Nokia Identifies Circular Entertainment as a Coming Trend as Consumers Get

                               Collaborative

    ESPOO, Finland, December 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Up to a quarter of

the entertainment consumed by people in five years time will have been

created, edited and shared within their peer circle rather than coming out

of traditional media groups. This phenomenon, dubbed 'Circular

Entertainment', has been identified by Nokia (NYSE: NOK) as a result of a

global study into the future of entertainment.
    The study, entitled ‘A Glimpse of the Next Episode’, carried out by The

Future Laboratory, interviewed trend-setting consumers from 17 countries

about their digital behaviors and lifestyles signposting emerging

entertainment trends. Combining views from industry leading figures with

Nokia’s own research from its 900 million consumers around the world, Nokia

has constructed a global picture of what it believes entertainment will

look like over the next five years. Read the rest of this entry »
										


                                    

Independent Shorts, Features and Documentaries From the Raindance Film

            Festival are Now Available at http://www.blinkx.com

    SAN FRANCISCO, December 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — blinkx, the

largest video search engine on the Web, today announced a partnership with

Raindance, founder of the Raindance Film Festival and the British

Independent Film Awards. Under the terms of the agreement, blinkx will

host, transcribe and index top independent shorts, features and

documentaries from the Raindance Film Festival, making it easy for film

enthusiasts to find and watch them at http://www.blinkx.com. Leveraging its

unique AdHoc platform, blinkx will also place contextually relevant

advertising against the footage, and will share resulting advertising

revenue with Raindance. Read the rest of this entry »
										


                                    

Digital Production Studio Gives Moviegoers A Multidimensional Experience

    CULVER CITY, Calif., Nov. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The critical and box

office success of Robert Zemeckis's latest motion-capture animated film,

Beowulf, made at Sony Pictures Imageworks, confirms that movie-going

audiences are seeking new and improved experiences on the big screen.
    Beowulf, which opened first at the domestic ($28.1 million) and

international ($17.3 million) weekend box office and is poised to have a

strong showing over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, is the most ambitious

computer-generated animated film ever produced. Driven by both the

director's vision and by visual effects technology, it was the artists at

Sony Pictures Imageworks who brought the characters and worlds to life on

screen in both 2D and 3D formats. Read the rest of this entry »
										


                                    

‘No Country For Old Men*’ Receives Four Nominations, including: Best Motion
Picture (Drama) Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for Best Director of a Motion
Picture Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for Best Screenplay Javier Bardem for Best
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
‘The Diving Bell And The Butterfly’ Honored with Three Nominations Julian
Schnabel for Best Director of a Motion Picture Ronald Harwood for Best
Screenplay Best Foreign Language Film
‘Gone Baby Gone’ Lauded with Nomination for Amy Ryan for Best Performance
by an Actress in a Supporting Role
‘There Will Be Blood*’ Lands Two Nominations: Best Motion Picture (Drama)
Daniel Day Lewis for Best Performance by an Actor (Drama)

    NEW YORK, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- When the nominations for the 65th

Annual Golden Globe(R) nominations were announced today in Los Angeles by

the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Miramax Films as a company

received an amazing ten overall nominations, including four for "No Country

For Old Men," three for "The Diving Bell and The Butterfly," one for "Gone

Baby Gone," and two for "There Will Be Blood." Read the rest of this entry »

										


                                    

By Cathy Sivak

The potential of film to reach the masses with a message of hope brings animation to this director’s career.

Most third graders bring a favorite toy for show and tell. In the late 70’s, that often meant Star Wars paraphernalia. And Colin Brady was certainly one of the many youngsters enthralled by the debut of the epic George Lucas film series. But instead of action figures and light sabers, Colin’s show and tell offerings were scenes from his first animated film, crafted with clay figures and Super-8 film.

A native of the Chicago suburbs, Colin followed his interest in special effects and films throughout his elementary, junior high and high school years. He led the lighting and effects crew for the high school theater program and dreamed of a career in the film industry. When the time came to apply for colleges, he was California-bound. He visited schools, second-guessed the practicality of his film career ambitions, and decided to accept a scholarship to University of Southern California for mechanical engineering. Of course, he knew USC also had a film program – his hero George Lucas had attended there. And Colin found time to take an animation class. That’s when he realized he’d never make a go of a career as an engineer. Read the rest of this entry »

Have a read through the article below. WARNING: if
you are an aspiring writer, actor, director, producer or entertainment
lawyer, you may feel a strong urge to cry or jump off the nearest
window. DON’T! Read my reply at the end… And die laughing!

About the author

Mark Litwak is a veteran entertainment lawyer, arbitrator and
author. He has provided legal services or acted as a producer rep on
more than 100 feature films. He is the author of 6 books including:
Reel Power, Dealmaking in the Film and Television Industry (winner of
the 1995 Kraszna-Krausz Book Award), Contracts for the Film and

Read the rest of this entry »

Ron Gilbert

The Method is like the quest for the Holy Grail. Once you find it, what fortune will it bring? After you read this, hopefully you will have an understanding of its origin and how it can help you as an actor.

This process does not happen overnight or after a 12 week or 9 month class at the Strasberg Institute or the Masters Class at the New School. It is an ongoing process. A constant state of creativity. Sanford Meisner said it takes 20 years to become an actor. It does not guarantee stardom or an agent or even a living. You must be excited about the work and still feel the thrill go up your spine when you read “The Collected Works” of Harold Clurman, Lee Strasberg’s “Dream of Passion “, “Stella Adler On Ibsen, Strindberg and Chekhov”, Robert Lewis’ “Slings and Arrows”, Sidney Lumet’s “Making Movies”, The Life and Work of Konstantin Stanislavsky, or any book relating to this business. It is the blood that pumps throughout your veins.

When used properly, the Method is the most useful tool for an actor, particularly in film, where most of your careers will be. A physical and emotional process that will help create a subtext for the role you are working on.

Read the rest of this entry »

by Mark Litwak

A literary acquisition contract is an agreement to acquire all or some rights in a literary property such as a novel or a play. Producers typically use it to obtain screenplays or movie rights to literary works.

Purchasers, (e.g., producers) will want owners, (e.g., writers), to warrant that they own all the rights they are selling, free and clear of any other obligations (encumbrances). Sellers will disclose their copyright registration number so that Purchasers can check the copyright records and review the chain of title to ensure they obtain all the rights they desire.Each agreement needs to define the extent of the rights being sold. Sometimes all rights (the entire copyright) are sold. Other times limited rights, on either an exclusive or non-exclusive basis, are licensed.

If movie rights are sold, the Purchaser typically will have the right to adapt the work into a motion picture and release it in ancillary markets such as home video. The Purchaser may also obtain sequel and remake rights, although an additional payment may be due if and when these rights are exploited. The Purchaser is routinely granted the right to excerpt up to 7,500 words from the book for advertising and promotion purposes.

Read the rest of this entry »