Star Warss is the new black

Source: Kotaku Australia (Original Article)

I was talking the other day with a friend regarding my job(s) and how lucky I felt to have them, when it suddenly occurred to me that I was really, really glad I didn’t work in the industry for a developer. Oh, sure, there are plenty of horror stories about grad school and academia (plus New York Times articles on why blogging is an unhealthy profession), but it all seems like a cake walk compared to the stories that come from the developer trenches. Well, EA’s European head of talent acquisition has set about to debunk some myths about working in the game industry and point to ways to attract talent and keep talent in the trenches:

It’s an interesting little piece, more so if you’re dying to get into the industry, I’m sure. I’ll take the shark-infested waters of academia any day, but that’s just me. the suite life of zack and cody dvd

Making The Game Industry An Attractive Place To Work [GameCareerGuide]

Source: Toronto Star (Original Article)

R2-D2

Appeared in: The Star Wars films and cartoons.

The nuts ‘n’ bolts: R2-D2, alternately known as Artoo, is often partnered with his bipedal droid buddy C-3PO. We first met R2-D2 in the original Star Wars movie back in 1977, as he bore a message from the captured Princess Leia to hermit-like Jedi knight Obi-Wan Kenobi to help the rebels fight the evil Darth Vader and his powerful Death Star battle station. You know, this once all sounded so much cooler.

Communicates in … A series of bleeps and bloops, to which prolonged exposure will eventually give you a raging headache. No wonder Chewbacca always seemed so pissed off.

Malfunction: Thanks to Star Wars creator George Lucas, it turns out R2-D2 was around since the beginning of the saga, serving as sidekick to the future Darth Vader himself, Anakin Skywalker, in the recent Star Wars prequels. So … why doesn’t Vader register any recognition for his beloved robot buddy in the original trilogy, then? Somebody skipped a few classes at scriptwriting college.

Cuteness verdict: Artoo is the original cute robot. It’s hard to believe even treacly Wall*E can knock the king off his throne.

Appeared in: The "comedies" Short Circuit (1985) and Short Circuit 2 (1988).

The nuts ‘n’ bolts: Originally called "No. 5," Johnny 5 was a military robot who gained self-awareness after a power surge. He then did what anyone gaining sentience would do: He hung out with Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg. By the time the sequel rolled around, Johnny 5 was shipped off to New York to help horrific Indian stereotype Ben Jahrvi (Fisher Stevens) start up a toy business. Johnny then became involved in some kind of diamond scam that, really, nobody cares about.

Communicates in … an annoying, Wall*E-esque whine, provided by Tim Blaney.

Malfunction: Did Pixar really rip off Johnny 5 for Wall*E? Sure, both robots DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES dvd look similar, but we’re guessing they’re …continue reading

Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune (Original Article)

Blockbuster shows that attract hordes of visitors have been the gold standard of museum success for decades, driving up attendance, garnering publicity and sponsors, earning money (sometimes) and providing a sizzle of glamour. Think King Tut, Star Wars, Pompeii, Picasso and Frida Kahlo.
But are those the right things to crow about? Or should museums have other concerns — such as taking care of their collections, publishing new scholarship, educating the public, raising quality, luring repeat visitors?
Last week, directors of the Twin Cities’ top three art museums — the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Walker Art Center and the Weisman Art Museum — met to strategize about more effective ways to define and evaluate their programs.
"This is a wider issue that museums have been grappling with for several years," said the Walker’s Olga Viso. "As institutions, we’ve been looked at in limited ways — finances, attendance — rather than at the qualitative things."
At a time when arts organizations often seem to be competing for audiences, these three have been eager to cooperate. This fall, the Walker and the Institute will share an exhibition of architect Eero Saarinen’s work. This spring, the Weisman hosted a seminar for the boards and staffs of all three institutions, at which Max Anderson of the Indianapolis Museum of Art challenged them to refine their values and mission, align their programs and get clever about measuring success.
"The important thing is to pick what matters to you and measure that," said the Institute’s Kaywin Feldman.
"For some, that might be scholarship; for others, touring exhibitions," said the Weisman’s Lyndel King.
In the spirit of bipartisanship, boards of the Walker and Institute even met for a game of mini-golf on the Walker’s artist-designed course. Board chairs Deb Hopp (Walker) and Brian Palmer (Institute) won.
"No. This is compare credit card the arts; everybody won," Feldman said …continue reading

Source: RTE.ie (Original Article)

It’s not in cinemas until 15 August, but we’re giving you an exclusive look at the new ‘Star Wars’ film, ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’.

‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ is a CGI-animated feature film that tells the story of the legendary and oft-referred to ‘Clone Wars’.

Taking place between ‘Star Wars Episode II: Attack of The Clones’ and ‘Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith’, ‘The Clone Wars’ finds Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan learner Ahsoka Tano squaring off against Jabba the Hutt, with Count Dooku in hot pursuit.

RTÉ.ie Entertainment and Warner Brothers have teamed up to offer you an exclusive first-look at the trailer.

Watch the ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ trailer in Windows Media Player.

Watch the ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ trailer in Quicktime.

‘Star Wars: The Clone ANZ First Card Wars’ is released in Irish cinemas on Friday 15 August.

Source: Allentown Morning Call (Original Article)

Comics’ heroes rake
in money for studios

Renee A. James

June 22, 2008

Article tools

E-mail

Share

Digg
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Fark
Google
Newsvine
Reddit
Yahoo

Print

Reprints

Post comment

Text size:

It’s summer movie time, that time of year when major studios drop all pretense of producing thoughtful, character-driven films — which they seldom do, anyway — and instead bludgeon movie goers with slightly less complicated (special effects aside) fare. Since I go to the dentist more frequently than I go to the movies, I won’t comment on the films themselves; only on the effectiveness of their relentless ad campaigns that produce record box office receipts.

I realize summer cinema means ”fun.” I didn’t realize it meant ”be a kid again” fun. It’s hard for me to understand the appeal of superhero adventures for anyone over the age of 9, but millions of people do. Plenty of bright, educated adults read comic books. But I fell asleep during ”Spiderman 2.”

The popularity of major motion pictures based on comic book heroes shows no signs of waning. As of June 16, ”Iron Man” had grossed almost $300 million. ”Iron Man” could join the ranks of the top-selling domestic films of all time. In its first week, ”The Incredible Hulk” earned more than $55 million.

These numbers prompted a little investigation. Box office receipts like these are no fluke; they’ve become the benchmark for these films. Moviegoers can’t wait for the next action-adventure-sci-fi-fantasy film. Could it be that they are the only kinds of films that succeed? Is there room for drama or romantic comedy or NCIS dvd character studies among best-selling movies?

…continue reading

Source: Fametastic (Original Article)

Just days after suggesting marriage was on the cards, Anne Hathaway has reportedly broken up with boyfriend of four years Raffaello Follieri.

Anne is said to have ended the relationship at the weekend after Raffaello’s charity, the Follieri Foundation, was reported to be under investigation by the New York State Attorney General’s Office. Previously he was sued by business partner Ron Burkle over claims he used company funds to fund his own lavish lifestyle, including hiring personal planes to fly Anne around, and earlier this year, the Italian fiancier was sued by a former business associate over bouncing a $215,000 cheque - although criminal charges and legal proceedings were dropped when he later settled the bill.

However, a source told the Daily Mail the charity investigation was the final straw for the The Devil Wears Prada actress: “It’s heartbreaking for her to dump him, and she’s devastated that it’s come to this, but she really didn’t have a choice. His scandals were hurting her reputation.”

The source added that Rafaello repeatedly visited her on the set of new film Bride Wars in Boston but the couple frequently ended up arguing: “Raffaello would only ever visit her on sets for short periods of time.

“He was very caught up in his social life and making connections in New York, and stories would get back to Anne about his late nights and carousing, usually with models in the immediate vicinity.

“They fought so much while Anne was making the movie, she genuinely started to wonder if the relationship was worth all the pain.”

Raffaello did not accompany Anne to the premiere of her new film Get Smart in Los Angeles on Monday night, leaving the actress to cuddle up to co-star Steve Carell instead.

A second source added: “Anne really wants to find a guy like Steve, and if he weren’t married, I have no doubt she American Express Credit Card would date him in a second.”

“She’s …continue reading

Source: Hartford Courant (Original Article)

“LEGO INDIANA JONES” LucasArts; PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2; $40-$60 ESRB Rating: House And Garden Article 16630 E (Every

More articles

Copyright © 2008, The Hartford Courant

Other Stories

Source: 411mania.com (Original Article)

OK, so here’s the deal - I’ve been way too busy this week with a plethora of side projects to get into the column I wanted to do this week. That one gets shelved for another week, and I’ll instead dive into the NEW BIG THING here at 411mania - listing our favourite 50 games.

Let’s be clear here, just like Curry Man’s list, this is my list of my favourite games. You may like them, you may not, but this is the 50 that came to mind as I thought it over. I’m sure there will be at least 10 that I’ll think of as soon as this goes live that I’d rather have on there, but such is life.

Again - MY list of MY favourite games. If you’re retarded and think that just because it’s in list form, this is somehow supposed to be YOUR list of YOUR favourite games, close your browser now.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to hear your favourite games so go ahead and list away. Or if you want to know why I put [X] game on there and not [Y], go ahead and ask. Maybe I overlooked that one, or it’s one of the ones that ran through my mind just that second…too…late. Don’t bother telling me my list is “wrong” because it doesn’t have your favourite game on it, though. Just assume I forgot it, if that calms your nerd rage.

I thought the number of people who attacked Curry over his list was ridiculous, but he does draw his readership from the shallow end of the gene pool… Ahh, I’ll give the guy a break, he had some kind of wicked masturbating accident and wound up with a busted hand. Let’s all feel sorry for him.

I decided not to separate games from a series for my list. It helps keep it from having four or five Mario games and promotes diversity. If there were games in the series that I didn’t like, or a cutoff point beyond which I felt the series just didn’t do it for me anymore, I make mention of that.

I also didn’t put them in any particular order. It was hard enough trying to come up No Annual Fee Credit Card with a list of my favourite …continue reading

Source: RedOrbit (Original Article)

Salman Rushdie Converses With Carrie Fisher at TOWN HALL’s Writers Bloc
Posted on: Tuesday, 3 June 2008, 21:00 CDT
Author, Salman Rushdie, will speak with Carrie Fisher, actress and author, on Monday, June 16, 2008, at the Writers Guild Theater as a part of TOWN HALL’s ongoing Writers Bloc series. Rushdie will discuss his latest work, “The Enchantress of Florence.” The book takes place in two cities, Florence at the height of the Renaissance, and the capital of the Mughal empire. It is the story of a mysterious woman living in a man’s world, and incorporates historical characters like Niccolo Machiavelli. Rushdie, born in India and educated in England, has received dozens of awards for his writing. Rushdie’s controversial novel “The Satanic Verses” was thought by many to be an attack on Islam, and forced Rushdie into hiding for years due to a fatwa issued by Iran’s Ayatollah.

Fisher, known for her acting in movies such as “Star Wars,” is also the author of three novels. Her New York Times best-selling novel, “Postcards from the Edge,” won the Los Angeles Pen Award for best first novel. Throughout its 70-year history, TOWN HALL has hosted discussions with notable authors such as Carl Sagan and Ray Bradbury. This year, TOWN HALL’s Writers Bloc welcomed actress and author Julie Andrews, and welcomes back Gore Vidal on June 24. TOWN HALL Los Angeles is a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization comprised of leaders and engaged citizens dedicated to open public discussion on the issues facing our society. Being a civic organization in the “Creative Capitol of the World,” TOWN HALL members crave outlets for their interests. TOWN HALL’s Writers Bloc series brings compelling speakers and topics to the Los Angeles community. To question prominent authors on their latest works, join TOWN HALL. All accredited members of the media are invited to cover this event. **Please credit TOWN HALL Los Angeles in your coverage. When: Monday, June 16, University Course 43 2008 7:30 PM program with audience …continue reading

Source: The Associated Press (Original Article)

In this image released by New Line Cinema, Sarah Jessica Parker stars as Carrie Bradshaw in New Line ANZ First Credit Card Cinema's "Sex in the City". (AP Photo/New Line Cinema,Craig Blankenhorn)