The creators of a web series about a foul-mouthed teddy bear who likes booze, cigarettes and paying for sex have ended their copyright infringement suit against Seth MacFarlane, Universal Pictures and the producers of the 2012 blockbuster Ted. "The parties hereby stipulate and agree … that this action, and Plaintiff's…

The 9-minute short was shot in secret in Beijing and had its Kickstarter campaign temporarily shut down by star Ai Wei Wei, China’s most prominent artist and dissident, after producer/writer/director/editor Jason Wishnow overstepped in his marketing of the project. The film, about four people in China dealing with a…

The creators of web series about a foul-mouthed teddy bear with a penchant for drinking, smoking and prostitutes has filed a copyright infringement suit against Seth MacFarlane, Universal Pictures and the producers of Ted, the 2012 film about a foul-mouthed teddy bear with a penchant for drinking, smoking and…

These two worlds were bound to collide, right? Advertisements are everywhere, especially in Tokyo. And we've seen folks covered scalp to toe with tattoos, piercings and brandings. (Keep that last one in mind.) So now comes the inevitable next step: A PR guy in Japan's capital has begun putting ads directly on the…

UNIVERSAL CITY, CA, May 31, 2013—Universal Pictures International (UPI) today announced that the studio has reached $1 billion at the international box office. This is the earliest the studio has reached that milestone in history, besting a previous record set on July 17, 2012 through the performance of such global…

It was Universal Pictures’ turn in the spotlight this morning as Chairman Adam Fogelson served up a look at the studio’s sequel-packed summer slate and a summary of the studio’s 2012 hits and even big miss Battleship. He announced sequels in varying stages of development: Snow White And The Huntsman (for a targeted…

Mark Wahlberg and Ted's appearance on this year's Oscars presenting the Sound Mixing and Sound Editing awards may have only lasted nine minutes, but it was months in the making, I’ve learned. The decision to have the blockbuster hard-partying talking bear as part of the Oscarcast with his big screen co-star was made…

EXCLUSIVE: When he completes Sunday’s Oscar hosting stint, Seth MacFarlane will get down to business about where to place his next film, one that is shaping up to be the hot movie project in town. I’m hearing that Universal Pictures has the inside track to acquire A Million Ways To Die In The West, the live action…

Universal and MRC‘s Ted today passed Skyfall at the Japanese box office and now has grossed $32.5M in the territory, the biggest total so far in 2013. It already was the biggest R-rated comedy of all time in Japan in its fifth week in the territory, where it enjoyed four weeks in a row at No. 1 following a January 18…

EXCLUSIVE: This is a big deal — both because it’s a new line of business for Media Rights Capital, and because the company was able to raise the cash at a time when the lending markets remain tight. Private equity firm ABRY Partners was the lead investor in the $175M equity sale. It joins AT&T, WPP Group, and Goldman…

Anthony D'Alessandro is Managing Editor of AwardsLine. This year's crop of contenders—a doc tune, a musical melody, a jazz ditty, and an Indian lullaby—are similar to the genres that the category has recognized in recent years. Pop-radio songs, which arguably have been sparse over the last 10 years with the exception…

Related: Mark Wahlberg And Ted To Appear On Oscarcast: Video Mark Wahlberg and his teddy bear co-star, "Ted," will be presenters on the Oscar® show, telecast producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today. "We are happy to make it possible for Mark and Ted to make their debut appearance on the Oscar stage," said…