Animation: Character merchandise posts strong advance sales -- Disney already has a new star on its hands with Princess Tiana.
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TV News: Ordinary folks do extraordinary things -- Covering global wars, the antagonistic Washington political fray and the ongoing health-care crisis can wear on a cabler's soul.
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Labor Issues: Exec exits as deputy national executive director -- Pamm Fair, one of the top execs at the Screen Actors Guild, is resigning from her post as deputy national executive director.
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Peter Bart: Will the new Governors Awards infuse Oscar night? -- Awards season is upon us, and here's the conundrum: There's not much out there yet that's screaming "Oscar!"
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Weekly Music and Technology: iPhone, Zune among toys inspiring techno-lust -- Not all industryites are techno-friendly, but our jobs increasingly demand it. With the holidays coming and so many products on the market, it's hard to figure out what to ask for: Variety has compiled a few items to make the job easier and, as a bonus, make colleagues and rivals jealous.
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Animation: Platypus is the breakout star of kids show -- Why a platypus?
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Animation: 'Phineas and Ferb' attracts older kids. parents -- Disney Channel has an unusual hit on its hands, an animated show that is scoring big with the tween auds that flock to the channel's live-action fare.
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Film News: Relativity shifts DVD share in its prolific slate -- When Ryan Kavanaugh accepted Producer of the Year honors at the Hollywood Film Festival on Oct. 26, attendees at the Beverly Hilton watching the baby-faced 34-year-old could be forgiven for wondering, "Who is this guy and how is he able to make so many films when others are in retreat mode?"
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Film News: Relativity shifts DVD share in its prolific slate -- When Ryan Kavanaugh accepted Producer of the Year honors at the Hollywood Film Festival on Oct. 26, attendees at the Beverly Hilton watching the baby-faced 34-year-old could be forgiven for wondering, "Who is this guy and how is he able to make so many films when others are in retreat mode?"
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Weekly International: Rousselet launches company in midst or recession -- Rousselet and his partner Fabrice Gianfermi started collecting the financing for the venture specializing in commercial English- language titles in early 2007, roughly a year before the economy collapsed, and closed the deal almost two years later, in November 2008.
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Weekly: Brothel skit, look-alike stunt boost Argentine show -- After suffering its worst season ever, Argentine variety program "ShowMatch" is enjoying a ratings high thanks to political figure Luis D'Elia.
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Weekly International: Seven net’s series takes workers on vacation -- The tourism biz in Australia -- like the rest of the world -- is getting hammered by the recession, so Tourism Australia is thinking inside the box … the TV box.
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Weekly Theater: Krieger has a history with the Apollo -- M ost Broadway-centric legiters aren't known for making frequent trips uptown to the Apollo Theater.
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Weekly International: CNN and BBC get easier access, but hurdles remain -- Four months after an agreement with Zimbabwean officials to repair what one minister dubbed a "mutually ruinous relationship," the BBC and CNN are reporting openly from the troubled African nation for the first time in nearly a decade.
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Weekly International: Entertainment Corp. in talks for major VCL stake -- MADRID -- Adi Cohen's Regal Entertainment Corp. is in negotiations to take a substantial stake in German entrepreneur Datty Ruth's VCL Film and Medien and its subsid, VCL Communications.
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Brian Lowry: Veep candidate may have a future in talk shows -- Oprah Winfrey wanted to know if her guest, Sarah Palin, harbored aspirations to host a talkshow.
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Business News: Fate of business holdings in the balance -- The Italo premier and media mogul's estranged spouse, Veronica Lario, has just moved into her mother's palatial Swiss retreat, from which the former actress and her lawyers are reportedly plotting an acrimonious divorce that could become Italy's new spectator sport, somewhat like the current "Dodgers divorce" case between Frank and Jamie McCourt in L.A.
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Legit News: Stints in Korea, uptown rep unusual production model -- The opening scene of "Dreamgirls" has always been set, as an announcer proclaims, "Live from the Apollo Theater!" But this time, he really means it.
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Weekly: Sony pic rakes in big bucks at worldwide box office -- Disaster sells -- in almost every language.
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Technology News: U.K. broadcaster signs longform content pact -- Can YouTube be the stopper in the profit drain that is bedeviling the broadcasting biz? Troubled U.K. network Channel 4 is betting on it.
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Jones Michael 
