Top Baby Names Of 2012

29 Nov 2012 15:00 Africa/Lagos

Photo Credit: Baby Phases.

The Results Are In ... BabyCenter® Reveals Top Baby Names Of 2012
Sophia and Aiden Hold Tight to Top Spots; Mia and Jack New to Top 10
50 Shades of Grey and One Direction Provide Inspiration; Female Comedians, the United Kingdom, and Space Among Top Trends

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- BabyCenter® , the #1 pregnancy and parenting mobile and web destination worldwide, today released the results of its highly anticipated annual Baby Names Survey and the Top 100 Baby Names of 2012. Based on the names of 450,000 babies born in 2012 to moms registered on the BabyCenter website, Aiden tops the boys' list for the eighth consecutive year while Sophia holds tight to the lead for girls for the third year in a row. However, there was some movement within the top 10 as Mia and Jack joined the ranks. Moms also looked to new, unexpected sources for baby name inspiration this year.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/53870-babycenter-unveils-top-baby-names-of-2012

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121129/MM19972-INFO )

"A unique or unusual name remains one of the top qualities parents seek in a baby name, but it's trending down. What's becoming more important to new parents is finding a name with meaning," says Linda Murray, BabyCenter Global Editor in Chief. "Parents are looking for more substance in baby names. They want names with more significance. Meaning can come from the name itself (for example, Sophia means 'wisdom' and Aiden means 'fiery') or because the name is associated with a loved one or other inspiring person. This is a significant new trend in baby naming and one I'm delighted to see."

BabyCenter's Top 100 Baby Names list combines names that sound the same but have different spellings, making it a true measure of baby name popularity. The website also conducts its Baby Names Survey every year, talking directly to parents about their baby name decisions and diving deep into the psychology and trends surrounding baby naming.

Top 10 Baby Names of 2012

Girls	Boys
Sophia	Aiden
Emma	Jackson
Olivia	Ethan
Isabella	Liam
Ava	Mason
Lily	Noah
Zoe	Lucas
Chloe	Jacob
Mia	Jayden
Madison	Jack

Moms weren't only focused on names with meaning this year. As always, pop culture had a big influence, with celebrities, athletes, and politicians also making their mark. Additionally, characters in TV shows and books sent moms' imaginations running wild.

The hottest baby name trends of 2012 are:

50 Shades of Grey

It doesn't get any hotter than this! Parents are looking to the spicy 50 Shades of Grey trilogy for baby name inspiration. The name Grey is up nearly 20 percent, Anastasia jumped by 10 percent, and Ana climbed 35 spots. Interestingly, the name Christian declined in popularity, leading BabyCenter editors to believe that while moms are physically attracted to Christian, they do not see him as a role model for their sons. A third of pregnant moms still deciding on a name say they are looking for inspiration from characters in books, an increase of 6 percent versus last year.

London Calling

From singing sensations to the royals and the Olympics, it was a year with great focus on the UK, and this has clearly influenced American naming trends. The boy band One Direction is leading the trend of British names on the rise. Four out of the five band members' names are up this year, and the fifth, Liam, gets bragging rights as the hottest of the bunch. Liam ranks number four on our top 100 list for the second year in a row. Additionally, the name Harry is up a whopping 57 percent since last year, and Pippa increased by 35 percent. They are also faring better than Will and Kate, whose names have both decreased in popularity.

Funny Ladies

Moms are celebrating the lighter side of parenthood this year. The first names of comediennes Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Chelsea Handler, and Kristen Wiig are all climbing the charts. Amy soared 41 percent, Maya rose nearly 25 percent, Chelsea saw a nearly 10 percent increase, and Kristen scrambled up 5 percent. Additionally, BabyCenter moms can't get enough of Betty White. Out of all the funny ladies, the name Betty showed the biggest jump – a gain of 54 percent this year.

iBabies

The smart phone may just be the best parenting tool since diapers, and some moms and dads are paying homage to industry leader Apple in their choice of baby names. The moniker Apple, though still an unusual choice, rose 15 percent for girls, vaulting a whopping 585 spots. For boys, the name Mac jumped 12 percent. And parents sure like the sound of Siri: The company's voice-enabled personal assistant climbed 5 percent on the list of girl names.

And They Lived Happily Ever After ...

New movies and TV shows such as Brave, Snow White and the Huntsman, and Once Upon a Time have moms in a fairy-tale frenzy. TV characters (and the actors that play them) are becoming an increasingly popular source of baby name inspiration (up 11 percent since last year) and, as a result, names like Hamish, Angus, Graham, Finn, and August are on the rise for boys, with Regina, Charlize, Belle, and Ruby spiking for girls.

Political Mindset

POTUSes from the past are proving much more popular than the ones of today. The name Reagan increased a whopping 46 percent, and fellow past presidents Kennedy, Carter, Lincoln, and Nixon all jumped in the rankings. No such wins for Barack, Mitt, Joe, or Paul.

Space Exploration

It seems space was a huge naming inspiration for parents this year: Sky, Star, Luna, Skylar, Heaven, Stella, and Mars all flew higher than last year. BabyCenter moms aren't alone; celebrities like Uma Thurman – who named her daughter Luna – are looking to the sky as well.

For more information on BabyCenter's Top 100 Baby Names of 2012, a complete list of trends, and online tools for finding your ideal baby name, please visit: babycenter.com/special-report-baby-names.

About BabyCenter® LLC

BabyCenter® is the voice of the 21st Century Mom® and modern motherhood. It's the #1 pregnancy and parenting mobile and web destination worldwide, reaching more than 12 million moms monthly in the United States and more than 30 million moms monthly in 22 markets from Australia to India to China. In the United States, 7 in 10 babies born last year were BabyCenter babies. BabyCenter is the world's partner in parenting, providing moms everywhere with trusted advice from hundreds of experts around the globe, friendship with other moms like them, and support that's remarkably right at every stage of their child's development. BabyCenter also works with some of the world's most prominent brands and institutions to provide life-stage marketing solutions and a direct line to highly engaged moms. BabyCenter is a member of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies.

SOURCE BabyCenter(R) LLC

CONTACT: Nicole Centinaro / Sue Murphy, Coyne Public Relations, +1-973-588-2000

Web Site: http://www.babycenter.com

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CAIR Rejects Death Sentence on Filmmakers of Anti-Islam Film "Innocence of Muslims"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CAIR Repudiates Egypt 'Blasphemy' Death Sentences

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/28/12) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil liberties organization, today repudiated death sentences handed down by an Egyptian court for charges linked to the anti-Islam film "Innocence of Muslims" that attacked the Prophet Muhammad.

An Egyptian court reportedly found the defendants, most of whom live in the United States, guilty of harming national unity, insulting and publicly attacking Islam and spreading false information. Capital punishment decisions must be approved or rejected by Egypt's top religious authority. A final verdict is due on Jan. 29.

SEE: Egypt Court Sentences 8 to Death Over Film (USA Today)

In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:

"We repudiate this un-Islamic attempt to impose the death sentence for blasphemy, a sentence that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) himself never imposed, despite being attacked both rhetorically and physically.
"One Islamic tradition (hadith) states in reference to the Prophet: 'You do not do evil to those who do evil to you, but you deal with them with forgiveness and kindness.' (Sahih Al-Bukhari) Muslims in Egypt and worldwide should choose the same path of kindness and reconciliation followed by the Prophet himself.
"We ask civil and religious authorities in Egypt to honor the legacy of the Prophet by following his example and rejecting these death sentences.
"To do otherwise violates Islamic principles and offers support to those -- like the extremists who produced this despicable film -- who seek to defame Islam and Muslims."

In September, CAIR released video appeals in the languages of those protesting the anti-Islam film. One of those videos shows CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad telling viewers in the Middle East that ordinary Americans and the U.S. government should not be blamed for the religious hatred expressed in the film.

Video: CAIR Releases Arabic Video Appeal on Anti-Islam Film Protests

CAIR had previously called on Muslims in the Middle East to ignore the distribution of the "trashy" anti-Islam film that resulted in violence in Egypt and other nations throughout the Muslim world.

SEE: CAIR Asks Mideast Muslims to Ignore 'Trashy' Anti-Islam Film

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

- END -

CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail:ihooper@cair.com

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Delta Boys: The Film About Militant “Godfather” Ateke Tom and Chima

An American documentary filmmaker crosses the lines of Nigeria's oil conflict in order to bear witness to the lives of the militants engaged in the struggle, and the civilians caught in the crossfire.

Starring: Ateke Tom
Directed by: Andrew Berends
Runtime: 56 minutes
Release year: 2012
Studio: Sundance


CLICK HERE TO BUY THE DVD.

Delta Boys: The Film About Militant “Godfather” Ateke Tom and Chima




An American filmmaker crosses the lines of Nigeria’s oil conflict to bear witness to the lives of the militants engaged in the struggle, and the civilians caught in the crossfire. With breathtaking cinematography DELTA BOYS offers a never before seen glimpse of life in the volatile Niger Delta.


DELTA BOYS follows the lives of militant “Godfather” Ateke Tom who rules over his rebel camp with an iron fist, and Chima, a 21-year-old who left his home to join the fight. The film also shows life in a tiny fishing village where Mama, a 22-year-old, struggles to give birth amidst the conflict with no access to modern medical care. Their personal stories reflect a broad global struggle between entrenched power and corporate interest and an underserved population. Despite the region’s massive oil wealth, the inhabitants of the Niger Delta live in poverty. Ateke’s militants have called for greater distribution of wealth and jobs. When their requests have been ignored, they’ve attacked oil-pipelines, kidnapped foreigners, and made the entire delta a no-go zone. But many feel that while the Niger Delta cause is just, the militants’ motives are not so pure.



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This is Nollywood By Franco Sacchi

Storytelling lies at the heart of African culture — and now it’s digital.

This Is Nollywood tells the story of the Nigerian film industry—a revolution enabling Africans with few resources to tell African stories to African audiences. Despite all odds, Nigerian directors produce between 500 and 1,000 movies a year. The disks sell wildly all over the continent—Nollywood actors have become stars from Ghana to Zambia.

We experience the world of Nollywood through acclaimed director Bond Emeruwa's quest to make a feature-length action film in just nine days. Armed only with a digital camera, two lights, and about $20,000, Bond faces challenges unimaginable in Hollywood and Bollywood.

Electricity goes out. Street thugs demand extortion money. The lead actor doesn’t show. During one crucial scene, prayers blast from loudspeakers atop a nearby mosque, making shooting impossible. But, as Bond says, “In Nollywood we don’t count the walls. We learn how to climb them.”



In Nigeria’s teeming capital of Lagos, we attend an audition where hundreds of hopeful actors vie for their chance in the limelight. We meet some of the industry’s founding fathers who tell us of their responsibility to educate their massive audiences: many of the films deal with AIDS, corruption, women’s rights, and other topics of concern to ordinary Africans. The impetus behind Nollywood is not purely commercial; the traditional role of storytelling is still alive and well — just different.

This Is Nollywood shows how the egalitarian promise of digital technology has found realization in one of the world’s largest and poorest cities. And it shows the universal theme of people striving to fulfill their dreams.

“We are telling our own stories in our own way, our Nigerian way, African way,” Bond says. “I cannot tell the white man's story. I don't know what his story is all about. He tells me his story in his movies. I want him to see my stories too.”

About Nollywood:

Nollywood, Nigeria's booming film industry, is the world's third largest producer of feature films. Unlike Hollywood and Bollywood, however, Nollywood movies are made on shoe-string budgets of time and money. An average production takes just 10 days and costs approximately $15,000.

Yet in just 13 years, Nollywood has grown from nothing into a $250 million dollar-a-year industry that employs thousands of people. The Nollywood phenomenon was made possible by two main ingredients: Nigerian entrepreneurship and digital technology.

In the late 1980's and early 1990's, Lagos and other African cities faced growing epidemics of crime and insecurity. Movie theaters closed as people became reluctant to be out on the streets after dark. Videos for home viewing imported from the West and India were only mildly popular. Nigerians saw an opportunity to fill the void with products of their own.

Experts credit the birth of Nollywood to a businessman who needed to unload thousands of blank tapes and to the 1992 video release of Living in Bondage, a movie with a tale of the occult that was an instant and huge-selling success. It wasn't long before other would-be producers jumped on the bandwagon.

Currently, some 300 producers churn out movies at an astonishing rate—somewhere between 500 and 1,000 a year. Nigerian directors adopt new technologies as soon as they become affordable. Bulky videotape cameras gave way to their digital descendents, which are now being replaced by HD cameras. Editing, music, and other post-production work is done with common computer-based systems. The films go straight to DVD and VCD disks.

Thirty new titles are delivered to Nigerian shops and market stalls every week, where an average film sells 50,000 copies. A hit may sell several hundred thousand. Disks sell for two dollars each, making them affordable for most Nigerians and providing astounding returns for the producers.

Not much else about Nollywood would make Hollywood envious. Shooting is inevitably delayed by obstacles unimaginable in California. Lagos, home to 15 million people (expected to be 24 million by 2010), is a nightmare of snarled traffic, pollution, decaying infrastructure, and frequent power outages.

Star actors, often working on several films at once, frequently don't show up when they're supposed to. Location shooting is often delayed by local thugs, or "touts", who extort money for protection before they will allow filming to take place in their territories.

Yet Nollywood producers are undeterred. They know they have struck a lucrative and long-neglected market - movies that offer audiences characters they can identify with in stories that relate to their everyday lives. Western action-adventures and Bollywood musicals provide little that is relevant to life in African slums and remote villages.

Nollywood stars are native Nigerians. Nollywood settings are familiar. Nollywood plots depict situations that people understand and confront daily; romance, comedy, the occult, crooked cops, prostitution, and HIV/AIDS.

"We are telling our own stories in our own way," director Bond Emeruwa says. "That is the appeal both for the filmmakers and for the audience."

The appeal stretches far beyond Nigeria. Nollywood films are proving popular all over English-speaking Africa and have become a staple on M-NET, the South African based satellite television network. Nigerian stars have become household names from Ghana to Zambia and beyond. The last few years have seen the growing popularity of Nollywood films among African diaspora in both Europe and America.

"Look out, Hollywood," one exuberant Nigerian producer exclaims. "Here we come!"

When I first read about Nigerian directors producing hundreds of feature-length films with digital cameras, a week, and a few thousand dollars, I found the subject irresistible. Here was not only a rare positive story about Africa, but one that embodied the egalitarian promise of digital technology—anybody can make a movie. And Nollywood was virtually unknown.

When I approached the Center of Digital Imaging Arts at Boston University (where I teach) with the idea of producing a documentary film about Nollywood, the reaction was immediate. Nollywood is a perfect example of CDIA’s philosophy: embrace technology and don’t be afraid to tell stories that matter to you.

Aimee Corrigan, a young and talented photographer with a great passion for Africa, and Bob Caputo, who also teaches at CDIA, quickly signed on. Bob told me that in 30 years of covering Africa for Time and National Geographic as a writer and photographer he had never come across a story so positive and full of hope.

The three of us set out for the Nigerian capital Lagos in October 2005. Just the ride in from the airport—two hours to go a few miles in utterly snarled horn-blaring traffic, eyes aching from the smog—gave us a small taste of the conditions Nollywood directors face daily. Our admiration for their determination began at that moment.

We agreed immediately that African actors, directors, and producers should tell their own story in our film without commentary from us or other westerners. Of course, we filmed and edited the Nollywood story with our own sensibilities but our greatest hope is that the authentic voices of the Nigerian filmmakers will be heard.

Nollywood filmmakers are conscious of the responsibility they have toward their society—director Bond Emeruwa says they feel an obligation to “put a message in there.” But the production of each movie is also an adventure—overcoming hurdles unimaginable in the West, racing against an impossibly short clock.

In the end, the film we made, This Is Nollywood, is about more than a fascinating and unheralded movie industry. It’s about people surmounting obstacles to achieve their dreams.

~ Franco Sacchi









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The MARABOU COLLECTION - One of the Greatest Sculpture Sales in 2012

The MARABOU COLLECTION - One of the Greatest Sculpture Sales in 2012

An important collection of sculpture from the 19th and 20th century to come up for sale at Bukowskis in Stockholm on December 4

STOCKHOLM, November 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
- With Photo

Bukowskis has been  entrusted to sell a major sculpture collection , once owned by the family behind the Swedish chocolate brand Marabou, Throne-Holst. The total value of the bronzes is ca EUR 2,23 million. The collection includes pieces by master artists such as Auguste Rodin, Jean Arp, Lynn Chadwick, Henri Laurens, Aristide Maillol and Arnaldo Pomodoro.
 
To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:
http://www.multivu.com/mnr/58656-bukowskis-auction-house
     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121127/563150 )
One special masterpiece is "Le Penseur" by Rodin, cast between 1915 and 1925, and patinated by Jean Limet. According to Jérôme Le Blay from the Comité Rodin, Paris, there are only ten known casts of "Le penseur" from this period.
 
The sculptures in the Marabou Collection were bought by the Throne-Holst family, who established the chocolate company in 1916. Henning Throne-Holst, director of Marabou 1918-1947, collected art and sculpture and his son, Johan Throne-Holst, followed suit. The family believed that nature, architecture and art could be used to counterbalance the effects of urbanisation and industrialisation and the intention of the Marabou collection was to enhance and improve the lives and personal developement of the work force by the beneficial influence of the challenge fine art sculptures brought to the work place.

Julian Barran, - Independent expert for Nineteenth and Twentieth Century European Art:
"What is so relevant to the collection is the great documentation of all the acquisitions. Today, when there's been an increase of value for art, buyers want to be sure about what they are buying. In this case, the documentation links right back to the creation of the work, which is very rare".    



Anna-Karin Pusic, head of Bukowskis' art department:
"Selling such a dignified collection is a historical privilege for Bukowskis. These are unique objects that have never before appeared in the international auction market. It is a great honour for us,"

The Marabou Collection will be sold as part of the Classic Sale at Bukowskis December 4.
The lots to be sold at the auction at Bukowskis include "Le Penseur" and "L'enfant prodigue" by Auguste Rodin, "Amphore de Muse" by Jean Arp, "Pair of sitting figures" by Lynn Chadwick, "Apollon" by Charles Despiau, a Ganesh figure, (Hoysala period, India, 11th century), "La Banderole" by Henri Laurens, "Silvatica" by Eric Grate, "La jeune fille agenouillée" by Aristide Maillol, "Emy" by Giacomo Manzu, "Radar No 2" by Arnaldo Pomodoro, "Guscio" by Giò Pomodoro, and "Hibou" by Francois Pompon.
Click here to view the auction page for The Marabou Collection http://www.bukowskis.com/auctions/571
Note to Editors:
A picture accompanying this release is available through the PA Photowire. It can be downloaded from http://www.pa-mediapoint.press.net or viewed at http://www.mediapoint.press.net or http://www.prnewswire.co.uk .
The picture is also available in the AP PhotoExpress feed using ref# PRN11

Contact:
Anna-Karin Pusic
Head of Art Department
Curator, Painting and Sculpture 19th & 20th Century
T: +46-708-921988
anna-karin.pusic@bukowskis.com
http://www.bukowskis.com

Video: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/58656-bukowskis-auction-house

CONTACT: Contact: Paulina Sokolow, Press & communication, T: +46-702-670-923, paulina.sokolow@bukowskis.com



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Kim Kardashian is Most-Searched Person of 2012

Kim Kardashian is most-searched person of 2012; baby fever dominates most-searched celeb events; Justin Bieber is most-searched musician; Honey Boo Boo makes her debut; and iPhone 5 is the top-searched news story.

As we look back at 2012, Bing searches show it was a year of familiar faces, momentous events and baby fever.

REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — As we look back at 2012, Bing searches show it was a year of familiar faces, momentous events and baby fever. While last year people were singing “Baby, baby, baby” with Justin Bieber as the most-searched person of 2011, 2012 was the year of the real baby, as celebrity births were five of the top 10 celebrity events. From new reality stars such as Honey Boo Boo to viral hits such as “Gangnam Style” and airwave darlings such as Taylor Swift, Bing captured history through the searches that mark the year’s most fascinating people, sensations and moments in time.
Based on the aggregation of billions of search queries conducted on Bing this year, here are the much-anticipated top search lists for the most-searched people, news stories, athletes, musicians, celebrity events, social networks and TV shows. The complete report, including most-searched viral videos, movies, songs, TV personalities and more, is available at http://www.BingTrends.com.

Most-Searched Person of the Year
Kim Kardashian didn’t just keep up with other celebs such as Justin Bieber (2011’s most-searched person) this year, she took back the top spot. Kim K. was the most-searched person of the year in 2012, regaining the spot she also held in 2010. Her relationship ups and downs, including a new relationship with Kanye West, made Kim more interesting than ever. While Justin Bieber fell to the second spot, he still was the most-searched male of the year and the most-searched musician, thanks to the continued support of his many “Beliebers.” Newcomers to the list include Rihanna, who skyrocketed from No. 20 in 2011 to No. 4 this year; Selena Gomez, who jumped from No. 13 to No. 7; and Nicki Minaj, who just barely cracked the top 10 at No. 9, up from No. 23 in 2011. Miley Cyrus made the biggest gain within the top 10 list, jumping from No. 10 to No. 3, likely due to her surprise engagement.

Rank	2012	2011
1	Kim Kardashian	Justin Bieber
2	Justin Bieber	Kim Kardashian
3	Miley Cyrus	Jennifer Aniston
4	Rihanna	Lindsay Lohan
5	Lindsay Lohan	Jennifer Lopez
6	Katy Perry	Britney Spears
7	Selena Gomez	Katy Perry
8	Jennifer Aniston	Megan Fox
9	Nicki Minaj	Lady Gaga
10	Taylor Swift	Miley Cyrus

Other Top Search Results
Top News Stories

1. iPhone 5
2. 2012 Election
3. 2012 Olympics
4. Hurricane Sandy
5. Honey Boo Boo
6. “Gangnam Style”
7. Kony 2012
8. Academy Awards
9. Kindle Fire HD
10. Facebook IPO

Top Musicians

1. Justin Bieber
2. Whitney Houston
3. Katy Perry
4. Selena Gomez
5. Rihanna
6. Nicki Minaj
7. Taylor Swift
8. Beyoncé
9. Chris Brown
10. Jennifer Lopez

Top Athletes

1. Peyton Manning
2. Tiger Woods
3. Tim Tebow
4. Maria Sharapova
5. Kobe Bryant
6. Serena Williams
7. Lamar Odom
8. LeBron James
9. Cristiano Ronaldo
10. Terrell Owens

Top Celebrity Events

1. Beyoncé’s baby
2. Jessica Simpson’s baby
3. Whitney Houston’s death
4. Snooki’s baby
5. Kourtney Kardashian’s baby
6. Coachella
7. Rodney King overdose
8. Grammy Awards
9. Jennifer Garner’s baby
10. Academy Awards

Top TV Shows

1. “American Idol”
2. “Dancing With the Stars”
3. “The Young and the Restless”
4. “The Walking Dead”
5. “Family Guy”
6. “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo”
7. “Glee”
8. “Vampire Diaries”
9. “The Bachelor”
10. “Game of Thrones”

Top Social Networks

1. Facebook
2. Twitter
3. MySpace
4. LinkedIn
5. Tumblr

More details and additional categories of top 2012 searches from Bing are available at http://www.BingTrends.com and via the Bing Top Searches of 2012. For the latest on all things Bing, check out http://www.bing.com/community, http://www.facebook.com/Bing and twitter.com/Bing.

About Bing
Bing is the search engine from Microsoft, designed for people who do. For people like you who are always doing more and don’t have time to sit still. Now, only Bing brings together the best search and the best people from your social networks, like Facebook and Twitter, to help you spend less time searching and more time doing. So whether you’re on your PC or on your phone, Bing is designed not just to connect you to the information you are looking for, but also to help you get things done right on Bing.com.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

For more information, press only:
Rapid Response Team, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, (503) 443-7070, rrt@waggeneredstrom.com
Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

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Orange ACN Television and Radio Rights in Nigeria: Reestablishing the Truth

27 Nov 2012 05:28 Africa/Lagos


Orange ACN Television and Radio Rights in Nigeria: Reestablishing the Truth Regarding the Management of Television and Radio Rights

LC2 to clarify the situation regarding the management rights in Nigeria

ABUJA, November 27, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The new misinformation or usurpation campaign, currently taking place in Nigeria forces LC2 (http://www.lc2international.tv/) to clarify the situation regarding the management, in Nigeria, of television and Radio rights of ORANGE ACN South Africa 2013, which will take place from January 19 to February 10, 2013.


Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/logo-lc2-t__l__vision-copie.jpg


These rights are owned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and have been granted, through a license, LC2 Media – AFNEX, in exclusivity, for television and Radio broadcasting “via Terrestrial TV and satellite, by free TV”, in every language and especially on Nigerian territory. These television and Radio rights are commercialized by CCFOOT Ltd located in Geneva (tel + 41 22 39360 18). To date, no agreement with a natural or legal person has been made regarding these television and Radio rights for the Nigerian territory.


However, LC2 – AFNEX / CCFOOT has been told that some people were trying to sell these Television and Radio broadcasting rights or related advertising spaces in Nigeria. LC2– AFNEX /CCFOOT are therefore compelled to draw the public's attention on the fact that these aforementioned people are usurpers and that their commitments could in no way be legally binding to LC2 – AFNEX / CCFOOT.


Only television stations and media having purchased sublicense television and Radio rights to CCFOOT Ltd will be legally allowed to broadcast in Nigeria ORANGE ACN


CAN South Africa 2013, provided by the AFNEX Network “via Terrestrial TV and satellite, by free TV”.


All other Nigerian TV and Radio broadcast of ORANGE ACN South Africa 2013 under these conditions and without prior written authorization of CCFOOT will constitute an act of piracy, leading to systematic and immediate prosecution by LC2 – AFNEX / CCFOOT, before the appropriate courts and authorities, without prejudice of all other legal action, might those measures be provisional.


May we remind that all acts of piracy (marketing or audiovisual) infringe on the CAF and CAF licensee's rights equally. Indeed, acts of piracy weaken the sporting event and its organizer and therefore puts at a great risk Africa's sport economics (http://www.sportecoafrique.com). In the interest of sport economics, Africa in general and promotion of African football in particular, let's all enjoy the ORANGE ACN South Africa 2013 with the AFNEX Network (African Network and News Exchange).


Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of LC2-AFNEX.


Media contacts:


LC2-AFNEX

Rédouane AMRAOUI: + 33 6 86 14 23 03 E-mail : ram@afnex.net


About LC2-AFNEX


Since its creation, LC2's core objective is to produce audio-visual content.

LC2 has branched out its ambitious activities into several strategic domains:


• 3 African Platforms: LC2 Television, NTV2, and LC2 International.tv.

These television channels are respectively accessible in Benin, in 22 African countries, and the rest of the world.


• A department specializing in media rights management for sports events.


• A Pan African Network: AFNEX. The first of its kind in the continent that ensures signal transmission and audio-visual program exchange.


• A department specializing in distribution of telecommunication products and services.


• A Finance department : with NASUBA EXPRESS bank prepaid money transfer cards.

Source: LC2-AFNEX

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05:28	Orange ACN Television and Radio Rights in Nigeria: Reestablishing the Truth Regarding the Management of Television and Radio Rights
01:32	IMF Executive Board Concludes 2012 Article IV Consultation with Benin
26 Nov 2012
22:15	Bristow Group to Present at the Jefferies 2012 Global Energy Conference
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Why Many Nollywood Movies Cannot Make Hollywood Box Office

IJÉ the Journey, the highest grossing film in West Africa and the most successful film in the history of Nollywood.


Why Many Nollywood Movies Cannot Make Hollywood Box Office

Movies are made for the cinemas first before other forms of distribution and cinemas or movie theaters made Hollywood the film capital of the world buoyed by over 38,605 indoor screens in 5,561 sites and 628 outdoor screens in 381 sites in the US, the largest in the world.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with an estimated population of over 160 million people, over 95 million of them use GSM phones, the largest in Africa and millions of them are using the Internet on their mobile devices and PCs ; thus making Nigeria the digital media hub of Africa.

The emergence of Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry has made movies very popular among the millions of Nigerians and foreigners. Nollywood movies have not only become popular collector’s items at homes in Nigeria, but also in other African countries and in the Diaspora making Nollywood one of the largest film industries in the world due to the proliferation of home videos by both the legitimate distributors and the elusive and pervasive pirates at large.

According to a UNESCO report published and posted on the website http://www.uis.unesco.org/cu.lture/Pages/movie-statistics.aspx, the most recent UIS survey results released in 2009 showed that India remains the world’s leading film producer, but Nigeria is closing the gap after overtaking the United States for second place. According to the UIS survey, Bollywood produced 1,091 feature-length films in 2006 compared to 872 productions (in video format) from Nigeria’s film industry, which is commonly referred to as Nollywood. In contrast, the United States produced 485 major films.

The survey noted a unique perspective on how different countries and regions are transforming traditional approaches to the art and industry of film-making especially in video and digital formats.

Of course we cannot compare Nollywood videos made on low budgets to the huge budgets of Hollywood films. But the popularity of Nollywood movies has made MNET’s Africa Magic channel the favourite of millions of cable TV subscribers and launched the first Nigerian million dollar online cinema Iroko TV dubbed "The Netflix of Africa" with over 500,000 subscribers and over 100 million visitors so far. And this phenomenal growth of Nollywood has challenged many Nigerian filmmakers to improve the professional quality of their movies to compete with those made in Hollywood and Bollywood in world class standards. Some of them have gone as far as attending popular American film schools to learn both the skills and tricks of the trade and have produced some Hollywood standard movies like Chineze Anyaene's IJÉ the Journey, Jeta Amata’s Amazing Grace, Black November and Emperor: The Story of Toussaint l'Ouverture, Stephanie Linus’ Through the Glass, Kunle Afolayan’s The Figurine, Faruk Lasaki’s Changing Faces and others making headlines and winning awards at international film festivals. But none of them has made the official selection or qualified for the competition at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival where underdogs and dark horses from developing countries have been given the opportunities to attract major distributors in the U.S. and Europe, and no Nigerian film has even qualified for the Foreign Language Film category of the Academy Awards, the ultimate zenith for ambitious filmmakers all over the world where South Africa has been nominated and with Tsotsi won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film in 2006. And I have deliberately noted the remarkable achievement of South Africa, because this is an African country not known for churning out thousands of home videos and bragging about them, but better known for making world class films in quality and not in quantity. Therefore, Nigerian filmmakers should learn from the trail blazing South African filmmakers.

Some of the ambitious Nigerian filmmakers have featured notable Hollywood actors and actresses and also used some Hollywood crew in their films to attract the attention of major film distributors in the US and UK, but featuring African American or Caucasian American and European actors in Nigerian movies is not the short-cut to breaking into Hollywood. You can only make it by making world class films telling extraordinary tales like the outstanding foreign films at American cinemas and grossing millions of dollars at the box office this year.

Nigeria's Nollywood is only best known globally as the second largest industry for home videos by mediocre producers and notorious for the piracy of American films. In fact, Nigeria is not even in the 2011 top 10 international box office markets outside the U.S. And many of the stakeholders in Nollywood continue to compete for bragging rights over how Nigeria is the second largest producer of movies in the world instead of admitting that Nigeria is not even a major box office market. No Nigerian film is even listed among the best 100 foreign films so far and the list includes non-Western cultures of Africa, India, China, Japan, Iran and the Middle East, Native American, Mexican, South American, and Caribbean.

It would take a miracle by a conspiracy of the universe for Nollywood movies to get major distribution in the U.S, because the African Americans and Africans in America who would have been the major target audience of Nollywood movies are at the bottom of the ladder of movie goers in the US. The Caucasians who are the majority of movie goers hate Nollywood movies most when compared to other foreign films they don’t even like, because these Americans dislike subtitled and dubbed foreign movies.
According to the duly verified reports of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA):
"Foreign films simply don't play with American audiences. On average, foreign-language movies make up less than 1 percent of the U.S. box office," said Paul Dergarabedian, President of the box office division of Hollywood.com.

China's biggest-budget film ever, Zhang Yimou's $90 million The Flowers of War made only $205,778 in the USA.

The following report on Hollywood box office by Foreign Policy is a comprehensive analysis of the challenges of foreign movies in the U.S. market and noted that Hollywood productions still do far better than foreign films in their home markets.

"We've tried to dub, but then the critics kill you -- and these films play to audiences that pay a lot of attention to reviews," says Mark Gill, the former president of Warner Independent Pictures.

Because investors don't expect foreign films to play well in the United States, still by far the world's largest and most important film market (China and Japan are vying for second place, but each brings in about one-tenth the combined U.S. and Canada box office), they don't get the same production and advertising budgets that Americans do. At the same time, broadcast television networks refuse to buy foreign-language products, leaving a crucial player in film financing absent when it comes to assembling the kind of multi-source deals that get most non-studio pictures made these days.

"We have a Lebanese film opening in the spring, Where Do We Go Now?, and in Lebanon it's about to become the top-grossing film ever, beating Titanic," says Tom Bernard, co-president of Sony Pictures Classics, one of the few companies that continue to back foreign releases in the U.S. Despite this, it will only open on 10 screens here, he says -- compared with 3,000-4,000 for major studio releases.
Production values for American films are vastly superior to foreign ones, helped by budgets that can exceed $200 million (100 times the price of many foreign films, and at least 30 times the estimated $6 million-plus budget of Where Do We Go Now?)

There's a strange paradox at play here: While Hollywood films are losing audiences at home, where they're increasingly being siphoned away by social media, games, and the Internet, they're building them abroad. Revenues from American films outside North America constitute more than 60 percent of each year's take by the Hollywood studios, a number that's risen from under 40 percent several decades ago. Paramount Pictures, for instance, made $3.21 billion of its total $5.17 billion earnings in movie theaters for 2011 abroad. This is despite the fact that foreign-made films are gaining an increasing share of their own industries: Japanese are seeing more Japanese films than ever; so are Russians, Chinese, and Koreans. Box office is simply growing across the board in those countries.

Without a strong export market, countries such as China are likely to resist American pressure to deal with the single biggest threat to studio revenue -- piracy -- which has grown rampant thanks to websites operated everywhere from Nigeria to Ukraine. One 2007 study estimated that the U.S. loses $58 billion per year to piracy of movies, television, music, and other intellectual property, and the studios are terrified this will kill their business if it increases. The newly signed deal between the United States and China, allowing more U.S. movies to be shown there, was hailed as revolutionary, adding 14 to the present 20 films that can be screened in that country each year. (The deal has the important caveat, however, that the films be in IMAX or 3D.)

For foreign filmmakers with their foreign movies, making it to the US box office is like cracking the highest glass ceiling in the highly competitive film industry controlled by major film studios and distributors dictating the rules and terms of film business. But some new foreign movies have succeeded in making it to the Hollywood box office.

The successful French movie The Artist made in classic Hollywood style black-and-white about a silent star's fall from grace and subsequent return to fame became the first non-Anglo-Saxon film to win the Best Picture at the 2012 Academy Awards and made over $44,671,682 in North America alone. It was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won five, including Best Picture, Best Director for Michel Hazanavicius, and Best Actor for Jean Edmond Dujardin making him the first French actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Another notable successful foreign movie The Intouchables has made $13 million at the U.S. box office since its release in May 2012. And other foreign movies coming up at the U.S. box office include Jacques Audiard's Rust and Bone, opening in Los Angeles on Dec. 7, and Michael Haneke's Amour, opening Dec. 19. Haneke got his Hollywood breakthrough after winning the Palme d'Or twice at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009 and 2012.

Rust and Bone (French: De rouille et d'os) by Jacques Audiard won Best Film at the 2012 BFI London Film Festival and won Best Actress of the Year for Marion Cotillard at the 2012 Hollywood Film Festival.

Michael Haneke's Amour won the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and was selected as the Austrian entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards.

See more details on foreign movies at the U.S. box office on http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-sneaks-foreign-films-20121104,0,7754861.story

Global box office for all films released in each country around the world reached $32.6 billion in 2011, that’s 3% more than in 2010.

Each international region enjoyed growth in 2011 with the Chinese box office growing by 35% and making it the second largest international market after Japan. And the international box office in the U.S. also grew by 35% in over five years boosted by impressive growths in various markets, including China and Russia.

http://www.mpaa.org/resources/5bec4ac9-a95e-443b-987b-bff6fb5455a9.pdf

Hollywood studios have started to invest in foreign films, and companies such as Sony and 20th Century Fox have established divisions that finance "indigenous" film-making (Hollywood parlance for foreign films), but these films are generally restricted to release in their own countries or ones with the same language, like Sony's co-financing of the Bollywood movie Saawariya and Warner Bros with the Hindi film Chandni Chowk to China.

~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, Monday November 26, 2012.
Michael Chima is a prize winning Nigerian writer and an expert on Nollywood and the film industry. He is the Founder/Festival Director of Eko International Film Festival, Founder/CEO of Screen Outdoor Open Air Cinema (member of the Projection Foundation), author of Children of Heaven, Scarlet Tears of London, Bye, Bye Mugabe, In the House of Dogs, The Prophet Lied and other books. He is also the most prolific African blogger.
© Orikinla Osinachi. 2012. Please, no reproduction of any part of this content in any format of media without the authorization and permission of the author and copyright owners.

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