Top Hollywood Talent Shops OK Merger

Rahm's brother set to become this century's first Hollywood mogul

(NEWSER) - Not only is super-agent Ari Emanuel one of the biggest players in Tinseltown, he’s changing the game, and could be the 21st century’s first Hollywood mogul, the Independent reports. The brother of President Obama’s chief of staff believes talent firms must become multi-faceted in order to survive—“essentially taking over much of the traditional role of the studio,” one writer says. More»

(NEWSER) - Hollywood's toughest power brokers—the big shot "10 percenters" of the top talent agencies—are no longer immune to the recession, reports the Independent. With the merger between former rival agencies William Morris and Endeavor officially approved, 100 top agents got the ax. Officials of the new entity hope the combined strength will help it weather the economic downturn, which has led to industry-wide salary cuts. More»

Billy Crystal brings the same old stuff

(NEWSER) - Last night's Oscars, like its Best Picture, was a throwback to a different time in film history. And though the show may have topped last year's Anne Hathaway-James Franco fiasco, it was boring and tired throughout:

• "The whole night looked like an AARP pep rally," writes Alessandra Stanley in the New York Times . "For a town that prides itself on tinsel and titillation, the night was pretty tame." "It all looked very familiar," but that "is perhaps necessary when so few of the nominated films are."

Salon offers up a mid-year list

(NEWSER) - Now that we're more than halfway through 2011, the Salon staff compiled the best books, movies, music, and TV of the year so far. Among its recommendations:

• Film: Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life is quite good—but Lee Chang-dong's Poetry, about a 66-year-old woman who may have Alzheimer's, is a masterpiece. Another surprising inclusion: Matthew McConaughey-vehicle The Lincoln Lawyer, directed by Brad Furman.
• Books: You'd never know The Pale King, David Foster Wallace's third and last novel, was actually unfinished at the time of his death and pieced together by his longtime editor. Also worth checking out: novelist Andre Dubus III's memoir, Townie.

Movies disappoint, but rarely go the way of Ishtar

(NEWSER) - It's rare these days to see a big-studio movie truly bomb, and that's a shame, laments Tom Shone of Slate . Sure, we get our share of misfires like Jonah Hex or The A-Team , but few reach the depths of those glorious financial busts of yesteryear like Ishtar, Waterworld, and Cutthroat Island—"the swashbuckler that derailed the careers of Renny Harlin, Geena Davis, and Matthew Modine—and the last film to actually force a movie studio to close, Heaven's Gate-style." More»