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June 25, 2007

Hollywood Seeks Ways to Fit Its Content Into the Realm of the iPhone

By LAURA M. HOLSON

LOS ANGELES, June 24 — The iPhone doesn’t go on sale until Friday, but Steven P. Jobs, the chief executive of Apple, is already changing the perception of the mobile phone, from a quick way to call a friend to a hip, media-friendly device. In doing so, he has forced mobile phone and Hollywood executives to react by chasing hungrily after the newest thing or face being left behind.

Mobile phone makers are scurrying to offer new products to compete with the iPhone’s touch screen. Wireless carriers also seem more willing to listen to their partners’ advice. And in Hollywood, where Mr. Jobs’s convention-defying tactics are all too familiar, media executives are eagerly preparing for a new era as they hope to position more content where consumers want it: in their hands.

Two years ago, David Ulmer, senior director of entertainment products at Motorola in Sunnyvale, Calif., and his colleagues got a “no, thank you” from wireless carriers when they tried to pitch a mobile phone with a touch screen. “Now, we are finding it easier to get people to talk to us,” Mr. Ulmer said. “Apple has changed the perception of how sexy a phone can be. Now, everyone wants to get in. It’s a whole new world. We’re in talks with everyone, Universal Studios, Time Warner, you name it.”

But perhaps the biggest shift is the notion that in the not-too-distant future, these various groups — which have worked together uneasily so far — could find themselves as competitors as consumers demand more and better access to media and care less about how they get it.

For years, mobile phone carriers like AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint have closely controlled what cellphone users watch, when they watch it, and on what kind of screen they watch it — much the way the networks did with television before new technologies loosened their grip. Many in Hollywood and Silicon Valley hope the iPhone’s multimedia features will make it easier for any mobile-crazed consumer to do the same things they do on the Web: watch their favorite television shows, download maps, send e-mail messages to friends and swap videos.

In what is the beginning of many attempts to make the cellphone more Web friendly, Apple has designed its own application so consumers can receive YouTube videos through a Wi-Fi network. Industry executives predict that as it becomes easier to get information via Wi-Fi networks, more consumers will bypass traditional wireless networks altogether. That prospect, while helpful for phone makers and media concerns, is frightening for service providers if consumers begin to regard them as irrelevant.

“Video, particularly, has largely been behind a wall,” said John Smelzer, the general manager of mobile operations for Fox Interactive Media, referring to the limited and clumsy access most consumers have to news, sports and entertainment on traditional cellphones. “It’s the antithesis of what’s happening on the Web. Any device that replicates the experience online is good for the entire industry. It will help us reach a mass audience,” he said.

Even Mr. Jobs’s competitors, who are quick to point out that the iPhone has limitations, like its sole availability through AT&T, say that it will nudge resistant wireless carriers to pay more attention to their customers’ wishes. “The iPhone is a fantastic device, but they don’t control the network,” said Craig Shapiro, head of content strategy and acquisition for Helio, the mobile phone maker and service company. “For these things to work, though, everyone has to get with the program.”

Communications companies know they have to adapt or risk being left behind. Glenn Lurie, president of national distribution for AT&T’s wireless business, said in an interview that it took an outsider like Mr. Jobs to generate interest in mobile’s potential that the industry could not muster itself. “The wireless industry has been around 20 years, and people have found the industry to be somewhat complex,” Mr. Lurie said. “Steve Jobs and the Apple team come at it from a different perspective.”

Most important, owners of Apple products stay faithful. A recent article in the Harvard Business Review said, by contrast, that in the consumer electronics category, customers of mobile phone services were among the most dissatisfied. Pricing plans and services were too confusing. Contracts were restrictive. Service among some carriers was unpredictable. And early attempts to offer video proved more frustrating than compelling.

“They don’t make it easy,” said Bill Sanders, vice president of mobile networks programming at Sony Pictures Television International. “Everyone I talk to says, ‘There are all these things that are wrong with the iPhone.’ But consumers can’t wait to get their hands on it. That’s because Apple makes it easy.”

This will not be Mr. Jobs’s first experience in redefining an industry. Many executives in the beleaguered music business hailed Mr. Jobs as a savior when the iPod was introduced in 2002 because it was an alternative to the illegal online sharing of songs. Three years later, though, they derided him in a war over pricing.

Film executives, who watched Mr. Jobs’s relationship with the music industry sour, have been more cautious in their dealings with him. In particular, major studios, including Warner Brothers Entertainment and 20th Century Fox, have resisted Mr. Jobs’s overtures to put movies on the video iPod unless he guaranteed copyright protection and reduced prices.

So far, Apple and AT&T are getting along. But even Hollywood blockbusters can have a surprising ending. “All I can speak to is that working with the Apple team for two years, the relationship has been terrific,” Mr. Lurie said. “I can’t speculate what will happen down the road.”

To be sure, all the parties in the three industries involved are circling each other warily as they seek to protect their overlapping interests. But as their ambitions collide, rivals are hiring talent from disparate fields to navigate through a unsettling era.

Cingular Wireless, which merged with AT&T, has lost a number of executives who left to join start-ups or television production companies. Among them is Jim Ryan, who helped develop mobile video at Cingular. He left in May to become chief executive of Mobile Campus, a messaging service for college students. Last year, Jon Vlassopulos, a former senior director of business development at Cingular, joined the television production company Edemol USA as a new-media executive.

A background in movies is proving valuable, too. Sherry Lansing, the former chairman of the motion picture group of Paramount Pictures, was elected to Qualcomm’s board last year, sought after for her keen knowledge of Hollywood. More recently, Christine Peters, the producer of “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” was named to the board of Xero Mobile, a fledgling cellphone service aimed at college students.

“Filmmakers are not going to be happy having their films downloaded to cellphones with poor quality,” Ms. Peters said. “That’s the beauty of the iPhone. It’s simple and it looks good. Half the people who have these fancy cellphones don’t know how to use them.”

Is the CD Becoming Obsolete?

by Clint DeBoer — last modified June 25, 2007 11:13

Can the CD Situation be Fixed?

Glancing at a report on Forbes.com this morning, there was an article showing that CD sales are expected to be down 20% 2008 (slightly higher than the 15% drop initially predicted). Why such a drop? Well, there has been a recorded drop of 18% so far in 2007 and the trend seems to be steady and indicative of future trending.

But what's really happening?

A couple things are to "blame". For one, there seems to be a case of shrinking floor space as sales decline. This will likely get worse as stores heavily monitor what items are making money and carefully guard real-estate in their stores, making adjustments to compensate for industry trends and swings. If sales continue to shift online, look for the physical presence of CDs to drop. This will also have an interesting chicken -and-egg effect that extends beyond shrinking sales and reduced floor space... Music Studios will be even MORE inclined to stick with their bubble-gum and "sure thing" artists, reducing the choice in music and furthering the stale choices already proliferating the industry. As a result, independent labels will likely continue to thrive (moreso perhaps) and pick up steam, though much of this in online music sales.

Compare this with new information released by Apple on Friday stating that iTunes is now the third largest music retailer in the country - this according to stats from the first quarter of 2007. iTunes has 9.8% of the retail music marketshare with Wal-mart taking 15.8% and Best Buy 13.8%. That's a LOT of music sales.

In contrast, and to give you a perspective of the change, Amazon.com has a 6.7% share while Target has around 6.6%. iTunes compared its sales to physical store purchases by converting every 12 single downloads as a single album sale. That seems more than fair and gives you an idea of how effective online music is becoming as a compelling alternative to physical sales - at least for people who listen to their music more on the go than in the home. And that's a majority of consumers these days. As automakers respond to the iPod revolution with MP3-compatible players and external docks and connections for MP3 players, even the CD's largest consumer - the commuter - is looking at different options. The market is getting very very competitive and the face of the industry is in the middle of a clear change.

While overall music sales is expected to drop by about 9% in both 2007 and 2008, what's truly happening (according to this report) is a gradual shift away from physical media to downloadable formats. What this indicates, so far, is that US sales of digital music will be growing at an estimated rate of 28% in 2008, however physical sales will drop even further, resulting in a net overall decline.

First Look: ‘Where The Wild Things Are’

Director: Spike Jonze
Writer: Spike Jonze
Starring: Benicio Del Toro Michael Berry Jr. Paul Dano Tom Noonan Catherine O'Hara Forest Whitaker and Michelle Williams

by Brian Jacks on Thursday, June 21, 2007 at 3:55 pm.

Over the past day or so, an image from Spike Jonze’s upcoming (10/3/08) adaptation of the classic children’s novel “Where the Wild Things Things Are” has been floating around the ‘net. The photo in question was taken at Warner Bros.’ booth at the Licensing Show here in NYC. Well, we went the extra mile and dug up the actual high-res image of the young boy flanked by two enormous creatures.

One of my favorite books as a child is finally headed to the big screen thanks to Warner Bros. Pictures. Where the Wild Things Are will combine voice performances, live-action puppetry and computer animation to dramatize the ad-ventures of Max, a rebellious young boy who runs away from home after a fight with his mother and finds himself in a forest where the wild things roam.

• 

Moore's one-sided view tells some truths

By Richard Wolf, USA TODAY

Sicko is sure to prompt a healthy debate about the U.S. health care system. But it tells only one side of the story.

Michael Moore's latest documentary is partly a diatribe against insurance companies and drug makers. It recalls outrageous examples of treatments denied that led to death, disfigurement or bankruptcy.

MORE ON MOORE: Will critics buy the toned-down act?

REVIEW: Moore wields sharp scalpel in ambitious 'Sicko'

The film also is a paean to government-run systems that offer, in Moore's words, "free medical care for everyone." It suggests that even terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, get better care than some Americans.

Sicko uses omission, exaggeration and cinematic sleight of hand to make its points. In criticizing politicians, insurers and drug makers, it says little about the high quality of U.S. care. In lauding Canada, Great Britain, France and Cuba, it largely avoids mention of the long lines and high taxes that accompany most government-run systems.

"Obviously, it's not free," says Michael Cannon of the libertarian Cato Institute. Those countries "have unleashed demand, and they're capping supply. When you do that, you get lines."

In Canada, even the anti-privatization Canadian Health Coalition laments long lines. In France and Britain, the tax burden is 42% and 27% respectively, as opposed to 12% in the USA, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In Cuba, equipment and drugs are scarce.

The film tells the truth about many of the U.S. health care system's problems. Are there really 18,000 deaths each year because people lack health insurance? The Institute of Medicine says so.

Moore says that for all its health care spending, the USA's life expectancy rates are lower than the other four countries. The World Health Organization says U.S. males at birth are expected to live to 75, compared with 77 in Britain and France and 78 in Canada. Females have a life expectancy of 80 here, 81 in Britain, 83 in Canada and 84 in France. Cuba is virtually tied with the USA.

Some facts and figures in Sicko are misleading. The film says nearly 50 million Americans have no health insurance; 44.8 million people were uninsured in the USA in 2005, including non-citizens, the Census Bureau says. The film says health care costs $7,000 a person each year; the World Health Organization says it costs $6,100.

Moore reaches back more than a decade for gripping stories of care denied by insurers and HMOs — stories that were more common in the 1990s. He cites the case of a man in 1987 who was denied coverage for a heart transplant, and the subsequent congressional testimony in 1996 by Linda Peeno, who says her job at the insurer Humana was to deny as many claims as possible.

Then there are cinematic techniques, such as "posing" former congressman Billy Tauzin with a $2 million check from his new employer, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. A lengthy list of medical conditions that Moore says are not covered rolls by; the list comes from one employer.

"This piece is an editorial," says Karen Ignagni of America's Health Insurance Plans. "There was no effort by Michael Moore to get the view of our industry."

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June 25, 2007

The Web Site Celebrities Fear

Harvey Levin, a former TV reporter, above, runs TMZ.com. Left, TMZ video of Paris Hilton, shielding her face, and her mother, Kathy, arriving at the central jail in Los Angeles.

By ALLISON HOPE WEINER

LOS ANGELES, June 24 — While the networks tussled over which would land the first interview with Paris Hilton after her release from jail, the upstart Web site TMZ.com was breaking most of the news.

On June 3, TMZ.com was the only media outlet to capture on video Ms. Hilton’s surrender at the Los Angeles central jail for men, while other outlets waited outside the Lynwood women’s jail for her to arrive there. When Ms. Hilton was released early by the Los Angeles County Sheriff, Lee Baca, and when Judge Michael T. Sauer ordered the sheriff to take her back to court, TMZ.com was first to report that Sheriff Baca had initially refused to follow the judge’s order.

TMZ.com has so dominated the coverage on Ms. Hilton that Larry King, who is scheduled to interview her on CNN Wednesday night, will turn over tonight’s one-hour show to TMZ.com’s anchor and managing editor, Harvey Levin, the man who may represent the future of celebrity journalism.

In the past, media coverage of celebrities often hinged on the promotional agenda of studios, publicists and other handlers. Under the direction of Mr. Levin, a former lawyer and investigative reporter, and Jim Paratore, an executive consultant to the site, TMZ.com has quickly gained an audience by posting news articles garnered from documents, unofficial videotapes, exclusive paparazzi shots and other sources like law enforcement officials and courthouse clerks. (The name stands for “thirty mile zone,” referring to the area around Los Angeles populated by celebrities)

“We work as hard at breaking a Britney Spears story as NBC would work on breaking a President Bush piece,” Mr. Levin said.

As a result, TMZ.com has become the celebrity handler’s worst nightmare. The site has had a series of damaging celebrity scoops, including the police report detailing Mel Gibson’s drunken anti-Semitic tirade, Michael Richards’s racist rant in a comedy club, an audiotape of the angry phone message Alec Baldwin left for his daughter and a photograph of Anna Nicole Smith’s refrigerator filled with methadone and Slim-Fast.

But TMZ.com’s reach extends well beyond the approximately nine million people who visit the Web site each month. The site has become a reliable source for the mainstream media, which has become less self-conscious about reporting every detail of celebrity missteps, according to Hilary Estey McLoughlin, the president of Telepictures Productions, a division of Warner Brothers, which co-owns the TMZ site with AOL. Both Warner Brothers and AOL are divisions of Time Warner.

“There are times, like with the Paris Hilton story, where we’ve set the agenda for what local news and national news are covering,” Ms. Estey McLoughlin said. “Paris Hilton leads every newscast.”

Last week, for example, TMZ.com posted excerpts of O.J. Simpson’s unpublished book, “If I Did It.” Although it wasn’t the first Web site to have excerpts, TMZ’s involvement helped make the book again a national story.

Mr. Levin likens the influence of TMZ to a wire service. “We’ve become like The Associated Press in the world we cover,” he said.

That influence has also made him a feared figure in Hollywood. One publicist who declined to speak on the record because of fear of retaliation against his clients likened Mr. Levin’s power to that of the 1940s and 1950s gossip columnists like Walter Winchell.

“If you have something you know they will like, you tip them to it,” the publicist said. “It’s kind of the old way you dealt with the old-time gossip columnists. You have to occasionally feed them an item. You have to be in the game with them. If you’re a publicist and the only time you call up is to complain about an item, they’ll laugh at you.”

Even Hollywood criminal lawyers concede that dealing with TMZ has now become part of their legal strategy. Shawn Chapman Holley, who represents Nicole Richie, acknowledges that TMZ’s ability to get information has affected strategic decisions in Ms. Richie’s drunken-driving case.

“When we approach the bench, what we know and when TMZ will know it is a factor discussed with the judge,” said Ms. Holley. “Miss Richie’s case would be set for a particular day and to throw off TMZ.com, I would go in a day before. Unfortunately, TMZ.com figured out my strategy and were there when I arrived. So now I’m trying to figure out some other strategy.”

In some respects, TMZ, which first appeared in December 2005, represented a throwback to earlier journalism, when many reporters relied on documents rather than arranged interviews to break news.

“We had a seminal moment in the first month with the Paris Hilton car crash with her boyfriend,” recalled Mr. Paratore. “She was pulled over by police, and we caught the whole thing on camera, and it got picked up a lot. We could see people were really attracted to content like that.”

Initially, Mr. Levin was wary of creating a celebrity Web site. He had spent more than a decade as an investigative reporter for KCBS-TV in Los Angeles. He had also created and executive-produced the canceled series “Celebrity Justice” and covered many high-profile trials, including the O. J. Simpson case.

But eventually, he found that the 24-hour news cycle appealed to his competitive metabolism. “I started seeing that if you don’t have time periods and publishing cycles, you can publish on demand and beat everybody,” said Mr. Levin.

TMZ.com has been ranked the No. 1 Hollywood news site for nine months against well-known brands like Entertainment Weekly’s EW.com, People.com and E! Online. Time Warner does not break out revenue figures for TMZ.com, but the site is profitable, according to people familiar with the numbers who did not want to be identified because they are not authorized to speak about the site’s finances. Beginning in July, TMZ’s 25 staff members will work out of offices in West Hollywood and one reporter will continue to work from New York.

The Web site’s success has drawn criticism not only from the stars it covers, but also from competitors who claim the Web site pays for articles. Mr. Levin argues that the site has never paid for a story, although it does pay for videotapes and photographs.

“We have a budget for that,” said Mr. Paratore. “But the budget is nowhere near the numbers being thrown around for the Paris Hilton interview.”

Along with turning celebrity stories into dramas that unfold in real time, TMZ has also contributed to the different tone of much entertainment coverage.

“Five years ago there was so much reverence in the discussion,” said Janice Min, editor-in-chief of Us Weekly. “I’ve seen a shift in the tone. It’s now equal parts reverence and contempt, and TMZ has been able to capitalize on that contemptuous feeling. TMZ pokes fun at celebrity — sometimes gentle, sometimes quite harsh — and to millions of people, that’s more engaging than reading a canned interview.”

Ms. Min said that she often checks the site and competes with it to break news. “But it’s great to have them out there,” she said. “It’s like going to an all-you-can-eat buffet where you never get full.”

Inevitably, however, TMZ comes to rely on a symbiosis with the people it covers.

“We supply them with news all the time because it goes around the world in 12 seconds,” said Stan Rosenfield, George Clooney’s publicist. “There’s a pragmatism that takes hold, because people read it.”

Howard Bragman, a publicist who owns the firm Fifteen Minutes, which represents Ricki Lake, Leeza Gibbons and Isaiah Washington, has also found some benefits to dealing with TMZ.

“Compared to many of the other outlets, they’re 1,000 percent better. If you have a good relationship with them, they’ll change an occasional word or swap an occasional picture, but that’s just for friends of the family,” he said. “And since it goes around the world in seconds, you can leak something to them without fingerprints and it looks like somebody else did it. I’ve certainly done that.”

Given that TMZ is a part of Time Warner, it would seem that the site’s interest in exposing celebrities’ bad behavior might conflict with the overall interest of the parent company that employs some of those same stars.

Mr. Paratore counters that the site’s relationship to Time Warner and questions that might arise from that relationship were dealt with before TMZ’s introduction.

“Everybody understands what it means to be in this business,” he said. “There have always been stories in Time magazine, People and Entertainment Weekly that have not always been flattering to other divisions within the company, and everybody understands that you can’t control it and they don’t try.”

Indeed, in some ways, TMZ is one of the few remnants of the AOL-Time Warner merger that has resulted in some cross-platform success. There are rumors that TMZ is going to open a bureau in Washington, but Mr. Levin dismisses those reports. He is too busy working on the new TMZ syndicated daily television show set to begin on Sept. 10.

Pamela Anderson to open a chain of Lapland Strip Clubs

Pamela Anderson to open a chain of Lapland Strip Clubs

It seems that Pamela Anderson has found an exceptional business idea to carry her legacy forward.

The former Baywatch babe, who is currently touring Finland with her dad, is considering opening a chain of strip clubs.

Anderson, whose great-grandfather was Finnish, is in Scandinavia to host an upcoming music festival near Helsinki and has come up with the idea of a chain of clubs called Lapland.

"Also I thought of a great way to celebrate my Finnish heritage at home. I'm going to look into opening a chain of strip clubs and I'll call them Lapland!" The Sun quoted her, as stating on her website.

While in Finland, the playboy pin-up also wrote an appeal to president Tarja Halonen, pleading with her to prohibit fur farms.

"There are hundreds of fur farms here. The demand is getting lower for fur coats and they breed foxes here just for fur. Sweden, Austria and England have banned fur farms. Let's hope Finland will too," she wrote.

Motley Crue Sue Manager For Exploiting Tommy Lee

Thursday June 21, 2007 @ 06:30 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Tommy Lee

Motley Crue have sued Tommy Lee's manager, Carl Stubner, and the Sanctuary Management Group for more than $20 million U.S. for encouraging the drummer to pursue solo projects at the expense of the band.

The lawsuit seeks damages for breach of fiduciary duty and constructive fraud. It was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday and claims that the NBC reality show Tommy Lee Goes To College detracted from Lee's image as a respected musician and that his participation in CBS' Rock Star: Supernova disrupted the 2005 Red, White & Crue tour, forced the band to cancel 40 dates last year and scuttled plans for a new album that was supposed to come out this year. This allegedly caused the group to lose more than $8 million in ticket and merchandise sales last year, when their revenue totalled $19 million, and jeopardizes a tour this year.

The lawsuit states that in December 2005 Stubner acknowledged that Lee should be "exclusively available" to record, tour and film a movie in support of the tour.

But the band claim that Stubner would only make Lee available for shows if his commission was increased because he received higher commissions for Lee's solo projects since he didn't have to share his take with the band's two other managers. The plaintiffs have also accused him of demanding 100 free tickets per show and selling them at "scalper" prices.

Carl Stubner

In response to the suit, Stubner and Sanctuary issued this statement through a company spokesperson:

"Neither Carl Stubner nor Sanctuary Artist Management Inc. (nor any other Sanctuary company) have ever managed Motley Crue or any members of Motley Crue other than Tommy Lee. Mr. Stubner and Sanctuary continue to manage Tommy Lee and make no apology for having effectively managed, promoted and furthered Tommy's career with great success. Mr. Stubner and Sanctuary will vociferously defend this lawsuit which is utterly and entirely without merit or basis."

Katie Price ‘Jordan’ Tanning Topless

June 23rd, 2007

Six Flags Parks shut down drop-tower rides after teen loses feet

10:25 p.m. EDT, June 22, 2007

(CNN) -- A teen who lost her feet in an accident at a Kentucky amusement park has undergone surgery, a park spokeswoman said Friday, while two park operators closed similar rides around the country.

The Superman Tower of Power at Louisville's Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom was shut down after Thursday's accident, and Six Flags spokeswoman Wendy Goldberg said Friday the company closed similar rides at parks in St. Louis, Missouri; Gurnee, Illinois; and near Washington, D.C., as a precaution, The Associated Press reported.

There had been no reports of injuries on the ride before Thursday, Goldberg told AP. "Millions of people have safely ridden this ride in our parks," Goldberg said.

Another park operator, Cedar Fair Entertainment Co., closed drop rides at Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio; Canada's Wonderland in Toronto, Ontario; Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia.; Carowinds, in Charlotte, North Carolina; and Great America in Santa Clara, California, the AP reported.

"We're going to keep these things down until we're certain it's safe," Cedar Fair spokesman Craig Ross told the AP. "We'll wait and see."

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom spokeswoman Carolyn McLean said she has been in touch with the injured 13-year-old girl's family and believed the girl is still receiving treatment at the University of Louisville Hospital.

Hospital spokeswoman Julie Gordon would not discuss details of the surgery or recovery, citing patient privacy.

The girl's name was not released because she is a minor.

The girl's feet were completely amputated just below the ankle Thursday afternoon while riding the Superman Tower of Power at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville.

Her feet were recovered by Six Flags staff and were sent to the hospital with her, McLean said.

During the Tower of Power ride, passengers are hoisted aloft, suspended momentarily, then pulled down, according to the park's Web site. Passengers -- secured with bars and seat belts but with arms and legs free -- drop 154 feet at 54 mph, stopping "just 20 terrifying feet above the pavement," the Web site says.

A police dispatcher said a cord wrapped around the girl's feet while she was on the ride.

"I seen the car go up. Then, like, the cable broke ... and I heard a lot of people screaming," Chris Stinnett, who was at a ride next to the Tower of Power, told CNN affiliate WDRB/WMYO-TV in Louisville.

"The cable went under the car -- and I seen it pull up and hit a lot of people -- and I seen them bring their legs up," he said. (Watch witnesses describe the accident)

"We are not confirming that happened," McLean said. "There was a lot of misinformation from witnesses."

The ride will remain closed until a full investigation by state officials and "our team of experts" is conducted, McLean said.

The inspectors will interview staff members, witnesses and speak with the girl and her family, she said.

"Every ride, every investigation is different," she said.

The rest of the park was operating as normal on Friday.

Glastonbury Festival, your name is mud for another year

23rd June 2007

Thousands of festival-goers were today facing the prospect of a second day of muddy mayhem at Glastonbury.

Revellers raved through the night despite torrential downpours which left the 1,000-acre Worthy Farm site a quagmire.

Last night Arctic Monkeys, making their festival debut, headlined the Pyramid Stage with a blistering performance in front of more than 100,000 people.

Rain-soaked festival-goers were given a glimmer of hope by forecasters, who predicted conditions would dry up by this afternoon..

The morning after the night before at the main stage

Friday headliners The Arctic Monkeys work up a sweat

Mudplay: Revellers Hatty Murray and Lindsey Rose take the plunge

Riding high: Lindsey Rose sits it out on Hatty's back

Method in their mudness? Kate Eager (left) joins the girls

Fans were refusing to let bad conditions ruin their fun, as they partied in the mud. Long queues formed outside stalls selling Wellington boots and anoraks, as 140,000 people tried their best to forget the rain.

Outdoor shop Millets are preparing an emergency tent drop after stores at the site sold out as revellers realised their own were unable to withstand the muddy deluge.

An articulated lorry filled carrying 4,500 tents and an extra 8,000 tent pegs will leave Millets' Northampton depot at first light to make the 148 mile journey down to Shepton Mallet.

.

Kate Moss looks shocked... surely it's not the weather she's surprised about

Kasabian take in the applause

Rock chick: Amy Winehouse thrills fans on stage at the festival

Land ahoy: Some needed a helping hand to get around

Peachy keen: Geldof teams wellies with short shorts at the festival

Millets spokeswomen at Glastonbury said: "The problems occur because so many people do not practice putting up a tent before they get to Glastonbury. Loads of people borrow tentsor use an old tent which has meant essential elements such as the poles are missing."

Some people even cheered as the heavens opened on the first day, while many bravely faced the conditions - bare chested.

Forecaster John Hutchinson at MeteoGroup UK said further showers are expected today but the sun could break through.

"We're not talking about beautiful clear blue skies but there will be some sunny spells," he said.

Giving her Wellies the boot, a Glasto-goer steps out in the mud

Ears to you: Glastonbury brings out the animal in all of us

Water show: Dancing queens at Glastonbury

Bjork celebrates her first show at Glastonbury

US indie kings The Killers, Paul Weller and Iggy and the Stooges will attract huge crowds this evening.

Organiser Michael Eavis said he would be watching American solo artist John Fogerty before rushing across to the Pyramid Stage to see The Killers.

Avon and Somerset police said crime remained similar to 2005 levels, with 71 people arrested by yesterday morning.

Thomas Buchan, a 24-year-old barman from Bristol, said: "It is difficult to beat the first day, but a little less mud might just do it."

Damp: already the grounds are beginning to look muddy, and it's only just begun

The site: campers have taken over Glastonbury

The rain seems to be dampening the spirits of Stella McCartney and husband Alasdhair Willis

Dave, 23, a student from Bournemouth, entertains one group by running down a hill then hurling himself onto the mud in his pants.

There is, it seems, a sort of bizarre pleasure in the weather, as Peter Stone, 24, a painfully thin man with massive hair tells me, "Unless it rains - we don't really enjoy it."

The Glastonbury crowd are an eclectic bunch. There are hand-holding middle aged couples with neat hair, anoraks and hiking boots; very stoned Nu Age types in top-to-toe tye dye and tattoos.

Then there are the posh students - arguing loudly and ostentatiously about how much weed they smoked last night before passing out.

Fiddler on the stage: Gogol Bordello impressed the audience with their kooky show

And festival fashion? The standard uniform is a combination of wellies, cowboy hats, jeans/flirty skirts/leggings, cleavage (if available) and a can of lager.

But some have made some bigger decisions - not all suited to a British monsoon.

Flaming June? Tens of thousands of revellers soak up the atmosphere

Everything from tutus to go-go girl outfits, three-piece suits, top hats and even five big fat Smurfs - naked but for a couple of litres of blue body paint and a pair of small white briefs, which look suspiciously padded out.

To be fair, the weather isn't anyone's fault and there are thousands of helpful staff. But while the entrance - where we're given programmes, special black bracelets, maps and bin bags (which all fall immediately in the mud) - is beautifully organised, the tepee village (an hour's muddy hike from the car park) is less so.

"Oh sorry," says the tepee manager, "I think we must have given yours away by accident. But there's another tepee place on the other side of the park."

Beers and cheers: the fans take their position in the pit