Articles tagged with entertainment

In entertainment journalism, there is perhaps no voice as widely-feared, and read, as Nikki Finke. She’s broken countless stories, made legions of enemies and few friends, and boasts of having ended the careers of many a Hollywood executive.
But as of today, a source is saying that she’s been fired as editor of Deadline Hollywood. Its owner Jay Penske isn’t clarifying her employment status, and …

This week, the big five broadcast networks will unveil their fall lineups to advertisers and press at the Upfronts in New York City, hosting star-studded presentations and lavish parties to lure advertisers and press.
The Upfronts also mark the end of pilot season, the frenetic time of year from January to April when the television industry churns out dozens of pilots, which are trial episodes …

Roku Box? Netflix? Hulu? iTunes? So many choices. Not much convergence.
There’s a certain joy and angst that comes from being a modern TV viewer. Joy at the choices of quality television shows and movies that we can access without leaving our cozy living rooms. Angst that we don’t know where or how to best spend the money to get that content.
To help you cope, The …

Is Zero Dark Thirty Fact or Propaganda?
The movie “Zero Dark Thirty“, directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written and produced by Mark Boal tells the story— or a version of the story— of the CIA’s hunt for Osama bin Laden. Many consider it among the best films of 2012. And the filmmakers come to the material off of tremendous critical success– if not box-office boffo– …

 We asked eleven of our sharpest local observers what they thought were the most important stories and trends of the year. From politics and music to faith, literature and film, they weigh in on the one thing that shaped 2012.
Editor at large for the Hollywood Reporter and Host of The Business, Kim Masters says the one thing she’ll remember from 2012 was the acquisition of Lucasfilm …

I launched Giant Media from my Brentwood apartment in November of 2009. We’ve come a long way since that time and have moved offices twice since then, but rather than relocate to San Francisco (or for that matter, New York), we’ve chosen to stay in the quickly emerging “Silicon Beach”. We operate out of a gorgeous office on Electric Avenue, just off of world …

The American Film Institute kicked off their annual film festival last night with the world premiere of “Hitchcock.” Their annual program of screenings, parties, and Q&A’s is free to the public and takes place in the heart of Hollywood. Across town, in Santa Monica, there’s a different kind of party going on. The American Film Market, or AFM, is a gathering of buyers looking …

Star Wars makes Disney its home
The big news in the entertainment business this week is that The Walt Disney Company bought Lucas Film – including the Star Wars franchise– for $4 billion. With the deal Disney also gets the rights to the Indiana Jones property, the VFX house Industrial, Light & Magic (ILM) and Skywalker Sound.
And just as fans were taking in the fact …

This week we’ve been looking at the growth of Silicon Beach, as tech companies move westward to be closer to the sand, sea – and to each other. Many are looking for creative space to work in. KCRW’s Frances Anderton reports on Venice, and the meeting of new technology and old buildings in Venice.
Many tech companies have taken up residence in reused industrial and …

Austin Hackett is a great example of the type of person flocking to Los Angeles right now. He’s founder of CrowdHall, a site that helps people with large social-media audiences engage with their fans in a virtual town hall forum. Right now he’s based in Cincinnati, and his website is focused largely on the upcoming election, so Ohio, a key swing state, is a …

In the western part of Los Angeles County known as “Silicon Beach”, there’s a race for space.  Space, as in ether. As in technology companies that utilize broadband to incubate, inform and – yes, it is L.A. – entertain.  And space, as in location to put all those companies.  With nearly 620 startup tech firms, mainly on the Westside – according to Represent L.A. …

Here are a few entertainment stories that have the town buzzing…
A new life for Variety
The trade paper Variety which once was a go-to source for Hollywood news but which, in recent years has been eclipsed by the likes of The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline.com, The Wrap and the L.A. Times may get new life. Penske Media Corp—the company that owns Deadline—bought Variety for $25 million. …

Mayor Villaraigosa says he knew but didn’t tell. The rest of Los Angeles has been trying to figure out what it means: the sudden offer for sale of the Anschutz Entertainment Group at the very moment it seemed to have worked out a deal to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles. Will a new stadium now cost more public money? Will there be …

She came in today to talk with me about her new show, Red Hot Patriot, about the legendary journalist Molly Ivins.  It opens at the Geffen Playhouse on Wednesday.  We’ll air our talk tomorrow at 6:44p during All Things Considered (and post the complete interview here.)