Talk of the Town: Consequences of relying on sequels

But now it has emerged that Hollywood is pumping five times more money into profitable sequels such as the Batman movie franchise than they did 20 years ago.

The extent to which the studios have become increasingly reliant on sequels has been revealed at the Edinburgh International film Audiences Conference. Money-spinning franchises included The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, Batman and Harry Potter. It's just a shame that Godfather III and Sex and the City II slipped through the net in such spectacular fashion.

MSP speech veers away from expected bus route

DEPARTING SNP MSP Chris Harvie took the opportunity of yesterday's debate on bus regulation to deliver his swansong in the Scottish Parliament.

Professor Harvie ranged widely on transport issues from air travel to high-speed rail and even touched on the Libyan situation, prompting Deputy Presiding Officer Alasdair Morgan to plead: "I wonder if the member could throw the word 'bus' into his speech occasionally."

Hats off to Councillor Rose

COUNCILLORS are often criticised for not doing enough to help the people they represent, so they will surely all welcome the move by one dedicated public servant to start tackling local crime.

Cameron Rose, Conservative councillor for Southside and Newington, normally uses his blog to highlight local initiatives, but this week decided to step things up a bit.

He highlighted the recent mugging of two pensioners in broad daylight, as seen in yesterday's Evening News, and the fact that on both cases the suspect was wearing a beanie hat.

He even helpfully provided a picture of a beanie hat for anyone not sure what they look like. Police will no doubt be grateful for his efforts.

Understated summary

THIS weekend, Scottish Tories are holding their first conference since the general election, which saw the party's return to power after 13 years, Britain's first coalition since the Second World War and the challenge of sharing government with Liberal Democrats.

But in his report to this weekend's conference, Scottish Tory deputy chairman George Kynoch sums it up in sober style: "The year which has passed since the last conference has been an eventful one."