Silw The hard sell
Silvio Berlusconi s government has presented a controversial new media law to the Italian Parliament, which clears the path for the privatisation of state broadcaster RAI in 2004 and will allow the media mogul-premier to retain all three of his free-to-air Mediaset channels. Shares of RAI will be offered to the public from the end of January 2004 and some divisions of the broadcaster could be sold off to private investors at the end of 2005, according to Communications Minister Maurizio Gasparri s draft law. No private investor will be allowed to own more than 1% of the compa
stanley cup ny. Most proceeds arising from privatisation will be handed over to the Treasury while around a quarter will be used to fund the transfer to digital broadcasting technology. Shareholders will be responsible for electing the nine members of the board of directors. The board currently has five members who are appointed by the Houses of Parliament. The government feels it has fulfilled its task of proposing a draft law as a basis for discussion in Parliament. It is not untouchable, Gasparri s
stanley cup aid Friday evening. However, criticism from the opposition came fast and furious. The law s naysayers pointed out that as RAI s main shareholder, the Treasury Ministry - and therefore the Berlusconi government - will have a direct role in appointing RAI s managers an
stanley cup d will heighten its influence on the nation s airwaves. Berlusconi already owns Mediaset and its three channels, RAI s only rival. It s scandalous. It goe Ihot Carol shines in Golden Globes nominations
Universal s prestige crime drama American Gangster beat out Paramount-DreamWorks animated family hit Bee Movie as it opened top on an estimated $46.3m.Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe star in the 1970s saga about a detective on the tail of a Manhattan-based heroin kingpin.Bee Movie, voiced by Jerry Seinfeld and Renee Zellweger among others, opened in second place on $39.1m and is about a bee that decides to sue humans when he learns that they eat honey.The robust start to November reversed a six-week slide as
stanley cup the top 12 films grossed $143m and climbed 11% against the same weekend in 2006.The only other new entry was New Line s drama The Martian Child starring John Cusack in seventh place on $3.7m. Cusack plays a man who adopts a strange child that may be an alien. Amanda Peet and Bobby Coleman also star.Lionsgate s S
stanley canada aw IV fell to third place on $11m for $51.1m after two weekends, and Buena Vista s romantic comedy Dan In Real Life sl
stanley cup ipped to fourth on $8.1m for $22.9m after the same amount of time.Sony s 30 Days Of Night ranks fifth on $34.2m after three, while Buena Vista s family hit The Game Plan has amassed $81.9m and ranks sixth after six.Next weekend s wide releases are: Lions For Lambs, the revitalised UA s first release under the Paula Wagner-Tom Cruise leadership that stars Cruise, Meryl Streep and Robert Redford and is being released through MGM; and Warner Bros comedy Fred Claus with Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti.Estimated Top 10 North America Nov 2-4, 2007Film
