Zack O'Malley Greenburg's Blog, page 80

Can Las Vegas Save ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark’?

Things were already looking bad for Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark in 2010 when the $75 million musical’s brass decided the ending didn’t make sense.

Relatively speaking, this was a minor issue for the most expensive show in Broadway history. Since rehearsals began, cast members have suffered gruesome injuries in the show’s high-flying action sequences, resulting in a New York State Department of Labor citation for workplace safety violations; the production’s launch was delayed six times. And...

The World’s Highest-Paid Musicians 2013

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Lady Gaga and Madonna have a superstar rivalry made in gossip-blog heaven. The former burst onto the scene five years ago with a provocative pop sensibility reminiscent of the latter’s. Last year, Madonna accused Gaga of ripping off one of her songs; this year, the “Born This Way” singer insisted she doesn’t want the Material Girl’s throne.

From an earnings perspective, however, there’s no q...

Eminem’s Marshall Mathers LP 2: Anatomy of a Chart-Topper

Pop quiz: which musical act sold the most U.S. albums in the 2000s? Not the Beatles, not Elvis, not Madonna, not Michael Jackson. By a margin of 2 million, the honor belongs to Eminem, who sold 32.2 million albums during that span.

Last week he added another 792,000 units to his career tally with the debut of his latest album,The Marshall Mathers LP 2, which claimed the No. 1 spot on theBillboardcharts. The LP’s opening-week performance wasthe year’s second-best, trailing only Justin Timberlak...

Lady Gaga’s ARTPOP Pop-Up Store: Art Or Commerce?

Lady Gaga's pop-up store raises many of the same questions as her new album ARTPOP.

Walk west on 14th Street in New York this week and you’ll eventually encounter a curious sight: a line of people on the sidewalk staring into a storefront where two dancers dressed likeLady Gagagyrate while playing a video game on an enormous television screen.

It’s all part of the roll-out for Gaga’s latest album, ARTPOP, which was released worldwide earlier today. Along with a similar outlet in Los Angeles, th...

Veterans Day Rock Star: Gary Sinise’s Lt. Dan Band Gives Back

Rock Stars and Stripes: Gary Sinise and his Lt. Dan Band have raised millions to build homes for amputees.

Gary Sinise is known for many acting roles—as the 33rd President of the United States of America in Truman, as George Milton in the film Of Mice And Men and, most recently, as Detective Mac Taylor in CSI: NY. But if recent experience is any indication, his most memorable performance was as Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump.

Last month, Sinise was giving a talk at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Mary...

‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ Release Date Announced As Disney’s Earnings Rise

Star Wars Episode VII: Date set for December 18th, 2015.

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, there was Star Wars. And two years from now, on our very own planet, the saga’s next chapter will unfold. Today Disney announced the release date for Episode VII: December 18th, 2015.

The news comes on the heels ofreportssuggesting that Disney chief Bob Iger favored a summer 2015 release, while the creative team, including producer Kathleen Kennedy, pushed for summer 2016. It seems the final decis...

Live Nation’s Earnings Reveal Concert Boom; Can It Continue?

Tiesto: The Dutch DJ is one of the many musicians benefiting from the live music boom.

Live Nation reported quarterly revenues of $2.26 billion yesterday, beating expectations and setting a new record for the entertainment giant.

Shares of the company ended the day down 1.1%, but they’ve risen 35% over the past six months. The latest results were driven by stronger-than expected performance in the company’s concerts division.

“The tour slate remained healthy, the strongest in years per our chann...

Jay Z’s Gift To Cano Questioned, Showing Hazards Of Synergy

Robinson Cano: His birthday gift from Jay Z is being watched.

Robinson Cano has had quite the offseason thus far. As his free agency begins, the Jay Z client and longtime Yankees second baseman has appeared at the top of nearly every list of the bestplayers on the market; he’s said to be seeking a 10-year deal worth $310 million, which would be the largest in the history of professional sports.

His agents–Jay Z and Roc Nation Sports, in partnership with Creative Artists Agency–are known as shre...

Forbes 30 Under 30 Music: Nominations Wanted!

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Wiz Khalifa isn’t a big fan of dress shoes, generally speaking. But when he came by the FORBES headquarters last year for our 30 Under 30 photo shoot, a snazzy pair of Louis Vuittons caught his eye.

“I gotta take my two front teeth off my Christmas list,” he said with a chuckle.

The 26-year-old rapper was the featured artist in the music category of last year’s 30 Under 30 package, and he may well return to the list for a third straight...

Top-Earning Dead Musicians 2013

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Of all the iconic images of Michael Jackson, the one most closely associate with Halloween comes from his “Thriller” video—or short film, as he called it—where,clad in that red leather jacket, he dances in lockstep with a host of talented zombies.

More than four years after his death, he continues to lead a pack of postmortem performers, in a manner of speaking: He’s the top-earning deceased musician once again.

The King of...