Green film studio in Toronto
The movie industry is inherently wasteful. Their job is to recreate something in every small detail, shoot it, and then throw it away. High production value depends on props being new, recreations being authentic, and materials being cheap—but not cheap looking. From the disposable food containers used on set to the costumes on the actors’ backs, film is simply wasteful. That’s why I got really excited when I heard about Filmport, a new ecologically-sound megastudio under construction in Toronto.
Filmport is the brainchild of Ken Ferguson, a board member of Film Ontario and President of Toronto Film Studios. Unlike traditional studios, Filmport will get much of it’s electricity from rooftop solar panels. The sound stages themselves will be insulated so as to cut down on the cost of keeping out Ontario’s cold winters and there will at least be the option for on-site composting and materials recycling. (More at the Toronto Star")
Of course, big ideas are never without critics and Filmport studio complex is no exception. The main complaints seem to be about the nature of the architecture and the financial feasibility of the project as a whole. As far as the economics are concerned I couldn’t say, but the main building itself… Well, see for yourself:
Thanks to TreeHugger" for the catch.
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Dinosaurs & Guns: JP4
After all this searching, it turns out there is a God. I just found out today that there’ll be a Jurassic Park IV, only in this JP the dinosaurs will be outfitted with guns! I couldn’t even make that up. The basic plot is that the US government has trained these cold-blooded killers to carry artillery. Who thought the writer’s strike would have any immediate consequences?
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Wookieepedia: the Star Wars wiki
Not since I first read Shadows of the Empire have I been this excited. Like most Star Wars nerds who discover the expanded universe, I jumped at all the extra plot anywhere I could find it. Whether it was the many novels, the video games, or the Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels, I had everything.
In fact, I was looking for a specific piece of information today (the planetary location of Incom Corporation, makers of the X-Wing, if you must know) and stumbled upon Wookiepedia. This Star Wars wiki has absolutely everything. I’m not exaggerating, it really has everything, from The First Battle of Kashyk to all the fighters in the TIE series, Wookieepedia is your go-to guide to everything touched by the Force.
Looking for a place to get started? Read about the founding of the Alliance to Restore the Republic (aka the Rebel Alliance). It’ll drop you right into the original trilogy and carry you through to all of the greatest parts of the expanded universe of Star Wars.
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"Video Vets" complete
I posted a few weeks ago about the Video Vets commercial being made by MoveOn.org and director Oliver Stone and wanted to update you on that project. The commercial has been finished and is embedded below, although you can also find it here. More than the ad, I found the interview= with Oliver Stone to be very interesting, although not surprisingly on the wordy side.
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Life from the deep
This short French documentary on life in the abyss of deep ocean waters starts by saying “these are not aliens.” The disclaimer is a helpful one as you go on to watch translucent squid, writhing luminescent worms, and a a flan-like creature the narrators call a dumbo octopus. The animals shown in this video are no less than incredible, and it’s amazing that they live on the same planet that we do.
I found this video through one of my favorite blogs, collision detection by Clive Thompson. His stories and writing style are wonderful, and I recommend reading in full his introduction to this video and adding it to your daily read.
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House M.D. - Medical Reviews
I recently became completely hooked on the show “House”, which in my mind is extremely fascinating for the medical puzzles that drive the plot (and come on, the personality of Dr. House is awesome). The blog Polite Dissent chronicles the veracity of medical elements in popular media, including television and comics.
In particular, the blog features some excellent reviews of the medicine practiced by the misanthropic Dr. House and his overly attractive group of doctors. Given the reviews it seems that, in general, the show does a reasonable job of featuring accurate medicine (though it most certainly remains a work of fiction).
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Time Out Film Guide
Time Out magazine started in 1968 as a simple fold out poster for all the entertainment listings in London. Now they publish three weekly periodicals (London, Chicago, and New York) dozens of city guides, and an annual compendium of every single film review ever written by Time Out reviewers. That’s over 17,000 films reviewed. Starting this year, that entire database of film reviews is available online for free at timeout.com/film. Reviews from Time Out tend to be witty, shrewd and very sarcastic. In a word, British.
Style aside, the online film guide acts much the same as IMDB (allowing cross searching actors, directors, genres) but all with a sleek, professional sheen to it. Also if you like the review, you can buy or rent the DVDs right on the screen.
An update: I have just made a firefox search engine plugin for the Time Out Film Guide site, so if you navigate to my plugin site you can just go to the search engine selector in the top-right, go to the bottom and select “add Time Out Film.” Happy searching.
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Last Harry Potter book jacket unveiled
Muggles rejoice! The richest person in the UK is that much closer to becoming even richer. In addition to having the least navigable web-page in history JK Rowling has finished the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and with it the whole Harry Potter series. Here are the British book jackets, no word yet on the American ones.
Oh how much has changed since the first book came out in 1997. Words like quidditch and muggles weren’t parts of the vernacular, Alan Rickman wasn’t creepy (ok, maybe that was already true) and Daniel Radcliffe was yet to be chosen to play the boy wizard on screen and subsequently fear typecasting so much as to cause him to play naked Equus on Broadway.
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Newton Aduaka takes home the Golden Stallion of Yennega
I know you were sitting on the edge of your seats waiting to hear who had won the grand prize at FESPACO, the biennial African film festival. The winner was Nigerian film Ezra by director Newton Aduaka. The film’s plot focuses on the plight of a child soldier in Cote d’Ivoire and won for its artistic direction and relevant subject matter. Here is a picture of the winning director with his award, the Golden Stallion of Yennega.
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Enough already with Clint Eastwood
So in addition to being the first person to recieve an Academy Award for being a good person (previous post ) Clint Eastwood has just been given membership in the French Legion of Honor. The reason for the award? According to Jacques Chirac, Eastwood represented the “best in Hollywood” and the award was in recognition for his “immense talent” and “genius as a director.” At least it’s not Charlton Heston.
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For the MPAA it's Republicans over refugees
Actor/director Clint Eastwood is set to receive the first humanitarian award ever given by the MPAA. The reason given for the award is "decades… of decency and goodness of spirit in his movie making" which I’‘ll admit is true. Eastwood’‘s recent movies have been heartwarming and admittedly both decent and good, but should this award be going to someone more rewarding?
In the last 6 years Angelina Jolie has exemplified humanitarianism bringing millions of dollars, an international spotlight, and legislative attention as a UNHCR goodwill ambassador to the problem of refugees and displaced persons. Eastwood, the former mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA is hardly in the same league.
BBC Article on Eastwood’‘s upcoming award and another to an Angelina Jolie fan site that I may or may not have spent two hours exploring.
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