MA Y 2 0 1 2 (Continued from Page 4) Hollywood Gets China’s Cash The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is bragging that, while U.S. cinema ticket sales have decreased, China has kept Hollywood smiling. U.S. cinema admissions have dropped drastically over the last 10 years, and they fell again in 2011. Admissions in the U.S. and Canada amounted to just $1.28 billion last year compared to $1.57 billion in 2002. Additionally, compared to 2010, box office revenues fell four percent to $10.2 billion. 3D revenues, which had been a good source of income, also took an 18 percent dip (down to $400 million). However, overall international box office revenues rose seven percent in 2011, in large part thanks to China, which grew by 35 percent, and Russia. The growth of China and other developing markets contributed three percent ($32.6 billion) of that seven percent increase. According to former Democratic senator and current MPAA chairman Chris Dodd, China is adding eight new screens a day, and 75 new Imax screens this year. The country has also raised the number of U.S.-made films it allows to be screened in its cinemas. As part of an effort to expand the quota placed on U.S.-made films in China, top execs at the six big Hollywood studios met with Xi Jinping, China’s VP and heir apparent. Plus, a number of Hollywood studios have struck joint venture deals with Chinese partners that ensure their movies qualify for distribution in the country. Disney’s Deal with blinkbox The U.K.’s online movie service blinkbox and Disney UK and Ireland have inked a deal that offers blinkbox customers access to a selection of Disney’s family entertainment. Per terms of the agreement, blinkbox customers will be able to buy or rent the latest titles instantly on their computers, Smart TVs, game consoles and tablets without subscription — many on the same day they’re released on DVD. Additionally, blinkbox users will be able to purchase TV drama series produced by Disney’s U.S. network production arm ABC Studios. blinkbox now has deals with all of the major studios, including Warner Bros., Paramount, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Universal, as well as more than 40 other programming providers. U.S. Kind(er) To Foreign Trade Show Visitors It looks like getting into the U.S. will get a bit easier for international visitors attending U.S.-based trade shows. Recently, U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order to facilitate inbound international travel. The president’s plans include expanding the reciprocal international trusted-travel program, adding Taiwan and other countries to the Visa Waiver Program, making visa processing more efficient (especially in Brazil and China) and appointing new members to the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board. He would also like the secretaries of Commerce and the Interior to lead a task force to help generate a “national travel and tourism strategy to promote domestic and international travel opportunities” throughout the U.S. The Department of Commerce is also responsible for managing a website for the public featuring vital information and statistics that will make it easier to understand visa processes in the U.S. The executive order requires the State and Homeland Security Departments to interview 80 percent of all nonimmigrant visa applicants within three weeks of receiving applications, thereby speeding up the visa process. In Brazil and China, the departments are charged with increasing visa processing capacity by 40 percent over this year. According to information from the State Department, visa issuances over the last five years have climbed 234 percent in Brazil and 124 percent in China. In 2011, the U.S. State Department issued 17 percent more visas than it did during fiscal 2010. As part of the effort to facilitate travel and visa processing, Commerce Secretary John Bryson appointed 32 private sector CEOs to the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board to assess and improve issues associated with traveling. The administration also plans to issue a final rule making the Global Entry program (a U.S. Customs and Border Protection program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the U.S.) permanent. The program will be expanded to airports in Charlotte, Denver, Minneapolis and Phoenix. 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