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John Patterson's Blog (247)

First local film to sign with Truly Indie Jameel Kahn's comedy releases on 10 screens

Writer/director Jameel Khan’s “The Strip,” the $1.2 million independent comedy starring Dave Foley that shot here in 2006, is the first Chicago film to sign with Truly Indie, an innovative self-distribution program mainly through Landmark Theaters, owned by Mark Kuban and Todd Wagner. “The Strip” will open theatrically in 10-cities beginning Dec. 4, including the local Landmark Century Cinema theater in L… Continue

Added by John Patterson on November 22, 2009 at 3:42pm — No Comments

'Oprah' to end run in 2011 Talk show host to exit syndication after 25 years

It's official: After 25 years, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will end its run on Sept. 9, 2011. Winfrey broke the news to staffers at her Chicago-based Harpo production company on Thursday. She'll officially announce her exit on Friday. Whether or not that means Winfrey will launch a new talker on her burgeoning cable partnership with Discovery, OWN, remains to be announced--but Winfrey is expected to have a major presence on the cabler. It's no secret Discovery topper David Zaslav would like to se… Continue

Added by John Patterson on November 19, 2009 at 6:26pm — No Comments

Online networking the latest fashion in career building

From The Chicago Sun Times

Looking to climb the corporate ladder 140 characters at a time? General Motors and Southwest Airlines are looking for a few good Twitter and Facebook fanatics to help them sell more Buicks and cheap airline tickets. You can even drink beer wh… Continue

Added by John Patterson on November 10, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

The Influence Ecology - Architecture

This is a series of talks inside an abstraction I call The Influence Ecology.

[see primer for more definition]

Tending to the 'water' or ecology rather than simply tending to you requires an awareness of forces that shape and impact the You that you are.

That you were born in a specific place, time, country, race, culture, r

… Continue

Added by John Patterson on November 10, 2009 at 12:10am — No Comments

Will Oprah throw us over for L.A. in 2011? If so, the local film industry will feel the pain

Over the 25 years Oprah has broadcast her daily talk show from Chicago, it was inevitable that one day she would move the show to Los Angeles. Apparently that day will arrive in 2011 when her CBS syndication contract ends and she will transition to her own Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) on cable in a joint venture with Discovery Communications. The world will await [… Continue

Added by John Patterson on November 9, 2009 at 3:51pm — 1 Comment

Local investors are new $80 M studio owners - Mirkopoulos brokered deal, will manage the facilities

Steel plant to convert to stages While it was believed the owner of three Toronto movie studios was also the owner of an $80 million movie studio for Chicago, it turns out that a local group of investors are the real owners. Nick Mirkopoulos, chairman of Cinespace Studios, who is brokering the deal for the purchase of the Ryerson Steel property, said his company will simply manage the studio. In fact,… Continue

Added by John Patterson on November 9, 2009 at 3:44pm — No Comments

Federal Film Incentives End The Year

By Liz Storm If you are involved in any type of film or TV or theatrical production and have not taken advantage of the federal tax incentives, please do so before January 1, 2010. The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, which took effect October 22, 2004, extended Section 181 and Section 199 and provides significant tax breaks and tax incentives if you have the proper investor documents and have filmed at least one day between December 31, 2007 and January 1, 2010. I recommend that you consult… Continue

Added by John Patterson on November 7, 2009 at 9:53am — No Comments

Film studio planned for West Side

BY DAVID ROEDER droeder@suntimes.com The owner of a Toronto film studio said Tuesday he has purchased 48 acres on Chicago's West Side as the home of a complex for movie and TV show production. Nick Mirkopoulos, chairman of Cinespace Studios, said he signed a contract for the Ryerson Inc. headquarters and old metals plant at 2558 W. 16th St. The property contains nine buildings, an… Continue

Added by John Patterson on November 6, 2009 at 1:18pm — No Comments

Convergence is a BizSpark Network Partner: Startups helped with free software, support and visibility

Microsoft® BizSpark™ is a global program designed to help accelerate the success of early stage startups by providing key resources when they need it the most: Is your business... Developing Software? Privately held? Less than three years old? Making less than US $1M annually? * Software. Receive fast and easy access to current full-featured Microsoft development tools, platform technologies, and production licenses of ser… Continue

Added by John Patterson on November 5, 2009 at 1:34pm — No Comments

Chicago Police Department getting their own reality show?

BY MICHAEL SNEED Sun-Times Columnist Listen up! Sneed hears the Chicago Police Department is this/close to starring in a reality TV show. Fact: Sneed is told . . . • 1) Chicago native Gary Sherman, who directed action thriller "Vice Squad" and the horror films "Death Line" and "Dead & Buried,"… Continue

Added by John Patterson on November 5, 2009 at 12:15pm — No Comments

The Chicago Consortium: Defining A New Approach

Collaboration. Jim Olen’s heard that word uttered repeatedly in his 20-year career. “I hear it all the time, there’s not enough collaboration, ” he said. The time is ripe, Olen believes, for a new approach in the creative industry, and sought to align his Chicago-based music company Rhythm Café with other independent companies to offer a flexible solution to the production and post-production world. The result of his ef… Continue

Added by John Patterson on November 4, 2009 at 11:27am — No Comments

Chicago gets $80 million studio complex

From ReelChicago.com

Toronto studio owner buys Ryerson Steel property A $5 million state grant approved Friday set in motion the purchase of the former Ryerson steel property that will be converted into the biggest state-of- the-art film studio outside of Hollywood. Cinespace Chicago, located on 50 acres of prime city property on the Near South… Continue

Added by John Patterson on November 3, 2009 at 12:00pm — 2 Comments

Top 10 Most Innovative New Products and Services in Chicago Region Honored at Chicago Innovation Awards Ceremony

The ten most innovative new products and services brought to market or to public service in the Chicago region over the course of the past year were honored at the 8th annual Chicago Innovation Awards ceremony held at the Goodman Theatre on Tuesday, October 20.

World Business Chicago (WBC) Chairman, Mayor Richard M. Daley, welcomed the packed house with a “call to action,” emphasizing… Continue

Added by John Patterson on November 2, 2009 at 2:36pm — No Comments

Chicago Keeps Growing

From World Business Chicago One year after opening its North American headquarters in downtown Chicago, customer service software company, Sword Ciboodle, is seeking to quadruple its local workforce by hiring more than 60 new employees. The company, which expanded into the U.S. in August 2008 and has continued to secure new business across the globe, is looking to hire Chicago-based software engineers, bu… Continue

Added by John Patterson on November 2, 2009 at 2:34pm — No Comments

International Study Ranks Chicago as a Top Location for Foreign Investment; Chicago Only U.S. City to Make List

Chicago is the sole U.S. city to achieve the status of top international city for foreign investment in 2008, in a study released at October’s International Economic Development Conference in Reno, Nevada. The Annual Global Location Trends report, is based on IBM’s proprietary Global Investment Locations Database (GILD), which records investment project announcements around the world t… Continue

Added by John Patterson on November 2, 2009 at 2:32pm — No Comments

NATPE 2010 Market Opens for Registration

NATPE 2010 Market Opens for Registration
The world's best multiplatform video conference

… Continue

Added by John Patterson on October 26, 2009 at 8:00pm — No Comments

Progress or Perish: Pushing Financial Innovation Forward

October 22, 2009 (12:20 PM) by DS Maddock Douglas is For Companies Driven by Innovation® The need for innovation in the financial services industry is growing. Why? Because consumers’ deeply held financial beliefs are evolving rapidly. Ten years ago, no one would have questioned whether or not owning a home could generate wealth. No one would have thought that mortgage backed securities would be a high-risk, dangerous investment. And certainly no one would have guessed that banks would regular… Continue

Added by John Patterson on October 23, 2009 at 2:43pm — No Comments

NBC premieres L.A. party special Oct. 27 Shot by RDS at last month's Sweet Home Illinois

COMEDIAN TOM DREESEN will MC the Oct. 27 invitation-only NBC premiere of the TV special shot by RDS at the recent Sweet Home Illinois party, hosted by Brenda Sexton’s Chicago Link Productions and presented by AT&T. [more] Continue

Added by John Patterson on October 22, 2009 at 11:23am — No Comments

Laura Szymber wins IFO’s “Shortcuts” “An Evening with Emery Long” also wins at CIFF

Laura Szymber: Winning Shortcuts filmmaker When producer Laura Szymber met writer/director Brad DeMarea at a coffee shop a year ago to read the script he wanted to make, she was immediately sold on it. “I felt his writing and vision was right on. I just knew it was going to be a great production.” Right she was. Szymber’s production of DeMarea’s “An Evening with Emery Long” won the IFO “Shortcuts” cont… Continue

Added by John Patterson on October 22, 2009 at 11:21am — No Comments

Budweiser Breaks DDB's Nostalgia-Inspired Spots

New Work Focuses on Emotional Appeals -- but Not the 'Great American Lager' Tagline By Jeremy Mullman Published: October 16, 2009

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Earlier this year, frustrated that creative on its long-declining Budweiser brand wasn't connecting emotionally with consumers, Anheuser-Busch made DDB study vintage Bud ads from now defunct D'Arcy Massius Benton & Bowles and other agencies in an attempt to bring the brand back to its roots. [… Continue

Added by John Patterson on October 18, 2009 at 1:10pm — No Comments

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Strategic Moves and Competitive Reactions in B2B Marketing Campaigns

This past month has seen a good number of events focused on innovation, generally based on the premise that it will take innovation to rebuild employment and, as a result, the economy as a whole. This week is also Global Entrepreneurship week, bui...

1 hour ago