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HOUSE OF THE DAY: Alicia Keys And Swizz Beatz Are Having A Tough Time Selling Their SoHo Penthouse

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alicia keys apartment

Alicia Keys and husband Swizz Beatz are having a tough time unloading the 16-room SoHo penthouse they bought from Lenny Kravitz in 2010.

The apartment, which hit the market in March for $17.95 million, has now been reduced to $15 million, The Real Deal reports.

The penthouse apartment is in a pre-war building on quiet Crosby Street, ideal for a celebrity looking to go under the radar. And the decor is immaculate.

The couple seems ready for bigger digs they bought a 30-room New Jersey mansion from Eddie Murphy last year for $12 million.

A private elevator will whisk you up to the penthouse.



The 16-room apartment sits on Crosby Street, off the beaten path in bustling SoHo.



Sadly, the Ducati doesn't come with the property.



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Here's Kaley Cuoco (And A Man In A Bunny Suit) In Toyota's Super Bowl Teaser

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It's Super Bowl ad teaser season, and Toyota just released a sneak peek of its commercial starring Kaley Cuoco and a giant man in a bunny costume.

The Saatchi & Saatchi-created spot shows a purple suit-wearing Cuoco granting people's random wishes — like making people taller or having a beautiful woman appear in a lonely man's laps. The creative is kind of reminiscent of Toyota's 2012 Super Bowl ad in which the car company "reinvented" common items. (Couches turned from fabric to women in bikinis; curtains turned into pizza.)

Watch Cuoco's teaser below:

SEE ALSO: Audi's Super Bowl Spot Looks Like A Taylor Swift Music Video For Dudes

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Will 7 Of Oscar's 9 Best Picture Nominees Cross the $100M Mark?

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Silver Linings Playbook

Should “Zero Dark Thirty” and “Silver Linings Playbook” hit $100 million at the domestic box office -- and both have an outside shot -- it will mean an astonishing nine movies nominated this year for the Best Picture Oscar will have achieved that feat.

Fox's “Life of Pi” on Monday joined four other Best Picture Oscar nominees in surpassing the $100 million standard at the domestic box office. “Lincoln” ($161 million), “Django Unchained ($139 million), “Les Misérables: ($131 million) and “Argo” ($115 million) already have done it and are all still in theaters. 

And the number for “Pi” should get an asterisk; it's made nearly four times that much -- $392 million -- at the overseas box office.

That's quite a change from last year, when only one of the nine nominated films -- “The Help” -- was over $100 million by the night of the Academy Awards.

Both “Zero Dark Thirty” and “Silver Linings” are at about $60 million with a month to go before the Feb. 24 Oscars, so it will take some breaks to get to the magic number.

"They'll both inch their way into that range," BoxOffice.com vice president and senior analyst Phil Contrino told TheWrap Wednesday. "Neither is a sure bet, but both have momentum and could do it."

"'Zero Dark Thirty' probably has the better chance, because of the controversy surrounding it, but 'Silver Linings Playbook' is a crowd-pleaser and built to last, kind of like 'The Descendants' last year." That family drama also was nominated for Best Picture and wound up with $82 million domestically.

Five nominated films hit the $100 million mark in both 2010 and 2009, the first year the Academy expanded the number of  Best Picture nomination slots from five to 10. In 2010, it was “Toy Story 3,” “Inception,” “True Grit,” “The King's Speech” and “Black Swan.” In 2009, it was “Avatar,” “Up,” “The Blind Side” “Inglourious Basterds” and “District 9.”

Of course, box-office success doesn't generally translate into Oscar success. In the past 10 years, “The Departed” in 2006 and “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” in 2003 were the only winners that came in as the highest-grossing films.

Read More: What The Oscar-Nominated Films Should Really Be Called

See Also: Will 7 of Oscar's 9 Best Picture Nominees Cross the $100M Mark Domestically?


 

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The Black Keys Have Now Sued 3 Advertisers For Allegedly Plagiarizing Their Songs

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Black Keys, drummer

NEW YORK (AP) — The Black Keys are remaining vigilant when it comes to sound-a-like songs.

The Nashville duo is suing Pinnacle Entertainment in New York federal court. Drummer Patrick Carney and singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach say the casino owner commissioned a song that sounds like their hit "Howlin' For You" for a commercial advertising two of its Louisiana properties. They are asking a judge for an injunction and compensation.

"The experts confirmed that this was copyright infringement," the band said in a statement Wednesday to The Associated Press.

The Keys recently settled lawsuits against Pizza Hut and Home Depot over similar charges of copying the songs "Lonely Boy" and "Gold on the Ceiling." Terms of those settlements were not released.

The Keys are up for five trophies at next month's Grammy Awards and Auerbach also has been nominated for producer of the year.

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Al-Jazeera Advertises 100 Job Listings In New York And DC

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Al Jazeera English

Al-Jazeera has advertised more than 100 job vacancies in New York and Washington, including a team of investigative journalists, in preparation for launching its US news channel.

The hiring spree for the New York-based channel, likely to be called al-Jazeera America, follows the Middle Eastern broadcaster's $500m (£300m) deal to buy Al Gore's cable network Current TV earlier this month.

Al-Jazeera reportedly plans to double Current TV's headcount to more than 300 for its new US channel. Al-Jazeera has already begun advertising 102 jobs in the US, with seven forming an investigative journalism unit to be based in Washington.

The number and scope of the vacancies gives an insight into the scale of al-Jazeera's US plans. Among other jobs, the broadcaster is hiring 54 producers, 20 editors, and one New York-based presenter.

Jobs up for grabs include news, sport, economic, and science and technology correspondents, and various producer and executive producer roles for news, sport and business.

Al-Jazeera has remained coy about its plans for the venture, but reports suggest it plans to launch a distinctively US channel with 60% of the content produced in America and the remainder from its existing English-language offshoot, al-Jazeera English.

The launch of the channel represents al-Jazeera's most significant attempt yet to crack America, the most lucrative and competitive media market in the world.

The broadcaster, which is owned by the emir of Qatar, has previously struggled to strike carriage deals with cable and satellite TV distributors due to latent suspicions about its ownership and politics.

Al-Jazeera said earlier this month that its US launch would allow it to reach the homes of 60 million Americans – the distribution enjoyed by Current TV before the takeover – and would "make a positive contribution to the news and information available in and about the United States".

However, US cable giant Time Warner threatened to thrown a spanner in the works when it announced, immediately following news of the takeover, that it would drop Current TV from its channel lineup. It is unclear if this means it will not carry al-Jazeera America, which will take over Current TV's channel slot.

On Wednesday, al-Jazeera's website published an opinion piece by the journalist Danny Schechter which asserted that the broadcaster's critics are "driven by political beliefs, not media values".

Schechter added: "It's not clear if all the negativity towards the channel is driven by fear that it might succeed or just plain American arrogance fed by a cocky sense of superiority towards foreigners, even as many domestic TV news channels now report serious ratings slides.

"The volume of derision has not diminished even if the assertion that al-Jazeera is pro-terrorist because it has covered terrorists goes unchallenged, and even as cable system operator Time Warner's decision not to offer the new channel – even before it sees what it is – has not been contested by regulators, or even, to my knowledge, human rights and freedom of expression groups."

A footnote to the piece clarified that Schechter's opinions do not necessarily reflect al-Jazeera's editorial policy.

Al-Jazeera had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".

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This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk

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Taylor Swift Has a New Ad Endorsement Deal [THE BRIEF]

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taylor swift

Good morning, AdLand. Here's what you need to know today:

Taylor Swift is the new face of Keds shoes. The campaign is targeted to "brave" girls between the ages of 13 and 24. The campaign, which is budgeted at about $20 million, uses phrases like, "Try things. Say hi already. Laugh a lot. Mess up. Apologize. Mess up again. Hug people. Take chances. Trust yourself."

According to Google's Q4, ad revenue rose 19 percent and ad prices dropped six percent.

Chanel is doing an agency review of its $100 million-plus media account. MEC worked with Chanel for more than a decade. Could it have been the Brad Pitt ad?

A study by Aggregated Knowledge of 25 different campaigns found that Facebook leads to a 24 percent sales boost.

Yodle is the top Google AdWords premier SMB partner in North America for mobile online advertising.

David Fisher joined Arnold WW as director of integrated production from TBWA/Chiat/Day.

Previously on Business Insider Advertising:

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'Rocky' Star Reportedly Shelled Out Big Bucks To Settle Half-Sister's Abuse Allegations

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The action hero made famous for his roles in "Rambo" and the "Rocky" franchise reportedly paid his half-sister millions of dollars over allegations he abused her for years.

Sylvester Stallone agreed 26 years ago to give his half-sister Toni-Ann Filiti-Schaub $2 million plus $16,666.66 per month for the rest of her life, plus a trust with $50,000 per year, the New York Post's Page Six exclusively reported Wednesday.

Filiti claimed the movie star physically abused her, allegations Stallone has strenuously denied.

However, he reportedly agreed to settle after she threatened to sue him.

Stallone's mother Jacqueline Stallone, who was also Filiti's mother, says the lawsuit threats were nothing more than blackmail.

“This was nothing more than a shakedown,” Jacqueline told Page Six. “Toni-Ann was on 65 Oxycontin pills a day, and she threatened Sylvester. A drug addict will do anything. When Sylvester became famous, she didn’t have to hook. He was trying to help her. He caved in.”

Stallone's rep indicated the star's half-sister had indeed blackmailed him, but Filiti's son Edd told Page Six he stands by his mother's claims that she was abused. Filiti died of lung cancer in August 2011.

DON'T MISS: Victoria's Secret Angel Sued By Her Former Management Company >

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Here's All The Free Swag Celebs Get In Sundance Gifting Suites

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Sundance Gifting Suite

Celebrities ranging from Paris Hilton and Jessica Biel to James Franco and Nicole Kidman attended this year's annual Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

But between promoting their films by day and partying at night, celebs found time to sneak in a few gifting suites where they are awarded with loads of free swag.

And even though Robert Redford is embarrassed by the recent influx of gifted goods at the classy film festival he founded, it's a trend that isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

From flat screen TVs to Ugg boots and snowboards, see what celebrities took home from Sundance. 

Paris Hilton and her 21-year-old model boyfriend scored a 70" Element Electronics flat screen TV at Paige Hospitality Group's football viewing party.



So did "Mad Men" actress Alison Brie.



The Paige Hospitality Group event also featured a booth giving away Minnetonka Moccasins.



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Sony Gets Fined $395,000 For Playstation Hack Attack

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playstation 3 grand theft auto

Sony Computer Entertainment has been fined a record £250,000* by the data protection watchdog after the personal details of millions of gamers – including passwords and credit card numbers – were leaked online.

The privacy blunder happened in April 2011, when computer hackers targeted the Sony PlayStation Network.

The Information Commissioner's Office on Thursday said the security breach was "one of the most serious" it has handled under the Data Protection Act. The £250,000 fine is the maximum penalty awarded by the ICO against a private company.

"There's no disguising that this is a business that should have known better. It is a company that trades on its technical expertise, and there's no doubt in my mind that they had access to both the technical knowledge and the resources to keep this information safe," said David Smith, the ICO's deputy commissioner and director of data protection.

The watchdog said millions of customers were exposed to the risk of identity theft after their names, addresses, email addresses, dates of birth and account passwords were leaked online.

The ICO launched an investigation into the leak immediately after the hack in April 2011. It concluded on Thursday that the attack could have been prevented if Sony's software had been up to date, and separately found that passwords were not handled securely by the games giant.

The security breach was a huge blow for Sony, forcing its then chief executive, Sir Howard Stringer, into a humble apology and causing its share price to tumble as investors worried about the ultimate cost of the hack.

The £250,000 fine is the third largest penalty ever imposed by the ICO, with only two local authorities fined more than Sony.

Smith said: "If you are responsible for so many payment card details and log-in details then keeping that personal data secure has to be your priority. In this case that just didn't happen, and when the database was targeted – albeit in a determined criminal attack – the security measures in place were simply not good enough.

"The penalty we've issued today is clearly substantial, but we make no apologies for that. The case is one of the most serious ever reported to us. It directly affected a huge number of consumers, and at the very least put them at risk of identity theft."

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The ICO did not reveal how many gamers it believes were affected by the security breach. At the time, it was estimated that as many as 100 million users may have been impacted.

It is not known who was responsible for the hack, described by the ICO as a "focused and determined criminal attack" on Sony's network. The hacking group Anonymous denied that it was involved back in May 2011, after reports quoted some members as admitting responsibility.

The data protection body said the attackers exploited a "vulnerability" in Sony's network following several distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, which overwhelmed Sony's network by flooding it with requests to load information.

The Japanese electronics giant failed to address the vulnerability even after it had spotted the unauthorised access on 19 April 2011, according to the ICO. It said that the Sony network had now been completely rebuilt.

Sony responded robustly to the fine, saying it "strongly disagreed" with the ruling and planned to appeal.

It added in a statement: "Criminal attacks on electronic networks are a real and growing aspect of 21st century life and Sony continually works to strengthen our systems, building in multiple layers of defence and working to make our networks safe, secure and resilient.

"The reliability of our network services and the security of our consumers' information are of the utmost importance to us, and we are appreciative that our network services are used by even more people around the world today than at the time of the criminal attack."

The company pointed out that the ICO found in its investigation that the "personal data is unlikely to have been used for fraudulent purposes" and that there was no evidence that encrypted payment card details were accessed.

*equivalent to $395,000.

This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk

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Here's Billboard's Brand New Logo

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billboard logo change 2013

As a part of its redesign, Billboard just revealed its new logo.

While the change isn't too drastic, the chart-happy publication followed a recent logo trend and decided to write its name entirely in lower case letters.

Arby's, JCP (formerly known as JCPenney), Lifetime, and Weight Watchers all adopted this tactic in 2012.

Michael Beirut of Pentagram led the redesign.

According to Beirut, the team had to tread lightly because "Billboard has a more central role in pop culture than any mere trade magazine. It's an American icon, like the Coke Bottle."

The company's website explains:

"Since 1966, the magazine’s familiar masthead identity has featured lettering with strong circular forms that suggested records (and later CDs) and kicky “mod” colors. As part of the refresh the logo has been completely redrawn to emphasize the basic geometry of the name, creating a typeface that echoes the circles of the original and still looks “pop.” The designers have set the name entirely in lowercase, tightened the spacing and, perhaps most importantly, removed the colors from the circles. This makes the print version look immediately more grown-up and serious, and a lot easier to design with full-bleed color photographs."

While the colors will appear on the website, on the magazine, the lowercase font will just be in black and white.

billboard logo

SEE ALSO: American Airlines Decapitates The Eagle In Its Brand New Logo

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'Life Of Pi' Crosses $500M Mark After Grossing 4X More Overseas — Here's Today's Buzz

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Police Found A Car Connected To Missing Hollywood Exec At A Drug House

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gavin smithPolice plan to search a gray SUV in connection with the disappearance of 20th Century Fox executive Gavin Smith. 

Back in May of last year, Smith went missing after he failed to pick up one of his children from school.

Wednesday, police found the SUV at a marijuana grow house in Granada Hills, according to Los Angeles radio station KFI. 

"We believe that this truck, it's possible this truck, may have been involved, but we don't know yet," L.A. County Sheriffs homicide detective Ty Labbe told reporters.  

The vehicle belongs to suspected drug dealer, John Creech, the husband of a woman who authorities believe Smith may have been having an affair.   

Creech's wife, Chandrika, had met Smith prior to his disappearance at counseling sessions, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

Back in June, authorities searched Chandrika Creech's home in connection with Smith's case.

The last time Smith was seen was leaving a friend's home in Oak Park in his 2000 Mercedes-Benz 420E. The car hasn't been found. 

HIs family set up the website findgavinsmith.com to aid in the search for Smith.

SEE ALSO: Kate Middleton artist lashes out against criticism >

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Matisyahu Is So Unrecognizable After Shaving His Beard That He Couldn't Get Into Sundance Parties

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After shedding his glasses, long pais sideburns, excess weight and signature beard, Orthodox Jewish rapper/reggae artist Matisyahu is nearly unrecognizable.

The musician looks so different lately, in fact, that he had a hard time getting into premieres and parties this past weekend at the Sundance Film Festival.

"He stood outside TAO nightclub for ten minutes because the door managers didn’t know who he was," reports the New York Post. "He wasn’t allowed in until another friend recognized him."

Here's what the 33-year-old "One Day" singer looked like in 2005 with his signature Hasidic look:

Matisyahu

Last December, Matisyahu, whose real name is Matthew Paul Miller, shaved off his beard, explaining on Twitter"Sorry folks, all you get is me, no alias. When I started becoming religious 10 years ago it was a very natural and organic process. It was my choice. My journey to discover my roots and explore Jewish spirituality — not through books but through real life.”

Since then, the singer has shed some weight, traded his wire-rimmed glasses for contacts and gotten a major haircut.

Today, Matisyahu is back in the spotlight with a new clean-shaven look:

Matisyahu

SEE ALSO: Here's all the free swag celebs get at Sundance gifting suites >

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The First Clip Of Ashton Kutcher Acting As Steve Jobs In 'jOBS'

Disney's Bob Iger Reminisces About Deal-Making With Steve Jobs

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Steve Jobs Bob IgerWhen two entertainment industry giants sat down on the same stage Wednesday, one of the first subjects they talked about was a third: Producer Brian Grazer's opening question for Disney CEO Bob Iger led almost immediately to Iger's memories of Steve Jobs.

Iger talked about his experiences with the Apple co-founder in a talk in which he also discussed his high tolerance for risk and what he said was his only real fear about Disney: That the company may one day stop innovating creatively.

Grazer moderated the Hollywood Radio and Television Society panel with Iger, who discussed Jobs as he recalled Disney's 2006 acquisition of Pixar, the animation company of which Jobs was the major shareholder, soon after Iger became Disney's CEO. The $7.4 billion all-stock deal revived Disney's animation, made Jobs the largest shareholder in Disney, and set the stage for later Disney acquisitions of Marvel and Lucasfilm.

But it almost didn't happen because of past disagreements between Jobs and previous Disney CEO Michael Eisner. When Iger learned that he was to be named CEO, one of the first things he did was call Jobs.

"I don't even remember it being totally premeditated," Iger said. "I just decided to call my parents and my grown daughters in New York and a couple of good friends and Steve."

He asked Jobs if they could get together to see if the companies' relationship could be "salvaged," Iger said.

"To his credit, he said, 'Okay. I think you're just more of the same…'" but he still agreed to talk, Iger said.

He also credited Jobs with being "relentlessly" honest and candid, even calling him on Saturdays to say if a Disney movie he saw the night before had "sucked."

Iger said that directness was infectious. He was candid with Jobs, he said, about Disney's need to acquire Pixar to improve Disney's animation offerings.

Later, reading Walter Isaacson's biography of Jobs, he learned that Jobs had been impressed by his honesty. He joked that that "probably saved us probably a couple hundred-thousand dollars" in the $7.4 billion-dollar deal.

Iger remembered his dealings with Jobs on a good day for Disney and a bad one for Apple. Even as Disney stock hit an all-time high of $53.95 per share, Apple stock plummeted in after-hours trading after the company reported disappointing iPhone sales. (Iger serves on Apple's board of directors.)

Among the lessons Iger said he has learned as a CEO is the importance of accepting risk.

"I've learned over the years that while you can't be dismissive of risk, particularly in the corporate world… if you are too focused on it you don't do anything," Iger said. "You don't get anything done. CEOs of companies that need to grow and need to evolve cannot be risk-averse."

He added: "So while I'm always aware that there's risk involved in some of these big decisions, I focus far more on opportunities. And it was the opportunity that Pixar presented to Disney that I spent much of my time on, in weighing whether we should step up and buy Pixar."

Glazer concluded the talk by asking Iger if anything keeps him awake at night.

"No," Iger said. "I'm not that fearful a person. ... In terms of the company, the only thing that I ever really worry about is just how really to sustain creative success. Nothing bothers me more than walking out of a screening or seeing something that we've done and we all look at each other and kind of know -- I like honesty, by the way, when it comes to criticism -- we all know it could have been better so we look at it and say, boy, that could have been better, and kind of share in the disappointment a bit. I hate that."

SEE ALSO: The first clip of Ashton Kutcher acting as Steve Jobs in 'jOBS' >

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TNT Made Another Insane 'Push To Add Drama' Viral Video

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In promoting its launch in Belgium last April, TNT put out an insanely cool ad centered around unsuspecting people pressing a large "push to add drama" button.

Mayhem ensued as fights and gunfire broke out in a quiet town. Bikini babes on motorcycles also tore up the street to add more drama to the event.

The Belgian ad went viral immediately and has since been watched over 42 million times.

With another launch scheduled in the Netherlands, TNT is at it again with another crazy video filled with more gunfire, kidnappings, and brawls. No bikini babes in this ad, though, as a group of streaking men take up the quota of scantily clad people. TNT's agency in the region is Duval Guillaume.

Watch the TNT ad below:

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Bethenny Frankel's Divorce Gets Ugly As Ex Fights For Primary Custody And $5M Apartment

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Bethenny Frankel Jason Hoppy

After Bravo reality TV star and Skinnygirl cocktail founder Bethenny Frankel filed for divorce from Jason Hoppy earlier this month, her husband of two years is fighting back.

While Frankel wants primary custody of the former couple's two-year-old daughter Bryn, Hoppy now, too, is requesting primary custody, according to TMZ.

And that's not all. Hoppy is seeking child support from his wealthy estranged wife who made a fortune after selling her Skinnygirl cocktails to Jim Beam for a reported $120 million in 2011 — but Frankel is also seeking child support from Hoppy.

Frankel wants Hoppy to pay for medical and dental insurance as well as related expenses for herself and daughter Bryn. Hoppy is requesting the same.

Both parties also want to maintain life insurance policies that include the other, and their daughter, as beneficiaries.

Both sides also want "exclusive use and occupancy of the marital residence" — a massive $5 million Tribeca apartment featured on the Bravo show "Bethenny."

The 3,400-square-foot luxury apartment was recently featured in Traditional Home magazine and boasts a den-turned-master-closet and tons of work space for Frankel's home office.

Though estranged, the couple were still sharing the downtown Manhattan residence until this week when Frankel temporarily vacated for the Upper East Side.

While Hoppy has been spotted recently walking around New York with his wedding ring still on, Frankel is reportedly casually dating billionaire Warren Lichtenstein.

Lichenstein is the head of $4 billion New York based hedge fund Steel Partners, which he co-founded in 1990 -- and the owner of the apartment building where Frankel is currently staying.

After Hoppy responded to Frankel's divorce petition this morning, Frankel tweeted:

Bethenny Frankel Twitter

Related: 

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Coen Brothers Release Trailer For Their New Film 'Inside Llewyn Davis'

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The Coen Brothers' new film "Inside Llewyn Davis" has yet to get U.S. distribution or a 2013 release date, but the movie is already getting tons of buzz.

In the trailer, which arrived via an invitation to the film’s debut screening next month on the Sony lot, actor Oscar Isaac plays a fictional folk singer looking for a break in the 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene.

The cast features Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund and even Justin Timberlake.

Watch the trailer below:

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J.J. Abrams Is Directing The New 'Star Wars'

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The search for a "Star Wars" director is over!

After telling Entertainment Weekly in November he wouldn't helm the next installment from Disney, The Wrap reports Abrams will indeed take us once again to (another) galaxy far far away.

Abrams also told Empire magazine he turned down the idea.

"I wouldn’t even want to be involved in the next version of those things,” said Abrams. “I declined any involvement very early on. I’d rather be in the audience not knowing what was coming, rather than being involved in the minutiae of making them.”

Currently, Abrams has "Star Trek: Into Darkness" coming out this summer. 

Abrams joins Oscar-winning screenwriter Michael Arndt who will be writing the script for "Star Wars: Episode VII."

The first new "Star Wars" film is set for a 2015 release.

SEE ALSO: The first clip of Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs in "jOBS." >

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10 Celebrities Who Turned Down 'Dancing With The Stars'

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bill Clinton

Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong is probably desperate for a little positive buzz in the wake of admitting to Oprah that he used performance-enhancing drugs — but at least for now, he's not reality-TV desperate.

Entertainment Weekly reports that Armstrong has declined an offer to compete on the next season of ABC's immensely popular reality series Dancing With the Stars.

Of course, Armstrong is hardly the first "star" to resist the glittery allure of the dancing competition; over the past few years, the long-running reality show has reached out to many, many famous folks who could use the money or the P.R. boost from a DWTS appearance.

Which celebrities have rejected Dancing with the Stars? A sampling:

1. Lance Armstrong

Though Armstrong needs good P.R. now more than ever, Entertainment Weekly reports that the admitted doper has actually been asked to appear on Dancing with the Stars every year since the series began in 2005.

"Although flattered, he has passed on their generous offers," says a spokesman.



2. Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan was reportedly offered a whopping $550,000 to appear on the reality show's upcoming season — but TMZ says Lohan quickly rejected the offer, telling friends she'd "never consider doing reality TV."



3. Ann Romney

Mitt and Ann Romney may not have won the White House, but ABC offered Ann a consolation prize: A plum spot on Dancing with the Stars next season.

ABC News reports that Romney "seriously considered" the offer, but ultimately turned the show down.



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