Music

Lead-singer of Blur, Gorillaz takes pop by storm

UK rock band not afraid to scatter style

XL Recordings co-founder hits a high note

Singer the latest Western star to play China

The pay-what-you-want marketing of "In Rainbows" threatens to drown out the actual music of the most accessible Radiohead album in more than a decade.

Genesis

For a tour that has filled arenas and stadiums here and abroad -- charging some fairly pricey tickets along the way -- to be so under the media radar in comparison to other reunions this year only reinforces the peculiar nature of the career of progressive rock pioneers-turned-pop hitmakers Genesis. By the end of the first of two concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, concluding a monthlong North American trek, even those in attendance must have been scratching their heads, rain-soaked as they all were, at the split personality the band still exhibits.

Phil Gallo

David Sprague

Steven Mirkin

David Sprague

One of the bigger questions facing attendees at ShowEast this year: How will "Summer of '08 -- the Non-Sequel" play?
• Concert films pump up the volume

In its 125-year history, the Actors Fund has helped showbiz pros in all professions through all kinds of crises.

A look at locations, Todd-AO scoring stage, L.A. Center Studios.
• Santa Clarita a one-stop location
• Todd-AO's fate could impact scoring

Another sweeps period has come and gone. The life and death of television shows, new and old, could be determined by the upcoming Nielsen numbers. Variety chronicles the hits, flops, battles and surprises on the small screen.

At a recent digital cinema event in Hollywood, a speaker joked that it was no accident exhibs had dubbed nonfeature content "Other Digital Stuff." That's O-D-S for short. Pronounced odious. The line was meant as a joke, but many exhibs act like that's what they think.

Hedge funds aren't just for the majors anymore. While the first round of big fund players -- Dune, Virtual, Legendary, Gun Hill -- focused on studio slates and would-be blockbusters, investors have a new target in the entertainment business, with potentially lower risks and higher returns: specialized film.