December 7, 2012
Academy Award maker plans layoffs in Chicago
CHICAGO (AP) – The Chicago company that makes the familiar gold-plated Oscar statues is laying off almost 100 employees as it’s bought by a Canadian firm. But some workers could be rehired.
R.S. Owens & Co. Inc. said this week in a notice to the Illinois Department of Commerce that it will lay off 95 workers on Dec. 17, when it is purchased by St. Regis Crystal of Canada. The business-data website Hoovers says R.S. Owens has about 250 employees.
R.S. Owens President Scott Siegel said many employees have applied to work for the new company but he isn’t sure how many will be hired.
Oscar and Emmy statues will still be made in Chicago.
R.S. Owens has been manufacturing Oscar statues for about 30 years.
TV helicopter news coverage pioneer dies in Calif.
CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) – The Los Angeles television engineer who won Emmy Awards for creating helicopter news coverage in 1958 has died in Southern California at 92.
The family of John D. Silva tells the Los Angeles Times that he died Nov. 27 of pneumonia complications in Camarillo.
Silva was the chief engineer for KTLA-TV when he outfitted a rented Bell helicopter with a TV camera to create a flying TV studio. The station broadcast live aerial coverage of major news events, including earthquakes, fires and freeway calamities.
Silva had to persuade KTLA executives to spend $40,000 on broadcast equipment that might not have worked. Then, he had to get a ton of TV equipment down to 368 pounds so the helicopter could lift off the ground.
Amazon launches Kindle content service for kidsBy Barbara Ortutay, Technology Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is launching a subscription service for children’s games, videos and books aimed at getting more kids to use its Kindle Fire tablet devices.
Amazon.com Inc. announced Wednesday that the Kindle FreeTime Unlimited service will be available in the next few weeks as part of an automatic software update.
Amazon said subscribers will have access to “thousands” of pieces of content, though the company did not give a specific number. Kids will be able to watch, play and read any of the content available to them as many times as they want. Parents can set time limits, however.
The service, aimed at kids aged 3 to 8, will cost $4.99 per month for one child. It’ll cost $2.99 per child for members of Amazon Prime, the company’s premium shipping service. Amazon Prime costs $79 per year for free shipping of merchandise purchased in the company’s online store.
Family plans for up to six kids will cost $9.99 per month and $6.99 for Prime members.
The Kindle already allows for parental controls through its FreeTime service. Parents can set up profiles for up to six children and add time limits to control how long kids can spend reading, watching videos or using the Kindle altogether. With the content subscription service, kids can browse age-appropriate videos, games and books and pick what they want to see. They won’t be shown ads and will be prevented from accessing the Web or social media. Kids also won’t be able to make payments within applications.
Amazon, which is based in Seattle, is launching the service as competition heats up in the tablet market among Apple, Barnes & Noble, Microsoft and Samsung. Amazon’s strategy is to offer the Kindle at a relatively low price and make money selling the content.
Offering a subscription service aimed at kids helps set the Kindle apart from its many competitors.
“We hope that our devices are really, really attractive for families,” said Peter Larsen, vice president of Amazon’s Kindle business.
Samsung promotes chairman’s son to vice chairmanBy Youkyung Lee, Business Writer
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung Electronics Co. promoted its chairman’s only son to vice chairman, putting the 44-year-old closer to the top leadership position at the world’s largest maker of memory chips, mobile phones and TVs.
Samsung, South Korea’s largest industrial conglomerate, announced Jay Y. Lee’s promotion to vice chairman just two years after he was named president. He assumes his new post Wednesday.
Samsung said in a statement that Lee, who was also chief operating officer, had contributed to the growth of its smartphone and TV businesses.
Lee, a graduate of Seoul National University of Korea and Keio University of Japan, is a grandson of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull and the oldest child of current chairman Lee Kun-hee, South Korea’s wealthiest man.
Lee’s work has involved building Samsung’s relationships with suppliers and other companies it does business with while his reclusive 70-year-old father focused on mapping out big picture strategy for the group.
The promotion was surprising because candidates in South Korea’s Dec. 19 presidential election have been stepping up their pledges to curb the power of chaebol, the family-controlled conglomerates that operate a wide range of businesses from retailing to consumer electronics and heavy industries.
In South Korea, founding families of chaebol, such as Lee of Samsung and Chung of Hyundai, wield great power within their companies even though they hold only a minority stake in the group.
Some credit family ownership for enabling fast and bold decision making while others criticize conglomerates for putting too much emphasis on clan connections, stifling innovation and maximizing profit for the family rather than shareholders.
The promotion of the younger Lee comes as Samsung’s chairman faces civil lawsuits filed by his older brother and two other family members who are claiming a bigger inheritance from the estate of the Samsung founder.
The inheritance battle might prevent Lee Kun-hee from transferring shareholdings that allow control over Samsung to his son. The first court ruling is expected next year.
The promotion of Lee was part of Samsung’s annual executive reshuffle. Samsung also promoted vice presidents of mobile phone operations, Lee Don-joo and Hong Won-pyo, to presidents, recognizing the company’s growth in smartphones with the Galaxy brand.
Yahoo buys more mobile expertise in latest deal
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yahoo has bought another Silicon Valley mobile startup as CEO Marissa Mayer tries to create more compelling products for smartphones and tablet computers.
Tuesday’s acquisition of OnTheAir follows Yahoo’s recent purchase of a mobile startup called Stamped. In both cases, Yahoo was drawn more by the engineering talent working at the startups than the services that they have been offering.
Yahoo Inc., which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., didn’t disclose how much it paid for OnTheAir, which is based in San Francisco.
The service enables users to hold online video chats in a talk-show format. Yahoo didn’t say whether it intends to continue OnTheAir’s service.
Yahoo is in the process of closing Stamped’s service just six weeks after announcing that acquisition so the engineers picked up in that deal can focus on other projects. Five of the 11 Stamped employees used to work for Google Inc., where Mayer was a top executive before Yahoo lured her away to become its CEO in mid-July.
One of OnTheAir’s employees, Daniel Hopkins, also used to work at Google. The resumes of the four other OnTheAir workers being scooped up by Yahoo list stints at Apple Inc. and instant messaging service Meebo.
“Hiring the most talented mobile product thinkers and engineers is a big priority for us moving forward,” Adam Cahan, Yahoo’s senior vice president of emerging products and technology, said in a statement.
Mayer has said she believes half of Yahoo’s engineering talent must eventually consist of mobile computing specialists.
Google gives $23M to spur innovation in charitiesBy Brett Zongker
WASHINGTON (AP) — Google is announcing $23 million in grants to spur innovation among charities and increase education for girls and minority students in science and technology.
Seven nonprofits will win the first Google Global Impact Awards on Tuesday.
Charity: Water receives $5 million to use water-monitoring technology at 4,000 wells across Africa.
Donorschoose.org receives $5 million to create 500 new Advanced Placement science and math classes with the College Board for underrepresented students.
The World Wildlife Fund receives $5 million to adapt sensors and animal tagging technology to detect and deter poaching.
The Smithsonian’s Barcode of Life project gets $3 million to use DNA barcoding to protect endangered species.
Additional grantees include GiveDirectly, Equal Opportunity Schools and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. Google says innovation is underfunded among nonprofits.+
Regulators clear Disney purchase of Lucasfilm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal antitrust regulators have cleared Disney’s $4 billion deal to buy Lucasfilm, the filmmaking empire behind the “Star Wars” franchise.
Notice of the clearance was issued Tuesday.
Representatives for The Walt Disney Co. and Lucasfilm Ltd. did not immediately respond to requests for comment. When the deal was announced in October, no formal closing date was announced.
The purchase stoked “Star Wars” fans because along with the surprise announcement, Disney said it would make sequels to the six-part series with plans to release the first in the next trilogy, Episode 7, in 2015.
Lucasfilm founder George Lucas is to receive about half of the $4.05 billion purchase price in cash and half in newly issued Disney shares. He has said he’d donate much of it to charity.
Michael Richards signed to TV Land sitcom pilot
NEW YORK (AP) — TV Land says it has cast “Seinfeld” star Michael Richards in a pilot for a prospective new sitcom.
The series, “Giant Baby,” also would feature fellow “Cheers” alums Kirstie Alley and Rhea Perlman.
TV Land said Tuesday the pilot will be taped next week.
“Giant Baby” focuses on Broadway star Maddie Banks, played by Alley. Richards plays her limo driver while Perlman plays her assistant.
This would be Richards’ first regular series role since his short-lived NBC sitcom aired in 2000. Before that, he played Jerry Seinfeld’s kookie neighbor Cosmo Kramer on the wildly popular “Seinfeld” series.
In the meantime, Richards performed as a standup comedian. He lost his temper while being heckled at a club in 2006 and was caught on tape shouting the N-word. He later apologized.
15 Documentary Features In Running for OscarBEVERLY HILLS, Calif.–The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 85th Academy Awards๏ฟฝ. One hundred twenty-six pictures had originally qualified in the category.
The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:
“Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry,” Never Sorry LLC
“Bully,” The Bully Project LLC
“Chasing Ice,” Exposure
“Detropia,” Loki Films
“Ethel,” Moxie Firecracker Films
“5 Broken Cameras,” Guy DVD Films
“The Gatekeepers,” Les Films du Poisson, Dror Moreh Productions, Cinephil
“The House I Live In,” Charlotte Street Films, LLC
“How to Survive a Plague,” How to Survive a Plague LLC
“The Imposter,” Imposter Pictures Ltd.
“The Invisible War,” Chain Camera Pictures
“Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God,” Jigsaw Productions in association with Wider Film Projects and Below the Radar Films
“Searching for Sugar Man,” Red Box Films
“This Is Not a Film,” Wide Management
“The Waiting Room,” Open’hood, Inc.
The Documentary Branch viewed the eligible documentaries for the preliminary round of voting. Documentary Branch members will now select the five nominees from among the 15 titles on the shortlist.
The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 10, 2013, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center๏ฟฝ, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.
‘Guardians,’ ‘Ralph,’ ‘Brave’ lead Annie Awards
LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Rise of the Guardians,” ”Wreck-It Ralph,” ”Brave” and “Frankenweenie” are among the nominees for best animated feature at the 40th annual Annie Awards.
Other best-picture nominees announced Monday are “ParaNorman,” ”Hotel Transylvania,” ”The Pirates! Band of Misfits” and “The Rabbi’s Cat.”
The Annie Awards recognize animated productions in 30 categories.
“Rise of the Guardians,” ”Brave” and “Wreck-It Ralph” each have 10 bids. “Hotel Transylvania” and “ParaNorman” earned eight nods apiece. “Frankenweenie” has six; “The Pirates!” has five and “The Rabbi’s Cat” has two.
The awards will be presented Feb. 2 at UCLA’s Royce Hall.
Sony introduces ultra-high-definition video playerBy Derrik J. Lang, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — “The Amazing Spiderman,” ”Taxi Driver” and “The Karate Kid” are getting some real resolution.
The new, restored and rebooted films from Sony Pictures are among the content coming pre-loaded on a video player bundled with Sony’s first ultra-high-definition television, a massive 84-inch set that retails for $24,999.99 and features nearly four times the resolution of typical high-definition TVs.
“People ask the question, ‘Do I need to get a bigger house to fit an 84-inch TV?'” said Chris Cookson, president of Sony Pictures Technologies. “The answer is that 25 inches was right for standard definition; 50 inches was right for high-def; and 84 inches is right now that we’re going ultra-high-def.”
Ultra HD is widely regarded as the next evolution in TV technology, but there’s currently a lack of content that takes advantage of the vast resolution, though Ultra HD sets are equipped to upscale lower resolution video. Sony Corp. is hoping to overcome that pitfall that with this new player.
The Japanese electronics giant debuted the hard-disc server — hidden in a cabinet underneath the behemoth television — at a posh invite-only party Thursday at a private mansion in Santa Monica that featured a performance by John Legend.
The video player will include 4K content such as short films, concerts and 10 feature-length movies, including “The Other Guys,” ”Salt” and “The Bridge on the River Kwai.”
Sony’s TV will also come with an Xperia Tablet S, which can be used as a touchscreen remote control.
“We know there are limitations with broadband and the typical size of a movie that’s in 4K,” said Phil Molyneux, chief operating officer of Sony Electronics. “I think this is an extremely good first step to ensure that consumers can have and enjoy the 4K experience in their home.”
The electronics industry has dubbed the new flat-panel displays “Ultra HD,” while Sony specifically refers to it as “4K” because it features nearly 4,000 pixels, compared to the 1,080 pixels found in “1080p” sets. Molyneux said Sony has been pushing for 4K since 2005, when the company put 4K projectors in movie theaters. Last year, Sony introduced a 4K home projector, and offered a 4K upscaling Blu-ray player earlier this year.
Molyneux teased that additional 4K content for the new player would be sent to owners on Blu-ray discs.
“It’s a first step,” added Molyneux. “If we’ve had a vision since 2005, and we’ve been arming and equipping for 4K content creation, I think it’s fair to speculate that we’re also thinking about other ways to get 4K content to consumers in their home.”
LG Electronics offers a similar 84-inch Ultra HD TV. It retails for $19,999.99.
Animal Logic Named Arts & Entertainment Exporter of the Year
SYDNEY, Australia–Digital production and visual effects studio Animal Logic won the country’s top entertainment and arts export honors at the 50th Australian Export Awards National Ceremony in Canberra last week.
The Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) in association with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) presented the Australia Network Arts and Entertainment Exporter of the Year Award, which is given for outstanding export achievement across all cultural industries including the arts, performing arts, electronic and on-line entertainment.
Animal Logic was given the accolade for its growing success as an independent Australian producer of digital entertainment for global markets. The company, which was established in 1991 has been responsible for creating iconic imagery in films like The Matrix, Moulin Rouge, House of Flying Daggers, Happy Feet, 300, LEGO๏ฟฝ Star Wars๏ฟฝ: The Padawan Menace® as well as award winning international advertising campaigns.
Animal Logic CEO Zareh Nalbandian said, “This award is a great credit to the incredible technical and creative talent and artistry at Animal Logic. Everyone from our producers to our CTO is committed to innovation, efficiency and the pursuit of excellence which is the fundamental underpinning of our success.”
