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[S1E22 - 'Monkey Business' - Feb. 24, 2013 - Oscars ed.]
Hello, and welcome to today's 'Monkey Business.' This is 'Monkey Business' for February 24, 2013.
And, Marcel will be doing the main segment on awards show, the Oscars, but let's have a quick look at some tech news.
Video game company Sony Computer Entertainment officially announces that the PlayStation 4, or PS4, will be available later this year.
The company [Sony Computer Entertainment] is a subsidiary of multinational corporation Sony (SNE) [ADR].
And Sergey Brin, co-founder of search giant Google (GOOG), was spotted sashaying around the New York City
[New York, U.S.] subway a few episodes ago, wearing a prototype for Google's augmented-reality specs project, [the final product to be called] Google Glass; that clip here [MB S1E15].
Various media outlets report that the Google Glass specs are now a go and will hit store shelves in late 2013.
Finally, the 'Wall Street Journal' reports that retailer Best Buy (BBY) is launching a two-week promotion offering a
$100 [one hundred U.S. dollar] discount on the purchase of touchscreen laptops running Windows 8, the most recent Windows operating system, produced by Microsoft (MSFT).
For more on any of these stories, just browse the links in the infobox.
And now, over to Marcel, for Nearly News.
Take it away, Marcel.
I was going to do a little fly-by over Hollywood's awards show, the Oscars, broadcasting on February 24, 2013,
but evidently I've arrived a little early.
[Marcel on red carpet, hours before awards show begins.] 'ello. I have arrived.
I can do an autograph, there's no line. Yet.
Hello.
[Marcel is back in his plane.] So, instead, I'm enjoying zipping around off the coast of Los Angeles, California [U.S.], enjoying fair weather.
We can talk about Oscar-ish things, instead. In the meantime, we have a quick treat for fans of 'The Hobbit.'
The fantasy film ['The Hobbit'] was well on the way to earning a billion dollars at the box office; that clip [MB S1E15] is here, somewhere. Just look. [Shown: MB S1E15 clip]
Fans of epic fantasy stories have also taken to 'Game of Thrones' in a huge way - it broadcasts in more than
60 countries, and has the dubious honor of being the most-pirated show of 2012.
Broadcaster HBO has licensed several companies to produce merchandise based on the wildly popular fantasy
program, including action figures, replica weapons and armor, and bobblehead dolls.
Fans of the show can even guzzle a line of beers, [which were] based on the series.
The first in the line of beers, the Iron Throne Blonde Ale, will hit shelves in March 2013.
The program even inspired fashion designer Helmut Lang [2012 collection], as he chucked models down the runway
in enough boots, leggings, leather and light armor to fill a kingdom-ful of taverns, castles and creepy forests.
[Marcel is shown in winter background, in mock ‘Game of Thrones’ cameo] Raaaargh!
Oh. I forgot my sword. Sptoo, sptoo. [Spitting out strands of fur or hair from his costume, which have gotten into his mouth.]
What is this? Yak hair?
Sptoo, sptoo, sptoo…
Ah, but the most frenzied of fans,
[Segment interruption - example of a frenzied fan, shown in battle gear in a supermarket aisle.]
what can they do once they've stocked up on replica armor, action figures, and looked into ordering a case of magical beer, and had a 'Game of Thrones' fashion show in the front yard,
[Another frenzied fan interrupts the segment, with a scene at a barbeque.]
and are busily tapping their toes, waiting impatiently for the trailer for the latest season of 'Game of Thrones' to appear?
Well, if they have one moment, in between wringing their hands, storming their living room and having season one (S1) marathons
with their equally-smitten throners, they can watch the debut trailer for the current season, right here, voilà. [Clip onscreen, 'Game of Thrones,' Season Three trailer, clicks through to full trailer at official 'Game of Thrones' channel.]
[Marcel suddenly remembers this segment is about the Oscars.] Ah, yes, the Oscars. We were talking about the Oscars, weren't we?
So, okay, with a bit of movie magic, I snap my fingers...and... voilà.
[Marcel shown in red carpet-style tableau.] Here I am.
The annual awards show [formally rebranded as 'The Oscars' or 'the Oscars' in 2013; formerly known as the Academy Awards in prior years, and informally, as the Oscars] is a magnet for advertisers,
since it delivers views on the scale of music awards show, the Grammys, and sports event, the Super Bowl - our Super Bowl special is right here. [Clip shown onscreen: MB S1E18]
Then, we have the Oscars. 'Ad Age' reports that broadcaster ABC - owned by entertainment company The Walt Disney Company (DIS) -
is picking up between $1.65 million and $1.8 million [U.S. dollars] for a 30-second spot in this year's broadcast, according to media buyers.
Search engine giant Google (GOOG) is making a play for viewers online during commercials [as a TV break, or watching coverage on laptops at home, or on mobile devices],
with a one-stop-shop covering everything Oscars, and there'll be several live streams or live-blog and live-tweet pajama parties, for techies and social media fans.
Links to a few of these in the infobox.
[To someone offscreen.] What? What do you mean, I can't park the plane using a [parking] meter? Bah, that's ridiculous.
Ah, well, back to the plane. It's nicer there, anyway. Less traffic.
Now, where were we...Ah, yes. If we follow the money - outside of ad spots or studio spends on promo to plug their Oscar-nominated products - there's still a lot of it flowing around the glitzy awards show.
And almost $50,000 [U.S. dollars] of it lands in swag bags [this year], did you know? [Valuation is per bag, value of goods or services included, as reported by Oscars gift bag organizer/promoter.]
With a slate of several nominees for all kinds of categories - Best Actor, Best Costume Design, Best Director - well,
there can be but one winner for each, and not everyone will go home happy...
...except for EVERYONE, because Oscar nominees are all going home with a bag of goodies valued at nearly $50,000 [fifty thousand] U.S. dollars [approx. $47,802].
It [the Oscars 2013 goodie bag] includes everything from a $4 [U.S.] dollar bottle of Windex cleaner,
to a $5,000 [U.S.] dollar 'vampire facelift' - don't ask me, I'm naturally beautiful - to a $12,000 [U.S.] dollar vacation in an Australian resort.
So - no crying allowed.
If anyone doesn't want their goodie bag, I'm happy to make a pit stop.
Just throw it up here.
Throw. Throw.
And that's today's 'Monkey Business.' Take care, folks, it's Oscar night out there.