September 20, 2013
Cranston books a post-‘Breaking Bad’ movie roleNEW YORK (AP) — Bryan Cranston will star as blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo in a film that’s to be his first after wrapping “Breaking Bad.”
A publicist for Cranston confirmed the casting Thursday. The film, “Trumbo,” will be directed by “Meet the Parents” filmmaker Jay Roach from a script by John McNamara.
As a member of the Communist Party, Trumbo was among the Hollywood 10: screenwriters and directors blacklisted in 1947 after refusing to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Trumbo won two Oscars, one for the script to “The Brave One,” written under the name Robert Rich, and another awarded posthumously for “Roman Holiday.”
Cranston also stars in the upcoming “Godzilla,” due out in May.
The 57-year-old actor is nominated for an Emmy for his performance in “Breaking Bad” at Sunday’s awards.
Google releases digital wallet app for iPhones
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is bringing its digital wallet to the iPhone in its latest attempt to upstage Apple on its own popular device.
Thursday’s release of the Google Wallet app represents a challenge to the Passbook program that Apple has built into the iPhone’s operating system.
Both Google Wallet and Passbook allow iPhone users to store loyalty cards from some merchants and scan coupons offering discounts.
Google Wallet also allows its users to send money and make purchases on some mobile websites by storing a debit or credit card account on the app. Payment information can also be stored in Passbook.
The arrival of Google Wallet on the iPhone comes a few days after a similar version was released to smartphones running on Google’s Android software.
Google gives away Android for free, a factor that has helped siphon sales away from the iPhone by enabling other smartphone makers to sell their devices at cheaper prices. About three out of every four smartphones sold during the first half of this year ran on Android software, according to the research firm Gartner Inc. In comparison, the iPhone had a 16 percent share of the worldwide market.
The higher-priced iPhones tend to attract more affluent consumers who are more likely to spend money through their devices, one of the reasons that Google is eager to connect with Apple customers.
Google has previously sought to outshine Apple’s built-in iPhone apps with its digital maps and a mobile version of its Chrome browser.
By getting people to use its services on as many devices as possible, Google hopes to make more money by selling more digital advertising.
Court: Clicking ‘Like’ on Facebook is free speech
By Michael Felberbaum, Business Writer
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Clicking “Like” on Facebook is constitutionally protected free speech and can be considered the 21st century-equivalent of a campaign yard sign, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond reversed a lower court ruling that said merely “liking” a Facebook page was insufficient speech to merit constitutional protection.
Exactly what a “like” means — if anything — played a part in a Virginia case involving six people who say Hampton Sheriff B.J. Roberts fired them for supporting an opponent in his 2009 re-election bid, which he won. The workers sued, saying their First Amendment rights were violated.
Roberts said some of the workers were let go because he wanted to replace them with sworn deputies while others were fired because of poor performance or his belief that their actions “hindered the harmony and efficiency of the office.” One of those workers, Daniel Ray Carter, had “liked” the Facebook page of Roberts’ opponent, Jim Adams.
U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson in Norfolk had ruled in April 2012 that while public employees are allowed to speak as citizens on matters of public concern, clicking the “like” button does not amount to expressive speech. In other words, it’s not the same as actually writing out a message and posting it on the site.
Jackson acknowledged that other courts have ruled that Facebook posts are constitutionally protected speech, but he said in those cases there were “actual statements.” Simply clicking a button is much different and doesn’t warrant First Amendment protection, he wrote. In his ruling, Jackson acknowledged the need to weigh whether the employee’s speech was a substantial factor in being fired. But the judge wrote that the point is moot if “liking” something isn’t constitutionally protected speech.
The three-judge appeals court panel disagreed, ruling that “liking a political candidate’s campaign page communicates the user’s approval of the candidate and supports the campaign by associating the user with it. In this way, it is the Internet equivalent of displaying a political sign in one’s front yard, which the Supreme Court has held is substantive speech.” The case was sent back to the lower court.
Facebook and the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed friend of court briefs in the case, applauded Wednesday’s ruling.
“This ruling rightly recognizes that the First Amendment protects free speech regardless of the venue, whether a sentiment is expressed in the physical world or online,” Ben Wizner, director of the ACLU Speech, Privacy & Technology Project, said in a written statement. “The Constitution doesn’t distinguish between ‘liking’ a candidate on Facebook and supporting him in a town meeting or public rally.”
An attorney representing Roberts, the sheriff, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment, nor did an attorney representing the employees.
Google funds new company, Calico, to tackle agingBy Michael Liedtke, Technology Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is looking for the Fountain of Youth in its latest expansion beyond Internet search.
The ambitious quest to reverse the aging process and extend human life will be pursued by a new company called Calico that is being financed by Google Inc., which has amassed a $54 billion stockpile primarily through its dominance of Internet search and online advertising.
Calico will be run by former Google board member Arthur Levinson, best known as the ex-CEO of biotechnology pioneer Genentech. Levinson resigned from Google’s board nearly four years ago after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission opened an investigation into whether his overlapping role on Apple Inc.’s board created conflicts of interest that might lessen competition between rivals. Levinson will remain chairman at Apple and Genentech while he runs Calico.
Google isn’t disclosing how much money it will pour into Calico, but CEO Larry Page indicated Wednesday that it won’t be a major commitment. The comments are an apparent effort to placate investors who would prefer to see the company boost its profits even higher instead of pursue far-flung ventures that may never pay off.
“Please remember that new investments like this are very small by comparison to our core business,” Page wrote in a post on his Google Plus profile.
Google’s stock gained $17.21, or nearly 2 percent, to close Wednesday at $903.32.
Tackling daunting challenges outside search is something Page and his longtime partner Sergey Brin have always wanted to do since they founded Google 15 years ago. Google’s success empowered them to realize that ambition.
Some Google projects that once seemed quirky have hatched potentially promising innovations, such as driverless cars and a wearable computer called Glass that can be worn like a pair of spectacles. Page thinks of Google’s bets outside its main Internet business as “moonshots.”
Some of those ventures have crashed and burned. One of them, called “Google Health,” aimed to set up a system to store digital medical records around the world. Page pulled the plug on Google Health shortly after he became CEO in April 2011.
Google and its venture capital arm have invested at least $10 million in 23andme, a genetic testing startup founded by Brin’s wife, Anne Wojcicki.
Page, 40, is hoping Calico can find ways to slow the aging process and other associated diseases. In his Wednesday post, he said it was still too early to share other details about his hopes for Calico.
In an interview with Time magazine published online Wednesday, Page suggested that it could be 10 to 20 years before Calico’s efforts bear fruit. But Page also said Calico’s mission could prove to be even more important than curing cancer.
“One of the things I thought was amazing is that if you solve cancer, you’d add about three years to people’s average life expectancy,” Page told Time. “We think of solving cancer as this huge thing that’ll totally change the world. But when you really take a step back and look at it, yeah, there are many, many tragic cases of cancer, and it’s very, very sad, but in the aggregate, it’s not as big an advance as you might think.”
‘American Masters’ creator Susan Lacy heads to HBO
NEW YORK (AP) — HBO says Susan Lacy, creator and executive producer of WNET’s “American Masters,” has signed a multi-year deal to produce and direct documentaries for the network.
Lacy will work with Sheila Nevins, president of HBO Documentary Films, as a producer and director.
Nevins on Wednesday voiced excitement at having “someone as talented as Susan Lacy bring fresh ideas to HBO.”
While expressing regret at Lacy’s departure, PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger declared an “ongoing commitment” to continuing “American Masters.”
Created by Lacy in 1986, “American Masters” has produced more than 190 profiles of artists, musicians, writers and filmmakers in its 27-year history. It has won 14 Emmy awards and 12 Peabody awards.
Lacy’s individual credits include films on Paul Simon, Rod Serling, Bob Dylan, Judy Garland and John Lennon.
Disney bumps ‘Good Dinosaur’; no 2014 Pixar movieNEW YORK (AP) — Walt Disney Pictures has pushed the release date of the Pixar film “The Good Dinosaur” to November 2015, leaving the Pixar cupboard bare for next year.
The 3-D film had been planned to hit theaters in May before Disney’s announcement Wednesday. It means that 2014 will be the first year since 2005 to go without a new Pixar movie.
“The Good Dinosaur” imagines a world if dinosaurs never became extinct. The production has been rocky, with director Bob Peterson exiting the film last month. A replacement hasn’t been named.
Pixar’s “Finding Nemo” sequel, “Finding Dory,” has been pushed from November 2015 to June 2016. Planned for summer 2015 is “Inside Out,” a film set inside a young girl’s brain.
Spike Lee to receive $300,000 Gish PrizeBy Jake Coyle, Film Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Spike Lee will receive the 20th annual Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, which carries a reward of $300,000.
The Gish Prize Trust announced the selection Wednesday. Selection committee chairman Darren Walker said Lee was chosen “for his brilliance and unwavering courage in using film to challenge conventional thinking.”
Lee said in an interview that was he was well acquainted with Lillian Gish as the actress of “The Birth of a Nation” and “The Night of the Hunter,” but he was unfamiliar with the prize that was established in Gish’s will. She requested that the prize, one of the largest and most prestigious in the arts, be given every year to “a man or woman who has made an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind’s enjoyment and understanding of life.”
“I hadn’t even heard of it,” Lee said in an interview. “It was a phone call that came completely out of the blue.”
“It was one of the best phone calls I’ve ever had,” the director added.
The prize will be presented to Lee at the Museum of Modern Art on Oct. 30. Past honorees include Bob Dylan, Arthur Miller and Frank Gehry.
Lee’s films range from the racially charged 1989 Brooklyn drama “Do the Right Thing” to the 1992 biopic “Malcolm X” to the post-Katrina New Orleans documentary “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts.” This November, Lee will release “Oldboy,” a remake of the Park Chan-wook South Korean thriller.
“I wanted to build a body of work, to hone my craft and get better as a storyteller,” Lee said. “All my favorite filmmakers are storytellers.”
In July, Lee launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund his next movie, which he vaguely promised would be about “the addiction of blood.” The crowd-sourcing campaign succeeded in raising $1.4 million.
The $300,000 of the Gish Prize is a huge boon to any independent filmmaker. Recipients are free to use the money however they like.
What will Lee use it for?
“What I do with it is nobody’s business,” said Lee. “I will do what I want. You’re not the IRS or somebody else. This is something I did not ask for, even know about, and thank God I got it.
“I will promise you this: I will make good use of it.”
Weinstein Co. to develop JD Salinger feature filmNEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein is developing a feature film about J.D. Salinger to follow a recently released documentary.
The Weinstein Co. said Wednesday the biopic will focus on the author’s life between his World War II service and the publication of “The Catcher in the Rye” in 1951 and will examine “the effects war can have on an artist.”
The film will be written by Shane Salerno, whose documentary “Salinger” opened in limited release Sept. 6.
Salerno spent years researching the reclusive author for the documentary and a recently published 700-page book, co-authored with David Shields.
But Salerno’s growing Salinger cottage industry has received poor reviews, with critics calling the fame-obsessed “Salinger” documentary the kind of prying the author detested.
The documentary expands to 62 cities Friday.
Salinger lived in Cornish, N.H. He died in 2010 at age 91.
‘Mad Men’ to wrap its run with 2-part final season
NEW YORK (AP) — AMC is keeping “Mad Men” around an extra year, expanding the final season of this acclaimed drama series to 14 episodes and portioning them equally in 2014 and 2015.
The network said Tuesday that seven episodes will air next spring and another seven in 2015. Previous “Mad Men” seasons have spanned 13 episodes.
Series creator Matthew Weiner said the two-part season will enable “a more elaborate story” to be told.
The arrangement mirrors that of another AMC series, “Breaking Bad,” whose final season, now nearing its end, was similarly split in two.
“Mad Men,” which premiered in 2007, has won four Emmy awards for outstanding drama series. It heads into Sunday’s awards night with four major Emmy nominations, including best actor for Jon Hamm, who has never won.
Lucas museum among finalists for Golden Gate site
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A museum proposed by “Star Wars” creator George Lucas to showcase visual storytelling and house his art collection is one of three development projects being considered for a plot of park land at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
The Lucas museum would include the collection he has amassed over more than four decades and says includes illustrations by Norman Rockwell and Maxfield Parrish. Lucas intends to finance the project himself.
Supporters include U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Gov. Jerry Brown and filmmaker Martin Scorsese, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The finalists for the 8-acre site facing Crissy Field in the Presidio area of San Francisco were presented Monday to the Presidio Trust, which manages the former military base that is now a national park.
Another proposal by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy would retain much of the site’s open space and include displays about the history of the Presidio.
The other plan was submitted by the architecture firm WRNS Studio and consulting firm Chora. It would create a museum combined with a science and nature center.
The Presidio Trust has not yet set a deadline to select the winning proposal.
“There’s no question that this is one of the most spectacular sites in the world,” said Craig Middleton, executive director for the trust. “We really need to be thoughtful about which proposal best fits in, both in terms of the project and the program.”
Cheer up, Grumpy Cat: You have an endorsement dealBy Jim Salter
ST. LOUIS (AP) — It probably won’t affect her famous mood, but Grumpy Cat now has an endorsement deal.
The frown-faced Internet sensation, real name Tardar Sauce, is now the “spokescat” for a Friskies brand of cat food, Nestle Purina PetCare announced Tuesday. The St. Louis-based company didn’t release terms of the deal.
Photos of Grumpy Cat, her brown and white face in a constant scowl, have become a constant presence on Facebook and other social media, often accompanied by crabby messages such as “I don’t like days that end in Y” or “I’m listening, I just don’t care. She also is among the biggest stars of the peculiar trend of cat dominance on Web videos and postings.
Grumpy Cat’s own Facebook page has more than 1.3 million likes. The dour animal also has more than 111,000 Twitter followers.
In addition to the relationship with Nestle Purina, which featured Grumpy Cat in an online video game series in March, the 1 �-year-old mixed-breed feline has a merchandise line and reportedly has a movie deal in the works.
“She’s very busy,” Friskies spokeswoman Julie Catron said. “The first thing she’ll do for us is receive the lifetime achievement award.”
Catron isn’t kidding. The feline will receive the award Oct. 15 in New York as Friskies honors the best cat videos of the year as chosen through an online vote.
Grumpy Cat is owned by Tabatha Bundesen, who lives in Phoenix.
Emmys to honor Gandolfini, Monteith, 3 others
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Emmy Awards will feature five special memorial tributes, including one to “Glee” star Cory Monteith, organizers said.
Monteith died in July at age 31 of a heroin and alcohol overdose. He will be remembered by the show’s Jane Lynch.
In addition, Edie Falco will honor James Gandolfini, her co-star on “The Sopranos.” Gandolfini died of a heart attack in June at age 51.
Other tributes during the Sunday event will see Rob Reiner honoring “All in the Family Star” Jean Stapleton; Robin Williams remembering his friend and mentor Jonathan Winters; and Michael J. Fox honoring “Family Ties” producer Gary David Goldberg.
The ceremony on CBS also will include the traditional “in memoriam” segment recognizing other industry members who have died.
Woman featured in stark CDC anti-smoking ads diesBy Mike Stobbe, Medical Writer
ATLANTA (AP) — A North Carolina woman featured prominently in a graphic government ad campaign to get people to stop smoking died Monday of cancer.
Terrie Hall died at a hospital in Winston-Salem, N.C., federal officials said. She was 53.
“She was a public health hero,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which conducted the campaign. “She may well have saved more lives than most doctors do.”
A former smoker whose voice box was removed years ago, Hall took a leading role in the campaign that showed how smoking-related cancer ravages the body. Officials believe the “Tips from Former Smokers” campaign led as many as 100,000 Americans smokers to quit.
Hall’s first ad showed her putting on a wig, putting in false teeth and covering a hole in her throat with a scarf. It was the campaign’s most popular spot by far, receiving more than 2.8 million views on YouTube.
It was the federal public health agency’s largest and starkest anti-smoking push, and its first national advertising effort.
In another ad, the Lexington resident addressed the camera in the buzzing sound of her artificial voice box. She advised smokers to make a video of themselves reading a children’s book or singing a lullaby. “I wish I had. The only voice my grandson’s ever heard is this one,” her electric voice growled.
Hall’s oral and throat cancer was caused by the cigarette smoking she began in high school, CDC officials said. This summer, the cancer spread to her brain.
ANA unveils finalists for Marketing Analytics Leadership Award
NEW YORK–The ANA (Association of National Advertisers) has announced three finalists for the first-of-its-kind award recognizing leadership in applying analytics to plan and measure successful marketing programs. The finalists were chosen by a panel of industry judges. The winner will receive a $50,000 cash prize for demonstrating the most effective application of analytics to benchmark and improve marketing investment ROI.
The Marketing Analytics Leadership Award was created to highlight today’s important and rapid adoption of sophisticated analytics in the planning and measuring of global marketing investments. This inaugural award will be presented at ANA Masters of Marketing Conference, taking place October 3-6 in Phoenix, Ariz. Brand marketers at the conference will have a chance to vote for their preferred nominee and the award will be presented on Saturday, Oct. 5.
The Fidelity Investments submission, “Building a Leading Marketing Effectiveness Analytics Practice”, addresses their journey in creating a best-in-class marketing effectiveness analytics practice which delivers quantifiable business results. LEGO Systems presented its four year program, “Achieving Excellence in Marketing Effectiveness & Data Analytics” showcasing advanced modeling techniques and predictive approaches to measuring digital ROI. USAA’s “Marketing Mix Optimization” highlights their experience in taking the analytics program from initial launch to best-in-class over a three year period.
“Our three finalists truly demonstrate excellence and effectiveness in marketing analytics within their companies,” said Bob Liodice, president and CEO of the ANA. “Implementing advanced analytics improves marketing ROI, builds brands and drives fundamental business growth. These individuals deserve recognition – which we plan to do as we honor the winner at this year’s Masters of Marketing Conference.”
Entries were evaluated by a panel of nine current and former CMOs and leading academics. Entries were judged on clarity of goals; relevance and magnitude of the marketing questions being addressed; scientific rigor applied in the approach; steps taken to align key stakeholders; and demonstrated impact on the business.
Judges had many positive reactions to the submissions of the finalists and other entrants. Jon Iwata, senior vice president of marketing communications at IBM, said that he was “very impressed by the degree to which these leading companies leverage big data analytics to create quantifiable business results.” Tom Davenport, renowned author of Competing on Analytics and distinguished professor at Babson College, commented on the “innovative use of proven techniques in solving some thorny marketing problems” that he saw in several submissions which “showcased the true value of marketing science.” And, Jim Stengel, former CMO of P&G and former ANA chair, highlighted “the degree to which these leading companies focus not just on the analytics and data, but by the very important organizational adoption they put forth.”
The Marketing Analytics Leadership Award program is underwritten in partnership with leading marketing analytics firm, MarketShare.
Shoptology Hires exec creative director Dino de Le�nDALLAS–Independent agency network Project: Worldwide and its shopper engagement agency, Shoptology, announced the hire of Dino de Le�n, who will serve as executive creative director at Shoptology, effective immediately. In this new position for the agency, de Le�n will report directly to Shoptology CEO, Charlie Anderson.
Launched in May 2013, Shoptology has made aggressive growth strides in the last few months; most recently integrating Mercury 11, a social media and marketing technology agency through acquisition.
de Le�n joins Shoptology from TracyLocke, Dallas where he led creative teams as Executive Creative Director. Prior, he served as EVP, Creative Director at Catapult Marketing, where he honed his skills in the shopper marketing space, and earlier in his career founded the creative department at RAZOR (now Ansira) in Dallas as VP/Partner and Creative Director.
In his new role, de Le�n will lead ideation, design and oversee the execution of programs for clients such as Pepsi Lipton Partnership, Golden Corral and Coty Fragrances. He will ultimately be responsible for the creative product of the agency, collaborating with clients, retailers and partner agencies to find creative and innovative ways to bring shopper insights to life with engaging ideas.
