Amazon wins race to offer online movies

Amazon.com beat Apple to the punch Thursday with a new service that lets customers download movies to their computers and take them for on-the-go viewing on portable media players -- but not on Apple iPods.

The Amazon Unbox service is expected to compete head-to-head with Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes store, which already offers music videos and TV shows and is expected to include full-length movie downloads soon.

The companies' race to launch their movie services reflects the changing ways consumers are getting their entertainment.

But industry analysts questioned the prospects of Amazon's new service because it won't work on iPods and it could be cumbersome to transfer the technology to the family room TV.

Amazon officials, however, were giddy about partnering with more than 30 studios and networks to offer its customers thousands of titles, including some TV series episodes available the day after they first run. Those will go for $1.99 per episode, while most movies will cost $7.99 to $14.99, Amazon said. Movies also can be rented for $3.99, about what consumers pay at video stores.

With the Unbox, consumers can download a video with a DVD-quality picture, Amazon said. It would enable consumers to buy a show using one personal computer, such as at the office, and download it to another, likely at home. The shows would work on any Microsoft Windows Media video-compatible portable device, including Creative Zen Vision:M.

Read the story at > Amazon wins race to offer online movies

CinemaNow to Sell Movie Downloads

CinemaNow Inc. will begin selling mainstream movies for download that can be transferred to DVD and watched on standalone players, marking a first for Hollywood films bought and distributed over the Internet.

The online movie provider's "Burn to DVD" service was to debut Wednesday with more than 100 movies available, including "Scent of a Woman," "About a Boy," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and "Barbershop."

Read the article here > CinemaNow to Sell Movie Downloads

Behind THE EYEPATCH

That ship had sailed. Piracy was so 18th-century. But three years ago, the witty and wily Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) staggered across his sinking ship, on his way to an Academy Award nomination, in “Pirates of the Caribbean,” the first movie based on the popular Walt Disney World ride. Another legend was born. The sequel, “Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” opens Friday.

“He’s just great fun. He takes the ultimate fantasy-adventure romp of it and makes a really fun show. … It’s great tongue in cheek,” says Gail Selinger, co-author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Pirates.”

Read the story > Behind THE EYEPATCH The ancient Greeks and Romans had words for pirates; Julius Caesar was once kidnapped by pirates. William the Conqueror was a descendant of several generations of pirates. And the Vikings made some of the best.

Model citizen

A legendary marching band director has been inspired by a passion for model soldiers: He is a Model citizen fanatic.

Toy soldiers have an ancient history. Toy soldiers seem to have been around for as long as there have been toys. Ancient Chinese and Egyptian rulers had collections that have been unearthed by archaeologists, the Greeks and Romans had tiny bronze soldiers, Kings of medieval Europe had tiny armies of wood and pottery, and monarchs of the 19th century had glittering collections sculpted of gold and silver.

Superb update humanizes comic-book mythology

This facet to Superman’s personality may not have been purposefully glossed over in Richard Donner’s 1978 and 1980 versions, but those movies merely supplied the requisite details to decipher the mythical origins of earth’s mightiest superhero.

In Superb update humanizes comic-book mythology shows a confident, convincing and charismatic as Superman and endearingly geeky as Clark, the chiseled Routh is perfectly cast as the god-like superhero, whose lonely quest for identity and elusive love eventually leads him to a stark realization that turns impatience into prudence and wisdom.

Warner Bros. to distribute content online through Guba

Warner Bros. to distribute content online through Guba > Warner Bros. To Offer Content Online via Guba

Warner Bros. said it will sell movies and TV shows via Guba's search engine and video-sharing community. The agreement comes a month after Warner Bros. announced a deal to sell movies through the BitTorrent peer-to-peer system.

'Superman Returns': Low-Flying Object

Sounded promising, didn't it?

Bryan Singer blew off directing the third X-Men movie in order to do this one, and he brought along two of the screenwriters (Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris) and the cinematographer (Newton Thomas Sigel) from that franchise to work on this prospective franchise-in-the-making.

He was given a budget estimated to be more than $250 million. And now here it is: Superman flies again — more expensively than ever before, but, as it turns out, at a considerably lower imaginative altitude. 'Superman Returns': Low-Flying Object

US TV legend Aaron Spelling dies

US TV legend Aaron Spelling dies: "Television producer Aaron Spelling, the man behind some of US TV's most famous shows, has died at the age of 83. "

MySpace sees revenue in "safe" content

MySpace sees revenue in "safe" content.

Will this be their next move after all the allegations and difficulties they recently had? Read this report here > MySpace Draws Ads by Offering 'Safe' Content

This May, The Walt Disney Co. leveraged the popularity of social network MySpace.com to promote its summer blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest". But Disney wasn't about to jump headlong into the user-controlled areas of MySpace, so the social network, in what is becoming an increasingly popular arrangement with mainstream marketers, built the company a "safe" area to use for promotional purposes.

Thrill kills: turning crime into mass-market pornography

Almost as old as the Bible is the work of the Ancient Greeks: in Oedipus Rex, Sophocles explores the repercussions of one of the most abhorrent crimes, patricide.

In Macbeth, Shakespeare tackled the killing of a king. Crime is the new pornography: people can't get enough of it. Thrill kills: turning crime into mass-market pornography And where would bookshops be without crime?

They're not my preferred reading, but I have fewer problems with detective fiction (which has a longer history than even Sherlock Holmes could fathom) than true crime, the rehashing of real cases.

Volvo, McDonald's Set Sail To Promote Pirates

McDonald's, Volvo board "Pirate" ship sails > Volvo, McDonald's Set Sail To Promote Pirates

McDonald's and Volvo are launching a joint promotion for the upcoming "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" July 7 premier.

The restaurant will award a Volvo XC90 SUV to one customer a day for 28 days, and incorporate Volvo-dedicated packaging on select food items.

Clangers in the Temple

Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu, characters in The Da Vinci Code, are blessed with good luck.

Not only can they escape certain arrest by crack police, death at the hands of an aggro albino monk and unravel ancient riddles at the rate some people have hot dinners, but they also find every church they arrive at open.

Read this > Clangers in the Temple.

Creating phenomenal films

Movies prove you don't need a big budget or big names to make a hit.

Phenoms don't get that way because of reviewers. They just need to grab the people who actually see movies. Read this Movies article to find out more.

That necessary hook can often be as ingenious and original as the film itself. For what feels like a spontaneous combustion is often the result of a well-plotted distribution plan and an inventive PR campaign.

Not-so-hot Dani

Australian Channel Ten is gearing up to launch Rene is Getting Married, a new reality series about a 31-year-old second generation Greek-Australian girl who is trying to find the man of her dreams.

The Not-so-hot Dani series will be broadcast live from the network's Sydney studios, where a panel of three experts and the host will review a montage of her activities from the previous 24 hours, plan her next 24 hours and pass judgment on her suitors.

Bachelors keen to get involved should act quickly, as Ten has been calling for "single, out-going, adventurous men with a romantic streak" for the past week.

3D monitors offer captivating viewing experience

3D monitors offer captivating viewing experience, so you better Forget the glasses--3D monitors ready now.

Monitors that provide a simulated 3D viewing experience, some without viewing glasses required, are already being sold.

"It is clearly a more immersive experience" Jos Swillens, vice president and general manager of the 3D division at Philips, said. "There is nothing hampering this from becoming a mainstream product".

'Da Vinci Code' newest pop culture tour

Each day, 80 to 100 fans of the movie "Amelie" visit the Cafe des Deux Moulins in Paris where the title character was a waitress.

And the Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland that figures in "The Da Vinci Code" had just 6,000 visitors in 1997 - but is gearing up for well over 120,000 this year.

Read this article at St. Petersburg Times Online Except if you prefer Harry Potter-themed trips!

Gooooooooal!

The world is about to go footballistic.

In some countries, there will be mass delirium, in others, much weeping and gnashing of teeth. Like the Olympics, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association World Cup (only in North America is “the beautiful game” called soccer) is staged every four years and is every bit a television spectacle.

A quarter of the world’s population tuned in to the 2002 World Cup. This year’s extravaganza, which gets underway June 9 in Germany, is likely to surpass that. Gooooooooal! Movies and books about football, on the other hand, are structured to provide a reliable payoff. Especially in feature films, the game is mostly a vehicle for wish fulfillment: the triumph of the underdog or the follow-your-dreams parable.

New Dating Show Premieres on ABC

The producers of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" have come up with a new show, "How to Get The Guy," about four single girls hoping to meet "Mr. Right".

The New Dating Show Premieres on ABC "How to Get the Guy" debuts Monday, June 12th, on ABC.

Hollywood stars rally to save farm

A-list stars turn out to script a happy ending as developers threaten an LA oasis of rural life.

Hollywood stars rally to save farm This means the story has become an even more 'Hollywood' sort of protest: it is a cliff-hanger with the audience hoping desperately for a happy ending.

"Angel" fans create online hit

"Angel" fans create online hit Fan Films Reclaim the Whedonverse

In the old days, fans of canceled TV shows were left with little recourse other than to complain, send letters to the network and mourn the loss of beloved programming.

But in this era of user-created content, fans can make their own spinoffs.