Summary: South by Southwest (SXSW) set the tech world and media outlets aflame when they recently canceled two panel discussions on harassment in the gaming community scheduled for their 2016 conference. Organizers quickly reversed their decision realizing it sent the unintended message that the of the annual music, film and interactive festival not only tolerates online harassment but condones it.<br> SXSW officials claimed they were trying to protect attendees from violence threatening the panels from a group aligning themselves with GamerGate, an angry and misogynistic movement focused on sexism and progressivism in video game culture. Trying to define GamerGate is difficult since it has evolved from a debate raging through social media hashtags to real world death threats against prominent women in the video game industry. We’ll try to unravel the meaning of GamerGate and discuss whether SXSW can fully recover from the controversy it stirred up.<br> Meanwhile, tickets to hot franchise properties are getting hard to come by. When tickets for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” went on sale recently, web ticketing companies were crippled by demand. The same was true when tickets for the London West End production of “Harry Potter And The Cursed Child” which promptly sold out a year’s worth of performances.<br> Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including the return of “Gilmore Girls”, Internet music service Pandora settles a copyright dispute to the tune of $90 million and a new Star Trek television series is headed straight to online streaming.<br> <br> ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Destroys Fandango First-Day Sales Record<br><br> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-fandango-start-wars-record-20151020-story.html" target="_blank">http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-fandango-start-wars-record-20151020-story.html</a><br> Behind the crash: Force Too Strong for Cinemas Selling ‘Star Wars’ Tickets<br><br> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-star-wars-theaters-20151019-story.html" target="_blank">http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-star-wars-theaters-20151019-story.html</a><br> “Emperor Palpatine” Victorious in Ukraine City Council Election<br><br> <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/emperor-palpatine-victorious-ukraine-city-835156" target="_blank">http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/emperor-palpatine-victorious-ukraine-city-835156</a><br> Lenin Statue in Ukraine Turned Into Darth Vader<br><br> <a href="http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/lenin-statue-in-ukraine-turned-into-darth-vader/?_r=0" target="_blank">http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/lenin-statue-in-ukraine-turned-into-darth-vader/?_r=0</a><br> ‘Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension’ Flop Shouldn’t End Early VOD Experiments<br><br> <a href="http://variety.com/2015/film/box-office/paranormal-activity-flop-early-vod-1201626191/" target="_blank">http://variety.com/2015/film/box-office/paranormal-activity-flop-early-vod-1201626191/</a><br> ‘Empire’ Writers to Pen Movie About the “Mother of Hip-Hop”<br><br> <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/empire-writers-pen-movie-mother-833206" target="_blank">http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/empire-writers-pen-movie-mother-833206</a><br> China Film Quota Full for 2015, Hollywood Releases Confirmed<br><br> <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/china-film-quota-full-2015-832925" target="_blank">http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/china-film-quota-full-2015-832925</a><br> China Vows Further Crackdown on Box Office Fraud<br><br> <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/china-vows-crackdown-box-office-834516" target="_blank">http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/china-vows-crackdown-box-office-834516</a><br> How Sony Could Lose James Bond After Bloated ‘Spectre’ (Analysis)
