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B'way could lose $135M this holiday season

NEW YORK, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Broadway could suffer a $135 million loss this holiday season due to a New York stagehand strike that has darkened the Great White Way for 10 days.

Last year, ticket sales brought in $134.4 million from Thanksgiving to Christmas, with $23 million generated during Thanksgiving week alone, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday. This year, most Broadway shows have been canceled at least through Nov. 25.

City Controller William Thompson said the strike is costing New York City about $2 million in lost revenue each day.

"It's not good for the city," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday, adding that it isn't just the loss of money that concerns him.

"I think what hurts more is our reputation," he said. "It's the psychic things rather than the dollars."

The stagehand walkout could also mean the end for at least two shows whose sales were sluggish -- "Rent" and "The Drowsy Chaperone" -- and for "The Seafarer," a new drama that was scheduled to open last week, the Daily News said.

Velvet Revolver denied visas to Japan

TOKYO, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. rock band Velvet Revolver had to cancel its upcoming tour of Japan because members were denied visas to perform there, the BBC said Tuesday.

"We don't understand why the authorities won't give us visas when they granted them for us in 2005," the band said on its Web site.

Velvet Revolver, which features former members of Guns N' Roses and Stone Temple Pilots, had been slated to perform in Tokyo and three other Japanese cities at the end of the month.

"We want to apologize to our fans in Japan that we won't be able to perform our scheduled concerts," the band said. "The increasingly tough Japanese immigration officials are taking exception with the backgrounds of various band members, which have included arrests."

The immigration department declined to comment on the decision, the BBC said.

Band sues Showtime over series name

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The Red Hot Chili Peppers are suing Showtime Networks for allegedly violating a trademark law by naming one of its shows "Californication," TMZ.com said.

The rock band's 1999 CD by the same name was listed as one of Rolling Stone magazine's "Top 500 Albums of All Time."

Filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, the lawsuit claims Showtime and others violated federal trademark law by using the same title for the Showtime series.

The band wants the cable network to change the show's name and turn over any profits it made, TMZ.com said.

"'Californication' is the signature CD, video and song of the band's career. For some TV show to come along and steal our identity is not right," lead singer Anthony Kiedis said in a statement.

'Ratatouille' passes $600M mark

BURBANK, Calif., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Disney/Pixar's animated blockbuster "Ratatouille" passed the $600 million mark at the world-wide box office, U.S.-based Walt Disney Studios said.

"Ratatouille" also stands as the fifth most popular film released this year and the top grossing non-sequel.

"Not only is 'Ratatouille' the best-reviewed movie released this year, it now has the distinction of being one of Disney's all-time biggest global releases. We are so proud of this latest achievement from Pixar and director Brad Bird and enormously gratified that audiences all over the world responded in such a big way to this beautiful, intelligent, entertaining, and highly original film," Mark Zoradi, president of the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group, said in a statement.

"The success of 'Ratatouille' in the international marketplace is nothing short of phenomenal and we're thrilled that the film has claimed the No. 1 spot for the year in some of the top markets."