Category: Entertainment

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YouTube To Launch Music Subscriptions

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As reported on TechCrunch. by VICTORIA HO YouTube plans to launch a music subscription service later this year, to allow people to listen to tracks online, and to possibly cut out the ads that precede each video for subscribers, according to Fortune. The largest storehouse of streaming video, YouTube relies on selling banner ads on the site and running short clips before each video, giving a cut back to record companies. YouTube has released a statement that…

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Entertainment

Beats is either ‘in talks’ with Apple over new music-streaming service, or it’s just very good at marketing

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As reported on Engadget. By Sharif Sakr Excuse us, but we find it hard to swallow some of the hype that swirls around theBeats brand. That sounds harsh, maybe, but it’s borne out of experience. Anyway, we do trust Reuters, and that outlet claims to have it on good authority that Beats is “in talks” with Apple over a partnership involving the forthcoming Daisy music-streaming service that was formerly MOG. The word is that Tim Cook attended an “informational” meeting with Beats CEO Jimmy…

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Entertainment

Spielberg to revive Kubrick’s abandoned ‘Napoleon’ project for TV

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As reported on The Verge. By Amar Toor Berg this week said he’s developing a new TV miniseries based on Stanley Kubrick’s screenplay for Napoleon — the late director’s ambitious, and perhaps most tantalizing unrealized project. Spielberg revealed his plans to revive the script during an interview with France’s Canal+, though details on its progress and planned release date remain unclear. “I’ve been developing Stanley Kubrick’s screenplay — for a miniseries not for a motion picture — about the…

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Green Scream: The Decay of the Hollywood Special Effects Industry

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As reported on Wired. BY ANGELA WATERCUTTER A funny thing happened during the Oscars, but it wasn’t anything that came out of Seth MacFarlane’s mouth. Rather, it was a moment during Life of Pi VFX supervisor Bill Westenhofer’s acceptance speech for Best Visual Effects that quickly became emblematic of the problems currently plaguing the Hollywood special effects industry. The traditional time-to-end-your-speech music began playing just as Westenhofer thanked his family, and right after he said, “Sadly, Rhythm & Hues is suffering…

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Entertainment

Telefonica shows off streaming 4K video on home fiber HD

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As reported on Engadget. By Jon Fingas The future of TV is supposed to involve streaming video, and it’s also supposed to involve 4K TVs — but melding the two has been difficult. Telefonica wants to show that the feat is at least possible with mere mortal connections: it’s been using Mobile World Congress to show 4K video streaming on a 100Mbps fiber-to-the-home link. As our Spanish teammates can attest, the (admittedly very local) demo works as well as you’d…

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Entertainment

CBS considers producing original content for streaming services

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As reported on The Verge. By Jeff Blagdon CBS is thinking about creating original content for streaming video on demand services like Netflix, an executive told a group of investors today. Asked if he could see CBS producing a studio-caliber show along the lines of Netflix’s House of Cards, Global Distribution Group CEO Armando Nuñez said, “it’s definitely a possibility,” adding, “we view Netflix, Amazon and all these SVOD platforms as new players. If you can get the right…

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Entertainment

Grammy Awards 2013 ads see Google and Microsoft go head-to… foot.

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As reported on Engadget. By Daniel Cooper This year’s Grammy Awards weren’t as packed with gadget advertising — gadvertising* — as the Super Bowl, but Microsoft and Google still coughed up to hawk their wares. The former wanted to demonstrate the productivity chops of the Surface Pro with a commercial that implies the device will cause your employees to breakdance involuntarily. Google, on the other hand, wanted to show off the powers of the Nexus 4 and Google Now to help you distinguish…

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Entertainment Story

Monty Python members to reunite for sci-fi comedy ‘Absolutely Anything’

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As reported on The Verge. By Sam Byford Monty Python’s Flying Circus stars John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin, and Terry Jones are set to work together again on Absolutely Anything, a sci-fi farce that will blend live action and CGI footage. Jones is directing the project, which will begin filming in the UK this spring, and tells Variety “It’s not a Monty Python picture, but it certainly has that sensibility.” Robin Williams is also on board to voice a talking dog.…

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Drive-in theaters could be saved by digital projection

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As reported on The Verge. By Amar Toor Drive-in theaters may seem like relics from a bygone era, but the film industry is doing its best to push them into the 21st century. This week, the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO) and Cinedigm, a leading digital equipment maker, announced plans to help drive-in theaters make the transition to digital projection systems by offering funding, installation, and operations support. While many traditional movie theaters have already transitioned from…

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Entertainment

Extended ‘Iron Man 3’ Super Bowl spot shows dramatic airborne rescue

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As reported on The Verge. By Sam Byford Marvel Studios may have locked up a product placement deal for Iron Man 3 with China’s TCL, but that doesn’t mean that the studio is ignoring traditional, all-American promotion. Take the new 30-second Super Bowl spot, for example, where Tony Stark plucks falling passengers out of the sky in the aftermath of an air disaster. The video below is an extended version which mixes the new footage with some that’s been…

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