These photos gave us chills… This is Evergreen Plantation down in Wallace Louisiana; situated on the banks of the Mississippi. It’s roughly located halfway between New Orleans and Baton Rougue and is currently operating as a privately-owned and working sugar cane plantation…but this haunted spot has a blood-drenched, 250-year history that dates back to the slave trade. And this was also where Quentin Tarantino chose to film portions of Django Unchained . Some 22 original slave cabins are still standing in historically ‘preserved’ conditions and were home to men, women, and children who worked outdoors in the searing southern heat and humidity six days a week. Records show a man named Lezin Becnel was listed in an 1860 census as the plantation owner along with his brother, and the official count of slaves at that point was 103 living in 48 dwellings. Wonder what kind of power and grief Kerry and Jamie must have felt while they were filming there?? Hit the flip for more…
For real tho…how many times did you wish you had a non-girly version for that special little man in your life?? Lot’s of people have 13-year-old McKenna Pope to thank after she launched a petition after shopping for an Easy-Bake for her four-year-old brother and finding them only in purple and pink. It was her call for gender-neutral toys that got more than 40,000 supporters, including celebrity chefs Michael Lomonaco, Manuel Trevino, and Bobby Flay, and inevitably changed Hasbro’s opinion of just who deserves to bake a dry azz piece of yellow cake! According to The Daily Mail , Hasbro says it will soon reveal a gender-neutral Easy-Bake Oven after meeting with a New Jersey girl who started a campaign calling on the toy maker to make one that appeals to all kids. McKenna Pope,13, of Garfield, New Jersey, got more than 40,000 signatures on her online petition at Change.org and the support of celebrity chefs including Bobby Flay, who backed her call for Hasbro to make a gender-neutral oven and to include boys in the ads. She was prompted to start the petition after shopping for an Easy-Bake as a Christmas present for her four-year-old brother, Gavyn Boscio, and finding them only in purple and pink. Hasbro invited McKenna and her family to its Pawtucket, Rhode Island, headquarters to meet with its Easy-Bake team today. During the meeting, Hasbro executives showed off a prototype of their newest Easy-Bake: one that’s black, silver and blue. Hasbro has been working on the new color scheme and design for about 18 months, and decided to invite McKenna to see it and offer her thoughts, said John Frascotti, Hasbro’s chief marketing officer. McKenna said the company is doing everything she asked, including putting boys in the ads. ‘I think that they really met most or even all of what I wanted them to do, and they really amazed me,’ she said, adding that Gavyn thought the new design was ‘awesome.’ Frascotti pointed out that the classic toy has had about a dozen different color schemes, from yellow to green to teal to silver, since first being introduced in 1963. The most recent iteration, introduced in 2011, is mostly purple with pink accents. He said it’s sold well since then, and that prompted the company to look for a way to update it and to broaden the consumer base by doing it in different colors. ‘It’s actually a product that’s played with by both boys and girls,’ he said. ‘We will continue to offer the existing product too because it’s so popular.’ Hasbro plans to introduce the new color scheme at the industry’s Toy Fair in New York in February. Frascotti said people are likely to see it on store shelves next summer. As for McKenna’s Christmas present for her brother, she said the TV show Inside Edition gave the family an Easy-Bake Oven after learning of her campaign. For Christmas, she said, she’ll probably buy him some mixes to bake in it. What do you think about Hasbro’s decision? Images via AP
There’s a new Sheriff on Wall Street , and she’s not going to take any bull from the shady CEO’s that have been ripping us off! According to The Huffington Post , Senator Warren’s seat win means she’ll rule and regulate the same people that spent millions to campaign against her: Nearly two years after Wall Street waged a successful campaign to keep consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren from running the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the incoming senator will be tapped to serve on the Banking Committee, according to four sources familiar with the situation. It’s a victory for progressives who battled to win her a seat on the panel that oversees the implementation of Dodd-Frank and other banking regulations. Warren knocked out Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts in the most expensive Senate contest of 2012, with Wall Street spending heavily to beat Warren, a former Harvard law professor. Sources also told HuffPost that Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) will be named to the panel. Warren’s ascension to the panel gives her influence over regulators and the industry that non-panel members don’t enjoy. Congratulations Senator Warren. Images via WENN
With two weeks to go until Christopher Nolan ‘s The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters, Warner Bros. has made available nearly 50 pages of detailed production notes online that offer behind-the-scenes tidbits on character, plot, costume design, the crazy practical stunts Nolan & Co. pulled off, Batman ‘s new toys, and some of the new faces joining the trilogy. The question is, how much do you want to know? (Bonus: Get the new IMAX poster after the jump!) Given TDKR ‘s set-up — it takes place eight years after the events of The Dark Knight , with Batman in semi-retirement/hiding — and the two new adversaries joining Bruce Wayne/Batman straight from the pages of the comics (i.e. supervillain Bane and super-minx Selina Kyle/ Catwoman ), some of this is already familiar to Bat-fans. And while the production note dossier includes only a few semi-spoilery details on certain scenes and characters, unless you’re committed to going into TDKR with as pure and spoiler-free a mind as possible, the doc is fairly safe to peruse, and chock full of geeky details. The bigger discoveries here concern the supporting characters in Batman/Bruce Wayne’s life, including Gary Oldman’s Commissioner Gordon and new characters Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) and Gotham City police officer John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Below, read a few select passages and get the pretty new TDKR IMAX poster: [BEWARE SPOILERS! WHO KNOWS WHAT YOUR VIRGIN BAT-EYES WILL DISCOVER!] On Gordon, who’s now wrestled with Batman’s secret for eight years: “Gary Oldman returns to the role of Gotham City’s top cop, Commissioner Gordon, who withheld the truth of Harvey Dent’s demise at great personal cost. ‘He respects Batman’s sacrifice, but allowing the citizens of Gotham to be fed a lie goes against everything that Gordon believes in,’ the actor says.” “…to a certain extent, Gordon was more useful to the political leaders of Gotham when the city was overrun by organized crime,” Nolan points out. “Now that is under control, so there are people eyeing his job, presuming he’s no longer needed. But Gordon has been struggling with the fact that all of this is based on a false foundation.” “It’s a secret that’s eaten away at him for years,” confirms Gary Oldman. “Crime is at an all-time low in Gotham, but Gordon knows that it’s tainted. Now he’s ready to come clean, but there doesn’t seem to be a right time or place, and he also questions if the city is ready for the truth. Then, because of Bane, he’s in the field again. I think he’s like a soldier who likes to be on the front lines, getting his hands dirty. He’s probably been doing a lot of paper pushing in the intervening years and that has dampened his spirits. Now you really feel like the old Gordon is back.” On John Blake, AKA the fresh-scrubbed idealistic young cop guy played by Joe Gordon-Levitt: Gordon finds a new protégé in policeman John Blake, whose devotion to the job impresses his boss. Emma Thomas says, “Gordon definitely sees something of himself as a young cop in John Blake. Everyone else seems to have lost focus because things have been so good, but Blake is the first to realize that something’s up, and Gordon recognizes those instincts by promoting him and putting him on his team.” Describing his role, Joseph Gordon-Levitt says, “John Blake is the kind of guy who probably always wanted to be a cop and dedicates himself to being excellent at his job. He is someone who believes in what he does and I admire that in anybody. In the midst of a lot of cynicism, he remains proud to be a police officer.” Nolan comments, “Commissioner Gordon and Bruce Wayne have become somewhat jaded, so we wanted to contrast that with a younger, more idealistic individual who, in a way, represents where they’ve come from. Joe really captured the strength and courage of a man who refuses to back down, regardless of the odds.” On Miranda Tate, a wealthy new love interest for Bruce Wayne played by Inception ‘s leading lady, Marion Cotillard: The character of Miranda Tate can also relate to Bruce, albeit from a place of affluence. Cast in the role, Marion Cotillard notes, “They both have a lot of money and are trying to use it in a good way, so they understand each other right away.” Bale agrees. “Miranda is somebody who is encouraging Bruce to use his resources for the betterment of Gotham through an environmental project. She is beautiful, smart and altruistic, and all the good that she aspires to earns his respect and also intrigues him a great deal.” A member of the board of Wayne Enterprises, Miranda’s affluence makes her a vital ally to Bruce when the company becomes the target of a hostile takeover. On a more personal level, Nolan says, “She is looked at by Alfred and Lucius as a woman who could perhaps bring Bruce out of his own exile and remind him that there is more to life than sitting alone in the Batcave. On Bane and his dastardly terrorist plans for Gotham City: “Working underground and undetected, Bane is plotting a multi-pronged attack on Gotham, involving firepower, finance and fear…” While the Scarecrow was a madman and the Joker an anarchist, “Bane is a terrorist in both his mentality and his actions,” says actor Tom Hardy, who plays Batman’s new arch-nemesis. “He is physically intimidating and he’s also very intelligent, which makes him even more dangerous.” Nolan relates, “In deciding on who the next villain would be, it was imperative that it was someone completely different from the Joker—that he be a brute force. The physical component of what Bruce Wayne does as Batman is of extraordinary importance, and we had not truly challenged that in the first two films. I really wanted to see Batman meet his match physically, as well as intellectually. Bane is raw strength with a fanatical devotion to duty, and that combination makes him unstoppable.” And finally, the newly unveiled IMAX poster for TDKR . It’s gorgeous in a painterly way, and in contrast to previous posters and promo images for the film, presents the Bat-sign in the sky as signaling a break in the clouds from all that chaos reigning down on Gotham City. Batman stands triumphant once more above his city shining his light through all the debris of Bane’s fiery terror, and stuff. Nice. For loads more on TDKR , including details on the 100+ piece Batsuit, Bane’s mask, the airborne new vehicle known as The Bat, and Nolan’s insane practical mid-air plane stunt, find the full production notes here . [via THR ] The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters on July 20. What do you make of these 50 pages of Bat-tidbits? (Did you cave in to curiosity?) Chime in below with your thoughts on the highly anticipated sequel. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
What was Rob Reiner’s last noteworthy film? Was it Ghosts of Mississippi in 1996? The American President , the year before? 1992’s A Few Good Men ? Reiner has continued to work steadily since a phenomenal mainstream movie run in the ’80s into the early ’90s that included, among others, This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally… , though you wouldn’t be faulted for not having paid his recent output much mind. As a director, his tendencies toward sentimentality have thickened and clotted over the years, and films like The Bucket List and Flipped haven’t had enough else to them to balance out what comes across as cloying and clumsy at best and shamelessly pandering at worst. The Magic of Belle Isle , which Reiner directed from a screenplay he co-wrote with Guy Thomas and Andrew Scheinman, is as sticky-sweet and textureless as a bowl of pudding, though an amused central performance from star Morgan Freeman continually finds nuance and the unexpected where there ultimately isn’t any. The film is set in the present day despite the fact that it opens with the tinkle of the Beach Boys’ “Don’t Worry Baby” and offers up a vision of small town life so glowing and nostalgic it’s practically golden-hued, the kind in which a young girl’s befriending and spending a lot of alone time with the older man who’s new to the area is regarded fondly instead of with any alarm or suspicion. Freeman plays that older man, a widowed, wheelchair-bound former writer of successful westerns named Monte Wildhorn who’s set aside his typewriter in favor of a whiskey bottle. For a grumpy, misanthropic alcoholic, he’s still awfully adorable, something that’s partially due to Freeman’s inherent savvy charisma but which is mostly the fault of the script, which wants to sum up Monte’s frustration by having him yell in an empty room. “What’s he yelling at?” asks Finnegan O’Neil (Emma Fuhrmann), who lives next door. “Life,” replies his nephew (Kenan Thompson) sagely. That nephew’s found Monte a house to stay in for the summer in exchange for some pet-sitting, and soon the man is befriending (or being befriended by, despite his objections) the family next door — the recently divorced Mrs. O’Neil (Virginia Madsen) and her three daughters, among them the teenage Willow (Madeline Carroll), middle child Finnegan and little Flora (Nicolette Pierini). Will he find romance, bond with the girl who’s an aspiring writer, discover a new lease on life and start writing again? To quote the wisdom of the Magic 8 Ball, “You may rely on it.” Over the course of The Magic of Belle Isle , Freeman gets to play off of a dog, several cute children, a party clown, a developmentally disabled young man named Karl who likes to bunny-hop around, an eccentric local (Fred Willard) and, of course, Madsen’s winsome, piano-playing divorcée. With all respect to Freeman’s other co-stars, it’s the dog with whom he’s best, delivering wry, eloquent monologues about proper names and behavior for canines and trying, unsuccessfully, to coax the animal into chasing a ball. (“I see the concept of fetch eludes you,” he observes.) Monte’s tentative courting of Madsen’s character, whom he too-cutely insists on calling “Mrs. O’Neil” just as she keeps to calling him “Mr. Wildhorn,” progresses, chastely, only because the two seem to realizes it’s expected rather than because of any convincing touch of romance between them. Freeman and Madsen are, however, good together when not under the burden of conjuring up sparks. Similarly, Finnegan’s hiring of Monte to “teach her about imagination” is structured in ways that are almost intolerably corny — he instructs her, for example, to “look out there and tell me what’s not there” in order to encourage her to make up stories. The only hint of stakes in The Magic of Belle Isle are glanced over briefly in the film’s beginning, when a surly Monte threatens suicide when he’s shuttled off to his temporary home. But aside from that moment, Monte never seems so glum as to be serious about ending things — he’s living in a beautiful house in an idyllic town and has a clear enjoyment for people, which makes the movie easier while making its ideas about depression seem flimsy. The film moves along by the numbers, making no sudden or unexpected movements, and Reiner doesn’t offer any stylistic choices worth mentioning; everything gets creakier toward the end, with the expected mild disagreements and disappointments to be resolved. The only question mark this unexceptional feature leaves open is why Monte initially turns down the Hollywood star who comes in person to ask to buy the rights to his gunslinger character. “Most of the time real life doesn’t measure up to what’s in your head,” he explains to the actor, saying that for once in his life that’s not the case. But there’s no reason why selling his book would necessitate making any lifestyle changes — he does it only to enable the eventual happy ending. In a movie in which nothing happens that you can’t see coming from miles away, it’s proof that you can still manage moments that feel startlingly artificial. Follow Alison Willmore on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Swedish-born actor Stellan Skarsgard has run a wide gamut of film roles in his career. His blockbuster fare includes roles in Marvel’s The Avengers and last year’s Thor . He appeared in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo , Mamma Mia as well as artier titles like A Somewhat Gentle Man (2010) and fellow Scandinavian Lars von Trier’s Melancholia (2011), Dogville (2003) and Dancer in the Dark (2000). One of his next projects is the controversial filmmaker’s next two films, which have already titillated fans of the enigmatic Danish director. Skarsgard gave a bit of insight about the back to back projects, The Nymphomaniac and The Nymphomaniac Part 2 , which, perhaps unsurprisingly, promise to live up to their titles. Skarsgard will star opposite Charlotte Gainsbourg in what the actor recently joked is “the porno we’re doing…” The films are described as a “light and poetic story” of a woman’s erotic journey from birth to the age of 50 as told via the main character who is a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac. Initially, the “erotic journey” part of the story was allegedly being fulfilled by porn-star stand-ins, but Skarsgard left unclear who was doing what, though apparently there will be no shortage of carnal delights for von Trier fans to indulge in. He told Sabotage Times, “I pick up Charlotte Gainsbourg’s character on the street and take her back to my apartment, and over two movies we talk about her time as a nymphomaniac.” He added, “There’s a lot of fucking in it. A lot of fucking in it.” The 61 year-old actor, who will also appear in Thor 2 , which will be out next year said he feels “at home” in both big budget movies as well as micro-budget independents. “I’m at home everywhere. If I’ve been doing a small, shoestring budget art-house film that’s very dark and that nobody will see, but that’s very good, it’s nice to go and do something fluffier. I’m extremely privileged in that I manage to enjoy myself all the time with very different materials.” [Source: Sabotage Times via Contactmusic ]
Summertime is blockbuster season, and with it comes the usual onslaught of promotional tie-ins. Naturally, The Amazing Spider-Man has generated its share of interesting merchandising partners. However, with great products come great risibility, and with over ninety promotional partners it was inevitable that some of the marketing would miss the mark. From odd adult eyewear to a line of cosmetics, take your pick of the items that failed in the goal to get your spending-sense tingling. Promotional Partners in Crime In this new era, with all the kids living on the inter-tubes, the concept of keeping the details of your film a secret is a dwindling enterprise. Directors endeavor to preserve the crucial plot points of their film, hoping those details can remain veiled with closed sets, limited script releases, performers signing non-disclosure agreements, and all manner of clandestine control of their intellectual property. That is why it becomes amusing when all these efforts become unraveled by unintentional reveals by the companies licensed to sell branded merchandise. (Obligatory spoiler-alert!) Up until last December the visuals of The Amazing Spider-Man ’s villain – The Lizard – had been a closely guarded secret. That is, up until a certain confection company released promotional materials for retailers. Suddenly the web was abuzz because everyone had a sense of how he would appear – courtesy of The Lizard Pez dispenser. A few months later key plot spoilers were discovered when construction-toy maker Mega Bloks released their tie-in play sets at an annual toy fair. Fanboys began drooling over the fact that key moments of the film were rendered via injection-mold plastic. One involved a mechanical battle frame Rhys Ivans would use to combat our hero, while another diorama exposed a battle at an underground laboratory. Yet another play set shows a climactic battle that ensues atop the Oscorp Tower. The addition of what were described as “S.W.A.T. Team Lizard” action figures tipped the hand of yet another plot detail. If you want to learn the details of upcoming films, go to aisle 8 at Toys-R-Us! “Ate” Legged Freaks Common among summertime blockbusters are the food tie-ins, and Peter Parker does not disappoint here. Kelloggs and Keebler together have forged a shopping cart full of products, from a disturbing-looking cereal to Cheese-It crackers to fruit snacks. The Spidey-branded Rice Krispy Treats not only get spider graphics on the box and wrappers, they’re comprised of industrially-dyed red pieces. These, I suppose are emblematic of the color associated with our hero. The end result is something… different ; the unwrapped product takes on more of a viral appearance that seems to make it more appropriate for a film like Contagion . Twizzlers candy has also joined the fray, using their licorice as more than a supplemental confection: They’re selling it as a key component in the Spidey universe. The eponymous hero is shown crouched on a web made of the candy, and even the film’s logo is rendered in red licorice. Better still is the corporate explanation, which tells us in a press release just how perfect Twizzlers complements the Spider-Man moviegoing experience: “Twizzlers Twisted Web! From the candy’s signature red color to its web-like characteristics, our iconic Twizzlers Twists are the perfect complement to sweeten fans’ movie experience.” That’s something for fans to bear in mind as they are about to breeze past the concession stand. And you thought deciding whether to see this in 3-D was going to be the big decision. Surprising among the numerous promo partners is that the fast food licensing rights went to the lesser franchise Carl’s Jr. (Burger King carries those rights in most Latin America markets). Now, before stampeding to a local burger joint for a collector cup there’s something to bear in mind. On July 4 the Carl’s Jr. restaurants offered their “Spider-Man Eats Free” promotion. This actually means that anyone arriving at the restaurant decked out in full Spider-Man attire in theory received a free Amazing Grilled Cheese Bacon Burger. To get a sense of who might show up, behold what the company envisions for its own lobbies. Across the Pacific we find our favorite niche territory marketing partner Jolibee has teamed up with Spidey. The Phillipine chicken magnate has once again offered up a collectors bird bucket – filled with its signature “Chickenjoy” – decorated in heroic graphics. Jollibee also offers a number of toy food promotions with our webbed hero, one of which makes me pause; the Spidey ring-toss toy has a rather curious design. Now, a better person may avoid mentioning this appears to display rectal violation of the web slinger, but amazingly I’m not better than that. Nor am I above noting how he seems to be enjoying things in this particular pose. Better to simply move on. Roll Your Eyes-Play It goes without saying that there are a crap-ton of toys associated with any given superhero film. One of the talked-about aspects of this reboot helps the kids out: In years past the tots had to contend with clunky web delivery contraptions to replicate the physiological spinnerets displayed in the previous three efforts. Now, even as the toys have not gotten better, Marc Webb ’s Spider-Man has Peter Parker employing a mechanical web shooter means the kids will have a much easier time getting their Andrew Garfield on. Variations in design involve these toys launching various media, from twine to rubberized webs, to water. Parents will especially cherish the “Silly String” version, which can stain household fabrics and requires rapid replacement of the “web fluid.” Among the action figures there’s one particular curiosity. Remember the scene in The Amazing Spider-Man where Spider-Man had to take to his dune buggy to battle an evil scourge? Of course you don’t remember, because nowhere in the franchise, nor the comic pantheon, does Spidey EVER get behind the wheel of such a conveyance. Despite that reality, your kids can relive the moment which never occurred. About the closest you can arrive to this object making any sense would possibly involve some random scene involving The Sandman from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 – and that is a monumental stretch. Why? Cos(play) You Can When you imagine the entire realm of the Spider-Man universe I’m certain the first thing to come to mind is an array of colored finger nail polishes. Cosmetic manufacturer OPI has released a line of lacquer colors in conjunction with the film. The hues range across the spectrum, with names that evoke the film. Number One Nemesis, Just Spotted the Lizard, Call Me Gwen-Ever, Into The Night, Your Web Or Mine, Shatter The Scales, and My Boyfriend Scales Walls. The last one, for the record, is white. All of them, for the record, make little to no sense. Footwear tie-ins for the kids are another commonality in comic book-based releases. The Amazing Spider-Man has generated quite a few different designs, but the most arresting has to arrive courtesy of Striderite. Not only does the design resemble the famed mask, but with each step the eyes flash. As the company states, “Your little super hero will feel like the real deal with light-up powers.” It’s a little difficult to gather, however, just how Spider-Man is particularly connected with the power of light. Clearly someone did their homework. So let’s say you’re near a group of shrieking 6-year-old harridans and they are all sporting shoes that strobe. The retinal damage one may incur is a potential threat, but you can ward off those rays from their Spidey shoes with this functional and entirely sane-looking set of Spider-Man glasses. Sure, you may run the risk of getting kicked out of the Chuck E. Cheese if caught wearing these, but let’s be honest here; you probably deserve it. Brad Slager has written about movies and entertainment for Film Threat , Mediaite , and is a columnist at CHUD.com . His less insightful impressions on entertainment can be found on Twitter .
Topics ranging from film finance, pitching, marketing, video on demand and micro-budget filmmaking are set for the American Film Market, taking place October 31 – November 7 in Santa Monica. AFM attendees from over 70 countries will take part in the AFM Conference Series, which takes place 9:15 – 12:45 daily from November 2 – 6. The AFM Conference Series launched in 2011 and sold out in its first year with more than 700 attendees at each event. “AFM is attended by industry leaders from more than 70 countries so the AFM Conference Series has a tremendous pool of experts and innovators to draw from.” said Jonathan Wolf, executive vice president of the Independent Film & Television Alliance and managing director of the AFM. “This makes the AFM Conference Series unique and invaluable.” Details on the events follow: The 2012 AFM Conference Series follows with information provided by AFM : Finance Conference, Friday, November 2 Leading CEOs, filmmakers, financiers and studio executives converge to explore the state of independent film financing, emerging trends, where the money is, new opportunities and incentives, and what the future holds. Pitch Conference, Saturday, November 3 A good pitch can get a bad film made and a bad pitch can leave a terrific project languishing on the shelf. Pitching is part art (it’s creative), part science (needs to follow a tight script) and part salesmanship. Conference attendees will first learn the essential rules and tools of pitching from the experts. Then, volunteers from the audience (you?) will pitch a panel of Hollywood decision makers. They will give unvarnished feedback on each pitch – saying what worked, what didn’t, and why. Warning: This session is not for the weak. Marketing Conference, Sunday, November 4 Connecting with and engaging the audience in authentic, creative ways is critical. Word-of-mouth and friend recommendations can make or break the box office results. The gurus behind the most successful and innovative new media marketing campaigns discuss reinventing the marketing wheel, explore how the consumer can be the most effective marketing tool and reveal how to win over the broadest possible audience. Video-On-Demand Conference, Monday, November 5 Video-On-Demand is a growing revenue stream for filmmakers and content providers. Like the excitement of a gold rush, many hope for a future when all films are available worldwide and every film finds an audience. Producers, distributors and platforms will come together to disclose who is making money, how they are doing it and what the future holds – separating fact from fiction. Micro-Budget Conference, Tuesday, November 6 New and unconventional financing, marketing and distribution resources are proving very successful for Micro-Budget films. Producers and distributors will reveal how to find the money, making the most of budgets, what distributors are looking for, reaching your audience and how these new tools are redefining the film business. The 2012 AFM Conference Series will be held at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel (101 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica). For additional information, visit their website .
Smokers Patients rejoice! Connecticut Legalizes Medicinal Herbs A measure allowing use of medical herbs in Connecticut has been signed into law by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Connecticut joins 16 other states and the District of Columbia in authorizing use of the drug to provide relief from debilitating medical conditions. Malloy said Friday that the law will allow the Department of Consumer Protection to regulate and monitor the use of herbs in a way that will help avoid problems seen in other states. Patients will be able to obtain herbs only from certified pharmacists. The law allows for the licensing of at least three but not more than 10 herb producers statewide. Qualifying conditions for patients include cancer, glaucoma, AIDS or HIV, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. More than 20% of the United States already supports the green yahmean for those that need it, shouldn’t be long before stoners are smoking Swisher Sweets freely in the streets. Image via Panacea-BOCAF Source
Break out the champagne glasses and the motherf–kin’ condoms. This weekend’s Coachella festival was the place to be. Everyone was there. Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, Vanessa Hudgens, Lindsay Lohan … even Tupac!! Say what now? The late rapper appeared as a hologram (seriously). Check out the video below of a startlingly real-looking 2Pac “performing” two of his hits, including “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted” with Snoop Dogg (seriously): Tupac Coachella Performance Somewhere, conspiracy theorists are salivating over this and insisting it’s actually ‘Pac, and the media is just telling us that it’s a hologram because he’s still the most wanted motherf–ker in America. West side ’til we die b!tchez.
