Barry Diller News

Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) and Ticketmaster Entertainment ('Ticketmaster') (NASDAQ: TKTM) today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement to create the world's premier live entertainment company. The combined entity, which will be called Live Nation Entertainment, joins Live Nation's concert promotions expertise with Ticketmaster's world-class ticketing solutions and artist relationships to improve the live entertainment experience and drive major innovations in ticketing technology, marketing and service. Live Nation Entertainment will have the tools to expand access, improve transparency and deliver artists and fans more choice - driving greater attendance at live events and bringing more value to all major constituents in the industry.

The revival of Clifford Odets's 'The Country Girl' opened on April 27th, at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre directed by Mike Nichols and starring Morgan Freeman, Frances McDormand and Peter Gallagher.

The Vertical Hour, starring four-time Academy Award nominee Julianne Moore (The Hours, Magnolia) and acclaimed British film and stage actor Bill Nighy (Pirates of the Caribbean 2, Love Actually), opened on November 30th at the Music Box Theatre

The 78th Annual Academy Awards took place on Sunday, March 5, 2006. It was Hollywood's biggest night of the year, but with the worlds of stage and screen colliding more often by the day - how could we resist bringing you photo coverage of the night? We couldn't!