Will Hollywood Go the Way of Enron? Derivatives Come to the Movies

[Are_grits_groceries]

As if attacks from paparazzi and star-crazed fans weren't enough, Hollywood stars may soon have a literal price put on their heads by investors in the Cantor Exchange, a real-money trading platform where people can bet on the gross profits of upcoming movies. Sales of "The Dark Knight" skyrocketed after Heath Ledger died unexpectedly, and so did sales after the deaths of Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe.

Will greed-driven investors now be laying in wait for the stars of movies they have bet on?

The Cantor Exchange (CE) is based on a virtual trading platform called the Hollywood Stock Exchange (HSX), a web-based, multiplayer simulation in which players buy and sell "shares" of actors, directors, upcoming films and film-related options. The difference is that where the HSX uses virtual money, CE will turn the game into a real casino using real dollars.

On April 21, Cantor Exchange reported that it had just received regulatory approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which oversees futures exchanges. "This is a significant step forward in achieving our ultimate goal," it said in a letter, "which is to launch a market in Domestic Box Office Receipt Contracts."
There's more if you can stand it: http://www.truthout.org/will-hollywood-go-way-enron-derivatives-come-movies59177

Out of control............