paramount pictures

Ultraviolet light is invisible to humans -- and similarly, it's been hard to spot the movie-locker system named UltraViolet (UV).

UV is a set of standards and specifications created by a consortium of Hollywood film studios, software and hardware companies and Web retailers. The technology is designed to create an ecosystem that enables consumers to store their films in the cloud and then access the titles with any one of scores of different UV-compatible Web-connected devices.

With DVD sales ailing, UV is supposed to entice consumers to start buying movies again. Only problem is, consumers haven't shown much … Read more

Thanks to a new agreement with Paramount Pictures, subscribers of Amazon's Prime service will now get access to "hundreds" of films, including "Mission: Impossible 3," "Braveheart" and "Mean Girls."

Sure, these are catalog titles that are long in the tooth and many of them have been in Netflix's library for some time. But the point is that Amazon continues to close the gap in regards to the amount and quality of films offered by Netflix, the top video-rental service on the Web.

Amazon Prime is a membership program that costs $… Read more

Which cyberlocker service is next to get busted?

That's one of the questions that have lingered since the January 19 raid on the home of Kim DotCom, the founder of MegaUpload. Two of that company's rivals, RapidShare and MediaFire, appear to be trying to make sure that it's not them. They are speaking out publicly now in an effort to show the differences between their services and rivals, especially MegaUpload. Cyberlock services enable people to store their digital media on a third-party's servers.

Danny Raimer, RapidShare's general counsel, told U.S. News & World Report … Read more

MediaFire is no 'rogue' Web site and is not run by any criminal gang, says Tom Langridge, one of the co-founders of the file-hosting service.

In a letter to CNET, Langridge has responded to comments made on Friday by Alfred Perry, vice president of worldwide antipiracy for Paramount Pictures. Perry appeared on a panel during the On Copyright conference at Columbia University.

Perry told attendees that the studios "continue to make criminal referrals" to authorities regarding "rogue" cyberlockers. He also said that some sites that enable piracy are often operated by criminal gangs that oversee multiple … Read more

NEW YORK -- In the wake of the MegaUpload indictment, the top Hollywood film studios are pushing for more cyberlocker services to be charged with crimes.

"We continue to make criminal referrals," Alfred Perry, vice president for worldwide content protection at Paramount Pictures, said during a panel discussion at the On Copyright conference here yesterday. Later he added that "more than 41 billion page views (yearly) are generated by the top 5 rogue cyberlocker services. That's five page views for every person on the planet."

After the panel, Perry provided CNET with the names of … Read more

Hollywood is responding to the defeat of a pair of controversial copyright bills last month with a new strategy: a charm offensive.

Paramount Pictures sent letters last week to universities saying the company was "humbled" by last month's online protests that involved millions of Internet users--and that it now wants to "exchange ideas about content theft" and the best way to thwart it.

The letters were signed by Alfred Perry, Paramount's vice president for worldwide content and outreach. Paramount is a subsidiary of Viacom and one of the members of the Motion Picture Association of America, … Read more

Netflix announced today it has signed a deal with Paramount Pictures to bring the studio's content to its streaming service in Canada.

The five-year deal will deliver more than 350 movies to the service. Some of Paramount's more recent hits, including "Iron Man 2," will be available, as well as those dating back generations, like 1954's "Sabrina."

The deal with Paramount also includes "exclusive subscription television rights to all first-run films." That means Netflix will be able to stream Paramount's content before HBO, Showtime, and other subscription providers can.

Netflix'… Read more

Paramount Pictures is looking to social media to help promote its upcoming film, "Super 8."

The studio premiered the trailer for the film, which is being produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by "Lost" creator J.J. Abrams, on Twitter early this morning.

Set in a small town in 1979, "Super 8" tells the story of kids who must endure the arrival of an unknown force wreaking havoc on their community following a horrific train crash. It's scheduled to be released on June 10.

Paramount says that this is the first time it … Read more

Not long ago, ambitious young executives at the six major Hollywood film studios maneuvered to get into the home entertainment divisions.

Nowadays, getting assigned to home entertainment is like being sent to the Eastern front. Better to work in theatrical distribution, international, or maybe studio facilities. Recently, I spoke with an executive from one of the big studios who, while discussing the challenges of working in the film industry, noted there was one silver lining: "At least I don't work in home entertainment."

The studios' home-entertainment divisions typically oversee sales of DVDs and Blu-ray discs as well … Read more