Category: media

When Nintendo launched its Wii video game system late last year, some observers were cautiously optimistic that the revolutionary controller, which forces the user to use actual physical movement to create the action on the screen, would change the sedentary nature of gaming. But when the controller is being used to mimic the actions of a brutal serial killer, slicing and dicing in the privacy of one’s living room, a lot of hackles are raised.

A new 12-screen multiplex in L.A. is “offering the home rec-room experience in a darkened public space. Three auditoriums in the facility have been equipped with leather sofas, loveseats, comfy chairs and side tables, arrayed much like you would have them in your home. It’s a style Landmark calls ‘Living Room’ and it’s been a huge hit.”

Killer of Sheep is considered one of the seminal films by an African-American director, but in the years following its release, the movie “sat decaying in an L.A. film lab, the original print and magnetic soundtrack acquiring what film preservationists call vinegar syndrome, an irreversible deterioration accompanied by a telltale acetic acid odour… Could the fact that Killer of Sheep was made in South L.A., so close, yet philosophically so far from the Hollywood studio system, have contributed to the neglect?”

There are rules in Hollywood. Autumn is for Oscar contenders, summer is for silly blockbusters with no artistic merit. “Summer counterprogramming used to be as basic as opening an upscale, quirky or smart film short on special effects but long on character and wit.” But these days, more and more serious films are being released in the summer months, in an effort to get them noticed before the onslaught of big releases in September.

PBS has a unique problem in getting viewers to watch its programs – since local affiliates are allowed to make their own schedules, it’s almost impossible to promote a national start time for a new episode of an established program. Now, the public broadcaster is planning to get around this problem by offering new episodes of certain series online ahead of their first broadcast time.

Online video giant YouTube has rolled out nine international versions of its popular web site for users in Brazil, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK. “Each site is translated into local languages and has country-specific video rankings and comments… More than half of all viewers on YouTube [are] now from outside the US.”

“Are newborns allowed to work in the movies? Yes. In California, infants can start working when they’re 15 days old, provided that they (or their parents) have a work permit and a note from a licensed physician.” SAG guidelines even dictate the substances with which they can be slathered to make them look freshly born: “Grape, red currant, and cherry jelly can be used to simulate birth-related fluids. Strawberry, raspberry, and K-Y jellies are a no-no, for fear of allergic reactions.”

“In the wake of everything that has happened recently with Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Richie, is there anyone left on the planet who doesn’t think that something is terribly wrong with this Hollywood? A dangerous cult of celebrity has been created in our society, and it must be destroyed before someone important gets hurt.”

“Customers worldwide are frustrated with increasingly complex handsets, poorly written manuals, inadequate explanations by salespeople and rising service costs, according to a February survey by a unit of the Chief Marketing Officers Council. Many of the cameras, keyboards, music players and other features in cellphones go unused.”

“Why wrestle an unwieldy 500-page novel into a screenplay, lopping off key characters and subplots, when you can tackle a much more manageable 20 pages, with a third of the characters and half the irony?”