Corbis : CANNES, BUZZ for SONY

At the international film festival, the stars can be spotted on the red carpet in front of the festival Palais, but also on the streets of Cannes. Corbis Outline, the picture archive’s celebrity collection (www.corbis.de), presents 17 large format billboards with contemporary celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston, Joaquin Phoenix, Jack Nicholson, Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron and Eva Mendes. Renowned Los Angeles-based photographer Peggy Sirota is the woman behind these photos. Ever since her career first kicked off in the 80s, Peggy Sirota has shot plenty of celebrities. Her signature style is elegant, yet cheery and authentic photography.

The exhibition will be opened at the start of the international film festival in Cannes and will be open until 5 July. And: Corbis are also providing the Hollywood glamour for SONY’s new Playstation game. Buzz!™: the Sony PlayStation 2 Film-Quiz was one of the most popular games to hit stores in Europe, North America and Japan this year. Buzz! is the latest game in the successful range and brings the Hollywood quiz live into the player’s living room. Film fans are challenged to show off their knowledge and answer over 5,000 questions on Hollywood’s greatest blockbusters and most dazzling stars. The sequel to Buzz!™: the Mega-Quiz, a game for the whole family, includes hundreds of film clips, pictures, celebrity photos and much more. Buzz! is the latest example of how businesses apply star power to boost product popularity. Digital celebrity contents are constantly growing in importance when it comes to products and packaging.

Corbis, the image and music rights management provider, owned by Bill Gates, is responsible for the celebrity contacts behind Sony’s successful game. Corbis provided the licensing of film clips, pictures and celebrity photos for Sony and managed all the relating licensing terms with film studios, actors and other proprietors. The Corbis rights management team made contracts with various large Hollywood studios, such as MGM, Fox, Universal, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Dreamworks Animation and Paramount Pictures. Thanks to Corbis, Sony was provided with the opportunity of browsing through the studios’ archives and selecting from countless unforgettable film clips and celebrity photos. Once the selection had been made, Corbis collaborated with the managers and agents of the stars involved, to ascertain the licensing rights for the contents of Buzz! Hollywood. Corbis also secured the rights to symbols and signs which are usually associated with show business, such as the infamous *Hollywood* font, so that these could be used in the game and on the packaging. Corbis helps businesses such as Sony manage the difficult aspects of licensing and rights management. With over 5,000 rights licences a year, Corbis have the best contacts, expertise in pricing content and can secure copyrights for their clients.