Left behind by studios focused on big-budget tentpoles, independent films were looking for a champion. Hanny Patel, VP of Video Marketing at AT&T Entertainment Group, joined us from the Sundance Film Festival to discuss how she's creating a new market for emerging filmmakers.
AT&T's DIRECTV created a new window for emerging filmmakers to have a voice. Patel shared how she created the DIRECTV CINEMA Exclusive Premieres program, securing the acquisition of over 65 films that premiered exclusively on DIRECTV. Patel’s goal was to help films whose budget that are less than $10 million, and add value to their customer experience by bringing them something new that they can’t get anywhere else.
Threatened by possible shortages of lithium for electric car batteries, automakers are racing to lock in supplies of the once-obscure “white gold” in a politically and environmentally fraught competition from China to Nevada to Chile.
The number of different electronic cigarette devices sold in the U.S. has nearly tripled to over 9,000 since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from China, according to tightly controlled sales data obtained by The Associated Press.
In Wednesday's business headlines, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is due in court to defend the company's takeover of Activision Blizzard and United Airlines is under fire over its recent cancellations with CEO Scott Kirby blaming the FAA for the disruptions. Meanwhile, a judge approved Overstock's purchase of Bed Bath & Beyond assets.
