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| Discovery in talks with BSkyB over possible Channel 5 bid: FT Friday, Feb 21, 2014 05:32 PM PST  (Reuters) - John Malone-backed Discovery Communications Inc is in talks with British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc over a joint bid for Britain's free-to-air Channel 5, the Financial Times reported on Friday. The Discovery-BSkyB talks have focused on the British pay-TV provider taking over Channel 5's advertising sales operation, the report cited people familiar with the matter as saying. Channel 5, which broadcasts Big Brother, was bought by British media baron Richard Desmond in 2010 for 103.5 million pounds ($172.71 million). Bids for Channel 5 are due next Thursday. Full Story | Top |
| Rook considering U.S. IPO this year: Bloomberg Friday, Feb 21, 2014 04:37 PM PST (Reuters) - U.S. television start-up Roku is aiming to launch an initial public offering this year, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The company, which makes set-top boxes that connect TVs to the Internet, recently spoke to banks about the possibility of going public but is yet to hire a lead bank for the process, the report said. (http://r.reuters.com/mex96v) Roku competes with Apple Inc's Apple TV and is working with U.S. cable operators such as Time Warner Cable Inc to let users stream their cable TV through the box. ... Full Story | Top |
| Art collectors sue for $40 million over labeling Keith Haring works 'fakes' Friday, Feb 21, 2014 02:25 PM PST By Curtis Skinner NEW YORK (Reuters) - Several collectors filed a $40 million lawsuit on Friday against the foundation of late New York City painter Keith Haring, which has publicly stated roughly 80 works owned by the dealers are fakes. The collectors said they purchased the artwork from friends of Haring, including a New York City disc jockey. The foundation, however, rejected the artworks' authenticity in 2007 and refused to review additional evidence provided later by the collectors before stating they were fakes, according to the lawsuit in Manhattan district court. Representatives for the Keith Haring Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Full Story | Top |
| Designers shake up classic styles as Milan promotes fashion Friday, Feb 21, 2014 01:59 PM PST  By Isla Binnie MILAN (Reuters) - Classic tailoring received an injection of volume and humor from Giorgio Armani and a shot of bold color from Donatella Versace in Milan on Friday, as the city showed off Italy's fashion industry amid political and economic uncertainty. Fashion fans filled Armani's cavernous theatre and Versace's venue, which was decked out with metal gates and ivy, on the third day of the city's biannual women's fashion week. Armani dressed models for his youth-focused Emporio Armani line in voluminous trousers pinstriped with lines of pearls, plexiglass neckties and oversized bowler hats. "It makes sense for them as a historical idea of fashion, but revised, adapted to their mentality." Versace showed flowing fishtail gowns, long-sleeved shift dresses and figure-hugging trouser suits in bright red, petrol blue and green. Full Story | Top |
| Rolling Stones rock Abu Dhabi in first Middle East show Friday, Feb 21, 2014 01:54 PM PST  By Regan Doherty ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Vintage hell-raisers, the Rolling Stones played their first ever concert in the Middle east on Friday - a gig to 30,000, mostly Western fans in culturally conservative Abu Dhabi. A swaggering Mick Jagger, dressed in black sequins and red satin - later donning a red feather boa - strutted across the stage, showing little sign of his advancing years as he sang hits including "It's Only Rock 'n Roll", "Honky Tonk Women", "Brown Sugar" and "Sympathy for the Devil". ... Full Story | Top |
| After topping box office, 'Lego Movie' sequel set for May 2017 Friday, Feb 21, 2014 01:52 PM PST  After becoming the top-grossing movie released in 2014 so far, "The Lego Movie" will be reassembling for a sequel scheduled for May 26, 2017, movie studio Warner Bros said on Friday. "The Lego Movie," voiced by an all-star cast including Will Ferrell, Will Arnett and Elizabeth Banks, opened with $69.1 million in its first weekend earlier this month and is expected to top the box office for a third consecutive time this week. The computer-animated "Lego Movie" brought to life a universe made entirely from Lego's interconnecting construction blocks, as plastic characters including Batman, a pirate and an astronaut come together to save their world from being permanently glued together. The movie has been heavily marketed by both Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros studio and Denmark's privately held Lego Group, which has produced Lego sets tied to the film and a behind-the-scenes "Lego Movie Experience" attraction at Legoland in Southern California. Full Story | Top |
| Nicki Minaj's former stylist seeks $30 million in wig dispute Friday, Feb 21, 2014 01:23 PM PST  By David Beasley ATLANTA (Reuters) - A celebrity hair stylist has accused rapper and former "American Idol" judge Nicki Minaj of stealing his designs for the colorful wigs that helped boost her career, according to a federal lawsuit filed on Friday seeking $30 million in compensation. Terrence Davidson, whose celebrity clients include singers Patti LaBelle and Jennifer Hudson, began working for Minaj in 2010 and designed her wigs for high-profile events worldwide, the suit filed in Atlanta said. The rapper also wore Davidson-designed wigs in a music video for the song "Super Bass," according to the lawsuit. One of Minaj's best-known wigs is called the "Pink Upper Bun." Davidson, 41, said he and Minaj's staff discussed a joint business venture that would include selling wigs and creating a reality television show about a celebrity wig stylist. Full Story | Top |
| 'House of Cards' producers want more tax breaks - or else: report Friday, Feb 21, 2014 12:26 PM PST  By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The production company behind Netflix Inc's political thriller "House of Cards" is taking a step that could have come straight from the show's script: threatening to move filming from Maryland unless lawmakers provide enough tax breaks. Representatives for a top state lawmaker and Governor Martin O'Malley confirmed on Friday that Media Rights Capital had informed them that it was halting production plans until the dispute is resolved. In a letter that echoes the wrangling seen in the Emmy Award-winning series, the Beverly Hills, California-based company urged the state to pass a law increasing tax credits available for film and television production there. The Washington Post published the letters earlier on Friday. Full Story | Top |
| UK'S Ofcom investigating TNT Post complaint against Royal Mail Friday, Feb 21, 2014 11:05 AM PST  (Reuters) - Britain's Office of Communications (Ofcom) is investigating a complaint by the country's second-largest postal firm, TNT Post UK, against price increases planned by Royal Mail Plc for its wholesale mail contracts. Royal Mail said in January that it would increase tariffs on the contracts, used by 31 of its biggest wholesale customers, because of a decline in letter volumes. (http://link.reuters.com/zuw96v) TNT Post, a unit of Dutch mail group PostNL, collects and sorts mail in certain parts of Britain before handing it over to Royal Mail for delivery through an agreement known as an Access contract. "Royal Mail believes TNT Post UK's complaint is unfounded," the recently privatized company said in a statement, adding that it would cooperate fully with the regulator's investigation. Full Story | Top |
| Hollywood stars set Broadway aglow in limited-run plays Friday, Feb 21, 2014 08:29 AM PST  By Patricia Reaney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hollywood stars are lighting up Broadway in limited-run plays that can be box office gold for the theater industry and give film and television actors a prestigious career boost. British actress Rebecca Hall, of 2013's Disney-Marvel superhero blockbuster sequel "Iron Man 3," is appearing on the New York stage in the 1920s play "Machinal," after making her Broadway debut in January to critical acclaim. Multiple Emmy winner Bryan Cranston of "Breaking Bad" fame switched from the small screen to the stage to play late U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson in "All the Way," which opens on March 6. The same month, James Franco, an Oscar nominee for "127 Hours," will begin previews in the Depression-era drama "Of Mice and Men" with TV's Leighton Meester of "Gossip's Girl." In April, dual Academy Award winner Denzel Washington ("Training Day" and "Glory') will open in "A Raisin in the Sun," and Golden Globe winner Michelle Williams ("My Week with Marilyn") and Alan Cumming, of TV's "The Good Wife," will appear in a revival of the Berlin-set musical "Cabaret." "I don't know any actor who would not want to be on Broadway," said Cranston, a multiple Emmy winner for his portrayal of a meth-making chemistry teacher in "Breaking Bad." "It is the pinnacle of stage work. Full Story | Top |
| Oscar hopefuls shake different money trees on way to screen Friday, Feb 21, 2014 06:59 AM PST  By Ronald Grover LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Joe Newcomb, a failed minor league baseball player who struck it rich as a Texas chemical trader, will be among those crossing their fingers in the Dolby Theatre audience on March 2 when the Academy Awards are handed out. Newcomb financed scrappy best picture Oscar contender "Dallas Buyers Club." In the category of film financiers, he'll be joined by Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison's daughter Megan, who provided funds for "American Hustle" and "Her," by "12 Years a Slave" backer Bill Pohlad, whose family owns the Minnesota Twins baseball team, and financiers who assembled investors in Asia and the Middle East to back "The Wolf of Wall Street." There have always been oil men and others eager to invest in Hollywood, the last few years indicate they are playing an increasingly important role in financing Oscar contenders. Five of the nine films nominated for best picture this year made it to the big screen with the help of investors who are outside the Hollywood studios. Full Story | Top |
| Zimbabwe's Mugabe turns 90 Friday, Feb 21, 2014 02:34 AM PST  By Cris Chinaka HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe turned 90 on Friday, far from home on a medical trip that has intensified concerns about his health and stoked a simmering succession battle in a country under his thumb for more than three decades. When Mugabe left for Singapore this week, spokesman George Charamba maintained the official denial of reports that Africa's oldest president was suffering from prostate cancer, saying the trip was for a "routine and long-planned" cataract operation. Full Story | Top |
| Trip Tips: And the winner is... Hollywood, home of the Oscars Thursday, Feb 20, 2014 09:29 PM PST  By Piya Sinha-Roy HOLLYWOOD (Reuters) - When Hollywood was its own little town at the start of the 20th century, it banned movie theatres and liquor, except for medicinal purposes (wink, wink). Today, Hollywood is at the crossroads of creativity and business, generating $35 billion a year at the global film box office and drawing 40 million tourists annually. It's not all debauchery and late-night clubbing in Hollywood, although there is a lot of that. Whether you are hip and gorgeous or trying to get there, an aspiring actor or couch-bound film critic, here are tips to experience Hollywood from Reuters, whose 2,600 journalists around the world offer visitors the best local insights. Full Story | Top |
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