Free Republic

Rapper Akon has revealed plans for a futuristic $6 billion city in his Senegal homeland modelled on Black Panther's Wakanda. The R&B star, who boasts two multi-platinum albums, told a news conference on Monday he had laid the first stone for the city in the Atlantic Ocean village of Mbodiene, around 60 miles south of the capital Dakar. The solar-powered Akon City will offer hotels, a university, hospitals, business and leisure centres including a casino, as well as movie studios, all featuring futuristic designs by architect Hussein Bakri, with African sculptures for inspiration.

A federal court in the Southern District of New York today terminated the Paramount Consent Decrees, which for over seventy years have regulated how certain movie studios distribute films to movie theatres. The review and termination of these Decrees were part of the Department of Justice’s review of legacy antitrust judgments that dated back to the 1890’s and has resulted in the termination of nearly 800 perpetual decrees.   “We appreciate the Court’s thoughtful opinion and ruling today granting our motion to terminate these outdated Paramount Decrees,” said Makan Delrahim, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “As...

The Los Angles Times‘ Ryan Faughnder reports that the traditional Hollywood film business faces several key challenges as a by-product of disruptive technology and changing distribution methods, resulting in a high level of executive turnover at the major studios as the industry attempts to adapt to evolving consumer tastes. From the outside, Hollywood looks like a thriving town with massive blockbusters and growing box-office revenue. But pull back the curtain and the legacy movie business is under siege, contributing to the highest level of executive churn in years. Three of the six major studios — Paramount, Sony and Fox —...

Congressional support for controversial online piracy legislation eroded dramatically on Wednesday in the face of an unprecedented online protest supported by tech titans such as Google, Wikipedia and Facebook. Several key senators withdrew their support from the Senate's Protect IP Act (PIPA), including Tea Party favorite Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), an elected member of his party's leadership. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who leads the Senate GOP's campaign team, said the legislation should be put on hold, while Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a sponsor and the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, retreated from the...

What's a bigger priority for Hollywood filmmakers? Making money Making a 'statement' Neither Both

<p>LOS ANGELES, California (AP) --Movie studios and record labels are taking their case against illegal Internet downloads directly to corporations, where much of the offending action allegedly occurs.</p> <p>The Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America are sending a six-page brochure this week to Fortune 1000 corporations with suggested policies -- including a sample memo to workers warning them against using company computers to download songs and movies.</p>