Category: media

Developed in Belgium, “the Splash Controller is a wooden bowl with electrodes covering its inner surface. Filling the bowl with water completes the circuit and activates the electrodes, allowing a computer to detect the presence of liquid and interpret a variety of gestures including swirling the bowl or splashing water into the air.”

“Schemer learns what sort of stuff you’re into, and will serve up activities based on your past preferences and locations. And it’s both web and mobile app-based (as evidenced by our devious little Android above), so location can follow your mobile check-ins.” Blah blah check-ins … but wait: It’s integrated with (the also anemic) Google Plus.

Jean-Pierre Dardennes, one of the directors of the new The Kid With a Bike: “When a child without acting experience is on set — and this is not meant in any kind of derogatory way — he brings a presence like an animal, a cat. He is there.”

“Most Chinese media organizations do not have a staff movie critic, and many publications that do print reviews use underpaid freelancers, who regularly accept red envelopes of cash from filmmakers, ostensibly to cover expenses.” Raymond Zhou doesn’t take those bribes, and he pays a price for his honesty.

How did that nice actor from our favorite T.V. show end up in that movie? And what happens to our synapses when our favorite characters switch screens and genres?

“China is looking to learn from Hollywood and develop the ability to make commercially successful movies on par with the biggest blockbusters. U.S. studios are trying to break further into China, where box office receipts rose more than a third last year to $2 billion US. That puts it on pace to become the world’s second largest movie market in a few years, expected to top $5 billion US by 2015.”

“Did Fey’s spot-on mimicry affect how the rest of us viewed her? Newly published research suggests it did — to the detriment of her party. It finds young adults who watched the NBC comedy series’ Palin parodies were more likely than non-viewers to hold negative views of her.”

“A quiet revolution is afoot: older people are flocking to cinemas. But they don’t care for special effects. They want big characters, grown-up dramas and tales of late-blooming love. And so Hollywood’s changing its game …”

“Although telenovelas were long churned out in Mexico, the two dominant Spanish-language networks in the United States, Univision and Telemundo, are increasing production in South Florida, attracted by American marketing opportunities, tax breaks and the growing Hispanic audience in the United States.”

“Right-wing Hindu activists on Friday disrupted shooting for Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow’s movie on the hunt for Osama bin Laden, protesting at the use of Indian locations to portray Pakistan.”