If a person’s clout can be measured by the resources they can commandeer, then Hurd is most certainly still at the top of the Hollywood heap.  Not only was the Sony Pictures Studio lot supremely pleasant to stroll around, but volunteers were everywhere to assist with even small things like fetching water. Seriously.

And Sunday’s complimentary lunch featured no less than 10 honey wagons set up to serve the likes of lobster rolls, shrimp tempura and teriyaki flank steak.  Hurd commented to me that people were already asking her when next year’s conference was going to happen and said that “we didn’t even think we’d pull this one off!”  They expected 600 attendees - 900 paying producers showed up.

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President Obama has come under the radar. Publications like the Huffington Post and the Financial Times are questioning whether he has failed already. Why? Because Tim Geithner has proposed a bailout plan for zombie banks that capitalists believe should be allowed to fail.

The writing is on the wall. Critics and journalists are pointing fingers at Geithner’s plan.  Martin Wolf of the FT goes as far as to say that if the plan fails then so will Obama’s credibility. Arianna Huffington says that Time Geithner is on the wrong side of the issue and that much like his predecessor Hank Paulson, he is more concerned about saving certain banks rather than saving the banking industry.

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