Nigerian immigrant accepted by all 8 Ivy League schools

Harold Ekeh is a senior at Elmont Memorial High School in Elemont, New York.

Now comes the really hard part: Deciding where to go. He actually got into all 13 schools he applied to, including MIT and Johns Hopkins.

"I am leaning toward Yale," he told CNNMoney. "I competed at Yale for Model UN, and I like the passion people at Yale had."

Some of the Yale students he met became his friends and mentors, offering advice on the college application process. Now Ekeh is trying to do the same thing.

Ekeh, 17, founded a college mentoring program at his school, Elmont Memorial High School on Long Island in the New York city suburbs. His goal is to get more students into top universities.

Related: Harvard rejects about 95% of applicants

American dream: Ekeh was born in Nigeria and came to the United States when he was eight. He wrote his main college essay about the struggle to adjust, including being clueless in U.S. history classes at school. He said he would ask his parents repeatedly why they moved.

"We had a fairly comfortable life in Nigeria, but they told me we moved to America for the opportunities like the educational opportunities," he recalled.

The salutatorian is quick to credit his parents, school and community for his success.

"I am very humbled by this," Ekeh said. "It's not just for me, but for my school and community. We can accomplish great things here."

Related: 17-year old rejects Duke's rejection letter

A passion for science: He wants to major in neurobiology or chemistry in college and later become doctor and, ultimately, a neurosurgeon. He was named a 2015 Intel Science Talent Search semifinalist earlier this year for his research on how the acid DHA can slow Alzheimer's.

For Ekeh, the cause is personal. His grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's when he was 11. One of his proudest moments was running home to tell his mother and aunts about the breakthroughs he was finding with DHA.

"When other kids would say, 'I want to be a superhero or police officer,' I would say, 'I want to know what is on the inside of us,'" he said.

Related: Stanford offers free tuition for families with less than $125,000

The key to success: Outside of the lab, Ekeh directs a youth choir at his church, plays the drums, is part of Key Club and Model UN and was elected to the Homecoming court. He speaks Ibo and Spanish and has a 100.5% GPA. He's proud of acing the AP History Exam despite his early struggles with the subject.

Elmont High School is 99% minority. Ekeh is the second student in recent years to win a prestigious Intel Science award.

Principal John Capozzi calls Ekeh "one of the most humble young men I've ever hadn't the opportunity to meet." The lab where Ekeh did his award-winning research is modest and only staffed part-time by a passionate chemistry teacher, but the community makes the most of what it has.

Ekeh will spend the coming weeks visiting all the schools before making his final decision.

His advice to other high school students is simple: "Like my parents always told us, the secret to success is unbridled resolve."

Related: Private college with the biggest payoff

Related: University of Phoenix has lost half its students

CNNMoney (New York) April 4, 2015: 5:11 PM ET

10.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

UVA four months later: 'Rolling Stone didn't do its job'

That's the feeling at the University of Virginia, four months after Rolling Stone magazine published and then all but retracted a story detailing an alleged gang rape at the campus.

Now the magazine is preparing to publish an independent review by Columbia University of what went wrong in the making of the story. For UVA, that means yet another round of news coverage.

Journalism students at UVA have seen up close how a news organization can hurt a community. Professors have thought about incorporating the lessons into classes.

Perhaps most importantly, student activists are working overtime to correct persistent misperceptions about college sexual assault and support victims.

"Rolling Stone didn't do its job," said UVA student body president Abraham Axler. "And in some ways our community was responsible for the cleanup of that mistake, and that's what people are angry about."

Related: How UVA story became a national issue

The 9,000-word story, titled "A Rape on Campus," focused on the alleged gang rape of a freshman named "Jackie" in 2012. It also asserted that the university failed to meaningfully respond to the crime and connected this to systemic problems across the country.

When the article came out in late November, "everyone was affected deeply," said Siva Vaidhyanathan, a UVA media studies professor. "The vividness of the story was gut-wrenching."

But Vaidhyanathan had doubts right away because, he said, the story "demonized" administrators who were sincerely trying to improve UVA's handling of rape cases.

The writer, Sabrina Rudin Erdely, soon came under scrutiny.

"It was as if she came into the story with the plot already lined up, and she was just looking for that killer anecdote to fill in the gaps," Vaidhyanathan said.

By early December, the gang rape story had unraveled. Amid mounting doubts about some of the details in Jackie's story -- seven attackers over a period of hours -- and widespread criticism of Rolling Stone's decision not to contact the alleged rapists, the magazine apologized and said it would investigate further.

The magazine asked Columbia's graduate school of journalism to lead a review.

In March, the local police said they could find no evidence the rape had occurred, but also said it remains possible something very traumatic happened. Jackie has not spoken publicly.

Alex Pinkleton, a friend of Jackie's who was interviewed for the original article, said her primary disappointment is that the story's image of "such a brutal, bloody rape is what many people, including legislators, still have in their mind when they are creating new sexual assault legislation."

But "the reality of campus rape is that around 70% of sexual assaults are by an acquaintance or someone the person knows, alcohol is usually present, and it is rare (if it happens at all) to see any sort of beat down (especially one to the degree of the fabricated story)," she wrote in an email.

Experts generally agree. And the point was unfortunately reiterated at UVA earlier this week: On Friday students were alerted that a female student had reported being sexually assaulted by a male student at the end of March. The two students had previously dated.

"The university has taken immediate measures to protect the safety of the victim and is investigating the incident in accordance with Title IX and the Violence Against Women Act," a message to the UVA community said.

Vaidhyanathan said the existence of the campus-wide message is an example of the nuanced reforms that are being implemented.

On-campus activism has continued out of the national media spotlight.

"What Rolling Stone did is gave us the mandate to really work on things that needed to be worked on," said Axler, the student body president. "I think we would have gotten there eventually, but it gave us a sense of urgency. Something we had to do. In some ways, for the long term, that might be a small benefit of an otherwise horrific saga."

Axler added, "The facts of it were wrong, but it wasn't impossible to believe it. What she wrote was fiction, but it was such a believable and horrific thing, it led people to institute reforms."

Vaidhyanathan said he's planning to review the discredited story and its fallout with a class of UVA students next spring in a course called Reporting Crime and Punishment.

One obvious lesson for his journalism students has to do with necessary skepticism, he said.

"Sources, especially sources who have gone through trauma, might not tell you the truth, even if they think they are. That's a hard lesson for reporters who care about people to grasp," Vaidhyanathan said.

"So you have to be the most cynical person you can be, while still having a connection to the deep human feelings that motivate people. Making yourself into that journalist is really hard."

CNNMoney (New York) April 4, 2015: 4:32 PM ET

10.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

Wal-Mart exec: Credit card upgrade a 'joke'

The new "chip & signature" program is barely an improvement on security and fraud, said Mike Cook, Wal-Mart's assistant treasurer and a senior vice president, at this week's Electronic Transaction Association's Transact conference in San Francisco. Cook said Wal-Mart would have preferred a "chip and PIN" system that Europe and Africa have, since PINs would protect cards from being stolen.

"The fact that we didn't go to PIN is such a joke," Cook told CNNMoney.

Cook said signatures on checks were sufficient 100 years ago, but they're outdated today. PINs on debit cards were a major improvement to stop thieves decades ago. They'd do the same for credit cards -- which is why banks should use them for all cards.

"Signature is worthless as a form of authentication," Cook said during a presentation at the conference. "If you look at the Target and Home Depot breaches ... not a single PIN debit card needed to be reissued in those breaches. The card number was worthless to the individual thief and fraudsters, because they didn't know the PIN."

This comes from a company that's been adamant about adopting technology to stop fraud. Wal-Mart (WMT) has been ahead of the curve -- more so than any other U.S. retailer. It started installing EMV-capable payment terminals at its stores eight years ago, and they're already active today. That means you can dip a chip-enabled card there, a safer way to pay than swiping.

New chip credit cards are using signature, instead of more secure PINs. One Wal-Mart executive isn't happy.

Related: What hackers know about you

Retailers in general have been critical of the U.S. banking industry's decision to avoid PINs on credit cards, calling it a half-step in the right direction.

The United Kingdom, for example, implemented chip-and-PIN and saw a dramatic decrease in fraud stemming from counterfeit cards and stolen cards. By using chips alone, the American upgrade would only cut down on counterfeiting.

However, both companies leading this upgrade -- Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA) -- note that counterfeiting makes up the vast majority of credit card fraud anyway. So, they're tackling the biggest problem currently hurting banks and annoying shoppers, who keep getting reissued cards.

Banks don't want to add a PIN to your credit card for other reasons too. Banks fight to be your most frequently used card. A PIN-required card might annoy you enough to make you relegate it to second place. No bank wants to be card number two -- even if it's safer, said Martin Ferenczi, a top executive at one of the world's largest card makers, Oberthur Technologies.

Also, it's expensive. Attaching PINs to credit cards is an extra batch of data running along the credit card network. That tiny addition requires a multi-billion dollar software upgrade at credit card companies, banks, makers of payment terminals and merchants, experts say.

Besides, better technology has already come around, like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, tap-to-pay features that use your phone. They hide your credit card number from retailers, and they use unique one-time codes that are useless to hackers and thieves. Banks hope these will become main payment methods in just a few years.

"We don't see a need for it," said Visa vice president of risk products Stephanie Ericksen. "[Chip-and-PIN] will have a shorter shelf life. We're moving to new technologies and innovation."

Did someone steal your tax refund? Share your story with CNN.

Related: You're about to get a new credit card - and it's an epic failure

Related: Credit card of the future could stop fraud

Related: Apple's plan to change how you pay for everything

CNNMoney (New York) April 3, 2015: 3:28 PM ET

10.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Mad Men' brings prestige, if not powerful ratings, to AMC

Much has been made about the final season of the critically acclaimed drama such as a "Mad Men" style bench outside the Time-Life Building in New York City.

The AMC drama is beginning the second half of its final season on Sunday. Over the years it has won 15 Emmys, including Outstanding Drama Series, four years in a row.

But in the ratings last year it ranked a lowly #21 among all the dramas on cable. Add all the dramas on broadcast TV, and it would rank even lower on the list.

During its seven episodes last spring, the first half of the final season, "Mad Men" averaged 3.7 million viewers in the Nielsen "Live+7" ratings that combine live viewership and a week's worth of delayed viewership.

The live average viewership was just 1.4 million viewers, according to Nielsen. That means more than half the audience used digital video recorders and video-on-demand systems to catch up.

With 3.7 million "Live+7" viewers, "Mad Men" ranked below shows like FX's "Fargo," BET's "Being Mary Jane," TNT's "Perception," and USA's "Suits."

Based on all the awards and press acclaim, you might have guessed its audience was a lot bigger.

What the series lacks in sheer audience size, however, it makes up for with influence and affluence, something advertisers crave.

"Mad Men" kicks off the second part of its final season on Sunday.

"Mad Men" is one of the most upscale shows on ad-supported TV. 53 percent of "Mad Men" viewers ages 25 to 54 are from households with incomes that exceed $100,000.

According to AMC, no other prime time series comes close to that level of affluence. It helps the channel charge more for ads on the show.

AMC said earlier this week that ad space on the May 17 finale is sold out.

The show has been valuable for other reasons, too. It -- and "Breaking Bad" -- made AMC a real player in the cable programming business.

"'Mad Men' had an immediate impact and quickly became a calling card for AMC. It helped lay the foundation for everything that followed," Charlie Collier, AMC's president, said in an email.

"It also set a standard with respect to its ability to reach and connect with very difficult-to-reach audiences including the most upscale influencers and tastemakers across the worlds of media, music, fashion, design, politics and more," he added.

Related: 'Walking Dead' helps 'Better Call Saul' set cable record

The series has spawned fashion tastes, college courses, and Internet memes, not to mention the countless marketing materials that the network has produced to celebrate the second half of the final season.

This includes a exhibition at the Museum of the Moving Image, a "Mad Men" Dining Week, and a bench outside of the Time-Life Building with the iconic silhouette of the show's anti-hero Don Draper. And that's just in New York.

TV historian Tim Brooks affirmed that Nielsen ratings alone mask the true significance of the series.

"It paid off as a marquee program," Brooks said. "It drew a lot of attention to itself and AMC by bringing in that upscale audience and the attention and awards that came with it. It serves a different purpose."

CNNMoney (New York) April 3, 2015: 1:49 PM ET

10.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Furious 7' revs up for biggest box office opening of 2015 to date

After seeing some of Friday's results, industry analysts now expect the film to earn $130 to $140 million throughout North America this weekend.

Earlier, they were predicting $115 to $125 million -- and even those projections were turning heads in Hollywood.

The film is sure to have the biggest opening of 2015 to date, pretty easily overtaking February's $85 million opening of "Fifty Shades of Grey."

A $130 to $140 million box office total would also drive right by last year's $95 million opening of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" -- which was, until now, April's biggest opening ever.

"Furious 7," starring Vin Diesel and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, marks the unofficial start of the summer movie season.

The film franchise has been hugely popular for over a decade. Its loyal following has helped it make $2.4 billion worldwide since 2001.

This time around, there's even more interest, partly because the seventh film is the last to include the actor Paul Walker.

Walker died in a 2013 car crash while the film production was still taking place.

Related: Buckle up: 'Furious 7' will be emotional for Paul Walker fans

The film is being released by Universal, a division of NBCUniversal.

Coincidentally, February's "Fifty Shades of Grey" was also a Universal picture.

Industry estimates indicate that "Furious 7" made about $16 million during special Thursday night showings.

Variety reported that it is expected to earn another $58 to $60 million on Friday. These totals, even higher than originally expected, are what's driving the total projections above $130 million.

Universal will wait to publicly celebrate until sometime Saturday or Sunday.

No matter what the final total for opening weekend, it's clear that "Furious 7" will become the biggest opening in "Fast" series history, passing the $97.3 million "Fast & Furious 6" launch in May 2013.

It will also set the template for what Hollywood hopes will be a hot season after last year's dismal U.S. summer box office.

CNNMoney (New York) April 3, 2015: 9:58 PM ET

10.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

Did China profit from corrupt Sri Lanka deals?

Mahinda Rajapaksa, the former president of Sri Lanka, was the driving force behind such a project, a $1.4 billion crown jewel to be built near Colombo by a state-backed Chinese construction firm.

But in the three months since Rajapaksa was unseated in an election stunner, the project has been put on hold, and allegations of possible corruption in the bidding process have tarnished the former president's reputation.

Sri Lanka's new president, Maithripala Sirisena, has directed his administration to investigate all deals signed by the previous government, looking for irregularities in contract negotiations.

Sirisena's government claims that many deals signed during the former president's rule, like the Port City project, did not go through the proper approval process. The number of deals under review is likely in the hundreds, worth billions of dollars.

Chinese companies are at the center of the storm. Rajapaksa had worked to develop close ties with Beijing, often at the expense of relations with New Delhi and the West. During his administration, Chinese firms won lucrative contracts to build roads, bridges and other large projects.

Related: Chinese investors trade way more often than Americans

Sri Lanka's new finance minister, Ravi Karunanayake, didn't pull any punches on the matter, telling CNN that many infrastructure deals involving Chinese firms are suspect.

"The Chinese companies used the opportunity of a corrupt regime to crowd out other companies coming in," he said. "There was no even playing field."

Bridges were built where there were no rivers, he said. Airports were constructed in the middle of nowhere. "That was the type of corruption that was going on," he said.

Asked which deals were tainted by corruption, Karunanayake replied with a question of his own: "Which deals weren't?"

Rajapaksa, the former president, was not able to be reached for comment. But in an interview with the South China Morning Post, he defended his actions and said China was being used as a political scapegoat.

"I wanted development for Sri Lanka and China was the only one which had the resources and the inclination to help me," he said. "They should be thankful to China for the help they extended; instead these people are treating China like a criminal."

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a request for comment.

Related: The strong dollar is hurting emerging markets

Sri Lanka, traditionally seen as being in India's sphere of influence, is strategically important to both New Delhi and Beijing.

While it has put the Port City project on hold, the new administration is keen to stress that its close ties to China remain intact. Sirisena traveled to China within two months of being sworn in, and Beijing has pledged around $1 billion in new grants.

Karunanayake described the current relationship with Beijing as "very warm."

"It wasn't just Chinese companies," Karunanayake said. "It was basically anybody who achieved their objective, to get money in their pockets."

Still, the new leadership is keen to re-balance Sri Lanka's international partnerships.

"We now have an open invitation to the world. We would like to see anybody good bringing the best of investments to Sri Lanka," the new finance minister said.

"It could be India, China, the U.S., Europe, Myanmar, Maldives," he said. "We want a clean, transparent and accountable approach, which helps people to see 'yes the rule of law works in Sri Lanka.' "

The new government itself has pledged to stamp out corruption at government level within its first 100 days.

"We too have to walk the talk," said Karunanayake.

Related: Score one for China! U.S. loses Asia bank tussle

CNNMoney (Hong Kong) April 2, 2015: 9:38 PM ET

10.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fourth season for 'House of Cards,' confirmed

The announcement came on Thursday via the show's official Twitter feed, which posted a "season 4 coming 2016" picture and a message from the show's protagonist, president Frank Underwood: "I will leave a legacy."

Season three premiered on Netflix back in February.

This official order for season four took a long while -- which is what sometimes happens as TV shows mature and become more successful.

Netflix and the show's producer, Media Rights Capital, have both benefited from the show's status as a pop culture phenomenon, so they had to negotiate about how to divvy up the spoils.

There's presumably still more to figure out, since Netflix did not confirm any details on Thursday about which cast members will be returning.

But Variety reported that Kevin Spacey, who plays Underwood, and Robin Wright, who plays his wife, "have signed on for another 13 episodes of the show, according to sources familiar with the production."

Netflix famously ordered the first two seasons of "House of Cards" as a pair back in 2011. Then the streaming service ordered the third season before the second season even debuted.

That's why there were some raised eyebrows when the company didn't announce a fourth season right around the time of the third's premiere.

The show's creator, Beau Willimon, was mum in February when I asked him about the future of the Machiavellian story, saying he wanted to focus on promoting the third season.

But given the cliffhanger at the end of the episodes -- no spoiler here -- a fourth season always seemed likely in some form.

Rachel Brosnahan, who plays Rachel Posner in the series, was asked on "CBS This Morning" earlier this week about whether there would be more episodes.

"I think there has to be," she said. "Once you get to the end of season three, I think there must be."

CNNMoney (New York) April 2, 2015: 7:23 PM ET

10.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

The world's hottest stock market is in China

The Shenzhen Composite has surged a whopping 45% so far -- easily making it the world's hottest market in 2015. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite has also jumped a staggering 19%.

These giant market leaps are at odds with the broader Chinese economy -- GDP growth is clocking a slower pace and recent economic data points have been disappointing.

But experts say that Chinese investors are betting the central government will be forced to take stimulus action to revive the sluggish economy -- a move that is expected to keep lifting stocks.

"The equity market clearly believes the Chinese government will continue to take policy action to achieve its growth target, and poor growth statistics will lead to greater policy easing," wrote BNP Paribas equity strategist Manishi Raychaudhuri in a research note.

The country's banks have also been told they can keep less cash in reserve, and benchmark interest rates have already been cut twice this year. Both moves have boosted stocks, according to Michael Liang of Foundation Asset Management. Economists predict the central bank will cut interest rates even further.

Shenzhen, in particular, has been helped by its mix of listed companies -- the index is full of young tech, media and telecom firms. In Shanghai, large state-owned firms are the main attraction.

Experts say China's equities boom has also been fueled by renewed interest from retail investors.

Back in 2013, investors fled in droves after a series of fat-finger trading errors damaged confidence and raised questions over poor market regulation.

Related: Chinese investors trade way more often than Americans

Now, many individual investors are taking their money out of alternative investments -- such as the flailing property sector -- and putting it back into stocks.

About 170,000 new stock trading accounts are opened per business day in China, more than 10 times the average for last year, according to BNP.

China's massive stock rise is only lining the pockets of domestic investors -- foreign investment into Chinese stocks is still largely restricted. Trading volume through a program that launched last year allowing foreigners to invest in Shanghai has contributed a negligible fraction of daily turnover, Raychaudhuri said.

But for Chinese investors, "the wall of money seems destined to continue flowing, at least in the near term," said Raychaudhuri.

CNNMoney (Hong Kong) April 2, 2015: 10:39 PM ET

10.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

Josh Gad on Trevor Noah, 'Frozen' and his new show with Billy Crystal

Josh Gad has been a correspondent on "The Daily Show," a snowman in "Frozen," and now stars with Billy Crystal.

Gad sat down with me in New York on Wednesday to talk about his wide-ranging career along with giving his insights about the future of "The Daily Show," and why new "Daily Show" host Trevor Noah shouldn't edit his tweets.

Gad, who is the grandson of Holocaust survivors, said that some of Noah's tweets were "insensitive," but defended Noah's right as a comedian to make the jokes. He also said "The Daily Show" will be fine with Stewart's new successor.

Gad will be joining another veteran comedian Billy Crystal for his new FX show "The Comedians," which debuts on April 9.

Here is the edited version of the conservation.

Josh Gad will join Billy Crystal for "The Comedians" which premieres on April 9.

Let's start with "The Comedians." With such a prolific career, why go back to television?

I had no intention of going back to TV. I've been unlucky in love with television... Comedy on TV is so hard because it's the golden age of drama and genre TV and you have these hooks like "Game of Thrones" and "Mad Men" where an audience week-to-week makes it appointment television, whereas comedy is more fleeting, so I'm like, "eh, I don't know."

Then I go to perform at this event with Billy Crystal... and Billy comes up to me afterwards and says to me "I'm developing this show based on this Swedish series. I would love for you to take a look at it." I said I don't know if I'm interested in doing any TV right now, but I'll at least watch this and within five minutes I knew I was hooked.

Do you think that "The Comedians" is a series suited for a multi-platform audience?

I think there's a number of reasons that "The Comedians" seems to potentially work as well as it does.

At its core, it's a show about this generational disconnect that exists between two guys who are pursuing the same end goal of doing comedy... Then on the surface, you've got this sketch comedy show that they're doing which provides ample opportunity to do sketches that can provide for viral videos. I think the hope, at least, is that you have this show within a show that almost acts as like mini-SNL for us.

You had one of your first big breaks on "The Daily Show." What was it like to work with Jon Stewart?

Working with Jon Stewart is a master class in comedy.

There's this ritual, especially when you're doing a field piece on the "Daily Show," where you present your material with your field producer to Jon. You sit in his office, and he's always chewing this big wad of gum, and you watch this professorial type figure dissecting every word. And clearly in his beautiful mind he's putting together this mathematical equation that is somehow, no matter how funny what you presented is, funnier that what you could ever imagine.

That's Jon's gift.

What do you think "The Daily Show" will be without him?

I think the beauty of Trevor Noah is that there is no way, shape, or form confusing him with Jon Stewart, and that is a great thing.

It will survive because Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" will always be Jon Stewart's "Daily Show." "Saturday Night Live" was never supposed to survive past its first five years... It's the structure that keeps us interested.

Getting to know a new performer I think will be a big part of its success.

Speaking of Noah, what did you think of the controversy surrounding him?

I think we need to be very careful with about how politically correct we are getting about comedy. Look, I'm Jewish. I am very sensitive to any sort of comments that come off as insensitive having been the grandson of Holocaust survivors. I'm very wary of anyone crossing a line.

Do I think his comments were particularly hysterical? No. Do I think that they were somewhat insensitive? Yes. Do I think he should edit any of those comments, or we should edit any of those comments? Absolutely not.

Anybody who is a comedian has the right to analyze, has the right to dissect, and has the right to provoke. Otherwise, we wouldn't have greats... That needs to be protected at all costs. We can disagree, but to punish comedians who are making a living out of doing provocative material I don't know if I agree with that.

Even though I don't agree with the content I don't know if I agree with the punishment.

I'd be remiss if I didn't ask about newly announced "Frozen 2." Is there anything you can tell us about it?

Only that there will be a "Frozen 2." You heard it here second! [laughs]

Disney CEO Bob Iger has called "Frozen" one of Disney's top five franchises. Why do you think that the film has become such a brand for Disney (DIS)?

What "Frozen" did so well was it told a simple story through a new prism.

There aren't many movies I can show my kids, and I have two daughters, that are about the strong bond between siblings. That's an aspect of "Frozen" that I think sets it apart. The idea of true love being presented differently than how it has been before is another reason, the songs are so unbelievably catchy... and actually I think what it all boils down to is Olaf. [laughs]

No, I think you have these other great characters who also connect with the boys, so you've pretty much covered every demographic with these themes that are universal whether your 2 or 92.

"Frozen" was the second time you worked with songwriter Robert Lopez. The first was "The Book of Mormon" in 2011. What was it like to be an original member of one of the most successful shows in Broadway history?

My involvement with "Book of Mormon" goes back to 2007 where I got a phone call from Bobby Lopez saying, "I'm working on this new musical with Trey Parker and Matt Stone about Mormons"... and I'm like my god of course I would want to be a part of that.

Then they sent me the demo and I listened to the songs and I hear this song "Hello" which is harmless and brilliant... then I get to this song with a different title at the time, but eventually that would be known as "Hasa Diga Eebowai." I finished it and I call my agent and I said, "boy, I can't be a part of this." And he said why and I said, "because I will walk out of the theater and get shot in the face if I have anything to do with this musical." [laughs]

I sort of took this leap of faith that you often have to when you believe in the content and you believe in the team and I knew in my heart it would be one of the most special things I ever got to work on, and I sort of knew I had to be apart of it.

So finally, both you and Billy Crystal have voiced Disney characters, Olaf the Snowman for you and he's Mike Wazowski from "Monsters Inc." Did you ever rub it in that kids love Olaf more?

The question should really be, does a day go by where I don't rub it in Billy's face? [laughs]

Here's the problem with that equation though. My daughter is much more obsessed with Mike Wazowski than she is with Olaf, so he'll forever hold that on me.

Related: Disney's 'Frozen' sequel is on the way

Related: Trevor Noah to replace Jon Stewart as new host of 'The Daily Show'

CNNMoney (New York) April 1, 2015: 5:56 PM ET

10.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

CBS to turn '60 Minutes' Segment into 'Patriots Day' Movie

The movie, "Patriots' Day," is about Ed Davis, the former Boston police commissioner who helped lead the city's response to the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. CBS announced the production of "Patriots' Day" on Tuesday.

What the network announced at the same time, more subtly, was "60 Minutes Productions," a unit that strives to strike deals like this one. The unit is led by "60 Minutes" senior producer Michael Radutzky, who will also be a producer of the movie.

"For years, we've been helping others put our stories on the screen. Now we're doing it for ourselves," a "60 Minutes" spokesman said Wednesday.

The arrangement is part of a larger trend in media. Magazine articles and TV news reports have long been mined for raw material by Hollywood screenwriters. More and more, the writers and publishers want to stay involved as stories are fictionalized, so that they might benefit financially down the line.

The movie will be about former Boston police commissioner Ed Davis, who helped lead the city's response to the marathon bombings.

To put it simply, it's a potential new revenue source for news organizations. (CBS declined to comment on the specific financial model for "Patriots' Day.")

"60 Minutes Productions" hasn't been mentioned publicly until this week. But Radutzky, a 20-year veteran of "60 Minutes," has been seeking ways for the newsmagazine to work with CBS Films for some time.

A CBS Films spokesman said "the idea of finding a ['60 Minutes'] segment to adapt as a CBS Films release has been floating around in discussions for years."

"While 'Patriots' Day' is the first project to move forward, we hope that there will be plenty more to come as we continue to work with Radutzky on finding more '60 Minutes' content for the big screen," CBS Films said.

"Patriots' Day" will be based on Davis's account of the marathon bombing and the manhunt that ensued. Davis first shared his account in a "60 Minutes" interview shortly after the bombing.

According to a press release, "CBS Films has secured Ed Davis' life rights as well as all of the information in connection with the '60 Minutes' story he appeared in."

When the interview aired in April 2013, CBS Films executives talked with Radutzky about the possibilities for a project, and Radutzky subsequently met with a variety of Hollywood producers about it, including one who ultimately shepherded the project along, Scott Stuber.

Stuber was working with actor Mark Wahlberg on the upcoming comedy "Ted 2." When Stuber mentioned the "Patriots' Day" idea to Wahlberg, there was immediate interest, and Wahlberg is now attached as a producer. Reports indicate that he may also star in the movie.

Related: Rolling Stone sales double with 'Boston Bomber' issue

Related: Boston bomb victims face lifetime of medical bills

CNNMoney (New York) April 1, 2015: 7:02 PM ET

10.20 | 0 komentar | Read More