Entertainment

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.

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.

In a Hollywood auditorium, James L. Tolbert tried to induce a room packed with broadcasting and advertising executives to essentially join the civil rights movement in 1963 by pointing out the obvious. "We Negroes watch 'Bonanza' and buy Chevrolets. We watch 'Disney' on RCA sets," proclaimed Tolbert, an entertainment attorney who was speaking to the 125 invited guests in his role as president of the NAACP's Beverly Hills-Hollywood branch. "We buy all the advertised products, the same as you do. " Delivered weeks before the March on Washington, the speech pointed out the absence of African Americans on both sides of the camera.

The Catalina Island Museum has opened a window into a dark period of life on the island with an exhibition devoted to a pseudoscientist who looted Native American graves for profit eight decades ago. "The Strange and Mysterious Case of Dr. Glidden," which opened over the weekend, examines the life and times of Ralph Glidden, a hucksterish entrepreneur who in the 1920s and '30s excavated bones and relics from Tongva Indian burial grounds for sale...

It seemed like a typical dinner party for the well-heeled set: eight women, some dressed in stilettos and skinny jeans, gabbing over glasses of wine and endive spears with goat cheese at a lavish Hollywood Hills home. But amid the Kate Middleton pregnancy chatter and a debate on the best mascara brands, the conversation turned to mobile app strategies and the latest tech companies to score millions of dollars in venture capital funding. Not too long ago, such meet-ups among tech-savvy women - or men, for that matter - were a rarity in Los Angeles.

The financial crisis fueled anger with the world's "takers" - those people who "like to get more than they give," in author Adam Grant's pithy definition. Everyone is searching for a sustainable formula for recovery that not only curbs damaging self-interest but also promotes a meaningful alternative. Here it is. Grant's new book, "Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success," published by Viking, is perfectly timed and beautifully weighted. An organizational psychologist, Grant crushes the assumption that me-first takers always reach the top of the ladder.

When the upcoming comedy "The Hangover Part III" wrapped production in January, Warner Bros. was left with tons of used plywood, joists, furniture, faux brick and other materials from the film set. But instead of hauling the leftovers to the landfill, the studio donated the items - enough to fill 10 truckloads - to the charitable organization Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles, to be sold in Habitat's stores in Gardena and Norwalk....

Raymond Smith Jr. has been trying for nearly two decades to make the movie industry listen to the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing. This month, the senior executive at Regal Entertainment Group will come closer to his goal. His company, the nation's largest theater chain, will have nearly 6,000 theater screens equipped with closed-captioning glasses that could transform the theatrical experience for millions of deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons who have shunned going to the cinema because previous aids were too clunky or embarrassing to use. PHOTOS: Hollywood Backlot moments The Knoxville, Tenn., chain has invested more than $10 million in the glasses, which were developed by Sony Electronics Inc. Resembling thick sunglasses, the device uses holographic technology to project closed-caption text that appears inside the lenses, synchronized with the dialogue on the screen . The system also includes headphones connected to a wireless receiver, with separate audio channels, which play dialogue or allow visually impaired users to listen to a narration track of the film.

This Spanish Colonial Revival estate sits behind gates on nearly an acre in Hancock Park. Restored and updated for entertaining, the 1920s house recalls the gracious living of a bygone era. Location: 620 S. Rossmore Ave., Los Angeles 90005 Asking price: $8.95 million Year built: 1924 Architect: John DeLario House size: Eight bedrooms, seven bathrooms, 8,000 square feet Lot size: 37,520 square feet ...

DreamWorks Animation has a bunch of cavemen to thank for getting some fresh Wall Street love. Analysts responded positively to news that the Glendale studio had scored with its prehistoric feature "The Croods," which helped drive first-quarter profit to $5.6 million. The results sailed past Wall Street expectations. The unexpectedly good numbers coming from DreamWorks triggered investors to snap up the company's stock. After closing at $19.28 on Tuesday, shares climbed 7% in after-hours trading after the studio reported financial results.