Monday, December 29, 2014
Over $3 Billion at International Box Office in 2014 for Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures Surpasses $3 Billion at the International Box Office
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the second consecutive year, Warner Bros. Pictures International has exceeded the coveted $3 billion mark at the international box office, it was announced today by Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.
This benchmark comes on the heels of the release of “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, which surpassed $400 million at the international box office this weekend and is still going strong.
In making the announcement, Kwan Vandenberg stated, “We couldn't be happier to cap off the year this way. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, it is our great team whose commitment, talent and passion make it possible to maximize the international potential of all of our films, from the smallest gems to the biggest tentpoles.”
Nine Warner Bros. Pictures films have exceeded $100 million internationally, topped by Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” (with Paramount Pictures), which has taken in an astounding $467 million outside of the U.S. to date, and “Godzilla” (with Legendary Pictures), which has earned $327 million overseas. Four titles—Doug Liman’s “Edge of Tomorrow” (with Village Roadshow Pictures), Phil Lord & Christopher Miller’s “The LEGO® Movie” (also with Village Roadshow Pictures), and Noam Murro and Zack Snyder’s “300: Rise of an Empire” (with Legendary), along with the 2014 spillover grosses from “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”—each topped $200 million abroad. Other key successes included New Line’s “Annabelle” at a phenomenal $171 million and “Into the Storm,” and the local productions “Wild Tales (Relatos Salvajes),” Argentina’s official entry for the Foreign Language Film Oscar and the highest grossing local production of all time; the hit German comedy “Vaterfreuden”; and the Japanese productions “Rorouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno” and “Runouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends.”
Warner Bros. Pictures International has surpassed $1 billion in grosses a total of 16 years, and crossed $2 billion seven times, including consecutive years from 2010 to 2014.
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Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Choose "Birdman" as 2014's Best Film
The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association is also known as the DFW Film Critics Association. The group describes itself as a not-for-profit, unincorporated voluntary organization of print, broadcast and internet film critics based in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area and greater North Texas who meet its membership criteria. The DFW Film Critics Association currently consists of 29 broadcast, print, and online journalists from throughout North Texas.
The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association 2014 / 21st Annual Critics’ Poll:
Best Film: Birdman
Runners-Up, in order: Boyhood, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Whiplash, Gone Girl, Selma, Wild and Nightcrawler
Best Actor: Michael Keaton, Birdman
Runners-Up, in order: Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything, Benedict Cumberbatch for The Imitation Game, Jake Gyllenhaal for Nightcrawler and Timothy Spall for Mr. Turner
Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Runners-Up, in order: Julianne Moore for Still Alice, Rosamund Pike for Gone Girl, Felicity Jones for The Theory of Everything and Marion Cotillard for Two Days, One Night
Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Runners-Up, in order: Edward Norton for Birdman, Ethan Hawke for Boyhood, Mark Ruffalo for Foxcatcher and Alfred Molina for Love is Strange
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Runners-Up, in order: Emma Stone for Birdman, Keira Knightley for The Imitation Game, Jessica Chastain for A Most Violent Year and Laura Dern for Wild
Best Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
Runners-Up, in order: Richard Linklater for Boyhood, Wes Anderson for The Grand Budapest Hotel, David Fincher for Gone Girl and Ava DuVernay for Selma
Best Foreign-Language Film: Force Majeure
Runners-Up, in order: Ida, Winter Sleep, Leviathan and Wild Tales
Best Documentary: Citizenfour
Runners-Up, in order: Life Itself, Jodorowsky’s Dune, The Overnighters and The Great Invisible
Best Animated Film: The Lego Movie
Runner-Up: Big Hero 6
Best Screenplay: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo, Birdman
Runner-Up: Richard Linklater for Boyhood
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman
Runner-Up: Hoyte Van Hoytema for Interstellar
Best Musical Score: Hans Zimmer, Intersellar
Winner of the Russell Smith Award: Boyhood
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The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association 2014 / 21st Annual Critics’ Poll:
Best Film: Birdman
Runners-Up, in order: Boyhood, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Whiplash, Gone Girl, Selma, Wild and Nightcrawler
Best Actor: Michael Keaton, Birdman
Runners-Up, in order: Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything, Benedict Cumberbatch for The Imitation Game, Jake Gyllenhaal for Nightcrawler and Timothy Spall for Mr. Turner
Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Runners-Up, in order: Julianne Moore for Still Alice, Rosamund Pike for Gone Girl, Felicity Jones for The Theory of Everything and Marion Cotillard for Two Days, One Night
Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Runners-Up, in order: Edward Norton for Birdman, Ethan Hawke for Boyhood, Mark Ruffalo for Foxcatcher and Alfred Molina for Love is Strange
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Runners-Up, in order: Emma Stone for Birdman, Keira Knightley for The Imitation Game, Jessica Chastain for A Most Violent Year and Laura Dern for Wild
Best Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
Runners-Up, in order: Richard Linklater for Boyhood, Wes Anderson for The Grand Budapest Hotel, David Fincher for Gone Girl and Ava DuVernay for Selma
Best Foreign-Language Film: Force Majeure
Runners-Up, in order: Ida, Winter Sleep, Leviathan and Wild Tales
Best Documentary: Citizenfour
Runners-Up, in order: Life Itself, Jodorowsky’s Dune, The Overnighters and The Great Invisible
Best Animated Film: The Lego Movie
Runner-Up: Big Hero 6
Best Screenplay: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo, Birdman
Runner-Up: Richard Linklater for Boyhood
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman
Runner-Up: Hoyte Van Hoytema for Interstellar
Best Musical Score: Hans Zimmer, Intersellar
Winner of the Russell Smith Award: Boyhood
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Sunday, December 28, 2014
James Bond "SPECTRE" Has Begun Production
SPECTRE THE 24TH JAMES BOND ADVENTURE SET TO BEGIN PRODUCTION
Directed by Sam Mendes Produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli Starring Daniel Craig as James Bond 007
LONDON, UK, - 007 Soundstage, Pinewood Studios, London. James Bond Producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, released the title of the 24th James Bond adventure, SPECTRE. The film, from Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, is directed by Sam Mendes and stars Daniel Craig, who returns for his fourth film as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007. SPECTRE began principal photography on Monday, December 8, 2014 and is set for global release on November 6, 2015.
Along with Daniel Craig, Mendes presented the returning cast, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and Rory Kinnear as well as introducing Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci and Andrew Scott. Mendes also revealed Bond’s sleek new Aston Martin, the DB10, created exclusively for SPECTRE.
A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.
The 007 production will be based at Pinewood Studios, and on location in London, Mexico City, Rome and Tangier and Erfoud, in Morocco. Bond will return to the snow once again, this time in Sölden, along with other Austrian locations, Obertilliach, and Lake Altaussee.
Commenting on the announcement, Wilson and Broccoli said, "We’re excited to announce Daniel’s fourth installment in the series and thrilled that Sam has taken on the challenge of following on the success of SKYFALL with SPECTRE."
Written by John Logan and Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, Director of Photography is Hoyte van Hoytema and Editor is Lee Smith. Production Designer, Dennis Gassner returns along with Costume Designer, Jany Temime and Composer, Thomas Newman. Action Specialist, Alexander Witt is the 2nd Unit Director. Stunt Coordinator is Gary Powell, SFX Supervisor is Chris Corbould, and Visual Effects Supervisor is Steve Begg.
Skyfall, the 23rd James Bond film, was a worldwide box office phenomenon, opening #1 in 70 territories around the world, taking over $1.1 billion worldwide and setting a new all-time box office record in the UK by becoming the first film to take over £100 million.
The launch of SPECTRE was streamed live on 007.com and Facebook.com/JamesBond007, and the video is now available on demand at both sites.
About Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions
EON Productions Limited and Danjaq LLC are wholly owned and controlled by the Broccoli/Wilson family. Danjaq is the US based company that co-owns, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, the copyright in the existing James Bond films and controls the right to produce future James Bond films as well as all worldwide merchandising. EON Productions, an affiliate of Danjaq, is the UK based production company which makes the James Bond films. The 007 franchise is the longest running in film history with twenty-three films produced since 1962. Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli succeeded Albert R ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and have produced some of the most successful Bond films ever including CASINO ROYALE, QUANTUM OF SOLACE and SKYFALL.
About Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is celebrating 90 years as a leader in the entertainment business and as an innovator in the industry. Today, MGM is an entertainment company focused on the production and distribution of film and television content globally. The company owns one of the world’s deepest libraries of premium film and television content. In addition, MGM has investments in domestic and international television channels and is the majority owner of and distributor for United Artists Media Group (UAMG). For more information, visit www.mgm.com.
About Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com.
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Directed by Sam Mendes Produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli Starring Daniel Craig as James Bond 007
LONDON, UK, - 007 Soundstage, Pinewood Studios, London. James Bond Producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, released the title of the 24th James Bond adventure, SPECTRE. The film, from Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, is directed by Sam Mendes and stars Daniel Craig, who returns for his fourth film as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007. SPECTRE began principal photography on Monday, December 8, 2014 and is set for global release on November 6, 2015.
Along with Daniel Craig, Mendes presented the returning cast, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and Rory Kinnear as well as introducing Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci and Andrew Scott. Mendes also revealed Bond’s sleek new Aston Martin, the DB10, created exclusively for SPECTRE.
A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.
The 007 production will be based at Pinewood Studios, and on location in London, Mexico City, Rome and Tangier and Erfoud, in Morocco. Bond will return to the snow once again, this time in Sölden, along with other Austrian locations, Obertilliach, and Lake Altaussee.
Commenting on the announcement, Wilson and Broccoli said, "We’re excited to announce Daniel’s fourth installment in the series and thrilled that Sam has taken on the challenge of following on the success of SKYFALL with SPECTRE."
Written by John Logan and Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, Director of Photography is Hoyte van Hoytema and Editor is Lee Smith. Production Designer, Dennis Gassner returns along with Costume Designer, Jany Temime and Composer, Thomas Newman. Action Specialist, Alexander Witt is the 2nd Unit Director. Stunt Coordinator is Gary Powell, SFX Supervisor is Chris Corbould, and Visual Effects Supervisor is Steve Begg.
Skyfall, the 23rd James Bond film, was a worldwide box office phenomenon, opening #1 in 70 territories around the world, taking over $1.1 billion worldwide and setting a new all-time box office record in the UK by becoming the first film to take over £100 million.
The launch of SPECTRE was streamed live on 007.com and Facebook.com/JamesBond007, and the video is now available on demand at both sites.
About Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions
EON Productions Limited and Danjaq LLC are wholly owned and controlled by the Broccoli/Wilson family. Danjaq is the US based company that co-owns, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, the copyright in the existing James Bond films and controls the right to produce future James Bond films as well as all worldwide merchandising. EON Productions, an affiliate of Danjaq, is the UK based production company which makes the James Bond films. The 007 franchise is the longest running in film history with twenty-three films produced since 1962. Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli succeeded Albert R ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and have produced some of the most successful Bond films ever including CASINO ROYALE, QUANTUM OF SOLACE and SKYFALL.
About Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is celebrating 90 years as a leader in the entertainment business and as an innovator in the industry. Today, MGM is an entertainment company focused on the production and distribution of film and television content globally. The company owns one of the world’s deepest libraries of premium film and television content. In addition, MGM has investments in domestic and international television channels and is the majority owner of and distributor for United Artists Media Group (UAMG). For more information, visit www.mgm.com.
About Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com.
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The Killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson - December 2014 Edition - Update #28
From TheGuardian: Another "I Can't Breathe" t-shirt controversy. The truth hurts, doesn't it.
From YahooNews: There was hell to pay for the callous comments about the Mike Brown memorial in Ferguson.
From Yahoo News via RSN: Hundreds of cop killings of civilians not reported to the FBI.
From Reuters via RSN: Hillary Clinton backs federal probes of Mike Brown and Eric Garner killings. Already she has more balls then so-called Democratic governors in Missouri and New York.
From YahooNews: If you don't want to hear "wings on pigs," then, don't do this.
From YahooNews: Off-duty, black cops feel the boot of their white colleagues, also.
From YahooNews: Black, unarmed, and shot dead by a cop in Houston.
From the NYT: Sad story about a Ferguson moment in Louisville, Kentucky back in 1999.
From the NYT: Okay, don't act like you don't know why some people react crazily.
From the NYT: Yes, police must stop the abuse of Black men.
From RollingStone: Matt Taibbi: The police in America are becoming illegitimate.
From YahooNews: Ray Kelly, who sires rapists, and Giuliani, whose vanity led to the deaths of scores of firemen, on 9/11, blame President Obama and Mayor de Blasio for the murder of two New York policemen on 12/20/2014 by a lone gunman.
From AlJazeeraAmerica: Yeah, we should be suspicious of the Oath Keepers.
From YahooNews: Why the LAPD is not like the NYPD or Ferguson Police Department.
From YahooNews: Could NYPD killings trigger a backlash against protestors.
From YahooNews: Baltimore gang member kills two New York policemen, before killing himself.
From Esquire: Why police unions have been making deranged responses to the responses to their brutality.
From YahooParenting: Second graders do Ferguson protest. One student's father is a cop. "Daddy, do you shoot people?" he claims she asked.
From TheGuardian: Remember John Crawford, shot dead by a cop in an Ohio Wal-Mart? Well, The Guardian has obtained video footage of cop threatening his girlfriend.
From RSN: Football still representing... damn what the pig's unions have got to say.
From RSN: FBI to investigage North Carolina trailer park lynching.
From RSN: Huge marches protesting police violence.
From YahooNews: The National Bar Association wants Darren Wilson stripped of his license to carry a badge anywhere in Missouri. The NBA is the nation's largest group of African-American lawyers and judges.
From ThinkProgress: The woman who could hit reset on Mike Brown-Darren Wilson case.
From ThinkProgress: The one word that kept Darren Wilson out of jail (It's "reasonable").
From GuardianUK: In Brooklyn, a rookie cop kills an unarmed black man and calls his union rep instead of 911.
From YahooNews: No indictment for Eric Garner's murderer.
From YahooNews: Another angry white guy. No, "Morning Joe," even 95 percent of white people don't agree with you.
From YahooSports: Angry old white guy, Mike Ditko, embarrassed for the Rams players and demands that we not weaken the police anymore than they already are. First, I'm sure the Rams players don't give a f**k. Non-indictments say Ditko is clueless about the weakness of cops - especially post 9/11. Maybe, he just needs a Viagra and beer.
From RSN: A "Dear White People" essay from Carl Gibson.
From YahooNews: America's mayor, Rudy Giulani, says that Ferguson grand jury should not have indicted. This from a man whose vanity caused the death of many fireman on 9/11, an event from which Giulani made tens of millions of dollars.
From YahooSports: One of America's favorite media quote machines, Charles Barkley, is down with Darren Wilson.
From YahooSports: St. Louis cops union pissed at St. Louis Rams.
From WashingtonPost: Holding an entire community in contempt by Eugene Robinson.
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THE BASICS:
From TheIntercept via RSN: Klan jury... I mean grand jury in Mike Brown's shooting began Wednesday, August 20th, 2014.
Michael Brown, 18, was shot to death, reportedly by police officer Darren Wilson, on Saturday, August 9th, 2014 at approximately 2:15 pm on Canfield Drive in Ferguson, Missouri. Ferguson is a small city in St. Louis County. The shooting of the unarmed Brown sparked a furious backlash and days of protests, some violent and involving looting. What follows is a list of links to news articles about the shooting and related matters:
From the StLouisPostDispatch: An early article about the Michael Brown shooting
From the LosAngelesTimes: This is the earliest (or oldest) article that I could find about the Michael Brown shooting.
From HuffingtonPost: Another early article about the local African-American community's reaction to the shooting of Brown
From PrisonCulture: A searing image of Michael Brown's father
From the WashingtonPost via RSN: More of Darren Wilson's history and background emerges; it seems that he was previously associated with another police department that had a bad relationship with the local black folks.
From Al Jazeera via RSN: Darren Wilson: Judge, jury, and executioner.
From YahooNews via CSM and the AP: Shooter a.k.a. Darren Wilson tells his "side" of the story about how he shot an unarmed black man to death.
Updated Shooting Timeline: The AP via YahooNews.
Everything's Peachy... if by "Peachy" You Mean Hemlock - Update #77
There's no "race problem" in America. We all have black friends. I even have more than I need. [I call some of them relatives.] Dr. King's dream has not become a nightmare. It's become a dytopian vision of future that simply dresses the dark past in new fangled rags. - Leroy 16, Aug. 2014
From AlterNet: A great review of the new film, Selma.
From YahooParenting: 7 things I can do that my black son can't.
From CNN: I remember hearing about Macy's racial profiling case, but not this one involving "Treme" actor, Robert Brown.
From Reuters via RSN: Off-duty, Black NYPD cops feel threat from White colleagues.
From TheDailyBeast: After they fired the shots, they're the victims...
From NYTimes: Police shootings reveal racial chasm... D'uh.
From Time: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to White people feeling targeted by Ferguson protests - Welcome to our world.
From MiamiHerald: The rules are indeed different for Black people seeking justice.
From TheGuardian: Gentrifiers having to throw people out of their homes.
From CNN: Racism without racists.
From the GuardianUK: Jesse Jackson says we can still get justice for Mike Brown. I kinda doubt it, but I'm hopeful.
From Esquire: The rise in police shootings, even in places like Utah.
From YahooNews: Another black male with a toy gun shot to death by cops - this time the black male is a child.
From CSMonitor: Mumia Abu-Jamal sues over the Pennsylvania law specifically meant to gag him.
From RSN and FirstLook: Yes, we do need someone to judge the judges because Judge Edith Jones is an ignorant racist bitch.
From FirstLook: How the innocent are screwed into pleading guilty.
From NPR: Black and dead in Brazil.
From ConsortiumNews: Is Arlington, VA racist? Probably.
From RSN: Did you know that Denver cops had killed an unarmed street preacher. It costs them $4.6 million? That was an expensive cap-popping.
From RawStory: Dead in Alabama jails to save money.
From TheNation: How racism stole black childhood.
From RSN: Cops killed 77 people in September 2014.
From the NYT: Civil asset forfeiture - makes me wanna support Clive Bundy.
From Demos via RSN: A third of Americans live at or near poverty.
From YahooNews: Expelled Nazis and SS still get Social Security paychecks.
From Think Progress via RSN: Funny Ebola freak-outs.
From YahooNews: Michael Dunn gets life for killing 17-year-old Jordan Davis.
From Truthout: Incarceration, mass murder, and genocide of Black men.
From FreeThoughtProject: Cops with gang tattoos to celebrate the people they kill.
From Truthout: Understanding our many Fergusons.
From YahooNews: Another unarmed, innocent black teen attacked by white cops on a racial profiling rampage. Luckily, the cops didn't kill him.
From GQ via RSN: An interesting article about murderer, George Zimmerman's crappy family.
From News 13 via RSN: Michael Dunn found guilty of murdering black teenager, Jordan Davis.
From Truthout: Cops retaliate against citizens group that monitor police activity.
From Salon via RSN: America's summer of white supremacy.
From InformedComment via RSN: $8.7 billion in food stamp cuts, but $22 billion to fight ISIS.
From TheNewYorkTimes: When Whites Just Don't Get It Part One and Part Two.
From the HuffingtonPost: Los Angeles law enforcement kill about one person a week - I'm not surprised.
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From YahooNews: JUSTICE: Woman beat up by CHiP cop, wins $1.5 million and cop resigns.
From NPR: INJUSTICE: Grand Jury refuses to indict murders... I mean cops involved in the shooting death of an unarmed man in Ohio Wal-Mart shooting.
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From BearingArms: Family wants charges against fat lying bastard who made the 911 call that led to the murder of their son.
From Salon via RSN: The strange death of Charles Smith. Shot to death while handcuffed, supposedly in possession of gun.
From Salon via RSN: Rock the Vote joins militia group to intimidate Wisconsin African-American voters in November.
From CBS: WHITE South Carolina state trooper charged in shooting of UNARMED BLACK MAN.
From Salon via RSN: Yes, Justice Scalia is "an utter moral failure."
From the Guardian UK via RSN: Cops act like gang in assault on Latino man.
From the AP via RSN: Students walk-out in protest over conservative school board's attempt to make history education emphasize respect for authority and the free-market.
From the Guardian UK via RSN: By the way, a federal judge approved New York City's settlement with the Central Park Five. Former mayor, Michael Bumberg, had fought the lawsuit.
From The Washington Post via RSN: Cops seizing hundreds of millions in cash and property from motorists not charged with crimes. First heard about this a month ago, and I'm still shocked.
From Campus Reform via RSN: Students and faculty have to tell Clemson University how many times they've had sex... Apparently, this is real.
From The Daily Beast via RSN: Ferguson cops caught in a lie about blood on their uniforms and got away with it... for now.
From BuzzFlash via Truthout: For Black youth, no mistakes allowed. It could be fatal.
From TheWashingtonPost: White rage against Black progress.
From the GuardianUK via RSN: Yep, the cops shot Darrien Hunt in the back. Had to admit it.
From Esquire via RSN: It's never about race, right? Riiiiiight.
From The Intercept via RSN: No heads in the sand on ISIS beheading videos.
From Truthout: NRA hold "killer cop contest."Includes a "Head Shots Only" competition.
From the SPLC via RSN: Neo-Confederate group forms paramilitary unit to advance a second secession.
From YahooSports: Yeah, there are good cops...
From CBSLocal via RSN: Free Patrick McLaw - A teacher an self-published science fiction author placed on administrative leave after his work was discovered. Free Patrick McLaw.
From ABCNews: John Crawford, Jr., the father of Wal-Mart shooting victime, John Crawford, III, hears his son's dying breaths.
From YahooNews: So-called witness in John Crawford shooting - the guy who called 911, has changed his story.
From BuzzFlash: Black men who "open carry" get a cap in the ass from cops.
From TomDisptach via RSN: We made ISIS.
From Truthout: U.S. slammed for failure to end all forms of racial discrimination
From Reuters via RSN: Federal prosecutors will investigate the shooting death of Victor White III, a Louisiana man whose death had been previously ruled a suicide. Supposedly, he shot himself while handcuffed in the back of a police car.
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From LATimes: Two brothers who were wrongly convicted of the murder and rape of an 11-year-old girl in North Carolina were freed Wednesday morning, September 3, 2014. They spent 30 years in prison. One was 19 and the other were 15 when they were arrested in 1983.
So is a Black man in America more afraid of police and the justice system or of ISIL/ISIS?
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From ThinkProgress via RSN: Ain't it the truth, girl - America has a real racial problem - Justice Ginsburg.
From GlobalVoiceOnline: Israeli soldiers used Gazans as human shields This is not the first time I have heard of this. They way Israelis act, one would think Palestinians were the ones who caused the Holocaust.
From Truthout: Black women on "Women's Equality Day."
From NateSilver via RSN: Most police don't live in the cities they serve.
From TheNation: How Trayvon Martin's death launched a new generation of black activism.
From MotherJones: How indeed.
From BuzzFlash: A piece on Ferguson police officer, Dan Page, and his racist speech given before the Oath Keepers in April 2014. From TheAdvocate and TheGuardian - Page's speech.
From YouTube: Ferguson police officer, Dan Page, threatening CNN's Don Lemon.
From Truthout: "We won't go back" - the march for Eric Garner.
From Truthout: The killing of black men continues...
From YahooNews: Activist carry the coffin of a black woman killed by a white Phoenix police sergeant to the steps of City Hall.
From Valid: More commentary on Michelle Cusseaux, the black woman killed by a white Phoenix police officer.
From BuzzFlash via Truthout: Most whites still don't understand the danger of being a black man in the U.S. ...
From Esquire via RSN: Charles Pierce - Ferguson: The Limits of Everything
From Reuters via RSN: President Obama order review of police militirization
From Salon via RSN: How to Wreck the GOP in 3 Easy Steps! - Obama and weak-kneed Democratic leadership won't do this.
From RSN: Where Were the Soldier Cops at Bundy Ranch? - Good questions, Marc Ash. There is a markedly different response to black protestors in Ferguson, Missouri than there was to the white, gun-toting protestors at the Bundy Ranch in Nevada.
From Popular Resistance via Truthout: The reality of militarized, racist policing ...according to a recent study, a black man is killed every 28 hours by police, security guards or vigilantes. The whole nation is experiencing these tragedies; reality is being forced upon us.
From Time via RSN: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: "The Coming Race War Won't Be About Race." He says that it will be about class. He also wonders if the event in Ferguson, Missouri will disappear down the memory hole as the shootings at Jackson State in 1970 - 10 days after the Kent State shooting.
From Salon via RSN: The criminalization of Black mothers.
From Truthout: It's worth standing with Keith Ellison.
From BuzzFlash: President Nixon's Vietnam treason confirmed
OTHER:
From The Intercept via RSN: How Gary Webb was destroyed.
MISC:
From Suggest: 10 celebs you didn't know were black.
From RedFlagNews, you will learn that everything is not peachy.
From AlterNet: A great review of the new film, Selma.
From YahooParenting: 7 things I can do that my black son can't.
From CNN: I remember hearing about Macy's racial profiling case, but not this one involving "Treme" actor, Robert Brown.
From Reuters via RSN: Off-duty, Black NYPD cops feel threat from White colleagues.
From TheDailyBeast: After they fired the shots, they're the victims...
From NYTimes: Police shootings reveal racial chasm... D'uh.
From Time: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to White people feeling targeted by Ferguson protests - Welcome to our world.
From MiamiHerald: The rules are indeed different for Black people seeking justice.
From TheGuardian: Gentrifiers having to throw people out of their homes.
From CNN: Racism without racists.
From the GuardianUK: Jesse Jackson says we can still get justice for Mike Brown. I kinda doubt it, but I'm hopeful.
From Esquire: The rise in police shootings, even in places like Utah.
From YahooNews: Another black male with a toy gun shot to death by cops - this time the black male is a child.
From CSMonitor: Mumia Abu-Jamal sues over the Pennsylvania law specifically meant to gag him.
From RSN and FirstLook: Yes, we do need someone to judge the judges because Judge Edith Jones is an ignorant racist bitch.
From FirstLook: How the innocent are screwed into pleading guilty.
From NPR: Black and dead in Brazil.
From ConsortiumNews: Is Arlington, VA racist? Probably.
From RSN: Did you know that Denver cops had killed an unarmed street preacher. It costs them $4.6 million? That was an expensive cap-popping.
From RawStory: Dead in Alabama jails to save money.
From TheNation: How racism stole black childhood.
From RSN: Cops killed 77 people in September 2014.
From the NYT: Civil asset forfeiture - makes me wanna support Clive Bundy.
From Demos via RSN: A third of Americans live at or near poverty.
From YahooNews: Expelled Nazis and SS still get Social Security paychecks.
From Think Progress via RSN: Funny Ebola freak-outs.
From YahooNews: Michael Dunn gets life for killing 17-year-old Jordan Davis.
From Truthout: Incarceration, mass murder, and genocide of Black men.
From FreeThoughtProject: Cops with gang tattoos to celebrate the people they kill.
From Truthout: Understanding our many Fergusons.
From YahooNews: Another unarmed, innocent black teen attacked by white cops on a racial profiling rampage. Luckily, the cops didn't kill him.
From GQ via RSN: An interesting article about murderer, George Zimmerman's crappy family.
From News 13 via RSN: Michael Dunn found guilty of murdering black teenager, Jordan Davis.
From Truthout: Cops retaliate against citizens group that monitor police activity.
From Salon via RSN: America's summer of white supremacy.
From InformedComment via RSN: $8.7 billion in food stamp cuts, but $22 billion to fight ISIS.
From TheNewYorkTimes: When Whites Just Don't Get It Part One and Part Two.
From the HuffingtonPost: Los Angeles law enforcement kill about one person a week - I'm not surprised.
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From YahooNews: JUSTICE: Woman beat up by CHiP cop, wins $1.5 million and cop resigns.
From NPR: INJUSTICE: Grand Jury refuses to indict murders... I mean cops involved in the shooting death of an unarmed man in Ohio Wal-Mart shooting.
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From BearingArms: Family wants charges against fat lying bastard who made the 911 call that led to the murder of their son.
From Salon via RSN: The strange death of Charles Smith. Shot to death while handcuffed, supposedly in possession of gun.
From Salon via RSN: Rock the Vote joins militia group to intimidate Wisconsin African-American voters in November.
From CBS: WHITE South Carolina state trooper charged in shooting of UNARMED BLACK MAN.
From Salon via RSN: Yes, Justice Scalia is "an utter moral failure."
From the Guardian UK via RSN: Cops act like gang in assault on Latino man.
From the AP via RSN: Students walk-out in protest over conservative school board's attempt to make history education emphasize respect for authority and the free-market.
From the Guardian UK via RSN: By the way, a federal judge approved New York City's settlement with the Central Park Five. Former mayor, Michael Bumberg, had fought the lawsuit.
From The Washington Post via RSN: Cops seizing hundreds of millions in cash and property from motorists not charged with crimes. First heard about this a month ago, and I'm still shocked.
From Campus Reform via RSN: Students and faculty have to tell Clemson University how many times they've had sex... Apparently, this is real.
From The Daily Beast via RSN: Ferguson cops caught in a lie about blood on their uniforms and got away with it... for now.
From BuzzFlash via Truthout: For Black youth, no mistakes allowed. It could be fatal.
From TheWashingtonPost: White rage against Black progress.
From the GuardianUK via RSN: Yep, the cops shot Darrien Hunt in the back. Had to admit it.
From Esquire via RSN: It's never about race, right? Riiiiiight.
From The Intercept via RSN: No heads in the sand on ISIS beheading videos.
From Truthout: NRA hold "killer cop contest."Includes a "Head Shots Only" competition.
From the SPLC via RSN: Neo-Confederate group forms paramilitary unit to advance a second secession.
From YahooSports: Yeah, there are good cops...
From CBSLocal via RSN: Free Patrick McLaw - A teacher an self-published science fiction author placed on administrative leave after his work was discovered. Free Patrick McLaw.
From ABCNews: John Crawford, Jr., the father of Wal-Mart shooting victime, John Crawford, III, hears his son's dying breaths.
From YahooNews: So-called witness in John Crawford shooting - the guy who called 911, has changed his story.
From BuzzFlash: Black men who "open carry" get a cap in the ass from cops.
From TomDisptach via RSN: We made ISIS.
From Truthout: U.S. slammed for failure to end all forms of racial discrimination
From Reuters via RSN: Federal prosecutors will investigate the shooting death of Victor White III, a Louisiana man whose death had been previously ruled a suicide. Supposedly, he shot himself while handcuffed in the back of a police car.
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From LATimes: Two brothers who were wrongly convicted of the murder and rape of an 11-year-old girl in North Carolina were freed Wednesday morning, September 3, 2014. They spent 30 years in prison. One was 19 and the other were 15 when they were arrested in 1983.
So is a Black man in America more afraid of police and the justice system or of ISIL/ISIS?
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From ThinkProgress via RSN: Ain't it the truth, girl - America has a real racial problem - Justice Ginsburg.
From GlobalVoiceOnline: Israeli soldiers used Gazans as human shields This is not the first time I have heard of this. They way Israelis act, one would think Palestinians were the ones who caused the Holocaust.
From Truthout: Black women on "Women's Equality Day."
From NateSilver via RSN: Most police don't live in the cities they serve.
From TheNation: How Trayvon Martin's death launched a new generation of black activism.
From MotherJones: How indeed.
From BuzzFlash: A piece on Ferguson police officer, Dan Page, and his racist speech given before the Oath Keepers in April 2014. From TheAdvocate and TheGuardian - Page's speech.
From YouTube: Ferguson police officer, Dan Page, threatening CNN's Don Lemon.
From Truthout: "We won't go back" - the march for Eric Garner.
From Truthout: The killing of black men continues...
From YahooNews: Activist carry the coffin of a black woman killed by a white Phoenix police sergeant to the steps of City Hall.
From Valid: More commentary on Michelle Cusseaux, the black woman killed by a white Phoenix police officer.
From BuzzFlash via Truthout: Most whites still don't understand the danger of being a black man in the U.S. ...
From Esquire via RSN: Charles Pierce - Ferguson: The Limits of Everything
From Reuters via RSN: President Obama order review of police militirization
From Salon via RSN: How to Wreck the GOP in 3 Easy Steps! - Obama and weak-kneed Democratic leadership won't do this.
From RSN: Where Were the Soldier Cops at Bundy Ranch? - Good questions, Marc Ash. There is a markedly different response to black protestors in Ferguson, Missouri than there was to the white, gun-toting protestors at the Bundy Ranch in Nevada.
From Popular Resistance via Truthout: The reality of militarized, racist policing ...according to a recent study, a black man is killed every 28 hours by police, security guards or vigilantes. The whole nation is experiencing these tragedies; reality is being forced upon us.
From Time via RSN: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: "The Coming Race War Won't Be About Race." He says that it will be about class. He also wonders if the event in Ferguson, Missouri will disappear down the memory hole as the shootings at Jackson State in 1970 - 10 days after the Kent State shooting.
From Salon via RSN: The criminalization of Black mothers.
From Truthout: It's worth standing with Keith Ellison.
From BuzzFlash: President Nixon's Vietnam treason confirmed
OTHER:
From The Intercept via RSN: How Gary Webb was destroyed.
MISC:
From Suggest: 10 celebs you didn't know were black.
From RedFlagNews, you will learn that everything is not peachy.
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Mel Brooks Give Voice to "Vlad" in "Hotel Transylvania 2"
Comic Legend Mel Brooks To Voice Dracula’s Father In HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2
Sony Pictures Releasing International Also Casting Beloved Local Celebrities For The Voice Of Vlad
Sony Pictures Animation today announced the casting of Oscar®-, Tony-, Grammy- and Emmy-winning writer, director, performer, composer and producer Mel Brooks in the sequel to the 2012 worldwide hit, HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2. Brooks has been cast in the role of Vlad, the ancient, undead and incredibly grumpy father to Dracula (Adam Sandler). Dracula, Mavis, Jonathan and all of their monster friends are back in the brand new comedy adventure: when the old-old-old-fashioned vampire Vlad arrives at the hotel for an impromptu family get-together, Hotel Transylvania is in for a comic collision of supernatural old-school and modern day cool.
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 is slated for a September 25, 2015 release, and is being directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, produced by Michelle Murdocca, executive-produced by Sandler, Allen Covert,and Ben Waisbren, and written by Robert Smigel.
Brooks – who takes on the role 40 years after helming the horror-comedy classic Young Frankenstein – said, "I’m having a wonderful time with the character Vlad. He’s been around for eons and he’s a pretty crabby guy. Basically, he reminds me of me."
Brooks isn’t the only icon who will be voicing Vlad, as Sony Pictures Releasing International is securing the talents of additional high-profile stars around the world to voice the ancient one for the non-English versions of the film. So far, these regional Vlads include: France’s Michel Galabru, the esteemed 92-year-old actor who has appeared in more than 200 films; Japan’s Junji Inagawa, whose voice is instantly recognizable as the "go to" narrator of horror films, radio programs and DVDs; Holland’s Bram Van Der Vlugt, who, for decades, was the most requested Dutch TV/film "Sinterklaas" (Saint Nicholas); and Belgium’s Jacques Vermeire, the well-known Flemish performer with decades of memorable comic television and feature film performances.
ABOUT SONY PICTURES ANIMATION
Sony Pictures Animation produces a variety of animated and family entertainment for audiences around the world. The studio is following its worldwide comedy hits—the 2012 monster hit comedy Hotel Transylvania, the hybrid live action/animated blockbusters The Smurfs and The Smurfs 2, and the mouth-watering Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movies—with the family comedies Hotel Transylvania 2scheduled in September 2015 and Untitled Smurfs Movie in August 2016. Sony Pictures Animation also released a critically acclaimed, brand new mini-movie on DVD and television last Fall, The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow. The studio, in conjunction with Aardman Animations, has produced two critically acclaimed feature films: the CG-animated family comedy Arthur Christmas; and the Academy Award® nominated stop-frame animated high-seas adventure, The Pirates! Band of Misfits. In 2007, Surf's Up also received an Academy Award®: nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. The division, whose first feature film Open Season led to a very successful movie franchise, turned 10 in 2012. Sony Pictures Animation is an operating unit of Sony Pictures Digital Productions
Website: http://www.sonypicturesanimation.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SONYPicturesAnimation
Twitter: http://twitter.com/sonyanimation
Tumblr: http://sonyanimation.tumblr.com/
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/SonyAnimation
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Negromancer News Bits and Bites for the Week of December 21st to 27th, 2014 - Update #10
NEWS:
From Vulture: Idris Elba responds to Bond rumors with a clever tweet.
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From the NYPost: Astrophysicist and "Cosmos" host, Neil deGrasse Tyson, angers with his Christmas tweet.
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From TheWrap: "Unbroken" and "Into the Woods" explode on their Christmas Day 2014 debuts.
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From YahooTV: Rush Limbaugh offers some clownish insight on Idris Elba (an "African-English" actor) as James Bond.
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From YahooMovies: "Star Trek 3," the third film of the rebooted Star Trek film franchise, will arrive in theaters on July 8, 2016. Justin Lin, of the Fast & Furious franchise will direct.
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From YahooMovies: Sony lawyer responds to President Obama and suggests that "The Interview" will be released.
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From Variety: The #1 movie for the 12/19 to 12/21/2014 weekend box office is The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies with an estimated take of $56.2 million. Since its debut on Wednesday, Dec. 17th, 2014, it has grossed an estimated $90.6 million.
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From YahooFinance: Sony lawyer: "We haven't caved."
COMICS BOOKS:
From io9: Mike Colter is Luke Cage in Marvel/Netflix's A.K.A Jessica Jones.
STAR WARS:
From Inquisitr: Photo purports to reveal Star Wars: The Force Awakens toys.
OBITS:
From YahooMusic: Raspy voice singer, Joe Cocker, has died at the age of 70. His two best known hits were a rendition of The Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends" and the smash hit, "Up Where We Belong," which he sang with Jennifer Warnes. The latter was the theme-song from the film, An Officer and a Gentleman, won Cocker his only Grammy Award win.
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