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DVD Rental Kiosk Firm Redbox Sues Warner Home Video

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 19, 2009 - 9:16am.
Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. - Redbox, a unit of Coinstar (NASD: CSTR) that operates over 17,000 $1-per-night DVD rental kiosks, has filed suit against Warner Home Video (NYSE: TWX), alleging the studio is degrading consumers' rights by limiting distribution of its DVDs to Redbox until 28 days after they go on sale. Last week, Redbox filed a similar suit against News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) 20th Century Fox, and yesterday, a federal court dismissed two motions in Redbox's lawsuit against Universal (NYSE: GE).

Redbox Antitrust Lawsuit Against Universal to Proceed

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 18, 2009 - 9:08am.
Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. - Redbox, a unit of Coinstar (NASD: CSTR) that operates a network of DVD rental kiosks, said on Tuesday that a federal court has allowed its antitrust lawsuit against Universal Studios Home Entertainment (NYSE: GE) to proceed, denying the studio's motion to dismiss. "The Federal Court's decision marks an important step forward in our effort to protect consumers' right to convenient, affordable access to new release DVDs at redbox locations nationwide," said Redbox president Mitch Lowe.

DVD Kiosk Firm Redbox Sues 20th Century Fox

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 12, 2009 - 12:00pm.
Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. - Redbox, the DVD rental kiosk unit of Coinstar (NASD: CSTR), said on Wednesday that it has filed suit in federal court against News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) 20th Century Fox movie studio, over Fox's decision to delay distribution of new release titles to Redbox kiosks until 30 days after public release. "At the expense of consumers, 20th Century Fox is attempting to prohibit timely consumer access to its new release DVDs at redbox retail locations nationwide," said Redbox president Mitch Lowe.

Fox Puts 30-Day Window on Redbox DVD Rental Kiosks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 6, 2009 - 8:15am.
New York - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) 20th Century Fox is putting restrictions on the placement of its movies in DVD rental kiosks operated by Coinstar's (NASD: CSTR) Redbox unit, in a bid to gain a greater share of rental revenues, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Leaked "Wolverine" Movie Downloaded Over 1 Million Times

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 7, 2009 - 1:06pm.
Los Angeles - The leaked pre-release copy of Fox's (NYSE: NWS) "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" has now been downloaded by more than one million users of the BitTorrent file-sharing network, TorrentFreak reported. The site also reports that Fox has been sending takedown notices to various torrent sites, and that "most site operators are kind enough to take down the links, but new ones are already uploaded before the requests are processed."

Fox News Cans Reporter Who Reviewed Leaked "Wolverine"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 7, 2009 - 11:09am.
New York - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) Fox News unit has fired ten-year veteran entertainment reporter Roger Friedman, after Friedman posted a review of the unfinished copy of 20th Century Fox's film "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" that was leaked onto the Internet. The film, which is not due in theaters until May 1, appeared on file-sharing networks last Tuesday; Friedman posted his review on FoxNews.com on Thursday, and by Friday Fox had pulled it offline.

Unfinished Copy of "Wolverine" Movie Leaked to BitTorrent

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 1, 2009 - 11:15am.
Los Angeles - An unfinished "workprint" version of the upcoming 20th Century Fox (NYSE: NWS) movie "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" has leaked onto the BitTorrent file-sharing network, and has already been downloaded more than 75,000 times, according to TorrentFreak. The video file is reportedly of high audio and video quality, but does not contain any of the special effects from the film, which is not due for release until May 1. "Last night, a stolen, incomplete and early version of X-Men Origins: Wolverine was posted illegally on websites," reads a statement from Fox.

Sports Broadcast Producer 2080 Media Raises $3 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 9, 2008 - 11:23am.

Atlanta - 2080 Media, a company that helps customers produce and distribute untelevised live sporting events, has raised $3 million in venture capital, according to a report by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

Sony Inks Digital Cinema Deployment Deals With 3 Studios

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 3, 2008 - 9:26am.

Culver City, Calif. - Sony (NYSE: SNE) announced this week that it has signed agreements with three Hollywood movie studios to help support the rollout of Sony digital cinema projection systems in movie theaters.

Game Developer 2015 Raises Funds, Launches Casual Studio

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 24, 2008 - 7:29am.

Tulsa, Oklahoma - Video game developer 2015, Inc. has raised "several million dollars" in new funding and formed a new casual gaming division, Tornado Studios, GameDaily reports.

Movie Studios Add Day-and-Date DVD Releases to iTunes Store

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 1, 2008 - 8:54am.

Cupertino, Calif. - Apple (NASD: AAPL) on Thursday announced that new release movies from the major Hollywood studios will now be made available for purchase and download from the iTunes Store on the same day as their DVD releases, and will be priced at $14.99. Participating studios include 20th Century Fox (NYSE: NWS), The Walt Disney Studios (NYSE: DIS), Warner Bros. (NYSE: TWX), Paramount Pictures (NYSE: VIA), Universal Studios Home Entertainment (NYSE: GE), Sony Pictures Entertainment (NYSE: SNE), Lionsgate, Image Entertainment and First Look Studios.

20th Century Fox, Paramount Add New Release Titles to iTunes

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 16, 2008 - 8:46am.

Los Angeles - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) 20th Century Fox and Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Paramount Pictures have joined Disney in the practice of offering films for purchase and download from Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iTunes Store on the same day they are released on DVD, with Fox adding "Juno" to the retailer's offering on Tuesday, Variety reported.

Access IT, Studios to Add 10,000 Digital Cinema Screens

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 11, 2008 - 10:39am.

Morristown, N.J. - Access Integrated Technologies (Access IT) (NASD: AIXD), a provider of digital cinema projection systems for movie theaters, announced on Tuesday a massive deal with four major movies studios, to provide movies to up to 10,000 digital cinema systems in the U.S. and Canada.

Amazon Teams with Fox to Produce Feature Film

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 22, 2008 - 9:44am.

Los Angeles - Online retail giant Amazon.com is (NASD: AMZN) set to produce its first full-length motion picture, partnering with 20th Century Fox to adapt "The Stolen Child," a fantasy novel written by Keith Donahue, Variety reported.

Brash Ships Game Based on 20th Century Fox's "Jumper"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 12, 2008 - 12:43pm.

Hollywood - Video game developer Brash Entertainment on Tuesday shipped its "Jumper: Griffin's Story" title, based on the upcoming 20th Century Fox/Regency Enterprises film, to retailers. The game for Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation 2 features the voice and likeness of Jamie Bell, the star from the film who is the subject of the game.

Report: Apple Close to iTunes Deals with Movie Studios

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 8, 2008 - 8:10am.

Los Angeles - Apple (NASD: AAPL) is close to making deals with most of the major movie studios that will see their films put up for sale at the company's iTunes Store, BusinessWeek reports. While the Financial Times previously reported that Apple had signed a deal with 20th Century Fox (NYSE: NWS) to offer downloadable movie rentals, sources told BusinessWeek that Apple is close to deals for rentals and/or sales with Warner Bros. (NYSE: TWX), Paramount (NYSE: VIA) and Lionsgate.

Sierra to Publish PSP-Exclusive Title for New "Aliens/Predator" Movie

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 14, 2007 - 2:12pm.

Los Angeles - Vivendi's Sierra Entertainment game publishing label announced on Tuesday that it plans to publish a game based on the new Aliens/Predator film from 20th Century Fox exclusively for the Sony PSP handheld. The PSP game is being developed by Rebellion, which also created the "Aliens vs. Predator" PC game. The new film in the franchise is slated for release on Dec. 25.

Buzz Watch: Create Your Own Avatar in Preparation for The Simpsons Movie

Authored by Jay Baage on July 3, 2007 - 5:02am.
The much anticipated "The Simpsons Movie", which makes its worldwide debut in theatres on July 27, prides itself on being low-tech. It is being marketed as "ugly" and presented in "2D", according to the trailer embedded below. However, the marketing of the movie is certainly high-tech. For example, this website has all kinds of games and cool interactive features such as the ability to create your own Simpsons character. It is well worth a visit.

Career Moves: June 27, 2007

Authored by dmw on June 27, 2007 - 10:17am.
Career Moves is made possible by @HIRE.

Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman of the American Film Institute (AFI) Board of Trustees, today announced the unanimous selection of Bob Gazzale as new AFI President and CEO.  Gazzale, a film historian and multiple Emmy-nominated television producer and writer, has been a senior executive at AFI for 15 years. He will succeed Jean Picker Firstenberg, who announced she would retire at the end of AFI's 40th Anniversary celebration this fall.