What is entertainment today? What are we talking about – entertainment for adults, teenagers, or children. Should it be at home or outside the home?. What medium are we talking about? . When did entertainment become an item?. Is it an item?. In fact, the questions around entertainment are endless because there is so much included in the term ‘entertainment’ across the age brackets and across different classes and cultures. Your idea of entertainment may be very different to mine. And there are many things I would include as entertainment on my list that would differ with your list.

In the recent past we as a family had an opportunity to spend a few days together. As we are all adults and live apart, even in different countries, it is not often that all of us at the same time have the chance to spend a few days together. Apart from planning to stay at the original family home there were no other plans, other than enjoy each others company. To my mind that is entertainment in it’s own right. However, we also went ten pin bowling, played snooker, went hiking, cooked nice meals, played board and card games and it was the most fantastic few days. All of us just let go of work and relaxed. We just let time give us the opportunity to enjoy the shared activity.

We are all avid readers, I mean we read everything, newspapers, magazines, novels, etc.,(even advertisements on billboards, in newspapers and magazines, we can’t help ourselves, we even read the information on the breakfast cereal box) and each and everyone of us would spend a part of each day reading, for entertainment as well as for knowledge. So naturally, during our few days together we read whatever material we were interested in. We also discussed books while eating and that is a great conversation while enjoying your meal. Is this entertainment? Well to my mind it is the best entertainment because we learn a lot about each other as we gain an insight into how the other person feels. Even as a family, only meeting every few years as a group, it is useful to have a variety of activities or entertainment’s that everyone can participate in.

I am sure by now, you the reader can see that we are easy to entertain but apart from the ten pin bowling and the snooker all the other activities are of our own making. Reading, Hiking, Cooking, Discussing Books, Board & Card Games are all accessible to everyone without very modern aids.

We had a wonderful few days together, very relaxed and very entertaining (is this what we mean by entertainment)? Is this what entertainment should mean. Surely we should feel relaxed, if we have been entertained, if not, what is entertainment about.

I enjoyed the few days together – because we were a family(group) again and I believe that the best entertainment we as people enjoy is when as a family/group/team we gel. Working or relaxing together is what is most entertaining.

Brand, in the viewpoint of the manufacturer or service provider, is a feature that distinguishes the product or service in a market. A user may define brand as one that he can recognize and identify as an integral part of his life. In this age of modernization and industrialization, the consumer has emerged as the uncrowned king. He is the monarch of all he surveys. In addition, to attract his attention, organizations are ready to innovate and upgrade the ideas of promoting Hollywood stars as brand promoters.

The 4P basic idea of Product, Pricing, Promotion and Place has come to evolve mostly around Promotion, as market surveys indicate that consumers likes to buy a brand, not a product or service.

Moreover, to display promotion, companies are making a beeline for the most sellable of products, that is, the Hollywood stars. A popular proverb says that one can even sell dreams in Hollywood.

It is but natural that when the celebrities, who are the substance of our dreams, wave to us from the silver screen or stare at us from flashy bill boards endorsing a product, we simply cannot ignore the plea. After all, even for a flitting second, the user will feel that he or she is sharing something with his favorite idol.

Brand promotion by Hollywood stars not only enhance the longevity of the product, but also add to its quality and mass appeal. The conveyed image of a successful individual using the product creates a sense of demand and urgency for the consumer to get hold of it.. Better still, he begins to identify the product with the star, thus adding immensely to its recall value.

A user only sees a product when it is seen. Brand Promoters need some external factors and internal conditions to help them. Perception of familiarity, trust and contentment are foremost conditions that influence the choice of a particular brand over another.

Since the flashy world of entertainment and razzmatazz has easy recall value, the faces we adore and the style we follow compel a consumer to select that particular brand from the bouquet of choicest of products existing in the market. Market analysts have even noticed the trend of consumers to shift from one product to another once their favorite star leaves one company and starts to endorse another.

As Hollywood spawns the magic over almost the entire world, enticing the young and old, the poor and rich by its continued tales of fantasies and glory, emotions and intricacies, fervent admirers of the stars follow the fashion and style with bated breath. To some of them, turning down the plea of Hollywood stars to use his product is akin to sacrilege. It gives a sense of vicarious pleasure to the consumer and awards him a sense of supremacy over his idol, as he feels that he is doing a favor by adopting the product promoted by the star.

As the company and Hollywood stars laugh together all the way to the bank, the consumer is left clutching with his straw of imagination that has been so well played upon by the promotional blitz of a brand by a Hollywood star.

Fortune magazine had an amazing article written by Devin Leonard regarding this topic it was very well written. I felt the need to elaborate and add my opinion.

It seems to me Marvel has finally taken its destiny into its own hands. Their CEO David Maisel strategy was able to make Marvel the power house it should be in Hollywood. Now a days the normal public I’m sure would have a misconception of what Marvel actually makes on the film franchises out today such as Spiderman, Fantastic Four X-men, Hulk or Thor. The reality is it’s just a couple million dollars compared to the millions/billions the hollywood studios have managed to make from the rights of these superheroes. Marvel at first just did not have the funds and backing that Sony and Fox have in that industry but they were able to take a gamble with their superheroes themselves.

They  found a firm to insure there films incase they bombed, with the boiling down factor of handing all rights over to the firm backing them. If you ask me it was a great idea and the sole reason for the slight rise of Marvel stocks.

The first major film produced by Marvel (Themselves this time not by Hollywood studios) was Iron Man. Now being a filmmaker myself I would have to say I liked their decision for having gone with Jon Farvoe for directing the picture. It was a successful movie, and the reward paid off with Ironman 2.

Having read a fortune article I came across some time ago, Devin brought up the fact that there was a lack of good character films being released and I cant say I don’t agree. If, nothing else Marvel knows how to write up good characters.

Line-up (NO DIRECT ORDER OF RELEASE)

1) IRON MAN (2)

2) Captain America

3) THOR

4) The Avengers

5) Nick Fury

6) Ant-Man

7) The Incredible Hulk(2)

I wont get into how I feel about each one but I do at least think this line has made Marvel a Hollywood player with a number of blockbusters and spin offs.

This strategy by Marvel has moved it to being a studio instead of a mere licensee of its characters for other Hollywood studios to print money. Cashing in whilst it lasts is important. Marvel has been around a long time and its characters have been ones we have grown up with and loved on paper, now they have proved to be movie hits and the public does not seem to have gotten tired of super heros – so what next for Marvel? Watch this space.

Article from: http://www.uos-hp.com

Think back…or do some research. Entertaining the masses has been and will be a top priority in almost every civilization. We are no more addicted to “entertainment” than the people of Rome were during time when games in the arena were paramount to everything else.

The Olympic games from Greece was and still is a big form of entertainment, although much changed from the original Olympic games. Bullfighting in Spain, Cricket in England, and of course Skiing and Ice Skating in the colder nations of Europe…all forms of entertainment that we love to watch and enjoy.

And of course, movies, books, fishing, camping….all forms of entertainment, just to mention a few.

The average person likes baseball, football, basketball, racing and the list goes on and on, and the money spent on tickets, pay channels on TV, etc is truly astronomical and vivid proof of the attention paid to entertainment.

And as for gaming, most of us enjoy that too.

Reading, writing, fishing, yep they’re all good for taking our mind off our problems. All forms of entertainment.

And movies…oh don’t get me started on a good film festival. You may not see me for days! And if I find an excellent novel, I’ll be engrossed from cover to cover, for as long as it takes.

Whether or not we are conscious of it, we all like some form of entertainment…using it to keep our minds off our problems, and truly enjoy something other than events in our everyday life.

We NEED diversions…. something or even someone…. to take our minds into a different place, free from worries.

By engrossing ourselves in sports, movies, reading (or whatever entertainment you might choose) we can take ourselves “away” from all these mundane, everyday concerns, with very little physical activity on our part. We actually lose ourselves for periods of time, watching games, reading about the stars and their lives, or even (my favorite) reading a dynamite novel.

Entertainment of almost any form does that for us. It diverts our minds from the worries and woes of reality. We go to worlds other than our own, almost living the moment with the character or player. It is a form of release that is necessary for our well-being.

But take heart. We’re not alone in our entertainment addictions, nor even have the corner on the market. It may be true that America leads the way in partaking of the entertainment choices, (on the surface) but if you just look around, you will find that even the natives of the most obscure tribes have many forms of entertainment. People have diligently found ways to entertain themselves since time began.

America, as with most issues, gets more publicity and press, and because our economy is higher than most countries, we can usually afford more entertainment. After all, we do have more newspapers, television stations, movies, theaters, and all the forms of publications and exposure than any other country in the world.

Plainly stated, we have more access to almost every form of entertainment available than most other countries. And because it is a form of release, we take full advantage of it…some might say we over-indulge in these fantasies and dream-like worlds.

I think we should all take advantage of this “entertainment world” to the fullest, just as long as we don’t forget reality and use our entertainment choices as a release and not a full time lifestyle; are you couch potatoes listening?

Even our Helium could be considered a form of entertainment…couldn’t it?

Learning how to become a model is a challenging, yet very rewarding path. If you are thinking about pursuing a career in the exciting world of modeling, then keep reading! There are a few things that you must know before you make any major decisions.

The first thing that you need to know in order to save valuable time and a lot of money is that it is absolutely unnecessary to go to any school to learn how to become a model. This is a surprising fact considering the multi-million dollar modeling school industry and the staggering number of aspiring models that sign up for said schools every year. The same goes for conventions, seminars, and scouting events. Yes, one can sometimes be “discovered” this way but it is an entirely unnecessary approach and you are likely to spend thousands of dollars in the process. With The Model’s Bible, you will learn how to get your face in front of every top agency in the world for about five bucks and not even have to leave home by using only a digital camera and e-mail account.

If any agency requires that you pay them in order to represent you, run the other way! Models should never pay for representation, period. Agencies that offer this type of agreement will not get you anywhere. In fact, these are the agencies that will set you back and ultimately cost you valuable time and money.

New models tend to think that spending thousands to learn how to become a model and to break into the industry is the accepted norm and that it will take years to get a full grasp on how the industry really works. However, this misconception could not be further from the truth! With credible knowledge and the right agency, you can be on your way to booking big jobs in a matter of weeks. All without going broke in the process.

How can you learn all of these valuable lessons without schools or expensive coaching? The Model’s Bible! That’s how. The Model’s Bible was written by Caleb Lane, a highly sought after supermodel that has over 10 years experience working in the industry. Caleb has worked with some of the biggest and most exclusive designers in the world including Calvin Klein, D&G, Kenneth Cole, John Varvatos, DKNY, Armani, D-Squared, Guess, and many more. Caleb shares his real world experience in the industry on how to become a model, which agencies work the hardest for their models, what to expect on million dollar photo shoots, and how to break into the industry without spending a fortune on expensive schools and professional photography.

It is not that Hollywood has run out of ideas it is that the movie-making industry has become ever-increasingly profitable. Because of this there is the potential for massive profits but also for huge loss. When the stakes are this high few studios are prepared to take a risk.

Ironically indie and art-house films are least affected by this because they tend to be suited to small budget production. Instead it its the intelligent block-buster or innovative mid-cost movie that loses out. Producers are reluctant to put large amounts of money into films that are not sure successes.

It is for this reason that there is such a prevalence or sequels, prequels and adaptations – all of these (or so Hollywood hopes) come with a pre-existing fan-base and also previous knowledge with which the media can produce hype well before the release. It would be difficult to do this for a movie that was completely new as it would lack any handle for the public to latch onto.

The only way I believe this trend can be reversed is for Hollywood to realize that much of its audience are actually more adventurous and open to new, intelligent ideas than is presumed. Sure we will go and watch Scary Movie 16 and Shrek 46 and will enjoy them but we enjoy even more the sense of emerging from a movie-theater having been generally surprised and impressed by a movie they knew little about.

It will be by taking a chance with truly innovative new ideas that Hollywood will win back people who at the moment see no reason not to download illegally the latest movies always safe in the knowledge that when they fail to live up to the hype they have not wasted any of their hard-earned cash or precious time.

DECLARATION OF OUR INDEPENDENCE

Who, would’ve ever thought that there would come a time in the history of film making that this question would ever be posed?! Has Hollywood run out of ideas? Yes, See, for so long we’ve forgotten about the FEMALE voice, and the Minority voice in this arena. As, a result of this decline in these two groups having the platforms needed to get their voices heard Hollywood has now suffered. I, personally agree the scripts that are being reviewed are coming from only one point of view and now it’s run out of momentum causing ticket prices to decrease, revenue to dwindle and $400,00 manicured lifestyles to be compromised! Women, and minorities alike have been waiting for the perfect chance to BREAK THE CLASS CEILING WITHIN THIS MALE DOMINATED “BOYS CLUB” FIELD.

If, we take a look at the state of the Hollywood spectrum we would see more men in these executive positions. Even, when it comes to showcasing the true AFRICAN-AMERICAN experience you can only think of two names. SPIKE LEE, and JOHN SINGLETON. They, offer their views on the state of the world around them while offering no apologies. Some men, bring their pre-historic views of women to the big screen(some characters are the “girlfriend roles”, one-liners, in need of rescuing),developing poor characterizations of the true female experience. We, struggle daily to erase the stereotypes placed on us by society that says that all we are good for is (breakfast in bed), cleaning up the house and chasing our children around! NEWSFLASH, many of us have traded in or aprons (erasing the “JUNE CLEAVER SYD ROME), come out of the bedrooms grabbing our pens and pads (camera’s too) and are depicting our journeys supporting the true art of creativity.

It, seems as if our services in Hollywood are needed. How long, did any one think this trend was going to last? This double standard hinders the progression of our creative communities. One sided views, makes entertainment boring, and non effective. Really, how many more war movies and horror films can one person make before it’s hinted that variety is the name of the game? Remember, the old saying that “TOO, MUCH OF ANYTHING ISN’T ALWAYS A GOOD THING FOR YOU,” EVEN IN THE MOVIE BUSINESS. I’ve, got a great idea why not have Hollywood reach out to some of the same people that are buying tickets to the shows? They, should go to these inner city schools and gather a few teens up let them come up with their own ideas for movies. It, could be a reality show where the winner gets the chance to help his or her family out financially (legally, show to show the non-drug solution issue), and see his movie on the big screen…………………… ………………………… …….My, what a concept