Hollywood

Over half of ticket sales for American movies now come from other countries. But the industry sees billions lost to piracy. Transcript of radio broadcast. Source: VOA

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

This year, something happened at the Academy Awards that had not happened since nineteen sixty-four. All the winners for best acting were from outside the United States.

Daniel Day-Lewis and Tilda Swinton are British. He won best actor for "There Will Be Blood"; she won best supporting actress for "Michael Clayton." French actress Marion Cotillard won the Oscar for best actress for "La Vie en Rose." And Spain's Javier Bardem won best supporting actor in "No Country for Old Men."

Hollywood is increasingly looking outside America's borders for stars and profit.

Jonathan Taplin is a professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. He says that today, about fifty-four percent of the ticket sales for Hollywood studios now come from outside the United States.

For the last three months of two thousand seven, foreign sales totaled about eight hundred eighty million dollars. But there is fierce competition for each movie dollar.

Hollywood has lost market share in some places as other countries develop their own film industries. For example, in the mid-eighties, American films had eighty percent of the market in South Korea. Today that share is about forty percent.

Hollywood also faces competition from illegally copied movies, a major issue to the Motion Picture Association of America. The trade group estimated more than eighteen billion dollars in worldwide losses from piracy in two thousand five.

Hollywood reporter Alan Silverman says piracy has influenced how American movies are released. In the past, Hollywood studios waited months after the American release of a film to release it in foreign markets. Now, many aim to release films at the same time around the world.

Foreign markets may also influence how people get their movies. Different nations have different levels of technology.

Efforts to settle on the next-generation DVD got a lot of attention recently. Sony's Blu-ray technology for high-definition televisions won the competition with Toshiba's HD DVD format.

Yet DVD sales have dropped in recent years. 

This may be a sign that people are increasingly getting their movies off the Internet. The Internet is another front in Hollywood's war on piracy. But more than that, it presents complex business questions for an industry now built mostly on DVD and ticket sales.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

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European Union

The European Union (EU) is a unique political and economic community with supranational and intergovernmental dimensions. It is composed of twenty-seven member states primarily located in Europe. In 1957, six European countries formed the European Economic Community (EEC) by the Treaty of Rome. Since then the EU has grown in size through the accession of new member states and has increased its powers by the addition of new policy areas to its remit. In 1993, the Maastricht Treaty established the base of the current legal framework.

La Unión Europea (UE) es una comunidad política y económica única con dimensiones supranacionales e intergubernamentales. Está compuesto por veintisiete estados miembros ubicados principalmente en Europa. En 1957, seis países europeos formaron la Comunidad Económica Europea (CEE) por el Tratado de Roma. Desde entonces, la UE ha crecido en tamaño a través de la adhesión de nuevos estados miembros y ha aumentado sus poderes mediante la adición de nuevas áreas políticas a sus competencias. En 1993, el Tratado de Maastricht estableció la base del actual marco legal.

The EU created a single market which seeks to guarantee the freedom of movement of people, goods, services and capital between member states. It maintains a common trade policy, agricultural and fisheries policies, and a regional development policy. In 1999 the EU introduced a common currency, the euro, which has been adopted by thirteen member states. It has also developed a role in foreign policy, and in justice and home affairs. Passport control and customs checks between many member states were abolished under the Schengen Agreement.

La UE creó un mercado único que busca garantizar la libertad de movimiento de personas, bienes, servicios y capitales entre los estados miembros. Mantiene una política comercial común, políticas agrícolas y pesqueras, y una política de desarrollo regional. En 1999, la UE introdujo una moneda común, el euro, que ha sido adoptada por trece estados miembros. También ha desarrollado un papel en la política exterior, y en la justicia y los asuntos internos. El control de pasaportes y los controles aduaneros entre muchos estados miembros fueron abolidos en virtud del Acuerdo de Schengen.

With over 492 million citizens the EU generates an estimated nominal GDP of €8.6 ($10.7) trillion in 2007. It represents its members in the WTO and observes the G8 summits. Twenty EU countries are members of NATO. Important institutions of the EU include the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, the European Court of Justice and the European Central Bank. EU citizens elect the Parliament every five years.

Con más de 492 millones de ciudadanos, la UE genera un PIB nominal estimado de € 8,6 ($ 10.7) billones en 2007. Representa a sus miembros en la OMC y observa las cumbres del G8. Veinte países de la UE son miembros de la OTAN. Entre las instituciones importantes de la UE se incluyen la Comisión Europea, el Parlamento Europeo, el Consejo de la Unión Europea, el Consejo Europeo, el Tribunal de Justicia Europeo y el Banco Central Europeo. Los ciudadanos de la UE eligen al Parlamento cada cinco años.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the  Wikipedia article "European Union". You can explore more on the Wikipedia website. The text and the images are used here only for educational purposes.

CREA UNA ORACIÓN EN LOS COMENTARIOS UTILIZANDO “used to”  

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European Union

European Union

The European Union (EU) is a unique political and economic community with supranational and intergovernmental dimensions. It is composed of twenty-seven member states primarily located in Europe. In 1957, six European countries formed the European Economic Community (EEC) by the Treaty of Rome. Since then the EU has grown in size through the accession of new member states and has increased its powers by the addition of new policy areas to its remit. In 1993, the Maastricht Treaty established the base of the current legal framework.

The EU created a single market which seeks to guarantee the freedom of movement of people, goods, services and capital between member states. It maintains a common trade policy, agricultural and fisheries policies, and a regional development policy. In 1999 the EU introduced a common currency, the euro, which has been adopted by thirteen member states. It has also developed a role in foreign policy, and in justice and home affairs. Passport control and customs checks between many member states were abolished under the Schengen Agreement.

With over 492 million citizens the EU generates an estimated nominal GDP of €8.6 ($10.7) trillion in 2007. It represents its members in the WTO and observes the G8 summits. Twenty EU countries are members of NATO. Important institutions of the EU include the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, the European Court of Justice and the European Central Bank. EU citizens elect the Parliament every five years.

EJERCICIO DE PERFECCIONAMIENTO