Volkswagen's Piech draws criticism over CEO remark

BERLIN — Volkswagen patriarch and board chairman Ferdinand Piech is drawing criticism over a reported remark that raised questions over the future of the CEO of Europe's biggest automaker, Martin Winterkorn.

Piech, a key company powerbroker, was quoted by Der Spiegel magazine Friday as saying he was "at a distance from Winterkorn," who has been widely considered a likely successor as supervisory board chief. That prompted speculation about his position.

The head of Volkswagen's influential employee council backed Winterkorn. The governor of Lower Saxony state, a minority shareholder, criticized the public discussion about the company's leadership.

The Piech and Porsche families together control a majority in Volkswagen. Board member Wolfgang Porsche told news agency dpa in a statement Sunday that Piech's comment represents "his private opinion" and wasn't cleared with his family.

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Stringent reverse mortgage rules near implementation

WASHINGTON — Interested in a reverse mortgage without a lot of hassles? Get your application in now. On April 27, a series of extensive "financial assessment" tests will make applying for a reverse mortgage tougher — much like applying for a standard home mortgage.

Reverse mortgages always have been different — available only to seniors 62 and older who have equity in their homes that they want to convert to cash. There are no repayments required until the borrower sells the house, moves out or dies. Homeowners' main responsibilities are to keep current on local property taxes, pay hazard insurance premiums and keep the place in reasonable condition.

The Federal Housing Administration has for three decades run the dominant insured reverse mortgage program in the country, and it has been relatively easygoing when it comes to underwriting. If you qualified on age and equity, you had a good shot at getting a loan.

But during the recession and mortgage bust years, thousands of borrowers fell into default because they didn't pay required property taxes and hazard insurance premiums. Further, real estate values plunged, producing huge losses on defaulted and foreclosed properties for the FHA. The losses got so severe that the Treasury Department had to provide the FHA with a $1.7 billion bailout in 2013, the first in the agency's history since its creation in the 1930s.

All of which led to the upcoming dramatic changes. Applicants now must demonstrate upfront that they have both the "willingness" and the "capacity" to meet their obligations. Lenders are going to pull borrowers' credit reports, just as they do with other mortgages.

Applicants will need to show that they paid their real estate taxes, homeowner association fees and other property-related charges on time for at least the past 24 months. They will be asked to produce documentation of their employment status, income and financial assets, as well as undergo a "residual income" analysis that examines all their monthly expenses and cash flow.

Inadequate marks on these tests may require borrowers to create a "life expectancy set aside" — essentially a reserve account or escrow funded wholly or in part from their loan proceeds. For some borrowers, the set-asides may be so substantial they'll be left with minimal cash at closing, making the entire reverse mortgage process a waste of time.

All of which, say reverse mortgage industry experts, will exclude potentially thousands of senior homeowners from obtaining a reverse mortgage, especially those who are on the margins economically and need the cash to help pay for ongoing household expenses.

Reza Jahangiri, CEO of Orange, Calif.-based American Advisors Group, the highest-volume reverse mortgage lender, said his company expects a decline in loan activity by "8 to 10 percent" after the assessment rules take effect. He also expects a shift toward "mainstream" borrowers who seek to use a reverse mortgage as part of their overall retirement planning, including raising money to buy a new house or to establish a flexible line of credit they can draw from. Many seniors currently can't qualify for bank home-equity credit lines, he said, but with adequate credit, income and assets, can qualify for a reverse mortgage in the form of a credit line.

Maggie O'Connell, who originates FHA-insured reverse mortgages for The Federal Savings Bank from offices in Reno, Nev., and Danville, Calif., said she's been scrambling "to get people in before the deadline" who might encounter difficulty — or be turned off by all the required documentation — under the new rules. Though she may do fewer loans in the short term, she said, in the long term the tougher rules "are probably a good thing" because they will prevent weak borrowers from taking out loans they can't handle and that will eventually end up in default, "which is bad for them and bad for us."

Bottom line: Tougher credit standards have come to reverse mortgages — finally. Before applying, be aware of the types of documentation you'll need. And when you talk with a lender or financial counselor about a reverse loan, make sure you involve the entire family, so everybody knows what you are getting into.

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'Kids can smell fake': 5 insights from marketing pros at the massive summit

The room was buzzing with talk of data mining, viral campaigns and brand trust at Variety's Massive Entertainment Marketing Summit at the Beverly Hills Four Seasons on Friday, which brought together industry experts to weigh in the challenges and payoffs of digital marketing, among other topics. Marketing experts agreed that authenticity is the key for younger consumers. Here's a few other insights from the summit:

1. Kids can smell fake

Scott Birnbaum, Senior VP of marketing and e-commerce at Aeropostale, shared the story of launching a clothing line with YouTube star and social influencer Bethany Mota. At one point the campaign released photos of Mota that, to her fans, looked over-doctored and caused outrage on social media. "I even got a phone call from my daughter who was supposedly in school saying 'What did you do to Bethany?,'" Birnbaum recalled. Using this anecdote, Birnbaum emphasized the mantra that kids can smell fake. "Eventually, a single tweet that said 'Hey, we think Beth is beautiful too. It was a mistake. It's going to be fixed in 20 minutes,' made everything calm down," he said.

Moderator Jeetendr Sehdev, a celebrity branding authority, read from a study commissioned by Variety that found U.S. teens view YouTube stars to be 90 percent more authentic than traditional celebrities, 17 times more engaging and 11 times more extraordinary.

Mota, who was also on the panel, said that her philosophy relies on honesty and brand trust. "I will never talk about something or promote something that I don't actually use and that I don't care about because with the relationship being so strong between the creators and viewers, they can see when you don't truly like something. As long as you're honest and truthful then that's what builds that relationship. And the stronger that is, the more they're going to listen to what you say," she said.

2. Focus on the content, not the demographic

In a spotlight conversation with Movio CEO Will Palmer about how theaters and studios use data to target audiences, Palmer suggested gender and demographic info may be an old fashioned way of approaching an audience -- "assuming that somebody, the day they turn 36, is no longer going to be interested in 'The Avengers.' These films cross all quadrants and cross all segments. So sometimes you have to ignore the demographic information and start looking at the comparable titles. If you focus more on the content and less on the demographic, you'll likely get a better result," he said.

3. Help consumers discover what they want without being intrusive

Hulu's head of marketing, Jenny Wall and Facebook's global head of entertainment strategy Jim Underwood discussed the potential hazards of data mining and targeted advertising. Wall pointed out that consumers want to feel like they're discovering new things, but they need help because there is so much available. In order to give people what they want without creeping them out, Hulu uses a combination of algorithms and staff-curated lists. Wall also said when Hulu advertises on Facebook, the combined data is extremely valuable. "Facebook data mixed with Hulu data is the most amazing goldmine of data possible. And it actually is not really intrusive because they don't really understand, I think, that we're doing that... We have a thousand ads, and in real time we're quickly optimizing and shifting to serve the right ad and the personalized ad to the right person."

4. Embrace fan-generated content

Sima Sistani, head of media at Tumblr, explained her thoughts on how content producers can improve their digital presence, saying that fans will create opportunities. "You have fandoms out there who are taking the best moments from a movie or show and creating episode recaps or pulling out the best moments into gifs and even creating fan fiction and fan art," she explained. "One of my favorite things that I saw was the bacon and eggs version of the characters of 'Parks and Recreation.' If the 'Parks and Rec' Tumblr re-blogs that, it's so meaningful and that fan is just going to get more engaged and more excited."

5. Fail, fail fast and move on

Jill Hotchkiss, VP of marketing and creative at Disney XD shared the mantra "fail, fail fast and move on" which she uses when brainstorming ways to connect with a younger demographic. "You have got to try new and try different," she said. "We need to figure out how to be a kids space and do it in a different way when there are a lot of restrictions for us."

Caty Burgess, VP of media strategies at the CW, used an example of how her network has tried as many avenues as possible in order to be on the cutting edge of marketing. "Our first mobile campaign was little sticker mirrors you could put on the back of your cellphone for 'Gossip Girl.'"

The research team at a network is largely responsible for determining what will work, but beyond that there is still plenty of uncertainty when pitching a new idea, explained Jamie Cutburth, senior VP of marketing at Bravo and Oxygen. "That 50 percent of the unproven part is the culture and it is the risk-taking," he said. "It's very difficult because you're going to make sure that it hits every button or it's not going to move forward. But that's why we're able to do a lot of great stuff."

© 2015 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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What could be causing 2004 Durango’s starting issues?

Q: My 2004 Dodge Durango with 170,000 miles has recently developed starting problems. It will start up in one of three ways: 1. Start fine. 2. Start with a knock and go right to idle rpm. 3. Start with a knock and stall. I then have to crank the motor for 5-10 seconds before the motor slowly starts and goes right to idle rpm. I have no dashboard warning lights, the battery is OK and the engine runs fine with no detectable power loss or knocking. My mechanic looked at it and drove it but was not able to diagnose the problem, even after replacing the cam and crank sensors and disconnecting various sensors, cables, etc., trying to identify the problem. Could this be an issue with the starter motor since the engine operates fine once it is running?

A: I wonder if the knocking noise is tricking the knock sensors into retarding ignition timing to protect the engine. Knock sensors are effectively small microphones that listen for the sound of detonation in the cylinders and signal the ECM, which retards the timing. Mechanical noises that mimic the sound of detonation may fool the ECM. The retarded ignition timing might explain the engine's idle rpm and restart characteristics.

You didn't identify whether your Durango is equipped with the 4.7-liter or 5.7-liter V8 engine, but both appear to utilize a geared starter motor. You could have the starter tested for amperage draw on or off the car. Once the starter is removed, the teeth on the flex plate ring gear can be inspected for damage. I found remanufactured starters for under $100.

One final thought: Years ago we had a Malibu wagon that developed an intermittent but very loud knocking noise. After much knuckle-busting, teeth-gnashing and head-scratching, it turned out to be a loose torque converter mounting bolt that intermittently hit the inside of the bell housing.

...

Q: My wife's 2001 Ford Escape has a problem with the cruise control. On a recent trip, when I turned on the cruise, the green light went on but when I attempted to set the speed control it would not set. The light to indicate that the speed control was set did not come on. Repeated attempts also failed. Then the green light indicating that the speed control was on also went off and wouldn't come back on. Yesterday my wife informed me that the green light did come on but the speed control would not activate. Could you help us diagnose this problem?

A: Your best diagnostic strategy is to use a scan tool and the cruise control's self-diagnostic capabilities to identify the problem. This may lead to pinpoint testing of the speed control switch, servo, deactivator switch, brake switch and other components. Also, make sure all brake lights are operational.

Please note that Ford issued a recall back in 2000 addressing potential corrosion or binding in the speed control cable.

L L L

Q: My Ford Fusion has about 85,000 miles on it. It has a set of Goodyear tires with about 12,000 miles on them. Both right-side tires leak air enough that the "Low tire" light comes on every two weeks or so. The tires have been removed and resealed to their aluminum rims by the tire shop where I bought them and by my Ford dealer. Nothing seems to work. I've thought of buying new tires or even trading the car, but I like it a lot.

A: Typically, there are two possible causes for air leaks from replacement tires on alloy wheels — corrosion around the bead contact area on the rim or porosity of the wheel itself. Shops remove the corrosion and apply a special sealant to the bead to seal the tire.

You have three choices — have a tire specialist try resealing the tires again, replace the wheels or replace the car. I'd go with option one.

Paul Brand, author of "How to Repair Your Car," is an automotive troubleshooter, driving instructor and former race-car driver. Readers may write to him at: Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn., 55488 or via email at paulbrand@startribune.com. Please explain the problem in detail and include a daytime phone number. Because of the volume of mail, we cannot provide personal replies.

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Tax Day extra difficult for many same-sex married couples

WASHINGTON — A necessary burden for most Americans, Tax Day is an accounting nightmare for thousands of gay and lesbian couples as they wrestle with the uneven legal status of same-sex marriage in the United States.

They live in a country that recognizes their marriages, but some reside in the 13 states that do not, an issue that will be argued before the Supreme Court later this month.

At tax time, and Wednesday is the filing deadline, it gets complicated because most state income tax returns use information from a taxpayer's federal return.

Straight couples simply copy numbers from one form to another. But that doesn't work for same-sex couples reporting combined incomes, deductions and exemptions on their federal tax returns. These couples must untangle their finances on their state returns, where they are still considered single.

"We're adults, we're contributing to the welfare of society and yet, here's this one thing that just reaches up every year and kind of slaps us in the face," said Brian Wilbert, an Episcopal priest who lives in Oberlin, a small college town in northern Ohio.

Wilbert married his husband, Yorki Encalada, in 2012, at a ceremony in upstate New York. He is filing a joint federal tax return for the second time this year. But Ohio, which doesn't recognize same-sex marriages, requires the couple to file their state tax returns as if they were single.

"It may not be the most burning thing," Wilbert said. "But as we think about equality and marriage equality, this is an important thing because it's part of what couples do."

The number of states that recognize same-sex marriages has grown to 37, plus the District of Columbia, since the Supreme Court struck down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act in 2013.

After the ruling, the IRS announced that it would recognize same-sex marriages for federal tax purposes, even if couples lived in states that did not.

The Supreme Court is scheduled hear arguments in another same-sex marriage case April 28. Advocates hope the court will compel the remaining states to recognize gay and lesbian marriages.

Opponents of same-sex marriage want the court to send the issue back to the states. They note that recognition of same-sex marriage has spread largely through court orders, rather than the ballot box.

"It's not about the rights of a handful of people who want to change the institution of marriage," said Phil Burress of Citizens for Community Values, an Ohio group. "It's about the will of the people."

The benefits of marriage are a mixed bag when it comes to taxes. Some couples, especially those with disparate incomes, can lower their combined tax bills by getting married. Others pay a marriage penalty.

The vast majority of married couples in the U.S. file joint federal tax returns in which they combine their incomes, exemptions, deductions and credits to calculate their tax liability. But same-sex couples are not allowed to file joint tax returns in most states that don't recognize their marriages. Instead, they have to unravel their finances and file separate state returns.

"So you have this one return that would normally give you the numbers to do your state tax return, but instead you have to split all your incomes again and pretend like you're not married," said Deb L. Kinney, a partner at the law firm of Johnston, Kinney & Zulaica in San Francisco.

"Your health care benefits will be taxed differently and your credits will be different. Your interest deduction could be different, and then you have to go through the allocation on each return," Kinney said. "It's much more expensive and cumbersome."

With the tax filing deadline approaching on Wednesday, states that don't recognize same-sex marriages are dealing with these issues in different ways. Five states require same-sex couples to fill out multiple federal tax returns, sometimes called dummy returns, so they can come up with the appropriate numbers for their state returns. This is how it works in Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan and Nebraska.

First, a same-sex couple fills out a joint federal income tax return, just like any other married couple. This is the return they file with the IRS.

Next, each spouse fills out a separate federal return as if the filer was single. Information from these returns is used to fill out state income tax returns, which are filed as if each was single.

"You have to literally make out five returns and file three," said Scott Squillace, a tax lawyer who wrote a legal guide for gay and lesbian couples called, "Whether To Wed."

"It's dizzying."

There's more.

"If someone with a joint bank account writes a check for a charitable donation, the question is, do you split it 50-50? Or is it that person's deduction when they file a single return?" said Arianne Plasencia, a tax lawyer at the Carlton Fields law firm in Miami.

Kansas, North Dakota and Ohio take a different approach. These states provide worksheets that same-sex couples must complete to separate their finances. In Ohio, the form has 31 lines, though most couples don't need to fill out every line.

"There is no way that I, as a Joe Q. Public, who happens to be gay and in a same-gender marriage, would figure out how to fill this form out," said Wilbert, the Episcopal priest. "I mean, it's just impossible."

Wilbert said he had to hire an accountant to do his taxes for the first time in his life. "I also had to get an extension, which I never had to do."

The issue is moot in South Dakota because there is no state income tax. It's less of an issue in Arkansas and Mississippi because these states don't use information from federal returns on their state income tax forms.

Alabama has same-sex married couples divide the income and taxes they report on their federal returns, based on each spouses' share of their combined income.

Missouri doesn't recognize same-sex marriages, but Gov. Jay Nixon issued an executive order requiring gay and lesbian couples to file joint state tax returns if they file a joint federal return.

This is much simpler than in other states. But what if filing as a married couple causes your taxes to go up?

"For the people it hurts, how unfair," said Janis Cowhey, a law partner at the Marcum accounting firm in New York. "You won't recognize my marriage, but you're going to make me pay more in taxes because I got married somewhere else."

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Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephenatap

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IFF Panama: Central America on the right track for growth

PANAMA - As the leaders of the Americas, including U.S. President Barack Obama, meet in Panama City for the seventh Summit of the Americas, they will be all too aware that it is the economies of Central America that are leading growth in the region. And, according to a report published on Tuesday (April 7) by the United Nation's Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Central America will continue to lead the way in 2015 with Panama, with an expected 6 % increase in GDP over the coming year, at the forefront.

Central America, which consists of seven countries (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama), is also on the right track for growth in its theatrical movie market, according to Luis Vargas, Managing director of Rentrak for Mexico, Caribbean, Central America, Colombia and Venezuela.

"Central America is a region that you can consider as one country, one big country," Vargas explains. "It is a region that is growing very, very fast because of the amount of cinemas being developed. In the past three-or-four years the percentage increase in new cinemas has been at least 5% per year. A very good number, especially if you consider this compared to other regions of the world. It tells you that as an economy, it is a region that has potential for the future due to investment and the possibilities in this market."

The region, which is estimated to have a combined population of around 43 million, 3.6 million of which are in Panama, is also undergoing consolidation and modernization with old theatres making way for new, and many existing screens being digitalized and fitted with better, more modern and comfortable seats. All these elements have helped the growth of admissions and grosses.

In 2014, according to Rentrak, Central American cinemas grossed $107,184,606, up from $ 104,553,755 in 2013 and $ 94,814,293 in 2012: Growth of about 13% in two years.

There were 93 performing theatres in all of Central America in 2012, and 96 in 2013 and 2014, but, as Vargas explains: "In 2014 a lot of the existing cinemas were modernized. In 2015 we are expecting several new cinemas to be opened and less cinemas to be closed. For example, this number of 96 would suggest that no cinemas opened in the entire region, however, this number is the final total after taking into consideration the older cinemas that were closed."

In screen terms, the region has seen an increase from 489 in 2012 to 503 in 2013, and 507 in 2014. Again these are final numbers after taking in to account the closing of older screens and the opening of more modern, digitalized screens.

"Now that the digitalization is much more advanced, also by the independent exhibitors, we will see a decrease in the number of cinemas that are being closed due to economic factors, and more cinemas will be opened", Vargas adds. "We are expecting at least two new cinemas in Panama, and both are to be high end multiplex cinemas."

Across Central America in 2014 the highest grossing movies were all studio blockbusters. In order they were "Transformers: Age of Extinction," "Rio 2," "Maleficent," "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," "Captain America: The Winter Solider," "The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay - Part 1," "X Men: Days of Future Past," "The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies," "How to Train Your Dragon 2," and "Guardians of the Galaxy."

In Panama, the top ten for 2014 were "Transformers: Age of Extinction," "Rio 2," "Maleficent," "X Men: Days of Future Past," "Captain America: The Winter Solider," "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," "The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," "The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay - Part 1," and "Annabelle."

Locally made films, however, have started to make an impact on the commercial cinema circuit in Central America, most notably Miguel Gómez's "Maikol Yordan" ("Maikol Yordan de Viaje Perdido"), an adventure, drama from Costa Rica that will open in Panama on May 14 following its international premiere at IFF Panama on April 13.

In Costa Rica. the film grossed $1,080,511 in 2014, and now has an accumulated gross of $3,528,104 since its Dec. 18 bow.

In Panama four local productions made their mark commercially in 2014. They included "Invasion" ("Invasión"), the country's first Oscar submission for the foreign-language category, "Historias del Canal", "Breaking the Wave" ("Rompiendo la ola") and "Reinas." All of which have played the IFF Panama.

The films, according to the Panama Film Commission, are just four of 13 features to be produced in Panama since 2012, and that compares with just three local productions completed between 2007 and 2012 and two between 2001 and 2007.

Vargas believes one solution for the growth of the local Central American film industry will be for governments to invest in art house cinemas.

"Gvernments should create alternative spaces of exhibition that are focused to exhibit product where the main goal is not to make money, but to promote art, or to promote a message," argues Vargas. "Otherwise, lower-budget films will be lost in the huge space of exhibition, and create unnecessary frustration for their producers.

"Why does a movie have to be exhibited on a commercial circuit?" he asks. "I believe that the only countries that have supported this type of circuit are Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. Mexico has one of the highest capacities when it comes to these alternative exhibition spaces that are controlled by the government and that give low-budget films a space in which to be exhibited. We have to understand that the filmmakers can't do this on their own. It has to be a synergy, like team work, and the key people in the local film industry must ask their governments for the money for new cinemas, for the spaces in which to see their own local product."

The heads of those governments have all been meeting in Panama this weekend where the theme of their Summit of the Americas has been "Prosperity with Equity: The Challenge of Cooperation in the Americas," a theme and a challenge that is equally on the minds of filmmakers across Central and South America as they look at ways to share screen time with the Hollywood blockbusters that remain popular with the growing theatrical audiences across the region.

© 2015 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Mip TV: Drama dynamizes 2015 market

CANNES - Two big "Ds" - Dramas, Digital - look set to galvanize much Croisette business, as well as multiple conference panels, at next week's Cannes Mip TV, which catches part of the international TV business in the full flush of evolution, convulsed by ramping consolidation - Mip TV will be the first market for new joint venture Endemol Shine Group, for instance - and the ever-clearer emergence of international drama as a serious alternative to US fare.

As the number of high-end drama escalates, competition for top-notch show-runners - mostly based out of the U.S. will become all the more bitter.

Last Wednesday, Amazon Studios aconfirmed Diego Luna to play the lead in its untitled Casanova period drama, exec produced by Electus Ent.'s Ben Silverman and Stu Zicherman. Expect further high-end drama announcements - of epics and event dramas - or first-look talent deals at 2015's Mip TV.

Traditionally, May' L.A. Screenings, and October's Mipcom TV mart, have proved the biggest launchpads for new high-profile dramas. No more. Now Mip-TV looks to have joined the club, as the market launches a Drama at Mip TV forum and a veritable mini tsunami of high-end fiction is set to sweep the Croisette. Just some examples:

*One of the most active of Hollywood studios at Cannes, Twentieth Century Fox TV Distribution's will continue to roll out sales on "Empire," boosted by phenom first season ratings, the best for any regular broadcast drama since 2008, as well as the rave-reviewed "The Last Man on Earth."

*Warner Bros. Worldwide TV Distribution, will be pushing super-hero drama" The Flash," and DC Comics super-villains and vigilantes origin story "Gotham," picked up for SVOD by Netflix.

* With free-to-air broadcasters still seeking semi autonomous episode drama, CBS Studios Intl. will be shopping Patricia Arquette starrer "CSI: Cyber" and sci-fi thriller "Zoo," based on James Patterson's bestseller.

*In Europe, film-TV powerhouse Studiocanal bows its first-ever TV sales operation at Mip TV, led by two Canal Plus Original Series, the Tandem-produced "Spotless," now a Canal Plus hit, and futuristic "Section Zero," from Luc Besson's EuropaCorp, plus Tandem's "Crossing Lines 3," and Harlan Coben's "The Five" from Red Production Company.

*Flagship dramas at Endemol Shine Group include ITV series "The Frankenstein Chronicles," with Sean Bean, and AMC/Channel 4's "Humans" (pictured), an around mid-year bow which is "a relationship story with strong thriller elements" set in a world where robots, called synthetics, have developed human emotions, said Endemol Shine Intl. CEO Cathy Payne.

* At Mip TV, ITV Studios Global Ent. will hold a World Premiere Screening of "Texas Rising," co-produced with A + E, and talk up a rebooted "Poldark," and David Duchovny U.S. crime drama "Aquarius," set for NBC.

*From Germany, ZDF will be pushing pan-European crime thriller "The Team," starring Lars Mikkelsen ("The Killing"), Beta "Line of Separation," set in a Cold War-wracked Germany, and Tele München Group Dominic Graf's "Blender," based on a narcotics cop scandal.

The highest profile Mip TV 2015 keynote speakers look like "Modern Family" co-creator Steven Levitan and Sky group chief exec Jeremy Darroch, who will set out his vision for the push by a pan-European Sky, with now integrated pay TV operations in the U.S., Italy and Germany, into high-end drama.

And one of this year's large highlights will be Mip TV's Intl. Drama Screenings, which range from Starz Worldwide Distribution's ballet drama "Flesh & Bone" to "Follow the Money," from Danish pubcaster DR Fiction, "Deadline: Gallipoli," airing in Australia's Foxtel, and "Versailles," a flagship English-language series at France's Canal Plus.

"Great stories have no homeland," says a The Wit Mip TV study, "5 Drama Trends For 2015," citing the fact that the most-adapted scripted formats in 2014 came from Spain.

Of top fiction formats, CW's hour-long comedy "Jane the Virgin," its first Golden Globe nomination, is now in negotiations with a big German broadcaster. Exec producer Ben Silverman originally sourced it from Venezuela.

Reflecting the spread of series in partners, languages, shoots, setting, beyond its first five English-language skeins Federation Ent. is producing the "Boss"-style "Marseilles" for Netflix and espionage thriller "The Bureau" for Canal Plus, both in French, and co-producing hospital-set "The Replacements" in Finnish and season 2 of "Hostages," a Hebrew-language series, with Israel, Federation Ent.'s Breton said.

For Garaude: "We're continuing to notice a growing notion of market opportunities coming from all around the world. Drama production is thoroughly international and becoming more and more so every year."

For the world's biggest content suppliers, Mip TV remains a multi-purpose mart. "The L.A. Screenings very much focus on new TV series, "At Mip TV, we typically talk to everyone about everything, and what we discuss just depends on the relationship we happen to have with each client that we're meeting with. Conversations may turn on film, series or library content, depending on clients," said Gina Brogi, EVP, Worldwide Pay Television & SVOD, Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution.

But such, indeed, is the current dynamism of the drama sector, that one large question is where it leaves much else of the TV business.

In the non-fiction format sector, everybody's waiting for The Next Big Thing. "One big hit changes the way the whole market works. When I began my career, I was told that music was dead in primetime, yet you'd be hard pressed to say that now, with 'Idol,' 'The Voice,' and 'Popstars' in major roles in many territories," said Rob Clark, director of global entertainment, FremantleMedia. At Mip TV, FremantleMedia presents new BBC quiz show "Beat the Brain," "10 Questions You Wouldn't Ask On a First Date," and RTL 1 hit "The Most Beautiful Woman," a beauty contest for women of different ages and backgrounds which is "very engaging, about inspirational stories, female empowerment, with potential to be a long-running franchise for a broadcaster," Clark commented.

Endemol Shine Group will be selling talent show format "The Brain," from Endemol Shine Germany, a breakout hit in China, Spain, Italy, Brazil and France, plus human darts challenge "Bullseye," from Endemol Shine North America, which went straight to series at Fox. It will also be talking up "Junior Masterchef," which is now in over 20 territories as well, said Lisa Perrin, MD, Creative Networks, Endemol Shine Group.

Several "important new formats" will be announced during Mip TV, anticipated Garaude. New formats' challenge, said The Wit's Bertrand Villegas, is that the super-formats are not fading fast enough to allow new formats through.

Quite the contrary at times, as Endemol Shine's Perrin points out: Series 11 of "Masterchef" in the U.K. has launched to best-ever ratings; "Masterchef" has hit a 43% peak share in Argentina. In the last five years, there have only been four days in the world where "Big Brother," which is nearly 17 years old, has not been playing, by one estimate at least.

Some producers criticize TV channels' risk aversion. But, said Villegas, "broadcasters are not in the business of innovation but rather airing successful shows."

The problem is many producers wanting to sell their product but broadcasters not having so many slots. There are also semi-Big Things, such as kids' talent shows like Televisa's "Little Giants," re-versioned in Spain, he added.

For Endemol Shine Group's Perrin, "Regarding the Next Big Thing, I feel it's just around the corner, and I'm hoping it's going to come, but it's not there yet."

Digital is there, in contrast, and now shaping the TV landscape, as Mip TV reflects. The MIP Digital Fronts co presence is powering up, with a blockbuster line-up of 15 Digital Fronts partners and showcases, a large rise on 2014, said Garaude. One example: as Chinese appetite for entertainment formats ramps up, one top Mip Formats keynote speaker on Saturday was Yang Weidong, SVP Youku Todou, China's leading online TV co, which has bought "Big Brother" and "The Voice."

Fresh off a $50 million investment from venture capital company Andreessen Horowitz and the creation last August of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures, which he heads up as president, BuzzFeed's Ze Frank will deliver the Digital Fronts keynote along with producer Michael Shamberg ("Django Unchained," "Erin Brokovich").

Other Digital Fronts speakers include Chad Gudstein, CEO of Machinima, the vidgame/fandom-themed digital co, teen YouTube destination channel Awesomeness TV's founder/CEO Brian Robbins, and Andrew Creighton, prexy of print/online publisher Vice Media.

A pumped-up Mip Digital Fronts kick off Tuesday afternoon. For most of Mip TV, however, it is drama that will be making the running. The high-end drama boom is, moreover, no passing fad.

Explaining the ramp-up of serialized drama, "The main key element is the media-technology landscape: Companies -Netflix, Amazon - leveraging premium content to differentiate their offer," said Electus Ent. founder-CEO Ben Silverman, who receives a Mip TV Medaille d'Honneur next Wednesday.

More European telecom giants will enter the TV fiction space, as serialized drama works especially well in an age of view anytime, anywhere, predicted Martin Moszkowicz at Germany's Constantin Film, which rolls this May on English-language "Shadowhunters," based on Cassandra Clares' YA book series, with writer/exec producer Ed Decter ("Unforgettable," "In Plain Sight").

The ramp-up has two large consequences. "The benchmark for drama has gone up. Competition is fierce and you need an attractive package. There's a cost to that. So broadcasters are looking to co-produce, so as to get a bigger budget," said Endemol Shine's Payne.

"Co-production is progressing enormously, becoming more and more important and successful," Garaude added. One 2015 Mip TV centerpiece is Tuesday's Intl. Drama Co-Production Summit; this weekend's Mip Doc featured, for the first time, a European Broadcasters Union Co-production breakfast.

And, currently, high-end drama is one place to be. For Twentieth Century Fox's Brogi: "One of the great things about competition for dramas in the market place right now is that there's something that works for everyone: It's just a matter of finding the right outlet for each piece of content that we make. There is increased demand and it's a great business to be in."

Elsa Keslassy and Leo Barraclough contributed to this report

© 2015 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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CBS political director John Dickerson new Sunday show host

WASHINGTON — CBS News political director John Dickerson will replace the retiring Bob Schieffer as moderator of "Face the Nation."

Schieffer made the announcement on Sunday's show. Dickerson's first broadcast as host will come this summer.

Schieffer noted that Dickerson "sure has the right bloodlines" for the assignment. Dickerson's mother, Nancy, was the first female correspondent in the CBS News Washington bureau.

Schieffer — the 78-year-old chief Washington correspondent of CBS News — announced Wednesday that he would be leaving the job early this summer. Schieffer has been with CBS News since 1969.

John Dickerson says he's "honored and excited" by the new job.

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Activists pushing bill they say would close tax loophole

BOSTON — With Tax Day approaching fast, activists are calling on Massachusetts lawmakers to crack down on what they describe as offshore tax haven abuse by large companies.

On Tuesday, the group MASSPIRG is planning to release a report detailing how they say companies use the tax code to shift profits made in America to areas like the Cayman Islands, where they pay little to no taxes.

A handful of lawmakers are planning to attend the Statehouse event, including Democratic state Sen. Mark Montigny of New Bedford.

The group says the report will estimate how much small businesses in Massachusetts would have to pay on average to make up for the money lost in 2014 to tax havens.

The activists are pushing a bill they say would tighten the tax code in Massachusetts.

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CBS news political director John Dickerson named anchor of 'Face the Nation'

CBS News has tapped its political director John Dickerson to succeed Bob Schieffer as anchor of "Face the Nation."

Schieffer announced the appointment at the close of Sunday's telecast. Dickerson is the son of Nancy Dickerson, the first female correspondent to work in CBS News' Washington bureau and an associate producer on "Face the Nation" at its inception in 1954.

Dickerson will take over the anchor desk on the Sunday morning public affairs show from Schieffer this summer, just in time to rev up for the 2016 presidential race. Schieffer confirmed his plan to retire after a 46-year career with CBS News.

"John is first and foremost a reporter -- and that's what he'll be as anchor of 'Face the Nation'," said CBS News president David Rhodes. "His work in the studio will always be informed by what he's learned in Iowa, in New Hampshire, on Capitol Hill--anywhere there's news. He has earned the respect of newsmakers across the political spectrum. With all our correspondents John will present comprehensive coverage on all our platforms."

Dickerson has been a regular on "Face the Nation" in recent years. Calling him "my friend," Schieffer noted he has made 83 appearances on the show "and he sure has the right bloodlines."

A Washington native, Dickerson joined CBS News in 2009 as an on-air political analyst. He's been political director since 2011. Before CBS, Dickerson was a reporter for Time magazine and Slate.

"I'm thrilled," Dickerson said. "I have watched Bob my whole professional life not just as a viewer but as a daily reporter who also covered the Hill. I'm honored to carry on his tradition on 'Face the Nation.' "

Dickerson is also the author of a book about his mother's pioneering role in TV news, "On Her Trail." Nancy Dickerson died in 1997.

© 2015 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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