Entertainment

Portland’s Fashion Industry Feels Growing Pains

Oregon Business magazine

December 2010

The influential reality TV show Project Runway has put Portland and its designers in the fashion spotlight. But the bright lights haven’t brought stability to the local fashion industry. Continue Reading

Tapping Into the Zit-Geist

From Katy Perry to Justin Bieber, Proactiv Breaks Out Musicians As Spokesmodels

Billboard

Aug. 28, 2010

It’s come to this: No one is more willing to talk about acne than a musician.
With celebrity acne-fighter Proactiv’s signing earlier this month of Justin Bieber as a spokesman, the teen star joins Katy Perry, Avril Lavigne, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jessica Simpson, Alicia Keys and Mandy Moore as recording artists who have signed up to talk openly about “critters on their face,” as Perry refers to it in her spot. Continue Reading

Digital cloud’s dark lining

Variety/Variety.com

Nov. 6, 2009

In a bid to get consumers to buy more content, Hollywood in the last year has embraced a buy once, watch anywhere strategy.
It’s a strategy that includes the participation of major studios, TV networks, cablers, telcos and retailers, and its initiatives are driven by both hope and fear. Continue Reading

DIY Remix

The indie ethic that defines Portland’s music scene is reinventing how the industry does business

Oregon Business magazine

Sept. 2009

When Portland’s eclectic lounge group Pink Martini decided in the mid 1990s to release its music independently, the CD market was strong and using a major label might have helped sell hundreds of thousands more records. But founder Thomas Lauderdale wanted to keep control of the band’s music and work with local companies he knew. Continue Reading

Laika’s Next Level

Oregon Business magazine
April 2009

Travis Knight solidified his reputation as an animator with his work on Coraline, the debut box office hit from Portland animation studio Laika Inc., owned by his father, Nike founder Phil Knight. Now, as Laika’s newly named CEO, his first order of business is choosing the company’s follow-up film and seeking out a Hollywood studio partner that will help solidify Laika’s reputation as a rising star in animation. Continue Reading

Twilight sets on Oregon as film heads to Canada

Oregon Business magazine
March 2009

Oregon’s starring role in teen vampire love story Twilight, the blockbuster film based on author Stephanie Meyer’s bestselling book series, has been a boon to the state’s film and tourism industry. But production incentives and wooing by the state film office weren’t enough to convince filmmakers to return for sequel New Moon, set to begin production this spring. Continue Reading

Used DVDs a growing business

Video Business
Jan. 16, 2009

Hudson News has never rented or sold new DVDs, but in 2008, it began selling used DVDs as part of its entry into the home entertainment business.
The airport retailer is not alone. A growing number of retailers who have never rented movies, including Borders, are entering the DVD business on the cheap with used discs, thanks in large part to an exploding supply from DVD rental kiosk companies and demand from belt-tightening consumers. Continue Reading

Home Entertainment Leader Report

Daily Variety
Jan. 7, 2009

Despite bigger budgets and higher-quality productions, it’s still the rare star who purposely signs on to reprise a role in a sequel going straight to DVD.
But over the last year, Sony has lured back two — Casper Van Dien for “Starship Troopers 3″ and Wesley Snipes in “Art of War II: Betrayal. Continue Reading