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Paul Greengrass Offered Somali Pirate Pic
Director Paul Greengrass and Sony Pictures have moved a step closer to the filmmaker coming aboard to steer the Sony Pictures’ Somali pirate drama to star Tom Hanks as Captain Richard Phillips. Greengrass was among a short list of directors for the gig but I’m told Sony Pictures has just offered him the picture and talks are about to begin. Phillips was the skipper of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama who gave himself up as a hostage to Somali pirates to keep his crew from having to leave the ship with them. After three days of being held hostage alone with the armed pirates in a small lifeboat, Phillips was saved by Navy SEALs who staged a dramatic rescue that left the captain unharmed, three captors dead and another in custody. The film is based on Phillips’ memoir A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, which was published last year by Hyperion. Sony Pictures’ The Social Network team of Scott Rudin, Michael De Luca, Dana Brunetti and Kevin Spacey are producing. Hanks signed on in March after sparking to a script written by Billy Ray.
Pam-Am Trailer – Retro
Very “Retro” Promo for new “Pan-Am” series on ABC..
Can you say, “Mad Men” ripoff?
Kindle-related Sales Reach almost 10 percent of Amazon’s Revenue
Amazon’s core business of online retail still produces the overwhelming bulk of the company’s revenue, but the Kindle is pulling its weight.
As Amazon pushes forward with its cloud locker, it better not ignore the Kindle. According to a Citi analysis of Amazon’s business released today, Kindle-related purchases are growing at a rapid pace:
Kindle Traction Surging; Kindle Closing In On 10% Contribution – The headline here is that based on recent disclosures by Amazon and our own sensitivity analysis, we now estimate that Kindle-related revenue is likely to reach close to 10% of AMZN’s total revenue by 2012. With Kindle book sales having now surpassed Amazon print book sales, eBooks have clearly reached critical mass for AMZN and its P&L — we now see 18MM Kindle units & 310MM Kindle books sold in ‘11.
Citi analysts have also updated their Kindle device sales predictions from 16.5 million units sold in 2011 to 17.5 million units, and up to 26 million Kindles in 2012. With the addition of two slightly-new Kindle models this year, the Special Offers Wi-Fi and 3G (not to mention the expected Amazon/Samsung tablet this year), those predictions look spot on.
Additionally, Citi mentions that it has this “rule” that “when one segment achieves 10% of the total business, it can impact the growth rate of the total business.” In that case, the Kindle is much more than just something Amazon has produced and sells. It’s becoming what people shop at and recognize Amazon for, and the Kindle’s continued success (or unlikely failure) will ripple throughout the company.
New Sony Vita Portable Game Device
The highlight of Sony’s press conference at the annual E3 gaming conference was the release of details on pricing and software support for its upcoming handheld gaming system. Many details about the new Sony handheld’s specs were released when the system was first announced in January under the code name NGP (Next Generation Platform). The system received its official name at E3, the PlayStation Vita, named either for the Latin word for “life” or my favorite brand of pickled herring.
Two versions of the Vita are planned for release before the end of the year, a Wi-Fi only model priced at $249 and a Wi-Fi plus 3G version priced at $299. The proud announcement that 3G service in the U.S. would be provided exclusively by AT&T provoked some chuckles from the assembled audience of journalists, many of whom were probably struggling to get a cellular signal at that very moment on their iPhones. Pricing for the 3G service wasn’t announced.
The PS Vita boasts a 5-inch OLED display that looked handsome during system demos, but the main attraction based on gameplay is clearly the versatility of system control options. The Vita boasts a touchscreen, two analog thumb controllers, a touch-sensitive rear control surface, standard PSP directional control and PlayStation four-button control pad, plus six-access tilt sensitivity. There are two cameras, front and back, allowing augmented reality gaming and potentially video chat, though details on communication features are still unknown.
Filming Tax Credits Extended through 2014 in California
California’s film and television tax credits would be extended five more years if the State Assembly has its way, after a bill that would add an extra $500 million to the program was approved today by a 72-1 vote.
The state Senate will vote on the legislation, enacted in 2009 to slow runaway production, later in the summer. “What we’re doing with this bill is retaining and creating jobs by leveling the playing field and making California competitive again,” bill co-sponsor Felipe Fuentes told the LA Times. An additional $100 million is set to be allocated for the fiscal year that begins July 1, the Times said, but of course that’s if a new state budget is passed by then — Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed cuts are massive and could steamroll any proposed credit program; they also have generated serious pushback from both sides of the aisle. Also, a state budget has been signed into law only five times in two decades, according to Reuters, so who knows how long this could take. The California Film Commission, which administers the program, said that since the incentive was signed into law, its projects are responsible for $2.2 billion in direct spending within the state, including $756 million in wages paid to below-the-line crew.
So will this make a difference? Only time will tell.
“Instant” Video Translation available via IPhone
Although the video may have been “enhanced”, it is still very interesting and future concept.
Word Lens’ launch was heralded by a YouTube video that plays like a magic trick. The video, created by Good’s brother, a video production teacher, became an instant viral sensation and helped Word Lens draw an onslaught of media and consumer attention.
“It makes the program look a little too good,” Good admits. “But my brother put so much effort into it and it looked so good … that I decided to put it out there.”
The video sparked immediate interest, both good and bad. While the press lauded the application as the future of language translation, some users who downloaded it were met with disappointment when they discovered its shortcomings.
Word Lens translations are not perfect, and the application works best with clear text and bright light, meaning any other circumstances will yield less favorable results. Handwriting and unusual fonts will trip the application up, for instance.
The startup is admittedly limited by hardware that’s not quite ready to perform Word Lens’ instant translation magic trick in exactly way the video promises with every use. The video may gloss over Word Lens’ imperfections, but “it is very much real; there’s no faking,” Good says
Studio Systems Group’s photostream
Studio Systems Group’s photostream on Flickr.
Pictures from NAB
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES’ OFFICIALLY UNDERWAY WITH PLENTY OF IMAX FILMING
Back in the first week of May, The Dark Knight Rises began production with a few days on location in Jodhpur, India. Since then, Christopher Nolan‘s conclusion to his rebooted Batman trilogy has moved on to London, but today Warner Bros officially announced that shooting is underway. After The Dark Knight successfully utilized IMAX cameras for many sequences and shots, The Dark Knight Rises will include even more IMAX footage, though the entire film will not be super-sized. The announcement confirms the full battery of filming locations: Pittsburgh, New York, Los Angeles, England, and Scotland.
Netflix Now The Largest Single Source of Internet Traffic In North America
Netflix video streaming is now the single largest source of peak downstream Interent traffic i the U.S., according to a new report by Sandvine. The streaming video service now accounts for 29.7 percent of peak downstream traffic, up from 21 percent last fall.
That puts Netflix above HTTP websites (18 percent), BitTorrent (11 percent), and YouTube (10 percent) as a source of downstream traffic during peak times in North America. (BitTorrent still accounts for half of all upstream traffic). As whole, “real-time entertainment” (which is mostly video streaming) accounted for 49 percent of downstream traffic in March, 2011, versus 19 percent for P2P file sharing, and 17 percent for Web browsing.
studio systems group 