Entertainment

Alibaba Acquires Damai For Entertainment Boost

... years, investing in potentially complementary businesses such as Damai and others that fit its expansionary strategy. For example, it invested in Qyer ’s $60 million round in early 2016. Qyer is a China-based online social network for travel enthusiasts that enables them to exchange photos, experiences, and notes about their travel. It’s not difficult to see Qyer expanding into offering travel bookings after growing its social network and being acquired by Alibaba when it reaches a certain level of market penetration. Alibaba has also invested in China’s dominant ride sharing service, Kuaidi Group. Notably, Alibaba invested twice in private funding rounds for online retailer __link__ but was beat to the punch by Wal-Mart’s (NYSE: WMT ) acquisition of Jet in 2016. Corporate investments don’t always signal intent to acquire, but they do provide companies like Alibaba with internal market intelligence into high-growth areas while giving them the option to acquire a fast-growing firm as part of a strategic move. I expect to see more investment and acquisitions by Alibaba as it continues its expansion, especially into the U. S. and other major non-China ...

Monroe County Fair Lines Up Its Free Entertainment Acts

... Arena where the pigs raced the past three years, while the theatre will be held at the bandshell where the hypnotist act took place. Darryl Diamond, fair manager, said he found the bear show online. Established in 1977, the show calls itself the “oldest and longest- running wild animal educational show in the country.”. The bears are kept in a privately owned facility on a 200-acre ranch out West. Most of the animals are obtained as orphaned cubs because they will not survive on their own. Owners of the show said they travel to “Fairs, Sport Shows, Television, Movies or any other type of event for the public to learn about and enjoy these amazing animals,” according to its Web site __link__), At the site, readers can find information about bears and how they are handled, trained and cared for with diet ...

A Dozen Takeaways From The Ucla Entertainment Symposium

... ruffians who benefited from his Innocence Project. He probably got them at a nice price, too, but that went unsaid, and anyway, beggars can’t be choosers. Make a flop or two and you’ll find out who your real friends are pretty quickly. 9. The MBAs weigh in. New to this year’s Symposium was a session called “The UCLA Anderson Spotlight on the Business of Entertainment,” in which UCLA Anderson School of Management professor Sanjay Sood tried to get former Disney ABC Television executive vp and CFO Peter Seymour to say something interesting. Perhaps owing to quants’ natural caution — or the overhang of nondisclosure agreements — it was a more uneventful session than one might have anticipated. But Seymour did make the useful observation that pivoting from linear networks to SVOD — and hence engaging in a direct relationship with one’s customer, see #5 above — was not an easy task for a media company. “The business of selling subscription services is very different from ...

J.lo Reflects On Career 20 Years After 'selena

... to Variety this week at an NBC press event, where she was on hand promoting "World of Dance," Lopez said, "At this point, you have to create your own opportunities and I think that's why I got so much more into producing and taking into our own hands as an artist. I think it's the second phase of your career - you kind of make a name for yourself and show everybody what you do and where your talents lay, and then you have to take it into your own hands and be the artist that you want to be. I think [the industry] is still moving and growing, and it's always a challenge for women.". Lopez is currently balancing her Las Vegas residency, while starring on NBC's drama "Shades of Blue," which was just renewed for a third season, and gearing up to serve as a judge on the network's upcoming summer dance competition series "World of Dance," plus the broadcaster's next live musical, "Bye Bye Birdie Live!". She's the face of all those projects, but Lopez is a force behind the scenes - she pitched the idea for "Bye Bye Birdie" to NBC, shepherded "World of ...

Governor Names Special Adviser For Innovation, Entrepreneurship And Entertainment

... special adviser for innovation, entrepreneurship and entertainment, Fitzgerald will attend Cabinet meetings and help set policy in attracting entrepreneurs and in developing training for high-tech jobs. “Fostering creativity and innovation and technology skills in our people is one of the most important keys to growing our economy and improving our quality of life,” said Fallin. “Patrick has the knowledge and experience to help our state develop in these areas. He’ll also encourage and cultivate our young people to pursue training in coding and ‘digital manufacturing ‘so that they will be a relevant, skilled workforce attractive to companies seeking to fill job openings.”. Fitzgerald operates and runs a consulting practice working with investment companies and industry leaders to install best practices and drive results. He was born and raised in Oklahoma, and recently returned to the state ...

How Tragedy And Persistence Brought An Entertainment Center To Austin's East Side

... As the project gained momentum, she lost her city advising role. At City Hall, she gave a fiery goodbye. When I go there, when I go skating, I just feel a great sense of pride. I feel like I made Tamika's death into something that was positive. - Jenniffer Muhammed. “It’s like my passion was good enough to get us to this point where it looked like it was actually going to happen, and then I wasn’t good enough," she said. She said she spent years feeling jaded from the experience, but that has faded with time. “When I go there, when I go skating, I just feel a great sense of pride,” she said. “I feel like I made Tamika’s death into something that was positive.”. What’s the complex like today? It’s got an arcade, a bowling alley, a movie theater, a food court and a roller-skating rink.  The company that manages the complex says about 7,500 people visit every month. It hosts concerts, community forums, and private parties and, of course, lots of families and lots of teenagers. Fulfilling A Mission. On a recent Friday afternoon three seventh-graders - Daylan Cook, Jaclyn Maciel and Joey Pesina - goofed around in the lobby. “I just like to come have fun with ...

Missing Richard Simmons And The Queasiness Of Deep-dive Entertainment Journalism

... When millions of people tune in to shows that expose the minutiae of real lives of real people in something like real time, the subjects’ day-to-day lives can change dramatically, and forever, through no intention of their own. “Simmons” caught a bit of heat, but the genre is burgeoning, and will continue to. Next week, the podcast “S-Town,” from the team behind “Serial” and “This American Life,” will début. That show takes a magnifying glass to an Alabama town and the people who live in it—none of them public figures—and a complicated mess of mysteries and tragedies within. I’ve heard a few episodes, and they shocked me a bit. “Missing Richard Simmons” was just a warm-up: we’ll be having these conversations in the weeks, months, and years to come. Like “Serial,” “Missing Richard Simmons” revealed that no matter how many details we examine and consider, mysteries aren’t always solvable to self-appointed detectives, or to anybody else. Taberski, quite reasonably, suggests that Simmons went through something rough in early 2014, withdrew from society, got over what was bothering him, and, having tasted freedom, realized that ...

Mgm Television Is The First Big Entertainment Studio To Create Original Shows For Snapchat

... for when the first shows from MGM—which produces TV series like Fargo, Vikings, The Voice, Survivor, Shark Tank and Hulu’s upcoming The Handmaid’s Tale—will debut on Snapchat. “The team at Snap is thinking about mobile TV differently than anyone else in this space. They are innovators, and it presents us with a unique opportunity to flex our development and production muscle in a whole new way,” said Barry Poznick, MGM president of unscripted television, in a statement. "The team at Snap is thinking about mobile TV differently than anyone else in this space.". -Barry Poznick, MGM president of unscripted television. “We are excited to create content for their vast and hard-to-reach audience that consumes entertainment in a very specific fashion.”. MGM’s content will appear alongside the other original shows, on Snapchat’s Stories page and its Discover page. Added Snap Inc. vp of content Nick Bell in a statement, “MGM has an incredible pool of talent—from producers and directors ...

The Flash'-'supergirl' Boss Unveils Origins Of Musical Crossover

... very beginning, more of in a joking way, just because we had Grant, and we had Jessie Martin and Carlos Valdes, and we worked with Victor Garber, and then John Barrowman joined. We had this plethora of theater talents, so it was always like, “Oh, we should definitely do that,” and we heard it from the fans, too. “When are you going to do a musical considering the cast you have?” Once we got Supegirl off the ground, then we had Melissa and Jeremy, it was like, “We kind of have to do this.” But Greg [Berlanti] was really the driving force this year about making it a reality. Once we decided we were going to do it, and Greg announced it at the TCAs, it was sort of like, “Well, we’re definitely doing it!”. What’s been the hardest part about putting together crossover. The hard part really was picking the songs. I mean, it was like, “What songs were we going to use?” We went through a lot of songs, a lot of going through our own i Tunes. Were we going to ...

Norm Aladjem, Others Exit Levity To Start Mainstay Ent.; 35 To 40 Clients Follow

... in Ray, Derek, Sanaz and Tim, who are like-minded in their passion and approach for architecting artists’ careers and helping them tell their stories. We wanted a platform where we could focus on that.”. As far as the new partners of Mainstay go, Moheet worked for the last seven years as a manager/producer at LEG; prior to  that he was a talent agent for a decade. Van Pelt began his career at LEG, spending the last nine years there as a manager/producer. Yamin transitioned to LEG several years ago after beginning her career as an attorney while Honigman started his career in film production before coming to LEG. Mainstay is already hitting the ground running as the company’s first feature film as producers will be Simple Wedding, written and to be directed by filmmaker Sara Zandieh; the film is scheduled to start principal photography in April. Also already on the new company’s slate is the thriller Dark Whispers by David Wilson, gearing up for a fall start in Louisiana. The project reteams Aladjem with producer Ryan Westheimer and director Jabbar Raisani, with whom he produced Black Knight Decoded last year for Pepsi Content Studios ...

South Shore Lakefront Getting New Entertainment Complex

... developments for the Southshore Lakefront. Jacqueline Quynh, WWL 5:47 AM. CDT March 21, 2017. Renderings courtesy Roland Von Kurnatowski. (Photo: WWL). CONNECT TWEET LINKEDIN GOOGLE+ PINTEREST. NEW ORLEANS - Changes are coming for the south shore of the Lakefront, as soon as the summer. It's been peaceful and serene evening along the Lakefront in New Orleans East, especially for those who call it home. Things haven't always been this quiet. Before Hurricane Katrina, a casino used to draw thousands to the old Southshore Marina. Now, the area is being dealt a new hand. "I grew up coming out to the Lakefront and to the sea wall and swimming and crabbing and all that," said Tipitina's owner Roland Von Kurnatowski. He and his and family have big plans for the lakefront; an entertainment complex. It'll include an amphitheater, a refueling dock, as well as an event facility with restaurants and shops. The complex will be right next door to the hangar for the  PT 305, a historical Navy vessel. MORE: Restored WWII boat PT 305 returns to dock, rides start in April. "It's worrisome to see a facility like this that seems ...