“Movie News & Gossip - YAHOO!” plus 3 more |
- Movie News & Gossip - YAHOO!
- Student-teachers sponsor movie night - Beaver County Times
- Advertising: Deciding What Is ‘Suitable’ in Movie ... - New York Times
- Movie Review: American Pie 2 - Associated Content
Posted: 22 Apr 2010 08:06 PM PDT
The Sundance Film Festival's competition lineup for 2010, announced Wednesday, might demand that audiences wear their serious caps. But the out-of-competition selections allow programmers and viewers to cut loose a little. The 53 films that populate this year's Premieres, Next , Spotlight, Park City at Midnight and New Frontier sections run the gamut from the cosmically experimental to the star-studded and silly. There is indeed something for everyone at this year's event, which runs Jan. 21-31 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. Read More »Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
Student-teachers sponsor movie night - Beaver County Times Posted: 22 Apr 2010 06:40 PM PDT The tradition began four years ago to help youngsters gear up for the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment exams, according to assistant elementary principal Lisa Dutkovich. As part of the effort, Aliquippa Elementary School had a pre-test "dinner and movie night" for third-graders and their parents. The dinner was free to the participants, as was the showing of the movie, paid for by the district. Dutkovich said Clifford the Big Red Dog would even make an appearance as a special guest. But a celebration almost didn't happen this year. David Wytiaz, assistant superintendent, said it wasn't so much a lack of funding, but rather taking a different approach to motivate pupils and raise test scores. He said a motivational speaker was brought in to talk to the youngsters by grade. That meant third-graders weren't going to have movie night. Until some student teachers stepped in. "We all decided as a group that we really needed to do something for the children on behalf of Slippery Rock," student teacher Stephanie Dunbar said. Student teacher Rachel Feits said they collaborated and sought donated supplies from area businesses, and they planned a matinee movie. On Thursday, roughly 100 pupils read "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" in class before watching the movie, donated with popcorn and drinks. They also decorated aprons made from craft paper with art supplies. "It was fun because they were doing it for us," said third-grader Bria Cox, 9, of Aliquippa. Sol'vauhn Moreland, 8, of Aliquippa, also was happy for the afternoon activities. "It was good. We watched a movie, and we ate popcorn," Moreland said. Dunbar said the pupils had seen the event occurring every year since kindergarten and were looking forward to it. "The children worked very hard this year," Dutkovich said. "We appreciate Slippery Rock students caring enough for our students to celebrate." Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
Advertising: Deciding What Is ‘Suitable’ in Movie ... - New York Times Posted: 22 Apr 2010 05:50 PM PDT Little known even inside the movie capital, Ms. Gordon is the Motion Picture Association of America's top advertising enforcer. Outside of show business, it's a job that most people do not know even exists: evaluating and approving or disapproving all advertising for rated movies before it can be disseminated. Last year, Ms. Gordon and her six lieutenants evaluated more than 60,000 submissions — trailers, television spots, Internet ads, press kits, print ads, radio commercials, online games. A veto from Ms. Gordon, 57, can send movie marketers scrambling. A planned poster for a recent Jennifer Aniston comedy was rejected because it depicted a man groping her. A newspaper ad for Dwayne Johnson's last movie was rejected because it failed to adequately display the film's rating. DVD cases for horror movies have lately failed inspection for standard no-no's: guns pointing at people, human incineration, impalement. A single trailer can be submitted more than 30 times before winning approval. "I don't know what more we could do," said Ms. Gordon, whose official title is senior vice president for advertising administration at the Motion Picture Association. "We don't want anything to offend the public, and I'm really proud of our track record," she added. Ms. Gordon, a warm but feisty grandmother of three, prefers to toil in obscurity. Her offices, located in the suburban Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles, are far from the corridors of movie power. Only rarely do the movie marketers she judges work with her in person. Studios submit their marketing materials by messenger or via a secure computer system and responses are issued in writing. But a handful of watchdog groups have been trying to drag Ms. Gordon and her advertising review process into the spotlight. Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, a Boston-based organization, has lambasted Ms. Gordon's group for what it sees as lax oversight of TV ads for PG-13-rated films. ("Self regulation of movie advertising has failed," said Susan Linn, the childhood group's director.) Other critics have focused on movie trailers, particularly the R-rated "red band" variety that have proliferated online. Ms. Gordon's department has also been criticized — most prominently by the Federal Trade Commission — for insisting that cross-promotions for food or toys, such as themed Happy Meals, are outside its purview. In a December report, part of a periodic review of entertainment industry practices, the commission also criticized the "explicit and pervasive targeting of very young children for PG-13 movies." Some of this heightened scrutiny appears to be political; critics sense a weakened Motion Picture Association. Last year, the companies that finance the organization — Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures, Warner Brothers and Walt Disney Studios — slashed the association's budget by about 20 percent. (Budgets for the ratings and advertising review are separate.) Moreover, the organization is searching for a new leader following the recent resignation of its chairman Dan Glickman. But Ms. Gordon is frustrated, and fighting back. Complaints about the advertising review process, she maintains, are rarely from the public but rather from a tiny cadre of professional complainers. "It's a few special interest groups trying to make a name for themselves by unfairly going after us," she said. Against this backdrop, Ms. Gordon agreed to pull back the curtain on her process, something she has never done since taking over the advertising department in 2003 — although she declined to discuss any specific film's marketing. Greater transparency, she decided, will help prove to naysayers that the Motion Picture Association's approach to film advertising is anything but cavalier. In general terms, Ms. Gordon's team evaluates promotional materials to determine whether they are suitable for the intended audience. Billboards for R-rated movies must be tame enough for the masses, including children. But TV spots for those same movies — provided they run during late-night cable television, for instance — could feature violence and sexuality. An Internet trailer that is viewable only to people who have passed an age-verification test could go even further. There are some explicit rules. A mass-circulation movie poster, for instance, cannot show "dismemberments," "children in peril," "cruelty to animals," "offensive gestures," "drugs or tobacco products" or "people or animals on fire" (comic book characters excepted), among a laundry list of other images and words. But most decisions are subjective and rely on personal judgment. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
Movie Review: American Pie 2 - Associated Content Posted: 22 Apr 2010 07:23 PM PDT The original American Pie was hit so naturally it gained a sequel. Most of the time when a comedy gets a sequel it ends up being considerably worse. With the American Pie franchise, the second movie instead improved on the original. For one thing, none of the characters, save for Kevin, felt like they were finished. While the goal of finding sex by prom night from the first movie had been accomplished, the characters still looked as if they had room to grow. American Pie 2 explores this, and with generally positive results. In the case of Jim (Jason Biggs), the character matures from horny teenager to a maturing young man. The horny band geek Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) is pulled from the background and turned into a real, if perfected person. In the end you root for them to get together because it just seems like a natural fit. Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) and Stifler's (Seann William Scott) rivalry also gets more time. This is a bit rehashed from the previous movie but works thanks to scenes that find them working together for a common goal. The best scene that demonstrates this is when Finch, Stifler and Jim play "tit for tat" with a couple of assumed lesbians. Finch and Stifler are forced to not only work together, but get a little closer than any friends should in the hope of catching a glimpse of the lesbian action. The whole movie does not hit though. The most glaring problem comes from the character Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas). Kevin is once again the group's ring leader this time around, but they failed to find anything interesting for him to do through the course of the movie. The best they have is trying to play on Tara Reid's newfound sex symbol status from the first movie by repeatedly stating "Vicki (Tara Reid) got hot!" To the average onlooker, she appears to be the same girl she was in the first movie and only her public perception has changed. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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