Tag: Universal

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Mobile Syrup

Super Nintendo World to open in Hollywood in 2023

Universal has confirmed that its highly anticipated Super Nintendo World theme park will open at Universal Studios Hollywood in California in 2023. The announcement comes as part of ‘MAR10 Day,’ March 10th.

A specific date was not provided. Nonetheless, it’s notable news, considering that the only other Super Nintendo World is currently at Universal Studios Japan. The park, which was conceived through close collaboration with Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, opened last March after multiple COVID-19 related delays.

Universal Studios Hollywood’s Nintendo attractions will consist of one ride and a number of interactive areas, as well as themed shopping and dining options. Ahead of the opening, Universal Studios Hollywood’s ‘Feature Presentation’ store will also receive exclusive Mario merch, although a date for this was not given.

Further details have not been revealed, but it’s likely it will be similar to the Japanese park, which features Princess Peach’s Castle, Bowser’s Castle, an AR-powered Mario Kart experience and more. A Donkey Kong expansion is also set to come to the Japanese park in 2024.

I don’t know about you, but after the past couple of years with COVID-19, a trip to the Mushroom Kingdom in Hollywood sounds like just what the Doctor (Mario) ordered.

Source: Universal

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Musique

Coldplay, Pink Floyd and Kylie Minogue to be dropped

Coldplay, Pink Floyd and Kylie Minogue are to be dropped by their label.

Troubled British record company EMI is undergoing a £1.2  billion takeover by Universal Music Group, and the European Commission ruled today (24.09.12) it can go ahead on condition it sells off most of its smaller record labels.

Acts who will now find themselves without a parent label include David Guetta, Tinie Tempah, Gorillaz, Cliff Richard, David Bowie, Tina Turner and Duran Duran, who are all signed to Parlophone.

Chrysalis – home to Depeche Mode and Moby – will also have to go, as will Mute, home to the Ramones and Jethro Tull.

One act EMI will be keep are The Beatles, a hugely lucrative band, who still sell millions of albums even though they split in 1970.

Universal – a French owned company, home to Lady Gaga, Jay-Z, Nirvana, U2 and Take That – claims the sell-off will amount to only 30 per cent of EMI’s global revenues.

Universal’s chief executive Lucian Grainge told the Financial Times: "If you’re asking, ‘Would I do it again, was it worth it?’ 100 per cent we would do it all over again. It is a historic moment."

Alongside the musical assets the deal will also include EMI’s properties, including the iconic Abbey Road Studios and the Capitol Tower in Los Angeles.

While Universal will take over EMI’s recorded music division, its music publishing arm has already been sold to rival Sony, for £1.4 billion.

EMI artists who face their contracts being sold will be looked after by a Hold Separate Manager, an executive who will guide their careers until their future is decided.

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Musique

New Lady Gaga album arrives next spring

Lady Gaga recently revealed she wants her next album to be memorable and to be still talked about in the next 20 years. But, unless there is a major leak online, this new album will not be released until spring 2011. The kicker is that she admits the album is almost done.

This announcement came from Universal Music and was posted on her Facebook page. Earlier this week the singer confessed that it was practically finished.

However, business is business after all. Advised by her record label, it is likely Lady Gaga decided to hold off on releasing her new album. Why move on when her last album, The Fame Monster, is still sitting high on the music charts? Alejandro, the third single off that album, is still moving up the charts as well.

As well, her current Monster Ball tour revolves around already-released songs. If she released a new album in the near future, she would have to rework her show.  All of her upcoming concerts are practically sold out.

In the meantime, Lady Gaga has to concentrate on her health. She has one of the busiest schedules in the music industry but needs to slow down. She has to take better care of herself now that she just received a diagnosis of borderline lupus.

 

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Musique

The sinking ship called EMI

EMI has long been the reigning record label in the world of British music. It is now watching helplessly as some of its biggest names leave the nest one by one.

Paul McCartney was the latest star to leave the British label a few weeks ago. He followed Radiohead and Pink Floyd who announced they were heading off to greener pastures. Now EMI had to watch Queen walk out the door.

The group had its biggest successes in the 1970s and early 80s. Queen was forced to stop when its lead singer and frontman Freddie Mercury died from AIDS in 1991. The last studio album with him singing, Made in Heaven, appeared  in 1995 four years after his death.

Queen has already announced its music catalogue is heading to Universal, one of EMI’s biggest rivals, when the group’s contract with EMI expires. EMI is experiencing some financial difficulties and simply could not compete with Universal’s offer. EMI now prefers to invest in new talent.

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Musique

Universal lowers CD prices

Universal Music Group is taking the bull by the horns. It announced a policy to lower the price of its CDs to $10 or less. The company wants to kick start the CD market which has been on the downslide for many years since the advent of MP3 players, online stores and piracy.

This new pricing policy will see the profit from an individual CD drop and not exceed 25 cents. But an increase in the overall sale of CDs should provide a counterbalance the loss per unit.

This announcement has made retailers happy because it should not affect their own profit margin.

Universal’s decision follows one made by Trans World Entertainment. After implementing this test pricing policy, that company has seen its sales increase by 100%.

Universal Music Group has artists like Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas and Jay-Z on its roster, to name a few.

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Nouvelles quotidiennes

Theme Come True for Harry Potter Fans

Plans for the upcoming Harry Potter theme park, announced last fall, appear to be on schedule for its grand opening, slated for Spring 2010 in Orlando, Florida. Moreover, the Deluxe DVD version of the latest Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, offers a sneak-peek into the various attractions that fans and visitors can expect to see at the new Universal park The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

 

Series author, J.K. Rowling, was one of the first to taste the beerbutter drink, popularized by the Three Broomsticks restaurant. The frothy beverage will be served to visitors in a non–alcoholic form. The park will also feature Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry which surrounds Hogsmeade village, as well as the Three Broomsticks restaurant where the drink will be available.

 

Among the many attractions are theme rides such as Flight of the Hippogriff  which simulates a ride on a hippogriff, a cross between a horse and an eagle. We got a glimpse of this creature in the young wizard’s various adventures. Another ride, the Forbidden Journey, leads us inside the famous school of wizardry.  Fans of Quidditch, the premier sport of the wizarding world, will get to see a Triwizard Tourament.

 

Rowling was consulted on numerous occasions in the design and concept of the theme park and even admitted that she really enjoyed the beerbutter!  

 

 

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Cinéma

Reese Witherspoon Becomes a Pharm Girl

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Universal Pictures is currently developing a comedy centred on the pharmaceutical world.

Witherspoon is set to play a role in the film Pharm Girl, which her production house, Type A, is producing.

The story follows a young woman who lands a job in a pharmaceutical company and begins to discover the hidden secrets in the industry at the same time that she climbs up the corporate ladder.

The script will be written by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, the team that wrote the comedy Bad Santa, starring Billy Bob Thornton.

 

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Musique

Cher Sues Record Company

The star is suing Universal Music Group for 5 million dollars of unpaid royalties, following the release of two compilation albums in 2000 and 2003.

Cher, the only singer to have successfully placed a song on the top of the charts in 5 decades, alleges that Universal Music Group misappropriated royalties from her two successful compilation albums, Cher The Greatest Hits and The Very Best Of Cher.

Several songs on the albums were recorded with Sonny Bono, her former husband and member of their famous 60s duo Sonny & Cher. One of the featured songs was I Got You Babe, her first number one hit on the charts. 

The lawsuit was also filed in order to recuperate some of the money for Cher’s children whom she had with Bono, who died in a ski accident in 1998.

Peter Lofrumento, the spokesman for Universal Music Group, stated, "The claims are meritless, and we are confident that we will prevail in court."

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Musique

Leighton Meester Becomes a Singer

Billboard.com has learned that the record company, Universal Republic, sealed a deal with Leighton Meester, best known for her role as Blair Waldorf in the television series Gossip Girl.

The 23-year-old actress has already begun working in the studio to record material that’s been described as electro-pop.

For the project with a fall deadline, Meester teamed with producers Polow Da Don (Usher, Fergie), Harvey Mason Jr. (Justin Timberlake, Pink) and Spencer Nezey (Jupiter Rising).

"I’m thrilled to be welcomed into the Universal Republic fold. Their reputation for nurturing artists combined with a willingness to break new ground makes it the ultimate environment for me to enjoy making music and explore my own creative boundaries," said Meester during the announcement of her record deal.

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Cinéma

The Parsifal Mosaic to Be Adapted to Film

Universal Pictures is in negotiations with Captivate Entertainment, who holds the rights to Robert Ludlum’s novels, for the film rights to The Parsifal Mosaic.

The book tells the story of an American secret agent who believes he witnessed the murder of his lover, who has been doubling as a KGB agent. He resigns but runs into his girlfriend alive at the train station. He tries to track her down to shed light on the situation. The two agents will team to find Parsifal, the head boss of the blackmail conspiracy.

Last year, Universal terminated a contract with Captivate Entertainment for the rights to the Jason Bourne stories, and also for another copyright on other Ludlum books.

A fourth Bourne flick is in the works. The franchise has earned more than one billion US dollars to date.