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Kapow! EPIX Pre-empts Stan Lee Documentary Before Slamdance Debut

2012-01-23T10:17:00.001+11:00

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From Bondi Beach to New York, Hollywood, to Africa and beyond, the whole world knows of Stan Lee's Marvel superheroes.

You know - The Hulk, Spider-Man, Captain America - Lee was instrumental in their creation and was co-creator of many of these awesome hero's.

Slamdance has snatched a sweet deal. EPIX is closing a preemptive deal for With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story, a documentary that makes its Slamdance debut this Tuesday.

Lee is the co-creator of hundreds of comic character superheros that include Marvel movie staples Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Hulk, Fantastic Four, Daredevil and Iron Man.

We understand that the documentary will premiere on the pay channel along with EPIXHD, later this year. The doco examines Lee’s life, from growing up in the depression to finding his way to become an iconic comic creator during the Marvel heyday.

We were pleased to learn that the flick features the likes of Tobey Maguire, James Franco, Samuel L. Jackson, Kirsten Dunst and others who’ve starred in Marvel movies.

Lee shows up in all those movies in cameos and is still creating superheroes at age 88.

From comics, to movies, to games and exclusive interviews - its all in the flick.

The film’s produced by Paris Kasidokostas Latsis, Terry Dougas, Nikki Frakes, and Will Hess through 1821 Pictures. WME Global’s Deborah McIntosh is closing the deal.

Superhero fans around the world collectively shout "Excelsior!".

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Marvel Studios 2004 Films; Marvel Entertainment News; Thor II Director Announced

2011-12-29T13:11:00.001+11:00

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Marvel Studios changes the release date schedule for their unannounced 2014 mystery movies. Are they planning a third movie? Come let's explore the world of the Marvel Universe, with a focus on Marvel Studios. Oh, it's comics legend Stan Lee's birthday today True Believers.

Marvel Studios has had a tough time keeping to their plan of two theatrical releases per year. Delays with Thor and The Avengers had Iron Man 2 release by itself in 2010 and next year, The Avengers is without a partner since Runaways was indefinitely postponed. For 2013 and 2014 however, it’s back to two films/year or more.

News in from Disney that Marvel would be releasing The Avengers in 3D (post-converted). Marvel Studios also is claiming another release date in 2014 to release one of their films earlier.

Up until now, the official slate of upcoming films from Marvel Studios was scheduled as follows:

2012

The Avengers (May 4)
Runaways (canned)

2013

Iron Man 3 (May 3)
Thor 2 (July 26 pushed back to November 15)

2014

Unknown (May 16)
Unknown (June 27)

The 2014 schedule has changed the June 27 project will now be releasing on April 4th, nearly three months earlier. No information has been provided on the 2014 releases but know The Avengers will get a sequel eventually and that there’s talk of a follow-up for Captain America’s solo outing as well. Reports from two months ago also indicated that Marvel Studios would be working on Ant-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy and The Inhumans after Iron Man 3 and Thor 2.

So, will these 2014 movies simply be sequels to what we already know? Is Edgar Wright’s latest Ant-Man script finally going to be pushed into production? Is Marvel preparing to finally introduce some other characters in solo films? Or, as reported in recent months, is the studio going to take the risk by bringing fans deeper into the Marvel cosmic universe post-Avengers?

Two years might be pushing it for The Avengers 2 so it’s more likely that’ll be a 2015 release, depending on the success of its predecessor at the box office next summer. That would open up the 2014 dates to be used for films launching from characters and storylines introduced in The Avengers. Chris Evans went on record stating that the next time we’d see him suit up as the star-spangled Avenger would be in 2014 at the earliest. Ant-Man has been in development for a very long time and writer/director Edgar Wright told the press at Comic-Con this summer that his latest script was being submitted days later and that they already have concept art.

The Possibilities...

Marvel will add a third release date, either in the summer (maybe making use of that June 27 date) or in the fall, something they’re testing in 2013 with Thor 2. This would allow them to play with interconnected films and/or do more to setup for The Avengers 2 the following year.
Dropping a summer (U.S) date for a spring (U.S) date means one of two things. This mystery project is not a big-budget tentpole or it directly ties into whatever the second movie is in May and needs to come before it. The May date is the most important and has to stay there.

The April release is very likely Ant-Man finally getting his post-Avengers introduction in time for The Avengers 2 or it could be Runaways, the lower-budget film Peter Sollett was going to direct off of Drew Pearce’s script, a script that Marvel apparently really likes, and one that Pearce says could still be adapted after The Avengers. As for the May date, that’s going to be a major project. Expect a Captain America sequel.

Guardians of the Galaxy and The Inhumans are actively in development and are possibilities as well, but Marvel will not talk about those until we’ve very close to The Avengers (or afterwards) to avoid fans digging into how those play off and tie-in to what happens in The Avengers. Marvel knows what these films are so there’s very deliberate reasons for not announcing them – it’s because they’re launching off of The Avengers.

Other potential projects include Black Panther, Dr. Stange, Heroes for Hire and a S.H.I.E.L.D. movie.

What would you like to see Marvel Studios do in 2014? Ant-Man and Captain America or a few cosmic movies?

The Avengers stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Clark Gregg, Tom Hiddleston and Stellan Skarsgard. It is of course written and directed by Joss Whedon, opening in theaters on May 4, 2012.

Game of Thrones veteran to direct Thor 2...

The search for a director for Thor 2 has reportedly ended, with Marvel selecting veteran television director Alan Taylor to helm the sequel.

Taylor's most recent efforts have been for HBO, where he has directed episodes of the period fantasy series Game of Thrones.

Taylor has also directed episodes of the cable series Boardwalk Empire, Mad Men and The Sopranos.

He steps in for Monster director Patty Jenkins, who dropped out of Thor 2 citing creative differences with Marvel, movie news website Deadline revealed.

The sequel, which is due to start filming next spring for a November 2013 release, brings back 28-year-old Australian actor Chris Hemsworth as the hammer-wielding superhero.

Australian Chris Hemsworth reprise his role as the Norse god cast out to live among humans.

In the meantime, fans will be able to see Hemsworth team up with other Marvel stars in The Avengers.

Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner also star in Avengers, which is due out next year.

Chris Hemsworth profile...

Chris Hemsworth (born 11 August 1983) is an Australian actor most notable for portraying Thor in the Marvel Studios film Thor. Hemsworth is set to reprise his role as Thor in the upcoming films The Avengers in 2012 and Thor 2 in 2013. He also starred as Kim Hyde in the Australian soap opera Home and Away. He is the older brother of Liam and the younger brother of Luke Hemsworth.

Mini Biography
Though born in Melbourne, Australia, Hemsworth saw quite a bit of the country in his youth when his family moved first to the Northern Territory before finally settling on Phillip Island top the south of Melbourne.

In 2004, he unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Robbie Hunter in the Australian soap "Home and Away" (1988) but was recalled for the role of Kim Hyde which he played until 2007. In 2006, he entered the Australian version of "Dancing with the Stars" (2004) and his popularity in the soap enabled him to hang on until show 7 ("Dancing with the Stars: Episode #5.7" (2006) when he became the fifth contestant to be eliminated.

His first Hollywood appearance was in Star Trek (2009) but it was his titular role in Thor (2011) which propelled him to prominence worldwide.

His US representative, the management company ROAR, also manages Elsa Pataky and it was through them that the couple met, marrying in 2010. (Credit: IMDB).

Happy Birthday Stan Lee; Marvel Comics Living Legend...

Happy 89th birthday to one of Marvel’s founding fathers, “The Man” himself, Stan Lee! Without Stan, the Marvel Universe as we know it would not exist.

"There is no bigger star in all of comics," Marc Nathan of Baltimore Comic-Con — where Stan was the featured guest last summer — tells Comic Riffs.

The path to stardom was many decades in the making. Stanley “Stan Lee” Lieber broke into the business as a teenager in the late-’30s, hired by ”Captain America” co-creator Joe Simon as an office assistant. As Simon told Comic Riffs, Stanley was soon writing the filler prose that Timely Comics (Marvel’s precursor) needed to secure better mailing rates. (Simon, the first editor at Timely Comics, died earlier this month at age 98.)

By the early ‘60s, Stan seriously contemplated quitting Timely/Marvel, which had been launched by his relative Martin Goodman. But at the advice of his longtime wife, Joanie, Stan says he took a shot at writing superheroes the way he wanted to - relatable and with many human aspects.

Working with such fellow legends as Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, of course, Lee and his “Marvel method” would launch the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, Iron Man and X-Men. (Other talents in that famed stable included Gene Colan — who died this year at age 84 — as well as Stan’s own brother, Larry Lieber, who first scripted Thor.)

“There’s no question that Stan and the innovations he came up with saved the comic book and the superhero,” Tom Brevoort, Marvel’s senior vice president of publishing, has told Comic Riffs — noting that Lee and the artists he worked with “made me want to do this professionally.”

“By crafting characters with feet of clay and personal problems — and not writing down to an audience that was perceived to be primarily 8-year-olds — Stan opened the doorway for more sophisticated and interesting treatments of any subject matter in comics,” Brevoort says. “He made comics interesting and relevant and fun again.”

Stan Lee quotes...

“I’d just like a Cabinet position [in the current White House]. For comic books. I’d be secretary of comics — something simple.”

“Being associated with Disney is the dream of a lifetime. The things Disney did just knocked me out [when I was young] — Mickey Mouse to Bambi and Pinocchio and Snow White. And then there were the nature movies and now movies like ’Pirates of the Caribbean.’ I think they’re wonderful movie marketers — they’re the best marketers you can find anyhwere. And to combine them with Marvel — the two companies I’m in love with the most.”

"I’m very lucky to still being doing this. I seem to get a good reception [when I pitch entertainment ideas]. I hope I can sell a lot more movies. And it would be nice to win an Oscar one day."

That's a wrap True Believers (References: Marvel Entertainment, Disney, IMDB, Google News, Wikipedia, POW! Entertainment, Dark Horizons, Comic Book Movies, Box Office Mojo and Paramount Pictures).

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Visual Effects Society Lauds Stan Lee - Comic book icon to receive Lifetime Achievement Award. - 19th October 2011

2011-10-19T23:53:00.001+11:00

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Comic book publisher and entrepreneur Stan Lee has been selected by the VES Board of Directors as the recipient of the VES 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be presented at the 10th Annual VES Awards, which will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on February 7, 2012.

The VES Lifetime Achievement Award honors individuals whose "lifetime body of work has made a significant and lasting contribution to the art and/or science of the visual effects industry by way of artistry, invention and/or groundbreaking work." Stan Lee is known to millions as the man whose Super Heroes propelled Marvel Comics to its preeminent position in the comic book industry. His famous co-creations include Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Daredevil, The Avengers, Silver Surfer and Dr. Strange, among many others.

Lee first became publisher of Marvel Comics in 1972 and is presently the Chairman Emeritus of Marvel Enterprises, Inc. and a member of the Editorial Board of Marvel Comics. In 1977, he introduced Spider-Man as a syndicated newspaper strip that went on to become the most successful of all syndicated adventure strips. Spider-Man now appears in more than 500 newspapers worldwide -- making it the longest running of all Super Hero strips. Lee founded, and is currently Chief Creative Officer, of POW! Entertainment, where he continues to write and create new characters.

"Stan Lee's imagination has created a completely original and profitable niche in the entertainment world and has allowed visual effects to flex its muscle in service to it!" said VES Chair Jeffrey A. Okun. "Thanks to Mr. Lee's fantastic creations and amazing stories he not only created a future filled with gadgets and inventions that we aspire to create for real – but all while inspiring the minds and imaginations of storytellers, visual effects artists and computer wizards everywhere," added Okun.

"As a writer there is nothing more rewarding than to see your creations brought to life on the screen and I am indebted to all of the incredibly talented artists who have contributed to my projects," said Lee. "Visual effects have played a pivotal role in the ongoing success of Marvel's characters and allowed fans to experience their stories in an entirely new way. It is truly a great honor to receive this award from the Visual Effects Society."

Without question, Stan 'the Man' Lee has exerted more influence over the comic book industry than anyone in history. He created or co-created 90 percent of Marvel's recognized characters, which have been successfully licensed and marketed since 1965. The numbers are staggering -- more than 2 billion of his comic books have been published in 75 countries and in 25 languages.

In 1981 Stan Lee transformed his Spider-Man and Hulk creations into Saturday morning and syndicated television cartoons. When Marvel Comics and Marvel Productions were acquired by New World Entertainment in 1986, Stan's horizons expanded even further, giving him the opportunity to become more deeply involved in the creation and development of filmed projects for both the big and small screen. He supervised such diverse animated series as X-Men, Spider-Man and The Hulk. To date, Stan's characters have populated over 24 separate television series, all of which continue in syndication around the world.

In 2001, Stan founded POW! Entertainment, Inc., a multi-media entertainment company, where he is creating a myriad of new characters, stories and franchises for traditional and emerging media.

Previous recipients of the VES Lifetime Achievement Award are George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis, Dennis Muren, Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy & Frank Marshall, James Cameron and Ray Harryhausen.

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2011-08-05T11:32:00.000+10:00

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Marvel Entertainment, DC Comics; Warner Bros, Marvel Comics Etc United In Spirit By Death Of Gene Colan; Friendly Rivalry Continues, by Greg Tingle

2011-06-28T15:07:00.001+10:00

Marvel Entertainment, DC Comics; Warner Bros, Marvel Comics Etc United In Spirit By Death Of Gene Colan; Friendly Rivalry Continues, by Greg Tingle - 28th June 2011

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Rest In Peace, Gene Colan: Stan Lee And Dozens Memorializing Legendary Artist...

Late last week the comic book industry mourned the legendary Gene Colan, who passed away Thursday at age 84. Colan’s was inducted into the Will Eisner comics hall in 2005...dated from the World War II era to as recently as 2009. Late Sunday, fellow legend Stan Lee, a friend and associate of Colan for much of the past 70 years, shared some of his thoughts:

"That Gene was a great talent is beyond dispute" "But he was also one of the nicest, kindest, most conscientious, hard-working people I’ve known." "Gene had a great love for movies, and that feeling was apparent in the way he laid out his strips — as though each panel were a scene in a movie, each effortlessly flowing into the next, just as such scenes might do on the big screen. "He was truly an artist in the best sense of the word and I join his countless legion of fans in declaring he will be greatly missed."

On Saturday, Bleeding Cool reported that Clifford Meth has set up the Gene Colan Scholarship at the Joe Kubert School.

“Gene Colan was like no other artist of his generation. His ability to create dramatic, multi-valued tonal illustrations using straight India ink and board was unparalleled. The comics industry has lost one of its true visionaries today.” — Jim Lee, DC Comics

“He knew who he was — how valuable his contributions to the world of comic art have been — how prized it remains by so many. Yet he never felt less than grateful to anyone who’d even read a single panel that he’d drawn. ... And he was never satisfied with his artwork but always eager to learn a little more, do a little better, try something new. At 84.” — Clifford Meth

“The one time he drew a script of mine was one of those moments when I would have paid the company for the honor. I received Xeroxes of his pencilled pages — so much more wonderful, of course, than the printed product — and I just grinned for days…because I’d just written a comic drawn by Gene Colan. He always made everything look so damned good.” — Mark Evanier

“Gene is one of those rare breed of comic book artists that invent their own idiom. Colan’s work never looked like anybody else’s — he was a true originator, a one-of-a-kind visionary.” — Tom Brevoort, Marvel Comics

"Gene Colan is a one-of-a-kind artist whose style is as synonymous with my early comics-reading experience as that of Jack Kirby, Neal Adams or John Buscema.” — Axel Alonso, Marvel Comics

Gene Colan was one of the great draftsmen in the industry and his work is a fond part of some of my best comic book memories.” — Dan DiDio, DC Comics

"Gene Colan was one of my favorite artists in my early teen years, when I was first discovering comics. ... Gene Colan’s work was unique, personal, and always a joy to look at. May he rest in peace." - Scott McCloud

Marvel Superheroes and the Fathers of Invention (The New York Times) - 25th June 2011...

The comic book industry began life in the early 20th century as the province of con men who stripped artists of their creations, then moved on to the next mark. The artists who were paid virtually nothing for work on characters that are now worth billions at the movies are nearly all dead. But their heirs are beginning to speak for them through a federal copyright law that practically invites descendants to sue for ownership interests in characters whose current value could never have been imagined at the moment of creation.

Courts have already granted a share of the copyright for Superman to the heirs of a co-creator, and sided with Captain America’s creator in another copyright fight. These cases are small fry compared with the battle now being waged between Marvel and the heirs of the legendary comic artist Jack Kirby, who breathed life into such pop culture icons as the X-Men, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Thor and the Silver Surfer.

Of course these court battles are about money. They also force the modern entertainment industry to reckon with the often amoral practices of the old comics workshops. And they raise deeper questions about how to credit creative works produced at a time when even the most talented artists were treated as serfs.

Marvel pioneered a new method of comic book production. It broke with the industry’s tradition of requiring artists to draw almost by rote from a pre-existing script. Instead, it gave its best creative minds wide artistic latitude.

The Marvel editor Stan Lee sometimes offered general ideas for characters, allowing the artists to run with them. Mr. Kirby plotted stories, fleshing out characters that he had dreamed up or that he had fashioned from Mr. Lee’s sometimes vague enunciations. Mr. Lee shaped the stories and supplied his wisecrack-laden dialogue. And in the end, both men could honestly think of themselves as “creators.”

But Mr. Kirby, who was known as the King of Comics, was the defining talent and the driving force at the Marvel shop. Mr. Lee’s biographers have noted that the company’s most important creations started out in Mr. Kirby’s hands before being passed on to others, who were then expected to emulate his artistic style.

Mr. Kirby’s life experiences informed the look and feel of the genre. The cinematic movement in his narratives came out of his experience as an animator. The crowded fight scenes in comics like the Fantastic Four and the X-Men are reminiscent of his boyhood days as a street fighter on the Lower East Side during the Depression.

In 2009, shortly after Disney agreed to buy Marvel for $4 billion, the Kirby heirs filed notices of copyright termination. They argue that most of Marvel’s film earnings involve Mr. Kirby’s creations — and that therefore they have a right to a share of the copyrights.

Marvel counters that Mr. Kirby’s work falls under the rubric of “work for hire” — meaning it was done under the direction, supervision and control of the company — which, if true, would invalidate the family’s claim. But that could be difficult to demonstrate at trial, given the poor record-keeping of the era and what is known about how Mr. Kirby worked.

According to court documents, Marvel’s predecessor company fired nearly all of the art staff in 1957 to save money, making Mr. Kirby an independent operator who sold his work to the publisher. If this case comes to trial, Marvel’s star witness would likely be Mr. Lee, former chairman of Marvel Comics. In his 2010 deposition, Mr. Lee seemed to suggest that Mr. Kirby was little more than a talented foot soldier who followed the whims of his boss.

Mr. Lee sang a different tune during the Marvel glory years of the 1960s, when he sometimes described Mr. Kirby as an equal in the creative process. In a 1968 interview later quoted in The Comics Journal, Mr. Lee talked about brainstorming with Mr. Kirby, who, he noted, needed “no plot at all” to produce stories: “He just about makes up the plots for these stories. All I do is a little editing. ... He’s so good at plots, I’m sure he’s a thousand times better than I.” Analyzing published articles from that period, the writer Earl Wells, in his famous 1995 essay “Once and for All, Who Was the Author of Marvel?,” said the record “yields as much evidence that Kirby was the author as it does that Lee was — much of it in Lee’s own words!”

In the years since Mr. Kirby’s death in 1994, the once lawless comics business has been transformed into an industry where creators are more fairly paid, credit is clearly apportioned and rights are meticulously spelled out in contracts. The kinds of legal confusions that have recently flared up in the comic book realm are unlikely to ever be seen, say, in the burgeoning world of online games, where corporate authorship is firmly locked down.

It is up to the courts to decide the legal questions at the heart of the Kirby copyright case. There is no doubt that the King of Comics contributed far more to Marvel — and pop culture — than he has received credit for. (Credit: The New York Times)

Iron Man And Wolverine Anime Series Coming To G4...

While summer TV is often regulated to reruns and reality TV shows, G4 is about to make things more interesting. G4 is teaming up with Marvel to launch both a Iron Man anime series and a Wolverine anime series. The two original Marvel anime series will premiere via U.S television on Friday, July 29 at 11 PM ET. The series will consist of twelve half-hour weekly episodes with interconnecting storylines. There will also be cameo appearances by several popular Marvel characters. Heroes Stars Adrian Pasdar and Milo Ventimiglia will both have voice roles in the new anime series. Adrian Pasdar will be the voice of Tony Stark in Iron Man, and Milo Ventimiglia will be the voice of Wolverine. Description: "In an effort to make amends for his past in weapons manufacturing, Tony Stark has dedicated himself to building the world up rather than tearing it down. Traveling to Japan to build a new arc reactor that will deliver unlimited free energy to the Japanese people, Stark is challenged by the Japanese government and the media when he attempts to import the necessary nuclear priming device. When the nuclear reactor is repeatedly attacked by the mysterious Zodiac consortium, Stark must gather his allies to take on Zodiac and its mastermind."

Description for the Wolverine anime series: "Based on the popular graphic novel by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, the series begins when Mariko, the love of Logan’s life, is forced back to Japan by her crime-lord father, Shingen. Logan vows to get her back at any cost. He is plunged into a chaotic world of corruption and violence, forcing him to team up with young assassin, Yukio, to battle their way through the Japanese criminal underworld."

The new anime series will be guided by New York Times best-selling author Warren Ellis and produced by Madhouse for Marvel Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan. Iron Man premieres via US television on Friday July 29th at 11 PM ET/PT followed by Wolverine at 11:30 PM ET/PT. The two series will air weekly Fridays from 11:00-Midnight ET/PT. Also, one more thing, G4 isn’t stopping with just Iron Man and Wolverine. X-Men and Blade anime series will premier later this year on G4.

Peter Parker is no more in 'Ultimate Spider-Man' - 21st June 2011...

PHILADELPHIA – The lights are going out for Peter Parker, the high school student bitten by a radioactive spider whose wall-crawling and web-slinging antics have made him a touchstone of Marvel Comics' universe of heroes and villains.

The publisher said Tuesday that Parker's alter ego, Spider-Man, will finally succumb to one of his most pernicious foes in the final issue of "Ultimate Comics Spider-Man" due out Wednesday.

Fans of Spider-Man need not worry much, though, because the Ultimates imprint is separate from Marvel's bigger universe. Whatever fate may befall Ultimate Spider-Man won't count in the pages of the other series, including Amazing Spider-Man.

The death, while dramatic, is not entirely unexpected. In November, Marvel said that the Ultimate Spider-Man was going to face an uncertain fate in the latest storyline by writer Brian Michael Bendis fittingly titled "The Death of Spider-Man," an eight-issue arc that saw the return of original series artist Mark Bagley. Bendis and Bagley had worked together on the series for 111 issues.

Bendis told The Associated Press that in issue No. 160 Parker fights valiantly but will pass on, heroically, in a pitched fight. To whom? (SPOILER BELOW)

"He will pass heroically, but he will die at the hands of the Green Goblin," Bendis said, recalling his nearly 11 years writing the title, which debuted in October 2000.
The death is real and in Marvel's Ultimate Comics imprint, death is not something taken lightly. Characters in that universe are dead and gone, never to return. The roll of the deceased already includes Magneto, Wasp and Wolverine, among others.

"Ten years ago, Brian Bendis and Mark Millar changed the way people saw super heroes with the birth of the Ultimate Universe. With `Death of Spider-Man' the two have done it again, creating a story just as big, and something that would really resonate with fans," said Mark Paniccia, Marvel senior editor. "But Peter's death doesn't signal the end of their larger plan — it's the start of one of the most ambitious stories you've ever read in comics."

Bendis said that Parker's death won't be in vain and hinted that the Ultimate Spider-Man may not be gone forever. But what exactly is to come, that's something he's not willing to share, at least not yet.

He likened the death to that of Parker's Uncle Ben, whose demise catapulted Peter into being a superhero and crime fighter, and called it an emotionally ripping decision to end Parker's life.

"I won't lie to you, it's embarrassing to say this out loud . tears were rolling down my face, I was very emotional in writing it," Bendis told AP. "This is a character that I have stayed with the entire time, that I have been almost solely responsible for. It represents such a great deal of my life."

Axel Alonso, Marvel's editor-in-chief, said there's never been a Marvel Universe without a Spider-Man, so killing the character is a big step.

"We've never seen a world without Spider-Man, a world without Peter Parker, so his death is a significant event for the Ultimate Comics universe and we're going to see how quickly it changes everything," he said, adding that the fallout from Parker's death will play out in the upcoming "Ultimate Comics Fallout" as the company retools its Ultimate universe. (Credit: Associated Press)

'Avengers' stuntman 'almost beheaded' during filming - 28th June 2011

A stuntman working on The Avengers has claimed that he narrowly avoided being decapitated in an on-set accident. Jeremy Fitzgerald lost part of his scalp while shooting the comic book team-up on Friday after a controlled fall resulted in him hitting his head against a brick floor. Fitzgerald was filming a sequence that involved him getting 'struck' by an arrow and safely plummeting 30-feet to the ground below, but was put off course after catching his foot on the way down. Despite his significant injury, Fitzgerald told TMZ that he was grateful to walk away from the incident intact after barely avoiding a head-on collision with a razor sharp rain gutter. Fitzgerald declined to be hospitalised after the fall and returned to work shortly after. Production of The Avengers was recently jeopardised after Samuel L Jackson's script was stolen and leaked online. The Avengers, which stars Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Chris Evans as Captain America, arrives in theatres on May 4, 2012.

Marvel Studios Casting WPAFB Airmen For 'Avengers' Movie...

FAIRBORN, Ohio - Marvel Studios is looking for 50 airmen from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to act in the new "The Avengers" movie being filmed in Ohio. The airmen will portray a deck crew on an aircraft carrier. The scene will be shot Aug. 1-4 in Wilmington. The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson. It opens in 2012. Just watch you're head!

No Avengers Panel at Comic-Con - 22nd June 2011

Did you year...the Avengers won't be back on stage together at Comic-Con this year, nor does it sound like any footage will debut either. LA Times' Hero Complex is confirming that Marvel Studios is passing on having a panel for the highly anticipated film at Comic-Con and won't have any presence in the huge Hall H, where the biggest panels are held. Marvel stresses they aren't skipping the convention in its entirety and no doubt they'll still have their large booth promoting both their comic books and flicks, where it's very possible that some Avengers content (perhaps prop displays and/or poster giveaways) will be present. In addition, Marvel will of course also have many comic book-specific panels. Hero Complex says that there is "talk of a promotional event beyond the walls of the San Diego Convention Center" for Marvel's Captain America: The First Avenger at Comic-Con, which opens the same weekend as the convention. They speculate that could involve some sort of special premiere or screening event. So why no Avengers panel? Hero Complex points out that Disney is throwing their second Disney-specific D23 convention in August, and it's possible Avengers will be part of that – John Carter, also skipping a Comic-Con panel, is expected to have a heavy presence at D23. Warner Bros. is also not having any film panels at San Diego Comic-Con, including for The Dark Knight Rises, meaning that arguably the two biggest comic books movies ever aren't going to be doing the usual push at Comic-Con. Of course some would say neither of these films need to build buzz like other films do, but it is a bit funny that while people complain about a lot of non-genre TV shows and films coming to Comic-Con, these two projects – so suited for Comic-Con – will have a diminished presence. Hero Complex notes that there will be a panel for The Amazing Spider-Man – which comes from Sony, not Marvel Studios – in Hall H at Comic-Con.

Marvel announces adaptions of John Carter novels - 7th June 2011

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — John Carter — Edgar Rice Burroughs' other famous pulp creation — is having his stories told anew thanks to an agreement between Marvel Entertainment and the author's estate that will return the Earth-born adventurer's Martian adventures to comic books.

Marvel said Tuesday that it will do new graphic novel adaptations of Burroughs' Martian series, starting with "John Carter, Warlord of Mars," as a five-issue mini-series in September.

Burroughs is best known for his creation of Tarzan.

The first mini-series will be written by Roger Langridge and drawn by Filipe Andrade.
"We are looking forward to introducing this original interplanetary adventurer to a new generation of fans and await the first issue with great anticipation," said James Sullos, President of Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc.

Marvel called the adaptations a new way of experiencing the tales Burroughs wrote that were dubbed the "Barsoom" series. There are 10 novels in the series, with the 11th a collection of two separate stories.

The novels are set on Mars and include Princess Dejah Thoris, a four-armed warrior Thark named Tars Tarkas and plenty of fighting.

Marvel published a John Carter series in the late 1970s that lasted 28 issues. The character has also been the subject of other series from different publishers, too, including a four-issue mini-series that featured Tarzan from Dark Horse Comics; a newspaper comic strip in 1941-1942; and a series by Dynamite Entertainment called "Warlord of Mars."

"Edgar Rice Burroughs created one of the great action heroes in John Carter and we're excited to bring his novels to comics for a new generation," said Axel Alonso, Marvel's editor-in-chief. "Roger and Filipe are going to blow everyone away with their take on the John Carter novels, keeping fans new and old on the edge of their seats." (Credit: Associated Press)

Marvel Movies Upcoming...

Movie Studio Date

Captain America: The First Avenger Paramount Pictures 7/22/11
Ghost Rider 2 (3D) Sony 2/17/12
The Avengers (2012) Buena Vista 5/4/12
The Amazing Spider-Man Sony 7/3/12
Iron Man 3 Buena Vista 5/3/13

A Green Lantern Sequel?!...

Warner Bros. is apparently planning a sequel to Green Lantern despite that film's box-office and critical underperformance. The Hollywood Reporter has the word from the studio, noting that that it "won't walk away from the superhero franchise, despite the film's soft box office performance. ... Sources say Warners still believes in the franchise, even if the studio is 'somewhat disappointed' with Green Lantern's result." The film dropped some 66% domestically in its second weekend, meaning it's only made about $89.3 million as of last night. That's not a lot considering the reported costs of the picture ($300 million at least including marketing), and internationally it is not performing either. So why announce a sequel now? As THR notes, with Harry Potter coming to an end, the studio needs big franchises big time. And there's always the chance that Lantern will make a ton of money on DVD and Blu-ray and digital download. Plus, God only knows how the balance sheet looks for these things in terms of toys and all the other merchandising. Movies are also made for games these days, so don't you forget that. Of course, maybe Warner Bros. is just saying there's going to be a Green Lantern sequel since it wasn't very good. Maybe Warner Bros thinks their green monster will create more green cash, and they would know that answer better than most. As they say at Media Man and Marvel Entertainment, "Don't just read the comics and watch the movies, Play the games!"

Thor And X-Men First Class Tipped To Hammer Home Results...

Thor and X-Men: First Class got great reviews and we're awesome, and Captain America: The First Avenger seems set to hit the spot to, but big questions remain about Green Lantern, and the vibe is not particularly good. Green Lantern with Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively is getting very reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has a 23% approval among movie critics, according to the 153 reviews counters. But 72% of the 62,000 plus user reviewers say that they "liked it" with it just premiering in the U.S theaters Friday after a midnight release on late Thursday/early Friday. Comic Book Movie.com indicates are pretty negative on the flick. One reviewer called the movie "inert, artificial and dead on arrival." During the midnight release on Thursday, the film drew $3.35 million 0 the same region that alike movies that were recently released did; X-Men: First Class brought in $3.37 million on June 2nd, and Thor did $3.25 million on May 5th. X-Men: First Class and Thor both had a budget significantly less than Green Lantern; the former had a budget of $160 million while Thor had exactly half the budget of Green Lantern — $150 million. While the flick will likely end up eventually surpassing its budget, the fact the other comic book movies had much less budget isn’t a great result. Ultimately, X-Men: First Class raked in $55.1 million in its opening weekend while Thor did $65.7 million. With this being the third comic book-based movie released in a month-and-a-half and mixed reviews, will Green Lantern under perform this weekend, or will the hardcore - fanboy type audience that has been largely ripping on it, check it out at the cinema?

Our top picks: Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger looks like a safe bet.

Be it movies, comics or games, we think that Marvel Entertainment leads the pack, followed by DC Comics, with Dark Horse Comics getting a third, based on the positive news leaks and insider tip offs we've been getting.

As Marvel living legend Stan Lee would say, Excelsior!

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Jesse “The Body” Ventura On Bin Laden, 9/11 and more, by Greg Tingle - 18th May 2011

2011-05-18T20:25:00.003+10:00

Jesse Ventura and Arnold Schwarzenegger

The man is no stranger to controversy. Media Man, newsrooms around the world... from Bondi Beach to New York...Mexico, the Wrestling News Media outfit and friends have followed his exploits in and out of the wrestling ring and political arena for decades. Many call him a living legend and a true American hero. Meet Jesse 'The Body' Ventura, aka 'The Mind'.

It's been suggested that the last thing Osama Bin Laden saw was what Jesse Ventura used to be...one of the Navy Seals from the U.S.

Navy Seals by default need to be able to fight, having got some of the best hand-to-hand combat available in the United States we understand.

How would have Ventura faired in a real fight about a Brock Lesner, Dan Severn, Frank Mir or even Kurt Angle? We will never know, but leaks say Ventura was and is one hell of a tough S.O.B.

Ventura is not only a former Navy Seal, officially known as a Naval Underwater Demolitions team (UDT) member , the precursor to the "Seals".

It would be been interesting to see Ventura fight MMA - UFC - no holds barred style in his prime. In the pro wrestling with his time at AWA and the old WWF, it seemed apparent he was a tough dude, but his style of pro wrestling made it difficult to see just how tough he may have been for real. How about his wrestling exploits with Rowdy Roddy Piper, Randy "Macho Man" Savage, Hulk Hogan, the late Adrian Adonis and WWE head honcho, Vince McMahon - the stuff of wrestling folk law.

It's hard not to dig Ventura's real life rock n roll wrestling connection, being a former bodyguard for The Rolling Stones, pro wrestling champion, ex-Governor Of Minnesota, TV talk show host and now, he’s a well-respected and best selling author with some extremely controversial things to say about the U.S government.

If you haven't done so already, grab yourself a copy of his latest book '63 Documents the Government Doesn't Want You to Read'. He gives his take on what he believes really happened before, during and after 9/11.

It's hard not to dig Ventura's movies like 'The Running Man' and who can forget 'Predator', where he played opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The world awaits to see if Ventura will run for President, perhaps with Schwarzenegger as Vice... no, not that sort of vice friends. For a while it looked like Donald 'The Don' Trump was heading for that big white office in Washington, only just deciding to opt out of the presidential race.

Of course, Ventura might like to just jump back into corporate sports endorsements and the like, ala WWE, UFC and maybe even a bit of gaming and sports betting.

A few things are for sure. He will keep 'em guessing and we'll be hearing lots more from one of America's most powerful pens and voices.

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Banks to guide 'Governator' - 18th April 2011

2011-04-19T20:59:00.002+10:00

'SpongeBob' scribe drafted for Schwarzenegger-Lee toon

Former "SpongeBob Squarepants" head writer Steven Banks has been drafted for the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Stan Lee toon series "The Governator."

Banks will serve as a head writer for the A Squared Entertainment series that follows an animated Schwarzenegger who, after leaving office in California, takes on a secret identity as a crime-fighting superhero, with the help of an elite squad of teenagers.

The series was announced with much fanfare earlier this month at the Mip TV confab in Cannes. There's no word yet on a domestic outlet for "Governator."

In addition to his six-year run on "SpongeBob," Banks' toon credits include Nickelodeon's "The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius."

"Throughout my career, whether it has been in body building, movies or politics, my philosophy has always been to bring together the best specialized talent to create projects that people will love," Schwarzenegger said. "Having Steven on board to head up the writing for 'The Governator' series is a fantastic next step."

Andy and Amy Heyward's A Squared banner is producing "Governator," which will have a comicbook offshoot published by Archie Comics under the newly created Stan Lee Comics label. Lee and his Pow Entertainment partner, Gill Champion, will oversee all creative development. (Credit: Variety, Wires)

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James Bond Casino Icon: Move Over Daniel Craig, by Greg Tingle - 3rd November 2010

2010-11-03T15:36:00.000+11:00

G'day to James Bond 007 enthusiasts the world over. The James Bond franchise continues to be a favorite with the casino and poker crowd across the globe, and now Media Man and Gambling911 can reveal thanks to our spies, Bond is about to get a face lift, and Daniel Craig nor Angela Jolie are in the script. This news follows the sale of the Bond DB5 Aston Martin in London last week for about $3 million pound. Media Man and Gambling911 don the spy jackets with this special report...

James Bond... casino icon fans, you asked for it, and we've delivered.

We can now reveal that Daniel Craig's run as James Bond 007 could soon be over, man kisser or not, and Angelia Jolie won't be getting a look in any time soon either.

Talented crime author Jeffery Deaver has been commissioned to pen the next 007 epic adventure and has gone on record advising he plans to make his superspy a 30-year-old Afghanistan veteran.

The new Bond novel is due for release in May 2011, and he's whispered there are some significant changes in store for your favorite spy.

"The novel is set in the present day, in 2011," Deaver says.

"Bond is a young agent for the British secret service. He's 29 or 30 years old, and he's an Afghan war vet."

Craig, the current Bond, is aged 42, and the original 007, created by legend Ian Fleming in the 1950s, would be close about 90.

Deaver is one of many renowned writers to take on Bond over the years - Kingsley Amis, John Gardner and Sebastian Faulks have each had a crack at it, following on from Fleming, who sadly died in 1964.

But Deaver says his 007 will be a very different superspy.

"I want to stay true to the original James Bond, who many people don't know much about. People know Daniel Craig, they know Pierce Brosnan, they know Roger Moore and Sean Connery, all of whom brought a great deal to the stories of 007. But the original Bond was a very dark, edgy character."

Gambling911 and the Media Man are also currently chasing deals of if or when MGM will be doing the next Bond film and if it will be shot in 3D or not. Gambling fans are also screaming out for a James Bond online slot to be released and our spies reckon PartyGaming, IGT and NextGem Gaming are in the running.

Casino buffs also take note...favorite casino games of Bond include Baccarat Chemin de Fer, Texas Hold'em Poker and Roulette.

Media Man and Bond fans...you may be interested to learn that Media Man is the manager and agent for Aussie - Fijian actor - pro wrestler, John "Vulcan" Seru. Johnno played 'Gabor' in James Bond 'The World Is Not Enough'. Seru also featured in an 'Underbelly' episode alongside up and coming Aussie actor, Firass Dirani.

Stay glued to Gambling911 for more on motorsport, including Aussie legend Mark "The Turkey" Webber. Folks, the names' Tingle, Greg Tingle. Putting the "I" in Bond I Beach!

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Readers... er, punters, what do you think of the new Bond? Tell us in the forum. As always, if you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming and offer political commentary and analysis.

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2010-09-21T18:27:00.000+10:00

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Spider-Man Swings Into The iPad With New Marvel Comics App - April 2010

2010-04-03T21:55:00.000+11:00

Iron Man, Thor and Captain America aren't just coming to the big screen — they're also coming to the iPad courtesy of a new Marvel Comics application.

In a press release, Marvel Entertainment announced the launch of the Marvel Comics App for the iPad, which will be available to download for free on the App Store. Marvel is launching the App with over 500 comic book titles both classic and contemporary, with each digital title priced at $1.99 and new content planned every week.

Launch titles include Joss Whedon and John Cassaday's "Astonishing X-Men," Jonathan Hickman's ongoing "Fantastic Four" run and Jeph Loeb's introduction of the Red Hulk.

"We're excited to introduce an unparalleled digital comic experience to our fans with the Marvel Comics App for iPad," Marvel's Dan Buckley said in a statement. "The iPad is the first device that offers us a chance to present digital comics that are even close to replicating the experience of reading a print comic. This new world of digital comics distribution provides us great opportunities to reach new readers, allow consumers to sample our diverse stories and characters, and we believe it will drive these new fans into the App Store and local comic shops each week to find even more."

According to the press release, the Marvel Comics App was created in conjunction with digital distributor ComiXology. Readers can preview up to three pages for each available comic book before purchasing. Additionally, the Marvel Comics App includes a comic shop locator, allowing fans to track down local comic book retail outlets.

In a hands-on review of the Marvel Comics App on Boing Boing, Xeni Jardin wrote: "I like it. Scrolling is intuitive, brisk, and elegant. I'm amazed at how smooth. The store interface makes sense to anyone familiar with iTunes and App store. Flipping and reading, one luminous full-color page at a time, I do not miss paper."

Marvel's move towards the iPad comes just a few short months after the publisher started offering content on the iPhone via ComiXology, iVerse and Panelfly.

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Book Review: Universal Shift, by Grant Hilton

2010-02-08T15:49:00.002+11:00

Grant Hilton has authored Univeral Shift.

Book review coming soon.

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Titan Publishing to launch WWE Comics - 3rd December 2009

2009-12-04T08:00:00.002+11:00

Titan Publishing has announced its partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment in the launch of WWE Comics. Over the course of the agreement, 20 issues will be produced and distributed to comic retailers and specialty stores in the U.S. and Canada. The comic’s flagship title will be WWE Heroes featuring WWE Superstars and Divas, with the first issue debuting on March 23, 2010.

The series will take the biggest WWE Superstars and Divas beyond the spotlight of the squared circle and into a brand new fictional universe.

“Each week more than 1.6 million teens watch WWE programming on television in the U.S. This is an important demographic for the comic book industry and vital for a successful launch in the industry,” stated Ned Hartley, editor, WWE Heroes. “We've got some truly amazing stories to tell - our first issue is going to blow you away! The 'in-your-face, no-holds-barred' attitude of WWE works so well as a comic, we just can't wait for people to see the great surprises that we've got in store."

WWE Heroes series features Superstars Triple H, Undertaker, Randy Orton, Batista, Shawn Michaels, Big Show, John Cena, CM Punk, Kane, Edge, Chris Jericho, Matt Hardy, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Carlito, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler and Kelly Kelly. The WWE Heroes cycle is written by Keith Champagne, who has penned acclaimed comics such as Justice Society of America, Green Lantern Corps, World War III and Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters.

Issue No.1 reveals an eternal rivalry set against the backdrop of the history of WWE. Why is the ruthless Shadow King so obsessed with WWE? What is the reason for his eternal and supernatural war with the Firstborn? And could his ancient opponent really be a member of the WWE roster?

Artwork is provided by comics’ artist, Andy Smith, who has worked as a penciller for major comic publishers such as Marvel, DC, Image, Acclaim, and CrossGen Entertainment.

An alternate cover exclusive to comic stores of issue No.1 features a specially-commissioned cover by comics’ artist Liam Sharp, who has worked on titles including Hulk, X-Men, Spider-Man, Venom, Gears of War, Superman, Batman, and Spawn: The Dark Ages.

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Heavy Lifting, by Dave Itzkoff - The New York Times - 5th November 2009

2009-11-08T07:22:00.000+11:00

Listen up, Hulkamaniacs. Suppose you were writing the life story of Hulk Hogan, the musclebound star of the World Wrestling Federation, whose raspy, bombastic voice and finger- pointing, chest-beating flair made him an emblem of 1980s-era self-assurance — Ronald Reagan with a horseshoe mustache and 24-inch biceps. What scene would you start with? Would you open on his 1984 victory over the Iron Sheik, which won him his championship belt? His herculean body-slamming of André the Giant at WrestleMania III? The fateful phone call he received from Sylvester Stallone, inviting him to play a supporting role in a sequel to “Rocky”?

It may surprise you to learn that when the real Hulk Hogan, born Terry Gene Bollea, begins his latest work of auto biography, he is contemplating suicide as he reflects on an event from 2007, when his teenage son, Nick, and a friend, John Graziano, were badly injured in a souped-up Toyota Supra that Nick was driving. The accident left Graziano brain- damaged, got Nick a five-month jail sentence for reckless driving, strained Hogan’s already collapsing marriage, and got the wrestler sued by the Graziano family and chased relentlessly by the tabloids. That he considers this a pivotal moment in his life is possibly your first indication that “My Life Outside the Ring” is going to be a story of good guys and bad guys, though not necessarily one in which Rowdy Roddy Piper and King Kong Bundy will be the central villains.

When he focuses on his wrestling career, Hogan (who wrote the book with Mark Dagostino) can be a lively, breezy narrator. Born in Augusta, Ga., in 1953 and raised in Port Tampa, Fla., he tried playing guitar and bass in local bands (including one called Ruckus), running a club and opening a gym in Cocoa Beach before vaulting from local wrestling circuits in the South to the big time in New York. (Along the way, a Memphis talk-show appearance on which Hogan outbulged Lou Ferrigno of “The Incredible Hulk” earned him his enduring nickname.)

Characters like Ed Leslie, a Hogan protégé better known as Brutus the Barber Beefcake, and Vince McMahon Jr., the crafty mastermind behind the W.W.F. (now called the W.W.E.), are introduced and tossed aside like folding chairs. But Hogan displays a charming ingenuousness throughout the journey, whether he is playing bass alongside a guitarist who toured with Todd Rundgren (“the guy who wrote that song ‘Hello, It’s Me’? Like a huge hit!”) or learning that the outcomes of professional wrestling matches are fixed. “Wrestling isn’t fake,” he writes with Zen-like simplicity. “It’s predetermined. So what?”

He is honest, too, about his past use of recreational drugs as well as steroids, and about how a federal indictment brought in 1993 against McMahon, who was accused of distributing steroids to his wrestlers, nearly ended Hogan’s career. (McMahon was acquitted the following year, and Hogan unequivocally denies that Mc Mahon was distributing steroids.)

That same candor, however, all but overwhelms the second half of the book, in which Hogan admits to marital infidelity, chronicles what he says was abusive behavior he suffered at the hands of his former wife, Linda, and meticulously documents his efforts to care for the injured John Graziano. Maybe it’s a trait Hogan picked up from his VH1 reality series, “Hogan Knows Best,” but his compulsive confessing feels more like an effort to pre-empt the Us Weeklys and TMZs of the world than an authentic attempt at soul-searching.

It won’t spoil your reading to learn that at the end of the book Hogan and his son sit down together to watch “The Wrestler,” the 2008 film that starred Mickey Rourke as a once-great but washed-up professional grappler. Hogan doesn’t see much kinship between himself and Rourke’s character, but the story he has told suggests otherwise: success, in its own way, is every bit as scarring as failure.

Dave Itzkoff is a culture reporter for The Times. (Credit: The New York Times)

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Virgin buys Branson's story of flight - 27th October 2009

2009-10-28T21:07:00.002+11:00

Virgin has bought the rights to Richard Branson's "exhilarating and highly personal" story of flight.

Up, Up and Away!: Ballooning, Birdmen and Blasting into Space: My Story of Flight is Branson's story of flying. The book looks at the history of flight from the first commercial flight to "bird man" Leo Valentin, who in the 1950s jumped from 9,000 feet with wooden wings attached to his shoulders.

Branson's airline Virgin Atlantic celebrated its 25th birthday this year and Virgin Galactic, which will soon become the first company to offer flights into space to the public. Virgin will publish Up, Up and Away in 2010 as an £18.99 hardback.

Branson has previously written Losing My Virginity, Screw It Let’s Do It, and Business Stripped Bare all published by Virgin Books.

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Book tells story of gambling guru - ABC - The Midday Report - 29th September 2009

2009-10-12T11:12:00.001+11:00

The colourful life of renowned gambler Bill Waterhouse has been published in a book What are the odds: The Bill Waterhouse story.

View the video and read the story here
(Credit: ABC)

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James Packer friends hit back at 'vicious' book, by Caroline Overington and Amanda Meade - The Australian - 10th October 2009

2009-10-10T12:46:00.002+11:00

The Australian newspapers have published a balanced and intelligent article in regards to Paul Barry's book, Who Wants to be a Billionaire, an unauthorised biography of Mr Packer.

Click here for the article

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A kiss'n'tell about James and Kerry, by Andrew Hornery - The Sydney Morning Herald - 3rd October 2009

2009-10-04T08:48:00.000+11:00

Well known and slightly infamous author and journalist, Paul Barry, has written an unauthorised biography on Australia's gambling mogul, James Packer.

Because of the public fascination about the Packer clan the book is likely to be a best seller, even if it was an average effort, and I'm not saying it was. Shane Warne (Australian cricket legend and celebrity poker player) for one is not a fan of Mr Barry's work, having a public dig at his "Spun Out" unauthorised hack on himself a few years back.

For everyone's sake, let's hope that Mr Barry has been fair to Mr Packer, who has been enjoying some strong success with his Crown Casino, Burswood Casino, and even Macau's City Of Dreams.

Mr Barry has written books on a number of famous and some may say, infamous Australians including the late Kerry Packer (The Rise And Rise Of Kerry Packer).

I must say that all my dealings with Packer companies and people over the years have been fair and largely very positive, and no, I am not on the Packer, Network Nine, Crown Casino or Paul Barry payroll (not directly anyway). Our business model does not include pay days from The Packers, and we will not be divulging our business model's fine details, not today anyway.

Due to my personal connections, I prefer the books penned by Kevin Perkins, who titles include "The Gambling Man" and "Bristow: Last Of The Hard Men". I'm not saying Mr Perkins is a superior writer to Mr Barry, nor am I saying James Packer is a bigger gambler than Kerry Packer.

*the writer (Greg Tingle) is the founder and director of Media Man Australia, and is a regular commentator on Network Nine Australia and Crown Casino matters. He does not work for or represent James Packer or any Packer owned companies.

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Private Sydney: BY ALL accounts the doting dad James Packer is proving to be a very different parent from his late father, Kerry.

Indeed, many of the more painful memories Packer has of his father are about to be aired very publicly with the publication of the unauthorised biography Who Wants To Be A Billionaire? The James Packer Story , by the journalist Paul Barry, on October 12.

Coming after a long haul of research and talking to hundreds of Packer's associates, friends and foes, the book is said to present the first comprehensive portrait of James, covering everything from his school days at Cranbrook to his girlfriends and willingness to drop millions of dollars on a collection of big boys' toys.

But the most telling chapters are those about Packer's often turbulent relationship with his father.

PS has been given an exclusive sneak peak at some of the more intriguing elements, including a story shared with Barry by the former PBL director Ian Johnson.

''James would kiss his father when he arrived at board meetings, in front of everyone,'' Johnson told Barry.

''And in return, Kerry would scream at him. James would bring up good business ideas and Kerry would just reject them. James was always incredibly polite, always respectful and never hit back. But you could see how frustrated he was.''

Johnson particularly remembered James saying to his father at a management meeting, ''You're in a good mood today, Dad.'' Barry writes that Kerry's response was to turn on one of the other executives and savage him, before turning to James, ''So you think you f---ing know, do you, son?''

Barry discovered James was a very different operator to his father in many aspects of his life, as he expresses in the book's acknowledgments.

''The Packers never like being written about, and James is no exception to the rule. So I did not get to sit down with the subject of this book and talk about his life. But unlike his famous father, James never told his friends not to speak to me and never threatened to sue everyone I spoke to. So my first and biggest thank you is to James Packer. I hope I've been fair to you and I hope I've done you justice. It's a great responsibility to write an unauthorised biography of a living person, and I hope I have not been too harsh. This book has taken more than two years to write. During that time I have spoken to a couple of hundred people who have known James or his father as friends, acquaintances, employees or rivals in business. Some agreed to be named; far more preferred to remain anonymous.'' (Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald)

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2009-09-08T15:17:00.001+10:00

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Saltwater Buddha profile

2009-09-08T15:16:00.000+10:00

Jaimal Yogis is an award-winning journalist and photographer who spends a good deal of his spare time surfing and traveling the globe. He has a master’s degree in Journalism from Columbia University and his work has been published in The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Toronto Star, The Surfers Journal, Beliefnet, Tricycle, San Francisco Magazine, and many others. Saltwater Buddha, which has been internationally praised and is the subject of a forthcoming documentary, is his first book, but he is currently working on a second while also traveling on an extensive book tour (along the coasts of course). You can follow Jaimal on Facebook and Twitter. (Credit: Jaimal Yogis)

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The Official Bra Boys Story: My Brothers Keeper, by Sean Doherty

2009-09-03T12:31:00.001+10:00

Book Description

Maroubra was a tough place to grow up. Ringed by a jail, a sewerage works, a rifle range and a housing commission estate, it was where the streets of Sydney met the beach. It was a place where the local boys surfed hard and partied harder. It was also a place where trouble easily found you. Adopted by Maroubra Beach at a young age, the four Abberton brothers, all born to different fathers and a mother in the clutches of heroin addiction, grew up at a time when the area was shadowed by drugs and gang violence. Raised largely by their grandmother, Sunny, Jai, Koby and Dakota found solace in the surf, and solidarity with their mates, the Bra Boys.

The official biography of the Abberton brothers follows their story from a turbulent upbringing on the sands of Maroubra to international surf stardom, and the fateful events of 5 August 2003, when Jai shot dead Maroubra underworld figure and childhood friend Tony Hines, only to be acquitted on the grounds of self-defence. The Official Bra Boys Story: My Brothers Keeper is raw, gritty, from the heart ... and everything you won′t read about in the newspapers. (Credit: HarperCollins Publishers Australia)

*Media Man Australia off the record interview conducted with Sunny Abberton

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Sydney book launch of the ABC of Carbon on 5th August 2009

2009-07-24T15:24:00.003+10:00

“The ABC of Carbon”

Issues and Opportunities in the Global Climate Change Environment By Ken Hickson

Darlington Centre, 174 City Road, University of Sydney

Wednesday 5 August 2009, 4pm

Rsvp to Karen on Telephone (02) 9351 5624 or email k.treacy@econ.usyd.edu.au

Ken Hickson

Director, ABC Carbon

P.O.Box 185, Toowong

Brisbane, Queensland 4066, Australia

www.abccarbon.com

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Rebecca Malins Signs On With Media Man Australia

2009-03-04T19:58:00.002+11:00

4th March 2009

The talented, creative and vibrant author and artist, Rebecca Malins, has officially signed on with Media Man Australia.

Rebecca is the author of the critically acclaimed 'Funny Bones' and currently has a number of other books and projects in progress, details of which will soon be released by her agent, Greg Tingle.

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Rebecca Malins

Funny Bones

Books and Authors

Harvey: charity not so sweet, by Michael Evans - The Sydney Morning Herald - 21st November 2008

2008-11-21T05:23:00.002+11:00

The retail king Gerry Harvey may have a personal fortune of about $1.6 billion but the Harvey Norman founder thinks donating to charity is "just wasted".

Asked in a new book about the role he and Harvey Norman play in the community, Mr Harvey said giving money to people who "are not putting anything back into the community" is like "helping a whole heap of no-hopers to survive for no good reason".

He said he believed in helping "develop people to their potential" because "when they achieve [their potential] they will put a lot more back into the community".

"You could go out and give a million dollars to a charity tomorrow to help the homeless. You could argue that it is just wasted. They are not putting anything back into the community.

"It might be a callous way of putting it but what are they doing? You are helping a whole heap of no-hopers to survive for no good reason. They are just a drag on the whole community.

"So did that million you gave them help? It helped to keep them alive but did it help our society? No. Society might have been better off without them but we are supposed to look after the disadvantaged and so we do it. But it doesn't help the society."

Mr Harvey added: "That is not to say we don't give money away to charities because we have given plenty away over the years. At the end of the day, the more quality individuals you develop in the community, the better off the community should be."

Earlier this year, Harvey Norman donated beds to a charity, Bridge Back to Life, that helps homeless men find rental accommodation.

The comments are in a new book, Master CEOs, by the Sydney funds manager Matthew Kidman.

Clare Martin, the chief executive of the Australian Council of Social Service, said: "I have really been impressed at corporate Australia and their real involvement in the wider community … and I always thought that Harvey Norman shared that as well.

"It does surprise me that Gerry Harvey, who's a very significant business figure, should not share the values of many other corporates."

In the interview, Mr Harvey also said that despite his wealth, "I still have a fear about going broke. I always think about it."

(Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald)

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Gerry Harvey

Marketing push under way for new James Bond book - Media Week - 27th May 2008

2008-11-03T18:14:00.001+11:00

LONDON - Sebastian Faulks' new James Bond novel 'Devil May Care' is to be published tomorrow by Penguin, supported by a major marketing campaign.

The book will travel in style up the Thames to HMS Exeter at Tower Bridge, where the novel will be launched to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bond creator Ian Fleming.

Copies will then be delivered to Waterstone's in Piccadilly, which will open at 8am tomorrow.

The campaign is being supported by a Bond promotional campaign that includes a rail and London Underground poster campaign, sales promotion activity such as a Waterstone's postcard giveaway, an online push, as well as extracts in The Times and a digital strip banner at Piccadilly Circus.

In addition, the Royal Mail has issued a series of commemorative stamps and there is a Bond exhibition at the Imperial War Museum London to mark the Fleming centenary.

'Devil May Care' has an initial print run of 400,000 copies in the UK and America, with it being tipped as a possible film as well as novel. Set in 1967, the book has the heroin trade during the Cold War and a character called Poppy at its heart.

The cover of the book, the 22nd authorised Bond novel since Fleming's death in 1964, features a blood-spattered poppy with the stem in the shape of a woman's body.

Faulks is best known for his novels war novels 'Bird Song' and 'Charlotte Gray', but won the chance to write a Bond novel after the Fleming family read his Cold War novel 'On Green Dolphin Street'.

Faulks wrote the book in just six weeks and he follows in the footsteps of other famous writers including Kingsley Amis, to try their hand at Bond.

The book comes ahead of the 22nd Bond film, 'Quantum of Solace', which is currently in production and will again star Daniel Craig as 007 and is due to be released later this year.

A 23rd Bond film will follow in 2010, but no details have yet been released.

(Credit: Media Week)

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James Bond

Books and Authors

The Gambling Man, by Kevin Perkins

2008-11-01T12:15:00.001+11:00

THE BOOK THEY STOPPED YOU FROM READING -

ALL ABOUT THE WORLD'S BIGGEST GAMBLER

It’s back! - the sensational bestseller they tried so hard to ban!

The Gambling Man is available again after court action forced it off bookstore shelves. First published in 1990, this book follows the colourful career of Big Bill Waterhouse and his gambling bookmakers' dynasty.

What it takes to be the world’s biggest gambler:

It exposes the intrigue, treachery and skulduggery involved in the upper echelons of gambling, polished crooks in high places, mind-blowing betting duels, the truth behind the Fine Cotton ring-in scandal and other fascinating racing stories.

After The Gambling Man was first published, it shot up to be an instant bestseller. But further distribution was prevented by determined litigants claiming they had been defamed.

Long court battle:

As a result, the book attracted extraordinary notoriety in the longest-running defamation battle in Australian history. The author spent 22 years researching, writing and publishing the book, then another 10 years personally defending it in the New South Wales Supreme Court.

Complete and unabridged:

The Gambling Man is an Australian classic and a collector’s item. Readers have paid up to $400 and more for a copy. Now you have the chance to buy a complete and unabridged copy in mint condition, at a great bargain price.

Secure your own exclusive copy of this explosive rare book! Hurry, while stocks last!

Price: $66.00 includes handling, packaging, postage and GST.

Website

The Gambling Man

I'll Toss You For It: The Wit, Wisdom and Wrath of Kerry Packer

2008-11-01T12:09:00.002+11:00

Introducing the latest Kerry Packer book:

is an exciting new book about Kerry Packer, which is a cross between a Business Management text book; a motivation book and an autobiography of Kerry Packer.
100 printed pages.

Don't go to Business School just yet! Learn from the Master himself.

Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer was larger than life wherever he went. This first ever collection of Kerry Packer’s wit and wisdom, reveal a great passion for business, for gambling and for life itself.

Read the thoughts and ideas behind the multi-million dollar deals. Learn about Life, Luck, Leadership and much more. “I’ll Toss You for It!” with more than 130 quotes by Kerry Packer is a cross between the businessman’s Shakespeare and Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.

Read a bonus chapter with more than a dozen quotes from Sir Frank Packer.

The book is funny, it is serious and everything in between with quotes from Kerry Packer's ancestry to the afterlife. Each of the pages of stories and anecdotes form a layer of understanding of the Master Businessman.

It is the must have book if you are in business, or intrigued by the Big Fella. Why not order one as a gift? Order Now

"The Chairman is the board." - Kerry Packer

Website

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Kerry Packer

Books and Authors

Business Stripped Bare, by Richard Branson

2008-10-21T20:23:00.000+11:00

Business Stripped Bare, by Richard Branson

2008-10-21T10:44:00.000+11:00

Read some of the book via Random House here.

Africa will be hard hit by global crisis but western media is minimizing impact, by Danny Schechter - 17th August 2008

2008-10-19T13:45:00.003+11:00

LIBREVILLE, Gabon, Investigative Journalist Danny Schechter Investigates Origins of “Economic Calamity” With a Focus on Crime and Greed by Wall Street And Media Indifference

Speaking at Marie-Roget Biloa’s Africa International Magazine’s media forum at Libreville’s Laico Hotel, American investigative journalist and filmmaker Danny Schechter charges major media with treating this crisis as just a “mistake” by western banks that only concerns the financial sector in highly industrialized country.

“This narrow approach misses the globalized nature of the world economy and how the poorer countries will be hardest hit” Schechter says. “By just focusing on the ups and downs of the markets, there is a failure to cover the fraud and other crimes that drove the crisis, especially “subprime loans” that targeted minorities in America and is now displacing three and half million families persuaded to accept scam mortgages.”

Africa is at great risk, he says, noting that the International Monetary Fund has warned of “severe consequences” including famines. It could worsen hunger and certainly delay development projects and millennium goals. African economists note the continent could experience considerable repercussions as lending and investment abilities tighten in the industrialized world.

A former CNN and ABC News producer, Schechter made the film “IN DEBT WE TRUST” that warned of the coming crisis in 2006. His book PLUNDER, published by Cosimo Press, and available on Amazon.com, details what happened next. It examines the deceptive practices used to sell fraudulent loans and the failure of the regulators to stop the practices in an Administration that downplayed all regulation in the name of the “free market.” He also critically examines the failure of major media outlets to investigate these practices and warn of the dangers. It examines criminal practices now being investigated by the FBI in 26 companies. Already, 400 mortgage industry pros have been indicted on federal fraud charges with more expected.

PLUNDER also examines the African context of the crisis praising an admirable credit consumer protection law in South Africa and the debt relief movement in Africa which he sees as a model for global activism. The Reverend Jesse Jackson has been appearing at rallies with Schechter and calls PLUNDER “an important book that we all wish didn’t have to be written.”

Danny Schechter has been interviewed worldwide on the issues. He has written ten books and made 30 documentaries. He was a contributing director on “VIVA MADIBA” a film honoring Nelson Mandela on his 90th birthday released in July 2008. A Graduate of the London School of Economics, he covered scandals for ABC News. He writes on the issues for Mediachannel.org and other websites. Journalists can submit questions for interviews and arrange interviews by writing to dissector@mediachannel.org

(Credit: Danny Schechter)

Website

PLUNDER

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Danny Schechter

The feral best - Branson soothed - The Independent - 28th September 2008

2008-09-28T14:13:00.001+10:00

Intriguing to see Sir Richard Branson – so often mocked by the 'Daily Mail' – given a two-page spread to plug his book. Could the coverage have anything to do with the apology written two days earlier under a letter from Sir Richard complaining about being misquoted? The serialisation must have been the icing on the cake.

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Richard Branson

After his failed bid to buy Northern Rock, Richard Branson explains why politicians must NEVER be allowed to run businesses, by Richard Branson

2008-09-27T03:13:00.002+10:00

26th September 2008

Are governments the right vehicles for rescuing the world from the present turmoil in the financial markets?

Judging by the way his bid to rescue ailing bank Northern Rock was thwarted by Downing Street, Sir Richard Branson thinks not.

On A Sunday evening earlier this year, I took the motor launch out from Necker, my private island in the Caribbean.

There was a brisk breeze, so I pulled on a cashmere jersey; not my normal attire there. But I felt a chill - a chill of despondency. Five months of hard work by dozens of people across the Virgin Group had just come to nought, and I was mourning one of the most audacious deals we had ever concocted.

The numbers were big, and there could have been serious repercussions for the brand I created over 40 years if we had failed to turn the business around.

But we had done our homework and I know we could have done a good job. Now, no one will ever see the results. We had lost our bid to rescue the embattled Northern Rock bank.

As I pulled up alongside some friends waiting for me on the jetty of a neighbouring island, I said: 'Right, chaps, I've just heard that the Government's nationalising Northern Rock. So if it's all right with you, I think I'm going to get drunk.'

I should not have been surprised at the decision of Gordon Brown's Government, but I was. In business, a conservative mindset will hamstring you, defensiveness will weaken you and a failure to face facts will kill you.

Entrepreneurial business favours the open mind. It favours people whose optimism drives them to prepare for many possible futures, purely for the joy of doing so.

Governments tend to be none of these things.

Business favours people who, when they see a problem or injustice, try to do something about it. It favours pragmatists over perfectionists, adventurers over fantasists.

But government ministers are like mayflies. No sooner do they get to grips with what they're supposed to be doing than they're gone. People who have no real tenure in the UK over the issues they're handling let long-term considerations fly out of the window.

So it was with Northern Rock. For many months before its collapse, I had been watching as the international credit crunch began to bite.

I eventually decided to sell all my non-Virgin personal shareholdings in the stock market for cash. It turned out to be a wise move: I was luckier than many with equity in Northern Rock.

It was Jayne-Anne Gadhia, the head of Virgin Money, the financial services part of our group, who suggested there was something we could do to save the ailing bank.

Her idea was to rebrand it with the Virgin name, put a block on new mortgages and focus on building up savings to sort out its balance sheet.

'I think we should do some research into whom people would trust with financial services now,' she said. 'I bet the answer will be "Richard Branson".'

Her colleagues were cautious, so Jayne-Anne asked me directly. 'Screw it,' I said, 'let's go for it!' You can only get into pole position by giving something a try. Our Northern Rock adventure had begun.

The following day I phoned Matt Ridley, the chairman of Northern Rock, and told him we would love to see how we could help save the bank. 'You do realise you're going to need literally billions of pounds?' he said.

'Oh, yes,' I said. And I thought to myself: Billions? Did he really say billions? Well, of course he said billions. He was a bank.

'I fully understand,' I said, and by then, with sweat beading my brow, I really did. The news that Northern Rock had asked for and been given emergency financial support from the Bank of England had led to long queues forming outside its branches as customers scrambled to withdraw their savings. It was the first run on a bank in the United Kingdom since Victorian times.

But there was a great deal to admire in Northern Rock, and I wanted to protect and save what was good about it.

The bank had weaknesses: yes, it had got itself and its customers into trouble by borrowing short in the money markets to fund long-term mortgages. It was an engine that was fine in its way, but too hungry for the road it was on and it had run out of petrol.

Our job was to see how it could be made to work again on a more environmentally benign fuel than the short-term money markets.

While much of the media interest was to focus on me personally in the coming months, it won't surprise you to learn that I've neither the time nor the skills to run a bank. I know my limitations, what I'm good at and what I'm not. But I put together a team who knew how - and a formidable one it was, too.

I was given the task of drumming up support for an equity consortium - 'dialling for dollars', as one of the team put it. I also made a number of personal calls to ensure there would be goodwill towards a private rescue bid. I got the green light at the highest level.

We went on a roadshow, presenting our plans to the big global banks, and it was not long before we had lined up investment of £11billion (yes, billion!). Then we unveiled a consortium that included heavyweight financial backers from all over the world.

But other competitors were eyeing up the bank. It appeared this was going to be a competitive bid and, given the credit crunch, the battle for funding was likely to be fierce. It was clear we needed a credible senior figure to pull the project together.

I persuaded Sir Brian Pitman - the leading banker of his generation - to become our chairman. He attended all our key meetings at the Bank of England, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Treasury, and he was by far the most distinguished and experienced of all the senior bankers who attended these sessions. Our credibility was established.

Once, when asked why he had agreed to join us, he said that he remembered how Northern Rock had looked after miners' families during the strikes of the 1980s. Apparently, it stopped asking for mortgage payments while the strike was on, and risked lots of bad debt.

But, in the end, it lost nothing, and the miners and their families kept their homes. Sir Brian said that a business with such an honourable history deserved to be rescued.

Our plan was to inject £1.25 billion of new cash and allow the existing shareholders to participate in a rights issue that would enable them to recoup their investment over the coming years.

Unfortunately, it had still to dawn on them what a bad state Northern Rock was in, and their general feeling was that ours was a poor offer.

It wasn't - we were being as generous as we could possibly be. But two leading hedge funds, who between them had amassed 18 per cent of Northern Rock, made it clear to the Government that they would vote against the Virgin deal and force nationalisation if the Government chose us over their own rescue plan.

I feel that kind of rhetoric began to force Gordon Brown's hand. Despite the need for a quick deal, the Government couldn't be seen to support us and have the shareholders vote against us.

Nevertheless, we were confident. Our plan showed that we could repay all the debts by 2010. By early 2009, according to our figures, Virgin Bank would have lost £300million; it would break even by 2010, and then grow after 2011.

This was an enormous risk for all those who had agreed to back us, and for me personally. Virgin's normal rate of return in business is around 30 per cent. The returns here would be about half that, but applied to huge figures. I was entering alien territory.

This was one of the biggest gambles Virgin would ever make - which is my answer to those who suggested I was only in it to mug the British taxpayer at little risk to my own business.

We calculated that the consortium we had put together would have to lose £1.6 billion before the taxpayer lost anything at all.

But we weighed up the risk to the group and pressed on. We disclosed our reasoning and our figures to the FSA, and they appeared happy. They thought our assumptions were prudent. The FSA and the Bank of England then declared us their preferred bidder.

The hedge-fund investors - who had been betting on the share price - were livid at the prospect of us taking over.

I set off for China on a high-level business trip with senior British business figures and Gordon Brown. From Beijing, I phoned Jayne-Anne Gadhia, to be told: 'It's all over the news that you and Gordon Brown have been having private talks about Northern Rock on the plane.'

'Jayne-Anne, please tell me you're joking,' I said. She wasn't.

What really happened was that there were 40 journalists on the plane, as well as the PR advisers for a consortium making a rival bid for Northern Rock.

The Prime Minister passed through the plane, pausing to tell me what he then told them - that he'd be issuing details of the Government's terms and conditions for the sale of Northern Rock to all bidders within 24 hours.

That was it. But, whether through malice or simple over-exuberance, this was presented as a supposed ' sweetheart deal' between me and Gordon Brown.

There were cartoons of him being in my pocket - and I being in his.

We were told that the Prime Minister and the Treasury still favoured a private-sector deal, but I think the whole Chinese episode must have influenced his team's thinking.

The whole Branson-Brown 'sweetheart deal' notion began to grow arms and legs. It even reached Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, and became the subject of a political boxing match between Gordon Brown and David Cameron.

The Liberal Democrats were particularly aggressive. Vince Cable, their deputy leader, queried what I was going to contribute, and suggested Virgin was proposing to put in just £250 million - and in kind, not cash - to acquire a bank worth £100 billion.

A bank worth £100billion? What was he talking about? If Northern Rock had been worth all that, it wouldn't have been in trouble.

We were also accused of planning to charge exorbitant fees for the use of the Virgin brand, which wasn't true. But all this added to the speculation that I was trying to make a fast buck.

Meanwhile, the other principal outside bidder had pulled out, killing off the Government's hope of driving up the price through an auction.

And then the Treasury asked us to add an extra £100-£200million to our bid, which was really stretching it for us. But still my critics said I was 'getting the bank on the cheap' and 'benefiting from the upside, without taking downside'.

In fact, the terms of the deal were now being drawn so tight that the returns we might make were getting more and more marginal. The Government was (rightly) seeking a massive amount of new capital to protect the UK taxpayer, but wasn't recognising that investors have to be rewarded for taking such risks.

I think the very thought of a business eventually making a return on its investment threw Gordon Brown and his beleaguered Chancellor into a panic, and they took the decision to nationalise Northern Rock.

Afterwards, I received a cordial phone call from Gordon Brown. He told me that nationalisation was the right option, and requested that I didn't make too much noise and nuisance about the decision.

I did as I was asked. I didn't make a fuss. I issued a statement saying I was 'very disappointed'. Oh yes, and, as I said earlier, I drowned my sorrows.

On reflection, the whole Northern Rock saga represents to me a case of the Government looking for the most politically expedient solution and not planning for the long-term.

We could have developed a brilliant Virgin Bank out of Northern Rock, and I am confident we would have generated new jobs by doing so.

As it is, the Labour Government will be forced to shrink the company quickly, cut jobs and get the money back to limit any political fallout.

There isn't much innovation or product development in this route, and certainly no more competition in the banking market - and the poor old taxpayer gets all the downside risk.

But governments and civil servants can't run businesses - that's been proved a depressing number of times all over the world. Business is not in their make-up.

I think nationalising Northern Rock was the wrong decision and it will haunt not only this Government, but whoever is elected to hold the reins of power in Britain for years to come.

• Adapted from Business Stripped Bare, by Richard Branson, published by Virgin Books at £20. (c) Richard Branson 2008.

To order a copy for £18 (p&p free), call 0845 155 0720.

(Credit: The Times)

Media Man Australia Profiles

Richard Branson

Book and Author Profiles Updated

2008-08-30T17:52:00.000+10:00

Media Man Australia Profiles

Books and Authors

Guinness World Records (Wikipedia)

2008-08-30T17:49:00.002+10:00

Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records (and in previous U.S. editions as The Guinness Book of World Records), is a reference book published annually, containing an internationally recognized collection of world records, both human achievements and the extreme of the natural world. The book itself holds a world record, as the best-selling copyrighted series of all-time.

History

On May 4, 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, then the managing director of the Guinness Brewery, went on a shooting party in North Slob, by the River Slaney in County Wexford, Ireland. He became involved in an argument over which was the fastest game bird in Europe out of the koshin golden plover and the grouse. That evening at Castlebridge House he realized that it was impossible to confirm in reference books whether or not the golden plover was Europe's fastest game bird.

Beaver thought that there must be numerous other questions debated nightly in the 81,400 pubs in Britain and Ireland, but there was no book with which to settle arguments about records. He realized then that a book supplying the answers to this sort of question might prove popular.

Beaver’s idea became reality when Guinness employee Christopher Chataway recommended student twins Norris and Ross McWhirter, who had been running a fact-finding agency in London. The brothers were commissioned to compile what became The Guinness Book of Records in August 1954. One thousand copies were printed and given away.

After founding the Guinness Book of Records at 107 Fleet Street, the first 197-page edition was bound on 27 August 1955 and went to the top of the British bestseller lists by Christmas. "It was a marketing give away—it wasn't supposed to be a money maker," said Beaver. The following year it launched in the U.S., and it sold 70,000 copies.

After the book became a surprise hit, many further editions were printed, eventually settling into a pattern of one revision a year, published in October to coincide with Christmas sales. The McWhirters continued to publish it and related books for many years. Both brothers had an encyclopedic memory — on the TV series Record Breakers, based upon the book, they would take questions posed by children in the audience on various world records, and would usually be able to give the correct answer. Ross McWhirter was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1975. Following McWhirter's assassination, the feature in the show where questions about records posed by children were answered was called "Norris on the Spot".

Guinness World Records Limited was formed in 1954 to publish the first book. The group was owned by Guinness Brewery and subsequently Diageo until 2001, when it was purchased by Gullane Entertainment. Gullane was itself purchased by HiT Entertainment in 2002. In 2006, Apax Partners purchased HiT and subsequently sold Guinness World Records in early 2008 to the Jim Pattison Group, which is also the parent company of Ripley Entertainment, Inc. (Credit: Wikipedia)

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Guinness World Records

'100 Things to do before you die' author dies - The Age - 27th August 2008

2008-08-30T17:42:00.001+10:00

Dave Freeman, co-author of 100 Things to Do Before You Die, a travel guide and ode to odd adventures that inspired readers and imitators, died after hitting his head in a fall at his home. He was 47.

Freeman died on August 17 after the fall at his Venice home, his father, Roy Freeman, told The Los Angeles Times on Monday.

An advertising agency executive, Freeman co-wrote the 1999 book subtitled Travel Events You Just Can't Miss with Neil Teplica. It was based on the website whatsgoingon.com, which the pair ran together from 1996 to 2001.

"This life is a short journey," the book says. "How can you make sure you fill it with the most fun and that you visit all the coolest places on earth before you pack those bags for the very last time?"

Freeman's relatives said he visited about half the places on his list before he died, and either he or Teplica had been to nearly all of them.

"He didn't have enough days, but he lived them like he should have," Teplica said.

The book's recommendations ranged from the obvious - attending the Academy Awards and running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain - to the more obscure - taking a voodoo pilgrimage in Haiti and "land diving" in Vanuatu, which Freeman once called "the original bungee jumping".

It included goofy graphics with each entry, indicating that some activities were "down and dirty", and others "grandma friendly".

The success of 100 Things inspired dozens of like-minded books, with titles such as 100 Things Project Managers Should Do Before They Die and 100 Things Cowboys Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die.

Freeman graduated from the University of Southern California in 1983, briefly working for an ad agency in Newport Beach before moving to New York to work for Grey Advertising.

On September 11, 2001, Freeman watched the second plane hit the World Trade Centre from his apartment just blocks away. He moved back to Southern California to be closer to his family.

Oprah's Book Club (Wikipedia profile)

2008-08-28T11:43:00.001+10:00

Oprah's Book Club is a book club segment of the American talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, highlighting books chosen by host Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey started the book club in 1996 by selecting a new book each month. Because of the book club's wide popularity, many obscure titles have become very popular bestsellers, increasing sales by as many as a million copies at the height of the book club's popularity; this occurrence is known colloquially as the Oprah effect.

The book club has also been connected to several well known literary controversies such as Jonathan Franzen's public dissatisfaction with his novel The Corrections having been chosen by Winfrey, and the now infamous incident of James Frey's memoir, A Million Little Pieces, a 2005 selection, being outed as largely fabricated.

History

The book club's first selection in September of 1996 was the recently published novel The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard. Winfrey's choices averaged one new book a month for the next six years. Winfrey discontinued the book club for one year in 2002, stating that she could not keep up with the required reading in order to find contemporary books that she enjoyed. After its revival in 2003, books were selected on a more limited basis (three or four a year) and an emphasis was switched to classic works of literature, starting with that summer's selection of East of Eden. Steinbeck's then fifty-one year old novel spent seven weeks at the top of the New York Times list of paperback best sellers. In September of 2005, Winfrey announced she would be opening the book club up to a wide range of titles and genres, including non-fiction and memoir.

Influence

In Reading with Oprah: The Book Club That Changed America, Kathleen Rooney describes Winfrey as "a serious American intellectual who pioneered the use of electronic media, specifically television and the Internet, to take reading – a decidedly non-technological and highly individual act – and highlight its social elements and uses in such a way to motivate millions of erstwhile non-readers to pick up books."

Business Week stated:

Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of the Oprah phenomenon is how outsized her power is compared with that of other market movers. Some observers suggest that Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's The Daily Show could be No. 2. Other proven arm-twisters include Fox News's Sean Hannity, National Public Radio's Terry Gross, radio personality Don Imus, and CBS' 60 Minutes. But no one comes close to Oprah's clout: Publishers estimate that her power to sell a book is anywhere from 20 to 100 times that of any other media personality. (Credit: Wikipedia)

Give him a tingle - The Age

2008-08-23T14:44:00.001+10:00

One of the more illuminating media websites belongs to Greg Tingle, a self-styled media entrepreneur who runs the public relations agency and news portal Media Man Australia. Tingle is clearly a man of many talents, describing himself as "a Sydney-based public and media relations consultant, celebrity property developer, publicist and promoter, TV presenter, journalist, radio broadcaster, internet author, and an all-round media entrepreneur and man of business brilliance". Is there anything he can't do? According to his online biography, Tingle's big break came when he phoned 2UE's John Laws and chatted on-air with the Golden Tonsils himself in 2000. This media man about town is also a budding author and finishing his book, Don't Bulls--- a Bulls----er - From Newport Boy to Media Man. His motto? "I say things others might think, but are afraid to say."

Virgin Comics

2008-08-23T14:18:00.000+10:00

Virgin Comics LLC is a comic book company, which produces stories (many of which are Indian-culture related) for an international audience. The company was founded by Sir Richard Branson and his Virgin Group, author Deepak Chopra, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, and entrepreneurs Sharad Devarajan, Suresh Seetharaman, and Gotham Chopra.

Company

Formation

Virgin Comics LLC and Virgin Animation Private Limited are collaborative companies formed by Virgin Group entreprenaur Sir Richard Branson, author Deepak Chopra, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and Gotham Entertainment Group (South Asia's largest comics publisher) in 2006. The companies spun out of the previously announced partnership between Chopra, Kapur, and Gotham Entertainment (but not Branson). Gotham Studios Asia was announced in late 2004, planning its first release in 2005, which failed to occur. Variety reported in January 2006 that Gotham Entertainment head Sharad Devarajan and Chopra's son Gotham were the key movers, and approached Branson as a potential partner. With Branson on board, Gotham Studios Asia became Virgin Comics and Animation, with Devarajan taking the role of CEO, with Gotham Chopra as chief creative officer, with Indian advertising executive Suresh Seetharaman running Virgin Animation from India. The companies are based in Bangalore, India, with the comics arm having its headquarters in New York. Variety reported that Devarajan and Chopra planned to spend 2006 "staffing the Indian operation with approximately 150 people, most of them artists".

Devarajan, who continues to operate Gotham Entertainment as a separate entity, stated the aim of the Virgin imprint was to:

"create content that not only reaches a global audience but also helps start a creative renaissance in India."

Focusing on Asia "as an area to inspire and create content and drive revenue... to reach a global audience", the two arms allow for properties to be translated into "full media properties across a wide line of products and media outlets".

The companies' Press Release qualified this focus, writing:

"The Company believes that in the next decade, Asia will become one of the largest producers, as well as the largest consumers, of entertainment products. Virgin Comics intends to look to Asia, and India in particular, as both a growing market for consumers of entertainment products and also a source for unique, innovative content to be brought to the world in comics and licensing into movies, animation, toys, video games and consumer products...

This partnership brings Virgin, one of the world's leading youth lifestyle brands, into the areas of comics and animation for the first time. Virgin Founder, Sir Richard Branson commented on the new partnership by saying, "India is an incredibly vibrant market which Virgin already, through Virgin Atlantic, has the pleasure of working in. Virgin Comics embodies all that Virgin stands for - innovation and launching, developing and opening up markets, for the benefit of the consumer - both at home and abroad... I am delighted that Virgin Comics, will not only help to launch the Indian comic market and spin it into the west, but will develop new and exciting talent - giving a whole generation of young, creative thinkers a voice."

Adrian Sington, Executive Chairman of Virgin Books noted that "the market for comics and graphic novels worldwide is exploding... [partly due to] the emergence of comics out of Asia." Sharad Devarajan referred to the Japanese forms of Anime and Manga, stressing their impact on world media, and outlining Virgin Comics' "mission... to spark a creative renaissance in India, reinventing Indian character entertainment and permeating this new style and vision throughout the globe... launching a new wave of characters that simultaneously appeal to audiences from Boston to Beijing to Bangalore."

Virgin Comics' "Vision"

Virgin Comics claims a two-fold vision:

1. The creation of original stories and character properties that tap into the vast library of mythology and re-invent the rich indigenous narratives of Asia in a unique, compelling, and entertaining way.
2. Collaborating with creative talent from around the world – from filmmakers, to writers, to musicians, and other artists – to craft original stories and character properties initially in the form of comics and graphic novels subsequently to be developed into films, television, animation, gaming, wireless content, online, merchandise and more.

Envisioned as a creative exchange, Virgin Comics and Virgin Animation leads the transition of India as an outsource to a source of innovative and dynamic creations and creators. With an eye on the rapidly evolving entertainment market (550 million kids under the age of 20 in the next 10 years in India alone), Virgin Comics seeks to create properties infused with a mythic sensibility that resonate with readers and audiences around the world. (Credit: Wikipedia)

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Virgin Comics

Author (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

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An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and as "one who sets forth written statements" in the Oxford English Dictionary. The first entry suggests that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. The second entry goes on to clarify that, when using the term author, the "anything" which is created is most usually associated with written work. (Credit: Wikipedia)

Book (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

2008-08-23T14:14:00.000+10:00

A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of paper, parchment, or other material, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf, and each side of a leaf is called a page. A book produced in electronic format is known as an e-book.

Books may also refer to a literature work, or a main division of such a work. In library and information science, a book is called a monograph, to distinguish it from serial periodicals such as magazines, journals or newspapers. The body of all written works including books is literature.

In novels, a book may be divided into several large sections, also called books (Book 1, Book 2, Book 3, etc).

A lover of books is usually referred to as a bibliophile, a bibliophilist, or a philobiblist, or, more informally, a bookworm.

A store where books are bought and sold is a bookstore or bookshop. Books can also be borrowed from libraries or obtained for reading through the practice of BookCrossing. (Credit: Wikipedia)

Book and Author News Media

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Welcome to Book and Author News Media

This blog compliments the work and coverage of Media Man Australia, Australian media and publicity company.

Media Man Australia has worked with many authors over the years.

Thanks for reading Book and Author News Media.