Microsoft Makes New Push Into Music

Posted on October 16, 2012 by admin

By NICK WINGFIELD

SEATTLE — Music fans have often viewed Microsoft as something like a bad cover band, one that pumped out uninviting facsimiles of Apple’s iPod and iTunes with its Zune music players and service.

Now that the Zune brand is dead, Microsoft is once again in search of a hit in digital music. But this time, to improve its odds of success, it is marshaling some of its most powerful brands as never before: Windows and the Xbox.

On Monday, the company plans to announce a service called Xbox Music that will offer access to a global catalog of about 30 million songs. The service will let consumers listen free to any song on computers and tablets running the latest version of its Windows software, as well as on the Xbox console. Microsoft will not initially limit how much music can be streamed, though that could change over time.

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Bear Grylls making competition series for NBC

Posted on October 9, 2012 by admin

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Bear Grylls will soon have some company on his in-the-wild adventures.

NBC said Monday that it is making a competition series with Grylls. He is the former star of Discovery’s “Man vs. Wild” series that tested his survival skills in foreboding settings

The NBC series, “Get Out Alive,” is planned for airing next summer. In it, Grylls will guide two teams in adventures. He says competitors will learn survival skills and teamwork but will have to suffer some pain before being rewarded in the end.

Grylls is co-producing the series with Electus, the studio run by former NBC entertainment chief Ben Silverman.

R. Kelly makes Soul Train history, Usher up for 5

Posted on September 20, 2012 by admin

NEW YORK (AP) — R. Kelly is nominated for two awards at this year’s Soul Train Awards, making him the most nominated act ever at the awards show.

Kelly is up for the Ashford & Simpson songwriter’s award and album of the year, bringing his career total to 21 nominations.

Usher leads this year’s awards with five nominations. Estelle, Nas, Trey Songz and John Legend are also multiple nominees.

Whitney Houston is nominated for best gospel inspirational performance and Amy Winehouse is nominated for best international performance. New Edition will receive a lifetime achievement award.

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Fox launches Digital HD for early access to latest releases

Posted on September 18, 2012 by admin

The company says that its new titles will be available for streaming or digital download before they come out on Blu-ray or DVD.

by Don Reisinger

Twentieth Century Fox has announced a new way for customers to get their hands on its latest films.

Dubbed Digital HD, the new initiative is designed to allow consumers to stream or download the company’s films from a host of services before they come out on Blu-ray or DVD. To make good on that promise, Fox announced today that the sci-fi film “Prometheus” is now available for download. The film will come to Blu-ray, DVD, and video-on-demand three weeks from now.

According to Fox, it’ll continue to offer its latest releases digitally weeks before they’re made available in traditional formats. However, the company today also announced the launch of over 600 already available films through Digital HD to get its service up and running.

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‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Author Says She Has Shortlist for Lead Roles in Film Adaptation

Posted on September 18, 2012 by admin

by Rebecca Ford

The writer of the hit erotic book series spoke about the movie casting while on “Katie” on Monday.

One of Katie Couric’s first major interviews on her show, Katie, was with Fifty Shades of Grey writer E.L. James on Monday.

The stage was designed with sexy red lighting to celebrate the arrival of the writer of the hit erotic novels, which follows a young woman named Anastasia Steele, who falls into a tumultuous sexual relationship with a successful business magnate, Christian Grey.

There has been much discussion about casting for the film adaptation. Universal and Focus nabbed rights to the trilogy for $5 million in March after a heated Hollywood bidding war.

An audience member made sure to ask James, who has retained some creative control over the movie’s casting, if she has decided on who would take on the lead roles of Anastasia and Christian.

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Justice League Announcement May Have Revealed New Aquaman Artist

Posted on September 15, 2012 by admin

By: Russ Burlingame
According to commenters on our Facebook page, Eddy Barrows has posted to his personal Facebook page that he is not taking over the art chores on Aquaman but merely did this cover. We were unable to confirm this, due to privacy settings on Barrows’s Facebook account.

Writer/artist Rob Liefeld, though, apparently has had some kind words for Barrows in the recent past. He tweeted, “Hope they stick with my suggestion from 3 months ago and it’s Eddy Barrows on more than just the Aquaman covers.”
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Carmen Dell’Orefice, 81, is Fashion Week’s Oldest Runway Model. She’s Also the Best.

Posted on September 12, 2012 by admin

By Piper Weiss

Carmen Dell’Orefice was born before Fashion Week even existed. The 81-year-old, who walked the runway for both Marimekko and Norisol Ferrari at NYFW on Monday, is the oldest working supermodel in the industry and proud of it.

“It’s what I enjoy doing, and I’m able to do it,” she told the Today Show before stepping on to the runway in a mocha-colored floor-length gown.

Discovered at 13, while riding a New York City bus with her mom, she landed the cover of Vogue only three years later. That was back in 1947, when $7.50 an hour was the going rate for the gig.

“It meant nothing to me,” she recalls of seeing her first cover, “except that I thought I looked like a little boy.”
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Blu-Ray and DVD Retail Exclusives Thrive With Hits Like ‘Hunger Games’

Posted on September 9, 2012 by admin

by Chris Tribbey and John Latchem

The Lionsgate title recently had separate initiatives at Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Costco and iTunes.

When the theatrical hit The Hunger Games arrived on disc last month, Lionsgate went all out when it came to exclusives. Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Costco all got their own exclusive Blu-ray Disc offering, while Apple’s iTunes got its own digital exclusive in the form of an interactive viewing experience.

For retailers, exclusives often make a huge difference where a shopper ultimately buys that coveted disc. But who gets what, and why, often symbolizes the complicated relationship between studios, retailers and consumers, industry observers say.

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Henry Cavill Speaks On The Pressure Of Playing The Man Of Steel

Posted on September 5, 2012 by admin

Andrew Dyce

Every little boy dreams of being him, and every grown man, well…some things never change. The chance to actually play Superman on film is an honor bestowed upon few in history, and Henry Cavill is aware of just how many doors can be opened should Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel reboot be a success.

Great opportunities come at the cost of great risks, and Cavill is all too aware of just how many people could be let down if his performance as the Man of Steel is found lacking. With all that pressure on his all-too-human shoulders, Cavill is focusing on his own concerns for the film, not those of comic book fandom.
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‘Marvel’s The Avengers’ Passes $1.5B Mark

Posted on September 3, 2012 by admin

By NIKKI FINKE

Given that the Walt Disney Co announced its $4 billion purchase of Marvel three years ago almost to the day, that price tag looks like a bargain after Summer 2012. Because Marvel’s The Avengers in its 19th week of global release has passed $1.5 billion in worldwide theatrical grosses through Sunday. It’s now the world’s 3rd biggest movie of all time (not adjusted for inflation or higher ticket prices or 3D premium sales) behind only #2 Titanic (1997) and #1 Avatar (2009).

After Disney re-released the superheroes assembly actioner into 1,705 locations this weekend, it took in another $1.7M in North America. Its 4-day Labor Day holiday domestic take is estimated at $2.2M. That puts its domestic cume through Sunday at $619.5M and through Monday at $620.1M. Its estimated international gross through Sunday is $882.3M. For a new global cume through Sunday of $1,501.8M.

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