Reliance BIG Entertainment, the media and entertainment arm of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, has signed a development-production financing deal with Hollywood filmmakers Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment.

Dec 3, 2009

The deal calls for Comcast to contribute $6.5 billion in cash, its own cable TV networks and other assets in return for a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal, owner of TV networks, a movie studio and theme parks. GE will keep a 49 percent stake.

Nov 17, 2009

Tweet Saturday night, November 21st, 2009, The Renaissance Hollywood Hotel will be the site of a Hollywood Red Carpet, VIP fundraising Gala to support the causes of the non-profit charity organization Sudan Hope. The event will be hosted by producer, actor, and member of the Sudan Hope Board of Directors, Dr. Mark...

Nov 4, 2009

Tweet When Warren Buffett announced that Berkshire Hathaway was increasing its stake in Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., a railroad company, to 67.9 million shares, I really thought we’d heard the most out there story of the week. Who would have thought that the board game -to-movie trend would...

Oct 20, 2009

Tweet Rentrak Corporation, a multi-screen media measurement and research company serving the advertising and entertainment industry, today announced a multi-year deal with Cinelatino, the leading Spanish-language premium film channel in the United States that offers the most current blockbusters and...

Mar 9, 2009

Tweet HBO has a question for cable networks and stations about three comedies, including Entourage: Is that something you might be interested in? By the end of March, the pay-TV network will be in the marketplace selling syndication runs for Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Sex and the City. Executives have...

Tweet With the network upfronts just two months away, it’s the start of nail-biting season for primetime’s bubble shows. Most of broadcast’s comedies and dramas are in the midst of plotting their year-end finales. But for producers who still don’t have a clue about the fate of their shows,...

Tweet Sumner Redstone, who has long prided himself on his roots in the exhibition biz, is faced with the prospect of ending that long chapter in his career as he looks to unload hundreds of screens in a buyer’s market. The sale talk comes as Redstone’s National Amusements, which encompasses a...

Tweet (REUTERS MEDIAFILE blog) You’d think nothing could be cuter than a stuffed rabbit that comes to life to cheer up a lonely child. But Verizon Wireless rewarded the promoters of Velveteen Rabbit, the movie, with a not-so-cuddly lawsuit. A representative for the mobile service said Verizon had nothing against...

Tweet LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Nineteen-year AMC Entertainment veteran Peter Brown was replaced Tuesday as head of the nation’s second-biggest theater chain by a consumer-savvy Starbucks executive in a surprise move stirring speculation about the company’s future. Owned by J.P. Morgan...

Tweet Marvel Entertainment Inc.’s fourth-quarter net income more than doubled on soaring revenue from its film-making unit and strength in its publishing business. The comic-book maker wrapped up its first year of producing its own films, taking all the profits instead of just licensing fees. For the...

Tweet (MUMBAI) – The Indian media and entertainment business that grew 15 percent annually since 2006 into a $11.68-billion (Rs.584 billion) industry in 2008 is seen to top $21 billion over the next five years, says a joint study by a leading chamber and a consultancy released Tuesday. But the growth...

Feb 17, 2009

Tweet (Reuters) – Media company Marvel Entertainment Inc said Hasbro Inc will retain toy-licensing rights for its characters until 2017 in an deal that guarantees Marvel $100 million in royalties and gives it the potential to earn up to an additional $140 million. The deal will allow Hasbro, the No. 2 U.S....

Feb 13, 2009

Tweet SAN FRANCISCO, (Reuters) – Video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc forecast 2009 earnings to fall far short of Wall Street expectations as consumers trimmed spending and retailers avoided overstocking, sending its shares down 5 percent in extended trading on Wednesday. That weak outlook...

Tweet Will Smith has again emerged as the film star whose name on the marquee guarantees a movie’s success, according to most analysts. In Forbes magazine’s Star Currency survey, Smith was the only film star to receive a perfect score of 10. Others in the top ten included: Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina...

Tweet (Variety) There’s blood in the water over at Lionsgate, and it’s attracted Carl Icahn. The billionaire investor picked up more than 1 million shares in the company after it reported dismal third-quarter earnings this week. Icahn now owns more than 12.2 million shares, or a 10.5% stake in the...

Feb 10, 2009

Tweet NEW YORK — Lionsgate swung to a net loss of $93.4 million in the fiscal third quarter from a profit of $7.3 million in the year-earlier period. However, overall company revenue was up 8%, to $324 million, thanks to growth in TV revenue from TV production as well as other sources. Variety reports that...

Tweet NEW YORK – Live Nation and Ticketmaster Entertainment made their first public arguments on Tuesday for a merger that would create a dominant force in live music as they announced the terms of the planned all-stock deal. Ticketmaster shareholders will receive 1.384 shares of Live Nation common stock for...

Feb 6, 2009

Tweet “Over the past several weeks DreamWorks has demanded material changes to previously agreed upon terms. It is clear that DreamWorks’ needs and Universal’s business interests are no longer in alignment. We wish them luck in their pursuit of funding and distribution of their future...

Tweet NEW YORK (AP) — Time Warner Inc.’s AOL business is cutting up to 700 jobs, or about 10 percent of the Internet unit’s work force, in a bid to cut costs. AOL Chief Executive Randy Falco told employees in a memo Wednesday that AOL plans to cut the jobs in the next several quarters. He also said...

Tweet MOTION PICTURE Actor Richard Jenkins – “The Visitor” Frank Langella – “Frost/Nixon” WINNER: Sean Penn – “Milk” Brad Pitt – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Mickey Rourke – “The Wrestler” Actress Anne Hathaway –...

Jan 22, 2009

Tweet NEW YORK, Jan 21 (Reuters) – Citigroup Inc named former Time Warner Inc Chief Executive Richard Parsons as its chairman, the latest high-level personnel change to shake a U.S. bank clobbered by the credit crunch. Parsons, 60, has been a director since 1996, a period marked by rapid growth followed by a...

Tweet By Matthew Garrahan (FT.com) For many Hollywood executives obsessed with life in Tinseltown, mentioning the world beyond the Santa Monica mountains tends to elicit a blank stare. This is not true of David Linde, the co-chairman of Universal Pictures. The studio behind hits such as Wanted, Hellboy II and...

Tweet FilmNation has bought the international arm of GreeneStreet Films. Glen Basner, the former Focus and the Weinstein Co. international vet who runs FilmNation, will be scouting pics in Sundance for the venture. Under the new deal, the company will sell pics financed and produced by A Bigger Boat, the TV and film...