BUSINESS
May 16, 2013 | By Richard Verrier, Los Angeles Times
Cinemark Holdings Inc., the nation's third-largest theater chain, is bulking up in Los Angeles County with plans to open a multiplex at the SouthBay Pavilion shopping mall in Carson. Vintage Real Estate, which owns and manages SouthBay Pavilion, said it had recently signed a lease with Cinemark to bring a 14-screen theater to the mall. Set to open in December 2014, the multiplex will be among the highest-profile locations for Cinemark in the Los Angeles region. PHOTOS: Celebrities by The Times The Plano, Texas, circuit, which has 5,259 movie screens in the U.S. and Latin America, already has a dozen cinemas in the Los Angeles area and is expanding its footprint in Southern California.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2013 | By Richard Verrier, Los Angeles Times
A loud screeching sound echoed across the oval racetrack as a driver burned rubber, revving the engine of a silver Mercedes-Benz and spinning the vehicle a full 360 degrees while kicking up a cloud of dust and smoke. This wasn't a stock car race, but a shoot for an upcoming Mercedes commercial that was being filmed at Irwindale Speedway, where about two dozen crew members huddled Monday morning under blue pop-up tents next to camera stands and film equipment to escape the suffocating 104-degree heat.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2013 | By Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times
Microsoft Corp. is partnering with Paramount Pictures on a promotional effort for the studio's "Star Trek Into Darkness. " It represents the biggest such undertaking ever for the software giant. The Redmond, Wash., company's campaign isn't short on whimsy: Bing, Microsoft's Internet search engine, was updated Tuesday to include the "Star Trek" language Klingon in its online translation service. But there also is strategic significance to the marketing venture, because it leverages so many Microsoft services, devices and platforms in a way not previously attempted by the company for a movie promotion.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2013 | By Meg James, Los Angeles Times
Can the return of Michael J. Fox, agent Jack Bauer and "Ironside" help vanquish the flesh-eating zombies that are threatening to take a bite out of television broadcasters' fortunes? ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC are unveiling their fall lineups this week with the hopes that their latest crop of crime-solving dramas and half-hour comedies will cure what ails the broadcast industry. The networks are coming off a lackluster season marked by falling ratings and a failure to produce new hits on the magnitude of cable channel AMC's zombie show "The Walking Dead.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2013 | By Daniel Miller and Meg James, Los Angeles Times
Sony Corp. stock soared in afternoon trading after New York hedge fund Third Point proposed that the electronics and media giant make an initial public stock offering of up to 20% of its entertainment arm. That unit, known as Sony Entertainment Inc., includes film and television studio Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Sony Music Entertainment. The proposal also raised the specter of a possible Sony alliance - perhaps with CBS Corp., whose CEO Leslie Moonves has long dreamed of running a movie studio.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2013 | By Matthew Fleischer, Los Angeles Times
On a warm, Friday morning in Beverly Hills, 150 prospective television producers from around the world gathered at PitchCon 2013 at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills to try to sell their projects to 50 of Hollywood's top industry professionals. At one table in the center of the room, Charla Young, 40, of Louisville, Ky., calmly pitched a television executive the idea for her inspirational talk show "Power to Change. " Having already obtained regional syndication in her home state, Young had come to Los Angeles to find national distribution for her show.