Artist: Wilbert Manuel
Genre(s):
Latin: Dance
Discography:
Bachata
Year:
Tracks: 1
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Acclaimed Hollywood film effects artist dead
Pioneering special effects and makeup artist Stan Winston - a four-time Oscar winner who transformed Arnold Schwarzenegger into The Terminator and brought dinosaurs to life in the Jurassic Park films - has died at age 62.
Winston, whose studio's work was on display in the high-tech armored suits worn by Robert Downey Jr in the current superhero blockbuster Iron Man, died at home in Malibu, California, on Sunday surrounded by family.
He had fought a seven-year struggle with multiple myeloma, a cancer of blood plasma cells, a spokeswoman for the Stan Winston Studio said.
Winston, a collaborator with such filmmaking giants as Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and Tim Burton, was best known for his landmark physical effects and animatronics, and later for blending them seamlessly with computer-graphics imagery.
Winston crafted some of modern cinema's most breathtaking creatures, including the terrifying monsters of "Aliens" and the killer cyborgs of The Terminator and its sequel for Cameron.
In the makeup department, Winston worked with Burton to create the bizarre, shear-fingered looks of Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands and Danny DeVito's grotesque Penguin guise in Batman Returns.
But Winston's most celebrated creations were the prehistoric reptiles he brought to life in Spielberg's Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
The design and construction of the life-size, robotic dinosaurs, including a two-story-tall tyrannosaurus rex in Jurassic Park, were heralded as a pioneering technical feat in movie magic.
HOLLYWOOD RENAISSANCE MAN
Winston, however, was said to be most proud of the artistic imagination and craft he brought to his work.
"He was a 'character creator,' as he liked to be called, and artistry was his only benchmark," said Don Shay, publisher of Cinefex magazine and a chronicler of Winston's career.
Winston once compared the talent in his studio to "the finest painters, sculptors and artists of the Renaissance."
His body of work spanned four decades in television and movies, including 75 feature films, and earned 10 Academy Award nominations in all.
He won four Oscars - one each for visual effects and makeup in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and two more for visual effects in Aliens and Jurassic Park.
His last Oscar nomination was for the eerily human-like walking, talking stuffed Teddy bear in the Spielberg-directed sci-fi drama A.I.: Artificial Intelligence.
Winston also was one of the first in his profession to build his own special effects house into a viable business, creating a model for others to follow, said Shane Mahan, one his effects supervisors and business partners.
It was with Cameron and fellow effects artist Scott Ross that Winston later co-founded Digital Domain, one of the Hollywood's leading CGI studios. Winston and Cameron resigned from that company in 1998.
At the time of his death, Winston was in the process of expanding his own studio into the new Winston Effects Group, with a team of senior effects supervisors heading the company.
A native of Arlington, Virginia, Winston originally aspired to become an actor, but launched his career behind the camera after completing a three-year makeup apprenticeship at Walt Disney Studios in 1972.
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Monday, 16 June 2008
Sambora arrested over driving offence
Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora has been arrested in Laguna Beach, California on suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol.
According to celebrity website TMZ.com, Sambora was pulled over by police officers at about 11pm last night.
Police claimed that the star was driving erratically before they pulled him over.
Sambora then reportedly failed a number of field sobriety tests before being arrested on a DUI charge.
Sambora checked into a rehab clinic last year to receive treatment for alcohol-related problems.
According to celebrity website TMZ.com, Sambora was pulled over by police officers at about 11pm last night.
Police claimed that the star was driving erratically before they pulled him over.
Sambora then reportedly failed a number of field sobriety tests before being arrested on a DUI charge.
Sambora checked into a rehab clinic last year to receive treatment for alcohol-related problems.
Sunday, 8 June 2008
Neil Diamond - Diamond Pulp Fiction Drug Song Sparked My Comeback
NEIL DIAMOND has publicly credited moviemaker QUENTIN TARANTINO for his career comeback - because the use of GIRL, YOU'LL BE A WOMAN SOON in PULP FICTION gave the crooner a big boost.
Oddly, Diamond initially turned down Tarantino's approach because he feared the scene featuring Urge Overkill's rendition of his moody classic glorified drugs and drug use.
He recalls, "When Quentin Tarantino first sent me his script, I'd turned down the use of that song (because) I thought the scene it was used in was heavily into the drug ambience.
"I promised myself that I wouldn't allow my music to sensationalise drug use."
But a persistent Tarantino insisted Diamond's song was the perfect tune for the scene, and the Sweet Carolina singer's publicist eventually won him over.
Diamond tells Spin magazine, "My publisher argued on Quentin's behalf, and I reconsidered, even though I was very, very wary about it.
"That was really the beginning of the turnaround for me."
It wasn't the only comeback Pulp Fiction sparked - John Travolta has often credited the 1994 film with boosting his career.
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Friday, 6 June 2008
Eternal Oath
Artist: Eternal Oath
Genre(s):
Rock
Discography:
Wither
Year: 2005
Tracks: 12
Vocalist Joni Mäensivu, guitarists Petri Tarvainen and Daniel Dziuba, bassist Ted Lundström and drummer Ted Jonsson formed Swedish death alloy band Eternal Oath in 1991. Lundström touched on to ground Amon Amarth the following year, making way for new bassist Martin Wiklander, and Dziuba was replaced with Peter Nagy short after the recording of a five-song demonstration called "Artistic creation of Darkness." Eternal Oath then managed to score a deal with Rat Pack Records, only to see it go out of business, forcing them to auto-release 1996's So Silent E.P. Wiklander skipped out at this item and bassist Peter Wendin took his place for 1999's Through the Eyes of Hatred record album, which was followed by the sophomore Righteous in 2002.
Corrie star to split with husband
Coronation Street actress Kym Ryder and her husband Jack have announced that they are to separate after six years of marriage.
The couple, who were married in 2002, said the split was "amicable" and that no-one else was involved in the break-up.
A statement released by ITV said: "With great sadness, Kym and Jack Ryder have decided to separate after seven years together. Their separation is amicable and they remain friends, with Jack continuing to see Kym's children, David and Emily.
"There is no-one else involved in the break up of their marriage. Neither Jack nor Kym will be commenting further to the press, and in consideration of the children's emotional welfare they have requested the media respect their privacy on this occasion."
It was with the band Hear'Say on the TV show Popstars in 2001, that 31-year-old Kym first came to public attention.
During her time with Hear'Say, the band sold 1.2m copies of their debut album, however Kym quit the band a year later amid reports of clashes with Myleene Klass.
Despite embarking on a brief solo career, which saw her reach Number Two in the UK charts, she was later dropped from her record label.
Twenty-six-year-old Jack Ryder shot to fame as Jamie Mitchell in 'EastEnders' from 1998 to 2002 and first met Kym in a BBC canteen while Hear'Say were on 'Top of the Pops' in 2001.
The couple were then married in 2002, with Jack quitting 'EastEnders' shortly after.
Since then Jack has for the most part remained off screen, while Kym has carved out a new career as Michelle Connor in 'Coronation Street'.
The couple, who were married in 2002, said the split was "amicable" and that no-one else was involved in the break-up.
A statement released by ITV said: "With great sadness, Kym and Jack Ryder have decided to separate after seven years together. Their separation is amicable and they remain friends, with Jack continuing to see Kym's children, David and Emily.
"There is no-one else involved in the break up of their marriage. Neither Jack nor Kym will be commenting further to the press, and in consideration of the children's emotional welfare they have requested the media respect their privacy on this occasion."
It was with the band Hear'Say on the TV show Popstars in 2001, that 31-year-old Kym first came to public attention.
During her time with Hear'Say, the band sold 1.2m copies of their debut album, however Kym quit the band a year later amid reports of clashes with Myleene Klass.
Despite embarking on a brief solo career, which saw her reach Number Two in the UK charts, she was later dropped from her record label.
Twenty-six-year-old Jack Ryder shot to fame as Jamie Mitchell in 'EastEnders' from 1998 to 2002 and first met Kym in a BBC canteen while Hear'Say were on 'Top of the Pops' in 2001.
The couple were then married in 2002, with Jack quitting 'EastEnders' shortly after.
Since then Jack has for the most part remained off screen, while Kym has carved out a new career as Michelle Connor in 'Coronation Street'.
Superheroes bulk up on licensing deals
Characters becoming powerful merchandising forces
As Licensing International Expo gets under way Tuesday at the Jacob Javits Center in New York, one thing is clear: Just as Spider-Man, the X-Men, Superman, Batman and Iron Man have taken over movie screens, they're also becoming powerful merchandising forces.
And no company has benefited from the current popularity of superheroes more than Marvel Entertainment, which rebounded from bankruptcy in 1996 by aggressively exploiting its licensing properties.
"We're more in control of our own destiny, which gives us the advantage to bring merchandising deals to the market as opposed to waiting on third-party studios," said Paul Gitter, president of consumer products at Marvel.
Having beefed up its consumer-products division, Marvel has adopted what Gitter calls a "continuity strategy," which focuses merchandising not just around major motion picture releases but around home video and TV animation as well.
The efforts, he said, "act as a thread with each of our theatrical releases. It helps us maintain a continuation of characters and story lines, especially with retailers. So instead of merchandising around a film, brands are merchandising on a day-in and day-out basis." In between films, Spider-Man lives on lunchboxes, backpacks and kids' clothes.
Superhero merchandising also has become more sophisticated because of the sheer proliferation of properties.
"On a big movie, you probably will find something related to the movie, whether it's a product or promotion, in almost every major retail outlet you could imagine," said Brad Globe, president of Warner Bros. Consumer Products, which will be trumpeting its Batman lineup at the licensing show. "We have our core companies like Target, Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart, Kmart. all names cq Then you have more specialized stores," including Neiman Marcus, which has upped the merchandising ante by selling fashion-plausible T-shirts for $40 each.
Another example of upscale merchandising is Estee Lauder, which got into the Iron Man game. A page on the beauty company's Web site offers tips on how women can achieve the look of Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), Iron Man alter ego Tony Stark's sexy spokesperson.
"With the amount of activity surrounding our properties, it's enabled us to create a resurgence in the marketplace for superheroes in general," Gitter said. "Unlike in the 1990s, where you didn't have many superhero films, now you have a tremendous amount of marketing, theatrical activity, animation, theme parks, product expansion and other synergies in place to really ride the market."
Just as Marvel is cross pollinating its movies -- Tony Stark, for example, will make an appearance in the upcoming "The Incredible Hulk" -- Chris Thilk, who writes the industry blog Movie Marketing Madness, noted that movie makers are now negotiating group or cross-merchandising agreements.
Marvel has bundled Iron Man and the Hulk for Burger King to make for a superpowerful branding campaign. In the future, superhero movies, at least those released by Marvel, "will connect the dots with each other" to compound the power of character brands, Marvel worldwide marketing president Geoffrey Ammer said.
Cheryl Rubin, senior vp brand management at DC Comics, said she sees no end in sight for superhero blockbusters.
"2007 proved that 10% of domestic boxoffice gross was based on comic books and graphic novels," she said. "Consumers love superheroes."
As superheroes proliferate onscreen and off, consumers could suffer from superfatigue as the movies begin to turn to second- or even third-tier characters.
That saturation point doesn't appear to be on the near horizon, though.
Reebok might have had reservations about how well known Iron Man was, said Matt Feiner, head of kids' product marketing at Reebok.
But after the movie kicked off the summer like a boxoffice cannon shot, Reebok felt vindicated. "From a brand perception and overall energy standpoint," Reebok's flashy red and black leather Iron Man sneakers and upcoming Hulk shoes "can really make a difference for us," Feiner said.
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