The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies
The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies |
- How comedian Louis C.K. made $1M and gave half away
- Robert De Niro welcomes baby girl
- Mel Gibson, wife finalize divorce
| How comedian Louis C.K. made $1M and gave half away Posted: 23 Dec 2011 03:59 PM PST NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Louis C.K. cut out TV networks by selling his latest comedy special online - then used network airtime to promote it. The strategy helped him earn a cool million dollars in a matter of days, half of which he's giving away to his staff and charities. It's hard to think of a more stick-it-to-The-Man approach to distributing your work. But The Man - in this case TV networks and the conglomerates that own them - don't seem to mind. Networks have given him prominent platforms to promote the special, ''Live at the Beacon Theater,'' and its success has only added to the prestige of C.K.'s FX comedy, ''Louie.'' It hasn't hurt C.K.'s reputation, either: The New York Times said this week he's ascended to show-business sainthood. And that was before he announced plans to give $280,000 to charities. They include the Fistula Foundation, which helps battered women; Green Chimneys, which works with children and animals; the Pablove Foundation, which help children with cancer, Charity: Water, which provides clean drinking water; and Kiva, which gives microloans. He will also pay out $250,000 in bonuses to staff. If you pitched C.K.'s success with the special as a Christmas movie, people might say it was too corny to be believable. The comedian did his last three specials for HBO, Showtime and Comedy Central. This time, he sold it on his website for $5, including a note asking people please not to pirate it. It went on sale Dec. 9. ''People told me everyone's gonna steal it,'' he told Jimmy Fallon. ''So I just wrote a note that said please don't do that ... And they didn't.'' C.K. has sold the special to about 220,000 people so far. Besides the more than half a million dollars for his staff and charities, he paid about $250,000 in production costs. He'll pocket the rest. He said he decided to give much of the money away because ''I've never had a million dollars all at once ... I felt uncomfortable about having that much money.'' His D.I.Y. approach wouldn't work for everyone. C.K. is one of the best comedians alive, and could draw nearly a quarter-million people to download his material. He's also the rare talent who can not only write, star in, and produce and direct his own special, but also develop a simple and convenient way to sell it. He used TV networks to promote, seizing on a long relationship with NBC to appear on both ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' and ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.'' (Besides writing for ''Late Night'' when Conan O'Brien was its host, C.K. has also guest-starred on ''Parks and Recreation.'') He also appeared on ABC's nightline. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Robert De Niro welcomes baby girl Posted: 23 Dec 2011 03:58 PM PST LOS ANGELES, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Actor Robert De Niro and his wife Grace Hightower have become the proud parents of a baby girl born via a surrogate, the actor's spokesman confirmed on Friday. The child is the second for De Niro, 68, and Hightower, 56. She is named Helen Grace Hightower De Niro, and weighed a healthy 7 lbs 2 oz at birth. The "Meet the Parents" star married actress Hightower in 1997, and the couple have a son, Elliot, born in 1998. De Niro also has a son and adopted daughter with ex-wife Diahnne Abbott and two twin sons with former girlfriend Toukie Smith. The actor can currently be seen in the star-studded, feel-good film "New Year's Eve." Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Mel Gibson, wife finalize divorce Posted: 23 Dec 2011 03:57 PM PST LOS ANGELES(Reuters) - A judge on Friday approved a divorce settlement between actor Mel Gibson and his estranged wife Robyn, ending their 31 years of marriage. Robyn Gibson will return to using her maiden name, Robyn Denise Moore, but other details of the divorce were kept confidential. The settlement becomes effective on January 9. Gibson, 55, and his wife married in Australia in 1980 and have seven children together. The couple separated in 2006 after Gibson was arrested for drink driving in Malibu, California, and made anti-Semitic remarks that generated headlines around the world. The actor's wife sued for divorce in April 2009, citing irreconcilable differences following Gibson's relationship with Oksana Grigorieva, with whom he has a 2-year-old daughter. The "Lethal Weapon" star pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery following an altercation with Grigorieva in 2010, and was sentenced to three years' probation. He recently settled a custody battle with his former girlfriend, agreeing to pay Grigorieva $750,000 and share custody of their daughter. The Oscar winner's turbulent five years since his arrest and the anti-Semitic rant have tarnished his reputation and set back a remarkable career that had made him one of Hollywood's highest paid actors, directors and producers. While no details of the divorce settlement were released, the actor was previously estimated to be worth $900 million, and he owns several properties in the wealthy, seaside enclave of Malibu, outside Los Angeles. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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