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Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy (, ; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with ''The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof. Mark Carleton, whose extra-marital affairs kept him "vital". He became known around the world in 2003 as Billy Mack, the aging pop star in Love Actually, and in the same year played James Mortmain, the eccentric husband struggling to keep his family afloat in a decaying English castle, in I Capture the Castle''.
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Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor (born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor who has had success in mainstream, indie and art house films. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Mark Renton in the 1996 film Trainspotting, the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and the romantic penniless writer Christian in the 2001 film Moulin Rouge!
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Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg (born Simon John Beckingham; 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer and director. He is best known for his starring roles in Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Run Fatboy Run, the comedy series Spaced and his portrayal of Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the revamped Star Trek. Much of his major work has been in collaboration with some combination of Nick Frost, Jessica Hynes, Dylan Moran and Edgar Wright.
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Acton is a district of west London, England, located in the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross.
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Denmark (; , , archaic: ), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: ) together with Greenland and the Faroe Islands, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea. The country consists of a large peninsula, Jutland (Jylland) and many islands, most notably Zealand (Sjælland), Funen (Fyn), Vendsyssel-Thy (commonly considered a part of Jutland), Lolland, Falster and Bornholm, as well as hundreds of minor islands often referred to as the Danish Archipelago. Denmark has long controlled the approach to the Baltic Sea; before the digging of the Kiel Canal, water passage to the Baltic Sea was possible only through the three channels known as the "Danish straits".
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Germany (), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (, ), is a country in Western Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The territory of Germany covers 357.021 km2 and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 81.8 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member state of the European Union, and home to the third-largest number of international migrants worldwide.
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Harlow is a new town and local government district in Essex, England. It is located in the west of the county and on the border with Hertfordshire, on the Stort Valley, The town is near the M11 motorway and forms part of the London commuter belt.The district has a current population of 78,889 (2010 estimate).
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'''King's Cross''' is an area of London partly in the London Borough of Camden and partly in the London Borough of Islington. It is an inner-city district located 2.5 miles (4.8 km) north of Charing Cross. The area formerly had a reputation for being a red light district and run-down. However, rapid regeneration since the mid 1990s has rendered this reputation largely out-of-date. Since November 2007 the area has been the terminus of the Eurostar rail service at St Pancras International, with services to France and Belgium. Regeneration continues under the auspices of King's Cross Central which is a major redevelopment in the north of the area. Many more hotels, restaurants, and cultural venues have made the area a cultural centre in the 2000s, and there is also substantial business activity and residential accommodation.
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London () is the capital of England and the United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who called it Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, largely retains its square-mile mediaeval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area, governed by the elected Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
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Norway (; Norwegian: (Bokmål) or (Nynorsk)), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.8 million. It is one of the most sparsely populated countries in Europe. The majority of the country shares a border to the east with Sweden; its northernmost region is bordered by Finland to the south and Russia to the east; and Denmark lies south of its southern tip across the Skagerrak Strait. The capital city of Norway is Oslo. Norway's extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea, is home to its famous fjords.
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Sweden (pronounced , ), officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: ), is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and water borders with Denmark, Germany, and Poland to the south, and Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia to the east. Sweden is also connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.
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Tesco plc () is a global grocery and general merchandising retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second largest measured by profits. It has stores in 14 countries across Asia, Europe and North America and is the grocery market leader in the UK (where it has a market share of around 30%), Malaysia and Thailand.
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a country and sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island nation, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border with another sovereign state, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea. Great Britain is linked to continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel.
http://wn.com/United_Kingdom
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Iran files complaint over purported US drone
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Euro crisis summit: The night Europe changed
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Before Voting, If Only Death Had Been Before Their Own Eyes
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Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza civilians
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Italian police arrest alleged Mafia boss hiding in bunker
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- Acton, London
- Alex Chesterman
- Amazon.com
- Benchmark Capital
- Bill Nighy
- Brüno
- CD-WOW!
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- DFJ Esprit
- DVD-by-mail
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- Electronic commerce
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- Love (1991 film)
- Love (2005 film)
- Love (2010 film)
- loyalty card
- Madness (band)
- media streaming
- Nectar
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- Netflix
- North America
- Norway
- Octopus Ventures
- Odeon Cinemas
- Odeon Direct
- Online DVD rental
- online video rental
- outsourcing
- pay-per-view
- PlayStation 3
- PS3
- Ray Winstone
- Scandinavia
- ScreenSelect
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Company name | LoveFilm International Ltd. |
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Company logo | |
Company type | Subsidiary| |
Foundation | 2002| |
Founder | Graham BosherAlex ChestermanPaul Gardner Saul Klein William Reeve |
Location | No. 9, 6 Portal Way, London W3 6RU United Kingdom |
Key people | Simon Calver, CEO; Jim Buckle, CFO; Simon Morris, CMO |
Area served | UK, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. |
Industry | Electronic commerce |
Products | Online DVD rental |
Services | PS3 November 2010 |
Revenue | c.US$150 million (2009) |
Num employees | 250-499 |
Parent | Amazon.com |
Divisions | LoveFilm UK, LoveFilm Germany, LoveFilm Sweden, LoveFilm Denmark, LoveFilm Norway. |
Homepage | LoveFilm corporate |
Address | No. 9 6 Portal Way London W3 6RU UK |
Products | Online DVD rental }} |
LoveFilm (official typeset LOVEFiLM) is a UK-based provider of home video and video game rental through DVD-by-mail and streaming video on demand in the UK, Germany and Scandinavia. It is currently an Amazon.com subsidiary, and operates the LoveFilm website, as well as providing outsourced website and delivery infrastructure for other British companies.
In January 2011, LoveFilm claimed to have over 1,500,000 members, over 67,000 titles, and over 4 million rentals per month across five countries. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, LoveFilm has, in a few years, become the leading online DVD rental outlet in the UK and across Europe.
The company previously offered a download service alongside postal delivery, but this ceased (at least temporarily) on 23 February 2009. Instead, the company has started a "watch online" service which offers over 4,700 films available to watch as part of subscription. This online viewing is available free for subscribers who have opted for one of their unlimited monthly rental plans; there is also some pay-per-view content available to all.
History
LoveFilm has grown due to 10 mergers and the acquisition of several other on-line DVD rental companies - the three main ones being Online Rentals Limited (the original company), ScreenSelect and Video Island.In May 2002, Paul Gardner and Graham Bosher launched Online Rentals Limited (trading as DVDsOnTap), operating out of Harlow, Essex.
In September 2003, William Reeve and Alex Chesterman launched ScreenSelect, operating out of Acton in West London. And in the same month Saul Klein launched Video Island, operating out of Kings Cross in central London.
In October 2003, Online Rentals Ltd was bought by Arts Alliance Ventures, a family-owned private equity firm. In December 2003, DVDsOnTap rebranded to LoveFilm, appointed Mark Livingstone as CEO, and relocated to much larger premises in the Spire Green Business Park in Harlow, Essex.
ScreenSelect led what became a clutch of mergers across the UK dvd rental industry. In December 2003, this began with the acquisition of In-Movies. In September 2004, ScreenSelect followed up with the merger with Video Island, which combined ScreenSelect's management and brand with Video Island's venture capital.
The year 2005 saw both LoveFilm and ScreenSelect grow rapidly as fierce rivals - with strong backers the two firms leaped ahead of their rivals. LoveFilm reached 50,000 subscribers in December 2004, and shorty afterwards acquired the retail chain Choices' online business. By March 2005, it had reached 100,000 customers, and shipped almost 700,000 rentals. In June 2005, ScreenSelect acquired DVDs365 (owner of Mailbox Movies, MovieTrak and Qflicks) and a few months later LoveFilm acquired the tiny Webflix. Both rivals acquired a Scandinavian firm; ScreenSelect acquired BraFilm (a Swedish and Norwegian business), and LoveFilm acquired Boxman (operating in Sweden and Denmark).
By 2006 ScreenSelect had outgrown LoveFilm, with over 200,000 customers against Lovefilm's 100,000 users. In April 2006, LoveFilm and Screenselect merged under ScreenSelect's management and technology platform but the LOVEFiLM brand, and moved the headquarters to Acton - ScreenSelect's original base. By the end of 2006 the LOVEFiLM brand had replaced ScreenSelect, Brafilm and Boxman everywhere except Norway - which followed in 2008.
In February 2008, LoveFilm acquired Amazon's DVD rental business in the UK and German markets, and in return Amazon became the largest shareholder of LoveFilm.
Besides Amazon and Arts Alliance Ventures, venture capital firms Balderton Capital, DFJ Esprit, Index Ventures and Octopus Ventures also have stakes in LoveFilm.
On 20 January 2011 it was announced that Amazon would take full control of the company.
Operate rental services for other companies
Besides its own DVD rental and purchase sites, LoveFilm also runs a number of such sites on behalf of other companies. The following is a list of current such white label services operated by LoveFilm.
PlayStation 3 and LOVEFiLM Player
In November 2010 LOVEFiLM was released onto the PlayStation 3, for members on Packages of £5.99 or more.
Advertising
LoveFilm originally used partners to advertise its services but started to run TV adverts from 2006. Since then, the amount of white label services and partners has decreased, possibly due to increased brand awareness of the LoveFilm name. Since advertising on a regular basis on TV the company has used British male actors for voice overs - Simon Pegg, Ewan McGregor, Bill Nighy and Ray Winstone{}. As of 2009, the theme song for the TV ads is "It Must Be Love" by Madness. LoveFilm advertise in multiple media - online, press, TV, train posters, door drops, promotions and even bathroom posters in clubs, pubs and service stations.
"Throttling" and dispute of fair usage policy
LoveFilm came in for criticism from users over its claim to offer "unlimited" DVD rentals. Some users reportedly found the company used long delays at the shipping stage to reduce the number of films a month a customer can rent. In 2006, before the merger with ScreenSelect, LoveFilm was subject of complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority over the use of the word "unlimited" in their advertising. The ASA upheld the complaint. It was revealed that they practised throttling, where high-volume customers may experience a greater likelihood of (slower) shipments from alternate warehouses, and selections from lower in their rental list. They are also less likely to receive replacement shipments on the same day a disc is received. The company itself claimed that this "fair usage" policy means all customers get a similar service.
Dispute with Universal Pictures
In late November 2009, LoveFilm stopped adding new DVDs from the distributor Universal Pictures UK to the rental sector of their site. This made a number of films unavailable to users including Public Enemies, The Invention of Lying, Brüno, Funny People, Inglourious Basterds and Kick Ass. This dispute has yet to be resolved and therefore LoveFilm no longer rents post-2009 films distributed by Universal Pictures.
See also
References
External links
Category:Video rental services
da:LOVEFiLM fr:Lovefilm sv:LovefilmThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.