John Daly, the British-born producer of 13 Oscar-winning movies including “Platoon” and “The Last Emperor” who helped launch the careers of many A-list directors and actors, has died. He was 71.
Daly, who was chairman of Film and Music Entertainment Inc., died Friday morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after struggling with cancer, said his daughter, Jenny Daly.
Over a career that spanned four decades, Daly helped to produce films that earned 13 Oscars for Best Picture and 21 Oscar nominations, as well as numerous Golden Globes and other awards.
Daly’s companies boosted the career starts of seminal directors such as Oliver Stone (“Platoon,” ”Salvador”), Bernardo Bertolucci (“The Last Emperor”) and Robert Altman (“Images”), as well as actors Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves and Julia Roberts.
“John was truly a giant in the industry who changed filmmaking for the better,” said Lawrence Lotman, chief financial officer and acting chief executive officer of Film and Music Entertainment Inc., in a statement.
Born in London, Daly joined with British actor David Hemmings in 1967 to form Hemdale, a company that managed rock bands such as Yes and Black Sabbath.
Hemdale later became a leading independent film producer and distributor in Great Britain with movies such as “Tommy,” according to a biography issued by Film and Music Entertainment Inc.
Under Daly’s stewardship, Hemdale produced more than 100 films that grossed more than $1.5 billion.
Since 2003, Daly had been at the helm of Film and Music Entertainment Inc. In 2004, he produced, co-wrote and directed “The Aryan Couple,” starring Martin Landau, which received awards at film festivals around the world.
He is survived by three sons, Michael, Julian and Timothy, and one daughter.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More