Research from iMedia Connection and eMarketer suggests that social network ad spending is growing, but at a very slow pace. One-third of marketers surveyed in an iMedia Connection poll in March said they planned to spend $300,000 or less this year. “At these amounts, social network spending may still be categorized as experimental,” said Debra Aho Williamson, a senior analyst at eMarketer.
However, 29 percent of the marketers in the iMedia Connection poll said they will spend over $2 million, suggesting some movement forward.
eMarketer predicts U.S. social network ad spending will be near $1.6 billion this year, growing to $2 billion next year and $2.7 billion by 2012. The numbers refer to all forms of advertising on social network sites, from branded campaigns to search and video.
Bill Condon, Jennifer Lopez Unveil “Kiss of the Spider Woman” At Sundance
A lavish, MGM-style musical is not typical Sundance Film Festival fare. But Sunday night Bill Condon brought such a creationโwell, part of oneโto Park City, Utah, with his adaptation of "Kiss of the Spider Woman," starring Jennifer Lopez.
Audiences broke out in spontaneous applause during the screening for Lopez's song and dance numbers. She plays an old Hollywood screen siren in a movie-within-the movie. The packed Eccles Theater also gave Lopez, wearing a glittery spiderweb themed frock, a standing ovation after the show.
"I've been waiting for this moment my whole life," Lopez said.
The story, which revolves around the conversations between two cellmates in an Argentine prison, was first a novel by Manuel Puig in 1976 and has been adapted for stage and screen over the years. A 1985 film adaptation starred William Hurt and Raul Julia. Hurt won an Oscar for his performance. On Broadway, it won multiple Tony Awards.
Condon wrote and directed this new version, which is seeking a distributor. Diego Luna plays an imprisoned revolutionary Valentin Arregui, whose new cellmate Luis Molina (Tonatiuh) loves movies, celebrity and glamour and enthusiastically recounts the story of a favorite movie musical, called "Kiss of the Spider Woman" to Valentin, giving them and the audience a break from their bleak reality.
While the film has memorable moments of escapist spectacle, it also delves into serious topics of gender identity. Molina tells Valentin that they don't feel like a man or a womanโwhich Valentin finds odd at first but grows to understand.
Before the screening, Condon said that one of the things the movie is about is "the attempt to bridge the incredible differences that separate us so often." He quoted President... Read More