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MovieBuzz Watch: Borat Wants To Meet “Fearless Anti-Jew Warrior” Mel GibsonAuthored by Jay Baage on October 26, 2006 - 7:05am.
"I have come here with Bilak, my 11 year old son, his wife and their child, and we are hoping maybe to put some chocolate make-up on the child's face and sell him to Madonna. I am hoping that Madonna will be a very good father for it." New York Public Library Website Adds Free Movie Download ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on June 8, 2006 - 6:57am.
New York - The New York Public Library has added the ability for its cardholders to download free movies through its eCollection online service, which is powered by technology from OverDrive and also offers music, audiobooks and e-books. The movies may be downloaded to a PC or laptop, and also transferred to certain portable devices. The online video library includes foreign films like "The Bicycle Thief" and Fellini's "8 1/2", documentaries, children's titles, IMAX films and various live performances of stage productions. Cleveland-based OverDrive said in March it is in negotiations with providers such as A&E Home Video to add content to its library movie download service, which is also available from the website of the Denver Public Library.
Movie, Music Industries Target File-Sharing on Internal Campus NetworksAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on April 28, 2006 - 9:16am.
Washington - The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) this week launched an anti-piracy campaign against file-sharing on college campuses, targeting students using local area networks (LAN) and software such as Direct Connect, MyTunes and Our Tunes. The entertainment industry trade groups sent letters to 40 university presidents in 25 states, alerting them of LAN piracy problems and "encouraging immediate action to stop and prevent theft by such means." Software such as MyTunes and Our Tunes was developed by independent programmers to allow sharing of songs within Apple's iTunes over a local network. The RIAA and MPAA said blocking and filtering devices are available to help administrators restrict the inappropriate uses of campus networks. "As we prioritize our focus on campus LAN piracy in the coming year, we hope administrators will take this opportunity to fully evaluate their systems and take action to stop theft by all means," said RIAA president Cary Sherman. The groups have previously targeted campus file-sharing through copyright infringement lawsuits against students.
First Sony Blu-ray DVD Players and Movies to Hit Market on May 23Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 28, 2006 - 9:53am.
Culver City, Calif. - Sony Pictures Home Entertainment announced on Tuesday that the first Blu-ray Disc next-generation DVD players and movies will be released in the U.S. on May 23. Samsung Electronics will ship its $1,000 BD-P1000 Blu-ray Disc player on that date, with Pioneer's BDP-HD1 and Sony VAIO PCs with Blu-ray drives to follow soon after. Meanwhile, the first players to support Toshiba's rival HD DVD format are also expected to ship in May, with a basic machine expected to be priced at $499. The first Blu-ray movie titles shipped will include Sony and MGM's "50 First Dates," "The Fifth Element," "House of Flying Daggers" and "The Last Waltz." Separately, Canadian film studio Lionsgate plans to release 10 Blu-ray titles on May 23, with new releases like "Crash" and "Lord of War" to sell for $39.99, while library titles including "Saw" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" will cost $29.99.
Midway, MTV Films, Vin Diesel Team on "The Wheelman" Movie, GameAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 22, 2006 - 4:12am.
Chicago - Midway Games announced on Wednesday that MTV Films and Paramount Pictures have purchased the movie rights to its "The Wheelman" game, currently in development by Midway and actor Vin Diesel's Tigon Studios. Diesel is expected to star in the movie, which will be produced by Tigon Studios and MTV Films, and distributed by Paramount. The deal is the second of three titles to be produced under an agreement between MTV Networks and Midway, which will jointly sell in-game advertising and collaborate on soundtrack development. "With the close cooperation of Midway, Paramount and MTV Films, we are putting together a new way to tell a story," said Tigon Studios production executive Cos Lazouras. "Working in tandem with the movie, we envision the video game will introduce 'The Wheelman' in a way that creates a unique connection with the audience that will blend the interactive world with the experience of the motion picture."
MovieBeam Re-launches with HD Movies, $48.5 Million in VC FundingAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 14, 2006 - 10:39am.
Menlo Park, Calif. - MovieBeam, a video-on-demand service originally launched by Disney in 2003 but later discontinued, on Tuesday announced the re-launch of its service in 29 U.S. markets, and a new round of venture capital financing totaling $48.5 million. Mayfield Fund led the investment round; Cisco Systems, Intel and Disney also participated. The MovieBeam service uses over-the-air "datacasting" technology to deliver a weekly-updated library of 100 movies to TV set-top boxes. The required set-top box costs $199, while new releases rent for $3.99 each for a 24-hour rental period. Disney initially launched MovieBeam in three markets, but discontinued the service in April 2005 with plans to upgrade technology. With its re-launch, MovieBeam becomes the first video-on-demand service to deliver high-definition versions of some movies, which will cost $1 extra to rent.
Amp'd Mobile Gets Premiere of "A Scanner Darkly" Movie TrailerAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 14, 2006 - 10:05am.
Los Angeles - Amp'd Mobile, a youth entertainment-focused mobile network operator, has announced that Warner Independent Pictures will premiere the trailer for its upcoming film "A Scanner Darkly" for Amp'd Mobile subscribers, before it is shown either in theaters or online. Based on the Philip K. Dick novel, the film is slated for release on July 7.
Warner, Bertelsmann's Arvato Mobile Launch P2P Movie Download ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on January 30, 2006 - 7:49am.
Burbank, Calif. - Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group announced on Monday that it has partnered with German media conglomerate Bertelsmann's Arvato Mobile unit to launch a German-language movie and TV show download service. In2Movies will utilize a peer-to-peer network to initially deliver more than 80 offerings, including "Batman Begins," "The O.C.," "Friends" and "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," as well as programming from local distributors and third-party content providers. Launching in March in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland, the service will use a centralized peer-to-peer network to ensure copyright protection and rights management, while a decentralized peer-to-peer network will deliver larger files like movies to users. Arvato Mobile has also partnered with major record labels Sony BMG and EMI to offer songs for download on its secure peer-to-peer network.
L.A. Times: Documentary Filmmaker Accuses MPAA of Pirating His MovieAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on January 26, 2006 - 8:18am.
Park City, Utah - The Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has itself been accused of piracy, for making an unauthorized copy of a documentary by director Kirby Dick that explores the MPAA's movie ratings system. "We made a copy of Kirby's movie because it had implications for our employees," Kori Bernards, the MPAA's vice president for corporate communications, told the Times. Bernards alleged that Dick followed members of the MPAA ratings board as they drove their kids to school, and also went through their garbage. "We were concerned about the raters and their families," Bernards said, adding, "The courts recognize that parties are entitled to make a copy of a work for use as evidence in possible future proceedings."
Sony Sells Movie Rights to "Siren" Game to Ghost House PicturesAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on January 24, 2006 - 9:38am.
Los Angeles - Variety reports that Sony Computer Entertainment has sold the movie rights to its "Siren" survival horror video game franchise, created by Keiichiro Toyama, to Rob Taper and Sam Raimi's Ghost House Pictures. The production company has hired writer Michael Gordon, who will work closely with Toyama to create a screen adaptation of the game. Sony's sequel to the original "Siren" game is slated for release in Japan early this year, with a U.S. release scheduled later in the year.
THQ Gets Game Rights to Weinstein Company's "Stormbreaker" MovieAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on January 23, 2006 - 10:13am.
Agoura Hills, Calif. - Video game publisher THQ said on Monday that it has acquired the exclusive rights to develop games based on the movie "Stormbreaker," an upcoming Weinstein Company release based on author Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider series of teen spy novels. In development at Altron for Nintendo DS and Razorback Developments for Game Boy Advance, the games are slated for release alongside the film's theatrical premiere in the summer of 2006.
MobilRelay Debuts Cell Phone Bar Code Movie TicketsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on January 19, 2006 - 3:01am.
Detroit - MobilRelay, a developer of bar code-based mobile payment technology, announced on Thursday the first launch of its Mobile Box Office service in the U.S. at a theater in Canton, Mich. The service lets anyone with a Web-enabled mobile phone and color screen browse showtimes and purchase tickets to movies at participating theaters. Moviegoers then receive a bar code sent to their phones, which can be scanned for entry at the theater.
Nielsen, MovieTickets.com to Conduct Moviegoer Market ResearchAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on January 17, 2006 - 2:56am.
Los Angeles - Ratings provider Nielsen Entertainment and MovieTickets.com, a provider of advance online movie ticket sales, announced on Tuesday that they have partnered to provide clients with market research from moviegoers at the point of sale. MovieTickets.com said over 750,000 of its customers have signed up to participate in its Movie Advisory Board (MAB), which will monitor surfing and survey to provide information on why they chose a particular movie and how they liked it. The companies said such data can then be put in the context of Nielsen's own audience research. "For the first time, Nielsen will be talking to moviegoers at the point of sale, able to monitor their assessments as to why they chose the movie and how they liked it," said Nielsen's Adrienne Becker, who will co-manage MAB operations. "The partnership will permit new insights into triggers of the moviegoing decision, the resulting movie experience, and patterns of movie consumption, amplifying the vital statistics of an industry undergoing change."
Sprint to Use Zingy's Mobile Movie Theater LocatorAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on January 9, 2006 - 4:56am.
New York - Zingy, a publisher of mobile entertainment and information content, announced on Monday that Sprint has launched a location-based service that helps mobile phone users locate nearby movie theaters. By pressing the "Locate Me" button within the MovieGoer mobile application, Sprint subscribers with compatible phones will be alerted to the nearest movie theaters through GPS technology, rather than having to enter their zip code or address.
Disney Announces Initial Blu-ray DVD Movie ReleasesAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on January 6, 2006 - 6:23am.
Burbank, Calif. - Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment has announced the initial slate of 10 titles it will release beginning in the summer of 2006 on Sony's Blu-ray Disc format. They include "Kill Bill: Vol. 1," "Hero," "The Brothers Grimm" and "Armageddon." Disney said future Blu-ray releases will include Web connectivity that allows users to connect to live events hosted by the studio.
Carmike Cinemas to Convert 2,300 Screens to DigitalAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 7:59am.
Morristown, N.J. - Carmike Cinemas, which owns 307 movie theaters in 37 states, announced on Monday that it has signed an agreement with Access Integrated Technologies, to deploy up to 2,300 digital cinema projection systems throughout the U.S. Carmike and AccessIT's Christie/AIX unit will begin installing digital projectors in January, and expects the rollout to be completed by November 2007. Christie/AIX said it also signed agreements with Disney, 20th Century Fox, Universal, Sony and DreamWorks, and will act as the financing intermediary between studios and theater owners receiving the digital cinema systems. In addition, AccessIT plans a secondary offering of shares in the very near future to provide equity funding for the deployment.
Three Top U.S. Theater Owners Plot Digital Cinema RolloutAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 16, 2005 - 8:12am.
Denver - National CineMedia, a joint venture of three top U.S. movie theater chains -- AMC Entertainment, Cinemark USA and Regal Entertainment Group -- announced this week that it is now working on a digital cinema business plan. "NCM's primary objective is to work with manufacturers to reduce the cost of digital cinema equipment through efficient volume purchasing for NCM's partners' 13,000 screens and other participating exhibitor screens," said NCM chairman and CEO Kurt Hall. "NCM will also seek to develop an efficient financing structure for the purchase of the digital cinema equipment that will be open to all capital sources…Once the financing model and equipment volume pricing has been established, our founding partners and other exhibitors who participate will have ultimate responsibility for deployment of digital cinema systems."
MovieTickets.com Expects $10 Million in "Harry Potter" SalesAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 21, 2005 - 2:45am.
Los Angeles - MovieTickets.com, a provider of online advance movie ticket sales, announced on Monday that it expects to sell a total of $10 million in advance tickets for screenings of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." The Los Angeles-based company, which sells tickets for 66 of the nation's theater chains, said that it sold more advance tickets on Friday, Nov. 18 than on any other day in company history.
2K Games to Develop Titles Based on "The Da Vinci Code" MovieAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 2, 2005 - 3:50am.
New York - 2K Games, a unit of game publisher Take-Two Interactive, announced on Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with Sony Pictures to develop games based on the forthcoming film adaptation of author Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code," directed by Ron Howard. New York-based 2K Games said The Collective will develop versions of the game for current-generation consoles, to be released alongside the film's debut in theaters in May 2006.
Electronic Arts to Develop Game for "Superman Returns" MovieAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on October 4, 2005 - 2:41am.
Redwood City, Calif. - Electronic Arts announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Comics to produce "Superman Returns" for Xbox 360 and current platforms, based on the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures film slated for release on June 30, 2006. The title is currently being developed in Orlando, Fla. by EA Tiburon. Separately, EA said it has shipped its "Black & White 2" title for PC to retailers. The game is a sequel of the title from Peter Molyneaux's Lionhead Studios.
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