Annie Leibovitz, the renowned New York photographer who has taken portraits of the Queen, has pawned the rights to her life's work in order to raise nearly $16 million to pay off her debts.
Leibovitz secured the loan partly against properties she owns in New York, but also by putting up the copyright, negatives and contract rights to every photograph she has ever taken or will take in future as collateral, according to the New York Times, which cited documents filed to the city.
Leibovitz told friends that she used the money to pay off mortgages and other outstanding loans, according to the newspaper. She declined to comment on the specific reasons for the loans, saying only that her financial health was “fine” in an email to the paper.
Annie Leibovitz pawns copyright to life's work to pay debts
Saturday, February 28, 2009
'Holy Grail of Comic Books' Looks to Fetch Six-Figures at Auction
"Action Comics #1," published in June 1938, is considered to be the world's most valuable comic book and valued at an estimated $126,000. "It's the Holy Grail of comic books," comic expert Stephen Fishler, who created the 10-point grading scale used to evaluate comic books, told Reuters. "This is the one that started it all. There was no such thing as a super hero before it. No flying man. Comics weren't even that popular. It's the single most important event in comic book history," he said. Only 100 copies of the No. 1 edition are known to exist and those in "fine" condition are worth about $126,000, he said, but this one could sell for several times that. Bidding for the comic book begins at $1 and is sure to go up, up and away. The owner, who has not been identified, bought the comic in 1950 when he was 9-years-old after begging his father for 35 cents. "Lots of kids bought comic books in the '50s, but almost all of them eventually tossed them out," Fishler told Reuters. "This guy understood its value and took good care of it — that almost never happens either." Fishler and Vincent Zurzolo, co-owners of Metropolis Collectibles, will offer the comic on their Web site for two weeks beginning Friday.
An ultra rare copy of the comic book that introduced Superman to the world hits the auction block today and bids could soar as high as the "man of steel."
Spielberg denies rumors that his Lincoln project has been shelved
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
You know times are tough when a Steven Spielberg movie is no longer considered a slam-dunk for any studio in Hollywood. After a flurry of news reports surfaced about the on-again, off-again status of Spielberg's longtime passion project about the life of Abraham Lincoln, a credible source told EW that the project had been shelved after Paramount and a series of other major studios all passed on the $50 million biopic. According to the source, it was less a sign of the father of the modern blockbuster's waning power than of the cold reality that studios are clamping down on greenlighting anything but the most broad commercial fare.
But Spielberg's longtime publicist, Marvin Levy, insists that the rumors are untrue and that Lincoln (with Taken star Liam Neeson in the title role) is still moving full steam ahead. "Lincoln is alive and well and continues in active development," Levy tells EW. "Everyone is proceeding with great enthusiasm. The script is still being revised by Tony Kushner and our plans are now to shoot the picture later this year."
Will Netflix Dump the Red Envelope?
Netflix [NFLX 36.12 0.54 (+1.52%)] is considering a service which only delivers movies and television shows through Internet streaming, skipping its traditional mail-order business.
"Reed Hastings mentioned it's a possibility," said company spokesman Steve Swasey, referring to the company's founder and CEO. No more details were given, but Dow Jones reports the company recently surveyed subscribers about the possibility of an Internet streaming-only service for $9.99.
This potential new service would be a radical move for Netflix, which has built its business over the last decade shipping movies via overnight mail. Streaming is a relatively new offering by the company, one which is added for free to any traditional Netflix subscription.
An Internet-only service would be much cheaper for Netflix, as there would be no shipping costs. It would also give customers instant gratification.
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