China's Tudou preps Nasdaq IPO

BEIJING -- China's second largest online video website, Tudou, has priced its initial public offering on the Nasdaq in New York at $174 million, in a deal that values the site at $822 million. Tudou intends to offer six million American Depositary Shares for $29 each in its Nasdaq Global Market IPO. The Shanghai-based site offers pics, skeins and its own content, as well as user-generated videos. The IPO was covered multiple times over, and values Tudou at around one third the size of market leader Youku.com, which listed last year. Tudou had around 14% of the online video ad market in China at the end of the second quarter, down from 17% at the end of last year, while rivals Youku increased 2% to 23% and Sohu.com rose 5.1% to 13%, according to data from Beijing-based Analysys International. Tudou saw its IPO plans stalled last year due to a lawsuit brought by the former wife of the company's chief exec. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

AFTRA launches tracks contract talks

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has released discussions using the major record labels on the successor agreement towards the seem tracks contract.AFTRA introduced Tuesday the opening round occured in New You are able to City between its seem tracks settling committee and reps from The new sony, UMG, Warner, EMI, Disney and many of the subsidiary labels. AFTRA National Executive Director Kim Roberts Hedgpeth is chief negotiator.The seem tracks pact expires 12 ,. 31 so they cover performers, royalty and non-royalty artists, announcers, stars, comics, narrators and seem effects artists who focus on tracks in most new and traditional media and all sorts of music formats, additionally to audio books, comedy albums and cast albums. Anything creates a lot more than $140 million yearly in earnings and benefits for artists and session performers.AFTRA had introduced recently it would launch the talks now after its national board approved its package of plans on This summer 20. The union stated Tuesday that discussions are required to carry on through this month with negotiating periods both in New You are able to and La.The present contract was discussed in 2007 having a June 2010 expiration however the pact was extended by 18 several weeks. That extension deliver to a rise in the labels' contributions towards the AFTRA Health insurance and Retirement Funds "enhanced communications" between AFTRA and also the record labels to see recently signed royalty artists of the guaranteed medical health insurance benefits and AFTRA member services re-determining the size of a "side" or perhaps a recorded song from three 1/two to four 1/2 minutes and development of the AFTRA/Recording Industry Committee to solve contractual issues.A start date for that network code talks is not set with this pact -- AFTRA's biggest contract with more than $400 million in annual earnings -- expiring November. 15. The internet code covers work outdoors primetime and includes "Hello America," "The Vista,Inch "The Cost is appropriate,Inch "Times of Our Way Of Life,Inch "Saturday Evening Live," "Dwts,Inch "The American Idol Show,Inch "Monday Evening Football," "Survivor," "20/20," "Deal or No Deal" and "The Late Show with David Letterman." Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com

Sex and also the City Prequel Might Get Gossip Girl Treatment in the CW

Sex and also the City Be careful Blair Waldorf! A brand new, fashionable full bee might be entering your territory. The Barbara Journals, the youthful adult novel prequel to Candace Bushnell's Sex and also the City, might be modified in the CW by Gossip Girl executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, Deadline reviews. It is also likely that Amy Harris, who had been a author about the Cinemax series and presently creates for Gossip Girl, will handle the script adaptation. Fall Preview: Get scoop in your favorite coming back shows Within the novel, youthful Barbara Bradshaw is really a senior high school senior inside a Colonial town. She's about the go swimming team and - more to the point! -- is all of the her buddies to be a virgin. However she catches the attention from the rakish (and without doubt good-searching) Sebastian Kydd. It will be interesting to ascertain if the variation stays in keeping with the novel -- by which Barbara may be the earliest of three women who accept their widowed father -- in order to the Cinemax Sex and also the City adaptation, which stated that Barbara was an only child whose father abandoned her and her mother. No deals happen to be signed yet, but it is expected the CW's more youthful, female-skewing demographic helps make the network the likeliest candidate to get the show. This month in the Television Experts Association fall previews, Sex and also the City showrunner Michael Patrick King stated he will not have a submit any project associated with a prequel. "I am not focusing on any Sex and also the City prequel whatsoever," he stated. "I've not read Candace Bushnell's books." Browse the relaxation of present day news "My Barbara Bradshaw began at 33 and that i required her to 43 -- I do not even need to know who Barbara Bradshaw's parents are ... the thought of going backward, making her less developed, is one thing which i can't even imagine doing." Can you watch The Barbara Journals? Do you consider it is a fit for that CW?

VIDEO: Dennis Rodman Fights Back Tears During His Hall of Fame Speech

Dennis Rodman Who knew Dennis Rodman was such a softie? After being inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame on Friday, the man formerly known for his outlandish style and multiple tattoos gave an emotional speech. "I could have been dead; I could have been a drug dealer; I could have been homeless - I was homeless," the five-time NBA champion said. "A lot of you guys here in the Hall of Fame know what I'm talking about, living in the projects and trying to get out of the projects. I did that, but it took a lot of hard work and lot of bumps along the road." Add your favorite teams to your Watchlist - and know when and where you can next watch them on TV, online or on demand Rodman, who was walked to the stage by his two children, donned a sparkly scarf and a jacket emblazoned with his two teams, the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls. "I didn't play the game for the money; I didn't play the game to be famous. What you see here is more just the illusion that I love to just be an individual that is very colorful," he said. Choking up, Rodman finished by saying, "I was really burning both ends of the candle for a long time ... I'd like to set the record straight just for the time being that, and maybe in the future, I can try to be somewhat of a good individual and a good father to my kids." His Bulls coach Phil Jackson and teammate Scotty Pippin were among those in the audience. Dennis Rodman 2011 Hall Of Fame Speech (VIDEO) by 3030fm

Brett Ratner Signs New Overall Deal With 20th TV, Taps Chris Conti As President

EXCLUSIVE: Director-producer Brett Ratner has closed a new overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television where he has been based for the past 7 years. He is being joined by former NBC development executive-turned-producer Chris Conti, who will serve as president of Ratner's Rat TV. "It's impossible not to love Brett," 20th TV chairman Dana Walden said. "He is a great entertainer, has such love for the business and has the most commercial sense of any creative person I've ever worked with." She praised Ratner for directing the pilot for the Fox drama Prison Break, which "helped reestablish what the 20th Century Fox TV brand is around the world." But for the past 7 years, Ratner has directed only one other 20th TV pilot that has gone to series, CBS' short-lived CIA dramedy Chaos. He has developed and produced a total of 3 series, Prison Break, Chaos and ABC's Women's Murder Club. That is mainly because Ratner has been busy working on a wide range of other projects, from directing and producing features, to producing documentaries and TV specials to now producing the Academy Awards. Bringing a seasoned development executive like Conti is expected to keep development and production at Rat TV going full-speed even when Ratner is not around. "Chris is bringing a lot of formidable relationships in the community and will be able to focus Brett in a meaningful and successful way," Walden said. Following a 15-year stint at NBC, rising from a page to head of drama development, Conti segued into producing in 2005 with a deal at the network's sister studio. While at NBC, he had taken pitches from Ratner but didn't know him personally until the two were recently introduced. "He wanted to grow his company and make it close to what Jerry Bruckheimer and John Wells have built," Conti said. At the same time I was getting frustrated schlepping along without a company and not having a partner." He and Ratner are already meeting with writers and are expected to focus on 3-5 drama ideas this development season, gradually expanding into comedy and reality. As for Ratner's duties as an Oscar producer, Walden said that they will not impact Rat TV's development, especially now that Conti is on board. Directing-wise, Ratner won't be able to helm an hourlong pilot because he will be in the final stages of Oscar preparations but could direct a half-hour pilot after the Academy Awards. At Rat TV, Conti is replacing former president Martha Haight who has since loved to CBS TV Studios to run Mark Harmon's company. Ratner recently produced hit feature comedy Horrible Bosses, Showtime's Nick Cannon: Mr. Show Biz special and PBS' American Masters: Woody Allen documentary. His next movie as a director, comedy Tower Heist, opens in November.

The Odd Life Of Timothy Green Trailer

He's a force of nature.... The Odd Life of Timothy Green posits a very different answer to the question of what a childless couple would do if they had tried everything to conceive without success. Instead of going down the adoption or fostering route (or, say, getting a dog), the film finds Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton writing all their wishes for their dream kid on pieces of paper and, er, burying them in a box in the backyard. Can you guess what happens next? Even if not, the trailer provides the answer below. We're pretty certain co-writer/director Peter Hedges and co-writer Ahmet Zappa were aiming for a uplifting, cockle-warming family fantasy confection, but this trailer, even with the charm-heavy presence of Edgerton and Garner, has moments that feel almost more like a horror movie. After all, how would you react if a lad, who had seemingly crawled out of the ground, arrived at your back door one night covered in mud and started calling you mum and dad? Chances are it would not end in a mug of cocoa and a round of hugs, but a swift summoning of the local constabulary...Still, we're sure as we see more footage, the heartstring-tugging moments will become clear. Disney hasn't set an official UK release date for this one just yet, though it's likely to arrive next year.

'Sons of Anarchy' Kurt Sutter Talks Emmy Snubs and Season 4