When not sifting through YouTube for the latest reason to send take-down notices, Viacom employees have been spending time watching one YouTube video of former MTV Networks President Michael Wolf pitching for a new job. Wolf resigned in Jan. 2007 during a management shake-up.
Whether he’s filming this video resume from Beirut or East Hampton is not immediately clear, one former colleague at 1515 Broadway quips.
Tip your fedora to Viacom’s Paramount Pictures.
Summer’s not yet in full swing, but the studio already has two big hits, “Iron Man,” which has banked nearly $500 million worldwide and now “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” which brought in more than $300 million this weekend, Reuters reports.
The tally marked the second-highest U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend opening in history, despite some mixed reviews for the film starring Harrison Ford as the eponymous archeologist.
Paramount’s success could extend over the coming weeks with the release of “Kung Fu Panda.” But the Wall Street Journal points out that because major studios are laying off risk in many movie projects, they are also limiting the amount of money the can take in. Such is the case with both “Iron Man” and “Kung Fu Panda.”
Youtube video we wish existed: Sumner Redstone rocking out on “Rock Band” to the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” or Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive.”
In the meantime we can assume that Viacom’s octogenarian executive chairman is rockin’ today after the media conglomerate said its first quarter profit rose 33 percent on strong sales of the “Rock Band” video game and higher advertising revenue at MTV Networks. Revenue rose 15 percent to $3.1 billion, beating analysts’ estimate of $3 billion.
It gets even better in the Viacom executive suite, at least for today — its film “Iron Man” kicks off the summer blockbuster season to positive reviews, including that of tough Wall Street Journal reviewer Joe Morgenstern who said it had “exhilarating” action and “scintillating” comedy.
Clear Channel may be fighting its banks with guns blazing in a Texas court, but it’s singing a softer tune to Washington regulators.
The company told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that its pending $20 billion buyout by Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital Partners may not close, saying it wanted to caution the markets not to hope for an easy resolution.
The deal was supposed to close by March 31, but six banks who agreed to finance it have since balked as debt markets deteriorate. As far as Clear Channel is concerned, all the other closing conditions have been met.
(Reuters)
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(Photo: Reuters)
