Now that we have a deal between Time Warner Cable and CBS, we can turn our Hollywood focus back on the movie industry.

Steve Julian: Business analyst Mark Lacter, would you agree it's been an up and down summer at the box office?

Mark Lacter: It's been a flaky summer for Hollywood, Steve.  On the plus side, ticket revenue was up more than 10 percent, and attendance increased around six-and-a-half percent compared with last year (this covers the first week of May through Labor Day weekend).  The problem is that the studios and their investors spent huge amounts of money to make a lot of these movies, and they had to compete in a very crowded market - 23 big-budget films came out this summer, which is way higher than normal, and some of them never had a chance.

Julian: Some examples?

Lacter: Probably the biggest clunker was "The Lone Ranger," which could end up losing close to $200 million for Disney.  Another big disappointment was "White House Down," which was distributed by Sony and brought in only $140 million, which for a big-budget action film is really bad.  Even a film like "Pacific Rim," which did well at the box office, might still end up in the red because the production and marketing costs were so high.

Julian: And summer, of course, is the time when studios want to bring out these monster releases -

Lacter: - right, what they call "tent poles" - and in that category, the biggest winner was Disney's "Iron Man," which took in $1.2 billion.  Also having a great summer was "Monsters University" from Pixar, with $700 million.  You also had "Despicable Me 2" and "Fast and Furious 6," which might not be our cup of tea (speak for yourself, it takes me back to my police car days!), but did very well for Universal.  Eight of the top 12 films this summer were sequels - and yet, sequels were no guarantee of success (a number of them really struggled).  And, some non-blockbuster films found considerable success: "Now You See Me" from Lionsgate only cost $75 million to make.

Julian: So, in some ways, Hollywood was its usual unpredictable self.

Lacter: That's right - and don't expect any big changes in strategy when it comes to big-budget films.  The prospect of having huge success with one of these blockbusters is just too great, but perhaps more important is the fact that many of these films are financed by multiple groups of investors, and so the risk is spread around.  It's not like the old days when a studio bankrolled the whole thing.

Julian: Though, sounds like it's bad news for the city of Los Angeles: the "Man of Steel" sequel is going to be shot in Michigan?

Lacter: Mayor Garcetti has actually declared a state of emergency because the city keeps losing business to other states that offer big tax incentives to films - what's known as runaway production.  The truth is that business has been lost over the years, but L.A. is hardly in any danger of losing its spot as the center of entertainment.  And, you can see that with the L.A. County Board of Supervisors signing off on Disney's plan for a TV and movie production facility near Santa Clarita that will add more than a half-million square feet of studio space.

Julian: And, Universal's expanding, too.

Lacter: Earlier this year, Universal was given the approval to build more production facilities, and Paramount is planning an expansion, as well.  Now, these are all very ambitious projects - not the sort of investments that would be made if these studios were looking elsewhere to make movies and TV shows.  And, of course, they mean jobs - actually, employment levels in the entertainment industry have remained fairly steady going back the last decade.

Julian: Are there states that are pulling back their incentives?

Lacter: Yes, the state of North Carolina, which has been especially aggressive in using tax incentives to draw in movies and television going back to the 80s, is phasing out the giveaways because legislators have decided that the economic benefits aren't worth the tax revenues being lost.  And, other states with tax incentive programs are pulling back as well - they're finding that the payback is very difficult to measure.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Michael Ballanger of GGM Advisory Inc. shares his thoughts on current movements in the market.

Ross Mixers are now offered with HMI and SCADA Packages for data entry and recipe selection from a color touchscreen. 

Providing one stop fabrication service to manufacturers throughout the food and beverage industries, Ross, a world leader in mixing and blending technology, designs and builds storage tanks, pressure vessels and reactors for virtually any process or application.

Designed for automatic ingredient additions and high-speed mixing, the pictured Solids/Liquid Injection Manifold (SLIM) Mixer is piped to a 400-gallon jacketed tank and mounted on a compact skid. 

Hauppauge, NY, January 27, 2014 – The Ross PreMax is a batch-style rotor/stator mixer designed for ultra-high shear conditions and vigorous flow, an ideal combination that supports high-speed production of fine dispersions and emulsions. 

Pistachios and cashews join almonds in new line of flavored nut blends.

Event Begins: Thursday, November 14, 2024 8:00pm
Location: Pierpont Commons
Organized By: Center for Campus Involvement CCI

Get ready for an evening packed with hands-on fun and good vibes! Join us for an exciting UMix featuring personalized license plates, Lego car building, free food from Great Greek, crafts, Mario Kart, and the Cars movie to top it all off. This is the perfect chance for everyone to connect, unwind, and get creative. Come for the fun, stay for the memories—see you there!

Perseus Proteomics Faces Mixed Financial Results  TipRanks

Cheapest price I could see on OzBargain. I suspect they're clearing out this kit for the 18-40mm lens kit.

Free lens on redemption here: https://blogs.panasonic.com.au/consumer/score-a-free-lumix-s…

Directed by Saturday Night Live's Kyle Mooney, "Y2K" envisions an actual millennium bug on the rampage. Trailer.

L.A-based Nigerian-American rapper/songwriter Quinja closes out the year with the Amapiano remix of her single "West Jewel." The original version was released in late 2023  before her debut project and…

Shares are mixed in Asia after a lackluster finish on Wall Street following a report showing an uptick in inflation in the U.S. last month.

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Thursday after the U.S. October consumer price index reading reinforced expectations that the Fed would cuts rates again in December. The CPI came in line with expectations, accelerating slightly to an annual inflation rate of 2.6%. Core CPI, which straps out…

Inflation accelerated slightly for the month of October, sparking concern the Fed could pause its interest rate-cutting cycle in January.

KARACHI: The stock market bounced back on Wednesday as investors indulged in value-hunting, helping the benchmark KSE 100 index partially recover overnight losses.

Ali Najib, Head of Sales at Insight Securities, attributed the market’s positive performance to continued buying activity from high-net-worth individuals and mutual funds, supported by improvements on the macroeconomic front, a stable rupee, and a decline in bond market yields.

In early trade, the benchmark KSE-100 index lost 281.49 points to 92,943.59 but rebounded on renewed buying interest, adding 579.02 points to hit an all-time high at 93,803.59 intraday. How­ever, the index settled at 93,355.43 with a trimmed gain of 130.86 points or 0.14pc day-on-day.

Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said stocks showed recovery led by second and third-tier scrips on strong valuations.

He added that upbeat data on car sales surging 112pc year-on-year in October and the FBR assurance to IMF for dropping contingency measures on revenue, reversing fears about mini-budget were other factors that supported the positive performance at PSX.

Topline Securities Ltd said the market exhibited a consolidation phase, with the index reaching a peak of 93,804 and dipping to a low of 92,943.

The index was boosted by positive contributions from Mari Petroleum, Lucky Cement, The Searle, Engro Corporation, and POL, which collectively added 461 points. Conv­ersely, Oil and Gas Dev­elop­ment Company, Fauji Fertiliser, and Meezan Bank experienced some profit-taking, resulting in a combined loss of 213 points to the index.

The trading volume was up 1.78pc to 807.06m shares, and its value by 2.92pc to Rs31.68.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included WorldCall Tele­com (43.29m shares), Waves Home Appliances (33.20m shares), Pakistan Refinery (31.52m shares), K-Electric (27.45m shares) and Pak Elektron (26.99m shares).

The shares registering the most significant incre­ases in their prices in absolute terms were Rafhan Maize (Rs64.96), Philip Morris (Rs38.17), Mari Pet­ro­leum (Rs30.13), Lucky Cement (Rs28.64) and Packages Ltd (Rs28.37).

Foreigners remained net sellers as they offloaded shares worth $5.01m.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

Select YouTube creators can now produce their own remixes of existing songs. YouTube has announced a new feature for its AI-powered Dream Track tool that allows individuals to "restyle" a song and create a 30-second tune to use in a Short. 

Creators in the experiment group for this feature can choose from eligible songs and then give an explanation to AI about how they want to remix it. These changes could focus on giving the song a different genre or mood — whatever twist they're imagining. From there a new song gets produced "that reimagines the music while maintaining the essence of the original song’s vocals and lyrics," YouTube's announcement states. "These restyled soundtracks will have clear attribution to the original song through the Short itself and the Shorts audio pivot page, and will also clearly indicate that the track was restyled with AI."

YouTube rolled out Dream Track in November 2023, powered by Google DeepMind's Lyria model. It allowed a select group of US creators to make songs using the AI-generated voices of participating artists. The feature included a deal with Universal Music Group and partnerships with a slew of musicians, including John Legend, Charli XCX and Troye Sivan. It has expanded its availability to all US creators in the year since. 

A number of events, including multiple concerts by Olivia Rodrigo and Coldplay, lifted Melbourne hotel performance in October, according to preliminary data from CoStar. CoStar is a leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information, and analytics in the property markets.

Greaves Cotton reported consolidated revenue of ₹705 crore for Q2 FY25, with standalone revenue growing by 2 per cent to ₹468 crore

It was a mixed day on the beach for the under 23 teams from Bermuda as they continued competing in the 2024 NORCECA beach volleyball tour in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The Bermuda men’s team of Alexander Southern and Braedon Cooke, and the women’s pairing of Kaylee Trott and Hailey Trott took to the courts […]

Mixed majors bowling league action at the Warwick Lanes saw the Activators went down 18 – 2 to Spare Change, Fight Back defeated the Warriors 13 – 7, while the MiniMax Forwarders defeated the Movers “N” Shakers 17 – 3, and the Mix Ups defeated the Unpredictable 13 – 7. Women’s Scratch Game Tyrika Caisey […]

Mixed majors bowling league action at the Warwick Lanes saw fifth placed Fight Back defeat seventh placed Activators 17 – 3, sixth placed Warriors defeat the league leaders Spare Change 12 – 8, while the eighth placed Movers “N” Shakers lost 14 – 6 to third place Unpredictable, and second placed MiniMax Forwarders went down […]

Mixed reality gaming may be the motivation kids need to stay active, according to a new study from the University of Georgia.

Excite UK - Add to the Mix - Google Alert results for: "Simply UK Gadgets" - A Google Alert feed ... 2. Simply Uk Gadgets. I'm a genius, I'm already using the MIX! ...

Ibiza Experience Compilation mixed by Gabry Ribetti

Natural disasters can occur but you can help by repairing the damage caused.

Add variety to your yoga routine to keep you motivated and get the most benefit from each yoga workout.

The FZ20 gives you the freedom to shoot the way you want. Manually adjust the focus with the focus ring to create a particular effect.

Catégorie - FEMMES » Genre - Danse

The Football Field next to the Belize Jungle Dome is now ready for action. If you are a Football (Soccer) Coach/Organization looking for a training program with a combined adventure vacation for your school/college or team contact us. 

Our team of Belizean Tour Guides and Ex-Professional Footballer can provide 2 Football training sessions a day + a daily trip to the Temples, Caves, Zoo, Horseback riding or any other of the local attractions. It will be a trip your group will never forget.

Contact us at belizeadventures1@gmail.com or call (Belize) 651 9929 for more information.

Can't settle on a security cam? Arlo's latest Essential camera does it all for under $100.

Het vast-mobiel convergentieverhaal krijgt vorm in de VS met de aankondiging van de nieuwe breedbandstrategie van Verizon, terwijl AT&T en T-Mobile stappen zetten op de glasvezelmarkt. Op de jaarlijkse producttop van Qualcomm heeft de chipmaker hoge verwachtingen van zijn Oryon CPU, ondanks tegenstand van Arm...

The menus delve into different aspects of history — the heritage of a city, of a place, ingredients that have stood the test of time, and even, classic drinks

The girls discuss Cinderella and the various themes associated with her stories. This includes friends as helpers, the line between truth and lies, and the power of resilience in the face of adversity. All this, plus what they're cooking!

Tiernan Lynch says he has "mixed emotions" after a late goal condemned Larne to a 2-1 defeat at home to St Gallen in the Uefa Conference League.

In Italy, the reimbursement provided to healthcare organisations for medical and surgical procedures is based on the diagnosis related group weight (DRGW), which is an increasing function of the complexity of the procedures. This makes the reimbursement an upper unlimited function. This model does not include the relation of the volume with the complexity. The paper proposes a mathematical model for the optimisation of the reimbursement by determining the optimal mix of volume/procedure, considering the relation volume/complexity and DRGW/complexity. The decreasing, linear, and increasing returns to scale have been defined, and the optimal solution found. The comparison of the model with the traditional approach shows that the proposed model helps the healthcare system to discern the quantity of the reimbursement to provide to health organisations, while the traditional approach, neglecting the relation between the volume and the complexity, can result in an overestimation of the reimbursement.

KUALA LUMPUR: Building and infrastructure construction services provider TCS Group Holdings Bhd (TGB), as the main contractor via its wholly-owned subsidiary, TCS Construction Sdn Bhd (TCSB), for the J Satine mixed development project, has clarified the recent incident involving cracks in the building.

TGB managing director Datuk Ir Tee Chai Seng expressed concern about the incident and said the company is working closely with the developer and consultants to determine the root cause.

“Thankfully, there were no casualties as a result of the incident. We want to reiterate that health and safety have always been paramount in our projects.

“We want to assure all stakeholders that we have adhered strictly to all health and safety standards and protocols throughout the construction process,“ he said in a statement.

Tee said the group is cooperating fully with the relevant authorities to investigate the cause of the incident.

“Initial findings suggest that we do not cause the building cracks.

“For all our projects, we are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all involved and to deliver projects that meet the highest standards of quality and integrity,” Tee added.

He urged the cooperation from the public to stop sharing any unauthorised videos or images and speculating any unverified information related to this project development.

Our team riders produced a lot instagram content in spring. You can check our Instagram team mix spring video now on the kunstform Youtube channel. New instagram team mix video will dropping soon!

Enjoy the videos, your kunstform BMX Shop Team!



Video: Robin Kachfi



Subscribe our youtube channel: https://www.youtube/kunstformbmxshop

Our best of instagram summer team mix video just went online. Watch the best instagram clips of Felix Prangenberg, Felix Donat, Miguel Smajli, Robin Kachfi, Artur Meister and many more.

Enjoy the video, your kunstform BMX Shop Team!



Video: Robin Kachfi



subscribe to our youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/kunstformbmxshop

Sika has broken ground on a 29,000-square-foot admixture production plant, which is expected to be in operation in late-2025.