And the Oscar goes to … Graydon Carter.
No one owns the Oscar party circuit better than the legendary Vanity Fair editor.
When he’s not honoring Hollywood, they’re honoring him.
It was Universal boss Ron Meyer’s turn Thursday night to play host at his Malibu home.
While Carter seems to enjoy his many honors, Condé Nast corporate bosses would like the 64-year-old editor to do a little more honoring of Madison Avenue.
For example, even though Vanity Fair hosts several Oscar week events with Fiat and Chrysler, sources tell us Carter was asked to throw open the doors of the magazine’s main party to some of the magazine’s biggest spenders.
The advertisers are usually banished to a separate screening event on the big night.
Carter is said to prefer preserving the “stars-only,” atmosphere. Even the agents of major names have a hard time getting tickets.
We hear a compromise was reached and a trickle of marketers got hold of a golden ticket.
In his search for financing for his soon-to-launch movie company, Jeff Robinov is in talks with Warner Music Group owner Len Blavatnik about providing capital for his new movie venture, sources tell The Post.
Robinov is looking to hang a new shingle out at Sony or Fox, The Post reported Friday. The former Warner executive has already lined up funds from a wealthy Chinese investor.
Blavatnik is “considering” the Robinov opportunity and had seen presentations, a source close to the multi-billionaire said.
Blavatnik wants to be “hands on” with any potential funds he’s providing and that may not be quite Robinov’s way of doing things, a second source noted.
One of the world’s wealthiest individuals, Blavatnik has several investments across a host of creative industries.
He has provided funds to Weinstein Co. movies and has stakes in the fashion world’s Tory Burch and C. Wonder.
Blavatnik’s Access Industries has stakes in several digital music companies including France’s Deezer.
As lucrative as Netflix and subscription video-on-demand deals are, they still haven’t replaced Hollywood’s DVD business.
But the effort to reduce the amount of time that passes between a theatrical screening and watching at home via a digital stream isn’t as easy as it looks.
Getting exhibitors to agree to let studios place movies into on-demand systems, or online while they’re in a first theatrical run, is impossible.
“No-one can figure it out,” says one studio chief. “We’re all just moving forward with our blindfolds on.”
DVD revenue peaked in 2004 when consumers spent $22 billion on the silicon disks. Last year the total was $18.2 billion, with digital movie spending up 50 percent at $1 billion, according to the Digital Entertainment Group.
Getting current movies to fans who don’t go to cinemas, however, could build a big new revenue stream and would save a whole lot of marketing dollars.
The big Hollywood mystery is figuring out a solution that would keep exhibitors happy.