Quick Takes: Live Nation gives break on service charges in June
- Share via
Live Nation Entertainment is forgoing all service charges this month on tickets for concerts at all amphitheaters the entertainment giant operates across the country.
FOR THE RECORD:
“The Hobbit”: A Quick Takes item in Wednesday’s Calendar section about Guillermo del Toro walking away from “The Hobbit” referred to the filmmaker as a Spanish auteur. He is Mexican. —
“No Service Fee June” will apply to about 8 million tickets for 700 performances by more than 100 artists, from Alice in Chains to the Zac Brown Band, according to a release issued Tuesday by Live Nation.
In Southern California, that encompasses Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, the San Manuel Amphitheater in Devore, Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre in Chula Vista and the San Diego State University Open Air Theatre.
But fans should keep an eye on the asterisk in the new campaign logo. “No service fee tickets available while supplies last,” the disclaimer states. “Parking, shipping and other non ‘service fee’ costs may apply.”
— Randy Lewis
McCartney has a D.C. gig
Paul McCartney told reporters in Washington Tuesday he was “slightly nervous” about performing Wednesday when he receives the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the Library of Congress. The reason: He’ll be only a few feet away from President Obama in the East Room of the White House.
“For an English kid growing up in Liverpool, the White House — that’s pretty special,” he said.
The former Beatle said it means a lot to win the Gershwin Prize because he grew up listening to songs by the Gershwin brothers.
— Associated Press
Coleman rites this weekend
An agent for Gary Coleman said the late actor’s family is planning a memorial service but hasn’t decided whether it would be private or public.
Sheila Erickson said the family hopes to hold the service Friday, Saturday or Sunday in Salt Lake City.
Coleman, the former star of the TV sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes,” died last Friday of a brain hemorrhage after being taken off life support at a Provo, Utah, hospital. He was 42.
—Associated Press
‘ The Hobbit’ loses Del Toro
With production delays looming, Spanish auteur Guillermo del Toro has decided to walk away from “The Hobbit,” the two-picture adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novel that he was set to direct.
Del Toro, who directed the acclaimed genre hits “Hellboy” and “Pan’s Labyrinth,” had spent the last two years developing the movie in New Zealand with “Lord of the Rings” writers Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh, with an eye toward releasing the films in December 2012 and December 2013. But Del Toro has apparently become frustrated with the pictures’ shooting schedule.
A co-production of New Line and MGM, “The Hobbit” has been hit hard by the financial crisis. An embattled MGM, which was formed with an influx of Wall Street money six years ago, is currently carrying approximately $3.7 billion in debt and has struggled to find a buyer.
Del Toro is expected to return to Hollywood — he owns a home in Westlake Village — from New Zealand, where he and his family have been living. He has a producing deal with Universal Pictures.
As for “The Hobbit,” some fans were calling for Jackson himself to step into the director’s chair, but the filmmaker says he’s not interested in directing the picture.
With financial and production questions hovering, it remains to be seen who is.
— Steven Zeitchik
Fairey pursues legal defense
A lawyer for Shepard Fairey said the legal battle between the Los Angeles street artist and the Associated Press was far from over, despite a recent AP article to the contrary.
On Friday, an AP story quoted federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein as saying, “Whether it’s sooner or later, the Associated Press is going to win” the case. In the story, a lawyer for the AP said the news organization owned the copyright to the photograph that Fairey used in creating his “Hope” poster of Barack Obama and that the artist had violated the copyright.
Geoffrey Stewart, who represents Fairey in the case, disputes the implications in the AP story.
“We continue to believe there is a strong basis for fair use in this case, and Judge Hellerstein made clear that he hasn’t even begun to focus on the fair use issues,” Stewart said in a statement e-mailed to The Times.
— David Ng
