Franchises

That envelope stuffed with discount coupons may be junk mail to you, but it's become a cost-effective way for a growing number of small businesses to get inside your home to peddle their products. It has also become a gold mine for Money Mailer, a Huntington Beach direct-mail firm that specializes in helping proprietors of small businesses band together to pitch their wares in one mailing. Money Mailer is one of a few national firms that specialize in what is called "cooperative" advertising.

Look, up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. It's the expectations for Warner Bros.' "Man of Steel"! The Superman picture comes at a crucial time for the studio. With the completion of the "Dark Knight" trilogy last year, Warner Bros. needs a new superhero franchise. In the near term, Warner Bros. could also use a blockbuster. "Man of Steel," which was directed by Zack Snyder and co-produced by "Dark Knight" filmmaker Christopher Nolan, is opening Friday on the heels of the studio's somewhat disappointing "The Hangover Part III. " And with the riskier sci-fi spectacle "Pacific Rim" slated to open in July, a strong showing for "Man of Steel" would ease pressure on Warner Bros.

The gig : Andrew Wiederhorn is the chairman and chief executive of Fatburger Inc., a fast-food restaurant chain based in Beverly Hills. The first Fatburger opened on Western Avenue in Los Angeles in 1947 and gained notoriety when rappers Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. all mentioned the restaurant in songs. Since 2003, Fatburger has been owned by Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc., a Santa Monica investment company of which Wiederhorn is also chairman and CEO. Self-starter : Wiederhorn grew up in a single-parent family in Portland; his father died when he was age 9. In high school, he hired a lawyer to help him get permits to rent out jet-skis on the Willamette River.

If any NBA team is hoping to land a franchise-altering player during the June 27 draft, like a Tim Duncan or LeBron James, good luck finding him. Seemingly every NBA general manager or scout views the 2013 draft as being devoid of that dominant force. Instead, most GMs say, it's the kind of draft in which teams will pick the best player available, to fill a need at a particular position or because a team likes a certain player for its own reasons. "I think it's just an OK draft," said one Western Conference executive who was not authorized to speak publicly about the draft.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. on Monday agreed to pay $5 million for a license to kill any attempt by Sony Pictures Entertainment to make a James Bond movie. The amount is the net sum MGM will pay to Sony to cement its rights to one of Hollywood's most valuable film franchises, as well as to obtain from Sony the rights to the classic Bond story "Casino Royale," the only Bond film rights MGM didn't already own.

In an effort to fuel expansion, Carl Karcher Enterprises Inc. said Friday that it plans to sell 57 company-owned Carl's Jr. restaurants in Northern California to franchisees over the next two years. Analysts said franchising will allow Carl's to expand faster in Northern California because franchisees will pay for new construction. But the plan depends on Carl's ability to arrange financing for its franchisees, according to a restaurant consultant.

Earvin "Magic" Johnson will soon be selling Whoppers. The NBA Hall of Famer said Monday that his Los Angeles-based company, Magic Johnson Enterprises, agreed to buy 30 Burger King restaurants in Atlanta, Birmingham, Ala., Dallas and Miami. Terms of the deal, expected to close July 1, were not disclosed.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment key franchises Batman/Arkham Upcoming game: Batman: Arkham City (Oct. 18) Developer: Rocksteady (Britain) Lego Upcoming games: Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (Nov. 1); Lego Batman 2 (2012) Developer: Traveller's Tales (Britain) Mortal Kombat Next sequel expected in 2013 Developer: Netherrealm Studios (formerly Midway Chicago) Lord of the Rings Ongoing game: Lord of the Rings Online Developer: Turbine (Boston)

WHO says there are too many sequels? Certainly not the movie studios. In addition to new installments in the "Spider-Man," "Shrek" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" series, at least four other movie franchises will offer up third episodes this summer. The highest-profile entries are George Clooney in "Ocean's 13" (June 8), Matt Damon in "The Bourne Ultimatum" (Aug. 3) and "Rush Hour 3" (Aug. 10), the first starring role for Chris Tucker since the last "Rush Hour" movie came out six years ago.

Ask entrepreneurs if they've thought of franchising their businesses and watch the gleam in their eyes. With 2,400 franchise companies and 500,000 franchises in operation across the country, cloning a successful business is tempting. But it's not as easy as you might think, according to Mark Frydman and Robert (Goody) Goodman, principals in Box Bros., a Canoga Park packing and shipping company that is struggling to launch its franchise program.

The announcement over the loudspeaker before the Sparks' game drew claps from the Staples Center crowd. "Tonight the Sparks report no injuries. " It was a sharp contrast to the injury-riddled Seattle Storm team they were facing, which was playing without superstars Sue Bird (knee surgery) and Lauren Jackson (hamstring surgery), both of whom are sidelined for the season. The Sparks' relative depth showed in a big way in their 102-69 win in their season opener Sunday evening.

Now that Major League Soccer has brought years of work to a successful end by placing another franchise in the New York metropolitan era, it's time for Commission Don Garber to turn his attention from the league's newest franchise to the league's most embarrassing. And the record expansion price of $100 million the New York Yankees and English Premier League team Manchester City paid for a foothold in North American soccer figures to increase that pressure. Chivas USA continues to languish, with Sunday's loss to Real Salt Lake leaving it winless in its last six matches and securing its hold on the Western Division cellar.

— Most San Antonio Spurs possessions start with Kawhi Leonard setting up in the corner. It's good strategy for a small forward whose career three-point accuracy in the playoffs is better than that of Ray Allen, Stephen Curry and Steve Nash. It's also symbolic of his basketball career. You see, it feels as if everyone puts Kawhi in the corner. He was the overlooked star at Riverside King High who went to San Diego State while less talented players in his area went to UCLA.

DineEquity Inc. isn't a name that would be familiar to most people, but they've probably eaten at one of the Glendale company's well-known restaurant chains: Applebee's and IHOP. The first International House of Pancakes opened in 1958 in Toluca Lake, a family-friendly place that inspired the IHOP Corp. chain and introduced children to colored syrups and gooey, whipped-cream-covered chocolate-chip pancakes. That company acquired the larger Applebee's chain in 2007 and became DineEquity the following year.

Batman's done it. Spider-Man too. Superman is about to try. As studios attempt to inject new life into overly familiar comic-book franchises, reboots - with changes in tone, directors and stars - are all the rage. But "Iron Man 3" proves there is more than one way to skin this particular cat. The story of "Iron Man 3" is a continuation of the previous two films, and its key cast is the same. But like a stunt driver taking over the wheel while the car is moving at 100 mph, new director (and co-writer)

An air of finality might be the closest they get to catching a whiff of the Finals. The Lakers are done. The Clippers could be by Friday night. And to think some people actually wrote that these teams could go all the way. Oh, right. Sorry about that. Given the expectations, this could easily go down as the most disappointing NBA season in L.A. in the 29 years the city has hosted two teams. The Lakers were presumed Finals contenders who were supposed to challenge the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' record of 72 regular-season victories.

The International Franchise Assn., which is holding its annual convention in San Diego this week, is hoping for a "damned good recession," quipped President Don DeBolt. That's because a healthy stock market and rising economy have made potential franchise buyers less prone to "look at options," or make bold career moves, such as acquiring a dry cleaning, hamburger, office products or automotive franchise. DeBolt said U.S.

The WNBA, its second season looming, has expanded again. The WNBA announced Wednesday that it would add franchises in Minnesota's Twin Cities and Orlando, Fla., for the 1999 season, bringing the league to 12 teams. "This broadens our geographic reach to two new regions," WNBA President Val Ackerman said. The WNBA, owned and operated by the 29 NBA teams, begins its second season June 11 with expansion franchises in Detroit and Washington.

On farewell day, they waved until their hands hurt. Kobe Bryant pleaded for Lakers management to pay millions to Dwight Howard, millions to Pau Gasol, millions for the luxury tax, anything to keep the Lakers together for the final year of his contract. "It's a lot on the table for them . . . it's a tough call to make," Bryant said. "But then again, it is one more year . . . it's one more year. " Mitch Kupchak confirmed the Lakers still want to re-sign Howard, then pleaded for him to make his decision quickly so they can figure out if they can keep Kobe happy.

His exit from the Lakers' season was as regal as his entrance, Dwight Howard surrounded by screams and gasps as he swaggered through the Staples Center tunnel into the shadows of summer. Problem was, the season wasn't done. The game wasn't finished. There were still 9 minutes 51 seconds remaining in the third quarter. There were still thousands of fans in the stands and the last trudging steps of a difficult journey to be completed. When his team needed his leadership most Sunday, Howard's mouth earned him a second technical foul and ejection from a loss that swept the Lakers out of the playoffs, a 103-82 defeat to the San Antonio Spurs.