LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oprah Winfrey appears in New York on Thursday before her most important audience: potential advertisers who will decide how many more seasons her struggling cable network has to promote her mantra to 'live your best life.'
The 'queen of talk,' having admitted in a CBS interview this week to '101 mistakes' in launching the Oprah Winfrey Network last year, must convince the media buyers who will crowd Lincoln Center that her formula of uplifting programs will attract more viewers than it did in its first year.
So far, her mix of interviews and feel-good programs has left the key audience of 25- to 54-year-old women less than thrilled who killed himself i. Ratings among them for the 15-month-old OWN are about what they were for the Discovery Health channel it replaced.
Last month, OWN, a joint venture with Discovery Communications, laid off 30 staff and canceled its heavily hyped Rosie O'Donnell talk show that it had hoped would provide a ratings boost.
OWN's stumbles have struck the network to its operational coresident Barack Obama/span and th. The aspirational message that fueled Winfrey's hugely successful syndicated daytime talk show for 25 years is not translating to a mass audience for the 24-hour cable channel.
'On cable, the networks that work are far from aspirational,' Brad Adgate, an analyst at advertising agency Horizon Media said, pointing to shows such as 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians' or the 'Real Housewives' series.
'It has been difficult for aspirational shows (and) networks to get on track,' he said.
OWN did see a recent ratings boost as Winfrey added more air timeit on the Internet and. At the end of March, the network reported a 21 percent ratings increase for the first quarter compared with last year, with an average of 180,000 daily viewers.
The network's most-watched recent programs were Winfrey's interviews with Whitney Houston's family, Lady Gaga, rocker Steven Tyler and mega-church pastor Joel Osteen.
But few of OWN's other programs have built audiencesher admiration for t. Over the past year, the network averaged 50,000 viewers among women ages 25 to 54, slightly less than the 51,000 Discovery Health averaged in its last year, according to Nielsen data provided by Horizon Media.
Those numbers were less than the 98,000 women ages 25 to 54 who watched the male-skewing Spike TV, or the 69,000 who watched the Travel Channel during the same time period.
'This is a network that has some good momentum behind it,' OWN President Erik Logan said, previewing his pitch to ad buyerscan presidential candidate span class='ys. The channel will stick with the uplifting menu, he said, and will offer up Winfrey's recent interviews plus Saturday night programming such as 'Welcome to Sweetie Pie's' as shows that reflect her philosophy.
'As with any cable start-up, it is going to take time' to build audiences, Logan said.
Winfrey has said launching the network too early was one of her '101 mistakes.' She committed to working hard to fix the network [ID:nL3E8F28CW].
SUBSCRIBER FEES
In addition to its advertising revenue, OWN will collect subscriber fees from cable and satellite distributors of about 20 cents per subscriber per month, starting next year.
The company also just renewed a distribution agreement with Comcast Corp, which will add OWN to 3 million more homes'morale in the military and in the country at larg. Overall, the network will be available in 83 million homes nationwide, the same as competitor Bravo.
'We are trying to find the right combination of content and intention and entertainment, and strike the right balance,' Logan said.
Some industry experts believe Oprah Winfrey's network will come out of its ratings doldrumsy, but no,' she said,. 'There is a trial and error in cable programming,' said Jeff Gaspin, former chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment and cable industry veterana little cleavage can make a girl feel se. 'OWN went through theirs while everyone was watching.'
Oprah will have competition in the aspirational field.
Basketball great Earvin 'Magic' Johnson, for one, plans a network called Aspire aimed at delivering 'enlightening, entertaining and positive programming to African-American families.' The channel, which launches at the end of June, is a partnership between Comcast and GMC, the former Gospel Music Channel.
'Oprah is a great inspiration but her mistake was naming it the Oprah Winfrey Network,' said Brad Siegel, vice chairman of the GMC and Aspire channelskey and shooting guns, 'I appreciate. 'People were expecting more of Oprah than they got.'
Johnson did not want his name on his channel, Siegel said, and instead will put the spotlight on promising African-American artists, writers and musicians with a series of video vignettes.
The harsh reality of TV life is that time may be running short for Oprah to use OWN as the platform from which she trumpets her messageing paranoid about her image when wear. Although Discovery says it has no intention of killing the channel, not everyone thinks OWN will reverse its decline.
'I'm not sure the channel makes it unless it expands its base beyond the aspirational, Oprah-type brand,' said Robert Thompson, a professor of TV and popular culture at Syracuse University.
'They need to find their 'Jersey Shore,' the show that will make people come to watch them,' he saidooting guns, 'I appreciate both those t. 'When MTV started doing 'Road Rules,' people at first said, 'where are the music videos?' Now, they have very successfully rebranded themselves.'
For now, advertisers are sticking with the doyenne of talk life if I were gay, but no,' she. Early sponsors have reaffirmed their commitment to the network, OWN's Logan said, and General Motors said the company planned to continue advertising on the channel.
'It will take a little more time to achieve the expectations that she initially set,' said Andy Donchin, director of national broadcasting for ad-buying agency Carat North America, which has bought time on OWN for its clientsen a crazy U,S, first daughter, . 'It's hard to bet against her because almost everything she touched turned to gold.'
(Reporting By Lisa Richwine and Ronald Grover; Edited by Peter Lauria and Maureen Bavdek)
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Thursday, April 5, 2012
Guitar amplifier pioneer Jim Marshall dies aged 88
LONDON (Reuters) - Jim Marshall, who pioneered guitar amplifiers used by some of the greatest names in rock earning him the nickname 'Lord of Loud', has died aged 88.
'It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved founder and leader for the past 50 years, Jim Marshall,' said a statement on the company's website.
'While mourning the Guv'nor though, we also salute a legendary man who led a full and truly remarkable life.'
Tributes poured in for a man credited with helping to shape the sound of guitar rock.
'The news of Jim Marshall passing is deeply saddening,' former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash said in a message on Twitterool before she completed. 'R & R will never be the same w/out himre School/span in London auditioned he. But, his amps will live on FOREVER!'
His company said in a written tribute: 'Your memory, the music and joy your amps have brought to countless millions for the past five decades and that world-famous, omnipresent script logo that proudly bears your name will always live on.'
Born in London in 1923, Marshall started out as a drummer before going into business and founding Marshall Amplification in 1962.
He began making guitar amplifiers in Britain as a cheaper alternative to U.School 'led to her later success. imports, and soon after legendary musicians including Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton were using his equipment.
He is revered as one of the four forefathers of rock music equipment along with Leo Fender, Les Paul and Seth Lover.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, Editing by Christine Kearney)
This article is brought to you by SINGLES.
'It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved founder and leader for the past 50 years, Jim Marshall,' said a statement on the company's website.
'While mourning the Guv'nor though, we also salute a legendary man who led a full and truly remarkable life.'
Tributes poured in for a man credited with helping to shape the sound of guitar rock.
'The news of Jim Marshall passing is deeply saddening,' former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash said in a message on Twitterool before she completed. 'R & R will never be the same w/out himre School/span in London auditioned he. But, his amps will live on FOREVER!'
His company said in a written tribute: 'Your memory, the music and joy your amps have brought to countless millions for the past five decades and that world-famous, omnipresent script logo that proudly bears your name will always live on.'
Born in London in 1923, Marshall started out as a drummer before going into business and founding Marshall Amplification in 1962.
He began making guitar amplifiers in Britain as a cheaper alternative to U.School 'led to her later success. imports, and soon after legendary musicians including Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton were using his equipment.
He is revered as one of the four forefathers of rock music equipment along with Leo Fender, Les Paul and Seth Lover.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, Editing by Christine Kearney)
This article is brought to you by SINGLES.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Katy Perry 3-D concert movie to be released in July
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The makers of Justin Bieber's top-grossing concert film have moved on to another global pop star -- Katy Perry.
A 3-D documentary concert feature film billed as an on-and- off stage close up look at Perry and her 2011 California Dreams Tour began production more than year ago, Paramount Pictures said in a statement on Wednesday.
The movie, called 'Katy Perry: Part of Me,' is named after her new single 'Part of Me,' which was released in February and debuted at Nong her hands frenetically, skippin. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100.
The film, which will be released in cinemas in the United States on July 5, is being produced by Perry and directed by Jane Lipsitz and Dan Cutforth.
Perry, 27, said in the statement she was excited to 'reveal the highs and lows and nuts of bolts of this extraordinary rideions that were obtained,' . I promise you, after seeing this film, you will truly know me.'
Paramount and Perry, whose last album 'Teenage Dream,' produced such hits as 'Firework', 'California Gurls' and 'Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F),' teamed up for what is being promoted as the first big screen look at Perry's life and 124 performances on her tour.
Paramount and Lipsitz and Cutforth co-produced and distributed Bieber's concert film, 'Justin Bieber: Never Say Never,' which grossed nearly $100 million worldwide on a budget of $13 million.
A trailer for Perry's movie promised details on her religious upbringing, her struggles and pressures becoming a pop star, her marriage breakup with actor Russell Brand, as well as tour footage, including her telling the audience, 'Thank you so much for believing in my weirdness.'
(Reporting By Christine Kearney, Editing by Patricia Reaney)
This article is brought to you by FREE DATING SITE.
A 3-D documentary concert feature film billed as an on-and- off stage close up look at Perry and her 2011 California Dreams Tour began production more than year ago, Paramount Pictures said in a statement on Wednesday.
The movie, called 'Katy Perry: Part of Me,' is named after her new single 'Part of Me,' which was released in February and debuted at Nong her hands frenetically, skippin. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100.
The film, which will be released in cinemas in the United States on July 5, is being produced by Perry and directed by Jane Lipsitz and Dan Cutforth.
Perry, 27, said in the statement she was excited to 'reveal the highs and lows and nuts of bolts of this extraordinary rideions that were obtained,' . I promise you, after seeing this film, you will truly know me.'
Paramount and Perry, whose last album 'Teenage Dream,' produced such hits as 'Firework', 'California Gurls' and 'Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F),' teamed up for what is being promoted as the first big screen look at Perry's life and 124 performances on her tour.
Paramount and Lipsitz and Cutforth co-produced and distributed Bieber's concert film, 'Justin Bieber: Never Say Never,' which grossed nearly $100 million worldwide on a budget of $13 million.
A trailer for Perry's movie promised details on her religious upbringing, her struggles and pressures becoming a pop star, her marriage breakup with actor Russell Brand, as well as tour footage, including her telling the audience, 'Thank you so much for believing in my weirdness.'
(Reporting By Christine Kearney, Editing by Patricia Reaney)
This article is brought to you by FREE DATING SITE.
George Michael pens song about battle with illness
LONDON (Reuters) - George Michael is writing a song about his near-death battle with illness in a Vienna hospital last year, the British singer announced on Twitter on Wednesday.
Michael, 48, was diagnosed with severe pneumonia in November and treated in the Austrian capital where he was taken ill.
He was forced to postpone his tour and spent several weeks in hospital, describing his illness as 'touch and go'.
On his Twitter feed, he wrote: 'I've been a busy boy in the studio this week ..d against a large boulder, and unlike the . finally ready to write about what happened to me in Vienna ..hadid knew that he faced danger from. and how grateful I am to be given another chance to live and breathe alongside you all in this wonderful world that we share.'
He added that he wanted to repay the 'unending kindness' his fans had shown him with new music, and said he had begun to write the track which will be called 'White Light'.
The 'Careless Whisper' star announced last month that he was back in good health and would re-start his postponed 'Symphonica' tour in September.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)
This article is brought to you by FREE DATING.
Michael, 48, was diagnosed with severe pneumonia in November and treated in the Austrian capital where he was taken ill.
He was forced to postpone his tour and spent several weeks in hospital, describing his illness as 'touch and go'.
On his Twitter feed, he wrote: 'I've been a busy boy in the studio this week ..d against a large boulder, and unlike the . finally ready to write about what happened to me in Vienna ..hadid knew that he faced danger from. and how grateful I am to be given another chance to live and breathe alongside you all in this wonderful world that we share.'
He added that he wanted to repay the 'unending kindness' his fans had shown him with new music, and said he had begun to write the track which will be called 'White Light'.
The 'Careless Whisper' star announced last month that he was back in good health and would re-start his postponed 'Symphonica' tour in September.
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)
This article is brought to you by FREE DATING.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Palin pans Julianne Moore in "Game Change" film
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sarah Palin gave a visible thumbs-down to actress Julianne Moore on Tuesday for her portrayal of Palin in the political docudrama "Game Change," but praised Tina Fey for her comic impersonation of the former Alaska governor.
The movie review came up during a NBC "Today Show" panel discussion on whether Ashton Kutcher was the right actor to play the late Apple chief Steve Jobs.
"Do any of you have experience of people being paid a lot of money to pretend they're you?" Palin asked the other panelists.
When the question of Moore's portrayal of Palin came up, Palin made a thumbs-down gesture, but said she hadn't seen the HBO film about the 2008 election, in which she was Republican presidential candidate John McCain's vice presidential running mate.
"I didn't see 'Game Change' because I don't waste my time on lies," Palin said.
She praised Fey, who repeatedly portrayed Palin, complete with characteristic upswept hair-do and glasses, on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" during the 2008 campaign.
In her dual role as guest and guest-host on the "Today" program, Palin first sat for an interview and then switched to comment on various segments of the show.
(Reporting By Deborah Zabarenko; editing by Christopher Wilson)
The movie review came up during a NBC "Today Show" panel discussion on whether Ashton Kutcher was the right actor to play the late Apple chief Steve Jobs.
"Do any of you have experience of people being paid a lot of money to pretend they're you?" Palin asked the other panelists.
When the question of Moore's portrayal of Palin came up, Palin made a thumbs-down gesture, but said she hadn't seen the HBO film about the 2008 election, in which she was Republican presidential candidate John McCain's vice presidential running mate.
"I didn't see 'Game Change' because I don't waste my time on lies," Palin said.
She praised Fey, who repeatedly portrayed Palin, complete with characteristic upswept hair-do and glasses, on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" during the 2008 campaign.
In her dual role as guest and guest-host on the "Today" program, Palin first sat for an interview and then switched to comment on various segments of the show.
(Reporting By Deborah Zabarenko; editing by Christopher Wilson)
Monday, April 2, 2012
Oprah admits "101 mistakes" with OWN, vows to go on
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oprah Winfrey admitted on Monday that she had made mistakes while creating her cable channel but promised the fledging OWN television network would still succeed with a new strategy.
The talk show host, who recently laid off 30 staffers at the 15-month-old network after poor ratings, told "CBS This Morning" that she had been ill-prepared for the venture.
"The idea of creating a network was something that I'd wanted to do, had I'd known that it was this difficult, I might have done something else," she told the morning program.
Winfrey, 58, had appeared unstoppable in her career with a 25-year reign on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," but when questioned about whether she seriously would have never taken on the project, she replied, "Oh absolutely."
"I did not think it was going to be easy ..368_2'Mike Lisbe/span and span class='yshortcuts'. but if I knew then what I know now I might have made some different choiceslw_1330128368_0'Martin Lawrence/span i. I would say if I was writing a book about it, I could call the book '101 mistakes.'"
Within the top five mistakes?
"Launching when we really were not ready to launch," she saidtwo who enrolls in the police acad. "It's like having the wedding when you know you are not ready and you are walking down the aisle, and you are saying, 'I don't know .. the Collective, span class='yshortcuts' i. maybe we should have postponed it.'"
Now she realizes she should have waited to launch the network until she finished her duties hosting "The Oprah Winfrey Show," which ended in May 2011.
OWN, a joint venture between Winfrey and Discovery Communications, has struggled to find a sizeable audience since its launch in January 2011.
But Winfrey defended herself saying she had initially warned partner Discovery that "the thing that I am most worried about is who is going to lead this train, because I can't do it."
OWN saw a 21 percent rise in total daily viewers in the first quarter of 2012 after Winfrey appeared more on the channel academy to become a cop at the age . But it is still attracting only 180,000 viewers a day.
In March the network laid off 30 production staffers and canceled comedian Rosie O'Donnell's talk show after just five months due to sagging ratings.
Winfrey admitted that along with the layoffs, the bad press about the channel's struggles had hurt but later added that she felt better about her network OWN today than she ever has.
"Our strategy is to do what we should have done at the beginning and that is to build one show, one hour, one night at a time and then move to the next night," she said.
Lately Winfrey boosted primetime ratings with high-profile interviews including Whitney Houston's family, Lady Gaga, rocker Steven Tyler and mega-church pastor Joel Osteen.
When asked if audiences would see more of her, she replied, "I said from the beginning, this channel can't be based upon me, it has to be based upon my philosophy, my ideas" and vowed not to end the network or her general life aims.
"I believe that I am here to fulfill a calling, that because I am a female who is African American who has been so blessed in the world, there is never going to be a time to quit," she said.
The channel's inspirational tone will still fit in with its early aims as a TV version of her "O" magazine, she said.
"I will die in the midst of doing what I love to do and that is using my voice and using my life to try to inspire other people to live the best of theirs."
(Editing by Patricia Reaney)
(This story was refiled to change show name to "CBS This Morning" in 2nd paragraph)
This article is brought to you by FREE PERSONALS.
The talk show host, who recently laid off 30 staffers at the 15-month-old network after poor ratings, told "CBS This Morning" that she had been ill-prepared for the venture.
"The idea of creating a network was something that I'd wanted to do, had I'd known that it was this difficult, I might have done something else," she told the morning program.
Winfrey, 58, had appeared unstoppable in her career with a 25-year reign on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," but when questioned about whether she seriously would have never taken on the project, she replied, "Oh absolutely."
"I did not think it was going to be easy ..368_2'Mike Lisbe/span and span class='yshortcuts'. but if I knew then what I know now I might have made some different choiceslw_1330128368_0'Martin Lawrence/span i. I would say if I was writing a book about it, I could call the book '101 mistakes.'"
Within the top five mistakes?
"Launching when we really were not ready to launch," she saidtwo who enrolls in the police acad. "It's like having the wedding when you know you are not ready and you are walking down the aisle, and you are saying, 'I don't know .. the Collective, span class='yshortcuts' i. maybe we should have postponed it.'"
Now she realizes she should have waited to launch the network until she finished her duties hosting "The Oprah Winfrey Show," which ended in May 2011.
OWN, a joint venture between Winfrey and Discovery Communications, has struggled to find a sizeable audience since its launch in January 2011.
But Winfrey defended herself saying she had initially warned partner Discovery that "the thing that I am most worried about is who is going to lead this train, because I can't do it."
OWN saw a 21 percent rise in total daily viewers in the first quarter of 2012 after Winfrey appeared more on the channel academy to become a cop at the age . But it is still attracting only 180,000 viewers a day.
In March the network laid off 30 production staffers and canceled comedian Rosie O'Donnell's talk show after just five months due to sagging ratings.
Winfrey admitted that along with the layoffs, the bad press about the channel's struggles had hurt but later added that she felt better about her network OWN today than she ever has.
"Our strategy is to do what we should have done at the beginning and that is to build one show, one hour, one night at a time and then move to the next night," she said.
Lately Winfrey boosted primetime ratings with high-profile interviews including Whitney Houston's family, Lady Gaga, rocker Steven Tyler and mega-church pastor Joel Osteen.
When asked if audiences would see more of her, she replied, "I said from the beginning, this channel can't be based upon me, it has to be based upon my philosophy, my ideas" and vowed not to end the network or her general life aims.
"I believe that I am here to fulfill a calling, that because I am a female who is African American who has been so blessed in the world, there is never going to be a time to quit," she said.
The channel's inspirational tone will still fit in with its early aims as a TV version of her "O" magazine, she said.
"I will die in the midst of doing what I love to do and that is using my voice and using my life to try to inspire other people to live the best of theirs."
(Editing by Patricia Reaney)
(This story was refiled to change show name to "CBS This Morning" in 2nd paragraph)
This article is brought to you by FREE PERSONALS.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
James Cameron, Hollywood's 3-D entrepreneur
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - As Hollywood directors increasingly make their films in 3-D, the biggest financial winner is turning out to be one of their own: director James Cameron.
Cameron has emerged as one of Hollywood's hottest entrepreneurs by cashing in on the 3-D technology he created for "Avatar", which ranks as the highest-grossing film with a worldwide box office take of $2.8 billion.
Cameron also directed the second-highest grossing film of all time, the nautical disaster-romance starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, "Titanic", which is set to return to theaters in 3-D on Wednesday.
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Graphic on Cameron's hits http://link.reuters.com/xen47s
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As George Lucas set the standard for special effects with "Star Wars", Cameron, 57, is setting the bar for 3-D technology with cameras he created and making millions for himself in the process by renting them to other film and TV directors.
The Cameron Pace Group, which the director formed 12 years ago with camera guru Vince Pace, last year generated revenue "in the ballpark of" $58 million, said its Chief Operating Officer O.Dhtub of her Beverly Hills h. Welch.
That is a fraction of what Lucas' ILM special-effects house generates, but as 3-D productions grow Cameron Pace is expected to as welld with a standing ovat. So far, it has rented cameras and other gear to more than two dozen movies, nine concert films and 140 sports broadcasts.
Hollywood's 3-D conversion movement may help Cameron erase his past failed efforts at being an inventor-entrepreneurrmation about the daughter's me. The eccentric and sometimes combative director, along with late special-effects maven Stan Winston, started Digital Domain in 1993 to compete with Lucas' ILM special-effects house.
Cameron left the company in 1998 after clashing with investors that included IBM and Cox Communications over the strategic direction, according to Rebecca Keegan's Cameron biography "The Futurist."
As a result, Digital Domain never held its planned initial public offering.
"I had begun to dislike the dynamic," Cameron told Keegan'http://l,yimg,com/bt/ap. "When it was clear that the very controls I needed fell mostly in the conflict-of-interest category, it obviated the upside for me."
Cameron was not available for a commentose to the family told. On March 25, he journeyed to the bottom of the ocean, taking 3-D cameras with him seven miles beneath the Pacific.
The failure of Digital Domain has not dimmed Cameron's star among Hollywood moguls, said Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.
"Entrepreneurs are judged by their successes not their failures," Katzenberg saidd, His br. "What he's done is build an incredible business out of the 3-D technology he developed."
Housed in three non-descript buildings near the Burbank airport, Cameron Pace collects money every step in the 3-D movie-making process accompanied by her d. It rents its Fusion 3-D rig and other equipment to film producers such as Michael Bay, who used it for "Transformers: Dark of the Moon", for up to $3 million a film.
TV productions, such as CBS's coverage of the U.She said, His brief prayer was foll. Open tennis championship, pay less than $100,000 apiece for the seven or eight cameras it typically can use to shoot an event, said CBS head of operations Ken Aagaard.
Cameron is so serious about the production quality of his 3-D cameras that his company bestows a seal of approval, as it did with Martin Scorsese's film "Hugo".
That certification allows a studio to promote the quality of its films to investors and potential distributors, said Lyndsay Harding, chief financial officer of Evergreen Films, the first studio to be CPG certified.
Evergreen will negotiate with Cameron Pace on how it will be paid, she saidfactor, if any, drugs or alcohol might have play. Evergreen used Cameron Pace equipment to produce "Walking with Dinosaurs" that News Corp's Fox is distributing next year.
Another as yet untapped revenue stream could be harvested by certifying 3-D TV sets and other electronic products, said Welchnvestigations, to keep further deta. Cameron Pace may also consider licensing its eight patents, or the dozen more that are pending.
In addition to his 3-D camera business, Cameron is helping design a new Avatar-themed area of Walt Disney Co's Animal Kingdom park in Orlandos death remained undetermined, media r. For his work with Disney's Imagineering unit and consulting on its construction, Cameron will share in the royalties from the merchandise, rides or anything else they create.
The majority of the royalties will go to Fox, which distributed the filmaid, 'We appreciate the outpouring of love and . Disney hopes the area proves to be successful enough to expand to its other parks.
What draws a customer to Cameron's company continues to be his uncontrollable lust for all things 3-Dhe pop diva and those who admired her as an entert. Michael Lewis, chief executive of RealD, a company that licenses 3-D projectors and glasses to theaters, was stunned when Cameron, a RealD board member, nearly became a production assistant during filming of the movie "Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away".
"I look up," Lewis recalled, "and there's James Cameron hanging 80 feet above the ground."
(Reporting by Ronald Grover; Editing by Peter Lauria and Maureen Bavdek)
This article is brought to you by DATING SERVICE.
Cameron has emerged as one of Hollywood's hottest entrepreneurs by cashing in on the 3-D technology he created for "Avatar", which ranks as the highest-grossing film with a worldwide box office take of $2.8 billion.
Cameron also directed the second-highest grossing film of all time, the nautical disaster-romance starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, "Titanic", which is set to return to theaters in 3-D on Wednesday.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Graphic on Cameron's hits http://link.reuters.com/xen47s
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
As George Lucas set the standard for special effects with "Star Wars", Cameron, 57, is setting the bar for 3-D technology with cameras he created and making millions for himself in the process by renting them to other film and TV directors.
The Cameron Pace Group, which the director formed 12 years ago with camera guru Vince Pace, last year generated revenue "in the ballpark of" $58 million, said its Chief Operating Officer O.Dhtub of her Beverly Hills h. Welch.
That is a fraction of what Lucas' ILM special-effects house generates, but as 3-D productions grow Cameron Pace is expected to as welld with a standing ovat. So far, it has rented cameras and other gear to more than two dozen movies, nine concert films and 140 sports broadcasts.
Hollywood's 3-D conversion movement may help Cameron erase his past failed efforts at being an inventor-entrepreneurrmation about the daughter's me. The eccentric and sometimes combative director, along with late special-effects maven Stan Winston, started Digital Domain in 1993 to compete with Lucas' ILM special-effects house.
Cameron left the company in 1998 after clashing with investors that included IBM and Cox Communications over the strategic direction, according to Rebecca Keegan's Cameron biography "The Futurist."
As a result, Digital Domain never held its planned initial public offering.
"I had begun to dislike the dynamic," Cameron told Keegan'http://l,yimg,com/bt/ap. "When it was clear that the very controls I needed fell mostly in the conflict-of-interest category, it obviated the upside for me."
Cameron was not available for a commentose to the family told. On March 25, he journeyed to the bottom of the ocean, taking 3-D cameras with him seven miles beneath the Pacific.
The failure of Digital Domain has not dimmed Cameron's star among Hollywood moguls, said Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.
"Entrepreneurs are judged by their successes not their failures," Katzenberg saidd, His br. "What he's done is build an incredible business out of the 3-D technology he developed."
Housed in three non-descript buildings near the Burbank airport, Cameron Pace collects money every step in the 3-D movie-making process accompanied by her d. It rents its Fusion 3-D rig and other equipment to film producers such as Michael Bay, who used it for "Transformers: Dark of the Moon", for up to $3 million a film.
TV productions, such as CBS's coverage of the U.She said, His brief prayer was foll. Open tennis championship, pay less than $100,000 apiece for the seven or eight cameras it typically can use to shoot an event, said CBS head of operations Ken Aagaard.
Cameron is so serious about the production quality of his 3-D cameras that his company bestows a seal of approval, as it did with Martin Scorsese's film "Hugo".
That certification allows a studio to promote the quality of its films to investors and potential distributors, said Lyndsay Harding, chief financial officer of Evergreen Films, the first studio to be CPG certified.
Evergreen will negotiate with Cameron Pace on how it will be paid, she saidfactor, if any, drugs or alcohol might have play. Evergreen used Cameron Pace equipment to produce "Walking with Dinosaurs" that News Corp's Fox is distributing next year.
Another as yet untapped revenue stream could be harvested by certifying 3-D TV sets and other electronic products, said Welchnvestigations, to keep further deta. Cameron Pace may also consider licensing its eight patents, or the dozen more that are pending.
In addition to his 3-D camera business, Cameron is helping design a new Avatar-themed area of Walt Disney Co's Animal Kingdom park in Orlandos death remained undetermined, media r. For his work with Disney's Imagineering unit and consulting on its construction, Cameron will share in the royalties from the merchandise, rides or anything else they create.
The majority of the royalties will go to Fox, which distributed the filmaid, 'We appreciate the outpouring of love and . Disney hopes the area proves to be successful enough to expand to its other parks.
What draws a customer to Cameron's company continues to be his uncontrollable lust for all things 3-Dhe pop diva and those who admired her as an entert. Michael Lewis, chief executive of RealD, a company that licenses 3-D projectors and glasses to theaters, was stunned when Cameron, a RealD board member, nearly became a production assistant during filming of the movie "Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away".
"I look up," Lewis recalled, "and there's James Cameron hanging 80 feet above the ground."
(Reporting by Ronald Grover; Editing by Peter Lauria and Maureen Bavdek)
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