In fact, VC firms are hot not just on the movie industry but everything entertainment and media. According to the latest MoneyTree Report, issued by the combined forces of PricewaterhouseCoopers, the National Venture Capital Association and Thomson Financial, VC investment in the media and entertainment sector soared a whopping 79.7% in the first quarter over a year ago to $396 million, its best quarter in five years. That’s still a drop in the VC bucket compared with the MoneyTree total of $5.6 billion, a 12% increase from a year earlier. (Note: the total figure differs from the VentureOne/Ernst & Young reported below, as each survey uses different measurements.) While the media/entertainment sector is hot, life sciences suddenly is not, with VC investment in that area sinking 24%, but still representing a nice chunk of the total business. Tracy Lefteroff of PricewaterhouseCoopers told the Boston Globe that the life-science cool-off may be attributed to VC shopping season: The first quarter saw several biotech/medical device conventions, and industry players are first studying the investment possibilities. The MoneyTree report revealed two other interesting facts: Despite the rise in VC investment dollars, the 761 deals during the first quarter was slightly less than a year ago, and investment in later-stage companies climbed 25%, indicating that these more mature companies need the cash as they face difficulties in launching initial public offerings.