With its coloured blocks tumbling through the air as players frantically jigsaw them together, Tetris remains one of the world’s most elegantly simple video games. Even now, 39 years on from its creation. But not many know the story behind the game. When filmmaker Jon S Baird (of Stan & Ollie and the Irvine Welsh adaptation Filth) first heard it, after reading the script for what became his Apple TV+ film Tetris, he did a double take. “I was like, ‘Is that really true? Wow, that is crazy!’”
Crazy doesn’t even begin to cover a story that ties together the Soviet Politburo, the late media mogul Robert Maxwell, and the launch of Nintendo’s iconic GameBoy – as various interested parties all scrambled to get the rights to Tetris. Invented in 1984 by Russian coder Alexey Pajitnov, the game’s title came from “tetra” and “tennis” (one of Pajitnov’s favourite sports). Gradually,...
Crazy doesn’t even begin to cover a story that ties together the Soviet Politburo, the late media mogul Robert Maxwell, and the launch of Nintendo’s iconic GameBoy – as various interested parties all scrambled to get the rights to Tetris. Invented in 1984 by Russian coder Alexey Pajitnov, the game’s title came from “tetra” and “tennis” (one of Pajitnov’s favourite sports). Gradually,...
- 3/30/2023
- by James Mottram
- The Independent - Film
“Be careful of mankind, Diana. They do not deserve you.” —Queen Hippolyta
Will the Amazonian be the woman who finally breaks the Hollywood glass ceiling?
Wonder Woman, starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot as Princess Diana of Themiscrya, premieres on June 2, just 12 days away, and the fate of all the superwomen and their eponymous movies who would follow her lies in the ability of her sword-wielding, shield-bearing, gold lassoing hands and her armor-plated breast to vanquish the biggest and baddest super-villain of them all: Box Office.
I’ve watched every trailer and clip that Warner Bros. has released, and though they were all great, the very best of all of them, im-not-so-ho, was Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Every time Ms. Gadot showed up, whether it was in her guise as Diana Prince or as Wonder Woman, the movie morphed from an overbearing, weighted down slog through mud into...
Will the Amazonian be the woman who finally breaks the Hollywood glass ceiling?
Wonder Woman, starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot as Princess Diana of Themiscrya, premieres on June 2, just 12 days away, and the fate of all the superwomen and their eponymous movies who would follow her lies in the ability of her sword-wielding, shield-bearing, gold lassoing hands and her armor-plated breast to vanquish the biggest and baddest super-villain of them all: Box Office.
I’ve watched every trailer and clip that Warner Bros. has released, and though they were all great, the very best of all of them, im-not-so-ho, was Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Every time Ms. Gadot showed up, whether it was in her guise as Diana Prince or as Wonder Woman, the movie morphed from an overbearing, weighted down slog through mud into...
- 5/22/2017
- by Mindy Newell
- Comicmix.com
We all have mothers. I had a mother of a cold last week, and since Sunday was Mom’s day, I thought I would take a moment to honor all those women who have taken on the absolutely hardest job in the multi-verse… even though I’m a bit late.
I think the best-known mother in the four-color universe is the farmer’s wife from Smallville who, with her husband, found and raised the “strange visitor from another planet” who would grow up to become the one and only Superman.
Although I’ve always known that farmer’s wife as Martha Clark Kent, her name varied for quite a while; she was known as Mary Kent in Superman #1 (1939). In George F. Lowther’s 1942 novel, The Adventures of Superman, and on the radio program for which Mr. Lowther was a writer, Mrs. Kent’s first name was Sarah, which also followed...
I think the best-known mother in the four-color universe is the farmer’s wife from Smallville who, with her husband, found and raised the “strange visitor from another planet” who would grow up to become the one and only Superman.
Although I’ve always known that farmer’s wife as Martha Clark Kent, her name varied for quite a while; she was known as Mary Kent in Superman #1 (1939). In George F. Lowther’s 1942 novel, The Adventures of Superman, and on the radio program for which Mr. Lowther was a writer, Mrs. Kent’s first name was Sarah, which also followed...
- 5/16/2017
- by Mindy Newell
- Comicmix.com
He became one of the country’s few famous lawyers after representing Princess Diana in her divorce. Now he’s being portrayed on the big screen for his part in the David Irving Holocaust libel trial
As I walk up to the large detached house in north London belonging to Anthony Julius, one of the very few people in this country who can justly be described as a famous lawyer, I feel a small wave of apprehension. Not about his famed intellect, which allegedly, and somewhat snarkily, has earned him the nickname among his peers of “Anthony Genius” – over the past four decades, Julius has made his name not just as a fearsome lawyer for the grand and the gruesome, from Diana, Princess of Wales to Robert Maxwell, but also as the author of a clutch of widely respected books, including, in 2010, a 900-page doorstopper, Trials of the Diaspora: A History of Antisemitism in Britain.
As I walk up to the large detached house in north London belonging to Anthony Julius, one of the very few people in this country who can justly be described as a famous lawyer, I feel a small wave of apprehension. Not about his famed intellect, which allegedly, and somewhat snarkily, has earned him the nickname among his peers of “Anthony Genius” – over the past four decades, Julius has made his name not just as a fearsome lawyer for the grand and the gruesome, from Diana, Princess of Wales to Robert Maxwell, but also as the author of a clutch of widely respected books, including, in 2010, a 900-page doorstopper, Trials of the Diaspora: A History of Antisemitism in Britain.
- 1/31/2017
- by Hadley Freeman
- The Guardian - Film News
A new book presents the history and designs behind such games as Speedball and Xenon. Here's our review of The Bitmap Brothers: Universe.
Games
In movie-making, as in other forms of art, we're used to the notion that some people's work is recognisable at a glance. But what about videogames? Back in the 80s and 90s, the Bitmap Brothers were among the very first design teams to create games so distinctive in their look, sound and feel that you instantly knew it was one of theirs. Having first exploded onto the gaming scene in 1988 with Xenon - a kind of variation on Toaplan's arcade shooter Slapfight, except you could transform into a tank - the Bitmap Brothers set about creating a style that was slick and unspeakably cool.
See related The Mummy: first trailer for reboot, starring Tom Cruise
When it came to studios with a unique style, the closest forerunner to the Bitmaps,...
Games
In movie-making, as in other forms of art, we're used to the notion that some people's work is recognisable at a glance. But what about videogames? Back in the 80s and 90s, the Bitmap Brothers were among the very first design teams to create games so distinctive in their look, sound and feel that you instantly knew it was one of theirs. Having first exploded onto the gaming scene in 1988 with Xenon - a kind of variation on Toaplan's arcade shooter Slapfight, except you could transform into a tank - the Bitmap Brothers set about creating a style that was slick and unspeakably cool.
See related The Mummy: first trailer for reboot, starring Tom Cruise
When it came to studios with a unique style, the closest forerunner to the Bitmaps,...
- 12/2/2016
- Den of Geek
Rishi Sharma has made it his mission to conduct commemorative in-depth interviews with WWII combat veterans. He’s stopping at nothing on his quest to meet as many of the 620,000 remaining men as he can — and with most vets in their 90s, the 19-year-old knows time is not on his side.
“This is my sole mission in life, I’m just focused on getting to as many men as I can,” he tells People as he hurries to his next interview with 95-year-old Bill Gerard, who served as a machinist’s mate in the Army.
Sharma, a Southern California high...
“This is my sole mission in life, I’m just focused on getting to as many men as I can,” he tells People as he hurries to his next interview with 95-year-old Bill Gerard, who served as a machinist’s mate in the Army.
Sharma, a Southern California high...
- 11/17/2016
- by roseminutaglio
- PEOPLE.com
Author Wendy Leigh - who penned the best-selling biographies of David Bowie, Patrick Swayze, Arnold Schwarzenegger and others - died on Sunday. The New York Post reports that she jumped from her balcony in an apparent suicide, while it has also been reported that she fell. She was 65 years old. Leigh's agent Daniel Strone confirmed her death to People. "She was an eternally optimistic and upbeat person," Strone said. "She always was up for an adventure." Strone also said Leigh loved to work. "Every project she threw her whole body and soul into. She could not wait for the next project,...
- 6/2/2016
- by Dave Quinn, @NineDaves
- PEOPLE.com
Author Wendy Leigh - who penned the best-selling biographies of David Bowie, Patrick Swayze, Arnold Schwarzenegger and others - died on Sunday. The New York Post reports that she jumped from her balcony in an apparent suicide, while it has also been reported that she fell. She was 65 years old. Leigh's agent Daniel Strone confirmed her death to People. "She was an eternally optimistic and upbeat person," Strone said. "She always was up for an adventure." Strone also said Leigh loved to work. "Every project she threw her whole body and soul into. She could not wait for the next project,...
- 6/2/2016
- by Dave Quinn, @NineDaves
- PEOPLE.com
BBC’s The Gamechangers didn’t exactly do its GTA subject matter justice. Ryan explains why we need a great movie about game design...
There’s a moment in the BBC’s drama The Gamechangers where Sam Houser, the co-founder of Grand Theft Auto studio Rockstar North, says to one of his minions, “We need to make our own game engine.”
In the very next scene, the game engine’s finished and demonstrated to Jamie, another Rockstar co-founder. To the casual observer, it might seem as though the process of making a game engine is as simple as ordering a pizza.
It’s an example of the 90-minute show’s clumsy handling of its subject matter: the videogame phenomenon Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, its social impact and its controversy. This was the kind of drama that felt the need to carefully explain some things in painfully literal terms -...
There’s a moment in the BBC’s drama The Gamechangers where Sam Houser, the co-founder of Grand Theft Auto studio Rockstar North, says to one of his minions, “We need to make our own game engine.”
In the very next scene, the game engine’s finished and demonstrated to Jamie, another Rockstar co-founder. To the casual observer, it might seem as though the process of making a game engine is as simple as ordering a pizza.
It’s an example of the 90-minute show’s clumsy handling of its subject matter: the videogame phenomenon Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, its social impact and its controversy. This was the kind of drama that felt the need to carefully explain some things in painfully literal terms -...
- 9/16/2015
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
It shouldn’t be said that eating healthy is considered a “trend,” but over the last handful of years the rise is popularity of organic produce, meats, and other foods has reached peak levels. More and more restaurants, even fast food joints, are cutting out genetically altered foods, opting instead for more natural, organically sourced foods for their meals. It’s a truly great change in culture that appears to be here to stay.
However, what happens when the fear of non-organic items, even medicine, becomes the source of obsession? That’s the base level description of a new thriller, of sorts, from director Saverio Costanzo, entitled Hungry Hearts. Starring Adam Driver and the always impeccable Alba Rohrwacher, the film tells the story of Jude and Mina, a couple who we see go from meeting for the first time while being stuck in a Chinese restaurant’s bathroom to ultimately...
However, what happens when the fear of non-organic items, even medicine, becomes the source of obsession? That’s the base level description of a new thriller, of sorts, from director Saverio Costanzo, entitled Hungry Hearts. Starring Adam Driver and the always impeccable Alba Rohrwacher, the film tells the story of Jude and Mina, a couple who we see go from meeting for the first time while being stuck in a Chinese restaurant’s bathroom to ultimately...
- 6/5/2015
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
You love the horror, suspense thriller, action and science fiction films that make up the world of Canadian cult cinema affectionately known as Canuxploitation.
You’ve watched the entire David Cronenberg genre filmography (if not, please do so now as The Brood, Scanners and The Fly are three of the greatest horror films ever made).
You’ve seen Black Christmas and The Changeling and watched a slasher-ific marathon of Prom Night, Terror Train, Happy Birthday to Me and My Bloody Valentine.
You caught up with Cube, the Ginger Snaps series, Splice, Hobo with a Shotgun and WolfCop all while keeping close tabs on the works of Astron-6.
Yet your hunger for Canadian genre film productions and co-productions cannot be satiated.
To aid you in your deeper exploration of the field, following is a chronological look at a number of Canadian genre films that simply don’t get enough attention.
****
The Groundstar Conspiracy...
You’ve watched the entire David Cronenberg genre filmography (if not, please do so now as The Brood, Scanners and The Fly are three of the greatest horror films ever made).
You’ve seen Black Christmas and The Changeling and watched a slasher-ific marathon of Prom Night, Terror Train, Happy Birthday to Me and My Bloody Valentine.
You caught up with Cube, the Ginger Snaps series, Splice, Hobo with a Shotgun and WolfCop all while keeping close tabs on the works of Astron-6.
Yet your hunger for Canadian genre film productions and co-productions cannot be satiated.
To aid you in your deeper exploration of the field, following is a chronological look at a number of Canadian genre films that simply don’t get enough attention.
****
The Groundstar Conspiracy...
- 4/21/2015
- by Terek Puckett
- SoundOnSight
The cast might well have done it just for the sake of a holiday on the French riviera, but at least this cheerfully daft adventure canters along amiably
It is said that Michael Caine decided to do the 1988 comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels after reading the script's first line: "Ext. South Of France. Day". Perhaps Emma Thompson had a similar experience before accepting her role in this entirely ridiculous, cheerfully daft and very amiable midlife comedy in which she goes to the French Riviera to steal a super-valuable diamond. Thompson and Pierce Brosnan play Kate and Richard, a bickering divorced couple who face poverty in their retirement years because a sinister plutocrat has bought Richard's company and done a Robert Maxwell on the pension scheme on which these ex-spouses were relying. They are forced to team up to get revenge and head off to Cannes, along with feisty neighbours Jerry (Timothy Spall...
It is said that Michael Caine decided to do the 1988 comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels after reading the script's first line: "Ext. South Of France. Day". Perhaps Emma Thompson had a similar experience before accepting her role in this entirely ridiculous, cheerfully daft and very amiable midlife comedy in which she goes to the French Riviera to steal a super-valuable diamond. Thompson and Pierce Brosnan play Kate and Richard, a bickering divorced couple who face poverty in their retirement years because a sinister plutocrat has bought Richard's company and done a Robert Maxwell on the pension scheme on which these ex-spouses were relying. They are forced to team up to get revenge and head off to Cannes, along with feisty neighbours Jerry (Timothy Spall...
- 4/17/2014
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Interview Simon Brew 28 Oct 2013 - 06:32
We chat to Christopher Eccleston about sci-fi, Thor, 28 Days Later, Let Him Have It, Star Trek, Blade Runner and more...
"I'm Chris", says Christopher Eccleston as I walk into the room, standing up to shake my hand. It's a warm welcome, and the prelude to an interesting chat where we took in his breakthrough role in Let Him Have It, and went through Blade Runner, Thor: The Dark World, Alan Taylor, cut scenes, Anthony Hopkins and what he's up to next.
Here's how we got on...
Can we start with Let Him Have It? I was in my later teens when I stumbled into a cinema to see the film, which of course was the story of Derek Bentley, who was hung on what's since been desribed as 'highly suspect evidence' for murder. What struck me about the film was that was quite an un-British film at the time.
We chat to Christopher Eccleston about sci-fi, Thor, 28 Days Later, Let Him Have It, Star Trek, Blade Runner and more...
"I'm Chris", says Christopher Eccleston as I walk into the room, standing up to shake my hand. It's a warm welcome, and the prelude to an interesting chat where we took in his breakthrough role in Let Him Have It, and went through Blade Runner, Thor: The Dark World, Alan Taylor, cut scenes, Anthony Hopkins and what he's up to next.
Here's how we got on...
Can we start with Let Him Have It? I was in my later teens when I stumbled into a cinema to see the film, which of course was the story of Derek Bentley, who was hung on what's since been desribed as 'highly suspect evidence' for murder. What struck me about the film was that was quite an un-British film at the time.
- 10/28/2013
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
When last we visited Clark Kent and Lana Lang, they were at college, leaving Smallville behind and as Season Three of the syndicated series arrived, it came with changes. The first was that Superboy became The Adventures of Superboy and then the focus moved the characters from the well-named Shuster University to a quasi-internship at The Bureau for Extra-Normal Matters in Capitol City, Florida. Clearly, the actors were aging and the premise of them being in college stopped making sense, plus menace of the week stories was becoming tougher to make plausible on the static campus. The more plausible setting worked for super-heroes but certainly took something away from the civilian side of life, a similar issue plaguing Smallville in its latter seasons.
The third season, out now on DVD from Warner Archive, also brought the welcome removal of the annoying Andy McCalister, character, with actor Ilan Mitchell-Smith taking a...
The third season, out now on DVD from Warner Archive, also brought the welcome removal of the annoying Andy McCalister, character, with actor Ilan Mitchell-Smith taking a...
- 9/20/2013
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
With her new comedy "Super Fun Night" slated to premiere on October 2nd, Rebel Wilson pitched in on promotions by covering the latest issue of New York Magazine.
While rocking a few poses for the Robert Maxwell-shot spread, the "Pitch Perfect" actress chatted about the show and her new fame in the USA.
Check out a few highlights from Miss Wilson's interview below. For more, be sure to visit New York Magazine!
On her role as Kimmie:
"In the pilot, I was deliberately wearing a very tight white dress with horrible crisscross black stripes that is way too short, and I’m holding a clutch purse that is so tiny that it accentuates my size. The women from wardrobe are lovely, but they don’t get that I want to dress as Kimmie, and Kimmie does not have the best taste. The girls in the show are at the bottom of the social pole,...
While rocking a few poses for the Robert Maxwell-shot spread, the "Pitch Perfect" actress chatted about the show and her new fame in the USA.
Check out a few highlights from Miss Wilson's interview below. For more, be sure to visit New York Magazine!
On her role as Kimmie:
"In the pilot, I was deliberately wearing a very tight white dress with horrible crisscross black stripes that is way too short, and I’m holding a clutch purse that is so tiny that it accentuates my size. The women from wardrobe are lovely, but they don’t get that I want to dress as Kimmie, and Kimmie does not have the best taste. The girls in the show are at the bottom of the social pole,...
- 9/16/2013
- GossipCenter
Cuz causes a buzz
BBC media correspondent Torin Douglas's colleagues really made sure his leaving party at Broadcasting House was memorable on Tuesday night, thanks to a video montage of his career and 24 years at the BBC, concluding with a tribute clip from Michael Douglas saying: "nobody has done more for the media than my cousin, Torin". And, no, it wasn't some clever virtual reality trick. The recording was provided by the enterprising Mark Savage, producer for BBC arts editor Will Gompertz, who persuaded the star to play along and make the sound bite at last month's Cannes film festival, where he was promoting his new movie.
Shirley they can't be serious
Director general Tony Hall's contribution, which was introduced by a clip of Douglas interviewing a fresh-faced Hall rhapsodising about the joys of News 24 back in 1996, also produced a wave of laughter when he rather clumsily noted that...
BBC media correspondent Torin Douglas's colleagues really made sure his leaving party at Broadcasting House was memorable on Tuesday night, thanks to a video montage of his career and 24 years at the BBC, concluding with a tribute clip from Michael Douglas saying: "nobody has done more for the media than my cousin, Torin". And, no, it wasn't some clever virtual reality trick. The recording was provided by the enterprising Mark Savage, producer for BBC arts editor Will Gompertz, who persuaded the star to play along and make the sound bite at last month's Cannes film festival, where he was promoting his new movie.
Shirley they can't be serious
Director general Tony Hall's contribution, which was introduced by a clip of Douglas interviewing a fresh-faced Hall rhapsodising about the joys of News 24 back in 1996, also produced a wave of laughter when he rather clumsily noted that...
- 6/5/2013
- by Monkey
- The Guardian - Film News
Actor known for his roles as clergymen, favourite uncles and tragic-comic characters
There is a great tradition in the rotundity of actors, and Roger Hammond, who has died aged 76 of cancer, stands proudly in a line stretching from Francis L Sullivan and Willoughby Goddard through to Roy Kinnear, Desmond Barrit and Richard Griffiths, though he was probably more malleably benevolent on stage than any of them.
He reeked of kindness, consideration and imperturbability, with a pleasant countenance and a beautiful, soft voice, qualities ideal for unimpeachable clergymen, favourite uncles and tragic-comic characters such as Waffles in Chekhov's Uncle Vanya (whom he played in a 1991 BBC TV film, with David Warner and Ian Holm), a man whose wife left him for another man on his wedding day but who has remained faithful to her and forgiving ever since.
Hammond grew up in Stockport, Lancashire. His chartered accountant father was managing director of his own family firm,...
There is a great tradition in the rotundity of actors, and Roger Hammond, who has died aged 76 of cancer, stands proudly in a line stretching from Francis L Sullivan and Willoughby Goddard through to Roy Kinnear, Desmond Barrit and Richard Griffiths, though he was probably more malleably benevolent on stage than any of them.
He reeked of kindness, consideration and imperturbability, with a pleasant countenance and a beautiful, soft voice, qualities ideal for unimpeachable clergymen, favourite uncles and tragic-comic characters such as Waffles in Chekhov's Uncle Vanya (whom he played in a 1991 BBC TV film, with David Warner and Ian Holm), a man whose wife left him for another man on his wedding day but who has remained faithful to her and forgiving ever since.
Hammond grew up in Stockport, Lancashire. His chartered accountant father was managing director of his own family firm,...
- 11/14/2012
- by Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
It’s interesting to watch how time and again, writers, artists, moviemakers, and studio executives struggle to find ways to adapt the very first comic book super-hero. Superman was something readers (and rival publishers) had never seen before, and he served as the template for the heroic fantasy that followed these last seven decades. When you have powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men, you need visionaries to bring the character from the printed page to other media. Robert Maxwell figured out how to do that with the popular radio serial. In fact, Maxwell came up with various characters and concepts that seeped into the comics, a symbiosis that made both stronger.
I was given to considering Superman in his many forms when the eight-disc Superman The Complete Anthology Blu-ray set arrived for review. Warner Home Video has taken all the previous versions and spruced them up a bit,...
I was given to considering Superman in his many forms when the eight-disc Superman The Complete Anthology Blu-ray set arrived for review. Warner Home Video has taken all the previous versions and spruced them up a bit,...
- 6/6/2011
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
Set to commemorate the 150th anniversary of America’s first and only Civil War, Warner Home Video is set to re-release the Award-winning war films “Gods and Generals” and “Gettysburg” on Blu-ray Book format for the first time on May 24, 2011. “Gods and Generals” has been previously released in Blu-ray, while the 1993 “Gettysburg” will be getting the Blu-ray treatment for the very first time. Both films were directed by Robert Maxwell, who directed “Gettysburg” in 1993, before returning to the same hallowed grounds of America’s bloodiest “feud” 10 years later for the much more ambitious “Gods and Generals”. “Gettysburg” Gettysburg: Directors Cut is Maxwell’s acclaimed film about the legendary 3-day battle and will be available for the first time on Blu-ray, featuring 17 minutes of compelling additional footage. Filmed at actual battle locations and full of authentic details, this rousing and soulful movie plunges the viewer into the bloodiest battle fought on American soil.
- 5/22/2011
- by Nix
- Beyond Hollywood
Strong, powerful, moody portraits of the Somali artist K'naan. Coca-Cola built a $3 million marketing campaign around him, calling on him to perform "Wavin Flag" for them at the 2010 World Cup, which became a global hit and a lesson in self-management for musicians. Check out his emotional (and catchy) music video here. Shot by Robert Maxwell. Coca Cola bet that an unknown Somali rapper could support its biggest marketing campaign ever. The company was right. Shot by Robert Maxwell.
See more of the best photos of 2010...
See more of the best photos of 2010...
- 12/27/2010
- by Jessica Adler
- Fast Company
Photograph by Robert Maxwell
Photograph by Sasha Nialla
Coca-Cola bet that an unknown Somali rapper could support its biggest marketing campaign ever. The company was right, and it may have launched a new star. Or not.
Soccer Player, Shark: Coke's Seugé, left, and A&M/Octone's Diener crafted a deal that accelerated K'Naan's career by "a year and a half," says Diener. | Photographs by David Stuart (Seugé), Danny Clinch (Diener)
Infographic: K'Naan's World Tour
Somalia. Spring 1989. On a dusty street in a Mogadishu district known as Wardhiigleey (Somali for "river of blood"), three 10-year-old boys, known in the neighborhood as K'naan the Skinny, Shorty, and La'ib, are washing wooden tablets. Each tablet, or loh, is used for note taking at school; pupils write their alphabets and math equations, as well as the phrases they are learning from the Qu'ran, in ink on these tablets. At the end of the day,...
Photograph by Sasha Nialla
Coca-Cola bet that an unknown Somali rapper could support its biggest marketing campaign ever. The company was right, and it may have launched a new star. Or not.
Soccer Player, Shark: Coke's Seugé, left, and A&M/Octone's Diener crafted a deal that accelerated K'Naan's career by "a year and a half," says Diener. | Photographs by David Stuart (Seugé), Danny Clinch (Diener)
Infographic: K'Naan's World Tour
Somalia. Spring 1989. On a dusty street in a Mogadishu district known as Wardhiigleey (Somali for "river of blood"), three 10-year-old boys, known in the neighborhood as K'naan the Skinny, Shorty, and La'ib, are washing wooden tablets. Each tablet, or loh, is used for note taking at school; pupils write their alphabets and math equations, as well as the phrases they are learning from the Qu'ran, in ink on these tablets. At the end of the day,...
- 10/19/2010
- by Rick Tetzeli
- Fast Company
To British television viewers, Steve Coogan is as familiar as the names Steve Carell or Jerry Seinfeld are to American audiences. In the 1990s and beyond, Coogan built up a cult following in his native England playing Alan Partridge, a socially incompetent yet thoroughly self-absorbed television reporter who later turns to radio. The character has appeared in two radio series and three television series, as well as various TV and radio specials. And now an Alan Partridge film is in the works.
In the UK, Coogan, who is synonymous with Partridge, is a beloved national comedic treasure. But in the Us, the actor is still searching for that breakthrough role. Despite recent appearances in high profile blockbusters like Night At The Museum, Tropic Thunder and most recently Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Coogan is seldom recognized outside of his native England. This summer that may change as he...
In the UK, Coogan, who is synonymous with Partridge, is a beloved national comedic treasure. But in the Us, the actor is still searching for that breakthrough role. Despite recent appearances in high profile blockbusters like Night At The Museum, Tropic Thunder and most recently Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Coogan is seldom recognized outside of his native England. This summer that may change as he...
- 8/9/2010
- CinemaSpy
Photograph by Robert Maxwell
Box Office Monsters DreamWorks investors are banking on the 2010 releases of "How to Train Your Dragon" -- with Jay Baruchel ("seen" above), Gerard Butler, Kristin Wiig, and Craig Ferguson -- and "Shrek Forever After" (below), the fourth tranche of the franchise.
As a young prince, Jeffrey Katzenberg made billions for the Magic Kingdom, but his ambition got him banished. Now the CEO of DreamWorks Animation has a (smaller) kingdom of his own -- and every intention of living happily ever after.
"I'm certain when you came through those gates, your impression was, This is about a micromanaging, hands-in-every-pie, ain't-a-decision-being-made-without-him kind of place," says DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.
At 59, with his tightly cropped hair and outsize biceps straining against a fine-knit black polo, Katzenberg exudes an aggressive fitness. "The myth," he says, "is a far distance from the reality."
In truth, I had come expecting just that.
Box Office Monsters DreamWorks investors are banking on the 2010 releases of "How to Train Your Dragon" -- with Jay Baruchel ("seen" above), Gerard Butler, Kristin Wiig, and Craig Ferguson -- and "Shrek Forever After" (below), the fourth tranche of the franchise.
As a young prince, Jeffrey Katzenberg made billions for the Magic Kingdom, but his ambition got him banished. Now the CEO of DreamWorks Animation has a (smaller) kingdom of his own -- and every intention of living happily ever after.
"I'm certain when you came through those gates, your impression was, This is about a micromanaging, hands-in-every-pie, ain't-a-decision-being-made-without-him kind of place," says DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.
At 59, with his tightly cropped hair and outsize biceps straining against a fine-knit black polo, Katzenberg exudes an aggressive fitness. "The myth," he says, "is a far distance from the reality."
In truth, I had come expecting just that.
- 11/23/2009
- by Mark Borden
- Fast Company
Francis Ford Coppola, photographed by Robert Maxwell.In a fascinating candid interview with the folks at Movieline, a refreshingly immodest Francis Ford Coppola casts himself as an elder statesman of cinema. “You know, I’m a very interesting figure, because arguably, I got more famous as I got older,” he tells Kyle Buchanan. “I became more like an icon — partly, because people need to have some old guys as icons. We don’t have Ernest Hemingway around anymore, so whoever’s old more or less could qualify!” Yet it’s hard to begrudge him his confidence, since he also admits to some mistakes (even as he indirectly compares himself to Shakespeare): “I don’t think Godfather ever should have had more than one movie, actually. It was not a serial, it was a drama. The first movie wrapped up everything. To make more than one Godfather was just greed.
- 6/3/2009
- Vanity Fair
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