Prisa extends $4 bil debt repayment

MADRID -- Prisa, controlling shareholder of Spain's biggest pay TV platform, Digital Plus, has closed a deal with creditor banks to extend re-payment of around Euros2.92 billion ($3.8 billion) in debt to March 2014 at the earliest. Maturity on a $2.6 billion bridge loan, originally made to Prisa in 2007 by a seven-bank syndicate led by HSBC, will be put back to January 2015. Another syndicated loan is extended to March 2014, or December 2014 if Prisa sells bonds or its 17% stake in Mediaset Espana, Bloomberg suggested. Agreed with 35 banks, the debt extensions rep an important vote of market confidence in Prisa, one of the biggest media congloms in the Spanish-speaking world, which also owns Spanish newspaper El Pais, radio network Cadena Ser and Portuguese TV holding Media Capital, owner of broadcaster TVI. As Prisa initiates what it called this week a "growth policy," one affect of the loan extensions may be an heightened appetite for top-notch product at Digital Plus, whose consumer base has languished around 1.8 million subscribers in recent years. "Prisa has a clear commitment to Digital Plus. It will now attempt to improve its content, one way or another," forecast one analyst. This February, Digital Plus acquired Spanish rights to select UEFA Champions League soccer games for the next three seasons. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

REVIEW: Glenn Close Explores Female Sexual Repression in Dowdy, Unfinished-Feeling Albert Nobbs

All of the characters in Albert Nobbs, a mild and mildly stirring adaptation of the George Moore short story, are dreamers. Employees in a mid-19th century Dublin inn, they dream of each other, chiefly, and the ways in which they might be set free. They deceive each other, as well, so that their dreams are often projected onto false fronts — of character, of obligation, and — in a couple of cases — of tightly bound breasts. We know, of course, that breasts and more lurk behind the waistcoat of the title character, the hotel’s genteel footman, because he is played by Glenn Close. As Mr. Albert Nobbs, Close wears a discreetly waved cap of cropped ginger hair and the bright, blank expression of a small animal caught mid-nibble. Blanched of make-up, her Edwardian features — balustrade cheekbones, long, straight mouth, and even, almondine eyes — seem to have been pinched from clay. Mr. Nobbs, as his peers call him, is immaculately devoted to his duties, which include hauling baggage, silently conducting the evening’s dinner service, absorbing the indignities of the hotel guests (including a boor played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers), and knowing when to open his palm for that extra shilling. As run by a fatuous hen named Mrs. Baker (Pauline Collins), life at the inn is tightly controlled. Nobbs ends each day by adding his extra earnings to a secret stash he tucks under his bedroom’s floorboards. It’s a vague kind of emancipation Nobbs dreams of: Though he marks his earnings scrupulously each night and has plans to open a tobacco shop, stepping out into the world requires a little more than capital. Meanwhile, cheeky scullery maid Helen Dawes (Mia Wasikowska) is making eyes at the porridge-shoveling handyman (Aaron Johnson), and the house doctor (Brendan Gleeson) — kept by Mrs. Baker — is carrying on with the head chambermaid (Maria Doyle Kennedy). Just passing through on a painting errand is Hubert Page (Janet McTeer), a strapping lad with a suspiciously barreled chest. Mrs. Baker goes sweet on Hubert, Hubert takes note of Miss Dawes’s blonde curls, and Nobbs gives Hubert an eyeful the night he leaps out of their shared bed, trying to root a flea out of his corset. Once the mutually held secret is out, as it were, Nobbs treats Hubert as a role model. The latter has a wife (played, in a vivid cameo, by Bronagh Gallagher) and a stable social identity; whatever is going on behind it seems beyond Nobbs’s concern. And this is where the script, co-written by Close and novelist John Banville, disperses in too many directions to serve any one of them well. It soon becomes obvious that Nobbs may have disappeared entirely behind his mask: Where Hubert admits to his original name, and describes the domestic abuse that pushed him out of a marriage and into an identity that would let him bring home his own bacon, Albert maintains that his “real” name is Albert. And though he recalls his common upbringing with bitterness (“Life without decency is unbearable,” he spits) and tells Hubert of the gang rape that led to his exile, his extreme social and emotional constipation suggest that Nobbs has no past self — or even basic human instinct — to speak of. Across films like Nine Women and Mother and Child, director Rodrigo Garca has developed a neo-women’s picture aesthetic; he brings a human texture and fearlessness to his sisterhood stories. It would seem fortuitous that Close — who has been trying to bring this story to the big screen since some time after she starred in a stage version in 1982 — was paired with Garca when the project’s stars finally aligned. And yet this story of literal and figurative female sexual repression feels curiously unfinished, its many layers rather decorously undisturbed. This is not a story of transgendered triumph or subversion — in both cases abuse and economics are what got the women into bootstraps. Having successfully passed as men, the question of sexuality is treated as academic. Hubert and his wife have an arrangement that suits both of them socially, and Albert seeks the same, awkwardly tilting his hat at the blooming Miss Dawes. What he actually wants — beyond a life of decency — is as opaque as Close’s petrified expression. When Miss Dawes is punished for indulging her own burgeoning sexuality, Albert Nobbs — shot in silky shades of blue with impeccable, period set direction, framed and paced with a precise hand — begins to take a dowdy, rather Victorian shape. It’s all very decent, in other words, when it seems it might have been much more. Follow Michelle Orange on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

Former William Morris Headquarters Sold for $47.8 Million (Exclusive)

Christiane Amanpour is stepping down from the anchor chair at ABC's Sunday news program This Week. She has hosted the program for a year and a half and will continue to report for ABC via various news specials as well as launch a new global affairs program on CNN International.our editor recommendsMusical Chairs: ABCs Christiane Amanpour Hires Ousted Katie Couric Exec ABC's Christiane Amanpour Comes Under Attack in Cairo Same Day as Anderson CooperChristiane Amanpour to anchor 'This Week' Amanpour stepped into the This Week position following George Stephanopoulos' move to Good Morning America. Stephanopoulos will return as This Week's anchor and remain at GMA, reports the Associated Press. Amanpour said in a statement Tuesday, "This is an exciting and unique opportunity for me to take my love of story telling to primetime at ABC News with multiple specials, as well as becoming a roving Global Affairs anchor across all ABC platforms. PHOTOS: The Most Talked About TV News Faces "I am looking forward to getting back into the field to report stories on global issues that matter greatly to the American people. At the same time, I will be broadcasting once again to millions of people across the world with a weekday show on CNN International.This role is groundbreaking, bold and very different! I am thrilled and honored. "It's been an incredible experience to have had a ringside seat to democracy in action at This Week. It's been an incredible honor to anchor such a prestigious program and I thank all of you who have helped me on that journey." With Amanpour as anchor, This Week was down one percent in ratings from last year and remained the No. 3 Sunday political affairs talk show behind NBC's Meet the Press and CBS' Face the Nation, notes AP. PHOTOS: 10 Entertainers Democrats and Republicans Love to Hate Prior to her ABC gig, Amanpour spent 27 years at CNN where she served as chief international correspondent and anchor of Amanpour. CNN Worldwide president Jim Walton said, "Christiane Amanpour has been synonymous with international reporting and with CNN for many years. We could not be happier that through this unique arrangement with ABC News her experience and global perspective are returning to a nightly news broadcast for our international audience." PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery The Most Talked-About TV News Faces Related Topics International ABC News

Abud upped at Telemundo

Telemundo Media has promoted longtime company exec Manuel Abud to prexy of the Telemundo Station Group. Abud, who was most recently prexy and general manager of Telemundo Dallas KXTX, will oversee 15 Telemundo-owned local stations in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. He replaces Ronald Gordon who was named chairman at ZGS Communicaitons, which owns and operates the largest group of Telemundo affiliates. Gordon was prexy and CEO of ZGS before joining Telemundo in 2009. In 2010, Abud combined his role at Telemundo Dallas to serve as interim general manager of indie TV station KWHY in Los Angeles. Prior to that, he was VP and general manager of Telemundo LA, prexy of Telemundo Cable and launched sister channel mun2. Abud was also prexy of CBS Telenoticias, which he relaunched as Telemundo Intl. Before Telemundo, Abud was chief financial officer of Mexico's media company Grupo Medcom, director of investor relations at Grupo Televisa and general treasurer of Grupo ICA. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

OWN to show Shadyac's 'I Am'

In the network's first high-profile docu acquisition, "I Am" will preem on Oprah Winfrey's OWN next month, marking the Discovery Communications/Harpo joint venture's first anniversary on Jan. 1. "Bruce Almighty" helmer Tom Shadyac's pic explores philosophical questions in interviews with thinkers including Noam Chomsky, Desmond Tutu and Howard Zinn. Street date for the "I Am" DVD is Jan. 3. The film will air on following an interview between Oprah and Shadyac about the painful bicycle accident that caused him to begin questioning his lifestyle. Contact Sam Thielman at sam.thielman@variety.com

'New' pair aspire to fuel B.O. uptick

Ashton Kutcher as Randy in New Line Movie theaters romantic comedy 'New Years Eve,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Fox's R-ranked comedy, 'The Sitter,' starring Jonah Hill, is anticipated to bow within the high single numbers to low teens.With year-to-date box office still lower 2.4% versus. this past year, industryites are searching for this weekend's set of openers -- Warner Bros.' ensembler "New Year's Eve" and twentieth century Fox's R-ranked laffer "The Sitter" -- to assist jumpstart an outburst in filmgoing with the holidays.Last weekend's B.O. downturn, usual for the publish-Thanksgiving frame, saw "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Beginning -- Part 1" win its third straight weekend. "New Year's Eve" should break that streak having a bow expected to stay in the reduced- to mid-$20 millions. "The Sitter" is forecasted to debut within the high single numbers to low teens.A good amount of new niche game titles is going to be competing for adult attention: Focus Features' "Mess Tailor Soldier Spy" and Paramount's "Youthful Adult" both bow in limited release. "Mess" launches today at four locations in NY and L.A. "Youthful Adult" is out in five marketplaces, amassing eight engagements.B.O. experts remain positive the remaining days through New Year's -- using their roster of high-profile product -- is going to be enough to shut the Stateside B.O. gap versus. this past year.Though "New Year's Eve," from New Line, is not likely to equal the outlet of 2010's "Valentine's," which bowed to $56 million, Warners has situated "New Year's Eve" to profit from the extended holiday lead-in. The studio stated it needs the pic ultimately to outgross "Valentine's," which cumed $110 million locally. Films released around Christmas often begin to see the greatest multiples in comparison holiday to a play period, though the 2011 crowded Christmas slate could stunt the film's growth.Allocated in a reported $56 million, "New Year's Eve" also bows day-and-date a few days ago in a number of overseas marketplaces including Australia, Germany and also the U.K.Pic's star energy, including Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert P Niro, Zac Efron, Jessica Biel and Nicole Kidman, should drive attendance both locally and abroad. The inclusion of worldwide stars Til Schweiger and Sofia Vergara should help further overseas."New Year's Eve" is anticipated to skew mostly female, while Fox's "The Sitter" is monitoring fairly evenly between your genders, with teenagers holding a small edge. Fox stated it needs "The Sitter," which cost within the $20 millions, to profit from elevated holiday moviegoing the film's greatest comedy competish can come from "Youthful Adult" if this grows wide next weekend.Searching to construct person to person, Fox intends to sneak "We Purchased a Zoo" again a few days ago, just two days following the film's first countrywide sneak previews. Monitoring continues to be around the soft side, although the studio remains hopeful, because the film plays well with auds.Also reaping helpful benefits from positive buzz, Paramount's family-friendly "Hugo" grows in the third frame to two,608 locations, up from 1,840. Martin Scorsese pic cumed $26.8 million by Wednesday, with enhanced mid-week tallies.Fox Searchlight will even turn to get holiday traction from "The Descendants" and "Shame" because the two photos get larger releases a few days ago. "The Descendants" adds a hostile 300 playdates for any total 874, while "Shame" a lot more than doubles its limited run, with 21 locations on Friday. To date, "Descendants" has totalled $18.9 million "Shame" nearly $500,000. Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com

Helping hand lifts bizzers

During the recent economic meltdown, a successful 45-year-old director with a mid-seven-figure portfolio -- 60% of which was in stocks -- saw his holdings drop in value by about 20%.Against the advice of his financial adviser, Freemark Financial's Steves Rodriguez, the anxious helmer sold everything and moved into cash, fearing that equities would continue to fall."There's a visceral reaction," says Andrew Meyer, another partner at Freemark, a Santa Monica business and wealth management firm. "You want to jump out of these things that have pulled back in value."In fact, stocks extended their decline. From the Lehman Bros. bankruptcy in September 2008 though the market bottom in March 2009, the S&P 500 index tumbled more than 40%.At first it looked like the director had made the right move, but then stocks came roaring back."Changing strategy at that point just does not work," Meyer says. "You're going to lose all the upside."The director is still in cash today, having missed the entire 2010 market advance. Meyer notes that he's the firm's only client who didn't fully recover from the 2008 decline."It's very rare that making an emotional decision is going to turn out well for you," adds Rodriguez. "At the end of the day, you want to be true to whatever strategy you employ."Although nobody could foresee the extent of the downturn, many wealth managers were getting uneasy well before 2008. Stephen Prough, co-founder and managing director of Salem Partners, a Los Angeles-based wealth management and investment banking firm, began telling clients in 2006 that "prices of certain assets were unsustainable."Prough's clients were nervous, especially a 40-year-old entrepreneur who had sold his entertainment-related business for "tens of millions of dollars" just before the crisis hit.By fall 2008, the firm had reduced the average equity exposure in portfolios from about one-third to 15%. "We didn't miss all of the 2008 meltdown, but we missed a lot of it," Prough adds.The entrepreneur's portfolio fell about 10%, but "we certainly made up for it the next year," Prough says. The firm saw value in both convertible bonds and municipal debt, which had tumbled as investors across the country were forced to liquidate holdings to raise cash. Salem started to put clients' money to work in those asset classes at the end of 2008. It also made opportunistic buys of stock options. That positioned clients for the market rebound, yet risked only the relatively small option premium.For Jason Romano, a financial planner and partner at Moss Adams Wealth Advisers, protecting clients' financial health comes down to structuring an asset allocation so that "regardless of what happens -- whether it's a good or bad market -- you're going to be OK."In 2008, Romano, who specializes in entertainment clients at the firm's Los Angeles office, had a portion of clients' assets in alternative investments that have low correlations to U.S. stocks. A small position was in a fund that could sell short, thus rising as stocks plunged.Although clients suffered modest losses, says Romano, the key technique was to rebalance portfolios -- selling part of a position that had advanced to buy more of an asset class that had declined.One of Romano's clients, a successful TV writer in his mid-50s, had a portfolio of 20% stocks and 80% bonds, mostly California munis. Although the muni market also sold off, Romano reminded the writer that he held individual bonds that would eventually mature at face value. (In contrast, bond funds have no maturity date.) Meanwhile, the income from the individual bonds would continue unchanged.Romano reminded the writer, whose portfolio is in the range of $7 million to $10 million, they were not investing for that one year. The writer's portfolio was rebalanced and recovered with the market."We highly encourage clients to continue adding money to their investments," he says.Financial advisers say entertainment industry clients can't be lumped together as one group. While studio execs have a steady paycheck, talent often lives from job to job. Having a large cash cushion is imperative for someone with a variable income stream.That can limit the amount of money available for investing in stocks or other "risk" assets. "I don't put any money in that they're going to need within the next three years," says Rich Winer, prez, Winer Wealth Management in Woodland Hills, Calif.The intensity of showbiz can also affect the money management process. "I find that entertainment clients are so focused on their careers they are not following their financial stuff as closely as other clients," adds Winer.He and other advisers who work with showbiz pros try to overcome that with frequent communication.But the key is having that plan. "If we can avoid losing (much) money in these big market declines that come every three to five years, then we don't have to take as much risk during the bull runs."SHOWBIZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT REPORTHelping hand lifts bizzers | Segal gets kudo as biz manager | No boom, no bust | How to avoid the downside of Westside wealth | Social media money trail Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com