Chief of Universal Finds Success at the Back of the Pack

I'm on an "out of hiatus" roll!

From today's NYT:

The hilltop theme park outside the 14th floor office of Ron Meyer, president of the Universal Studios Group, anchored by past glories like its "Jurassic Park" and "Backdraft" rides, could stand a makeover.

An attraction based on "Transformers," the smash hit from Universal's former ally, DreamWorks SKG, might add a little pizazz. But "Transformers" went to Paramount in a deal made many months ago, and DreamWorks soon followed.
Meanwhile, Mr. Meyer, 62 years old and the longest-serving chief of a major movie company, had to rent a hit with his recent deal to feature Warner Brothers' "Harry Potter" series in Universal's Florida park.

So it goes at Hollywood's sixth-place studio. Though profitable for the last nine years, Universal has been noticeably short on blockbusters to call its own.

That is largely by design...Read the whole article HERE

Producer Versus Studio

From yesterday's NYT: Another article that was hiatus-interrupting worthy. This one details a battle that is underway between Alan Ladd, Jr. and Warner Bros. Studios. The article gives some behind-the-scenes looks at how licensing and royalty payments work. If this case goes to court (every similar case in the past has been settled), it may impact studio accounting across the board. Stay tuned and read the whole article HERE