More brawl demand movies presages future battles

Hollywood is picking fights alongside his all-round first time in his stronghold of work of writers in 2007. And oddly, Christopher J. Dodd, once a powerful senator from Connecticut and now spokesman for the movie studios 'chief', was mainly the fray.

The shot is between studios and theater owners on a plan to slip a few movies into homes via video on demand shortly after their arrival in theaters. For Mr. Dodd, the new president of the Motion Picture Association of America is the industry crisis since it firstbegan in late March.

"I'm the new kid on the block," Mr. Dodd said in a telephone interview on Friday, acknowledging that both his relative inexperience and the need to stay away from business decisions made by the individual studios had held away from the battle. "Each company has their own opinion."

Studios, exhibitors and filmmakers argue about the future of the company, and if people in the coming years will be more inclined to watch movies in theaters or in home settings increasingly sophisticated imitating the quality, immediacy and, perhaps, cost of the theatrical experience today.

Last week, four studios - Sony Pictures Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures and Warner Brothers - took the first step in their arrangement with DirecTV to release films in two months after their theatrical release.

The first premium offering at the request came Thursday as Sony DirecTV offered "Just Go With It" with Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, for $ 30. Two dozen filmmakers, including James Cameron and Peter Jackson retaliated with an open letter criticizing the experiment as a threat to the theaters.

The Allies fight separate who recently joined to spend billions of dollars to upgrade the theaters to digital projection and 3-D, and used their combined political mightto defeat a proposed trade in financial exchange based on revenue at the box Office.

The rift highlights how little Mr. Dodd or someone else can do to mitigate the impact in a film company where the biggest challenges are not labor disputes or public political battles have been fought by State Hollywood past as MCA President R. Lew Wasserman or long service MPAA chief Jack Valenti.

Instead, the biggest challenges are philosophical and include choice of business largely outside the scope of a professional association, which is limited by antitrust law from interfering in the decisions that are truly the business rather than public policy - and therefore uncharacteristic restraint Mr. Dodd. In fact, the industry's difficulties are likely to become more severe than the companies believe that their film path to a digital future that is just beginning to unfold.

"What really happensis that the architecture industry is changing," said Jeff Berg, chairman of the agency International Creative Management.

Speaking by telephone last week, Mr. Berg predicted waves of increasingly rapid changes that have joined the film industry, as companies struggle to replace the loss of revenue DVDs with an income of two theaters digitally enhanced and new approaches, such as so-called digital vaults, allowing viewers to store movies they paid for a space pirate in the virtual test can see again.

"There is a great story that will be very disruptive," said Berg.

The violent response by the leaders of great movie channels such as Cinemark, AMC and Regal to step studios relatively cautious with the application is much more about setting up a line for future battles that it is losing the money from an Adam Sandler comedy that has left most of the week there are theaters.

"I have not felt this level of concern about a practice studio in our membership," said John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners, who helped organize protest letter filmmakers (in accordance to the association that may tosome extent opposed to the plan without violating antitrust laws that have hampered the MPAA).

Mr. Fithian, also speaking last week, said theater owners were particularly shocked at how they learned of the program on demand: when they met last month at the convention in Las Vegas movie CinemaCon , , shortly after Mr. Dodd issued a enthusiasm for expressing address cinematic experience. The report was published on the website of the publication Variety.

Add U.S. network to cover the British royal wedding

In November, when the "save the date" was issued for Prince William and Kate Middleton wedding, Elena Nachmanoff immediately booked a trip to London. She went shopping - for expert fees.

Ms. Nachmanoff, the executive incharge of talent for NBC News, knew what she wanted: an eminent British historian, a tabloid publisher with a deep knowledge of the royal family, a person who played a role in marriage Princess Diana 30 years ago. And she knew that other television networks wanted the same thing.

Because each network will be sharing the same camera feeds on the royal wedding on Friday morning, they attended so hard to register on the talent of the air in an attempt to make their hours and hours (and hours) coverage stand out.

The most sought after experts have been signed for long-term contracts worth more than $ 100,000 and some even have deals with several outlets. The author of a book on the couple, Katie Nicholl has been an escalation,it is simultaneously working for ABC News, CNN "Piers Morgan Tonight" and the entertainment magazine "Extra."

The networks have opened their wallets in part by necessity: there is a long history in Britain of people being paid for interviews, and give future short and long term experts is one way to meet this expectation . . Fortunately, there is no shortage of talent to choose from in England, where the declaration, gossip and give advice on the Royal Family is a fully-fledged industry.

But costs have quickly added to network news divisions, some are still missing after years of cutbacks. After selling special advertising packages for the event, the networks are betting viewers are as interested in marriage than their newscasters and producers are obviously.

Once the wedding date has been set up, you'd be shocked by the number of emails we've received from agents pitching their clients as expert fees because they once saw Prince William, or Once met Kate Middleton, or have had dinner in the same restaurant, "said Rob Silverstein, executive producer of" Access Hollywood, "which moves to London for a week.

Hollywood agencies, including WME, CAA and ICM not only experts prepared for the wedding day,they sold that are actually bundles of experts for television documentaries that lead to the ceremony.

"As long as you have an English accent," joked Mr. Silverstein, "you will work."

The locations have not stopped, "said Brent Zacky, Vice President of TLC," says one New York agent who launched a "marriage expert" to him last week. "There are last-minute jockeying is passes, he says, even for occasional appearances.

The wars of booking guests "were fierce," said Piers Morgan, the CNN.

But for most, each network plans are in place. Anchors with A-list, there will be British (Cat Deeley host reality show will be on CNN), celebrities (Goldie Hawn will be on ABC's "The View") and journalists who covered the wedding of Princess Diana 1981 (the former "Good Morning America" ​​co-host Joan Lunden will be on Fox News).

TLC hired Amanda Byram, a native of Ireland who now lives in Britain and TV shows it hosts, because "it is important to have a local voice alongside our American voices," said Zacky, echoing executives from other networks.

The executives said in interviews they doubted experts in particularcan influence the ratings on the wedding day.

"For most, it is a party you do not see much in life, youjust let it speak for itself," said Bill Shine, executive vice president at Fox News. But there are still hours of airtime to fill before and after the ceremony.

"The palace said that friends can nottalk, so we must rely on our knowledge, the knowledge of our correspondents and experts in different fields," said Barbara Walters, who will co-anchor with Diane Sawyer on ABC. Friday afternoon, Ms. Walters has her bags for London, since many programs and new U.S. shows will be in how royalties from Monday.

After his first trip in December, Ms. Nachmanoff was back in London in late February to strengthen the NBC offerings with experts like Camilla Tominey, the publisher charges for the Daily Express, and Andrew Roberts of the historian.

Perhaps the biggest coup for NBC was the signing of a long term contract with Ben Fogle, a British TV host who traveled to Africa with Prince William last year and who will be attending the wedding. (It will be pressed to a position of the camera outside Westminster Abbey to tell its presence thereafter.) NBC called Mr. Fogle a "special envoy" and says he will remain at least through the Olympics Summer in London next year.

Nobody commented on the costs of all this expertise, citing confidentiality, but privately, some officials and executives said appearance fees thousand dollars for a segment were much more frequent than salaries to six figures "special envoys" have received.

ABC largest reservation was probably Mrs. Nicholl, whose book "William and Harry: Behind the walls of the palace" was published a week before the wedding date was announced. As Mr. Fogle, Ms. Nicholl was considered a " special envoy. "

Other contributors include ABC Tina Brown's Daily Beast and Newsweek editor, who has a long term contract with "Good Morning America," one of the maids of honor of Princess Diana, India Hicks, and former press secretary of Prince William, Colleen Harris.

CBS, spending less than NBC or ABC to cover the wedding, unless of contributors on its payroll. His "Royal contributor," top Victoria Arbiter, who was raised in Britain but now lives in New York, also deals with CTV in Canada and Channel 7 in Australia.

Among other experts working for several retail outlets is the wife of Mr. Morgan, Celia Walden, who writes for the Daily Telegraph. She made an appearance on NBC and "Extra" in the United States as well as ITN in Britain.

Mr. Morgan, who is British, said he wants his guests on "Tonight, Piers Morgan," her 9 pm show on CNN, are personal stories and anecdotes. He said he would be recalling a private lunch he had with Princess Diana and Prince William, when Prince was 13. Among the reservations, he said, "It's less about a list-faces. It is "Do they know the royal family or not? "

closest friends of the royal couple, no doubt, will be at the wedding, not the media multistage complex near Buckingham Palace.

And that's partly why producers like Mr. Silverstein, of "Access Hollywood" playing with the case - and with experts designated crowded on television to talk about it. In a nod to Harry Potter, Mr. Silverstein has named his house expert, Neil Sean, a "royal magician."

"There are witches everywhere Royal," said Mr. Silverstein. "They really materialize anywhere you want."