(Newser) - An environmental group has a deal in the works to protect the land around the “Hollywood” sign from being turned into luxury homes, and will cover up the iconic sign Thursday to draw attention to the scheme. "The Hollywood sign cannot be separated from its untrammeled setting of...

Emma Watson Is Top-Paid Woman in Hollywood

'Harry Potter' star banked $41M, ranks just 14th among moneymakers

(Newser) - Emma Watson made more money last year than any other actress in the world. The Harry Potter star banked over $30 million from acting and modeling jobs; she has worked on ad campaigns for Burberry and People Tree. Watson ranked 14th on Vanity Fair 's list of Hollywood's top moneymakers,...

Hollywood Casts Cheaper Cities as LA

California loses its grip on the movie business

(Newser) - LA is starting to feel like a has-been actor; the city can’t even get gigs playing itself. Next year’s Battle: Los Angeles, for example, was shot in Louisiana, while Starz’s TV version of Crash set up shop in New Mexico. New York is accustomed to being bypassed...

Hollywood's Forgotten How to Tell a Story

Today's top films pale in comparison to earlier ones

(Newser) - Today's movies just ain't what they used to be, writes Stephen Farber. Sure, digital wizardry can be breathtaking, but the old-fashioned art of storytelling has waned. Farber compares 10 of this year's high-profile movies with similar ones from the past. "Even when these new movies are adapted from highbrow...

Avatar Creating Bottleneck at 3D Screens

It's still selling well, and Disney's 'Alice' is coming soon

(Newser) - The success of Avatar is creating a first-of-its-kind problem in movie land: a potential bottleneck of films for 3D screens. The problem will come to a head March 5, when Disney releases Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Imax theaters and other operators of 3D screens agreed long ago to show...

Famous Movie Misquotations
 Famous Movie 
 Misquotations 
Jan 16, 2010 4:11 PM CST

Famous Movie Misquotations

'Play it again, Sam' and 'Greed is good' aren't quite right

(Newser) - Fred Shapiro rounds up famous quotations from movies that for one reason or another—compression, clarity, cadence, to name a few—are altered in our collective memory. A sampling from the On Language column in the New York Times Sunday magazine:
  • "Greed is good." (Wall Street). Orginal: "
...

Hollywood's Top-Earning Couples
 Hollywood's 
 Top-Earning Couples 
no. 1: jay-z and Beyoncé
Jan 13, 2010 4:02 PM CST

Hollywood's Top-Earning Couples

Brad and Angelina make the list, but only at No. 3

(Newser) - Jay-Z and Beyoncé are Hollywood's top-earning couple. In the annual Forbes rankings, they finished No. 1 for the second year in a row by pulling in a combined $122 million between June 2008 and June 2009. The others in the top five:
  • No. 2: Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart, $69
...

Outdated Movie Clich&eacute;s That Just Won't Die
 Outdated 
 Movie Clichés 
 That Just Won't Die 
MY PHONE DOESN'T WORK!
Jan 12, 2010 11:43 AM CST

Outdated Movie Clichés That Just Won't Die

The answering machine, the broken cell phone, the lack of GPS...

(Newser) - Ever notice that movie trailers are constantly employing the record scratch sound effect—even though today’s youth have no clue what that sound actually is? "Pop culture has shown no inclination to discard obsolete tropes simply because they are obsolete," writes Adam Sternbergh, who points out five...

5 Reasons Avatar Is a Mega-Hit
 5 Reasons Avatar Is a Mega-Hit 
Jan 6, 2010 5:21 PM CST

5 Reasons Avatar Is a Mega-Hit

Escapism, corporate tie-ins, and savvy marketing all help

(Newser) - James Cameron's Avatar is inventive and smart, but it's become such a huge success so quickly that one has to wonder if some larger cultural factors aren't at work. Here are five theories from io9 :
  1. Escapism. The Great Recession fills our lives with endless drudgery, and this film is the
...

Natalie Portman's Rules: No 'Boobs' or Jewish Roles

Actress has no plans for the full monty

(Newser) - Natalie Portman is proud of her heritage but tries to steer clear of Jewish roles—"I've always tried to stay away from playing Jews," she reveals in an interview with Elle UK. "I get like 20 Holocaust scripts a month, but I hate the genre." A...

Lessons From the Decade's Movies

 Lessons 
 From the 
 Decade's 
 Movies 
Richard Corliss
Jan 5, 2010 2:06 PM CST

Lessons From the Decade's Movies

Superheroes and big budgets ruled the aughts

(Newser) - Movies look a lot different in 2010 than they did in 2000. Richard Corliss of Time looks back at what we learned from a decade at the multiplex:
  • Superheroes Are Serious: Light comic book movies have given way to the dark, layered stuff of graphic novels. “Superhero movies are
...

Sandra Bullock's Blind Side Hits Record $200M
Sandra Bullock's Blind Side Hits Record $200M
GLASS CEILING DEPT.
Jan 5, 2010 1:12 PM CST

Sandra Bullock's Blind Side Hits Record $200M

Becomes the first flick anchored by a female star to cross barrier

(Newser) - Sandra Bullock has become the first female star to carry a film past $200 million in domestic box office. Her football flick, The Blind Side, has made $208.5 million in seven weeks of release. Earlier star vehicles like Julia Roberts’ Erin Brockovich have fallen short; that movie made just...

Bullock Rules 2009 Box Office
 Bullock Rules 2009 Box Office 
star power
Jan 1, 2010 10:20 AM CST

Bullock Rules 2009 Box Office

Cinema owners say actress was the biggest draw of the year

(Newser) - Cinema owners love Sandra Bullock, even if critics don't always agree. The owners named Bullock the Hollywood star with the most drawing power in 2009, thanks to her roles in The Proposal, The Blind Side, and even the widely panned All About Steve. The annual survey isn't based strictly on...

Top Conservative Flicks of the '00s
 Top Conservative 
 Flicks of the '00s 
decade in review
Jan 1, 2010 5:31 AM CST

Top Conservative Flicks of the '00s

Even Hollywood can make movies for the non-'lily-livered:' Nile Gardiner

(Newser) - "Hollywood may well be a bastion of liberalism, but it does continue to occasionally produce major films that advance conservative principles," Nile Gardiner writes in the Telegraph . His best of the aughts:
  1. Master and Commander, 2003: The Peter Weir flick starring Russell Crowe is "an epic tale
...

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