“'Gravity' movie, Natalie Portman could explore human mind, space, UFOs - American Chronicle” plus 3 more

'Gravity' movie, Natalie Portman could explore human mind, space, UFOs - American Chronicle
Movie Blog: Clooney Is An Ugly 'American' - WCCO
'Beetlejuice' actor Glenn Shadix dies, played "Otho" in movie - Asbury Park Press
LOVEFiLM Strikes Major Digital Deal with MGM LOVEFiLM Player adds movie giant to catalogue - CNBC

'Gravity' movie, Natalie Portman could explore human mind, space, UFOs - American Chronicle

Posted: 09 Sep 2010 09:13 AM PDT

(This article originally appeared on the Transcendent TV & Media site.)

The movie project that has offered the lead role of stranded astronaut to Natalie Portman has the potential to delve into many interesting areas that are both familiar and on the leading edge of understanding about human consciousness and space.

Space psychology, human consciousness, modern "weird physics," discoveries about space and time, as well as unconventional space phenomena such as UFOs and extraterrestrial beings are just a few of the fascinating and important areas that Alfonso Cuaron's planned "Gravity" film could explore.

According to published media reports, the story is a drama about a female astronaut whose return to Earth and her daughter are in jeopardy after her spacecraft is hit by debris and other crew members are killed.

Portman has not yet accepted the role, but her recent intense and rigorous physical training for "Black Swan" and her roles in the "Star Wars" movies could both be elements, among others, that click for her and the "Gravity" movie.

The Warner Bros. project is budgeted at $80 million, according to reports. Robert Downey Jr. is onboard and the shooting is planned for the end of January 2011.

EVOLVING SPACE TRAVEL

The space aspects of the story, from what is known about it now, are particularly relevant in our current era of positioning America's space efforts amid the emergence of private, commercial space projects that may take many more people into Earth orbit and beyond.

The plot of the spacecraft being hit by debris is practically ripped from the headlines.

In February 2009, an American and a Russian satellite collided at approximately 22,000 mph 491 miles above Earth and left a huge debris field in orbit, adding to thousands of pieces of space junk already around our planet. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is working on ways to try to clean up this debris.

In March 2009, International Space Station (ISS) crew members had to hunker down in the ISS escape capsule as a precaution against space junk hitting the ISS. Such a collision could be catastrophic for a spacecraft or space station.

And this is why the main female character of "Gravity" finds herself isolated far from home and her daughter.

Back in the real world, one of the emerging commercial space industry's innovative companies, Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace, says that the inflatable, flexible, multi-layered Vectran outer shell of their space modules are designed to better withstand space debris hits than conventional spacecraft. Their design using Vectran, which is twice as strong as Kevlar, has been tested and withstood tremendous impacts with little damage.

Bigelow Aerospace and other companies are currently on track to take astronauts, scientists and others into Earth orbit within a few short years. The Boeing CST-100 crew capsule is planned to provide transport to and from Bigelow modular space stations in orbit.

So, the planned "Gravity" movie is more realistic than we may think. The scenarios of astronauts facing space debris that cause severe damage to their spacecraft or space stations reflect real threats, and real astronauts could find themselves in the same predicament as the lead female character.

MYSTERIES OF OUTER AND INNER SPACE

While the nuts and bolts of space travel in the "Gravity" film and real life are interesting, what about the more exotic, mind-expanding and sometimes amazing space and science topics that are somewhat difficult to comprehend and accept?

Increasing public awareness about emerging discoveries in human consciousness, scientific anomalies related to space-time, theories of multiple dimensions, UFOs and preparedness for possible extraterrestrial visitation are also subjects that interest millions of people around the world.

The research and operational activities of the U.S. government's Project STAR GATE into special kinds of human perception have clearly demonstrated that humans have an amazing sixth sense. It may show itself a little or a lot in various people. But, we now know that human consciousness can reach out in space and time with a kind of awareness that can be truly surprising.

As U.S. military and intelligence personnel were brought up to speed on this research, undoubtedly astronauts and others also found themselves in the loop about the newly-rediscovered abilities of deep human mind.

Other research in quantum physics similarly has found that space and time, as we understand them, do not work the way we have previously thought. People, places, circumstances and events can be connected in ways that are not obvious and that seem illogical. Coincidences and developments may not be random at all, but might have hidden meaning.

We can hardly talk about space and space travel without considering the increasing legitimate research and evidence that there is a reasonable likelihood that humans are being visited by some kind of beings from elsewhere.

Are they other beings from another planet, or from another dimension? Are they angels or some kind of life forms that we do not understand? Are all UFOs solid craft or are some of them part of an energy that is beyond our comprehension?

These questions are no longer just the stuff of science fiction. They are fact-based possibilities, probabilities or realities.

And several astronauts and cosmonauts have gone on the record with specifics about close encounters with what appeared to be non-human craft or some kind of UFO that could not easily be explained.

The "Gravity" movie seems to have the potential to examine many of these important subjects: the value of our home on planet Earth, our ventures into space, the love between a mother and daughter, a human being responding to a uniquely acute situation, and the many unknowns and mysteries about our world, the Universe and ourselves.

NOTE TO READERS: Please visit the Joint Recon Study Group and Transcendent TV & Media sites and have a look around.

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Movie Blog: Clooney Is An Ugly 'American' - WCCO

Posted: 01 Sep 2010 12:43 PM PDT

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Movie Blog: Clooney Is An Ugly 'American'

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(WCCO)

: Clooney runs but can't hide from tasteful, '60s-inspired art direction.
Focus Features

George Clooney has been a cad, a scoundrel, a rapscallion, a miscreant, a dirty-deeds-doer and a ne'er-do-wellian.

In his new movie The American, he's a cold-blooded murderer for hire.

Testing the limits of his matinee idol charisma, Clooney's performance in former music video director Anton Corbijn's angsty, implicit thriller is almost entirely without the personality traits that have fueled his career up to now.

Playing "Jack," a Euro-trotting hit man and gunsmith, he projects nothing so strongly as spiritual constipation.

At the film's beginning, he's already started to get sloppy, allowing shadowy others to get the drop on him, and letting what little romantic kindling still smolders in his heart cavity distract him from the dangers around every corner.

After letting one simple job turn into a three-corpse mess, Jack's shady, craggy boss sends him to Italy to make an untraceable assault rifle for a blankly beautiful assassin.

He insists it will be his last underneath-the-radar job, a stance that makes sense with each new Swedish thug coming out of the off-kilter shadows, trying to put a bullet in Jack's head. (Oh, and the fact that he seems to be falling for his new prostitute.)

Corbijn's direction is deliberately slow, with pauses and longueurs wide enough to drive a Sergio Leone film through. By putting plot, character and action into soft focus, Corbijn's immaculate framing and alienating emotional distance resonate as tourist-trap existentialism. It's got the feel and the look (but not the soul) of '60s arty actioneers.

If it sounds like I'm trying to paper over the fact that not much happens in The American, well, that's definitely the case. Just like its main character, it's sort of adrift in its own mystique and not even remotely committed in intent.

But, hey, it looks pretty cool.

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'Beetlejuice' actor Glenn Shadix dies, played "Otho" in movie - Asbury Park Press

Posted: 08 Sep 2010 04:43 AM PDT

Glenn Shadix, best remembered for his portrayal of a portly, pretentious designer in the metaphysical comedy "Beetlejuice," died Tuesday at his home in Birmingham. He was 58.

Personal manager Juliet Green told The Associated Press that Glenn Shadix had returned to his home state after many years living in Los Angeles.

A cause of death was not immediately known, but his sister, Susan Gagne, told The Birmingham News that he had been using a wheelchair for mobility and appeared to have fallen in his kitchen and struck his head.

A memorial for William G. "Glenn Shadix" Scott will be held Saturday in Birmingham, his website said. Green said he's survived by his mother, sister and brother-in-law.

A biography credits him with over 30 film appearances, and roles in several TV shows, including NBC's "Seinfeld."

"He was one of the most creative, original, funny and wise performers I've ever had the privilege to work with," said Green, who worked with the actor for over a decade.

Green said the prolific actor had one of his closest professional relationships with director Tim Burton, who cast him in films like "The Nightmare Before Christmas," ''Planet of the Apes" and "Beetlejuice," the 1988 horror comedy for which he is perhaps most widely remembered.

In the film, Glenn Shadix starred opposite Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton as "Otho," an uppity interior designer who tries his hand at the occult to summon ghosts from the afterlife.

In a 2008 interview posted on his website, he said he understood why the film about a recently deceased couple trying to evict a family from its former home became a cult classic.

"There is a part of me that is not surprised," he said. "We had so much fun filming this unusual and so very original movie that I had a feeling something very special was happening."

An official biography says Shadix was born in Bessemer, a suburb of Birmingham, and participated in local theater productions as a youth.

His website also describes him as a photographer and gay rights activist; he spoke publicly about undergoing so-called ex-gay therapy as a teenager.

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LOVEFiLM Strikes Major Digital Deal with MGM LOVEFiLM Player adds movie giant to catalogue - CNBC

Posted: 26 Aug 2010 01:02 AM PDT

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LOVEFiLM Strikes Major Digital Deal with MGM LOVEFiLM Player adds movie giant to catalogue

Business Wire | August 26, 2010 | 04:05 AM EDT

LONDON, Aug 26, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- LOVEFiLM, Europe's leading provider of premium content on demand or by mail, has agreed to a major UK distribution deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) to enable its members to watch MGM titles online and on Internet-enabled devices through the LOVEFiLM Player.

MGM boasts one of the largest film libraries of any Hollywood studio and the agreement sees LOVEFiLM bolster its digital streaming offering with a selection of top titles.

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