Search Results for: GOLD

Sony Chief Executive Nobuyuki Idei said Wednesday the Japanese electronics and entertainment giant was seriously considering the acquisition of U.S. film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer but declined to say when a decision was expected. “We will not go into an unprofitable business,” he told reporters, adding that Sony has been thinking about movie deals since the 1990s. “We are confident we will make the right decision.” Earlier this month, MGM and Sony agreed to enter talks about a possible acquisition to weigh a $5 billion bid for the legendary studio, according to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. But Idei and… Read more »

Police broke up a shoving match at a Springfield club after rapper 50 Cent and his entourage jumped from the stage during a surprise appearance and scuffled in the audience. Two people were arrested for disturbing the peace at the Hippodrome club early Saturday morning, said Springfield Police Capt. Charles Arpin. Police also were investigating whether a nearby shooting was related. The crowd of 1,400 people didn’t know 50 Cent was there until he took the stage after other acts. About 10 minutes later, someone in the crowd threw water at him from a cup or a bottle, Hippodrome co-owner… Read more »

The diminutive funk rocker will take over five channels at once Wednesday, when MTV, MTV2, BET, VH1 and VH1 Classic simultaneously broadcast a 30-minute concert special taped live last week before an audience in New York. The concert features songs from Prince’s latest album, Musicology, plus some of his classic hits. “This historic broadcast, going out simultaneously over the five most influential music networks, is a tribute to the music and artistry of one of the most singular talents of our time,” said Columbia Records exec Will Botwin. “With a fast-paced combination of brilliant performances and compelling interviews, this show… Read more »

A reclusive record executive dubbed “the Howard Hughes of the music business” has toppled Paul McCartney to become Britain’s wealthiest music millionaire in the latest list of the rich and famous. Clive Calder, the mastermind behind such stars as Britney Spears and ‘NSync, rocketed to number one in the Sunday Times music industry list after selling his independent Zomba label to German media giant Bertelsmann AG. “He is the Howard Hughes of the music industry,” said the list’s author Philip Beresford who put Calder top with an estimated worth of 1.23 billion pounds ($2.28 billion). “We have scoured the world… Read more »

Marilyn Manson may just have blown his street cred. The raunchy rocker allegedly popped the question to his gal-pal, burlesque artist Dita Von Teese, on Mar. 22, according to Us Weekly. Manson (real name Brian Warner) even took the traditional route, reports the tab, getting down on bended knee to present her with a seven-carat round-cut diamond ring. A call to his publicist was not returned, but Us expects the pair to tie the knot within a year. Prior reports suggest the two may already have gotten secretly hitched. Out with the old, in with the new. Just over a… Read more »

Leland Cobain spreads a few yellowing pieces of art across his dining room table. The Aberdeen Museum of History, in the next town over, has asked him to contribute to an exhibit about his grandson, late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. One adorable Christmas card Kurt made for his grandparents at age 13 shows a hapless toddler, fishing, who has hooked the back of his shirt. There are radiant watercolor seascapes and depictions of Disney characters. Then there are the other paintings, in an apartment 55 miles northeast of Leland’s trailer. They are surrealistic, stark and powerful, revealing skeletons, aliens and… Read more »

Jan Berry, a member of the duo Jan & Dean that had the 1960s surf-music hits “Deadman’s Curve” and “The Little Old Lady from Pasadena,” has died. He was 62. Berry had a seizure and stopped breathing Friday at his home. He was pronounced dead that evening at a hospital, said his wife, Gertie Berry. He had been in poor health recently from the lingering effects of brain damage from a 1966 car crash. Jan & Dean had a string of hits and 10 gold records in the 1960s with their tales of Southern California. Among them were 1964’s “The… Read more »

After tracking drum parts in Los Angeles, then shifting operations to their hometown of Toronto, Sum 41 have at least one more trip scheduled before they release the follow-up to 2002’s Does This Look Infected? And this one’s sure to give their frequent-flyer miles a boost. The pop-punk quartet will visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo in mid-May to film a documentary on the war-torn African country, according to an Island Def Jam spokesperson. “From the Front Lines,” produced by the Canadian charity organization War Child, will detail Sum 41’s two-week trip to the Congo, where they will examine… Read more »

Federal regulators opened a new front in their crackdown on offensive broadcasts Thursday, saying that almost any use of the F-word on over-the-air radio and television would be considered indecent. The Federal Communications Commission overruled its staff and said an expletive uttered by rock singer Bono on NBC was both indecent and profane. It marked the first time that the FCC cited a four-letter word as profane; the commission previously equated profanity with language challenging God’s divinity. The FCC on Thursday also proposed maximum fines for the broadcast of the Howard Stern radio show and for a program on two… Read more »

Apple has a smash hit on its hands with the new iPod mini digital music player. The little cousin of the full-size iPod is virtually sold out after less than two weeks in stores, with nearly 100,000 snapped up. The Apple iPod mini in various colors. “I’ve never seen a product line sell like this,” says Jack Wahrman, senior merchandising manager at New York’s J&R Music World. “The iPod is a phenomenon.” The $249 mini is the business-card-sized market extension of the regular iPod, which, while larger, also easily fits into a pocket. The bigger iPod starts at $299 with… Read more »