The “Jackson fans prepare for concert movie farewell - AsiaOne” plus 4 more |
- Jackson fans prepare for concert movie farewell - AsiaOne
- Swell Season releases a melancholy album of post-breakup music, titled ... - Seattle Times
- Intrigue builds as America's Cup sails into court hearing over Persian ... - Minneapolis Star Tribune
- PS3 to get Netflix support - Fudzilla
- This Is It: Fans Set For Jackson Premiere - Ananova
| Jackson fans prepare for concert movie farewell - AsiaOne Posted: 27 Oct 2009 01:18 AM PDT By Rob Woollard LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson fans will get a poignant glimpse of what might have been as a movie charting the tragic singer's rehearsals for his concert comeback makes it worldwide debut on Tuesday. More than 100 hours of behind-the-scenes footage for Jackson's aborted return to the stage have been distilled into a two-hour film hyped by organizers as the last ever performance by the "King of Pop." Jackson family members and fans will gather at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles for a 6:00 pm (0100 GMT Wednesday) premiere, one of more than 15 simultaneous screenings held across five continents in a reflection of the pop icon's global reach."This Is It" will go on a limited two-week release in theaters worldwide starting Wednesday, with advance tickets in several countries selling out within days of going on sale last month. "It's a movie about rehearsing for a concert that never happened," Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal said in a recent interview. Jackson, who died on June 25 aged 50, had spent the previous four months rehearsing in Los Angeles for a gruelling series of 50 concert spectaculars scheduled to begin at London's 02 Arena in July. More than 800,000 tickets had been sold for the concerts, with organizers promising one of the "most expensive and technically advanced" live shows ever. Jackson was putting the finishing touches to the show at the time of his death, which authorities in Los Angeles have ruled a homicide. Video footage from the rehearsals had been intended to help organizers critique the show and was never intended for public viewing. Sony bought the footage for 60 million dollars after executives saw only several minutes. Sony has said an "unprecedented number" of shows across the United States have sold out and other cities - including London, Sydney, Bangkok and Tokyo - experienced similar levels of demand after tickets went on sale in September. Analyst Jeff Bock of box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations said the film could "play bigger than Elvis." "This is more of a memorial than a movie," Bock told AFP. "I think we could be looking at 70 to 100 million dollars in the first five days alone, which is extraordinary for this type of film. The movie got an early stamp of approval from Jackson's long-time friend and confidante, actress Elizabeth Taylor. Taylor, who recently underwent heart surgery, hailed the movie as the "single most brilliant piece of filmmaking I have ever seen" in a tweet on micro-blogging site Twitter. "It cements forever Michael's genius in every aspect of creativity." Despite the anticipation surrounding the film, a group of diehard Jackson fans have launched an online campaign urging devotees of the singer to boycott the movie, claiming it hides the truth about his final days. The group claims on its website - "This-Is-Not-It" - that the movie attempts to mask Jackson's physical frailty as he maintained a punishing schedule of rehearsals. "In the weeks leading up to Michael Jackson's death, while this footage was being shot, people around him knew that he looked like he might have died," the group said. "Those who stood to make a profit chose to ignore it." Associates of Jackson have insisted the star was in good health during the rehearsals. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| Swell Season releases a melancholy album of post-breakup music, titled ... - Seattle Times Posted: 27 Oct 2009 12:42 AM PDT The Swell Season, 'Strict Joy' (Anti-) Boy loses girl, boy meets new girl, boy and girl make lovely, love- and pain-filled music. That's essentially the gist of "Once," the Grammy and Oscar-winning 2007 movie that snagged audiences with its soundtrack featuring the film's stars, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. Irish singer-songwriter Hansard, frontman of the Frames, and Czech singer-pianist Irglova not only fell in love in real life, but formed a band, the Swell Season. Then the couple broke up. But that didn't end their musical relationship. The group's new album, "Strict Joy," while not as immediately ear-grabbing as the "Once" soundtrack, troves that sensitive, post breakup territory with beautiful, mostly subtle tunes in hushed acoustic tones. The album showcases Hansard's impassioned voice and lyrics on numbers such as the soulful single "Low Rising," layered with harmonies from Irglova. It's her gorgeous, understated vibrato that really makes the Swell Season worthy of attention. Solvej Schou, The Associated Press More releases this week Michael Jackson, "This Is It" (Sony) Pink Martini, "Splendor in the Grass" (Heinz) R.E.M., "Live at the Olympia" (Warner Bros.) Sting, "If on a Winter's Night" (Deutsche Grammophon) This content has passed through fivefilters.org.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 26 Oct 2009 08:53 PM PDT Safety concerns aside, Golden Gate Yacht Club argues that RAK doesn't comply with the stipulations of Deed of Gift. The Swiss counter that an April court order gave them the right to stage the racing anywhere they chose. Observers well beyond sailing circles have taken notice. Rep. Edward Royce, R-Calif., sent a letter recently to Daniel Benjamin, the State Department's coordinator for counterterrorism, asking for an assessment of security at the race site. He also asked what U.S. government resources, if any, will be committed to the event. Royce is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade. "For sailing, it is a perfect storm on the Strait of Hormuz where an international sports tempest is colliding with a brewing U.S. national security storm in the middle of one the most geopolitically sensitive hot spots in the world," said Chris Lehane, a Democratic consultant and former Clinton White House adviser. Lehane represents Sheikh Khalid bin Saqr Al Qasimi, a UAE royal crown prince who was removed from office in 2003 and replaced with RAK's current regime. "You have a small emirate whose leadership is under scrutiny for their close ties to Iran hosting a race called the 'America's Cup' where a boat controlled by a high-profile U.S. businessman will be sailing within pea-shooting distance of the Iranian Republican Guard," Lehane said. Coutts said he's offended when he hears Alinghi say Ellison is afraid or not ready to race. "We're certainly not afraid to race. We're ready to race," he said. "We want to race." And if Kornreich rules the racing will go on in RAK? "If you read the Deed, we're confident that won't happen," Coutts said. Alinghi has been sailing in RAK for a little more than a week. "We will do what the court wants and I think the congressman should come sailing with us before shooting off," Alinghi skipper and CEO Brad Butterworth — a countryman and former crewmate of Coutts' — said via e-mail. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| PS3 to get Netflix support - Fudzilla Posted: 27 Oct 2009 12:27 AM PDT 
360 Console exclusive to end next month According to what our sources are telling us, the PlayStation 3 version of the Netflix support will be a little different from the Xbox 360 version to start with. The PS3 Netflix player will require a Blu-ray disc that you can get free from Netflix in order to access the Netflix streaming. From our understanding, the PS3 version takes advantage of the Blu-ray BD-Live technology in order to deliver streaming playback. It was decided that this was the quickest way to offer the best support on this platform. It is suggested that at some point in the future, Sony will likely work with Netflix to add its application into the actual XMB firmware, so that it is integrated in the same way that the Netflix version for the Xbox 360 is integrated into the Dashboard. As far as functionality, the PS3 version is said to be functionally similar to the Xbox 360 version. (Although some insiders tell us that the PS3 version still needs a bit of polish that, of course, will come over time.) The PS3 version will let users browse and update their "Watch Instantly" queues directly from the XMB, according to reports. The news that Microsoft is no longer the only gaming console to support Netflix streaming has to hurt the Xbox 360's position a little bit. The Netflix support has become quite popular; and while we don't think that people were buying Xbox 360 units just to stream Netflix titles, there was a definite advantage in this area over the PlayStation 3. While Microsoft will be launching additional streaming support with the next update that will feature the promised 1080p instant-on streaming technology, all of the titles will cost money. Part of the entire beauty of the Netflix streaming support is that it is already included in your Netflix membership and it costs you nothing extra. With the PS3 support out of the way, we continue to hear rumors that the company has turned its full attention to getting Netflix support for the Wii completed. Understandably, the company isn't yet commenting about the actual status of the Wii Netflix support. It is thought, however, that Nintendo actually has zero interest in adding integrated Netflix support to the Wii. Wii support will be handled by the use of a disc to access the player when it finally arrives. Our sources suggest that the Wii version should be available at some point during the first quarter of 2010, but it is likely that the actual disc required for the Wii version may cost owners as much as a $10 one-time fee to buy a copy of the actual playback disc. You can request your PS3 Netflix support disc here.
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| This Is It: Fans Set For Jackson Premiere - Ananova Posted: 27 Oct 2009 12:06 AM PDT Michael Jackson fans will get a tantalising glimpse of what might have been as the movie charting the singer's final concert rehearsals is premiered. This Is It is being shown for the first time simultaneously in cinemas around the world in the early hours of Wednesday. More than 100 hours of behind-the-scenes footage for the King of Pop's aborted comeback have been distilled into a two-hour film. Jackson's family and stars are expected to attend a screening in Los Angeles, one of more than 15 showings held across five continents. Fans in London can see it at the Odeon in Leicester Square at 1am. The movie, This Is It, will have a limited two-week release in cinemas worldwide from Wednesday, with advance tickets already sold out. "It's a movie about rehearsing for a concert that never happened," says Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal. "It's heartbreaking and inspiring all at the same time." Jackson, who died on June 25 aged 50, had spent the previous four months rehearsing in LA for a series of 50 concerts scheduled to begin at London's 02 Arena in July. More than 800,000 tickets for the concerts had been sold. Jackson was putting the finishing touches to the show at the time of his death, which authorities have ruled a homicide. The footage was snapped up for $60m (£36.8m) by Sony after executives saw only several minutes of images. However, one group of die-hard Jackson fans has launched a campaign urging devotees of the singer to boycott the movie. They claim "while this footage was being shot, people around him knew that he looked like he might have died... Those who stood to make a profit chose to ignore it". Associates of Jackson have insisted the singer was in good health during the rehearsals. Coinciding with the film's release on Wednesday is a display of rare Michael Jackson memorabilia in London. The official exhibition, at London's 02 Bubble arena, includes one of the late singer's Rolls-Royces, some of his trademark gloves and sequinned jackets and a contract from his early days with the Jackson Five.
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