NowMyNews

AT&T Inc is no longer an official sponsor of Fox's "American Idol," as the pioneer singing competition's declining viewership appears to be making it less attractive to advertisers. _0"> The Fox broadcast TV network confirmed the end of AT&T's sponsorship on Wednesday prior to the premiere episode of the show's 13th season. AT&T could not be immediately reached for comment outside regular U.S. business hours. Coke and Ford also sponsor the show. "Idol" erupted in 2001 as a broadcast TV powerhouse with the biting commentary of one of its original judges, Simon Cowell. Last season, tension between judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj made headlines, taking attention away from the talent. According to Nielsen data provided by Horizon Media, the average audience size for "Idol" dropped by 9.9 million viewers over the past three seasons, from 23.1 million in 2011 to 13.2 million last year. Kevin Reilly, chairman of ent

"Star Wars" creator Lucasfilm formally expanded its creative universe on Thursday by launching its visual effects and animation hub in Singapore that works on Hollywood blockbusters and bolsters marketing efforts in fast-growing Asia. "May the Force be with you," Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister of the Southeast Asian city-state, said in a speech at the glass-enclosed and horseshoe-shaped "Sandcrawler" building. Lucasfilm Ltd, bought by Walt Disney Co in 2012 for more than $4 billion, opened a small studio in 2005 in another part of Singapore but has built up the size and skills of the team into a staff of 400 at the new headquarters. "This is a very robust operation that is comparable to exactly what we're doing in San Francisco or Vancouver," Kathleen Kennedy, the president of Lucasfilm and a producer of more than 60 films, told reporters before the launch. "Many of the top-end movies that are being made in the next 18 months

Having an unusual personality structure could be the secret to making other people laugh, scientists said on Thursday after research showed that comedians have high levels of psychotic personality traits. In a study in the British Journal of Psychiatry, researchers analyzed comedians from Australia , Britain and the United States and found they scored significantly higher on four types of psychotic characteristics compared to a control group of people who had non-creative jobs. The traits included a tendency towards impulsive or anti-social behavior, and a tendency to avoid intimacy. "The creative elements needed to produce humor are strikingly similar to those characterizing the cognitive style of people with psychosis - both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder," said Gordon Claridge of the University of Oxford's department of experimental psychology, who led the study. Although the traits in question are known as "psychotic", Claridge said, they can also

Portrayals of the difficulties of family life in Tokyo around World War Two and in Texas in the 21st century lend a domestic tone to the Berlin Film Festival's competition this year. The uncut "Nymphomaniac" by Denmark's Lars von Trier and George Clooney's topical "The Monuments Men", about art looted by the Nazis, will probably grab more attention - for different reasons - but both are being screened out of competition. The line-up for the Golden Bear and other prizes is short on current Hollywood "A-listers" but rich in global variety. The 23 films in competition come from 20 countries, including multiple entries from places as far apart as China and Argentina . Twenty of those 23 will compete for the "Golden Bear" which will be presented on February 15, while 18 are world premieres. Alain Resnais, director of classics such as "Hiroshima mon amour" of 1959 and "Last Year at Marienbad" in 1961, will enter th

Three films - "American Hustle," "Gravity" and "12 Years a Slave' - cemented their frontrunner status for the Oscars on Thursday in what is shaping up to be a highly competitive year for Hollywood's top honors. Director David O. Russell's 1970s con-men caper "American Hustle" and Alfonso Cuaron's space thriller "Gravity" each won 10 Academy Award nominations, while Steve McQueen's brutal depiction of slavery in "12 Years a Slave" secured nine. All three films garnered nods for best picture and best director. "This has been an amazing ride, and to receive nine nominations from the Academy is testament to all of the hard work," said McQueen, a British filmmaker who unearthed the real-life American story about a free man sold into slavery. But in a year hailed as one of high quality for the Hollywood industry, several other films could challenge the favorites in the race for the world's top film

"Dallas Buyers Club" is a film that prompts a discussion about money - not big Hollywood money, but rather the lack thereof. The scrappiest of the nine films nominated for a best picture Oscar on Thursday cost just $4 million to make - a speck on a Hollywood studio spreadsheet - and 25 days to film. But the real-life story of an unlikely activist in the fight against AIDS drew big talent, like Matthew McConaughey who plays the lead role of Ron Woodroof, Jared Leto as his transsexual side-kick, Rayon, and up-and-coming Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallee. Co-producer Robbie Brenner, after earning her first Oscar nomination with the best picture nod, remembered how they were handicapped by the lack of money. "When we told Jean-Marc that he was going to have less days, he said 'I am going to get rid of the lights, I am going to shoot the movie without lights,'" she told Reuters after what she called "tears and screams" upon hearing Thursday's

Voters in Florida were still waiting to cast their ballots more than six hours after polls closed on Election Day, registered voters in Ohio were told they were not on voter rolls and new voter ID laws in Pennsylvania led to confusion at voting places. Election Day problems have become commonplace in the United States in recent general elections. But a comment by President Barack Obama offered a glimmer of hope that problems that have dogged voting for years might finally be addressed. In his election victory speech, made while some people still waited in line to cast ballots in Florida six hours after polls closed, Obama took a moment to point out that he was aware of problems with the electoral system. "I want to thank every American who participated in this election, whether you voted for the very first time, or waited in line for a very long time," Obama said in Chicago. "By the way, we have to fix that." That heartened supporters of election reform, who h