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Questlove Is Teaching A Classic Albums Course At NYU

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DJ Questlove

"Roots" frontman, drummer and DJ Questlove will be co-teaching a course called "Classic Albums" this spring at the Clive Davis Institute for Recorded Music at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.

41-year-old Questlove, aka Ahmir '?uestlove' Thompson, will join Universal Music Enterprises vice president of A&R and Grammy winning producer Harry Weinger.

"The two credit class will focus on the concept of what it means for something to be called classic or seminal, as well as take a close look at the music, lyrics, production, business aspects -- such as promotion and marketing -- that informed the release and reception of the album, and try to provide a context as to why these albums have stood the test of time, according to Jason King, associate professor of recorded music and head of history and criticism at the Institute.

Some records that Questlove will scholarize include Michael Jackson's Off the Wall, Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique, Led Zeppelin IV, Prince's Dirty Mind, and Aretha Franklin's Lady Soul.

The musician's foray into teaching comes after an NPR intern's dismissive review of Public Enemy's "It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back" irritated Questlove. The blog post review was part of NPR's series asking interns to review "classic albums they'd never heard before."

Questlove responded in the comments, saying "ur (sic) job is to find out why" classic records are considered as such by researching and uncovering the context in which they were first released—which subsequently prompted NYU's King to reach out to both Questlove and Weinger with the idea for the course.

"We wanted to bring [Questlove] in because we felt he should really be a professor; in a lot of ways he already is an informal, unofficial professor, not just in hip hop but in music in general," King told Billboard.biz. "He's one of the smartest people in music, besides being a fantastic musician. We thought [this class] would speak to his strengths."

Questlove's turn as professor comes just a week after actor James Franco announced he will be teaching  a film production class at USC next spring in the School of Cinematic Arts.

SEE ALSO: Questlove posted pictures from the star-studded wedding of Amber Tamblyn & David Cross >

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CouponCabin CEO Slams Kate Gosselin In Public Termination Letter

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Kate Gosselin

Kate Gosselin has officially been dropped as a contributing blogger at CouponCabin.com.

While the "Kate Plus 8" star has been writing for the website weekly since November 2011, CoupinCabin CEO Scott Kluth published an open termination letter Tuesday on the company's website:

A series of recent events have made it clear to me that Kate Gosselin and her contributions do not align with the authenticity which we set out to build almost a decade ago, and that Ms. Gosselin is simply not a good fit with the wonderful team and culture at CouponCabin.

It’s with this that I am writing to inform you of our decision to discontinue Ms. Gosselin’s feature blog on CouponCabin.com. Ms. Gosselin’s contributions garnered both positive attention and criticism, but as always, I respect and appreciate your candid opinions, which often encourage us not to lose sight of our mission — to help YOU save money.

The single mother of eight had blogged about everything from tips on how to cut kids' expenses to her favorite mobile apps, but readers of the site don't seem too bothered by Gosselin's firing.

One commenter wrote, "It is about time. There was not ONE GOOD COUPON tip she EVER contributed to this ... site. People aren't reading this blog to read how tough she has it with 8 kids."

Another post reads, "Finally! Her useless tips and self-adulation were annoying and promoted nothing. Sorry you wasted a year of your time and money on this fraud."

But Gosselin doesn't seem too upset by the firing, tweeting after the letter was published: "Good afternoon!I'm alive!I've been super busy working away!I'm having lots of fun and can't wait to share!No worries..we will chat soon! XO."

SEE ALSO: A hotel employee claims he was fired for complimenting Jennifer Aniston >

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The New Face Of CoverGirl Is A 13-Year-Old Cancer Patient

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Talia covergirl

13-year-old Talia Joy Castellano of Orlando has had a tough past six years.

At the age of seven, she was diagnosed with neuroblatoma, the most common extracranial solid cancer for children, and in August of this year she was found to have pre-leukemia. 

Despite her hardships, Talia has found happiness in make-up and in creating YouTube make-up tutorials. The description on her videos says, "I don't like wearing wigs so I wear makeup to feel good and pretty inside — and I guess outside."

Talia's makeup tutorial videos each get around 75,000 clicks and her YouTube page has been viewed  over 14.5 million times over.

In September, Talia caught the attention of Ellen DeGeneres and the daytime talk show host featured the 13-year-old on her September 13th episode — and as usual, had a big surprise for her guest.

DeGeneres revealed that Talia had been chosen as an honorary CoverGirl and that the beauty company had sent her a make-up table, make-up, and a check for $20,000.

Talia's CoverGirl campaign image was released today.

Watch Talia's appearance on Ellen below:

Watch Talia break the news of her leukemia diagnosis to her fans. She says, "I'm a very strong person when it comes to dealing with what I'm being told, and taking it in very easily. But, basically there are not really a lot of options for treatment anymore." She tells her fans she is considering not getting the bone marrow transplant because her doctors told her it would be the hardest thing she has had to do thus far. 

Watch one of Talia's many make-up tutorials. 

 SEE ALSO: The 11 worst celebrity product endorsements of all time >

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Jeff Zucker Likely Leaving 'Katie' As He Eyes CNN President Position

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Katie Couric Jeff Zucker

Former NBC chief Jeff Zucker and Katie Couric have a long TV history together—but it may soon be coming to an end.

After Zucker first executive produced the "Today" show throughout Couric's tenure and then followed the TV veteran to "Katie" as EP of her new syndicated daytime talk show.

But Zucker may soon be making moves elsewhere, as "Katie" is currently looking to hire a top level producer "within the next couple of weeks," reports Deadline.

"There has been chatter about Zucker being courted for several top jobs, including CEO of Tribune, but attention has focused recently on the vacancy at CNN," reports Deadline. "With his strong news background, Zucker is considered a leading candidate to succeed CNN Worldwide president Jim Walton when he departs at the end of the year."

And it may not just be chatter, as the New York Post reported back in June that "Several news business high-ups say one name being floated internally to come in and revive CNN ratings is Jeff Zucker, the former NBCUniversal boss. Zucker is friendly with both [Time Warner CEO Jeff] Bewkes and corporate adviser, Gary Ginsberg. The Zucker prospect has rattled some in the executive ranks."

If Zucker gets the CNN gig, the timing would work well for "Katie," providing an easy transition on the show which has a two-year deal with ABC stations.

And Zucker has interest in making sure the transition goes smoothly, as well.

"Zucker has a major financial interest in 'Katie' (some sources indicate he is poised to pocket $8 million from the $20 million guarantee to Couric and him), and is not likely to leave without a succession plan in place," according to Deadline. "But, having run one of the biggest media companies in the world, NBC Universal, he has been expected to jump back to the executive ranks."

While "Katie" is getting the best ratings of any new talk show, Couric has yet to beat the likes of Rachael Ray or Ellen DeGeneres in the ratings race and, according to a new report, has the highest median age of all syndicated talk shows on TV—age 60.

CNN has also seen an all-time ratings low recently, but are currently in the midst of trying to boost viewership with a new documentary division as well as original content from filmmaker Morgan Spurlock and TV chef Anthony Bourdain.

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Tom Cruise Causes Trouble In The New 'Jack Reacher' Trailer

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Back in July, Paramount released a teaser trailer for Tom Cruise's next film, "Jack Reacher."

We're finally getting a look at the first full trailer for the film in which Cruise plays an ex-military cop based on the popular Lee Child character.

If you think you're getting another "Mission Impossible" film, think again. 

Reacher's no hero, and he doesn't care about the law. Rather, he delivers his own brand of justice.

Watch below: 

SEE ALSO: The first bloody trailer for the "Carrie" remake >

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Read The Scathing Letter Sarah Silverman's Dad Sent A Rabbi Who Criticized His Daughter's Lifestyle

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Sarah Silverman dad

Rabbi Yaakov Rosenblatt has written "An Open Letter to Sarah Silverman" in which he says the comedian is living an un-Jewish life and choosing a career over family.

The letter, published on JewishPress.com, initially takes issue with Silverman's Let My People Vote campaign for using "biblical language," but the rabbi's argument quickly shifts focus towards Silverman personally.

In the two-page letter, the rabbi writes:

You are in show biz. I am in the rabbi biz. You entertain people. I serve people. You will soon turn 42 and your destiny, as you stated, will not include children. You blame it on your depression, saying you don’t want to pass it on to another generation.

I find that confusing, coming from someone as perceptive as you are in dissecting flawed arguments. Surely you appreciate being alive and surely, if the wonder of your womb were afflicted with your weaknesses and blessed with your strengths, it would be happy to be alive, too.

You said you wouldn’t get married until gay people can. Now they can. And you still haven’t married. I think, Sarah, that marriage and childrearing are not in the cards for you because you can’t focus on building life when you spend your days and nights tearing it down.

... Nothing you say or stand for, Sarah, from your sickening sexual proposal to a Republican donor to your equally vulgar tweet to Mitt Romney, has the slightest thing to do with the most basic of tenets which Judaism has taught the world – that the monogamous relationship is the most meaningful one and that a happy marriage is the key to wholesomeness.

To read the rest fo the letter, click here.

Sarah's father Donald Silverman saw the letter and was not pleased, to say the least.

In defense of his daughter, Donald issued the following letter back to the rabbi (via TMZ):


Hey a**hole.

Daughter #1 is a rabbi. Not by your standards. She's reform. How dare she, a lowly woman think god wants her to be a rabbi, created from a mere rib. Her hubby, three times nominated for a nobel peace prize was listed by the Jerusalem Post as the 49th most influential jew in the world built the worlds largest solar field in Israel.  

By the way, Sarah was also on the list. I missed your name. Oldest granddaughter is serving in the Israel Defense Forces. I'm sure you also served.Oh I forgot the orthodox don't do that.

You don't f**k with my family."

JewishPress.com, the site where the rabbi's letter was initially posted, was apparently overwhelmed by the response — literally, as their servers crashed.

In a post on the site titled "Sarah Silverman Took Us Down," Jewish Press staff write, "Apparently nothing is more important in the world than Sarah Silverman and her uterus. As the entire world, and her father, have decided to visit (and revisit) the website to read and comment on Rabbi Rosenblatt’s article. Unfortunately, our server is having trouble keeping up with this unbelievable volume of traffic."

SEE ALSO: CouponCabin CEO slams Kate Gosselin in public termination letter >

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Jimmy Kimmel Live Asked People Who Won The Debate...Four Hours Before It Happened

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Jimmy Kimmel Live had a segment yesterday where a staff member interviewed people on to street to ask a simple enough question: "Who won last night's debate?"

The kicker is, there wasn't a debate Monday night.

Despite the fact that they missed the "debate", everyone who Kimmel's crew interviewed managed to form a cohesive, strong opinion on various aspects when prompted. 

The crowd had strong opinions on Mitt Romney, Barack Obama's comparative alertness, the moderator, and one interviewee even distinctly recalled booing. 

Here's the clip:

 Check out the 36 emotions of Barack Obama >

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Is 3D Dying? Why Hollywood Is Putting Down the Glasses

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The Wrap graph

The 3D boom is leveling off, and that means that the credits may be rolling on rapidly climbing movie ticket prices.

But the good news for the movie business is that after a summer that fielded more than its fair share of box-office bombs ("Battleship," anyone?), Hollywood is poised to rebound with "The Hobbit" and a new James Bond film.

At least that's the conclusion of a report by Morgan Stanley titled "After Cool Summer, Hope for the Holidays at the Movies." Despite the optimistic title, the writing is on the wall for studios, which have become increasingly reliant on those ruby tinted spectacles for profits.

"3D attendance has been declining on a per-film basis since the release of 'Avatar,' and we expect the growth in 3D film releases to flatten out," the study's authors write.

Part of the culprit is that studios are not increasing the number of films they release in 3D like they once were, and theater chains in the United States are not doing as much to expand their network of 3D compatible theaters after a building frenzy.

"Recent 3D releases have underperformed, screen build-out has slowed and ticket premiums are unlikely to increase," the study's authors write.

Thus far, 25 3D films have been announced for 2013, the study notes. That's about equal to the number of 3D films released this year (31) and in 2010 (23).

"We believe the pricing benefit from more 3D films is largely over," the study's authors write.

Likewise, Morgan Stanley estimates that 45 percent of screens in the country are 3D capable, and does not expect that percentage to rise significantly in the next few years.

The good news is that even though Morgan Stanley projects that movie attendance will continue to face pressure from other types of media, like video games and video-on-demand, the outlook for the multiplexes over the next three months is rosy.

After two years of declines during the holiday movie season, domestic movie attendance is expected to grow 4 percent to 6 percent in the next three months thanks to films like "Skyfall" and "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2."

With many studios lining up sequels to their most popular franchises, such as "The Avengers" and "The Hangover," the box office should stabilize over the next few years, the report says. However, it acknowledges that ticket buyers have more options than ever when it comes to entertainment.

"Fragmentation in consumer media viewing habits will likely continue to erode theater attendance," the study's authors write.

"We believe that consumer viewing will continue to experience fragmentation over time driven by the increasing availability of video-on-demand (VOD) and video subscription services, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime," they add.

SEE ALSO: The new face of CoverGirl is a 13-year-old cancer patient >

 

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Paul McCartney's Daughter Has Become Hugely Successful In Her Own Right

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stella mccartney

Stella McCartney has made a name for herself outside of her famous dad. 

And the 41-year-old designing superstar has a pretty fantastic life. 

McCartney has a London townhouse and a gorgeous country home. She counts celebrities like Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow among her best friends. 

She also dresses some of the most famous women in the world. 

While her big name put her at an advantage, there's no doubt McCartney is very artistic and talented. You won't believe how much money she's made on her own. 

She replaced Karl Lagerfeld at Chloe when she was only 25.

The claws came out.

"I think they should have taken a big name,” Lagerfeld snipped at the time. “They did, but in music, not fashion.”

While McCartney's designs were criticized at first, she's come around. 



Her best friend is Gwyneth Paltrow.

Paltrow said she appreciates Stella's tough, "ghetto" side. The two have been friends for decades, but have bonded even more closely since their children are the same age.

Paltrow is also married to a Brit–Coldplay singer Chris Martin–and lives close to McCartney.



She's also good friends with Madonna.

The two are often photographed around London together. McCartney also designed Madonna's wedding gown when she married Guy Ritchie in Scotland. 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Donald Trump Angrily Tweets At British 'You've Been Trumped' Director

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Donald Trump

Donald Trump is not known for holding back on his Twitter account.

In between political tirades, Trump slipped in a few angry tweets Wednesday towards British documentary director, Anthony Baxter.

Baxter directed the documentary "You've Been Trumped," which tells the story of a group of proud Scottish homeowners who take on Trump as he buys one of Scotland's last wilderness areas to build a golf resort.

The documentary has been shown at limited theaters for the past three weeks in New York City, and is set to be shown in Chicago this Friday and on BBC Two this Sunday.

Baxter has not responded to tweets, but producer Richard Phinney says "British viewers can make their own mind up Sunday night," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Here's what Trump has to say about the film and it's director:

Donald Trump tweet

Donald Trump tweet

Donald Trump tweet

Donald Trump tweet

SEE ALSO: Celebrity Twitter responses to Tuesday's presidential debate >

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Starwood Hotels Rewards Its Regulars With An Exclusive Ben Folds Concert [Photos]

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ben folds five starwood event

This past Friday, Starwood invited us to the opening of its newest hotel, the Westin at Grand Central in New York City.

Coupled with the opening of this brand new Westin, Starwood Preferred Guests (SPG) — the hotel chain's guest rewards program — hosted an event as part of it's "Hear the Music, See the World" series of exclusive concerts around the world.

Friday's artist was Ben Folds Five. The performance was the sixth out of nine that Starwood is hosting in the series, which also includes shows by Natasha Beddingfield in Dubai and Thievery Corporation at the W Santiago.

Friday's event was particularly special for Starwood because this was one of the first performances Ben Folds had put on from their newest studio album, the band's first in 13 years.

Click here to jump straight to photos of last week's exclusive Starwood event >

Before the show on Friday, we got a chance to speak with Starwood's Senior Vice President of SPG Chris Holdren about some of the hotel company's perks, like the "Hear the Music, See the World" series, which is part of its partnership with Live Nation.

"Events like these are part of Starwood's SPG moments effort. SPG moments is a way for our members who spend a lot of their life on the road to be able to redeem the points they earn on sort of 'money can't buy' experiences to share with their loved ones," Holdren said.

SPG's Moments campaign revolves around three key passion points for members: music, sports, and the arts.

"Hear the Music is our signature series, but we also offer different VIP experiences such as exclusive access at big concerts, where people can go backstage, and meet the artist," Holdren explained.

In the past, Starwood has offered members singing lessons with Natasha Beddingfield in exchange for points. And during the recent U.S. open, members could redeem points for a tennis lesson with Andre Agassi.

It seems as if the SPG perks are endless.

This event was to celebrate the Grand Opening of The Westin. Located just blocks away from the bustling Grand Central Terminal, the hotel is certainly convenient. A Westin spokesperson told us that $75 million was placed into renovations for the building.



Before the party started we got to view one of the guest rooms. Most guest rooms start at 300 square feet. Here is the Corner King Room.



Each room also includes a new Starbucks Verismo machine.



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5 TV Producers Reveal Tips On How To Sell A Show

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Ari Gold Entourage

Television's annual pitch season is currently in full swing and come December, hundreds of potential shows will have been purchased and put in development by networks and studios.

But before any show makes it on the air, producers are responsible for pitching their ideas to head honchos who hold the keys to small screen.

The Hollywood Reporter asked some of TV's most in-demand producers for tips on how to best sell a TV show idea.

Here's some of their advice:

Shawn Ryan, ABC's "Last Resort"

  • "Pitch the series; don’t pitch the pilot. When we pitched Beverly Hills Cop [bought by CBS this season], I probably spent 10 seconds talking about the pilot and the rest on what the series would be on a weekly basis."

Jon Steinberg, Starz's "Black Sails"

  • "Try to keep it to 12 to 14 minutes. I can't imagine anyone has ever sold a show in the 16th minute."

Noah Hawley, ABC's "The Unusuals"

  • "Someone once told me, "You want to look expensive," so I'll often wear a suit and try to be stylish. I've had studio execs tell me they really appreciate that I bothered to dress up because they're going to entrust you, if you're lucky, with $60 million to $80 million a year, and they want you to at least seem like a professional."

Eddy Kitsis & Adam Horowitz, ABC's "Once Upon A Time"

  • "We like to pitch in the morning. The death slot is 3 p.m. You never want to be the first up after lunch because you know what's happened? They're in a food coma."

Greg Berlanti, CW's "Arrow"

  • "You can't be discouraged by a no ... You only need one yes."

To read more of the producers' advice on The Hollywood Reporter, click here.

SEE ALSO: The 20 most powerful publicists in Hollywood >

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Here's How Much The Top 15 Media CEOs Spend On Private Jets [Ranked]

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murdoch iger katzenberg

We scoured the SEC filings of 15 biggest media companies, like News Corp. and Disney, to see which CEOs get the best perks in the form of private jets and other trinkets.

One of them gets more than $1 million per year in company jet time.

We've ranked our list according to the highest private jet packages per company.

Where available, we've also provided their car fees, club membership costs, and security budgets.

Left off the list is Sony's CEO Kazuo Hirai, since his sole company perk includes the company paying approximately $114,634 of his income taxes.

15. Charles Dolan (Cablevision): $24,531

The $24,531 is split between use of the company's air craft, free cable television, high-speed data, and voice services, home security, and use of the travel department. 

The Cablevision CEO's aircraft expense doesn't exceed $25,000 or 10% of his total perks.

Car service: $132,781

(Source: SEC)



14. Jeffrey Bewkes (Time Warner): $37,700

Car service: $7,576

Financial services: $26,325

(Source: SEC)



13. Jon Feltheimer (Lionsgate Films): $60,476

It's noted Feltheimer reimbursed the company approximately $60,000.

(Source: SEC)



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Read Bruce Springsteen's Open Letter Explaining Why He Supports Obama—Here's Today's Buzz

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  • Bruce Springsteen"Born in the USA" singer Bruce Springsteen, who is set to perform at Obama rallies in Ohio and Iowa on Thursday, posted an open letter on his website explaining why he supports Obama: "There is an ever increasing division of wealth in this country, with the benefits going more and more to the one percent. For me, President Obama is our best choice to begin to reverse this harmful development." To read the rest fo the letter, click here.

SEE ALSO: Here's how much the top 15 media CEOs spend on private jets >

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Well-Meaning Billionaires Like Megan Ellison May Ruin The Movie Business

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Megan Ellison

I was curious when I first heard that billionaire Megan Ellison, Larry Ellison’s 26-year-old daughter, had landed in Hollywood and was making movies like "The Master" with Paul Thomas Anderson and "Killing Them Softly" with Brad Pitt. Her aversion to the media made her only more intriguing.  

But it may be that well-meaning financiers like Ellison will ruin what is left of the independent movie business.

Ellison is gutsy and rich, as TheWrap pointed out when it put her on our list of “10 Producers Who Will Change Hollywood 2012.”

Also read: 10 Producers Who Will Change Hollywood in 2012

Her Annapurna Productions wrote a check for more than $35 million to finance “The Master,” Anderson’s sweeping, ambitious 70MM drama, inspired by the origins of Scientology.

And she shelled out $45 million to fully finance Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty” – a film whose budget started at the substantial $39 million and kept climbing into the stratosphere, an executive close to the producer said.

(Other sources close to the production put those figures at $40 million and $60 million, respectively.)

Still that’s $80 million out of pocket on production this year alone.

As Todd Cunningham pointed out in his story in TheWrap this week, “The Master” is winding down after five weeks in theaters and has taken in $14 million, not a bad outcome for the kind of movie it is, but a certain financial loss to the producer.

“The Master” should have been made for $10 million, or $12 million, much more in line with what movies like "Black Swan" (with a budget of $13 million) or “The Hurt Locker” ($15 million) cost.  

Also read: 'The Master' May Win Awards, But It's a Box Office Loser So Far

For all its Oscar glory, “The Hurt Locker” grossed $49 million worldwide, and just $17 million domestically. “Zero Dark Thirty” will have to make three times that to recoup its production and marketing costs. It, too, should probably have been made for under $20 million. Then it would have a fighting chance at a profit. 

Spending so much on these arthouse films almost guarantees they will be money losers, and that is bad for the movie business altogether.

An executive familiar with Ellison's thinking pointed out that she launched a foreign sales company with Mark Butan, Panorama, and raised more than $30 million in foreign presales for "Zero Dark Thirty."

Losing money may not be a problem for a young woman who inherited $2 billion on her 25th birthday. But Ellison’s largesse pumps up prices for indie filmmakers across the board and creates a track record of financial failure that is likely to deter other investors.

Also readThe Cool Kids in Cannes: A ‘Lawless’ Afterparty With Megan Ellison and Friends

Certainly no established movie studio is going to choose to make movies with these filmmakers at those prices, which also is not a healthy outcome for quality film.

You may argue -- as some of our commenters have -- that Megan Ellison can choose to spend her vast wealth as she chooses. And that’s certainly true.  If she wants to be a modern-day Medici, underwriting the cinematic artists of our time, we may all be the richer culturally for films we would not otherwise have had from the likes of Anderson.

But the overall effect on the landscape for quality movies is not a good one. Every big-ticket failure kills another great movie in its infancy.  

I met Ellison at a party in Cannes in May. She was smart, thoughtful and explained that her avoidance of the press was nothing personal, she just didn’t want to be in the limelight. But Megan, if you continue to finance movies at this level, you will get plenty of attention.

Through a spokeswoman, Ellison chose not to comment for this article. The producer was on the set of her next movie, Bennett Miller’s “Foxcatcher.” I bet it’ll be good.

And too expensive.

SEE ALSO: Why Hollywood is putting down the 3D glasses >

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Erotic Icon Sylvia Krystel, Star of 'Emmanuelle,' Dies At Age 60

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Sylvia Kristel Porn Star

Dutch actress Sylvia Kristel, famous for her starring role in the 1974 erotic French film "Emmanuelle," died Thursday at age 60 after a battle with cancer.

Kristel first rose to fame at age 22 with her debut film, "Emmanuelle," which told the story of the erotic adventures of a young woman in Asia.

"Emmanuelle," released two years after more hard-core film "Deep Throat," became one of the biggest French box-office hits ever and was one of the first erotic films to be shown in mainstream theaters — changing the censorship laws of the era.

The film was even shown in a cinema on the Champs-Elysees in Paris for 13 years.

Kristel went on to star in not quite as successful sequels of the film — "Emmanuelle 2" in 1975, "Goodbye Emmanuelle" in 1977 and "Emmanuelle 4" in 1984.

But the young actress had a hard time coping with her new-found fame and spent years fighting drug addiction.

Sylvia Kristel Porn star"She soon became typecast in erotic roles, and admitted to taking acting jobs in the 1980s simply to make money to feed her expensive cocaine habit," reports the AFP.

"I was a silent actress, a body. I belonged to dreams, to those that can't be broken," Kristel wrote in her 2006 autobiography "Naked."

Kristel, a smoker, was first diagnosed with throat cancer in 2002 and underwent a number of chemotherapy treatments.

On Thursday, the actress' agent announced "She died during the night during her sleep." Kristel had a stroke following treatment for throat cancer, reports AFP. She was also suffering from liver cancer.

"I don't expect much from the afterlife, I think that I know very well what pain is," Kristel said in a 2005 interview with Dutch newspaper Volkskrant.

"When I think of the end of my life, I think mainly: I didn't do nothing, but I could have done more."

The famous Dutch actress is survived by a son, Arthur, who she had in 1975 with her then-husband, Belgian author Hugo Claus—a man 24 years her senior whom she described as a "father lover."

SEE ALSO: 20-year-old 'Bad News Bears' star dies in car accident >

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Court Sides With Warner Bros. In Blockbuster Case Against 'Superman' Heirs' Rights To Character

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superman

Superman will stay with DC Comics. 

After an ongoing legal feud between the comic owner Warner Bros. and the living heirs of the Man of Steel's co-creators to reclaim copyright to the character, U.S. District Court Judge Otis Wright II found the heirs signed away their rights back in 1992. 

The heirs of Joe Shuster, who first illustrated Superman, attempted to terminate the contract made 20 years ago under a provision that allowed creators to reclaim rights to properties made before 1978. 

However, Wright found that because Shuster's sister Jean Peavy made a new agreement in '92 to accept higher annual payments of $25,000 (up from $5,000) from Warner Bros. per year voiding any right to copyright claim.  

Under the agreement made October 2, 1992, DC claimed it would cover Shuster's debts and pay Peavy $25,000 a year for the rest of her life. In return, any of Shuster's rights to the character would be turned over to DC, and Peavy could never claim a right to Superman again. 

From the ruling:  

"In sum, the Court finds that the 1992 Agreement, which represented the Shuster heirs’ opportunity to renegotiate the prior grants of Joe Shuster’s copyrights, superseded and replaced all prior grants of the Superman copyrights."

Warner Bros. will be releasing a new Superman reboot, "Man of Steel," June 14, 2013.

SEE ALSO: The extravagent airfare allowances of Bob Iger, Rupert Murdoch, and more >

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Rupert Murdoch Apologizes To Hugh Grant For Scumbag Remark On Twitter

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hugh grant two weeks notice

After criticizing celebrities this week on Twitter, News Corp. head Rupert Murdoch is apologizing to at least one of the celebs he called out. 

October 13, Murdoch went on the attack supposedly referring to actor Hugh Grant, Welsh singer Charlotte Church, and television presenter Jacqui Hames as scumbags on the social media site after a meeting between British Prime Minister, David Cameron and reps of Hacked Off, a lobby group for victims of phone hacking, to discuss media law reform in Britain.

Church and Hames were reported to be present at the meeting, while Grant is said to be another supporter of the group.

News Corp has been involved in the highly publicized scandal in which numerous individuals, including celebrities and sports stars claimed to have had their phones hacked by Murdoch's "News of the World" publication.

This morning, Murdoch issued an apology out to Grant via Twitter:

murdoch hugh grant tweet

Here are Murdoch's original tweets which caused a stir: 

murdoch tweetrupert murdoch tweet

SEE ALSO: How much News Corp spends on Murdoch's private jet per year >

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How 2 College Juniors Just Sold Their First Script To A Huge Production Company

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Annie Harnick, Nick Scion

Nick Cion and Annie Harnick, college juniors at Princeton and Harvard, respectively, have been friends since the seventh grade—and now their relationship is about to turn professional.

The two 20-year-olds have penned an untitled romantic comedy script aimed at a young audience that just sold to Sidney Kimmel Entertainment.

But ICM Partners, who repped the duo in the deal, had no idea the ages of the two young scribes when they initially expressed interest in the script—nor did they know about one of the writer's ties to their company.

"Esther Newberg, the powerhouse ICM publishing agent, asked her West Coast counterparts to read a script by the duo, called 'The Valedictorian.' She didn’t tell them who the writers were," reports Deadline. "And the agents swear that it wasn’t until after they sparked to the script and moved to sign the writers that Newberg admitted that Cion is her great nephew."

After the agents sent out the script, written together between college semesters, to 22 producers, they received 21 positive responses.

Harnick and Scion met with each of the producers, but ultimately decided to go with Sidney Kimmel Entertainment.

But it wasn't "The Valedictorian" the production company was interested in; instead, it was another romantic comedy idea the pair mentioned while in the meeting.

It is only the second pitch the company has bought in its history, according to Deadline. The price of the sale has not been disclosed.

SKE is responsible for "Adventureland," "Lars and the Real Girl" and "Kite Runner." They are also producing the upcoming "The Place Beyond the Pines" starring Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper and Eva Mendes.

The news of the 20-year-old's sale comes after a Hollywood assistant sold her industry parody tumblr to CBS earlier this month and 26-year-old "Girls" creator Lena Dunham just scored a $3.5 million book deal with Random House.

SEE ALSO: A Hollywood assistant just sold her industry parody Tumblr to CBS >

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Ted Turner Reveals His Biggest Business Regret With CNN

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Ted Turner

Turner Broadcasting founder Ted Turner appeared on "CBS This Morning" Thursday and told Charlie Rose that he wishes CNN had “a little less fluff" these days.

Turner lost control of CNN when Time Warner merged with AOL in 2010, which, he reveals, is his biggest regret in business.

"I didn't think I was selling it, I got maneuvered out," Turner explained during the interview. "At Time Warner, I had ten percent of the stock after the merger. But when we merged with AOL, I was diluted down to three percent."

Turner added that the merger was one of the worst days of his life.

As for who should take over as president of the news network when Jim Walton steps down at the end of this year, the media mogul says "I don't know, there's no point in me speculating ... I don't have an influence over CNN anymore."

But as for how to boost the network's recent record-low ratings, Turner says "I'd like to see more hard news and international news."

The media mogul also weighed in on the presidential race, revealing "I like Obama's policies better" because he's "better on the environment and really and truly wants to end the wars.”

Watch the candid interview below:

SEE ALSO: Jeff Zucker likely leaving 'Katie' as he eyes CNN president position >

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