FILM REVIEW: Gravity

Oct 4, 2013 | 2:17Arts FILM REVIEW: Gravity Video

Arts FILM REVIEW: Gravity Oct 4, 2013 | 2:17Watch this space spectacle on the biggest screen you can find, says CBC's Eli Glasner

Oct 3, 2013 | 2:43Arts Tom Power's new music picks - Oct. 4/2013 Video

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Oct 3, 2013 | 3:51Music Open letter to Miley Cyrus Video

Music Open letter to Miley Cyrus Oct 3, 2013 | 3:51Sinead O'Connor offers advice to young singer

Oct 3, 2013 | 1:06Music Justin Bieber's Monday debuts Video

Music Justin Bieber's Monday debuts Oct 3, 2013 | 1:06Pop star to unveil 10 new songs on next 10 Mondays

Oct 3, 2013 | 2:58News AEG beats Jackson lawsuit Video

News AEG beats Jackson lawsuit Oct 3, 2013 | 2:58Jury clears concert promoter of negligence in the death of Michael Jackson

Oct 2, 2013 | 1:53The National Tom Clancy's spy thrillers live on Video

The National Tom Clancy's spy thrillers live on Oct 2, 2013 | 1:53Author dies at 66

Oct 2, 2013 | 2:20Arts Governor General's Literary Awards shortlist Video

Arts Governor General's Literary Awards shortlist Oct 2, 2013 | 2:20Latest contenders for Canada's oldest lit prize unveiled

Oct 2, 2013 | 3:47Arts Tom Clancy 1947-2013 Video

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Oct 1, 2013 | 2:28The National Making O Canada gender-neutral Video

The National Making O Canada gender-neutral Oct 1, 2013 | 2:28A group of notable Canadian women are campaigning to change the national anthem to make it gender-neutral.

Oct 1, 2013 | 5:38Arts Kings of Leon play NHL gig Video

Arts Kings of Leon play NHL gig Oct 1, 2013 | 5:38Kings of Leon rockers Caleb and Nathan Followill on hockey in Nashville, family competition and their new album Mechanical Bull.

Oct 1, 2013 | 4:28Arts Moby returns with new album Innocents Video

Arts Moby returns with new album Innocents Oct 1, 2013 | 4:28The electronic pop songwriter on making music he loves, collaborations and sad songs

Oct 1, 2013 | 1:07Arts Writers' Trust prize juror Alison Pick Video

Arts Writers' Trust prize juror Alison Pick Oct 1, 2013 | 1:07The author and juror talks about the strength and diversity of this year's fiction nominees

Sep 30, 2013 | 4:23Entertainment Vince Gilligan discusses Breaking Bad finale Video

Entertainment Vince Gilligan discusses Breaking Bad finale Sep 30, 2013 | 4:23CBC speaks to show's creator

Sep 30, 2013 | 3:01Arts Novelist Jhumpa Lahiri Video

Arts Novelist Jhumpa Lahiri Sep 30, 2013 | 3:01Indo-American and British author on what inspired The Lowland and hovering between cultures

Sep 30, 2013 | 2:59Arts On the set of Murdoch Mysteries Video

Arts On the set of Murdoch Mysteries Sep 30, 2013 | 2:59Actors Yannick Bisson, Thomas Craig and producer Peter Mitchell share a peek behind the scenes

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Digital piracy not harming entertainment industries: study

A new study by researchers at the London School of Economics suggests the music and movie industries have been exaggerating the impact digital file sharing has had on their bottom line and found that for some creative industries, copyright infringement might actually be helping boost revenues.

Researchers within the British university's media department examined sales data and found that the music, gaming, movie and publishing industries are all growing and adopting new business models based on digital sharing.

'Contrary to the industry claims, the music industry is not in terminal decline but still holding ground and showing healthy profits.'- Bart Cammaerts, study author

The study found that internet-based revenues have been a significant component of the music industry's growth since 2004 as the industry has slowly adopted methods of distributing and consuming content modelled on those used by file-sharing services and sites such as BitTorrent, Pirate Bay and the now defunct Napster, which pioneered music file sharing in the 1990s.

"Contrary to the industry claims, the music industry is not in terminal decline but still holding ground and showing healthy profits," said study author Bart Cammaerts, senior lecturer in the LSE Department of Media and Communications, in a release. "Revenues from digital sales, subscription services, streaming and live performances compensate for the decline in revenues from the sale of CDs or records."

While it acknowledges that sales have stagnated in recent years, the report points out that the overall revenue of the music industry in 2011 was almost $60 billion US, and in 2012, worldwide sales of recorded music increased for the first time since 1999, with 34 per cent of revenues for that year coming from digital channels such as streaming and downloads.

"The music industry may be stagnating, but the drastic decline in revenues warned of by the lobby associations of record labels is not in evidence," the report says.

Had the record companies adapted to a digital environment earlier, rather than resisting it, they could have witnessed growth much earlier, the authors say.

Box office revenues bigger than ever

The same holds true for the movie industry, the researchers suggest. While sales and rentals of DVDs have declined —  by about 10 per cent between 2001 and 2010 — global revenues have increased by five per cent in that same period. The U.S. film industry alone was worth a healthy $93.7 billion in 2012, the authors said.

"Despite the Motion Picture Association of America's claim that online piracy is devastating the movie industry, Hollywood achieved record-breaking global box office revenues of $35 billion US in 2012, a six per cent increase over 2011," the report says.

The video game and book publishing industries have also been successful at finding new revenue streams within the digital space and are making healthy profits, the report said. In 2013, the global book publishing industry was worth $102 billion, more than any of the other entertainment industries.

"Although revenues from print book sales have declined, this has been offset by increases in sales of e-books, and the rate of growth is not declining despite reports lamenting the 'end of the book'," the researchers write in their report.

Exclusive ownership outdated

The researchers make the argument that the digital culture that has sprung up around the file sharing of music, video games, movies and other content has spawned new models of producing and distributing creative content that don't rely on exclusive ownership of that content.

'The increasing variety of online creative practices means that some representatives of the creative industries are becoming less concerned about copyright infringement through individual file sharing.'- Report

Creative Commons licences, for example, which allow artists to specify how their work is shared by the public, are increasingly being used by some musicians to release their content on music-sharing sites like SoundCloud, the report said.

"​The increasing variety of online creative practices means that some representatives of the creative industries are becoming less concerned about copyright infringement through individual file sharing," the authors write. "Many musicians share their music and are very happy for their fans to download their music, envisaging future sales. 

The report points to the 10 million user-generated videos of Gangnam Style by South-Korean musician Psy that were created on YouTube after the original song was released and went viral as evidence that digital culture thrives on the ubiquitous sharing of digital content.

Illegal sharing can boosts legal sales

Entertainment industries are beginning to realize that the sharing of films and music online generates marketing benefits and sales boosts that often offset the losses in revenue from illegal sharing of content, the authors say.

The report points to the results of a consumer tracking study by the U.K. communications regulator Ofcom that found that file sharers in the U.K. spent more on content than those who only consumed legal content.

The growing use of streaming, cloud computing, so-called digital lockers that facilitate the sharing of content and sites that offer a mix of free and paid methods of getting content will, the study predicts, spur the entertainment industries to shift their focus from pursuing illegal downloading to creating more legal avenues for getting content online.

The LSE researchers urge countries like the U.K. and the U.S. to reform their copyright enforcement regimes, which they say are out of step with such developments and with online culture generally and do not necessarily even serve the interests of the creators they claim to be protecting.

"Insisting that people will only produce creative works when they can claim exclusive ownership rights ignores the spread of practices that depend on sharing and co-creation and easy access to creative works; this insistence privileges copyright owners over these creators," the report says.

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Is there a wrong way to laugh?

When comedian Dave Chappelle performs at Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Sunday, he will step on stage amidst a controversy swirling around his tour and whether his decision to walk off the stage after being heckled at a show in August was justified as response to racism. 

The controversy began when Chappelle performed in Hartford, Connecticuit in August. 

While his comedy has always riffed on racial tension, Chappelle walked off stage after being heckled repeatedly by audience members.

Widely characterized as a meltdown, Chappelle argues the reason he walked off was because of the racial undertones of the crowd's heckling. 

Chappelle later said the crowd was full of "young, white alcoholics." 

And one of the people who was in the audience at the Hartford show agrees with him. 

Lesli-Ann Lewis told CBC Radio's Stephen Quinn on The Early Edition "Black people understand" why Chappelle walked off the stage.

"People would not stop, they were antagonizing him," said Lewis, of the mostly White audience. 

"They didn't react like that to any of the other comics that were on stage that night."

In her column for Ebony, Lewis wrote "it speaks to a long complicated history: the relationship between the white audience and the black entertainer."

"This is a relationship you can easily trace to early minstrel shows, to archetypes of blacks that still define the roles we're offered today. We have seen more black comedians bow to racist tropes, demean themselves-albeit unintentionally-for white audiences."

Chappelle has a number of shows since the show in Hartford. 

He hasn't walked off the stage in any of them. 

You can watch Chappelle's Hartford show by clicking on the link on the left, but be aware that it contains plenty of foul language.

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Jane Fonda set for AFI life achievement honour

Jane Fonda, seen at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Sept. 30, will be honoured with the American Film Institute's life achievement award. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/Associated Press)

Jane Fonda will receive the American Film Institute's 42nd Life Achievement Award, one of Hollywood's most prestigious career honours.

"Jane Fonda is American film royalty," AFI chairman Howard Stringer said in a statement released Thursday.

"A bright light first introduced to the world as the daughter of Henry Fonda, the world watched as she found her own voice and forged her own path."

At 75, Fonda's career hasn't slowed, including recent roles in Lee Daniels' film The Butler and HBO's cable series The Newsroom.

The AFI award will be presented at a star-studded gala on June 5, 2014, to be televised later that month on TNT.

Past recipients of the AFI honour include Fonda's father Henry, Mel Brooks, Elizabeth Taylor, Kirk Douglas, Sidney Poitier, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, George Lucas, Meryl Streep and Martin Scorsese.

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Michael Jackson promoter found not negligent in singer's death

A jury cleared a concert promoter of negligence on Wednesday in a case that attempted to link the death of Michael Jackson to the company that promoted his ill-fated comeback shows.

The panel rejected a lawsuit brought by Jackson's mother claiming AEG Live was negligent in hiring Conrad Murray, the doctor who killed Jackson with an overdose of a hospital anesthetic the singer used as a sleep aid.

The five-month trial provided the closest look yet at Jackson's drug use and his battles against chronic pain and insomnia.

It also took jurors behind the scenes in the rough-and-tumble world of negotiations with one of the world's most famous entertainers looking to solidify his legendary status after scandal interrupted his career.

With its verdict, the jury also delivered a somewhat surprising message: Jurors did not believe Murray was unfit or incompetent to perform his duties involving Jackson.

"That doesn't mean we felt he was ethical," jury foreman Gregg Barden said after the verdict was read.

He said the panel knew many people would not agree with the verdict but explained that the jury followed the language of the verdict form and instructions.

Dr. Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for giving Michael Jackson an overdose of the anesthetic propofol in 2009. (Reed Saxon/Associated Press)

The ruling on the competence of Murray ended any further consideration of possible damages and who was at fault for the death. AEG Live lawyers suggested throughout the trial that Jackson was the only one to blame for his death.

"AEG didn't do anything wrong and would not allow themselves to be shaken down," lead defense attorney Marvin S. Putnam said.

After the hearing, juror Bryant Carino of Los Angeles was asked who was to blame for Jackson's death.

"I don't want to say whose fault it is," the 36-year-old Carino responded. "I'm not one to point fingers."

Katherine Jackson told reporters she was OK after the verdict.

A victory could have meant hundreds of millions of dollars in damages for her and the singer's three children and provided a rebuke of AEG Live, the second-largest concert promoter in the United States.

Kevin Boyle, an attorney for Katherine Jackson, said he was disappointed with the verdict.

"We, of course, are not happy with the result as it stands now," Boyle said. "We will be exploring all options legally and factually and make a decision about anything at a later time."

He added: "We think that what we've done with this case is prove some things that are important for the Jackson family and for the concert industry and the sports industry with regards to treatment by doctors."

Boyle declined to answer further questions.

Murray was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter after giving Jackson the overdose as he prepared for the comeback shows dubbed "This Is It." Witnesses at the trial said Jackson saw the concerts as a chance for personal redemption after being acquitted of child molestation.

But as the opening date of the shows approached, associates testified that he had bouts of insecurity and agonized over his inability to sleep. They said he turned to the drug propofol and found Murray, who was willing to buy it in bulk and administer it to him on a nightly basis even though it is not meant to be used outside operating rooms.

Testimony at the civil trial showed that only Jackson and Murray knew he was taking the drug.

In his closing argument, AEG Live attorney Putnam told jurors the company would have pulled the plug on the shows if executives knew Jackson was using the anesthetic.

"AEG would have never agreed to finance this tour if they knew Mr. Jackson was playing Russian roulette in his bedroom every night," Putnam said.

Brian Panish, a lawyer for the Jackson family, countered that AEG Live was negligent by not looking far enough to find out what it needed to know about Murray. He claimed in his closing argument that the lure of riches turned the company and Murray into mercenaries who sacrificed the pop star's life in a quest to boost their own fortunes.

He said Murray's $150,000-a-month contract to care for Jackson was a lifeline to help him climb out of his financial troubles, which included $500,000 in debt. AEG Live, meanwhile, had only one interest — launching a world tour for the King of Pop that would yield untold millions in profits, the lawyer said.

AEG Live's lawyers framed the case as being about personal choice, saying Jackson made bad choices about the drug that killed him and the doctor who provided it. They said he was the architect of his own demise and no one else can be blamed.

Jurors heard testimony from more than 50 witnesses, including Jackson's mother and his eldest son, Prince, as well as days of testimony from AEG executives who were repeatedly asked about emails in which they discussed Jackson's missed rehearsals and described Murray's pay as a done deal.

They also heard about Jackson's close relationship to many of his doctors, including Murray, who he first met in Las Vegas in 2007.

Katherine Jackson, the Jackson family matriarch, sued concert promoter AEG Live LLC, claiming it failed to adequately investigate the doctor convicted of giving Michael Jackson an overdose of anesthetic in 2009. (Matt Sayles/Associated Press)

Katherine Jackson called the case a search for the truth about the death of her son and the trial featured potentially embarrassing revelations for both sides. AEG's executives had their emails picked apart, revealing concerns that Jackson wouldn't be able to perform the shows as planned, that a lawyer at their parent company referred to Michael Jackson as "the freak," and that Jackson was derided even though the company had invested more than $30 million in his shows.

Jackson's greatest hits were in heavy rotation throughout the trial, with jurors watching footage of him moonwalking across stages and playing to packed arenas around the globe, with some fans so overcome with emotion that some had to be carried out on stretchers. A world few saw was also on display, with private videos of Christmas mornings Jackson spent with his children and stories about his devotion to them being recounted throughout the trial.

AEG Live, meanwhile, laid out Jackson's medical history, presenting testimony about his use of drugs, including the powerful painkiller Demerol, for pain stemming from an accident that occurred decades ago while he was filming a Pepsi commercial. Jackson had no trace of that drug in his system when he died.

The lawyers called witnesses who recounted Jackson's use of propofol dating back to the 1990s. In 1997, two German doctors administered the anesthetic to help the singer sleep between shows in Munich.

Jackson's mother and his three children are supported by his estate, which provides a comfortable lifestyle for them and erased hundreds of millions of dollars in debts by debuting new projects and releasing new music featuring the King of Pop.

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Cory Monteith's overdose detailed in coroner's report

The Coroners Service of British Columbia has released the final report on the death of Glee star Cory Monteith, describing the circumstances surrounding the 31-year-old actor's death.

Investigators at the scene found drug paraphernalia, including a spoon with drug residue and a used hypodermic needle, along with two empty champagne bottles and glasses, the report said.

Monteith died from mixed drug toxicity involving heroin and alcohol.

The coroner said the fact that Monteith went to rehab, stopped using drugs for some time and then started up again, may have contributed to his death, which has been ruled an accident.

A drug that was previously tolerated may become fatal after a period of time, the report explained.

Monteith was found dead in his hotel room in July at the Fairmont Pacific Rim in downtown Vancouver.

The investigation confirmed that hotel video captured Monteith returning alone to his room at 2:16 a.m. PT on July 13, and that he was not seen alive again. He was found dead the same day by hotel staff when he missed his checkout time.

Monteith, who played the quarterback Finn Hudson on the Fox TV series about a high school glee club, was born in Calgary and raised in Victoria.

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Vancouver's Colleen Heslin wins $25K Canadian Painting Competition

Vancouver artist Colleen Heslin is the latest winner of the RBC Canadian Painting Competition, capturing the $25,000 prize for a vibrant mixed media creation that blends painting with textile art.

Colleen Heslin's winning work Almost young and wild and free was created with ink, dye and acrylic on cotton. (RBC Canadian Painting Competition)

Heslin, who paints and also works in collage, sculpture and installation art, was named winner for her piece
Almost young and wild and free at a gala in Ottawa Tuesday evening.

Created with ink, dye and acrylic on cotton, Heslin's winning work was praised by the jury for its fresh approach to the painting tradition. The artist was praised for moving beyond convention by using stitchery and staining as well as for her allusions to "mending and making" in the medium of textiles.

The RBC Canadian Painting Competition was created in 1999 to recognize and support emerging Canadian artists.

Jurors also awarded two honourable mentions: to Ottawa's Colin Muir Dorward for his work Labyrinthineon and Toronto's Neil Harrison for Fig. 13 Knowledge. Dorward and Harrison each receive $15,000. The winning works will join previous winners in RBC's century-old collection of Canadian art.

To celebrate this year's 15th anniversary of the competition, organizers are also awarding $5,000 to each of the remaining 12 finalists.

"Canadian artists have consistently stood with the world's best. And the calibre of this year's finalists and winners reaffirms that fact," said Ann Webb, executive director of the Canadian Art Foundation and publisher of Canadian Art Magazine, which helps administer the award.

Vancouver artist Colleen Heslin paints and also works in collage, sculpture and installation art. (RBC Painting Competition)

More than 500 artists submitted works for this year's competition, which was judged by a panel that included Canadian artists, gallery directors and curators.

The paintings by this year's finalists will remain on display at The National Gallery in Ottawa until Oct. 13, after which they will be displayed at the Art Toronto show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from Oct. 25 to 28.

The works will also be published in Canadian Art magazine and on its website.

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Justin Bieber won't be charged for alleged threats

Justin Bieber won't face criminal charges for allegedly threatening a neighbour who complained about his driving.

Los Angeles County prosecutors decided Wednesday that there's insufficient evidence to charge the pop star, according to City News Service.

A neighbour in Bieber's gated Calabasas neighbourhood told a sheriff's deputy that Bieber threatened him and spat in his direction when he confronted the 19-year-old about his driving last March.

Prosecutor Alan Yochelson wrote in a document that Bieber's response seemed "immature" but not necessarily criminal.

He also said there's not enough evidence to charge Bieber over a neighbour's complaint that Bieber drove his Ferrari recklessly through the area in May. Yochelson said it's unclear who was at the wheel.

Messages left for Bieber's representative, Melissa Victor, weren't immediately returned Wednesday.

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Tom Clancy, bestselling novelist, dies at 66

Author Tom Clancy, seen in New York in 2004, has died at the age of 66. (Kathy Willens/Associated Press)

Bestselling novelist Tom Clancy has died in a hospital in Baltimore on Tuesday.

The American author, 66, was best known for his hit spy and military-themed thrillers set during and after the Cold War.

Among his most famous stories were his Jack Ryan tales, which include The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger.

Maryland-based Clancy extended his appeal into a new generation with his work crafting stories for video games, including blockbuster franchises like Splinter Cell.

In the mid-1990s, he helped found Red Storm Entertainment, which released games — some based on his books, others on original ideas. Red Storm was later purchased by gaming giant Ubisoft, which continues to create games under the Clancy moniker.

More to come

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Canada Reads 2014 to highlight inspirational novels

Novels that inspire social change will take the spotlight for the 2014 edition of Canada Reads, with organizers of the annual book battle calling on Canadians to recommend their favourites.

Beginning today, CBC Books is calling on readers to suggest novels they feel can change minds, lives and even Canada itself. Eligible novels must be written by Canadian authors, available in English and have been released by a traditional publisher. Suggestions will be accepted until Oct. 20

Those online submissions will first be whittled down to 40 titles and later, through public voting, to a top 10.

Subsequently, the yet-to-be-announced book panellists will each choose a title to defend from that list.

The identities of the 2014 participants and their respective books will be unveiled on Nov. 27.

"Reading inspires us and novels have the capacity to bring about real and lasting change," Canada Reads and Q host Jian Ghomeshi said in a statement.

"We're asking Canadians to tell us about the novels they feel will inspire a change. We are looking for stories of compassion, tolerance, humour, political engagement, diversity, reconciliation...the stories you feel our nation needs now."

The live Canada Reads 2014 debates are slated for March and will be broadcast on CBC Radio, CBC-TV and online.

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