The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that it has received a $7 million gift from Dolby Laboratories to provide cutting-edge audiovisual technology in the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ movie theaters. Additionally, the Dolby family has made a $5 million gift to the Academy Museum’s capital campaign. In recognition of this gift, the Academy will name the Museum’s rooftop terrace the Dolby Family Terrace.
“Dolby Laboratories, founded nearly 50 years ago by Ray Dolby, continues to enhance and transform how we experience the movies,” said Bob Iger, who is chairing the Academy Museum’s capital campaign along with co-chairs Annette Bening and Tom Hanks. “These generous gifts will help to ensure that the world will continue to experience the magic of cinema through the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.”
“My husband Ray was passionate about elevating the sound of entertainment and his company’s contributions to cinema sound are well known,” noted Dagmar Dolby. “My sons, Tom and David, and I are honored to continue this legacy by supporting this important cultural project.” Kevin Yeaman, president and CEO of Dolby Laboratories, added, “Dolby Laboratories shares the Academy’s commitment to presenting films in a state-of-the-art environment that offers the best in sight and sound. We look forward to collaborating on the world’s premier movie museum with the Academy.”
Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali, the Academy Museum will be located next to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in the historic Wilshire May Company building. Scheduled to open in 2017, the Academy Museum will contain more than 290,000 square feet of state-of-the-art galleries, exhibition spaces, theaters, educational areas, and special event spaces.
“The Academy Museum will be able to provide visitors with an unmatched cinematic experience, thanks to the generosity of Dolby Laboratories and the Dolby family,” said Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs.
The Academy launched the Museum’s capital campaign in 2012 and has already secured $225 million in pledges from more than 1,000 individual donors globally.
“The generosity of Dolby Laboratories and the Dolby family will help us create an unforgettable experience for Museum visitors,” said Dawn Hudson, the Academy’s CEO. “Our long-standing partnership with Dolby reflects our joint commitment to transform and promote the art of moviemaking.”
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More