Sunday, April 30, 2023

Media Man Culture Blog: News Updates, SEO and Pop Culture Flashback

Media Man Culture Blog

SEO, Search Engines, Hunt Machine on the web and more; Gonzo news for business




SEO, Search Engines, Hunt Machine on the web and more; Gonzo news for business


 

SEO or Hunt Machine Optimisation is the process of perfecting the website’s visibility to have applicable quests on hunt machines. More visibility in hunt results makes the point attract the attention of the druggies. 

Search Machines similar as Google, Yahoo, Bing use technology to bottleneck on the web on different spots. They collect information about each point and also put them in an indicator. Further, the algorithm analyses the runners in the indicator grounded upon numerous different factors to determine the applicable spots that appear in a hunt result. The ranking factors for seo toronto can be keywords, unique content, applicable length of content, image attributes, etc. Optimizing the point with SEO factors can grease crawling and indexing and help the point rank advanced in hunt results. Unlike paid hunt advertisements, organic rankings on point can’t be achieved on hunt machines. thus, it becomes important to optimize websites to rank advanced in hunt results. 

When it comes to Statistics, The first five Google quests on the first runner account for 67.60, while only 0.78 of Google quest click on the alternate runner. 70 of the marketers consider SEO more effective than PPC for generating deals. 51 of shoppers surveyed say they use Google to probe a purchase they plan to make online. These are a many statistics to punctuate the significance of SEO in 2021. 

An effective SEO strategy can help the runner rank advanced and reach the right followership and increase website business when it comes to businesses. It can also help in getting transformations. Readout why SEO is important for businesses in 2021.

1. Increases visibility of a website 

SEO, when done right, can help businesses increase their visibility on the website. It’s the direct motorist of bettered visibility and prints in the hunt results. Using the right keywords, adding backlinks from high sphere authority websites, optimizing metadata on the point, and participating unique content are among the many factors that can help the point increase visibility. SEO facilitates crawling and indexing, which helps in adding the visibility of a website. 


2. Increases website business 

Organic hunt is pivotal to a business. Search Machines contribute to a business’s visibility, and SEO can help druggies land to the point. SEO builds an online presence, increases website business, and helps the business to grow. The advanced the website ranks, the further business the business shall admit. The first Google hunt result has a28.5 click- through rate which falls down to2.5 for the tenth hunt result. 


3. Enhances stoner trust on website 

SEO establishes the authority of content on the hunt machine by admitting parameters like unique content, quality backlinks, advanced runner ranking, and stoner geste, which enhances stoner trust in the website. spots that are listed on the hunt machine are considered believable than the runners that are n’t. Quality SEO helps establish business credibility, gives exposure, and enhances its character. 


4. This leads to a better consumer experience of the website. 

SEO can help in perfecting the consumer experience and furnishing quality content to the consumers. It makes the content dependable through quality backlinks and the right keywords. SEO helps search machines in relating the right spots that are helpful to the stoner. Website speed is another criterion that plays an important part. A slow website will have a high brio and tends to distort the stoner experience. 


5. Search Machines aren’t perfect, and if you do n’t take applicable way, your website will be ranked lower. 


Hunt Machines need or, as we call, colorful conditions to identify point applicability. SEO enables the hunt machine to effectively judge its applicability and show the same in the hunt results. The better these conditions are satisfied, the advanced the runner ranks, which can help the business get website business, make credibility, and lead to transformations. 


6. High website business would lead to advanced transformations. 

Transformations can be appertained to the asked thing the point or business has. That can be enabling deals, subscribing to a service, adding readership, etc. Quality SEO promotes high website business which in turn leads to advanced transformations. High-engaging websites are bound to get a better conversion as they can gather maximum eyeballs. 


Conclusion 

SEO has come a critical element to the online success of businesses. Businesses who want to make sure of their strong online presence need to invest in SEO.




Pop Culture Flashback

Entertainment news, WWE, Hollywood, Australia, Sin City, Las Vegas, gaming and more...


What an exciting time for entertainment, movies, gaming and wrestling fans. WWE new angles and storylines, plus Main Event hits Australian TV

We've also got Hollywood box office reports, pro wrestling scoops, celebrity news and lots more. The Media Man agency with the latest...






James Bond new documentary... 

 The highs and lows of the James Bond film franchise have been brought into the spotlight with the release of a new documentary. 'Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007' charts the story behind the movie franchise and has been launched to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the films. Director Steven Riley told Reuters he was pleased the producers let him delve into the story behind the stories. 'I wanted to tell a real truthful history of the franchise, so I had requested that we could tackle some of the tricky areas, some of the hard luck story of Bond and they were thankfully very open about that,' he said. 'There were many obstacles in the way, there were changing times to cope with changing generations, tastes, there were changing relations - well personal struggles and personal relationship failures and really how did the films survive despite those obstacles in the way was something I really wanted to get to the root of.' Riley said. The documentary interviews five of the six official bond actors with the original Bond, Sean Connery, a noticeable absence after turning down interview requests. Former Bond girls mingled with the biggest names in James Bond at the premier screening in London earlier this week. Among the guests were the children of the pioneering producers of the film franchise Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli and Harry Saltzman. 'Well you know it's our baby and we feel very very protective over the Bond franchise, it's something our father started over 50 years ago and he had great passion for it and we have just been carrying the flame.' Cubby's daughter Barbara Broccoli told Reuters. 'Everything or Nothing' was released in theatres on Friday October 5, branded 'Global James Bond Day'.

Adele's Bond theme tops iTunes...
Adele's theme for the new Bond film Skyfall has shot to the top of the iTunes chart within hours of its release today. The track is hotly tipped to become the first 007 theme to make it to number one in the official chart when it is announced on Sunday. The song - also called Skyfall is her first new material since her career exploded following the success of second album 21 early last year.


The Rock on: Dwayne Johnson’s new competition series, The Hero; U.S auditions...


Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will headline and executive-produce a new competition series, The Hero, set to premiere in the summer of 2013 on TNT. Producers are going on a seven-city U.S. casting call for the series, searching for “competitors who display the physical, mental and emotional strength to participate in a battle of brains, brawn and morality, resulting in one winner being named the ultimate hero.” The show will host Dallas auditions on Oct. 20 at the new Studio Movie Grill, 13933 N. Central Expressway at Spring Valley Road, Far North Dallas. For more information, visit theherotnt.com. The show will “bring together 10 ordinary people in a house, and then assign them various missions … [it] will challenge the competitors to prove that they’ve got what it takes to be heroes, pushing them to the limits to see what they are willing (and able) to overcome, undergo or sacrifice for their fellow contestants,” the press release continues. “Johnson will serve as The Hero‘s mentor and motivator. … In a unique twist on the reality-competition format, The Hero will incorporate social media into every facet of the show, from pre-production and casting to on-location shooting and live broadcasts. Through the show’s interactive digital platform, viewers will be able to vote each week for the contestant they consider to be the most heroic.”


Arnie admits cheating with Stallone's ex-wife...

Arnold Schwarzenegger had an affair with Brigitte Nielsen shortly before she wed Sylvester Stallone. The philandering actor has revealed he had a steamy fling with the actress - who was once married to his good pal Sylvester - during the early years of his relationship with now ex-wife Maria Shriver. Arnold has confessed to having an affair with the Danish actress while he was dating Maria in his new autobiography, according to US gossip website TMZ. He wrote that he and Brigitte became close while filming 'Red Sonja' together in 1985; the same year she married Sylvester. The 'Terminator' film star's admission comes more than a year after Brigitte originally blew the whistle on their "outrageous affair" in her own memoir 'You Only Get One Life', in which she claimed she didn't know he was living with Maria at the time. Maria is said to be furious with the actor for doing an interview about her reaction to his new book on '60 Minutes' because she did not receive an advance copy of his tell-all and was not contacted by the show to give her own reaction before their interview. He has also reportedly told Maria that she should not expect a share of the profits from his autobiography, 'Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story', even though much of the book is about their relationship. Arnold recently admitted his affair was the "stupidest thing" he ever did in his marriage. He said: "I think it was the stupidest thing I've done in the whole relationship. It was terrible. I inflicted tremendous pain on Maria and unbelievable pain on the kids."

 
WWE Studios 'The Day' positive movie reviews...

"The Day" hit theaters this week and the positive reviews are in on WWE Studios and Anchor Bay Films' chilling horror film about a day in the lives of a group of people living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Variety by Marc Graser

" 'The Day' is one of the most effective horror movies made in years, successfully delivering a feeling of dread that so many films in the genre lack these days, along with a unique story and captivating characters. Douglas Aarniokoski doesn’t take the easy out in his direction and never relies on camp or amps up the gore quotient to thrill audiences. He’s an impressive filmmaker who is worth keeping an eye on."

HollywoodLife.com by Russ Weakland

"WWE Studios and Anchor Bay Films have always delivered films all over the spectrum and with 'The Day' they continue to entertain us with a story of humanity torn by war, destroying civilizations and most of all life on earth, which makes those that are the survivors realize they must do whatever it takes to stay alive." ...

"So if you want to go out and see a film that will make you think and give you some jumps and chills 'The Day' is your movie. You will not be disappointed!"

The Los Angeles Times by Mark Olsen

"Luke Passmore's screenplay is stingy with his explanations about who these people are or how the world came to be in this state, and that turns out to be one of the film's greatest strengths." ...

"As Mary, the most recent enlistee to the tribe, [Ashley] Bell has a secretive reserve and steely resolve."


The Rock 'foils would-be burglars in London'...

The Rock has apparently foiled an attempted burglary in London.

The actor - also known as Dwayne Johnson - was working on his new movie Fast and Furious 6 in Hackney when he spotted the group of would-be thieves as they attempted to break into vans.

Johnson, who was dressed as an FBI agent for filming, was said to have abandoned a fight scene mid-take in order to confront the group.

"It was so funny. The Rock looked like an action hero because he had his flak jacket on and an FBI badge in his hand," an insider recalled to The Sun. "All of a sudden, there was loads of gunfire and this giant dressed as a copper was about to mow them down. The lads jumped out of their skin and scarpered down the canal path and left the crew in peace.

"It was like the Only Fools [and Horses] 'Batman' sequence - they must have thought they were in the middle of a real-life action movie."

The source also quipped that the crew have suggested that actor - wrestler Johnson should be single-handedly responsible for security on the Fast and Furious 6 set.

The source said: “It was so funny. The Rock looked like an action hero because he had his flak jacket on and an FBI badge in his hand. All of a sudden there was loads of gunfire and this giant dressed as a copper was about to mow them down. The lads jumped out of their skin and scarpered down the canal path and left the crew in peace.

“It was like the Only Fools Batman sequence — they must have thought they were in the middle of a real-life action movie.

“Now the crew are joking that they should drop security and just have The Rock do it.”


Dwayne Johnson wards off burglars...

London - Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson scared off a gang of would-be thieves on the set of his latest film.

The 40-year-old actor spotted a group of youths breaking into a warehouse in Hackney, East London while filming The Fast and the Furious 6 and stormed off the set mid-scene - dressed in full FBI agent costume - to chase the burglars away.

A source told The Sun newspaper: "It was so funny. The Rock looked like an action hero because he had his flak jacket on and an FBI badge in his hand.

Quick thinking

"All of a sudden there was loads of gunfire and this giant dressed as a copper was about to mow them down.

"The lads jumped out of their skin and scarpered down the canal path and left the crew in peace. They must have thought they were in the middle of a real-life action movie.

"Now the crew are joking that they should drop security and just have The Rock do it."

The former wrestler managed to prevent the theft of expensive equipment thanks to his quick thinking and his impressive 6'5" frame.

The Fast and the Furious 6 also stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and singer Rihanna, who is set to play a villain in the popular film franchise.


Box Office results for new WWE movie...

WWE Studios's latest movie, "The Day," drew an estimated $10,100 in its first full weekend in theaters. The movie, which was shown in 12 theaters, ranked 52 out of 54 movies tracked over the weekend, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. (Pro Wrestling Torch) - U.S news report


No Holds Barred star facing prison time...

Tommy "Tiny" Lister, who was back in the spotlight this summer when WWE re-released "No Holds Barred" on DVD, faces up to five years of prison time for alleged mortgage fraud. Lister, who played Zeus in the WWE movie, pled guilty to "conspiring to commit mortgage fraud" in federal court on Friday, according to a TMZ report.

According to the plea agreement, Lister and other individuals conspired to obtain mortgages worth $5.7 million, costing lenders $2.6 million. Lister was also accused of defrauding lenders of another $1.1 million. Lister is due back in court in September for sentencing, which could be up to five years in federal prison.


David Otunga talks WWE and movies...

WWE wrestler David Otunga said in a recent interview that he hopes to eventually advance to the top of the card in WWE. "I am very goal oriented and want to see my character go to the top. I am hoping to have the creative freedom to do that and let it pan out the way I would like. It’s exciting for sure and hopefully in the next few weeks my character continues to grow," Otunga told ChicagoNow.com promoting Monday's Raw.

Otunga also discussed his recent movie role for WWE Studios's "The Hive." Otunga said, "The film was unbelievably fun because it came to me second nature. With the WWE, the acting classes, and the improv I do it was very easy to blend in. The only major difference was me having to shave. I haven’t shaved in many, many years but it had to be done and it helped me get into character."


WWE Interested In Lingerie Football Star...

The WWE NXT website has added a profile for Summer Rae and in that profile they acknowledge her past career with the Lingerie Football League. On a related note, WWE apparently has interest in another LFL star - Zipporah Chase.



NWA documentary news...

Charleston Post & Courier columnist Mike Mooneyham's Sunday column features a review of a new NWA documentary, "History and Tradition: The Story of the National Wrestling Alliance," which focuses heavily on the history and prestige of the NWA World Title. The story also reviews the current state of the NWA, which is being re-organized by R. Bruce Tharpe after buying the rights to the organization. Included are quotes from PWTorch senior columnist Bruce Mitchell on the history of and state of the NWA and his view on whether the organization has a place in today's wrestling era.



WWE News: Jericho details WWE's lack of long-term planning & day-of-TV-changes in interview on his 2012 WWE run...

In an interview with the Busted Open satellite radio show, Chris Jericho highlighted WWE's lack of long-term planning and changes on the day of TV tapings, which has been exacerbated by Raw shifting to three hours, in a review of his 2012 WWE run.

Notably, Jericho said he did not find out about his "Contract vs. Contract" send-off match against Dolph Ziggler on the August 20 Raw the night after Summerslam until ten minutes before Raw started.

"I didn’t know until the day I showed up, actually ten minutes before Raw started in Fresno that we were doing this contract vs. contract thing. So, I didn’t even know this was going to happen. I just figured I would have a match with Dolph and that would be the end of it," Jericho said.

"So, people who think that there is some long, drawn-out, plan, it really wasn’t. It was about ten minutes before the show started and I was like 'Oh, we are doing a contract vs contract thing? Oh okay.' So there you go, a little special behind the scenes look."

Jericho also said WWE did not have a plan for his feud with Dolph Ziggler when it started after the Money in the Bank PPV in July. Jericho said he pressed for a back-story to their feud before their strong opening promo.

"I couldn’t wait to work with Dolph but I needed a story. What’s the story? They said, 'we will think of one later.' I said, 'I don’t like that.' I need to think of one now since I have a promo tonight with Dolph. We can't think about this next week," Jericho said.

Jericho added, "That’s when I came up with the concept of everyone was bitching that Jericho never won a match on PPV... I thought it would be real interesting to go with the 'you can’t win the big one' scenario. But sometimes the writers will write 'this old broken down guy who is on the last legs of his career.' I’m like, 'Wait a second, broken down? I’m in the best shape of my life, never been hurt, I’ve never missed a match...' I wanted to focus on the storyline of 'he can’t win the big one.' It gave us a great place to go."

Jericho has said in recent interviews that he wasn't supposed to feud with Ziggler in his send-off program culminating at Summerslam. Jericho expanded on his reaction to being told he wouldn't be feuding with the other candidates, Sheamus and Daniel Bryan.

"Originally I was supposed to feud with Sheamus, and then it was Daniel Bryan. Then the day of Raw, they said I was doing something with Dolph. I was like, 'What happened to Daniel Bryan and Sheamus?' They said it changed and I was fine with it. I’ve been doing this long enough that I roll with the punches," Jericho said.

Regarding future stars on the roster replacing the old guard, Jericho talked about the uphill battle that wrestlers like Ziggler and Miz have in front of them not being having well-rounded wrestling experience outside of WWE. Jericho said, "When that light bulb comes on and they already have ninety percent, but that last ten percent is what makes you a great performer; some guys never figure out that last ten percent and when the guys do, that’s when they become guys you can base companies around and put in main events."

Specifically on whether Ziggler can be a future main-eventer, Jericho said, "Dolph is one of the best guys on the roster, but he is still learning as are a lot of the other guys. People say, 'Oh, Damien Sandow is the next guy or Kofi.' These guys are still learning. In time, I think these guys will be amazing, amazing performers. But, right now they are still on their way up the learning tree. So, yes, I think Dolph is going to be an amazing performer. Yes, I think the Miz is going to be a great performer. Lots of guys are getting into that zone, but they are still learning... It’s a different world out there right now than the way it used to be. There is a lot of great, great performers or potential great performers that are on the way to getting there."

[ FYI: Busted Open with Dave Lagreca and Doug Mortman can be heard from 2:00 to 4:00 EST on Sirius 94, XM 208, and Sportszone 860 on the Internet ] (Pro Wrestling Torch)


Ric Flair Comments On 'Hangover 3' Campaign And His Daughter Working For WWE NXT...

We noted before that fans online are trying to get WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair a cameo appearance in The Hangover 3 movie. Scott Fishman of The Miami Herald spoke with Flair this weekend about the campaign and The Nature Boy is perfectly fine with it.

"Oh man, I love my fans. So cool they started this whole campaign. I could play anything, as long as I'm not the guy getting married."

Flair also says he's proud of his daughter Ashley, who is currently working as Charlotte in WWE NXT. Flair said:

"It's my hope that people see that her accomplishments aren't a result of me. She's worked extremely hard for this. It's a very physically and mentally demanding business, and I really just couldn't be more proud."

You can check out the full article by clicking here.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/01/2980014/hangover-suits-wwe-hall-of-famer.html


Ric Flair going through fourth divorce, waiting for WWE call up...

Details are scarce at the moment, but Dave Meltzer, in this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, reported that Ric Flair is currently going through a divorce, his fourth one, with his current wife, Jacqueline Beems. Apparently, Flair is the one who filed for divorce and cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their break up.

The news is unsurprising as less than two months ago Flair was assaulted by Beems at his home, according to a local police report. This wasn't the first such incident during their marriage together, as Beems was arrested for simple assault on February 21st, 2010 after getting into a fight with Flair upon their return to their residence after a night out. They managed to patch things up after that highly publicised and embarrassing affair, but obviously the second fight that required police intervention was the straw that broke the camel's back.

The cause of their second fight together never came out publicly. But Ric Flair still living The Nature Boy lifestyle and their money problems worsening, what with Flair losing his job with TNA, were all likely at least partly to blame. Ric's adultery was at the heart of his divorce with second wife, Beth; while third wife, Tiffany VanDemark, quickly "had enough" of his inability to retire gracefully and lead a more normal lifestyle with her.

Expect a fifth marriage in the not too distant future for Flair, as he obviously has a psychological need to be in a serious relationship at all times, even though he clearly finds it difficult to fully commit to a partner and amend his behaviour to ensure that a marriage lasts the test of time.

Meltzer also had the latest on his status with WWE:

There was talk surfacing of Flair replacing [Vickie] Guerrero with [Dolph] Ziggler but I don't know how serious that is. Plus, even though Flair can legally start with WWE on 9/10, WWE has yet to sign anyone from TNA since the lawsuit was filed.

This may explain why Ziggler is currently in a holding pattern of putting over the likes of Randy Orton and Sheamus on a seemingly weekly basis. WWE may not want to pull the trigger on him cashing in the Money In The Bank briefcase and winning the World Heavyweight Championship until TNA's lawsuit against them for contract tampering has been dealt with and Flair can return to WWE as his manager.

I have mixed feelings on Flair becoming Ziggler's new manager. Though it should help Ziggler to be taken more seriously, there is the risk that he will be overshadowed by Flair and make it more difficult for him to get heel heat. At least being managed by Vickie ensures plenty of boos. Personally, I think Flair would be much better utilised in an onscreen figurehead role - what do you think Cagesiders? (Cageside Seats)



Joss Whedon: 'The Avengers isn't a perfect movie'...

Joss Whedon has claimed that The Avengers isn't "a great movie".

The film has met with critical acclaim and outstanding commercial success, becoming the third highest-grossing film of all time in just a few months, but Whedon, the superhero blockbuster's writer and director, is determined to keep his feet on the ground.

In an interview with Vulture, the 48-year-old claimed that the box office numbers became, ultimately, "meaningless".

He said: "They're large, and you can't really count that high."

Describing what his goals were with The Avengers, he claimed: "I felt like I had a particular mission in making what I felt was a slightly old-fashioned movie, because I grew up wanting to make summer movies and wanting to make superhero movies, and I got to do both at once.

"I felt like summer movies haven't been what I remember them to be, so I felt like I would love to evoke something that's less hip and ironic and more heartfelt and character-driven, and apparently, other people cared about that in a large way."

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly creator then conceded: "I don't think it's a perfect movie. I don't even think it's a great movie. I think it's a great time, and I'm proud of it, but for me, what was exciting is that people don't go to see a movie that many times unless it's pulling on something from within, unless there's a need there. That's very gratifying."

The film is set to increase its box office even further this weekend, after being re-released in the US to take advantage of the Labour Day holiday.

Whedon will oversee a Marvel-produced SHIELD television show for ABC, before starting work on the Avengers sequel, due for a summer 2015 release.


The Avengers Crosses $1.5 Billion At Worldwide Box Office...

While the re-release of The Avengers at the U.S. box office might have failed to break into the top ten Labor Day weekend movies, it did help The Avengers reach another major milestone. The Avengers has become the third movie in history to cross the $1.5 billion mark at the worldwide box office.

While retaining its number three position on the worldwide box office list, The Avengers took in another estimated $1.7 million over Labor Day weekend, which brought The Avengers U.S. box office total to $619.5 million and The Avengers worldwide box office total to $1.501 billion.

Interestingly enough, The Dark Knight Rises also reached a milestone today, surpassing $1 billion at the worldwide box office, which means that combined The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises have accounted for $2.5 billion at the worldwide box office this year. If you add in The Amazing Spider-Man, which currently sits at number four on the 2012 worldwide box office list with $734.9 million, then the total rises to $3.2 billion. It’s definitely a good time to be in the superhero movie making business.




Jim Carrey joins Kick-Ass 2 cast...

Jim Carrey has been offered the role of Colonel Stars in Jeff Wadlow's superhero comedy, director Jeff Wadlow has strongly hinted.

Director Jeff Wadlow and creator Mark Millar have hinted that the 50-year-old funnyman has landed the coveted role of Colonel Stars in the sequel to 2010's wacky superhero comedy.

Jeff tweeted: "6 days till we start shooting... and we officially have our Colonel. Alrighty f'n then! @ChloeGMoretz @MintzPlasse @donald_faison #kickass2. (sic)"

After Christopher Mintz-Plasse replied asking who his new co-star was going to be, the original comic book's author Mark replied: "Clue - he lives with 200 raccoons and parrots, owns the mask of Loki and named by spielberg as a genius. (sic)"

During Jim's 1994 film 'Ace Ventura: Pet Detective', which sees him play the titular character, his alter-ego is a private investigator who specialises in the retrieval of captive animals.

'The Mask' star Jim is reportedly a big fan of the original 'Kick-Ass' film by Matthew Vaughn and was being courted to play the born again Christian superhero, who assembles a motley crew of superheroes to help fight evil.

The sequel will see several new additions to the cast, including 'Scrubs' actor Donald Faison as Doctor Gravity and John Leguizamo as Red Mist's bodyguard, Javier.

The comedy will begin shooting this Friday (07.08.12) and sees Aaron Johnson returning as the lead Kick-Ass, while co-stars Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Moretz and Nicolas Cage are also reprising their roles from the first film.

'Kick-Ass 2' is set for release in June 2013.




Aussie actors Crowe and Jackman at war...

Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman are at war!

According to various news reports, the actors having been fighting like catty tween girls while shooting the new Les Miserables movie.

“They refuse to be in the same room – trying to get them to promote a film together is a nightmare,” a source tells Star magazine.

“They’ve known each other for a decade, but during this shoot, any shred of civility was thrown aside. They can’t stand each other, each calling the other an embarrassment to the profession.

“Russell sneers at Hugh’s musical-theater background. But Hugh says Russell embarrassed his country with his bad reputation in Hollywood.”

Costar Anne Hathaway has tried to mend fences, but the actors won’t budge.

“Producers hope she can convince them to come to a truce, but it’s not looking very promising,” said the source.

Idea of the moment: Crowe VS Jackman at WWE WrestleMania (Jackman is a known massive WWE fan and has participated in a physical WWE angle in the past, so here's hoping).


Howzat: Kerry Packer's war on cricket may be missing Dennis Lillee...

Many in media and sports circles are now buzzing that the true founding father of one-day cricket was not Kerry Packer but Dennis Lillee - yet the TV smash Howzat! whitewashes him from history, one of the original World Series directors has revealed.

In an rocket on Channel 9's ratings blockbuster, World Series Cricket director Austin Robertson - who also featured as a character in the mini-series - said Australians should thank Lillee for creating the one-day game.

In response, the show's producers launched a broadside of their own, claiming they asked Lillee to contribute but the bowling superstar refused to because he wouldn't get any money.

Mr Robertson, who worked closely with the former Nine king and the rebel team, also defended "the Big Fella" and said he was not the bully he was portrayed to be. Nor was the late batting star David Hookes the simpering and indecisive vacillator depicted in the show.

Mr Robertson said Howzat! was great entertainment and brilliantly produced but riddled with inaccuracies.

"The producers made a nonsense of the way they treated the man really responsible for the whole thing - Dennis Lillee," he said.

"Dennis was visible enough but he is not given the acknowledgement for having the idea in the first place, and his contribution in putting the entire thing together. Other people have put their hands up for having the brainchild of WSC but I am here to say that, without Lillee, it would never have happened at the time.

"Though Packer was determined to get the precious television rights, they would never have been delivered at that time without having the best fast bowler in the world in his corner.

"Curiously, the producers of the show, in the curtain-call of the program, in the segment 'Where are the main players today,' DKL was again overlooked.

"I had to ask myself, why did they do that? It was Lillee who delivered the players and, while it was great to be playing on the Packer team, without Lillee it would have never got off the ground."

Southern Star producer John Edwards, who made the show, hit back at Mr Robertson. He said Lillee boycotted the show and "shut down" Mr Robertson after learning no money was on offer.: "He (Robertson) was invited. There's nothing more to say really. He was mad keen on being involved and Dennis got to him and he was shut down. Dennis wanted money.

"We tried to speak to everybody and not everybody wanted to speak. Some people had grievances and grudges.

"(Writer) Chris Lee tried to involve them as much as as possible in the story and they chose not to be involved."

Mr Robertson confirmed he and Lillee had been approached but declined to take part. He declined to comment further or say whether money was an issue.

Lillee could not be reached but he has consistently refused to comment on Howzat!.

Mr Robertson praised Mr Packer and revealed the media tycoon was not as aggressive as the show portrayed: "The portrayal of Kerry as a constant bully and user of foul language is far from the truth. He could bully. I saw him on many occasions rise up like an out-of-control bull elephant and reduce a grown man to tears. I heard him swear like a storm trooper when out of control. But I never saw him chuck a plate of food.

"I thought Kerry was in the main a humble man, often revealing great compassion, a gentle giant who would talk issues out for hours before making a decision, and then following it through.

"The mini-series gave everybody the impression he was a loud, foul- mouthed bully and we saw precious little of his other side."

Channel 9 declined to comment however sources at the network said they felt the show was spot on in capturing Mr Packer.

Mr Robertson also rejected Howzat!'s portrayal of friend David Hookes, who died after an altercation with a bouncer in Melbourne in 2004.

"David was not a weak, indecisive and nervous character who 'spilled the beans' to The Age's Peter McFarline."

And as for his own portrayal Mr Robertson said: "From birth, and throughout the many years I have enjoyed on the earth I have never had a moustache."


Prince Harry; casino tycoon Steve Wynn and fun and games in Las Vegas and beyond...

As the UK's Daily Mail states it's a rare man who walks away from Las Vegas with nothing to regret.

Prince Harry counts the cost of his escapades in Sin City, he may just be coming to regret the day he ever made the acquaintance of casino tycoon Steve Wynn.

Wynn, the self-proclaimed King of Las Vegas, is the billionaire owner of the five-star Encore Wynn resort, the opulent hotel-casino in whose eight-room, £5,100-a-night suite the prince was photographed playing strip billiards.

Unsubstantiated reports this week have suggested that cocaine was snorted in the suite, and that a known prostitute was among the guests. There are even rumours of a video tape capturing the night's events. So how did the third-in-line to the throne come to meet – even befriend – a septuagenarian gambling mogul?

Steve Wynn, a flamboyant showman with a surgically-enhanced, wrinkle-free face, carefully coiffed hair, a volcanic temper and a trophy wife, is famous for befriending celebrities whose patronage would be good for business.

Last November, 70-year-old Wynn was spotted having dinner with the prince in one of his Vegas steakhouses while the Prince was enjoying a weekend break from an advanced helicopter training course in Arizona.

Waiving the bills of celebrities is common practice in Vegas, and it remains unclear who paid the estimated £30,000 bill for Harry's recent stay. According to Wynn's spokesman, the tab was not picked up by either the tycoon or his hotel.

Is the prince welcome to return? I can't see why not,' the spokesman said.

Wynn is unlikely to be perturbed by Harry's naked shenanigans, but if drugs do turn out to have been involved, he may swiftly seek to distance himself from the events. He may be Las Vegas's most revered casino owner, but he still has his gambling licence and his reputation to think about. It is a reputation that Wynn is eager to protect. He has worked hard to erase the stains of the past.

Today, he is widely credited as the man who single-handedly cleaned up' Vegas and made it into a place in which Wall Street could invest and young families could holiday (if parents don't mind their children collecting the prostitutes' calling cards which litter the pavement).

Yet for all his denials, Wynn, who is worth $2.5 billion, has never shaken off accusations that he was linked for many years to the mobsters who once ruled Las Vegas.

He has weathered successive U.S. investigations over everything from drug-dealing to money-laundering, and has never been found to have committed any wrong-doing.

In Britain, the authorities have proved harder to convince. When he tried to open a casino in London to exploit the influx of rich Arabs in the early Eighties, Scotland Yard denied him a licence. But in the desert city of Las Vegas, he remains a swaggering icon. He has a reputation for being sophisticated' but that's by Vegas standards.

This is a man who bought Impressionist masterpieces only to hang them on the walls of his casinos; who reputedly blew his finger off while playing with a gun given to him by a former Mob hitman, and who boasts that his wife Andrea has the greatest butt in the world'.

Money is no object. In 2005, Wynn sank $2.7 billion into building just one hotel the curved glass and steel Wynn Las Vegas. He then did the same again a few years later with the Encore.

So enamoured is he with the idea of himself as Sin City royalty that he arranged his wedding last year to coincide with that of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Hollywood star Clint Eastwood was best man and lingerie model Caprice a bridesmaid. The reception, held in the ballroom of Wynn's Encore resort, boasted a 500-strong guest list which included Sylvester Stallone, Steven Spielberg, Lionel Richie, Sir Philip Green and Celine Dion.

Each guest left with a five-inch high replica of the tiered wedding cake, but it's unlikely Wynn or his rake-thin new wife enjoyed much of the banquet. Both are vegans, and the youth-obsessed Wynn, who exists on a diet of vitamin pills, liquidised walnuts and the occasional indulgent dribble of olive oil, boasts that he still has a 32in waistline.

After years of hard graft and wheeler-dealing, he has earned the right to behave as he wishes. The son of an East Coast bingo parlour operator and hardened gambler, the brash and handsome Wynn Jnr expanded the family business to Las Vegas with a string of clever investments and ambitious hustling.

In the Seventies and Eighties, when Wynn was building his empire, Las Vegas was full of the mobsters who had originally built its gambling industry.

Some say it was impossible to work in the city and not come into contact with mafiosi, even unwittingly. Others have suggested that, even so, Wynn had an unusually large number of brushes with the Mob.

Wynn himself has vigorously denied any involvement with the Mob, and none of the numerous law enforcement investigations for gambling licences have ever concluded that he worked for or with organised crime.

In 1967, he was with some business associates of noted mobsters on a private yacht cruise on a lake in Nevada when a naked young woman somehow fell over the back of the boat and was chopped almost in half by the propeller blades. Her death prompted an investigation, but everyone on board denied having seen the incident.

And he had trouble with officials in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1986 after investigators discovered mobster Tony Castelbuono, a friend of Wynn, was laundering the profits of heroin trafficking at his gambling tables. Wynn almost lost his gambling licence.

Today, such tales of the Mob are just water under the bridge. Wynn has re-invented himself as the business genius who demolished seedy gambling joints along the Vegas Strip and replaced them with slick hotel-casinos such as the Mirage (the city's first 3,000-bed hotel), the Treasure Island and the Bellagio.

Part of his success has been his ability to turn on the charm with important people. But Wynn is notorious, too, for his temper. In 1991, he reached an out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed sum with the former president of Wynn's Golden Nugget casino, who described Wynn as a womanising, brutal boss.

In allegations made in documents lodged at court, it was said that he would get so angry that his eyes bulged and he started screaming at the top of his lungs and banging his head on the table'. There was no admission of liability by Wynn, who denied the allegations.

His mother Zelma claims his tyrannical behaviour is the result of frustration over his failing eyesight. The tycoon suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive genetic disease which effectively gives him tunnel vision by destroying his ability to see peripheral images. In a dark room, he is completely blind.

His vision may be failing, but for years he was infamous for his roving eye, keeping keys to empty rooms at his various hotels for trysts. He was known to favour his female blackjack croupiers.

All that came to a stop when he met the beautiful Mrs Wynn. Usually described as a British socialite, 48-year-old Andrea was, in fact, born in New York but, as her proud husband likes to stress, was raised in England and France. Tres sophistique.

It all sounds rather less chic when you learn that the family moved to France because her father, a wheeler-dealer named Victor Danenza, fled there in 1976 to escape an FBI fraud investigation.

Before becoming the second Mrs Wynn, Andrea had lived in London with her first husband, Texan banker Robert Hissom, a former polo-playing friend of Prince Charles.

She met Wynn in 2008 in St Tropez, where he keeps a yacht, and the couple began a very public romance. Wynn divorced his long-suffering first wife Elaine, after 46 years of marriage, and wed Andrea last year.

Elaine made around $740 million from the settlement one of the biggest payouts in U.S. divorce history. The costly divorce appears not to have troubled Mr Wynn, who is delighted with his new wife.

It's like God made a woman for me,' he once said, before pointing out the part of his wife he most admired the greatest butt in the world'.

It all goes to show that money can buy you neither taste nor manners. Even Wynn's attempts to acquire a collection of old masterpieces have invited accusastions that he was vulgar and greedily acquisitive.

He has, since the late Nineties, spent hundreds of millions of dollars on paintings by Picasso and Degas, Caravaggio and Titian. He has several times scooped the world's great galleries at auction, only to horrify the art world by hanging his purchases in his casinos.

At 70, he shows no sign of slowing down though controversy continues to dog him. He is embroiled in a three-year court battle with Joe Francis, founder of the soft porn video empire Girls Gone Wild.

In documents lodged at court, Francis claims Wynn threatened in an email that he would kill him over a $2 million gambling debt. Wynn is alleged to have written that he would hit Francis in the back of the head with a shovel'.

Wynn denies the allegations and claims no such email exists.

In Asia, where Wynn now earns 70 per cent of his profits from the gambling mecca of Macau, a resort on the South China Sea, he is embroiled in a battle with a former business partner, Kazuo Okada.

This week, Okada sued Wynn for $140 millino for libel after each accused the other of paying bribes within the Asian gambling industry. No amount of black marble and old masters can hide the sleaziness at the heart of Las Vegas.

It is hard to believe Wynn when he claims he could just as easily have gone into family theme parks if Walt Disney hadn't done it first. Indeed, it seems about as likely as Prince Harry settling for free entry to Sleeping Beauty's Castle rather than a weekend with his colourful acquaintances in Sin City.

One ponders if the prince may be planning to visit in any casino - hotels in the near future, and little doubt that Australia's The Star or Crown Melbourne would love to have him. The smart money say's Prince Harry will no be stepping into any casino in Australia or anywhere else in the near future, perhaps more positive PR appearances will be on the cards however.



The Top 10 best MMA fights of the rest of 2012...


There are plenty of exciting fights to look forward to before 2013. Here’s a look at our top 10 (barring injuries):

10. Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le (UFC on Fuel TV 6, Nov. 10 in Macau)
This one isn’t as much about the fight as it is about the significance of the event – the UFC’s first in China. Neither of these guys is currently in their prime, but they always give crowd-pleasing performances. Le, a native of Vietnam, should have a massive Asian following.

9. Eddie Alvarez vs. Patricky Freire (Bellator 76, Oct. 12 in Windsor, Ontario)
Alvarez might have dropped the Bellator title last year to Michael Chandler, but he’s still one of the top 15 lightweights in the world. This also could be his last Bellator fight with his contract expiring – don’t be surprised if he’s in the UFC in 2013. Explosive knockout artist Freire will be a game opponent.

8. Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson, UFC flyweight title (UFC 152, Sept. 22 in Toronto)
Don’t blink. These are two of the fastest guys in MMA and both challenged for the bantamweight title before the UFC created its flyweight division. This bout will determine the company’s first-ever flyweight champion and these are legitimately the top two guys in the world at 125.

7. Shane Carwin vs. Roy Nelson (TUF 16 finale, Dec. 15 in Las Vegas)
There’s very little chance this one leaves the first round. Carwin and Nelson love to slug it out and after coaching against one another on “The Ultimate Fighter” they probably won’t be too friendly. It’ll be nice to see Carwin, a former heavyweight top contender, back in the cage.

6. Daniel Cormier vs. Frank Mir (Strikeforce: Mir vs. Cormier, Oct. 27 in TBA)
This might be a Strikeforce fight, but it has UFC implications. Mir, the former UFC heavyweight champion, takes on Strikeforce champ Cormier in somewhat of a crossover matchup. But Cormier will be in the UFC right after this fight courtesy of Strikeforce's heavyweight division being disbanded and a win here puts him on path for a title shot in 2013.

5. BJ Penn vs. Rory MacDonald (UFC on Fox 5, Dec. 8 in Seattle)
The trash talk has already been fun between the two, but things will really heat up when they enter the Octagon. Think of this as something of a passing of the torch fight. Penn, in the twilight of his career, will put up a strong challenge against the young lion, but the multi-faceted MacDonald is nearing superstardom in the welterweight division.

4. Benson Henderson (c) vs. Nate Diaz, UFC lightweight title (UFC on Fox 5, Dec. 8 in Seattle)
This could easily be a Fight of the Year candidate if it goes how it’s supposed to. Neither of these guys gives an inch – both Henderson and Diaz are perpetually moving forward. A win here, against a superior standup fighter in Diaz, would put Henderson’s name among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

3. Jose Aldo (c) vs. Frankie Edgar, UFC featherweight title (UFC 153, Oct. 13 in Rio)
Well, this is a pleasant surprise. Aldo was supposed to defend his title against Erik Koch, but Koch had to pull out with an injury and his loss is the fans’ gain. Edgar was the UFC lightweight champion for more than a year and his last two losses were by the slimmest of margins. Aldo, meanwhile, is a buzzsaw – one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. This is, indeed, a superfight.

2. Georges St. Pierre (c) vs. Carlos Condit, UFC welterweight unification (UFC 154, Nov. 17 in Montreal)
It seems like it’s been forever since St. Pierre has fought. One of the best MMA fighters of all time has not competed in more than a year and a half due to injuries, including a torn ACL. He returns to face red-hot Carlos Condit, who is coming off a win over Nick Diaz in January. St. Pierre, a dominant champ, has never faced anyone with the combination of speed, athleticism and technique that Condit has.

1. Junior dos Santos (c) vs. Cain Velasquez, UFC heavyweight title (UFC 155, Dec. 29 in Las Vegas)

This time, we’ll get the incredible battle of wills that we were promised last year. Velasquez lost his title to dos Santos last November in just over a minute via stunning knockout. To make matters worse, it was the UFC’s first show on Fox and the company took undeserved criticism for the quick, flash KO.

Who knew that dos Santos-Velasquez wouldn’t be a war? This one will make up for it, closing the year on a huge high note – the two best heavyweights in the world trading in the center of the cage. Only one will be standing at the end. (New York Post)





Pop Culture Flashback

Entertainment, Gaming, Casino and Hollywood News Report: Marvel Entertainment, WWE, Movies, James Bond...








Sony Pictures May Emulate Marvel’s Strategy and Tie ‘Venom’ to ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ and Other Films...

Some people including some studio executives scoffed as Marvel Studios began to build a franchise of films that would lead up to The Avengers. The team movie was ambitious, and the result of so much planning that it was easy to suspect may fail. We know now, of course, that The Avengers did anything but fail — it is one of the most financially successful films ever released - currently around 3rd most successful of all time.

That means other studios are now willing to consider emulating Marvel’s strategy. Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment haven’t laid the groundwork for a team film in the same fashion Marvel did, but they’re attempting it with Justice League anyway.

And Sony has the rights to some Marvel characters, notably the Spider-Man and Ghost Rider families. And it seems like the character spin-off Venom, which Chronicle director Josh Trank may make, could be designed to fit in with the new wave of Spider-Man movies that begins with The Amazing Spider-Man. Question is… to build up to what?

Hollywood.com talked to The Amazing Spider-Man producers Avi Arad and Matthew Tolmach, who said Venom is being developed with connectivity in mind.

What I’m trying to say to you without giving anything away is hopefully all these worlds will live together in peace someday…Look for the worlds to make sense with one another.

Avi Arad explained what they’re trying to do with Venom, in basic terms:

It’s an Eddie Brock story. We want to be as close to the comics as possible. Especially in Eddie Brock’s story. But again, pseudo-sceince is becoming science. All these tidbits about webs, artificial webs, is a huge industry now. Spiderwebs have unique qualities that will be huge for communications, fibers, and so forth. So we have taken the approach that we want to make the huge amazing movie about Eddie.

The Brock character was played in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 by Topher Grace, but this will be a new take, presumably with a new actor. Brock will be “a journalist. He had the wrong story, he got in trouble for it, he got fired,” explains Tolmach.

Making the films play nice together makes sense, but now the question will be: can we expect a Ghost Rider reboot that places that character in the same universe? In general, is it reasonable to expect that any Marvel characters held by Sony will get films that are connected in at least some vague way? Sony can’t quite make The Avengers, but it could build up to something like the old Marvel Team-Up comic series.


Spiderman comes to South Korea...

A new face of Spider-man came to Seoul on Thursday (June 14) to premiere Parker's untold story, the latest saga of the Spider-Man franchise.

One of this summer's most eagerly awaited blockbusters, "The Amazing Spider-Man" delves into the origins of teenager Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, and tells of the superhero that the 17-year-old eventually becomes.

The new spider-man, Andrew Garfield, appeared on a news conference stage with a smile, but he was more than serious when he spoke about the new saga of the Spiderman series.

"There is such a long legacy to honour, and to do justice to, and I think our intention was to start from there, and make sure we were doing justice to these timeless mythical characters that Stanley created," said Garfield at the news conference.

Spider-man's latest instalment reboots the modern movie franchise that began with 2002's "Spider-Man", starring Tobey Maguire as the comic book crime fighter.

Over three films, the franchise amassed around 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in ticket sales, and for the fourth movie, its creators decided to take a fresh look at the series, bring in a new director and hire 28-year-old Garfield to replace Maguire, 36.

Talented actor Garfiled advised wearing a Spiderman suit and mask wasn't very easy, but it was also his dream come true.

"No one wants to wear spandex, but Peter has to for many reasons, so yeah, it was a challenge, but of course wearing the suit itself was a dream of mine since I was three years old, so being able to put it on every day," said Garfield.

Emma Stone, 23, who has been linked romantically with Garfield off-screen, portrays Parker's first love interest, Gwen Stacy, in the flick.

She said Gwen is different from Mary Jane Watson from the previous series.

"She's involved in helping Peter save the day as Spiderman of course, and so there are a lot of differences there, she doesn't sit idly by and she doesn't let him being a superhero stop the relationship from continuing or complain about it, she becomes a partner," said Emma Stone.

The movie director Marc Webb, well known in the country for his romantic comedy movie "500 Days of Summer," said the characters and romance made the blockbuster actions more appealing.

"You'll believe in that action more, you'll experience it in a more profound way if you care about the characters, and I think the only way I know how to create that empathy is through finding relatable characters and finding those little tiny moments between, whether it's between Peter and his aunt or uncle, or between Peter and Gwen, obviously romance interests me in cinema," said the film director Marc Webb.

About a thousand of fans gathered to see the new Spiderman and his girlfriend on a red carpet, and a fan couldn't hide his excitement for seeing the hero in person.

"I'd never imagined to actually meeting him like this, so I'm so honoured to see him in person. I got an autograph signed by Andrew Garfield himself.

I love him!!" said South Korean fan Lee Kyung-hoon.

South Korea's popular girl group '2EN1' was also attending the red carpet event to promote the movie.

"The Amazing Spider-Man" opens on June 28 in Seoul.

No official word yet on when the new movie will hit Australian big screens, but it should be around the same time as Korea.


Comics film gives legend respect...

Many people put Marvel creator Stan Lee in the same ranks as Walt Disney and Jim Henson. This is exactly the reason William Lawrence Hess and Nikki Frakes decided to make a documentary about the comic book legend.

“When I met Stan, I began to realize how big the things he created and stories he told were,” Hess says during a recent phone interview. “I’m into history and with Stan, there’s a rich history in what he’s done. You can tell he’s one of the 20th-century creators that people look up to.”

The duo’s result was the documentary “With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story.” The film will screen at 9 tonight at the KiMo Theatre, 420 W. Central.

Lee will introduce the film and then sign autographs during the Albuquerque Comic Expo, which runs today through Sunday at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

The documentary took nearly four years to complete. Hess says production began at Comic Con in San Diego in July 2006.

“We shot about 40 hours of footage right before that,” he explains. “When the project was over, we had 480 hours of footage that we managed to fit into an hour and a half documentary.”

Hess says the editing was tiring, but what softened the blow of cutting so much content out was the ability to make bonus footage.

“Nikki worked really close with the editor in carving it down,” he says. “It was a big process to go through, but it worked out in our favor.”

Frakes says it was important to show the man behind the mask.

“He invited us into his house and we got to see what he’s like with his wife,” she says. “It was important that we captured that and tell the story of how he came to be this icon in the comic industry.”

The duo led a team that searched archives and interviewed people associated with Lee. One of the prized interviews was with “Captain America” co-creator Joe Simon, who died in December 2011.

“Joe was basically Stan’s boss six decades ago,” he says. “We wanted to get inside the inner workings of the comic book industry. There were plenty of heavy hitters that came along in the ’40s. This was a huge interview for us.”

Yet for both filmmakers, comics weren’t the first thing they read. Frakes didn’t read them, but says when she learned more about Lee’s story, she wanted to help tell it.

“A lot of people think that he’s an overnight success,” she says. “He’s overcome a lot in his life and managed to become this cultural icon. He’s worked hard to get to his status.”

Hess, who grew up in New Orleans, was introduced to “X-Men” comics and later the Saturday morning comics that Lee participated in.

“I can still hear him saying ‘Stay Tuned Because We’ll be Knee Deep in Danger’ before the commercial break,” he says. “I appreciate that he’s been able to make an impact like that on me.”


'Black Panther' movie rumour: Marvel Studios...

Entertainment Weekly’s inside sources at Marvel Studios advise the news report is no true, however studio representatives declined to comment on the hot rumour.

A news report from the movie website Latino Review by writer El Mayimbe stated Marvel Studios has committed to making one of its next projects a picture based on Black Panther, the leader of the fictional African nation and the character widely regarded as the first major black superhero.

Marvel Studios and its parent company Disney did not immediately comment on the rumor, which has circulated far and wide, causing a buz among comic book movie fans. But now inside sources at Marvel have told EW that it’s simply not true that Black Panther will be one of their next films.

Black Panther is not just a cool codename, it’s the title bestowed on the Wakandan king. In the comics, T’Challa, a Wakandan prince and warrior, passed the trials necessary to ascend to his nation’s throne, thus earning the mantle of Black Panther. Coincidentally, he also fell in love with Ororo Munroe, a.k.a. the weather-controlling Storm from X-Men, during his journeys, but don’t expect her to show up in any Marvel Studios film about him. She remains a part of X-Men mythology still owned by 20th Century Fox.

Black Panther first appeared in a 1966 issue of Fantastic Four, and the name only coincidentally mirrors that of the militant civil rights political party, created that same year. (He also fought as part of The Avengers, which could factor into any sequel for that blockbuster.)

If the look of the character recalls DC Comics’ Batman, the two characters actually have similarities beyond the costume. T’Challa’s superhuman powers are his acute senses of perception and strength, but he is also a brilliant scientist, and as heir to the throne of Wakanda he is every bit as wealthy as Bruce Wayne.

Wakanda was the site of an ancient meteor crash which scattered the element vibranium throughout the land. That fictional element, of course, is one of the rarest and strongest minerals on earth, and is used in the creation of Captain America’s shield. Black Panther’s prime nemesis is Ulysses Klaw, a physicist who murders T’Challa’s father to gain access to the precious vibranium deposits, which he uses to craft a weapon that can create solid objects out of sound waves.

Being the first mainstream black superhero, there were also political elements to Black Panther’s story. In the mid-1970s, comic book story arcs sent him to the American South, where he clashed with the Ku Klux Klan. Black Panther also ventured into an Apartheid-ruled South Africa depicted in the guise of a Marvel nation called Rudyarda.

The Black Panther script was revealed last January, with documentarian Mark Bailey (The Fence, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, and Pandemic: Facing AIDS) crafting the story — an unusual choice, but not if Marvel would like to add a dose of social commentary to the action hero’s story.

If Latino Review’s report proves to be true, the next big questions are who would star and who would direct.

In breaking the scoop, Mayimbe proposed Nate Parker, who got high marks from critics for Red Tails (even if the movie itself did not) and garnered lots of praise at Sundance for a powerful turn opposite Richard Gere in the Wall Street thriller Arbitrage.

Parker’s a solid choice, but The Wire‘s Idris Elba would also supply endless intensity for the character. Chiwetel Ejiofor has the kick-ass-professor vibe down, and Anthony Mackie, although a little slim physically, could build some muscle for the role. If we’re talking pure star power and charisma, Jamie Foxx could be a good choice, and will be riding high after Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained debuts this year.

Marvel Entertainment movie fans.. if the rumour turns out to be true it sure will be excelsior!


Pro Wrestling News...

The debut of Steve Austin’s Redneck Island on CMT (in the U.S) this past Saturday scored a 0.42 rating with 665,000 viewers. It was the highest rated show for the day. Austin wrote the following about the show last night:

“It’s a damn crying shame that Canada, Australia, England, and other great countries cannot get CMT Redneck Island. A damn shame. Spreading Redneck Island around the globe is my newest task. Yes…To provide quality entertainment and content across the globe. #CMT #BSR”

- Despite what WWE says in the lawsuit from TNA, most people within WWE believe that "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair will return to the company as soon as he is legally able to and that WWE officials would love to have him back at the 1,000th RAW in July.


Wrestling companies square off in Nashville, USA court...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Lawyers for World Wrestling Entertainment have told a Nashville judge the company has not and will not use confidential information from rival Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

The pledge came during a hearing last week over a lawsuit TNA filed last month against pro wrestling giant - WWE, claiming WWE had obtained secret contract details in an attempt to poach TNA's wrestlers.

Attorneys for WWE told Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle that the company has not contacted any of TNA's contracted personnel. The attorneys also said WWE has returned the only copies of the confidential information to TNA.

Lyle dissolved a May 24 temporary restraining order against WWE that had prohibited it from using the information to solicit TNA wrestlers, but she made no ruling on the merits of the case. Another hearing will be July 12.

TNA, based in Nashville, claimed in the suit that WWE apparently had already tried to hire away veteran wrestler Ric Flair. According to the court record, WWE lawyers said the company "has no intention of doing so."

TNA alleged that one of its former employees, Brian Wittenstein, went to work for WWE and provided his new employer with contract details. WWE said he was fired when he gave them the information.

A TNA suit against Wittenstein is still pending.

Jerry McDevitt, an attorney for Connecticut-based WWE, said Tuesday the company will file clarifying details with the court. He said the latest order "speaks for itself."

Dixie Carter, president of TNA, said in a statement Tuesday that the company "will vigorously protect TNA and its brand from damage at the hands of any and all sources, no matter who is involved." TNA was founded by wrestler Jeff Jarrett.


WWE Legal Letter To TNA Legal Counsel...

WWE Attorney Jerry McDevitt recently sent a letter to TNA legal counsel Erika Blonquist. The letter was filed with the court last week and can be read below:

First, and as I advised you orally on the phone during our recent conference call, WWE has not solicited Ric Flair to leave TNA and enter into a contract with WWE. WWE has made no offer to Flair and has no intention of doing so.

Second, as I also advised you, WWE has not solicited any other current TNA talent to repudiate their contracts and enter into a contract with WWE. WWE has no interest in current TNA talent.


The Ultimate Fighter: Australia vs. UK To Air On FX...

TUF: Australia vs. UK broadcasts on FX in Australia this fall

"The Ultimate Fighter: Australia vs. U.K." will air on FX in Australia in the fall as the latest installment of the reality series from the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

UFC officials announced the news yesterday.

Tryouts for the upcoming season of "TUF" are currently underway, featuring fighters from both Australia and England. The coaches for the season have not yet been named, though an official announcement is expected soon.

"We're excited to be part of the FX family in Australia," UFC managing director for international development Marshall Zelaznik stated. "When the first series of 'The Ulimate Fighter' debuted in the United States seven years ago, it brought in millions of new fans who tuned in each and every week to watch their favorite fighters. I have no doubt that 'The Smashes' will do the same in Australia."

"The Smashes" is the title given to this season, referencing a cricket rivalry ("The Ashes") between the two countries.

While the season will air in Australia, no plans have been announced for those hoping to view in the U.S. Fans could watch "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil" online earlier this year as it was taping in Brazil, but the season did not broadcast on national television until FUEL TV began airing episodes just recently.

Are you ready? Are you ready? Let's get it on!


KA By Cirque du Soleil And Marvel Entertainment Bring Epic Story From Stage To Page With All-New Comic Book; KA #1 Released to Fans at Comic-Con International in San Diego 2012...

LAS VEGAS, June 13, 2012 - KA by Cirque du Soleil, the spectacular production at MGM Grand Las Vegas, and Marvel Custom Solutions team up to tell the story of this acclaimed live production through an all-new, collectible comic book. KA #1 will debut at the Marvel booth (#2329) during Comic Con International in San Diego, July 12 – 15, 2012.

"To see our live KA performances transform from the theatre to ink on pages in a comic book is an incredible opportunity for our entire team," said Marie-Helene Gagnon, Artistic Director of KA. "By aligning ourselves with the premier brand of comic book creators, we have produced an illustration of KA that depicts the story very vividly and stays true to the plot. Marvel and its team of creators have been great to collaborate with and have embraced the story of KA and the expectations of Cirque du Soleil."

"Marvel's proud to bring the exciting, out of this world action and adventure of KA to life in this all new comic book," said Axel Alonso, Editor in Chief, Marvel Worldwide, Inc. "This is a great comic for fans of all ages, whether they're long-time fans of Marvel, KA or new to both exciting brands of storytelling."

KA fans attending Comic Con International can take home the heroic journey of Imperial Twins separated by war who encounter adventure and peril at every turn on their quest to reunite their kingdom.

"What's more jaw-dropping, the majesty of the Imperial Court...the dynamic dance of their martial arts display...the overwhelming might of the invading archer army...the desperate fight for survival in the storm-tossed seas...or the tantalizing glimpses at the future threats that await the Twins?" said Marvel Editor Bill Rosemann. "Readers can decide for themselves when they feast their eyes on the all-out spectacle that writer Bryan J.L. Glass, artist Wellinton Alves and cover artist Michael Del Mundo have crafted in this world premiere debut issue."

KA #1 will be distributed at Comic Con International in San Diego at the Marvel booth in July. A limited amount of books also will be available at comic book stores in select markets. In addition to the print copy of the comic book, fans will be able to access the KA customized comic book by utilizing Marvel's cutting-edge digital comics reader.

Fans can get an inside look at the making of the comic book by visiting www.kacomicbook.com. Featuring sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes information, including line art, storyboards and more, this site will serve as a hub for details on the collaboration. Fans will be able to receive information on how to get their own copy of the comic book. On Twitter, fans can tweet about the collaboration to @Cirque and @Marvel using the #KAComicBook hashtag.

About KA:

KA by Cirque du Soleil is a heroic journey of love and conflict set within ever-changing theatrical landscapes that conjure an entire empire on stage. Presented exclusively at MGM Grand Las Vegas, KA unfolds on a colossal, 360-degree rotating stage which forms the backdrop for this cinematic journey of aerial adventure and perpendicular acrobatics. For more information visit www.ka.com. Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/KA and Tweet us: @Cirque #KA.

About Marvel Entertainment:

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing.

To find a comic shop near you, visit www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook. SOURCE Cirque du Soleil


Macquarie takes a stake in Echo...

Investment firm Macquarie Group has bought a five per cent stake in casinos operator Echo Entertainment Group.

Echo said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange on Wednesday that Macquarie had become a substantial shareholder in Echo on June 7, having acquired about 35.1 million shares, or about 5.1 per cent of Echo.

Echo announced on Tuesday that it proposed to undertake a capital raising - the amount of which was undisclosed - and its shares are currently in a trading halt.

The company last week lost its chairman John Story after Crown's James Packer launched a public campaign against him.

Crown is Echo's largest shareholder, with a 10 per cent stake.

Echo owns The Star casino in Sydney, the Jupiters casinos on the Gold Coast and in Townsville, and Treasury casino in Brisbane.

Shares in Echo last traded at $4.49 before going into a halt.


Crown Undecided on Support for Echo Capital Raising...

Crown Ltd. (CWN), the casino operator controlled by billionaire James Packer, hasn’t decided whether it will buy new stock in a planned capital raising by Echo Entertainment Group Ltd. (EGP)

Echo, based in Brisbane, will seek to raise between A$400 million ($399 million) and A$500 million in a rights offering being managed by UBS AG and Macquarie Group Ltd., according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The details may be announced as early as tomorrow, the person said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.

Crown, which owns 10 percent of Echo, will wait for details of the share sale, Chief Financial Officer Ken Barton said by telephone from Melbourne today.

Packer agreed to cease a campaign against Echo after Chairman John Story stepped down June 8, Acting Chairman John O’Neill said yesterday. Crown is seeking regulatory approval to increase its holding in the operator of the only casino in Sydney above the current 10 percent limit as Genting Singapore Plc (GENS) built a stake of 4.9 percent.

“We’ll wait to see what they’re proposing,” Barton said.

Trading in Echo shares was halted yesterday, ahead of the capital raising. Spokeswomen for UBS and Macquarie in Sydney declined to comment.

Brad Schmitt, a Sydney-based spokesman for Echo, declined to comment on the fundraising plan in an e-mailed statement. The Australian Financial Review reported that Echo is planning to raise A$400 million earlier today, without saying where it got the information.

Genting’s stake may make it harder for Crown to take control of Echo and increases the chances of a bidding war, according to Gary Pinge, Macquarie Group Ltd.’s regional head of gaming and consumer research. Though a joint bid by the two companies is possible, Crown won’t want to see Genting “entering its backyard,” he said.

Story resigned after Crown, which owns casinos in Melbourne and Perth, called a meeting to vote on his removal and ran advertisements in local newspapers criticizing the company’s “underperformance” under his leadership. Packer has now withdrawn his request for a shareholder meeting.

Echo owns the Star in Sydney as well as three casinos in the state of Queensland.


Hot Body of 2012...

ELLE MACPHERSON


Admit it: 48 never looked this good! The Aussie model, known around the world as "The Body," ignited bikini envy from a whole new generation of beachgoers when she flaunted her fit form in the pages of PEOPLE. "I do get jitters," says Macpherson of donning a two-piece 20-plus years after gracing four Sports Illustrated covers. "I was comfortable [at the shoot]. But I had to get my self-conscious 'maybe I don't look my best' head out of the way and go with, 'Let's celebrate where I'm at.'"


James Bond turns 50...

James Bond turns 50 this year but you'd never know it by looking at him. Despite hundreds of skirmishes with the world's scariest villains, not to mention a diet heavy on shaken-not-stirred martinis, the man in the Aston Martin still cuts a dashing figure.

In October, it will have been five decades since 007 -- in the form of Sean Connery -- first sauntered onto movie screens in "Dr. No." And he's still going strong. The Bond movies are not only the longest continuously running series in cinema history but also the most successful, with more than $5 billion in box-office receipts. Take that, George Lucas.

Daniel Craig, the sixth actor to play the world-saving spy, will step into Bond's shoes once again on Oct. 26 with "Skyfall," the 23rd film in the series. Also this October, MGM will celebrate 007's birthday with a 22-disc Blu-ray set that finally makes all of the movies available in high definition.

The movies, which will be presented in 35 mm prints, include "Goldfinger" (June 17), "GoldenEye" (June 26), "The Spy Who Loved Me" (July 2), "Dr. No" (July 10), "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (July 16), "Live and Let Die" (July 24) and "From Russia With Love" (July 30).

The Bond film franchise began in 1962 with "Dr. No." It was not only a worldwide smash but also turned out to be a big influence on popular culture. Think "The Man From U.N.C.L.E," "Our Man Flint," "Get Smart" and "Mission: Impossible."

So where did the idea come from? Ian Fleming, of course. A former journalist and British Naval intelligence officer, he conceived of the book series in 1952 while vacationing in Jamaica in a holiday home he called Goldeneye.

James Bond made his first appearance in "Casino Royale," which was published in 1953. Thirteen more Bond books by Fleming followed.

Since the release of "Dr. No," we have never gone more than five or six years without a new Bond flick. Connery played him five times 1962-1967 and then again in 1971 and 1983. In between, there was a one-off appearance by George Lazenby. In 1973, Roger Moore took over for seven outings.

Next came Timothy Dalton for two films beginning in 1987. Pierce Brosnan got the job in 1995 for four features. The latest Bond is Craig, who has played him in series re-boot "Casino Royale," "Quantum of Solace" and the upcoming "Skyfall."

Did we mention that Bond also enjoys a good game of poker and baccarat and often the stakes have been life or death. Would you like to play with Bond? That's what we thought.

Media Man Culture Blog: World Directory, India, African, Casino

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Kerry Packer Aussie Legend Live On Via Art And TV


Media Man revisits one of their most popular news stories from 2010...

G'day punters, casino and gambling millionaires and billionaires, media magnates, journalists, historians and art lovers. Art lovers?! Yes, today we bring you a special Kerry Packer special. The legend lives on, not only here, but now at an Australian artists exhibition, and of course 'Our James' (James Packer) continues to fly the flag and do the family legacy proud with his Crown Limited empire. Not only that, we also cover the pending return of KP to Australian television in an ABC mini series tipped to hit the jackpot, and Network Nine is bringing back 'Underbelly', complete with gambling themes.Media Man and Gambling 911 present The Kerry Packer Special...

Kerry Packer & Friends...

Kerry Packer & Friends - NG Art Gallery - 7th Dec - 24th Dec 2010

3 Little Queen Street

Chippendale, NSW Sydney AUSTRALIA

Tuesday - Saturday 11.00am - 5.30pm

Ok punters, here's the rundown. The artist - storyteller is Gina Sinozich. She's an 80 year old, Croat, Sydney based artist who paints in order to help recycle memory. Sinozich's latest exhibition, Kerry Packer and Friends, is her first solo commercial effort in Sydney and is tells the story of the legendary Kerry Packer. She covers the unique personality and complexities of a legend who was known for his astronomical wealth, super whale gambling exploits, running his business with an iron fist, and colourful run ins with the Australian government, amongst other things.

Sinozich migrated down under to Australia is 1956 and began to paint at the age of 75, now having work in Australian and New Zealand corporate and public collections. Her show showcases Packer as 'one of us' rather than the untouchable media tycoon. Sinozich was inspired to tell the story on the premise that we often hear bad before good. This tribute to KP is generous and reveals alot of the most powerful men in the world, who in 2004, was estimated to have a net worth of AUD 6.5 billion. The work of Sinozich will be showcased at NG Art Gallery from the 7th-24th of December and is certain to excite audiences, punters, art lovers or both. A fews Aussie commentator think this blows away much of the art that American gambling tycoon Steve Wynn shows off. Maybe Wynn might like to make a purchase of some classic Packer creations.

Sinozich says Packer gave back to society in a meaningful way and the series was intended to stand as a testament for this man's intrinsic goodwill after his death in December 2005. She recites a story that fuelled her initial interest in Packer, "...one lady said that she was on George Street with two little kids behind her and she was running...running to go on the train, and he (Packer) stopped her and said, 'don't you have a car?' and he wrote a cheque for her and said here, 'buy yourself a car'." Sinozich also fondly recalls, "...when he was playing in casino in Perth he won so much money and the girl who was serving wine...he asked her, 'do you have a mortgage on the house?' she said 'yes', then he wrote a cheque for AUD 600,000."

The talented, even cunning, artist worked like a Trojan horse for a fortnight and managed to produce 26 paintings that deeply explore her subject's nature, removing much of the mystic of Packer as an uncompromising media mogul. All the characters in Sinozich's work have a yarn to tell, and most aspects of his life are covered... birth, death, and much of the in between. Make no mistake, the works are smart, and unique, and are tipped to become collectors items.

The work is relatively simple, but full of life, and has been described as "traditional representational painting", which one may argue is a dying art. We think KP would have liked the tribute, and we await word to see what living members of the Packer clan think of the works.


Kerry Packer Legend To Return To Australian TV In Cleo Mini Series...

Packer is to return to life on Aussie TV via new ABC drama Paper Giants: The Birth Of Cleo (not to be confused with the Cleopatra slot game).

Australian readers may recall the public backlash to the introduction of the super sexy womens’ title in 1972. There were Cleo lovers and haters, but we're still talking about it today, so it made an impact, which is better than many of today's rags.

Rob Carlton will play a young Packer opposite Asher Keddie as publishing pioneer, the sexy and smart Ita Buttrose.

Rumours of a sexual relationship between Packer and Ita around the time of Cleo magazine's start off, but this won't be a focus on the mini-series, due to air next year.

Buttrose, who first made her mark as the magazine's editor, was a consultant on the production.

"If there was a supposed affair it didn't happen in this timeframe. I have no idea if there was, we didn't raise it with her," Edwards said.

There ABC publicity brief has whet our appetite for lots of Packer classic stuff and enough scandal to keep us coming back for more.

"It's 1972. Skirts are up, pants are down. Girls can have anything: Fabulous careers, fashionable clothes and oral sex," spruiks the promo.

The drama cleverly follows the death of Sir Frank Packer and the rise of his second son, who defies even family expectation to succeed, in a way no one could have expected.

"It was a real turning point in Kerry's career. It was a period when he made his first big move and it was an astonishing success and one against the odds in some respects," Edwards said.

Cleo magazine itself was a fine, yet controversial work, and introduced the nude male centrefold and sexual hits, tips, tricks and more for women. Media Man friend, actor Jack Thompson, is tipped to have his racy centrefold recreated. Something about a 6th finger, down there.

ABC TV by all accounts have taken a calculated risk on the series. Most quarters of society, both insiders and outsiders we've chatted with believe the gamble will pay off with a tidy jackpot, and whispers already circulate as to how many awards the show and actors will pick up.


Nine's David Gyngell Respects Packer History; PBL Becomes Nine Entertainment Co...

KP put Publishing & Broadcasting Media on the map and grew it to become arguably the biggest media brands in Australia.

PBL - the name, is now history, since Bondi Beach based chief executive, David Gyngell, rebranded it with Nine Entertainment Co.

Gyngell, who announced the rebranding at Nine's 2011 program launch in Sydney on Friday, advised the new name would be more recognisable to the public and large and went on to emphasise Nine's broad range of businesses, which sport Nine, ACP Magazines, Ticketek and NineMSN.

The recognition factor is important since the firm is likely to be floated on the Australian Stock Exchange by its private equity owners, CVC Asia Pacific, in the first half of next year.

It's understood that a strong level of support from a host of retail investors will be key to the $5 billion-plus float's chances of a jackpot.

Gyngell wisely acknowledged it was not an easy decision given he is the late Kerry Packer's godson and great mate of James Packer. History buffs, just in case you wondered, PBL was formed way back in 1994 when KP merged Nine with ACP (Australian Consolidated Press).

"PBL has a long association with the Packers so personally I don't take that lightly. But it's modernising a business that needs to be publicly known. We don't have the luxury of having James Packer or another mogul giving the company real gravitas."

Other media updates down under include Network Seven being backed by Kerry Stokes and Network Ten's board now has James Packer, News Corporation director Lachlan Murdoch, mining magnate Gina Rinehart and WIN TV owner Bruce Gordon.

"Nine is the biggest thing that we have and it is also the thing that supports all the other companies in the best possible way," Gyngell said. "It will be a new year. We are starting again.

Nine confirmed its crime drama Underbelly would come back with a series set in the roaring 20s in Sydney as well as 3 Underbelly movies! And, get this, a good spot of gambling will also be featured.



Gaming and Gambling Growth

Australian gambling companies are expected to report modest growth in earnings this reporting season as consumers rein in their discretionary spending and casino operators face tough competition from overseas.

"Gambling is part of discretionary expenditure, so I'm anticipating that gambling expenditure will be down," Morningstar gaming analyst Ross MacMillan said.

Earnings in the gambling sector may grow two or three per cent, but "It's going to be very subdued earnings growth if we see any at all," Mr MacMillan said.

The outlook for the current financial year was expected to be very cautious and limited in detail.

Mr MacMillan anticipated most companies would hold off providing guidance until their annual general meetings when they would have at least three months of performance under the belt.

The big issue for Tatts Group and Tabcorp would be the source of future growth, he said.

Tatts and Tabcorp hold a duopoly over poker machines in Victoria outside of the Crown casino in Melbourne. The Victorian poker machine licence expires in 2012.

Tabcorp was recently awarded a new wagering and betting licence in Victoria, winning it over Tatts. The wagering licence allows Tabcorp to offer wagering on thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing and other sporting events.

Lower gambling expenditure would affect revenues, so gambling companies would have to look at cutting costs, Mr MacMillan said.

He said Tatts would be looking to strip out as many costs as possible from the NSW lottery business it acquired in March 2010.

Tatts also would think carefully about the South Australian lottery business, which is likely to come up for sale in the next 18 months.

Mr MacMillan said the main issue affecting the Tabcorp results would be the recent demerger of its casino operations - now known as Echo Entertainment Group - which would make Tabcorp's accounts "messy".

An issue facing casino operators Crown and Echo was the size of the capital expenditure needed to revamp their casinos so they could compete with big new casino-resorts in Singapore and attract more VIP gamblers (high rollers) from China.

"This is a real issue: whether it (capital expenditure) will continue in the future," Mr MacMillan said.

Fat Prophets gaming analyst Greg Fraser said consumer spending had been weak and was likely to be reflected in gaming results at the "grind end" of the market.

Mr Fraser said he expected a reasonable result from Tatts Group.

Although a larger proportion of Tatts' earnings now came from lotteries, gaming operations were likely to attract attention because that's where uncertainty lay.

"Having missed out on the Victorian wagering licence, it'll be interesting to see what they (Tatts) say about their future now and what their plans might be," Mr Fraser said.

Tabcorp also needed to detail its plans for the new Victorian wagering licence and explain how the company would replace gaming machine earnings once they disappear in 2012, he said.

Among the casino operators, Crown's result was likely to be stronger than that of Echo Entertainment, largely because Crown had spent its money on refurbishments and re-organising its gaming floors sooner and, arguably, more effectively than Echo.

Much of the Star City refurbishment was aimed at non-gaming activities, so the casino's success over the next year should be measured by the increase in visitation numbers.

"In that sense, it's the outlook statement for Echo this time that is perhaps more important than this year's financial result," Mr Fraser said.


Gaming, Entertainment, Hollywood and Celebrity News

Flashback


Warner Bros Says 'The Dark Knight Rises' Won't Beat 'The Avengers'...

The Hollywood Report is reporting that the pre-release tracking numbers for "The Dark Knight Rises" are so high that the movie should have no problem topping the $158 million opening of "The Dark Knight" and getting the best U.S debut for a 2D film.

According to Warner Bros, Christopher Nolan's third Batman film has already grossed $25 million in advance ticket sales, which is one of the best results of all time. The studio believes that "The Dark Knight Rises" will end up at around $170 million for the weekend, but box office experts believe that the film will likely end up between $185 million and $195 million.

As predicted earlier, "The Dark Knight Rises" will likely not beat "The Avengers" ($207.4 million) for the highest-grossing opening weekend, but should surpass "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" ($169.2 million). Both of the films had the advantage of being released in 3D. Roughly $35 million of "The Avengers" opening numbers came from the extra charge that comes with watching films in 3D.

The other problem that "The Dark Knight Rises" faces is being 2 hours and 43 minutes long. Very often people tend to wait for lengthy films to come out on DVD/Blu-ray. Plus, theaters won't be able to squeeze in as many screenings as they could for a shorter movie.


Warner, China Film clash on 'Dark Knight' debut against 'Spider-Man'...

A plan to open superhero movies "The Amazing Spider-Man"and "The Dark Knight Rises"on the same date in China has prompted a tense standoff between film authorities in Beijing and Hollywood's biggest studio.

Warner Bros.' Batman sequel "The Dark Knight Rises" and Sony Pictures' reboot "The Amazing Spider-Man" have both been scheduled to open in China on Aug. 30 , according to to several people familiar with the Chinese movie market not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Release dates in China are set not by studios, but by the state-owned China Film Group.

Such a move would almost certainly depress the box office grosses of both big-budget pictures as they compete for audiences and screens.

In response, Warner Bros. is lobbying China Film Group to delay the opening of "Dark Knight Rises" to September, the knowledgeable people said. The negotiations are delicate, however, as China Film's decision-making process is opaque to Hollywood studios.

The underlying question in the dispute is which side has more leverage: China Film Group, the gatekeeper to the world's second-largest movie market; or Warner Bros., which controls one of the most anticipated movies of the year, expected to gross more than $1 billion worldwide.

Spokespeople for Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures declined to comment.

"Dark Knight Rises" is opening in the U.S. on Friday as well as in many other countries in Europe and Asia; "Spider-Man" has already been open for several weeks in most territories.

Should China Film refuse to change the opening date of "The Dark Knight Rises," Warner Bros.'s only apparent option would be to hold back the movie entirely, potentially giving up tens of millions of dollars in box office revenue from the country in order to stand on principle.

REVIEW: 'Dark Knight Rises'

The news comes a week after the revelation that the 3-D animated movies "Ice Age: Continental Drift" (from 20th Century Fox) and "The Lorax" (from Universal Pictures) will premiere against each other on July 27 in China.

In the past, it has been highly unusual for similar movies to open on the same date in China as the government sought to boost box office receipts, which hit $2 billion last year and are projected to rise to $3 billion by the end of 2012.

But Chinese authorities may be concerned that Hollywood movies have been performing much better than local product so far this year, according to people with ties to the Chinese film market who did not want to be identified publicly because it might jeopardize their relationships there.

These people said that executives at China Film appear to be opening similar American movies against each other in order to minimize their box office takes.

Xiao Ping, the general manager in charge of importing movies at China Film Group, said she had not received any "official confirmation" of the release dates of "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "The Dark Knight Rises."

"I'm not sure when those two movies will be released in China," she said. "It all depends on the market conditions."

She referred a Times reporter to other executives at China Film. One who worked in the legal department said that the China Film Distribution and Exhibition Assn. is in charge of scheduling release dates.

However, a woman who answered the phone at the association said she couldn't comment and referred questions back to China Film Group.

There has been an unofficial "blackout" on American movies in China for the last several weeks -- with only local product appearing in theaters--from the opening of the animated film "Brave" on June 19 until "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1" arrives on July 25.

Consequently, there is expected to be a back-up of Hollywood summer tentpole pictures opening on top of one another over the next couple of months.

If China Film Group decides to continue opening American movies on the same dates, it could impact such pictures as the 3-D animated films "Hotel Transylvania," "Frankenweenie," "Wreck-It-Ralph" and "Rise of the Guardians," as well as "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" and the James Bond picture "Skyfall."


Jessica Biel Bails on 'The Wolverine,' a Superhero Movie That Can't Get a Break...

After three successful X-Men with a total domestic gross of nearly a $1 billion, a spin-off, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and one of the greatest modern cameos of all time (his f-bomb in X-Men: First Class is truly inspired), one would think Hugh Jackman getting another round of mutant comic book action off the ground would be easy peasy lemon squeezy. Not so.

The latest hiccup for Wolverine's second outing, simply titled The Wolverine, sees Jessica Biel vacating a role that she never quite had. Rumors were swirling around Comic-Con that Biel was in talks for the costarring role of "Viper" in the film. The actress was in talks with the studio for the part on Friday, but the negotiations fell through. Biel, who previously lent her action acting skills to the third installment of the Blade franchise and the upcoming Total Recall, reportedly had "cold feet" regarding the role and opted out of joining the sequel.

The departure of Biel is another bump in the road for The Wolverine. After the middling success of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, questions over whether the gruff, ballbusting hero would get another chance at a solo career. Director Gavin Hood insisted that a second film was on the way, with writer Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, Jack Reacher) hired to pen a script in August 2009. When Hood was not asked to return for a follow-up, plans for a sequel were stuck in limbo. But after the success of Black Swan, Jackman's former Fountain director Darren Aronofsky stepped in to helm the picture with a revamped title that separated it from the previous Origins series: The Wolverine.

Aronofsky boarded The Wolverine in October of 2010, but by March of 2011, he was bowing out of the project, citing the need to remain in the country with his family (the director had split from his wife Rachel Weisz in November, following the announcement). The departure of the director wasn't even The Wolverine's biggest issue: McQuarrie's script for the film took the action to Japan, following one of the character's most famous arcs, but just before Aronofsky's departure, Japan suffered a massive earthquake that devastated the country and left business out to dry. Once again, Fox was stuck with a project they were dying to make but with no one and no where to make it. An immediate search began for a new director, and by June 2011, the studio settled on James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma, Knight & Day) to helm the picture. The film was on the fast track to shoot in fall of that year in Australia.

With whether concerns in Japan a lingering problem, The Wolverine bounced around start dates with its star eventually taking on another project in the interim, the musical Les Miserables. But after years of false starts, the pieces for the comic book sequel are falling into place, Jackman confirming at this year's CinemaCon that production would begin in August for a release date of July 26, 2013.

The Wolverine has already begun assembling its primarily Japanese cast, signing on Hiroyuki Sanada, Hal Yamanouchi , Tao Okamoto and Rila Fukushima for key roles, but the loss of Biel comes as a blow to the production. The star is one of the few go-to female action heroines — and her profile is only growing. Who can go toe-to-toe with Jackman on both a physical and emotional level. In the comics, The Viper character begins in a romantic relationship with Wolverine before double-crossing him and taking him down. The casting of Biel is an indication that, at the very least, Viper will be seeing a bit of the action in the film (and with a name like Viper, how could she not?). There's no word yet on who could fill Biel's shoes, but if Total Recall is any indication, actress Kate Beckinsale has the chops to contend with Biel. An ample replacement? Who should take over Viper from the quickly-departed Biel?


Dwayne Johnson to play Lobo...

Dwayne Johnson has confirmed he is in talks with producer Joel Silver and director Brad Peyton to play comic book star Lobo....

Dwayne Johnson has confirmed he is in talks to play comic book star Lobo.

The 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' star - who also wrestles in the WWE as The Rock - took to his twitter account to reveal he has entered negotiations with producer Joel Silver and director Brad Peyton about taking on the role of DC Comics' Czarnian bounty hunter.

In response to a fan's question about whether he is playing the character, he tweeted: "Rumors of me possibly playing LOBO are true. Joel Silver and Brad Peyton working on it now. That could be fun.. (sic)"

Earlier this year, Brad took up an offer from Warner Bros. to make the DC Comics movie as his next project.

The filmmaker teamed up with Dwayne on 'Journey 2: The Mysterious Island', which features Sir Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson and Vanessa Hudgens, and sees the wrestler star as explorer Hank Parsons.

Dwayne's next movie role will see him portray Roadblock on forthcoming action motion picture 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation', and he recently admitted he signed up for the project because he thought there was "room for improvement" in the franchise after watching 2009's 'G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra'.

He explained: "I was even more than 'Yeah I'm in.' But also too, you wanna be a little bit poised with your excitement at first. When I first heard it, the idea of starring in 'G.I. Joe', first of all you get a second crack at something that is - the franchise is that big, the title is that big, the first one did well [but there was] room for improvement.

"We get a second crack at bat with this; I wanted to grab this by the throat and not let go. The moment I locked in, we all agreed, I'm in."


‘Dark Knight Rises’ SRO Official Academy Screening Begins With Moment Of Silence For Colorado Tragedy Victims...

The Colorado movie theatre shooting tragedy apparently did not dampen the want-to-see factor for The Dark Knight Rises among members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. At Saturday night’s official screening at the Academy’s 1012 seat Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills an SRO crowd , the largest so far this year and easily one of the largest in many years , turned out to see the much-awaited conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. The Academy crowd was so big that in a highly unusual move for one of these official weekend Acad member screenings ( which often draw far less than capacity audiences) an announcement was made that anyone not having a seat or not happy with the seat they did have could go to the lobby and they would begin filling the Academy’s adjacent Little Theatre.

In another highly unusual move for one of these regular screenings Academy President Tom Sherak was on hand and made a few remarks before asking for a moment of silence for the victims of the horrendous tragedy which occurred early Friday morning shortly after the first midnight screening began at the Aurora, Colorado theatre.

I am told this is what he said in part, “… (this was) such a thankless act of violence by a deranged individual who took the lives of so many innocent people and wounded so many others. The movie-going experience is one which we should be able to enjoy with others in our community in an environment that is safe. We should be able to go to our local theatres and leave our problems behind and allow the movie to transport us to a place that entertains us and captures our imagination. For now though, we understandably feel angst and uneasiness with this tragic event and question the why and the how. Let us take a moment of silence before we begin to hold those innocent people and their families in our hearts and in our prayers. Our condolences surely go out to all of them”.

At least one observer told me reaction to the film itself was “fantastic with much applause at the end”. Although it is far from the studio’s or anybody’s mind this weekend – and should be – Warner Bros is known to have high Oscar hopes for the film. The Academy’s switch from five to ten Best Picture nominees in 2009 is widely thought to have been instigated by the omission of a Best Picture nod for 2008′s The Dark Knight which was nominated overall for 8 mostly below-the-line Oscars and won for Sound Editing and most notably a posthumous Best Supporting Actor statuette for Heath Ledger who played the Joker.

Official Academy screenings of The Dark Knight Rises continue Tuesday in New York and Thursday in San Francisco. London-based members saw it last Thursday.


Studio Quiet on “Dark Knight Rises” Box Office; Will it Top “The Avengers?”

In the wake of the tragic shooting at a screening of “The Dark Knight Rises,” it would potentially appear callous to focus on the whopping box office success of the highly-anticipated film.

As such, Warner Brothers Pictures issued a statement saying it will not officially report box office data over the weekend. Studio estimates often help formulate the “reports” movie buffs read on Saturday morning and then again Sunday afternoon. Official results are not delivered until Monday.

Those with inside sources, however, are reporting that the film’s tracking looks very strong. The question remains whether it will beat “The Avengers.”

Though it had a stronger midnight opening, “Dark Knight,” according to Deadline, will likely land in line with the other film’s opening day total. Given the passionate following for the latest Batman film series, this phenomenon makes sense–seeing the movie at midnight was a bona fide event for millions, but it is not necessarily a more widely-appealing movie than the star-studded “Avengers.”

Like “Avengers,” “The Dark Knight Rises” is tracking for about $80 million on Friday. “Avengers” held up reasonably well over the weekend to earn $207 million; it remains to be seen if interest in “The Dark Knight” is too front-loaded to bring another $120 million to the table on Saturday and Sunday.


Marvel & Latino Review: Studio Allegedly Threatens Movie Writer Over 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' Leak...

On June 28, Latino Review writer Dave Gonzales -- writing under the pseudonym Da7e -- broke the news that Marvel was planning to make "Guardians of the Galaxy" one of its next films. Trades like Variety and THR were quick to pick up the news -- Deadline.com did as well, but without crediting Gonzales for the story -- and by the time Marvel officially announced "Guardians of the Galaxy" at Comic-Con on July 14, it seemed nearly everyone with a Twitter account was already aware of the project.

That apparently didn't sit very well with Marvel.

On Thursday, Gonzales posted an email he received from someone posing as a Marvel representative -- the writer was later revealed to be Robert Grosser, a vice president of loss prevention at Marvel, by THR -- that asked for the source of the "Guardians of the Galaxy" news. (Gonzales also broke a story about "Iron Man 3.")

The executives at Marvel are extremely upset regarding the release of this information and they have instructed me to find you and ascertain how you received it. My goal is to accomplish this in a quiet manner. I do not want to see you or anyone else get into trouble nor do I want to see anyone’s career be tarnished because of this. However I am very confident that through your efforts and mine, we will be able to work through this together. I personally feel that you did not have any malicious intent when you posted your spoilers on the fanboy website. Like many fans out there, you just wanted to be the first one to post something on the internet. I get it, however the "Iron Man 3" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" information was confidential and you did not have Marvel’s consent to post it. That was illegal!

Needless to say, Gonzales wasn't thrilled about the accusations or threats. Not only did he post the email online, he wrote this in response:

I’m not responding to this e-mail outside of this post, because I’ve done nothing wrong. A representative of my favorite comics house just stepped into my life with no legal authority to demand anything and threatened my career for doing my job well.

According to THR's legal blog, THR, Esq., Marvel would have a difficult time bringing any charges against Gonzales, a reporter, for reporting a story.

As for "Guardians of the Galaxy," Marvel announced the film at Comic-Con and will release it into theaters on Aug. 1, 2014.

For more on the legal ramifications of this story, head over to THR. To check out Gonzales' full report, hit Latino Review.


Thor: The Dark World - Stuntman Leak?...

At Marvel Studios’ panel at Comic-Con, it was revealed that the sequel to ‘Thor’ would be called ‘Thor: The Dark World’. But then the new title left people wondering what made Thor’s world so dark. It seems that stuntman James Grogan may have the answer to that.

In an interview with IReviewToo (via Comic Book Movie), Grogan may have just revealed who Chris Hemsworth will have to face in his next outing as the God of Thunder, beside Tom Hiddleston, who’s reprising his role as Loki. Here’s what the stuntman had to say:

“The other day for example, this is quite random but I was working on ‘Thor 2’. I had a load of stunt guys in and the director came in and he said ‘Look, we want you all to be elves,’ and I was like ‘What the hell is an elf anyway?’ and he said ‘I want you all to walk around like these supernatural animals,’ honestly it was the most ridiculous thing ever but you just have to not be self aware and get on with it.”

Elves? In ‘The Dark World’? Well for those in the know, one might assume that Thor will be facing off against the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim under the leadership of Malekith the Accursed. Back when Mads Mikkelsen was in talks for the role of an unnamed villain in Alan Taylor’s film, I speculated that he would play the demon Surtur, but now that we have more information to go on, could it be that the Danish actor who left the production was set to play the evil elf? And who’s lined up to play the villain now to fill the vacancy?

Also, as CBM notes, Loki and Malekith have been in cahoots before to acquire the Cask of Ancient Winters, which was featured in the first journey in Asgard, so maybe Taylor will be inspired by that comic storyline for his movie. Since production begins next month in London, I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.

‘Thor: The Dark World’, directed by ‘Game of Thrones’ favorite Alan Taylor, starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Idris Elba, and Anthony Hopkins, is scheduled for release on November 8, 2013.


Dwayne Johnson Up For "Lobo" Film...

After being asked by a fan, Dwayne Johnson has revealed that talk of him playing alien bounty hunter "Lobo", in the proposed DC Comics feature film adaptation in development at Warner Bros. Pictures, has some weight to it.

"Rumors of me possibly playing LOBO are true. Joel Silver and Brad Peyton working on it now. That could be fun" he states on Twitter. The studio has not set a release date yet for the film.

If cast, Johnson would reunite with his "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" director Brad Peyton on the movie.


Russell Crowe, 'Harry Potter' star Emma Watson to shoot 'Noah' on Long Island, New York...

Director Darren Aronofsky ("Black Swan," "The Wrestler") Thursday tweeted the first photo of the Noah's Ark set he's constructing on Long Island for his upcoming "Noah," based on his own graphic-novel reimagining of the Biblical epic.

"We're shooting in Oyster Bay, Long Island," a Paramount spokeswoman told Newsday. "Confirmed cast includes Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman and Douglas Booth." Oscar-winner Crowe is set to play a version of Noah, whom the graphic novel's publisher, Le Lombard, describes as "a Mad Max out of the depths of time." (Connelly will play Noah's wife, and Hopkins the 900-year-old Methuselah.)

"I dreamt about this since I was 13," Aronofsky, 43, tweeted. "And now it's a reality. Genesis 6:14," he said, referring to the Bible passage that reads, "Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch."

Meanwhile, Grant Wilfley Casting has scheduled an open call for "Noah" extras Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Greek Orthodox Church of Holy Resurrection in Brookville, specifying "men and women with toned-slender runner's bodies, who are willing to work at night in the rain." A previous open call had taken place June 29 in Manhattan.

"Noah," scheduled for release March 28, 2014, will adapt the graphic novel by writers Aronofsky and Ari Handel and artist Niko Henrichon, which was published in French last October.


Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson In Highest Paid Actors List...

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was listed at #4 on the Forbes annual list of the highest paid actors in the world over the past year. Johnson was reported as earning $36 million this past year, behind only Tom Cruise ($75 million), Leonardo DiCaprio ($37 million) and Adam Sandler ($37 million).


Roddy Piper gives tips to CM Punk...

WWE Hall of Famer Roddy Piper continues to praise WWE Champion CM Punk. Piper says he is going to sit down with Punk at Monday's big RAW and give him some advice for his troubles with Big Show. Piper wrote:

"Watched @CMPunk on Raw. A great job. I fought Andre so many times going to sit down with Punk at 1000 Raw a tell him a secret. He's worh it!"


AW Wants To Be WWE RAW GM...

AW says he is the one to take us back to the WWE Attitude Era. He wrote the following in response to fans criticizing his open mic work on RAW:

"If you're annoyed by me on the mic it's not me u hate it's ur own lack of internal fortitude you despise. #StopHatingO's. I'm not politically correct. If u get offended deal with it. #AttitudeEra is my motto. I grew up on it, I live it!!! #F*ckFearDrinkBeer!! If anybody's gonna take us back to the #AttitudeEra it's me. Doubt me if u will, don't let the suit fool you. We've only just begun...."


WWE Has More Legends Confirmed for RAW 1000; Stone Cold Steve Austin...

On rumors that Steve Austin will face Heath Slater on Raw 1,000: "Austin will definitely give him the stunner, ya' know thats coming! Fans get ready, you're gonna see a Stunner!"

On if he will be apart of Raw 1,000: "I will be making an appearance...people will see that my spikes were excellently repainted! Yeah, I'll be there all painted up, with bells on boys! If it happens it happens, I'm ready!"

On what else to expect for Raw 1,000: "It's gonna star studded, on my flight alone is me, DDP and Bret 'Hitman' Hart!"


WWE Focus On recruiting...

Within WWE, recruiting is now the highest priority it has been since more than a decade ago when WWE had the original strong class in Ohio Valley Wrestling. Gerald Brisco and Canyon Ceman, a recent Triple H hire, were recruiting new talents this past week at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. They were specifically looking at wrestlers, weightlifters and track athletes. Brisco was highest on a bobsled racer who he thought had a great look and who loved wrestling. The racer is the pusher for his bobsled team and may want to wait until after the 2014 Winter Games. (Wrestling Observer Newsletter)


ICP’s annual Gathering of the Juggalos...

Wrestling stars announced for ICP’s annual Gathering of the Juggalos JCW BloodyMania event include Scott Steiner, Vader, John Morrison, Carlito, Bobby Lashley, Chavo Guerrero, Shane Helms, Matt Hardy, The Headbangers, The Rock ‘n Roll Express, Colt Cabana, Vampiro, Steve Corino and others. As noted before, Ric Flair will also be present as the host of the Main Stage.


Dave "Batista" Bautista to have GQ feature...

Former WWE Champion Dave "Batista" Bautista took part in a photo shoot for men's magazine GQ on Thursday to promote the upcoming martial arts film written by RZA and Eli Roth, The Man with the Iron Fists. The noted wrestler appears in the flick with Academy Award winner Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu and mixed martial artist Cung Lee. It is set for release in North America on November 2, 2012.


WWE SmackDown Results: July 20, 2012...

Five nights after Money-in-the-Bank, the 674th edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown came to you from the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, CA. After their shocking engagement on RAW and their even more shocking wedding date for the 1,000th Episode of RAW, the bride and groom-to-be, AJ and Daniel Bryan, would be the special guests on The Peep Show, hosted by Intercontinental Champion Christian!

Match Results

8-Man Tag: The Prime Time Players, Hunico, & Camacho (with A.W.) def. R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, Primo, & Epico by Darren Young pinning Primo following the gutbuster.
Damien Sandow def. Zack Ryder by pin following the straightjacket neckbreaker.
Kane def. Daniel Bryan by DQ after AJ interferes.
Road Warrior Animal def. Heath Slater by pin following a jumping elbow drop.
Sheamus & Rey Mysterio def. Dolph Ziggler & Alberto Del Rio by DQ after Ricardo Rodriguez interferes.


Warner Bros. Consumer Products Announces Worldwide Licensing Program For The Dark Knight Rises
Epic Conclusion of the Dark Knight Trilogy Hits Theaters on July 20...


BURBANK, Calif., July 19, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The Bat-Signal soars above the skies as Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP) and its global partners launch the worldwide licensing and merchandising program that supports the eagerly awaited epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan's phenomenally popular Dark Knight trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. As the summer blockbuster swoops into theaters, beginning July 20, WBCP unveils the unprecedented lineup of global licensees and products capturing the excitement for the film around the world.

"Batman is one of the most iconic characters in the world and our global merchandising program inspired by The Dark Knight Rises offers fans of all ages an opportunity to extend their experience beyond the theater," said Brad Globe, President, Warner Bros. Consumer Products. "The characters, gadgets and vehicles created by Christopher Nolan have opened up a world of great product opportunities."

In support of The Dark Knight Rises, WBCP and its host of renowned licensees are rolling out a vast product lineup generating awareness and enthusiasm just in time for the tentpole film's release. Led by global master toy licensee Mattel, the film will also be supported by key partners such as The LEGO Group, Hallmark, Kinetix, Converse, Rubie's Costume Company, and Titan Books, among many other licensees worldwide. The myriad of merchandise supporting The Dark Knight Rises will bring the film to life and into the homes of fans with a licensing program that boasts offerings across multiple categories from toys and games, to collectibles and costumes, to apparel and accessories, to publishing, party goods and domestic decor.

Mattel, global master toy partner for the film and DC Comics, will have a broad lineup as part of its Batman toy collection including action figures, playsets and collectible figures, highlighted by the fan-favorite Movie Masters(TM) line for the older fans and serious collectors, which captures the superior accuracy and details of the characters from The Dark Knight Rises. In addition, the authentic film-inspired toy line introduces the innovative play technology QuickTek(TM), which offers snap-and-slide armor and accessories.

The much-anticipated film is also being supported by LEGO, the official partner in the construction category, with a construction set inspired by The Dark Knight Rises; Rubie's Costume Co., bringing a wide range of costume products based on the entire DC Comics portfolio, including The Dark Knight Rises; and Hallmark offering collectible ornaments.

Additional licensees also supporting the film include: PPW Toys' DC Super Heroes collectible line of Mr. Potato Heads, including a "Caped Cru-Tater" figure inspired by The Dark Knight Rises; Jakks Pacific with a range of film-inspired novelty and large scale figures and plush; and Cardinals Industries' games and puzzles based on The Dark Knight Rises and Batman, as well as other legendary DC Comics characters. Funko brings its fun stylized plush and vinyl collection; Mezco unmasks colorfully detailed vinyl figures; Hornby Hobbies revs it up with a Scalextric limited edition Batman Tumbler vehicle; Thinkway Toys brings their best-in-class innovation to a range of remote control vehicles, figures, and basic role play toys inspired by Batman and The Dark Knight Rises; and McFarlane Toys unveils a special edition collectible action figure of former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and two-time Super Bowl champion, Hines Ward, in his Gotham Rogues uniform as worn in The Dark Knight Rises.

The licensing program for The Dark Knight Rises reaches multiple product categories. In apparel, high-end fashion from Kinetix and Kids Republic, to Braccialini's cat-walk Catwoman-inspired clutch, to trendy apparel from Bioworld, Junkfood, French Connection, Converse, New Era and Diesel, gives fans a chance to don the look with t-shirts, limited edition sneakers and caps, accessories and more inspired by the artistry and graphics from The Dark Knight Rises; as well as Under Armour with their specialty athletic gear as inspired by their Gotham Rogues uniforms in the film. Collectibles from Hot Toys, Kotobukiya, Mobius Models and Noble Collection offer discerning collectors a chance to display the most artistic and detailed figures and replicas; Mimoco offers cool-collectors' high-tech USB flash drives for all fans; and home goods from Franco, and more will bring Batman to life in any room in the house. In publishing, WBCP and its partners take an in-depth look at all of the vehicles, gadgets, uniforms and more as seen in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. Titan Books will bring the film to the page with its official tie-in novelization; Abrams releases The Art and Making of the Dark Knight Trilogy; HarperCollins caters to younger fans with a publishing program that includes a Junior novelization, I Can Read book series and assorted activity books; and Insight Editions lets fans and auto aficionados get into the driver's seat in Batmobile: The Complete History coffee table book about the iconic Batmobile through the years, as well as giving an inside look at the secrets to being Batman in The Dark Knight Manual.

Other licensees that are part of the exciting roll-out for The Dark Knight Rises program, including Lava Lite LLC, Skinit, Inc., Cufflinks, Inc., Graphitti Designs, The Northwest Company, Thermos, Trends International, Muckle Mannequins, Molli Toys and Bakery Crafts, among many others - each offering inspired product that will delight all fans.

About The Dark Knight Rises Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' The Dark Knight Rises is the epic conclusion to Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. The film stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Morgan Freeman. Christopher Nolan directed the film from a screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven are the producers, with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull serving as executive producers, and Jordan Goldberg co-producing. The Dark Knight Rises is based upon Batman characters created by Bob Kane and published by DC Comics.

Opening in theatres and IMAX on July 20, 2012, The Dark Knight Rises will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. The film has been rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sensuality and language. www.thedarkknightrises.com


Gazillion Entertainment President David Brevik Talks Marvel Heroes MMO
The new game will offer dynamic environments...


SAN DIEGO -- Gazillion Entertainment have Comic-Con 2012 fans a first play of the free-to-play online game Marvel Heroes. The game combines the energy of action role-playing games with the breadth and immersion of the MMO genre, while sharing some popular features from Blizzard Entertainment’s Diablo games.

Fans were able to play one of four iconic Marvel characters at the convention and battle through the war-torn streets of Mutant Town and Fort Stryker to defeat Magneto and retrieve William Stryker from his clutches. Along the way, players got a taste of the extensive loot and costume options for each hero. Developers of the game were at the Marvel Entertainment booth, which featured Iron Man 3, to guide players and answer questions during play.

“San Diego Comic-Con is the perfect venue for gamers and Marvel fans to play Marvel Heroes for the first time,” said Brevik. “Marvel Heroes is a great leap forward for the MMO genre, combining the rapid pace of an action-RPG with the depth of an MMO.”

During San Diego Comic-Con, fans also were able to play through the game to find the Tablet of Life and Time, which is a powerful item in Marvel Heroes. The Tablet has been stolen in a daring raid, and to help get it back the Marvel Heroes Task Force needed help. San Diego Comic-Con attendees were deputized and issued a unique photo ID badge, then put hot on the trail of the Tablet. Over the course of The Con, fans won t-shirts, beta codes and other prizes.


WWE Triple H Talks Talent...

Promoting this coming Monday's historic 1000th episode of Raw, Paul Levesque, also known as Triple H, addressed a number of topics including Randy Orton's ongoing sixty-day suspension for his second violation of WWE's Talent Wellness Program.

Orton, who hails from St. Louis, Missouri, the site of Monday's show, will be unable to appear due to the suspension. Though Levesque won't divulge what Orton did wrong, he notes "The Legend Killer" will be back once the suspension concludes.

"It is important to remember that all of our wrestlers are human but they also have to be accountable," Levesque says of Orton's suspension.

As WWE's Executive Vice President of Talent and Live Events, Levesque's corporate role is to discover tomorrow's Superstars. He admits it's a struggle.

"We're trying to teach them to be the Stone Colds and the Undertakers of tomorrow, but the one thing we can't teach is charisma," said Levesque. "You can teach people to do moves and create story lines and the psychology of what we do, but you can't teach someone to be the Rock. It's an innate ability to walk into a room and have everyone pay attention. Put aside the athleticism and what happens in the ring, what our business is really about is connecting with people emotionally. If you are emotionally connected to your character, then people will want to see you. It's true in Hollywood and movies. You don't have to be the best actor, just be a presence."

Triple H, The Rock and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin created on-screen personas "fans loved, hated or loved to hate" on Raw in the late '90s. Levesque feels they were the first stars of reality television.

"Every guy we have, whether it's me, whether it's the Undertaker, whether it's John Cena playing the character John Cena, is a performer," said Levesque. "What we did is very much the beginning of reality television. 'Jersey Shore,' whether people want to believe it or not, is a scripted kind-of show. They don't give them every single word, but they give them premises and they set things up. It's not a documentary where you follow them around brushing their teeth. And that's what we are — we blur that line and that's what people find intriguing."

Levesque also offers insight on The Rock and Kane's on-stage personalities, WWE's decision to make their shows "PG" television, critics denouncing wrestling as "fake," and more.


100 Million Fans Like WWE...

STAMFORD, Conn., July 20, 2012 – WWE® (NYSE:WWE) today announced that it has eclipsed 100 million fans through its global social media networks, further cementing its position as one of the most followed brands in the world.

To celebrate this milestone, WWE has surprised its 100 millionth social media fan, Alex Guerrero, Jr., 27 from San Antonio, Texas with a free trip to Monday Night Raw’s 1,000th episode live from St. Louis, Mo. this Monday. Guerrero will also appear on the show and be featured across all of WWE’s social media platforms, including Tout, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and on WWE.com, making him an online Superstar.

Currently, WWE has more than 73 million Facebook fans and 30 million Twitter followers across all of its networks. WWE’s network of Facebook pages has more fans than the NFL’s Facebook league page and its 32 team pages combined. WWE’s flagship Facebook page has a stronger following than brands such as MLB, ESPN, Nickelodeon, HBO, Pepsi and CNN. On Twitter, @WWE has more followers than the NHL, McDonald’s, TMZ, CNBC, and Coca-Cola. Earlier this year, WWE and its Superstars received six 2011 Mashable Awards including “Digital Company of the Year” and "Must Follow Brand on Social Media."

The 1,000th episode of Monday Night Raw not only marks a new 8/7C start time on USA Network, but an expanded three-hour format that will usher in a new era of interactive programming, where viewers will become part of the action by using social media platforms to have a voice in the show.



McMahon releases 2010 tax returns...

NORTH HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Senate candidate Linda McMahon has released tax returns showing the former wrestling executive and her husband earned $30.6 million in 2010.

The endorsed Republican candidate in the race for Connecticut's open U.S. Senate seat says her 2011 returns also eventually will be released.

The campaign provided copies of the 2010 returns to The Associated Press on Friday. The vast majority of the income for McMahon and her husband Vince, the CEO and president of WWE, formerly World Wrestling Entertainment, came from stock dividends. They paid $4.7 million in federal taxes.

A McMahon spokesman said the Greenwich couple is releasing only the 2010 returns for now because the 2011 returns have not been completed.

McMahon is facing former Congressman Christopher Shays in the Aug. 14 Republican primary election.



Pensioners to be Banned From Titanic II's Casino - 18th July...

Pensioners will be banned from the casino onboard Titanic II -- as will anyone travelling in steerage -- according to the man behind the project, eccentric Australian billionaire Clive Palmer.

Palmer wants to protect pensioners from themselves and questions whether anyone who can't afford a First Class ticket should even be gambling onboard.

Speaking at a press conference in Brisbane yesterday, Palmer also revealed the deck plans for the replica ship -- which will follow the original plans as closely as possible but with one or two modern additions, including lifts, air-conditioning -- and enough (modern) lifeboats.

The ship, which is being built in China, will be about four feet wider in the beam, with an extra deck to carry more passengers, lifeboats and safety equipment, including escape chutes. The hull will be welded (rather than riveted), and it will be diesel-powered, rather than run by coal, despite Palmer making his billions from mining.

Teijo Niemela, Editor of Cruise Business Review, questioned how closely it would be possible to stick to the original design: "It's quite an interesting problem that they're going to have with the design. The closer they keep the design to the original, the less the ship will be modern. After a few years when all who are interested have seen the product, how many will want to go back to a ship whose design is 100 years old?

On the other hand, if they incorporate too many modern features, such as the gadgets Queen Mary 2 has, then the problem is it wouldn't be Titanic II."

Like the original, Titanic II will be divided into first, second and third classes, with those in steerage sharing bathrooms and sitting at long tables for meals.

Clearly influenced by the James Cameron movie, Palmer said that's where he would be found –- dancing jigs (presumably with a Kate Winslet lookalike) –- in third class:

"It's more fun to dance around with an Irish drum than it is to sit at a casino all night," he said at the press conference. "That's where I'll be -- that's where the fun will be!"

First-class tickets on the original ship in today's money would cost about £57,000 -- about the price of a world cruise on a six star ship today, and out of reach of all but the most wealthy. Palmer said: "I'm sure we can do better than that," when asked what a first class ticket would sell at.

When pressed why he wanted to ban pensioners from the casino, Palmer insisted he did not want to cause offence to the elderly: "I love pensioners. My closest relations are pensioners," he said. "I was just trying to say that we need to protect and respect people who have given a lot service to this country and make sure that we don't act positively to impoverish them later -- that's all it boils down to. We have to have some social responsibility too."

The casino is likely to be located in first class, so as with on Cunard's Grill Class, it will be possible to segregate passengers, Palmer explained: "There will be some sort of screening to make sure the people who do go there are people who can afford to go there. I think third class we'd have to have questions about, wouldn't we? If you can afford a first class ticket at the prices that I'll be charging, you can probably afford to go to the casino. We'll only locate the casino in first class probably, so we should be able to segregate."

The drawings released yesterday depict nine decks, complete with first-, second- and third-class staterooms, as well as officer and crew accommodations. From deck D upward, engineers Deltamarin have managed to keep the public rooms, passenger stairs, cabins and features in similar locations as in the original ship. The board of his shipping company, Blue Star Line, is yet to approve the final design. The first voyage is set for late 2016.



Online gaming companies in for huge 2011

Flashback In Time


Could online gaming firms be in the mix of the top stockmarket investments to make in 2011?

The listing of Betfair (BET) at the conclusion of October on a fancy multiple and the $3.3 billion megamerger between X and X, due to complete in the first quarter of 2011, appears to have added spark to the industry of late.

Then there is the prospect, albeit slight, of the liberalisation of the US igaming market which has put the industry firmly on investors' watch list, including ours, for next year.

It is understandable, as even a snapshot look at the stockmarket gains of the world’s biggest online gaming companies between circa 2004-2006 reveals just how quickly fortunes were made and lost.

The iGaming Global Top 30 Index, an index of the stockmarket performance of the biggest 30 online gaming companies, surged 40% between July 2004 and August 2005. This was followed by 12 months of extreme volatility before sinking thanks to a controversial piece of legislation in the US.

Since 2006, online gaming’s real story has been dominated by America’s Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

The multibillion-pound global industry virtually collapsed in a heap after its biggest market - the US - was closed down overnight when Congress introduced a surprise clause to legislation in September 2006, in effect making internet betting illegal. Not only was that a blow for investors - it was a hugely expensive one.

British-based companies were among the biggest casualties.

As soon as the London Stock Exchange opened the following Monday morning, shares in XX - then a FTSE 100 member - dived by 58%, while rivals 888 Holdings (888) and Sportingbet saw their shares slide by 26% and 64% respectively, wiping an estimated £4 billion off the sector's value.

The companies were forced to focus on opportunities in other parts of the world, but the businesses have never fully recovered from the impact of losing their most lucrative market. Last year, online gambling was worth an estimated $5.4 billion (£3.5 billion) overall, a figure that could rise to $12-$16 billion if the market was opened up, analysts say.

Despite the recent loss of a sympathetic Democrat majority in Congress last month, there is renewed hope of floated gambling companies being dealt a good hand on both sides of the Pond.

The new Republican chairman of the House financial services committee is likely to be an old-style Alabaman named Spencer Bachus.

Yet he is likely to listen to the prospects of a reinvigorated gambling sector for the ailing US economy. The Federal government’s non-partisan accountants, the Joint Committee on Taxation, have estimated online gambling could generate between $10 billion and $42 billion in new revenue by 2019, depending on the number of states that opt into a federal regulatory programme.

Yet he is likely to listen to the prospects of a reinvigorated gambling sector for the ailing US economy.

The Federal government’s non-partisan accountants, the Joint Committee on Taxation, have estimated online gambling could generate between $10 billion and $42 billion in new revenue by 2019, depending on the number of states that opt into a Federal regulatory programme.

And you can see why if you glance at the forecast numbers.

With the US nationwide unemployment rate at 10%, 48 of 50 states facing budget shortfalls and a Federal deficit approaching $1.3 trillion, the economic backdrop against which to promote regulation and taxation of internet gambling has arguably never been more favourable.

Yet those companies poised to get a real boost should America legalise online gambling, such as the impressive PartyGaming/Bwin combine, are getting excited about the future.

"We are seeing things from a legislative perspective that are quite exciting for us," says XX, chief executive of XX, whose comments undoubtedly reflect the mood of a growing contingent of gambling operators on both sides of the Atlantic.

There has been speculation that XX and XX have decided to merge at this time precisely because they will be better placed than any other operator to seize a huge market share should the US decide to legalise online gambling. You only have to look at the market share that X was able to capture by becoming one of the first operators into the online poker market back in 2001.

Analysts agree the enlarged company is in a strong position to exploit the opening up of the US market.

In a note to investors recently, the Morgan Stanley leisure analyst Vaughan Lewis said: "The overall political tide is moving firmly in favour of regulation, rather than prohibition.

"With its expertise... market-leading technology, strong marketing capability and good brands, we think the combined entity of XX and X would be extremely well positioned to benefit from any market opening in the US. We include nothing in our forecasts for the US, so any new market here is pure upside."

And in a recent Barclays Capital research note, the investment bank said: "In the event of Federal regulation, we believe XX would be the likely key beneficiary.

"Under this hypothetical scenario, we estimate the potential [underlying profits] uplift could be 94% for XX and 58% for XX and 888. On a state-by-state hypothetical scenario, we estimate the uplift for the group would be considerably lower, but still meaningful."

Meanwhile, at the end of October analysts at Numis published a note saying there is 50% upside potential at X when the merger with X completes in March 2011. With the shares trading at around 230p at the beginning of November Numis have put a price target of 400p on the stock.

The XX merger has got the other big companies in the sector scurrying around to do similar deals. They don't want to be left behind in what will become a gold rush should the US legalise online gaming.

888 and Sportingbet are also possible future takeover targets as the industry consolidates, but only once their legal liabilities in the US market are cleared. Serious negotiations in the PartyGaming/Bwin merger were only concluded once Party had secured a $105 million settlement with US authorities.

Analysts say a resolution would clear the way for 888 and Sportingbet to re-enter the lucrative US market should moves to overturn the 2006 legislation succeed.

Sportingbet has already acted telling shareholders at its latest results meeting that it had made a £22.8 million settlement with the US Department of Justice over an investigation into illegal internet gambling. The agreement means the firm will avoid being prosecuted in the US for accepting online bets made by Americans between 1998 and 2006.

Sportingbet would hold the most appeal to potential bidders, analysts reckon, pointing to its very strong market positioning in Australia and commenting that Ladbrokes (LAD) and William Hill (WMH) could be interested in a takeover.

Liberum Capital analyst Richard Taylor recently highlighted the strength of Sportingbet’s sports betting business, which he said had one of the best gross margins in the sector at around 10%. In addition, he said Sportingbet’s management was open to a bid, having previously stated up to 55% of their cost base could be removed.

Another former giant of the sector, now somewhat depleted thanks to the UIGEA, is 888.

Analysts say 888's attraction would be the potential for cost savings in a tie-up with a rival online gaming operator, and that Party/Bwin might be a possible buyer. What would make it attractive is that both Party and Bwin use 888 as a supplier.

However, the Shaked family who founded the company, and who control over 50% of the shares, would be looking for a price significantly above the 40p at which the company currently trades.

There have been whispers among London traders in the last few weeks that a £262 million, or 76p a share, cash bid from a much bigger industry player, possibly US entertainment giant Harrah's, which already has close business links with 888 could be on the cards.

Certainly 888 chief executive Gigi Levy has said recently that he looks at consolidation as one of the possible routes to realising shareholder value.

Another giant of the industry looking to become bigger still is the mighty Betfair. Having listed on the LSE at the end of October at 1,300p, the shares soon touched 1,600p-plus, as tracker funds piled in confident it will canter into the FTSE 250 index at the December review with a market value above £1.6 billion.

If things are hotting up at the Federal level for the online gaming industry there are also some exciting developments at state level.

So far in 2010, four states have considered whether or not to legalise some combination of online poker, casino gaming and sports betting: Iowa, Florida, California and New Jersey.

The state making most headway is New Jersey, where internet gambling has been under consideration by lawmakers since 2001. It is finally receiving serious consideration in the state Senate where two bills, which would legalise internet sports betting and casino gaming respectively, have already passed the committee stage this year.

From California to New Jersey to Florida, more state and federal congressmen are taking the reality of a legal online gambling regime a lot more seriously.

Whoever wins the race, state or federal, one thing is clear: more and more stakeholders in the US are finally coming around to understand the risks and implication of a ‘do nothing’ strategy. This is an opportunity cost and gambling companies are getting their bets on regardless.

But ongoing political deadlock clearly poses a real threat to regulatory efforts at all levels of American government. But even as gambling industry stakeholders duke it out in the halls of legislatures around the country, as well as on Capitol Hill in Washington, the very fact that the conflict between them is intensifying signals that interest and investment in pushing for online gaming regulation is rising.

With billions of dollars out there to harvest and market share to win, the entire online gaming sector looks ripe for an upturn in coming months. Investing in online gaming companies has always been a white knuckle ride - and there looks to be every sign this particular circus is once again rolling back into town.