Archive for the 'Film' Category
Time Warner’s prehistoric romp wins big box office bucks
Mammoths and multiplexes go hand in hand, apparently, particularly whether said mammoths are of the CGI variety. According to Boxofficemojo, 10,000 B.C., Time Warner’s (NYSE: TWX) prehistoric epic, pounded the rest of its competition like an angry caveman warrior clubbing a saber-toothed tiger (I …
Should film studios always spread the risk?
General Electric’s (NYSE: GE) Universal Pictures asset received some good news the other day — 75% of the studio’s film projects for the next few years will be funded, in part, by a financing entity known as Relativity Capital. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the deal calls for Relativity …
Which film will take the gold that weekend?
Okay, it’s moment to see which film studio is going to be on top that weekend (not that I’m a clairvoyant, intellect you; nevertheless, I’ll give it my best shot). According to the Associated Press, Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE: SNE)’s Vantage Point might end up the big winner, with perhaps as much …
“Spiderwick Chronicles” not such a great fantasy for Viacom
All film studios want to find their own Lord of the Rings/Harry Potter franchise. Disney (NYSE: DIS), for example, seems to be headed on the right track with its Narnia brand. Viacom (NYSE: VIA) made a solid effort that past weekend by releasing The Spiderwick Chronicles to the mass multiplex market…
Girls Gone Wild, the magazine — look out, Playboy (PLA)
The dysfunctional state of the mainstream magazine industry is apparently not ample to dissuade the purveyors of the Girls Gone Wild video franchise from flashing the newsstand. According to Nate Ives of Advertising Age, Girls Gone Wild magazine will soon hit the streets with $9.99 worth of exub…
What Jackie Chan would do in a market like this
I happen to love Jackie Chan. My kids do as well. Just as we watch family movies together as a family, we additionally talk about investing. While I have not yet started discussing the benefits of writing covered calls with my 4 month old, I do talk about investing basics with my older kids. The…
Netflix lifts limits on online film viewing
Before, Netflix allowed one hour o…
Movie Review: ‘There Will Be Blood’ is an American classic
I love movies about trade tycoons and Paramount Vantage’s (NYSE: VIA.B) latest one, There Will Be Blood, is no exception. Daniel Day-Lewis solidifies his title as the world’s best actor in a tour de force performance of the cruel oilman, Daniel Plainview and director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie…
Nicolas Cage helps give Disney a holiday present
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) got a nice present nowadays in the mold of the nation’s number one movie, National Treasure: Book of Secrets.The sequel to the 2004 blockbuster, National Treasure, National Treasure: Book of Secrets had a monster weekend, with $45.5 million in sales. Nicolas C…
New Line Cinema/MGM to manufacture two new J.R.R. Tolkien films
After years of squabbling amidst the creators of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and New Line Cinema (Time Warner, NYSE: TWX), nowadays comes wonderful news that Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh have agreed to create not one, but TWO new hobbit movies! The prequels will be produced and distribute…
Movie review: Owning Mahowny
I just watched a terrific film (based on a true story) about Dan Mahowny, a compulsive gambler who defrauded the bank he worked for to feed his habit. It’s a must-see for anyone who is a student of white collar crime — which is something all investors ought to be.
Philip Seymour Hoffman star…
