Jankovic knocked out of Pan Pacific Open

JELENA Jankovic's hopes of regaining her world No. 1 spot this week ended on when she crashed out of the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament to Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarter-finals.

Jankovic edged out in Tokyo

JELENA Jankovic's hopes of regaining her world No. 1 spot this week ended on when she crashed out of the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament to Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarter-finals.

NATAS circles grow

Film News: Donahue, Bergen, Williams honored -- The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Pacific Southwest chapter, has inducted six new members into its prestigious gold and silver circles.

Ivanovic knocked out in Tokyo

FORMER world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic became the biggest casualty of the week when she crashed to Nadia Petrova in the second round of the Pan Pacific Open.

Upset for Ivanovic in Japan

Ana Ivanovic's late-season slump continued today as she suffered a 6-1 1-6 6-2 defeat by Russian Nadia Petrova during their second-round match at the Pacific Open.

TVNZ VOD pacts for ABC shows

Business News: Disney-owned channel pacts with Ondemand -- The Asia Pacific arm of Disney-ABC Intl. Television has inked a deal with Kiwi pubcaster TVNZ to provide its skeins on its fledgling online delivery service TVNZ Ondemand.

Jankovic wants to be the one

Jelena Jankovic said she was determined to regain the title of world number one at the Pan Pacific Open in Japan after holding the rank for just one week.

Strouse to write, direct 'Season'

Film News: Film stars Rockwell as girls basketball coach -- "Grace Is Gone" helmer James Strouse is set to write and direct "The Winning Season, " an indie comedy centering on a high school girls basketball coach.

Arizona reports possible recruiting violation

The University of Arizona has reported a possible NCAA recruiting violation by men's basketball coach Lute Olson, who called it "an unfortunate and regrettable error."

ASPA kudo gets double the entries

Film News: Organizers receive more than 180 films -- Selectors for the sophomore Asia Pacific Screen Awards will have to wade through twice as many candidates as the first kudosfest.

ER tussles with U. S. distributor

Business News: U.K. company claims unpaid fees -- Struggling U.K. tyke specialist Entertainment Rights, whose properties include “Postman Pat” and “The Lone Ranger, ” is taking legal action against its primary U.S. DVD distributor, Genius Products, over alleged unpaid fees.

Berlusconi immunity threatened

Business News: Opposition wants to strip away protection -- Silvio Berlusconi’s year has had a somewhat inauspicious start. Momentum is gathering behind an opposition move to lift the immunity from prosecution that shields the Italo media mogul and premier from his legal woes.

Banijay returns El Terrat to sender

Business News: Buenafuente buys back company -- In a surprise about-face, Gaul's Banijay Entertainment has sold Spanish production company El Terrat back to its original owner, prexy Andreu Buenafuente, just three months after announcing its purchase.

Obama urges for digital switch delay

Business News: Officials concerned that people are unprepared -- Don't flip the switch just yet -- that's what the incoming Obama administration urged Congress on Thursday regarding the long-planned Feb. 17 transition to all-digital broadcasting.

Blu-Ray warms tech expo

Business News: Sony pushes online products in Vegas -- Blu-ray sales could triple or even quintuple in 2009.

Jermaine Dupri out at Island Records

Business News: Rapper-producer-mogul exits music unit -- Jermaine Dupri is out as president of Island Records Urban Music division, a unit he ran for almost two years.

First Look ups Marie O'Reilly-Thein

Business News: Exec will manage retail and rental accounts -- First Look Studios has upped Marie O'Reilly-Thein to senior veep of sales for home entertainment.

Sides more vocal in SAG strike talks

Business News: Meeting next week to decide referendum's fate -- The sides in SAG's strike authorization vote battle are becoming more vocal in advance of the guild's emergency national board meeting next week to determine the fate of the proposed referendum.

Blu-Ray warms tech expo

Film News: Sony pushes online products in Vegas -- Blu-ray sales could triple or even quintuple in 2009.

Fashion kicks off with Golden Globes

Film News: For TV divas, the red carpet is their big moment -- It's fashion kickoff time. First up: the Golden Globes, next the Academy Awards. While the Oscars is as intense as the Super Bowl, the more relaxed Globes pits the smallscreen against the bigscreen: On one team we have the TV clotheshorses; on the other, their big sisters, the movie stars.