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In the news
By Times staff reports ABC to have Harry on TVABC has secured the TV rights to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and Warner Bros. has acquired rights to the movie's sequel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which is expected to arrive in theaters next November. Warner Bros. would not confirm published reports that the two-movie deal is worth at least $130-million. ABC said it has a 10-year license to show each film and plans to air them first on its broadcast network. The movies will then go to cable, including the Disney Channel. Meanwhile, Harry Potter had the biggest opening day in Australian film history, taking an estimated $1.126-million Thursday, distributor Roadshow said. Piracy of the film in the Pacific region appears to be growing. Traders in Macau are selling Potter VCDs weeks ahead of the film's Chinese premiere. Cruise video suit settledA Los Angeles Superior Court judge approved a final settlement between Tom Cruise and a magazine publisher the actor sued for $100-million after the man said he had a video of Cruise engaged in homosexual acts. In exchange for Cruise dropping the suit, Michael Davis issued a retraction, saying he has never seen such a video and doesn't know if such a video exists. In an Eonline.com report, Cruise lawyer Bert Fields said, "Tom is a great respecter of homosexual rights, but he's not gay." Davis lawyer Edward Pilot said his client was pleased with the outcome because "he did not pay Mr. Cruise a penny." British museums now freeBritain's top museums scrapped admission charges starting Saturday to give everyone the chance to see the nation's collections of art and historic items. Free attractions in London will include the Natural History Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museums, and the Imperial War Museum. Culture minister Tessa Jowell said free access was the keystone of the government's policy of encouraging everyone to enjoy museums. Pay-for-music sites readyThe world's big record labels are finally rolling out online subscription services smack in the middle of a holiday season that caps the music industry's worst year in at least a decade, Reuters says. In coming weeks, music fans -- who for years have been pulling music off the Web for free from Napster and other services -- will be introduced to money-for-music services, including PressPlay and MusicNet. The launches, originally promised for late summer or early fall, come as the big labels shift into an intense marketing mode to boost CD sales in a year they've been hit by the slumping economy, rising artist costs and online piracy.
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From the wire |
