Bloomberg is reporting today that up to 10,000 employees will be laid off in effort to shore up lacking sales in the last several quarters. Up to 7,000 will be direct layoffs and another 3,000 will be given early retirement packages. Given that this week’s government jobs report showed only 18,000 new jobs being created, this represents a big hit….
Let’s hope all the analysts are wrong on this one!
The notion of canine sidekicks seems to have gone out of fashion as of late, and that’s a shame. After all, where would Dorothy be without Toto? Who is Superman without Krypto the Superdog? And who gives a damn about Turner without Hooch? Luckily for dog-lovers everywhere, in Steven Spielberg‘s motion capture epic The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, Herges globally-beloved Belgian reporter Tintin will assisted by his trusty dog Snowy (so named not for his white fur, but on account of his voracious appetite for a particular Colombian export). A new image from the film has Tintin and Snowy doing some research in an outmoded artifact that primitive cultures referred to as a “book.”
The image first dropped at Animatie.
The Secret of the Unicorn is directed by Spielberg and produced by Peter Jackson, and the sequel, Prisoners of the Sun, is directed by Jackson and produced by Spielberg. This first entry is written by the British power-triumvirate of Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright, and Joe Cornish. Jamie Bell provides motion-capture performance for Tintin, and he’s joined on the mo-cap stage by the likes of Daniel Craig, Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Mackenzie Crook, Toby Jones, and Cary Elwes.
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn hits theaters in 2D and 3D on December 23rd.
Two-time Oscar winner and sixteen-time Oscar nominee Meryl Streep is arguably the single most respected actress currently living, and withThe Iron Lady, she’ll most assuredly earn even greater accolades and perhaps another Academy Award nomination. No, she’s not playing a dignified female version of Tony Stark. In the film, the New Jersey-born Streep plays Margaret Thatcher, the often controversial conservative figure who served as the Prime Minister of the UK through the 1980’s.
Meryl Streep reteams with her Mamma Mia! director Phylida Lloyd, who has an extensive background in the British theater. Fellow Oscar winner Jim Broadbent (Professor Slughorn in the Harry Potter series) plays Thatcher’s husband Denis. The gentleman doing most of the talking in this teaser is Gordon Reece, played by Roger Allam, who has appeared in V for Vendetta, Speed Racer, Pirates of the caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and Game of Thrones. Also playing a substantial role in the film is Anthony Head, who starred as Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
While The Iron Lady will hit UK theaters in January 2012, it will debut Stateside on December 16, 2011, no doubt for Academy qualification.
By TIM ADLER in London
James Murdoch’s decision to close theNews of the World is seen here as the biggest gesture News Corp can make to try and save its takeover of BSkyB. Jeremy Hunt, the UK culture secretary in charge of approving the BSkyB deal, has saved face by announcing that any decision over the deal will be delayed until the fall. Hunt was due to finally approve the deal tomorrow. Owning BSkyB outright would mean News Corp getting its hands on its swelling £5.7 billion ($9 billion) revenues. It would also cement Rupert Murdoch’s position as the most powerful media magnate in Britain.
The decision to close the News of the World tabloid at the center of the deepening phone-hacking scandal has stunned media over here. One insider at News International — Murdoch’s newspaper arm — has told the BBC that “Rupert Murdoch is losing his judgement” in deciding to close the paper rather than fire CEO Rebekah Brooks, who was editing the News of the World at the time of the alleged phone hacking of 13-year-old murder victim Milly Dowler and the families of the London bombing victims. Questions are being asked as to why around 200 journalists on the News of the World should lose their jobs when those at the top of News International such as Brooks or indeed James Murdoch himself are still in place after self-admitted management failure. Murdoch’s biographer Michael Wolff said that Rupert Murdoch is “scared out of his wits … he’s scared for the business commercially. Scandals reach the point where you can’t stop them.” The UK government is considering pulling advertising from all Murdoch newspapers. Wolff added that until this point, Rupert Murdoch has always been seen as invulnerable. Observers says that this afternoon’s announcement may be dramatic, but it doesn’t do much to address the deeper issues facing the News Corp brand: James Murdoch may have sawn off one foot, but it will be enough to stop gangrene spreading to the rest of the company?
Pop star Justin Timberlake is part of a group that said Wednesday it will buy MySpace from News Corp., a bid to add some cool to a social network that has been losing it for some time. 
Timberlake will become a part owner and play “a major role in developing the creative direction and strategy for the company moving forward,” according to Specific Media, the company that he will partner with.
The deal is for $35 million, mostly in Specific Media stock, according to a person familiar with the matter. The deal values MySpace at a fraction of what News Corp. paid for the site six years ago and paves the way for the layoff of about half of the 500 workers, the person said. As part of the exchange, News Corp. will receive a private equity stake in Specific Media.
In the ongoing state-by-state battle over tax collection on affiliate website sales, this afternoon Amazon warned thousands of affiliates their revenue streams would be shut off if a tax bill would be signed into law. Mere hours later,Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill, signifying tough times ahead for many online business owners.
States are scrambling for cash, so it’s no surprise they see a pot of gold in e-commerce sales. Brick and mortar sites – such as Wal-Mart – that have failed to grasp the opportunities Amazon created with programs (like Affiliates) are out for blood.
Essentially, certain states have grubbed for tax money by passing laws that expand the definition of physical presence. They are specifically targeting e-commerce sites that work with affiliates – more specifically, websites that partner with Amazon as Affiliates to earn commissions from individual sales.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos believes the actions of the states to be unconstitutional and that this should be resolved at the federal, not the state level.
Last year Colorado signed a new law that extended nexus to e-commerce affiliates. The law required online retailers like Amazon to give Colorado residents a bill on how much they owe in sales tax on web purchases, and provide summaries of individual web purchases to the state. Amazon responded, as like with California, for better or worse, by cutting off its Colorado affiliates.
David Strathairn has been set for a key role in Lincoln by director Steven Spielberg. He’ll play William Seward, Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of State, an outspoken abolitionist and a core member of Lincoln’s wartime cabinet. He joins Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln and Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln. The DreamWorks film has been set to begin production this fall in Virginia for a late 2012 release through Disney’s Touchstone label.
Two-time Academy Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis will star as the 16th President of the United States in DreamWorks Studios’ Lincoln to be directed by Steven Spielberg. Sally Field will also star as Mary Todd Lincoln.”
“Daniel Day-Lewis would have always been counted as one of the greatest of actors, were he from the silent era, the golden age of film or even some time in cinema’s distant future. I am grateful and inspired that our paths will finally cross with Lincoln,” said Steven Spielberg. “Throughout his career, he has been exceptionally selective in his choice of material,” added Stacey Snider, “which makes us feel even more fortunate that he has chosen to join with us for Lincoln.”
Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Hal Holbrook, James Spader, John Hawkes, Tim Blake Nelson, Bruce McGill and Joseph Cross are in negotiations to join the cast of DreamWorks Studios’ “Lincoln,”As well. Tony Kushner wrote the script based on Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals and Kathleen Kennedy is producing with Spielberg.
Smells like Oscars to me!
An inside source at MySpace disclosed to news sources that over a third of its staff is to be cut in the coming days. At the same time, MySpace may be sold (there are currently 2 bidders) and News Corp is trying to get this deal done by Thursday (!) to make quarter end. News Corp wants $100 Million (really), but realistically, the bids will be much lower.
Stay tuned…! In other news…
Over 150 members of staff will be shed this week — according to these insider sources — although the timing has yet to be confirmed with a statement from the company, which is so far not saying anything.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, with nearly half of its staff being let go earlier on this year. 
Though MySpace is not used by the very vast majority of the Generation Y nowadays, the memories of ‘once was’ will resonate through this entire demographic.
It is hard to think of a time without Facebook, but there was. MySpace filled that gap — with flashing animated GIFs as wallpapers and nothing but user generated content; without the need for definitive expression or linear articulation.
News Corporation acquired a sinking ship when it bought it in the first place. But the Generation Y have since said their short goodbyes to the network in favour of more business-oriented and structured sites — particularly Facebook and LinkedIn.
Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) was under some worries before when Facebook announced that it was going to get into video delivery of selected movies. In a SWOT analysis, the Facebook issue always fell under the O and the T as opportunity and threat alike. This no longer appears to be a threat. Facebook has announced today that Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix will join the Facebook board of directors.
MarketWatch has a full backgrounder on the news here. Facebook is obviously gearing up its team for an upcoming IPO. It is one of our Top 17 IPOs To Watch in 2011.
Why this matters is complex, yet simple enough. There was a thought that it is only natural for Facebook to get into digital distribution of films. The outfit has even announced some limited streaming deals already.
If Facebook wanted to get deep into the video distribution business, it has hundreds of millions accounts already. The movie studios have already shown over and that they are all just about willing to take the arms-dealer business model and deal with anyone who will pay under a contract to deliver movies.
The only real difference is over who gets the new releases first. For Facebook to get into the video delivery business, all it has to do is to buy more bandwidth. Still, partnering with Netflix is a no-cost or low-cost solution that could come with extremely high margins.
studio systems group 