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The article reports on the preparation of Columbia Pictures Corp. for the release of the second film of its Ron Howard franchise, "Angels and Demons" as well as for the third film in the franchise in the U.S. Dan Brown, author of the books, revealed that his next installment in the "Da Vinci Code" series will be "The Lost Symbol" in which Doubleday will publish. Five million copies will be released and much more will be released later.

The article reports that filmmakers go after the famed record label with famous artists. It recounts that Andy Lack wants to create the Chess Records which features Beyonce Knowles as Etta James and Mos Def as Chuck Berry. Steve Jordan, Cadillac Records music producer, said that they have not got all the material they needed including Chuck Berry's classic "Maybelline." Though licensing classic song is expensive, it is very relevant to the film and can not be substituted at all.

The article reports that music biopic is an imminent trouble for filmmakers. It recounts that the more the music is popular to the people the more the franchise becomes expensive for the filmmakers. It mentions that it makes the movie popular when it comes to advertising but only ends up failing the expectations of the majority of the audience. However, the publishing and recording rights in the process of making movies are inevitable.

The article reports on Universal Pictures' acquisition of the rights to Lauren Weisberger's novel "Chasing Harry Winston" in the U.S. Andy Tennant is set to direct, Gina Wendkos to write the adaptation of the book and Mandalay Pictures to produce. The story revolves around three young women who each promised to change their entire lives for the better in the course of the next year.

The article reports that Columbia Pictures Corp. has taken screen rights to the best-selling young adult novel series "Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment," written by the award-winning American author James Patterson. Avi Arad, Ari Arad and Steven Paul of Seaside Entertainment will be producing the film and Patterson will serve as the executive producer. A brief overview of the story of the movie is also provided.

The article reports that Sony/ATV has given all of the creative licensing rights of its master recordings to aggregator The Orchard. The deal only applies outside of North America, and entitles The Orchard to all marketing and distribution rights of Sony's master recordings, film, television and advertising licenses. Guy Henderson, a senior vice president at Sony, thinks the deal is an important opportunity.

The article reports on the film rights for the remake of the 1979 comedy "10" acquired by Hyde Park Entertainment from Blake Edwards in the U.S. Hyde Park chairman Ashok Amritraj and executive Patrick Aiello will produce with Lou Pitt. The producers hope to conduct a global search for a newcomer to play the new "10."

The article reports on the start of the annual licensing exposition held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York. They offer a glimpse of a new Nickelodeon property, M. Night Shyamalan's "Avatar: The Last Airbender," a live-action theatrical adaptation of this Nickelodeon show. Paramount Pictures Corp. president John Lesher and Shyamalan were on hand to boast the project.

The article reports on Paramount Pictures Corp.'s acquisition of a film titled "Atari" with Leonardo DiCaprio to star in the U.S. The film, which is written by Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman, is a biographical film about businessman Nolan Bushnell, the creator of Atari and one of the founding fathers of the videogame industry. DiCaprio will produce through his Appian Way production company.

The article reports on Palm Pictures' acquisition of the domestic rights to director Steven Sebring's documentary film "Patti Smith: Dream of Life." This biographical film won the top cinematography praise and grand jury nomination at Sundance Festival for 2008. The deal includes North American theatrical, nontheatrical, homevideo and video-on-demand (VOD) distribution rights.

The article reports on the acquisition of the North American distribution rights to "W" by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. The film, which is a Oliver Stone-directed drama about the life of President George W. Bush, has been set for release on October 17, 2008 in the U.S. Josh Brolin will star as the lead character and cast includes Elizabeth Banks, James Cromwell and Ellen Burstyn.

The article reports on the acquisition of the movie rights to two books by David Sheff and Nic Sheff respectively by the Paramount Pictures Corp. and Plan B Productions in the U.S. which are about addiction. The two books are David Sheff memoir "Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction" and Nic Sheff memoir "Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines." The studios will collaborate with Starbucks Corp. in producing the movie.

The article reports on the release of four event films in May 2008 in the U.S. which could match May 2007 box office even without giant franchises such as "Spider-Man," "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Shrek." This time, there are more potential movies, despite being new and untested properties. These include "Iron Man," "Speed Racer," "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

The article reports on the high hopes of film studios for several well-recognized franchises to succeed in the U.S. Hollywood's big time franchises such as Indiana Jones, Batman and Harry Potter are likely to hit the box office. In 2007, although famous franchises led the way in 2007, the record-setting numbers came from unexpected films like "300," "Ratatouille" and "Knocked Up." Meanwhile, it is predicted that animated fare can generate solid grosses from the family market.

The article reports on Paramount Pictures Corp.'s acquisition of the rights of the Valiant Comic series "Harbinger" to turn it into a live-action film in the U.S. The project will be developed as a potential directing job for Brett Ratner where he, Alexandra Milchan and Jay Stern will also produced. This comicbook series became a hit in the 1990s which tell the story of humans with powers.

The article reports on the deals agreed by Starz LLC with various motion picture industry in the U.S. It states that the company has renewed its output deal with Columbia Pictures Entertainment Inc., and Walt Disney Co with a license fee amounting to $877 million. In addition, Starz has also partnered with three studios which will provide an opportunity for the company to broadcast a total of 1,200 films both on its multiplex and high definition channels.

The article discusses the moves of media company executives to reduce movie licensing to streaming video on-demand providers such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. Topics included are the comments of writer-producer Chuck Lorre on exclusive availability of the "Star Trek" series on the CBS All Access service and the intention of Time Warner and Disney chief executive officers Jeffrey Bewkes and Robert Iger to restrict content licensing.

The article reports on the impact of merchandise licensing on the motion picture industry in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It discusses the increase in Warner Bros.'s (WB) revenues in the 1990s and the rise in WB studio's licensed products sales in 1997. It highlights films to be released by WB in the summer of 1999 including "Wild, Wild West," "The Incredible Mr. Limpet" and "Iron Gate."

The article considers companies including toy industry firm Mattel, fast food restaurant chain Subway and package goods company Procter & Gamble which have created licensed products or co-marketing agreements with the 2013 film "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire."

The article reports on the acquisition of North American rights to Todd Berger's comedy "It's a Disaster," by Oscilloscope Laboratories.

The article reports on the acquisition of all North American rights to director Franck Khalfoun's thriller "Maniac," starring Elijah Wood by IFC Midnight.

The article reports on the move by Level 33 Entertainment to purchase an exclusive North American rights to the crime thriller film "Joint Body," with plans to release it on all home entertainment platforms on July 24, 2012.

The article reports on the pair of deals made by Hulu LLC to license library content for Hulu Japan from American Movie Classics Co. LLC (AMC) and Home Box Office Inc. (HBO) including "Mad Men" and "Sex and the City."

The article reports that licensing of films boosted basic cable, particularly the 1990s movies "Titanic" and "Bad Boys," according to a study by IHS Screen Digest.

The article reports that German film distributor Ascot Elite Home Entertainment GmbH acquired distribution rights for Peter Webber's epic war drama "Emperor" and Jean-Stephane Sauvaire's "Mission: Blacklist," and Wild Bunch Germany picked up rights for Thomas Vinterberg's film "The Hunt."

The article reports that Miramax Film Corp. has signed a so-called pic licensing agreement with UKTV.

The article reports on the multi-year licensing deal signed by Miramax Film Corp. with Netflix Inc. to release several Miramax titles including "The Aviator," "The Hour," and "Gangs of New York" in Great Britain and Ireland.

The article offers suggestions on how to obtain a film certification in New York City after the changed rules and regulations which came into effect from June 2010.

The article reports on the acquisition of Angryfilms to the film rights of the young-adult book series "Cycler" by Lauren McLaughlin in Los Angeles, California. The project will be produced by Angryfilms principals Don Murphy and Susan Montford. "Cycler" centered on teenage sexuality and author McLaughlin has garnered praises for her unique handling of adolescence.

The article reports on the North American rights acquired by Oscilloscope Laboratories for the release of "The Messenger" in November 2009. The film is the directorial debut of writer Oren Moverman who wrote "Married Life" and "I'm Not There." The film is starred by Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton and Jena Malone.

The article reports on Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.' successful acquisition of the U.S. remake rights for the Argentinean comedy film "A Boyfriend for My Wife." The film, which stars Adrian Suar and Valeria Bertuccelli, is about a husband who tries to get his wife to fall in love with another man so he can leave her. The movie landed at the No.2 best box office in Argentina in 2008 with 1.5 million ticket sales next to "Kung Fu Panda."

The article reports on the film rights acquired by David Thompson, former BBC Films executive, to William Boyd's book "Ordinary Thunderstorms" in Great Britain. Thompson will develop the project through his Origin Pictures with BBC Films while Boyd will stick to his own novel. Thompson said that the project is relatively an exciting collaboration and it is very rare to come across a big London-set film.

The article reports on Film Movement's acquisition of the North American rights to Kenneth Bi's action film "The Drummer." Film Movement also plans a fall release in theaters and on video-on-demand in the U.S. The Chinese-language film stars Jaycee Chan, Jackie Chan's son, and revolves around a rebellious young man who discovered the Zen world of drumming. The film was released in Hong Kong in October 2007 and made its North American premiere at Sundance in 2008.

An interview with Itsy Bitsy Entertainment founder and chairman Kenn Viselman is presented. When asked about his new vision for children's entertainment and licensing, Viselman describes his new movie project "The Oogieloves and the Big Balloon Adventure" as an interactive musical for young children and families. He claims that licensing opportunities will pursue the movie when they see and experience the characters. Viselman cites that the core message of the new film is the importance of loving people and experiencing the wonder of nature.

The article reports on the acquisition of the U.S. right for the film "Mammoth," directed by Lukas Moddysson by distributor IFC Films. It notes that the film which is represented by the sales company TrustNordsik has been premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in Berlin, Germany. Meanwhile, TrustNordisk has also an agreement with distributor Artificial Eye for the film took by IFC Film in the U.S. which is Lars von Tier's "Antichrist."

The article reports on the multiterritorial rights acquired by Sony Pictures Classics to Jacques Audiard's Cannes Film Festival entry "A Prophet." It notes that the French-Arabic-Corsican language film is set in a prison wherein a Corsican gang tests a 19-year-old inmate. It states that "A Prophet" has received critical support during the festival and lots of interest from multiple distributors. However, the sales company Celluloid Dreams has reportedly put a high price for the U.S. rights.

The article reports on the renewed effort of Sony Pictures Classics to turn from its slow acquisitions activity at Cannes Film Festival in France. Sony has bought North American rights to the much-talked Michael Haneke's "The White Ribbon." Unlike in the 2008 festival where Sony acquired not a single film. In addition, Sony also handled the U.S. distribution on Haneke's 2005 Cannes competition entry "Cache."

The article reports on the film rights acquired by Larry Meistrich's Nehst Studios to the Matt Christopher sports book series in the U.S. Nehst plans to develop the "The Kid Who Only Hit Homers" and "The Basket Counts" into film with Ari Friedman and Meistrich as producers. Furthermore, Christopher's sports book have sold more than 36 million copies worldwide under the Little Brown Book for Young Readers.

The article reports on the acquisition of all media rights in the U.S. and internationally for the documentary "By the People: The Election of Barack Obama" by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group. The film was produced by Edward Norton's Class 5 Films and directed by Amy Rice and Alicia Sams. The film shows the former senator's journey from his first announcement of his candidacy to his historic election and inauguration.

The article reports on the deal signed by Warner Bros. International Television Distribution and RTL Television in Germany for a multiyear volume of over 200 feature films and series. Part of the deal includes a series of Warner features set for 2010, catalog titles and series opening in the U.S. in 2010-11 season. It also includes "Harry Potter" installments, "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and "Ocean's Eleven."

The article reports on the acquisition of the U.S. distribution rights to action-thriller "From Paris With Love" produced by French film production and distribution company EuropaCorp. Lionsgate Inc. has acquired the rights and has slated the release of the film on February 2010. The film stars U.S. actors John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

The article reports on the U.S. distribution rights grabbed by Oscilloscope Laboratories for Samsara Films' "Unmistaken Child." The film, which focuses on a shy, devoted disciple as he explores for the reincarnation of his teacher, was directed by Nati Baratz. It was presented at the Toronto Film Festival and will be opened on June 3, 2009 at Gotham's Film Forum.

The article reports on the seven-figure purchase of Christopher Nolan's script called "Inception" which is his next directing vehicle by Warner Bros. in the U.S. Under the deal, Warner will keep the director of its 2008 top-grosser "The Dark Knight" and will give them a big film for summer 2010. Nolan will start production this summer on the project that Warner describes as science fiction actioner.

The article reports on the distribution rights acquired by Spanish broadcaster Cuatro for the teenager drama "Gossip Girl" in the entertainment industry in Spain. Cuatro has obtained free-to-air rights for the teenager drama from television distributor Warner Bros. International Television (TV). The television program "Gossip Girl" has been aired in the country in a subtitled version on Sony pay TV channel AXN.

The article reports on the distribution rights to the film "Not Forgotten." Anchor Bay Entertainment Inc. has bought the distribution rights of the film for the U.S., Great Britain and Australia and plans to release it sometime in 2009. "Not Forgotten" is a thriller movie from Myriad Pictures which stars Simon Baker and Paz Vega screened at Slamdance Film Festival.

The article reports on the deal between Rai Cinema SpA and Fastweb SpA, a broadband operator, on the firstrun rights to Hollywood blockbusters "Sex and the City" and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" in Italy. Rai Cinema will provide Fastweb with various library including firstrun titles before their free-to-air TV transmission. Included in the deal are titles like "Babel," "The Golden Compass" and "The Black Dahlia."

The article reports that the North American rights to Yojiro Takita's drama "Departures" has been picked up by Regent Releasing. It notes that the drama has earned several fest awards including Grand Prix from Montreal, audience award in Hawaii and 13 nominations for the Japan Academy award which qualifies to be an entry to the Oscars. It also mentions that "Tokyo Sonata" and "$9.66" are also included in the pipeline of Regent.

An interview with Activision Blizzard's chief executive officer (CEO), Bobby Kotick, is presented. When asked about Activision's reasons for selecting James Bond license for "Quantum of Solace" video game, he refers to the features such as platform compatibility, marketability, and potential for sequels. Kotick said that they choose franchises more than movie licenses, in which movies becomes a helpful addition. He also relates that using the voices of the film's stars does not promote sales.