The Motion Picture Association is disputing the findings of a new USC study that said “billions of dollars in state entertainment industry tax incentives don’t bring promised jobs.” The study was funded by the Koch Foundation, whose billionaire brothers — Charles and David Koch — virtually destroyed the Florida’s film industry four years ago when they backed legislation that ended the state’s long-running tax-credit program.
“It’s no surprise that the research was funded by the Koch Foundation, which has a long history of leading a campaign to eliminate state production incentive programs,” said Vans Stevenson, the Mpa’s Svp State Government Affairs. The Mpa, which supports tax incentives, said, “It is unfortunate that a well-respected academic institution that counts some of the greatest filmmakers, directors and actors among its alumni, is promoting this fundamentally flawed research.”
Read the study here.
Michael Thom, an associate professor at the USC...
“It’s no surprise that the research was funded by the Koch Foundation, which has a long history of leading a campaign to eliminate state production incentive programs,” said Vans Stevenson, the Mpa’s Svp State Government Affairs. The Mpa, which supports tax incentives, said, “It is unfortunate that a well-respected academic institution that counts some of the greatest filmmakers, directors and actors among its alumni, is promoting this fundamentally flawed research.”
Read the study here.
Michael Thom, an associate professor at the USC...
- 10/2/2019
- by David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Daniel Schulman’s bestselling nonfiction book Sons of Wichita: How the Koch Brothers Became America’s Most Powerful and Private Dynasty is in the works for the small screen. Stephen Robert Morse’s Observatory and Max Peltz’s Cavendish Pictures have optioned the rights to the book to develop both fiction and non-fiction projects. The plan is likely for a limited series as well as a documentary, they say. The deal comes just days after the passing of billionaire industrialist David Koch.
SmithDehn Llp, is backing the project as production counsel.
With strong positions on issues like climate change denial and small government, the Koch brothers have been a political tour de force for decades. The Libertarian and Republican- supporting Koch brothers have donated hundreds of millions of dollars to right wing causes.
“This is the most...
SmithDehn Llp, is backing the project as production counsel.
With strong positions on issues like climate change denial and small government, the Koch brothers have been a political tour de force for decades. The Libertarian and Republican- supporting Koch brothers have donated hundreds of millions of dollars to right wing causes.
“This is the most...
- 8/26/2019
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
“Amanda Knox” producer Stephen Robert Morse is launching development of projects based on the book “Sons of Wichita: How the Koch Brothers Became America’s Most Powerful and Private Dynasty.”
Morse has teamed with veteran producer Max Peltz to option the rights to create both fiction and non-fiction projects based on Daniel Schulman’s 2014 book about David and Charles Koch, the owners of Koch Industries. Morse is producing through Observatory LLC and Peltz through Cavendish Pictures Ltd.
David Koch died on Aug. 23 at the age of 79. The Koch brothers have used their massive fortune to further their political interests, and are often credited with giving rise to the Tea Party movement and helping land Donald Trump the presidency.
Morse said, “This is the most definitive story of a true American dynasty, and with so many potent political issues at the forefront, it is as relevant today as ever before.”
Divergent...
Morse has teamed with veteran producer Max Peltz to option the rights to create both fiction and non-fiction projects based on Daniel Schulman’s 2014 book about David and Charles Koch, the owners of Koch Industries. Morse is producing through Observatory LLC and Peltz through Cavendish Pictures Ltd.
David Koch died on Aug. 23 at the age of 79. The Koch brothers have used their massive fortune to further their political interests, and are often credited with giving rise to the Tea Party movement and helping land Donald Trump the presidency.
Morse said, “This is the most definitive story of a true American dynasty, and with so many potent political issues at the forefront, it is as relevant today as ever before.”
Divergent...
- 8/26/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
“House of Cards” will invoke the politically influential Koch brothers in its upcoming sixth and final season.
New cast members Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear will play Annette Shepherd and Bill Shepherd, a brother and sister who run Shepherd Unlimited, described by Netflix as “a leading industrial conglomerate whose family foundations exert a powerful behind-the-scenes force in the American political landscape.” The Shepherds are said to have a “complicated past” with Frank and Claire Underwood, the central characters on “House of Cards.”
Cody Fern, an alum of “American Horror Story: Apocalypse” and “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” will play Annette Shepherd’s ambitious son who represents “the next generation of D.C. power players,” per Netflix.
Brothers Charles and David Koch run Koch Industries, the Wichita, Kan.-based conglomerate with a range of holdings in energy, transportation, farming, textiles and more. The brothers are known for using...
New cast members Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear will play Annette Shepherd and Bill Shepherd, a brother and sister who run Shepherd Unlimited, described by Netflix as “a leading industrial conglomerate whose family foundations exert a powerful behind-the-scenes force in the American political landscape.” The Shepherds are said to have a “complicated past” with Frank and Claire Underwood, the central characters on “House of Cards.”
Cody Fern, an alum of “American Horror Story: Apocalypse” and “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” will play Annette Shepherd’s ambitious son who represents “the next generation of D.C. power players,” per Netflix.
Brothers Charles and David Koch run Koch Industries, the Wichita, Kan.-based conglomerate with a range of holdings in energy, transportation, farming, textiles and more. The brothers are known for using...
- 8/27/2018
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
Meredith, the publisher of Family Circle and Better Homes and Gardens, is in talks to purchase the iconic Time, Inc., with the backing of billionaire conservatives Charles and David Koch, the New York Times reports. Negotiations have reportedly been underway for several days, with both sides hoping to reach a deal that can be announced as soon as the end of November. According to the Times, the Koch brothers have agreed tentatively to back Meredith with more than $500 million in equity. Also Read: At&T Just Lost $16.5 Billion Ahead of Time Warner Takeover It’s the third attempt by Meredith to acquire Time.
- 11/16/2017
- by Ross A. Lincoln
- The Wrap
The Koch Brothers reportedly helped finance "Wonder Woman" and other films with Bill Gates ... and Donald Trump's Treasury Secretary. The way the story goes ... Steven Mnuchin roped Charles Koch, David Koch and Gates into a production company he helped start to finance movies like 'Ww,' "Dunkirk," and Spielberg's upcoming "Ready Player One." The Koch Brothers struck a $450 million deal in 2013 to become stakeholders in Mnuchin's company RatPac-Dune Entertainment ... and Gates was brought in...
- 8/9/2017
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
Amal Clooney topped Barbara Walters‘ list of Most Fascinating People of 2014, giving us all one more reason to feel painfully inadequate by comparison. Formerly Amal Alamuddin, the human rights lawyer beat out names like Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey, Elon Musk, and David Koch for the title, proving that her intrigue outshone that of everyone else for the entire year.
Find out just how fascinating Amal is in the clip from ABC’s Sunday night special, above.
Sure, she’s married to George Clooney, but Amal is also smart, stylish, and cultured. Click through the photo gallery below to learn more about her.
View Photo Gallery
Find out where the Clooneys will be traveling this holiday season from The Gossip Table.
[Photo Credit: Getty Images]...
Find out just how fascinating Amal is in the clip from ABC’s Sunday night special, above.
Sure, she’s married to George Clooney, but Amal is also smart, stylish, and cultured. Click through the photo gallery below to learn more about her.
View Photo Gallery
Find out where the Clooneys will be traveling this holiday season from The Gossip Table.
[Photo Credit: Getty Images]...
- 12/15/2014
- by Alexa Tietjen
- VH1.com
Amal Clooney topped Barbara Walters‘ list of Most Fascinating People of 2014, giving us all one more reason to feel painfully inadequate by comparison. Formerly Amal Alamuddin, the human rights lawyer beat out names like Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey, Elon Musk, and David Koch for the title, proving that her intrigue outshone that of everyone else for the entire year.
Find out just how fascinating Amal is in the clip from ABC’s Sunday night special, above.
Sure, she’s married to George Clooney, but Amal is also smart, stylish, and cultured. Click through the photo gallery below to learn more about her.
View Photo Gallery
Find out where the Clooneys will be traveling this holiday season from The Gossip Table.
[Photo Credit: Getty Images]...
Find out just how fascinating Amal is in the clip from ABC’s Sunday night special, above.
Sure, she’s married to George Clooney, but Amal is also smart, stylish, and cultured. Click through the photo gallery below to learn more about her.
View Photo Gallery
Find out where the Clooneys will be traveling this holiday season from The Gossip Table.
[Photo Credit: Getty Images]...
- 12/15/2014
- by Alexa Tietjen
- TheFabLife - Movies
This morning, Barbara Walters returned to The View to announce the lineup of this year's 10 Most Fascinating People special on ABC. After Walters joked about how they almost played "The Bitch is Back" during her entrance, she revealed the names of seven of the 10 individuals she will feature in this year's special, including Neil Patrick Harris, Oprah Winfrey, Taylor Swift, Chelsea Handler, Michael Strahan, Scarlett Johansson, and David Koch. The additional three interviewees will be revealed during the broadcast.
- 12/12/2014
- by Samantha Highfill
- EW.com - PopWatch
Impressive bunch! Taylor Swift has found herself in the company of Oprah Winfrey, billionaire businessman David Koch, and Chelsea Handler for inclusion on Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People list for 2014. Us Weekly got an exclusive first look at Swift's interview for the project with Walters, in which the country-turned-pop star discusses her dating life, how she stays sane, and even her drinking habits. "You have such a good reputation," the celebrated journalist, 85, began in her chat with Swift, 24. "You have never been 'the bad [...]...
- 12/10/2014
- Us Weekly
Lawrence O'Donnell made his triumphant return to MSNBC's “The Last Word” on Monday after recovering from a car accident and made a surprise salute to his long-time political opponent. O'Donnell was off the air for two and a half months recovering from his injuries while on vacation. The liberal commentator observed that the first words he saw when he went to the hospital was “David H. Koch.” “Yes, that David Koch,” O'Donnell said. “Now brace yourselves please for the first positive words said about David Koch on this program. I agree with Harry Reid's critique of the Koch brothers’ contributions to American.
- 6/24/2014
- by James Crugnale
- The Wrap
"Citizen Koch," the controversial documentary by Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Carl Deal and Tia Lessin ("Trouble the Water") has been acquired by Variance Films, which plans a theatrical release in the U.S. and Canada in Spring 2014. The film covers the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling and billionaire industrialists David and Charles Koch’s behind-the-scenes support of the Tea Party. After the film premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, public television producers Itvs pulled $150,00 in finishing funds it had committed to the film and cancelled plans for its broadcast premiere -- presumably because they feared the reaction from David Koch, a major donor to PBS. After The New Yorker profiled the story of the film and its lost Itvs grant, the filmmakers received an outpouring of support and were able to raise necessary funds via Kickstarter. "We wanted a distributor who would be passionate, and also be a true partner,...
- 1/10/2014
- by Paula Bernstein
- Indiewire
Having ruined the reputations of Itvs and PBS, “Citizen Koch,” a doleful review of the state of the union, reappears on the scene after a tumultuous struggle with funding and a tweaking post-2013 Sundance. David Koch and Charles Koch, the reactionary billionaire activists and ostensible subjects, are almost beside the point. Rather, the title of the film by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal (“Trouble the Water”) reflects the very traditional values the Kochs seem to want revived and restored: In ancient times, being a “citizen” is what differentiated one from being a slave. What Lessin and Deal see looming on the horizon is a world of one-percenter citizens, and the rest of us. ("Citizen Koch" will screen as part of Doc NYC on November 15.) It would be easier to wax both righteous and indignant about the co-opting of democracy that the movie portrays -- après the Supreme Court’s Citizens...
- 10/29/2013
- by John Anderson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Bill Gates‘ net worth of $72B enabled him to claim the top spot on the Forbes tally for the 20th consecutive year — followed by Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett ($58.5B), Oracle’s Larry Ellison ($41B), and then Koch Industries’ Charles and David Koch ($36B). While Buffett fattened his holdings the most over the last year, adding $12.5B, the recovery in Facebook’s stock helped to boost Mark Zuckerberg‘s net worth by $9.6B to $19B lifting him 16 spots to No. 20. Once again, the list is heavy with names from the tech world — but at least 28 media execs had a net worth of at least $1.3B, the highest amount needed to qualify for the top 400 since 2008. Bloomberg LP founder Michael Bloomberg, who also happens to be mayor of New York, had $31B, putting him in 10th place, same as last year. Cox Communications’ Anne Cox Chambers, with $13.5B, was 29th (+3 on...
- 9/16/2013
- by DAVID LIEBERMAN, Financial Editor
- Deadline TV
Hey Los Angeles, pay attention: Charles and David Koch are serious about buying the Tribune newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, according to the New York Times. In a front-page article on Sunday, The New York Times confirms reports that the conservative Koch billionaire-brothers are expected to submit a bid to buy the Tribune Company's eight newspapers, including the L.A. Times, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and Orlando Sentinel. The paper reported: This month a Koch representative contacted Eddy W. Hartenstein, publisher and chief executive of The Los Angeles Times, to discuss a bid,...
- 4/21/2013
- by Sharon Waxman
- The Wrap
MSNBC host Martin Bashir invited Koch Industries General Counsel Mark Holden on his program on Thursday where Holden attempted correct what he described as mischaracterizations that were made about Koch industries by former Democratic strategist Karen Finney. Finney had said that the Koch’s were partially responsible for the murder of Florida teen Trayvon Martin due to their support of Stand Your Ground laws. What followed was a contentious back-and-forth between Holden and Bashir over the political activities of Charles and David Koch.
- 5/17/2012
- by Noah Rothman
- Mediaite - TV
Increasingly, feature-length political documentaries are using new technology to get their films seen. You may recall that the Sarah Palin biopic The Undefeated was made available last September on video-on-demand and pay-per-view to approximately 75 million homes through major cable and satellite companies such as DirecTV, Dish Network, and Time Warner Cable. Now in time for the election cycle, liberal filmmaker Robert Greenwald is employing the same methods with his take on Koch Brothers Exposed which starts streaming on May 8th. The director of docs on Wal-Mart, Rupert Murdoch, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan takes on billionaires Charles and David Koch and their huge funding of conservative causes as well as their political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity. The film is a project of Brave New Foundation, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, and premiered in NYC on March 29th (in partnership with AlterNet). It continued to Washington DC on Monday...
- 4/4/2012
- by NIKKI FINKE
- Deadline Hollywood
For the past 18 years, Microsoft's top banana Bill Gates has topped the Forbes magazine list of the 400 wealthiest people. This past year, Gates eked out a meager $59 billion. The combined wealth of the 400... a staggering $1.53 trillion.
Rounding out the top 10 on The Forbes 400: Oracle founder Larry Ellison ($33 billion), industrialists Charles and David Koch ($25 billion apiece), Wal-Mart heirs Christy Walton ($24.5 billion), Jim C. Walton ($21.1 billion) and Alice Walton ($20.9 billion), hedge fund investor George Soros...
Rounding out the top 10 on The Forbes 400: Oracle founder Larry Ellison ($33 billion), industrialists Charles and David Koch ($25 billion apiece), Wal-Mart heirs Christy Walton ($24.5 billion), Jim C. Walton ($21.1 billion) and Alice Walton ($20.9 billion), hedge fund investor George Soros...
- 9/22/2011
- Extra
If you don't surf over to the Buffalo Beast, you may not immediately know the editor, Ian Murphy. But you probably know some of his work as a satirist and political troublemaker, such as his now notorious prank call on Gov. Scott Walker of Minnesota, where Murphy pretended to be David Koch. What's Murphy been doing over the last few weeks? Filing the paperwork to run as the Green Party candidate for Congress in New York's 26th District, which is having a special election to fill the seat vacated by "Craigslist Congressman" Chris Lee.
- 3/28/2011
- by Mark Joyella
- Mediaite - TV
It's rare to find a segment where Sean Hannity is having a hard time getting a word in, but Ann Coulter made it tough for him tonight as she railed against, of all people, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker for, among other things, failing to be on television "every night" and getting prank-called by a fake David Koch. While her general line of attack was "Chris Christie would have done it differently," Coulter cited polls showing Walker's popularity dropping significantly since the union wars.
- 3/10/2011
- by Frances Martel
- Mediaite - TV
Union protesters in Madison, Wisconsin. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.The governor of Wisconsin evidently speaks in a more unbuttoned fashion than usual when he thinks he is talking to David Koch. Hoaxed into believing that it was the libertarian moneybags on the line, Scott Walker allowed the actual caller (a near-incredulous Ian Murphy of BuffaloBeast.com) to ask him about the possible use of agents provocateurs to discredit the union protestors in the capital of his state:...
- 2/28/2011
- Vanity Fair
When a young reporter prank-called Wisconsin's union-busting governor this week, he joined a new golden age of political high jinks. From the blogger who brought down Acorn to the McCain volunteer who claimed she was attacked by Obama cronies, David A. Graham revisits the best capers.
The Yippies and Will Rogers might be long gone, but political humor is far from dead-as a prank call to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Wednesday proved. Ian Murphy, a writer with the alternative-news site Buffalo Beast, managed to talk to Walker under the pretense of being billionaire conservative benefactor David Koch, calling to encourage Walker in his battle against public unions. Murphy got a few titillating tidbits out of Walker-including the fact that Walker considered using "troublemaker" plants and preliminary acceptance of an unethical gift-but the main goal was embarrassment, and that appears to have worked just fine.
Related story on The Daily...
The Yippies and Will Rogers might be long gone, but political humor is far from dead-as a prank call to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Wednesday proved. Ian Murphy, a writer with the alternative-news site Buffalo Beast, managed to talk to Walker under the pretense of being billionaire conservative benefactor David Koch, calling to encourage Walker in his battle against public unions. Murphy got a few titillating tidbits out of Walker-including the fact that Walker considered using "troublemaker" plants and preliminary acceptance of an unethical gift-but the main goal was embarrassment, and that appears to have worked just fine.
Related story on The Daily...
- 2/25/2011
- by David A. Graham
- The Daily Beast
On tonight's The Last Word, host Lawrence O'Donnell spoke with Buffalo Beast editor Ian Murphy, the man behind the 20 minute prank call Wisconsin governor Scott Walker had with who he thought was conservative billionaire businessman David Koch. Murphy made the call because rumor had it that Democrats trying to get in touch with Walker, who is currently embroiled in his state's ongoing union protests, were unable to get through to him.
- 2/24/2011
- by Alex Alvarez
- Mediaite - TV
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker gave a press conference a few minutes ago in which he was asked about the prank phone call he received yesterday in which he was tricked into think he was talking to David Koch. He responded by echoing his spokesperson's statement from earlier ("I take many phone calls every day") as well as Rush Limbaugh ("There's nothing on the tape I haven't said in public").
- 2/23/2011
- by Jon Bershad
- Mediaite - TV
Wisconsin governor Scott Walker was pranked—punk’d, in Kutcherean parlance—by a gentleman impersonating cagey billionaire and G.O.P. benefactor David Koch. The prankster, Ian Murphy of the Buffalo, New York, Web site the Buffalo Beast, chatted with a congenial Walker about the pro-union protests that have snarled his state’s infrastructure. Walker, somewhat amazingly, doesn’t actually say anything all that damning, despite the escalating strangeness of his fictitious interlocutor. As Politico’s Ben Smith notes, the banal tape “reflects politicians willingness to give large amounts of time to rich guys whose obvious weirdness and terrible ideas are to be tolerated for the cash they put up.” Walker’s office has a different interpretation: “The phone call shows that the Governor says the same thing in private as he does in public and the lengths that others will go to disrupt the civil debate Wisconsin is having.
- 2/23/2011
- Vanity Fair
Social diarist David Patrick Columbia isn't the only Gotham citizen annoyed by new blog Cityfile.com. Site owner Remy Stern has not only been trying to get pictures of every fancy townhouse and apartment building for his archives, he also told his photographers to get shots of the famous residents as they walk in and out. Stern says that while his lenser was outside 740 Park "trying to get candid shots of Steve Schwarzman, David Koch and Kent Swig, an intimidating chauffeur told him to stop taking pictures 'if you know what's good for you.' " The photographer promptly left.
- 7/16/2008
- NYPost.com
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