A / ENTERTAINMENT / MONDAY, AUGUST 30, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
HOROSCOPES
10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
Today is a 6
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
Today is a 6
Apply your best effort to care for an older person. Balance is needed.
Compassion is the key ingredient.
Make that your top priority.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
Today is a 7
Tuesday, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Today is a 7
Previous efforts pay off big time today, as a senior team member approves the overall plan and direction. Now get moving!
GEMINI (may 2 | June 2)
Today is a 6
Characters and symbols from last night's dream support romantic or recreational endeavors. Use them also to complete necessary work.
CANCER (June 22-July 22)
Today is a 7
Use all your imagination and talent to develop a list of options.
The group leader will appreciate concrete choices. Leave nothing to chance.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)
Today is a 9
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Today is a 6
Apply all of your intelligence to enjoy this day. Worries about work dissolve when you allow others to be comfortable with their decisions
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Today is a 9
Situations demand formality today. This doesn't mean tuxedo and diamonds. It's more about your respectful demeanor. Use good manners.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Today is a 7
today is it
Dreams really can come true today.
All you need to do is apply your energy in the right direction, and you already know what that is.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Today is a 7
Get down to practical matters as early as possible. Others want to chat and drink coffee. Steer them back towards a purposeful priority.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Today is a 7
Today you discover that you truly love your work, Imagination and practicality play together. You especially love the free time ahead.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Today is a 9
You're comfortable at home today,
so remain there if you can. You
need the down time, so reas-
sort your independence. Take a
personal day.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
Today is a 9
Get back into the swing of things this week by applying creative images from dreams or meditation They come together logically.
NATIONAL
Goat gains own Facebook page
MEXICO, Mo. (AP) — A goat that has been wandering around the eastern Missouri town of Mexico has gained enough attention to have his own Facebook page. But animal control officers are not amused. KXEO reported that the goat was first seen by a motorist on Saturday near an underpass on the east side of town.
PUBLIC HALL accessibility info
(785) 749-1972
644 Mass. 749-1912
GET LOW (PG13)
4:30 7:00 9:20
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT(R)
4:40 7:10 9:30
Conceptis SudoKu
matinee monday-all tix-$6.00!
8 3 7
9 6 5
5 1 3
4 2 6 8 5 7
5 8 3 4
9 1 4 2 8 6
8 4 7
3 5 4
3 9 4
Difficulty Level ★
8/30
3 1 2 9 7 4 8 5 6
9 5 4 3 8 6 2 7 1
6 7 8 2 5 1 9 4 3
7 2 3 8 6 9 5 1 4
5 8 6 4 1 3 7 2 9
1 4 9 7 2 5 3 6 8
8 6 1 5 3 7 4 9 2
4 3 5 1 9 2 6 8 7
2 9 7 6 4 8 1 3 5
Answer to previous puzzle
BEYOND THE GRAVE
Difficulty Level ★★★★★
NO.059 = "WATER...BUN?
an Vern Tan
Top movie sales flip over weekend
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
LOS ANGELES — When box office returns started coming in Friday afternoon, the heist film "Takers" looked like the clear winner.
But as the sun faded on the West Coast, the horror movie "The Last Exorcism" leaped into the lead, ultimately grossing $9.5 million for the day, compared with $7.5 million for "Takers."
The reason? "Takers," with stars including Chris Brown, T.I. and Zoe Saldana, generated disproportionately high interest among African Americans and had strong performances in East Coast cities such as Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., with large black populations.
An estimated 54 percent of those who saw "Exorcism," meanwhile, were Latino, so the movie did particularly well in the Southwest and California, generating its biggest business in Los Angeles.
ing to market research firm CinemaScore. But audiences gave the horror flick a dismal grade of D, and the bad buzz was reflected in its Friday-to-Saturday drop.
On Saturday, however, those numbers reversed, as "Takers" generated $7.7 million compared with $7.1 million for "Exorcism." Word of mouth, it seemed, was much better for the heist film, which got an average grade of B accord-
Ultimately,
the two movies ended up in a virtual tie for the weekend. "The Last Exorcism" sold $21.3 million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada, according to a Sunday morning estimate by distributor Lionsgate, while "Takers" took in $21 million, according to distributor Sony
Pictures. When final weekend tallies are in, the two films could switch places.
"We felt like we took the right theaters for it. It tends to have more of a big-city appeal."
Both of the weekend's new films in wide release did strong business given their relatively low budgets.
RORY BRUER Sony distribution president
"Takers," which also stars Matt
impressive given that it played in 668 fewer theaters than "Last Exorcism."
Dillon and Paul Walker, cost $32 million to produce and opened on the high end of what Sony typically hopes for from its genre label Screen Gems. Its debut is particularly
"We felt like we took the right theaters for it," said Sony distribution president Rory Bruer. "It tends to have more of a big-city appeal."
ACROSS
1 Smooch
5 Light-switch setting
8 Golf ball holders
12 Handel's "Messiah," e.g.
14 And others (Abbr.)
15 Aardvark
16 Emanation
17 Donkey
18 With almost no effort
20 Grown-up
23 Competent
24 Scottish girl
25 Movie-house
28 Compass dir.
29 The — and the Papas
30 Disen-cumber
32 "— love hath no man
34 Typical dog's name
35 Catcher's aid
36 Environmentally friendly
37 Briny
40 — Lanka
41 Arkin or Alda
42 Fast-firing rifle
47 Heard revelie
48 Move to another country
49 Appear
50 Press for payment
51 Hosiery mishap
DOWN
1 — constrictor
2 Coffee vessel
3 Perched
4 Filches
5 Table scraps
6 "A pox upon thee!"
7 Ancestor
8 Afternoon service?
9 Needle case
10 Viscount's superior
11 Do in
13 Brewer's kiln
19 "Sad to say, ..."
20 Hearty quaff
Solution time: 24 mins.
L O N G R A S P F A B
O B O E E R N E E R E
R E D O M E A T I N
D Y E R E A R J A Z Z
G O D E T A
C A M E B Y S A M P L E
A D O B E P E R O N
R O B U S T R E S O L D
S E A E D W
A R C H M E N O P A L
C O O F A S T O L L A
H M M E L S E D M O
Y E A W E E D S A S S
21 "Phooey!"
22 Addict
23 Record producer Ertegun
25 In shreds
26 See 39-Down
27 Roller coaster, for one
29 Primary
31 Mafia bigwig
33 Marshall Mathers' nom de rap
34 Monks
36 Diver Louganis
37 Cutting tools
38 Lotion additive
39 With
26-Down War of 1812 battle site
40 Whirl
43 Ostrich's cousin
44 Light brown
45 Greek vowel
46, — U.S. Pat. Off.
Saturday's answer 8-30
CRYPTOQUIP
GRERI X OJHX TJAMIXRM?
Saturday's Cryptoquip: SINCE THAT POOR
HAMMERHEAD LACKED ANY COMPANIONSHIP,
I SUPPOSE YOU COULD CALL IT A LONE SHARK.
Today's Cryptoquip Clue: D equals E
All puzzles © King Features
TELEVISION
Independent channel vies for basic cable spot
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
SANTA MONICA, Calif. Television may be a vast wasteland, but for the last four years a group of investors has been working to establish an oasis for Ovation, an independent channel devoted to art and contemporary culture.
It's not easy being a little guy in a land of media giants, lacking leverage and deep pockets. But the Santa Monica-based Ovation has notched impressive gains and is attempting to prove that an arts channel can thrive on TV.
Available in only 5 million homes in 2007, the channel now can be seen in about 42 million homes, or nearly half of all cable and satellite households in the country. Ovation also has bolstered its roster of advertisers - including such marquee companies as
"We are here to build a profitable arts channel. It can be done," said Charles Segars, a longtime television programmer who is chief executive of Ovation. "The arts have never failed in America, and a whole new generation of artists is formed every day."
Most cable channels long ago consolidated into the hands of the major players. Only a few independents remain, including the Hallmark Channel, Current TV, the Tennis Channel, the Gospel Music Channel, the Africa Channel and ReelzChannel, owned by Hubbard Media Group, a family firm that was an early investor in DirecTV and is the controlling shareholder of Ovation.
Chase Bank, Wal-Mart, Acura and Subaru — and this year the channel swung into the black.
"The track record of true independents has not been very good," said Ken Solomon, chairman of Ovation, an investor and an architect of the 2006 acquisition of the channel by its current owners for about $55 million. "There are carcasses lining the side of the road to success. We know that distributors — and advertisers — have to see
— and advertisers — have to see the value of our programming"
In the early days of cable there were ambitious attempts to create a window into fine arts — symphony, ballet and opera — with
the now-defunct Alpha Repertory Television Service and the CBS Cable channel. Next came Arts & Entertainment and Bravo, two networks that eventually abandoned their high-toned missions to chase a broader audience with shows featuring tacky housewives, a bounty hunter named Dog and Gene Simmons, the fire-exhaling rocker in KISS.
Cable operators were initially skeptical that Ovation could remain true to its mission, Solomon said. "There has been a history of leveraging this notion of servicing the creative arts community, only to have companies radically diversify away from their original concept,"
he said. 'It took a lot of hard work and assurances, both morally and contractually, that we really do believe in this category and that we are in it for the long term."
Persuading cable operatorsto
"We are here to build a profitable arts channel. It can be done.The arts have never failed in America ..."
"That's our advantage," said Segars, who also is an investor. "This is an audience that has been underserved."
programming is a distinct alternative to the cookie-cutter channels offering movies, sports and reality shows.
Bowing to the realities of television in an effort to cast a wider net for viewers, however, Ovation applies a more expansive definition to the term "art." Instead of a strict diet of operas, symphonies and ballet, the channel also shows art-house films and explores photography, architecture and visual arts. It produces several original series, including "Faces of a Vanishi-
of a Vanishing
CHARLES SEGARS
Ovation chief executive
carry Ovation has been a challenge. Although the channel is carried by Time Warner Cable, DirecTV and the nation's largest cable company, Comcast Corp., several major providers have not signed on, including Cox Communications.
served through dozens of niche services, such as Ovation, that provide specialized programming.
One problem is that, because it's a stand-alone channel, Ovation doesn't have the clout to pressure cable operators to add it to their programming lineups. So it has relied on a straightforward pitch: Ovation's more thoughtful
World," which focuses on a 19-year-old photographer who travels to Ethiopia. The channel runs documentaries, including "The Mona Lisa Curse" and "China
Power; Art Now After Mao" as well as concerts and retrospectives.
But now, hundreds of channels chase the same viewers. The "long tail" theory suggests that a greater number of people could be better
If Ovation prosperps, it could force a shift in the economics of television. The big profits have long come from entertaining the masses. That's why Bravo, owned by NBC Universal, ditched its art fare in favor of the likes of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey."
Andy Klein, president of the cable TV division of Beta Research Corp., said his group's work corroborates that view. "We have found in our surveys that some of the smaller networks, those that are not well known, often generate significant interest," Klein said. "And in many cases they have higher levels of viewer satisfaction."
Ovation has a small programming budget, about $23 million a year, according to consulting firm SNL Kagan. That's less than what a broadcast network pays to license a season's worth of one hour-long drama. SNL Kagan estimates that Ovation will generate $51 million this year from advertising and cable affiliate fees. That's up from $10 million in 2007, the first year the current management team ran the channel.
The Ovation staff has had to be creative with its dollars and has struck partnerships with more than 40 museums across the country. Last year it helped sponsor the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's weekend film series to keep the program alive. Ovation sponsors free museum days and collaborated on programming.
When the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago featured a Jeff Koons exhibit, Ovation agreed to produce a show. The museum used part of Ovation's program for a video wall for the exhibit.