Tag: entertainment
Welcome To The Cutting Edge Of Online Movie Rentals
Welcome To The Cutting Edge Of Online Movie Rentals
The past few years have brought us the online movie rental revolution. No more trips to the video store in the rain, waiting in long lines, or paying late fees. Now the cutting edge of this revolution is making online movie rental easier than ever. Somewhere between Napster and Netflix is the new wave of movie downloads straight to your PC!
Such services allow you to browse their selections by using the easy-to-navigate menu of categories until you find the movie or movies you want. Once you have found your movie, you just pay with your credit card and download straight to your computer. You are ready to watch it when it is convenient to you.
Once you’ve downloaded a movie, it stays on your computer for 30 days. There is no need to watch it the same day you rent it. During the storage period, you can watch the movie any day you wish. See it as many times as you want for 24 hours!
All your favorite genres are available on such services including: comedy, drama, horror, Sci-Fi, romance, and more. These services thrive on always providing the latest new releases.
Would you rather watch your movie on television than your small computer screen? No worries! These services provide you with simple directions for using your PC to watch the downloaded movie on your TV.
Downloading straight to your PC isn’t the only way that such cutting edge services are different from other traditional online rental sites. Most traditional sites out there require you to choose a plan—for example, you can have 3 movies out at a time for $20 a month. Cutting edge services don’t require you to choose a subscription plan because there aren’t any! How many movies you rent each time is totally up to you.
Obviously there are no late fees, and there aren’t any membership fees, either. You pay for the movies you watch—the way is should be! Rental fees begin as low as $1.99. Some also have a daily 99 cent surprise movie; it is different every day.
With traditional online rental companies, what comes in the mail is what you watch. It is hard to know in advance what you’ll be in the mood for when the weekend rolls around. That’s not a problem with this approach. You get the movie you want when you want it.
Another thing that makes this cutting edge is that it is great for travel. Next time the in-flight movie is something you have seen before or don’t care to view, power up your notebook and catch a movie of your choosing. One of the best things is that you can store movies for up to 30 days, so you can plan ahead what you might want to see. Even better, no internet connection is needed during the viewing.
You can even purchase movies through the such services. It works much the same way as renting, but when you download a movie, it stays on your computer forever. Also, it’s no problems to burn a copy to a disk for backup.
Some of these services allow you to try one of their free downloads. There are typically several to choose from. Try one today for free, with no obligation. The only downside to such services is that they often require one of the latest versions of Windows and don’t support Macintosh computers.
Have you seen the future of movie rental? You can find the latest deals on such cutting edge movie rentals at www.discountsonline.com/category/entertainment. It is hard to envision anything more convenient and easy when it comes to viewing your favorite movies!
The Magic Of Classical Movies – A Complete Review
The Magic Of Classical Movies – A Complete Review
Undoubtedly the production of the classical movie has got to be one of the finest “inventions” since the stapler. In fact, the classical movie is one which we had the benefit of when we were kids, when at that time there were only three television channels restricted viewing opportunities were given reprieve as Saturday afternoons and Sundays—when Dad wasn’t sucked into The Wide World of Sports —held movies from the times of the past; movies that feature glamour girls and fearless males that had long since passed out of our way of life.
Although there is evidently a clear distinction, between classical movies and classical movies with only classical period elements (music, costumes, storylines, etc.), I would like to address the delight of the classical movie of yesterday and today that does involve only a particular period of history and does, then feature only classical period elements.
Let’s first start with my favorite classical movie of all time, Impromptu. This film portrays a few years in the lives of George Sand, Franz Liszt, Freiderich Chopin, as well as the royal and prosperous people who took the artists in, thus permitting them to compose, write, paint, create…this was in exchange for enjoyable company and entertainment. The focus of the film is Sand, who is obsessed on partnering with Chopin…her aggression as great as his weakness (physical instabilities). In addition the costuming, the music (for sure), the dialogue, and the setting are all as dramatic as the direction, the technique, and the delivery of words and emotion. What’s more there is even a theme or two that every person from the beginning of time until now can identify with or appreciate- the love/hate, good/evil and longing/belonging motifs that are as classic as the film itself.
There are other classical movie choices that I enjoy, and these are also the more marginal (or less mainstream popular) ones. I personally find Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (though evidently POST-classical periods), Wilde, and Jefferson, for example, as creditable of classical movie acclaim as Amadeus, Emma, The Piano, and any number of Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson brilliant [re-]productions.
When you think classical movie, what comes to your mind? For some, may think black and white, or big powdered wigs or perhaps maybe classical music? Do you often think about fanciful dresses and formalities? Or do you think classic movie in terms of it being colossal in popularity? Or just maybe do you consider classic movie is as any individual might determine it—according to appeal, accuracy and aesthetics? As for me, I tend to take in the black and white flicks with the beauties and the beaus, the comedies with the curmudgeons, the histories with the insight into who people were then…like us but with an added je ne sais quoi that we must investigate, discover about, and appreciate in as great a depth and as wide a breadth as we might.
Europe’s Theme Parks
Europe’s Theme Parks
War – especially coupled with a globally sluggish economy – has a contradictory effect on the consumption of entertainment. Disposable incomes plummet curtailing the sales of medium to big ticket items such as cruises and resort vacations. But people – besieged by anxiety and bad news – also wish to be diverted. As the conflict rages, they stay indoors and tune in. Home entertainment booms. But once physical insecurity abates, consumers go out in full force mobbing movie theatres and theme parks, making up for lost time and frayed nerves.
A Solomon Smith Barney report, published in December 2002, concluded that large cap entertainment stocks plunged by 32 percent during the previous skirmish in the Gulf. Stocks of destination travel sites and cruise lines took an even harsher beating, plummeting by 52 percent – this despite the counterintuitive resilience of amusement parks to military and political unrest.
In anticipation of the next round of fighting, these stocks are trading at valuations below even the traumatic tail of 2001. Though quicker than other types of equity to recover postbellum, this holds true only for short and decisive conflicts.
Analysts often monitor the performance of theme and amusement parks to divine trends in the industry as a whole. This would prove impossible in Europe where the culture of theme and entertainment grounds is still in its infancy.
Denmark has Legoland and Tivoli. France boasts the recently recovering Disneyland, Vulcania and Futuroscope. Germany has Phantasialand. Italy sports Gardaland. Spain joins the continent’s minimal offerings with Port Aventura and Terra Mitica. The Dutch De Efteling spent the last decade “Americanizing” its facilities.
Only the United Kingdom has more than a smattering “pleasure beaches” and “worlds of adventure”. A recently mooted Dracula theme park in Romania was shot down by irate citizens and an overweening bureaucracy. “New Europe” is no better than “Old Europe” when it comes to entrepreneurship.
In both market penetration and spending per visitor, Europe is at least a decade behind the USA. Indeed, the eerie paucity of theme parks is symptomatic of the generally moribund, rigid and hyper-regulated economies of the European Union. The continent has less than half America’s number of parks per 10 million denizens and one third its visits per head per year.
Only 20 major European attractions garner more than 1 million in annual attendance. Another 50 or so attract less than 1 million patrons. With revenues of c. $2 billion, Europe’s parks combined amount to one third the sector in the USA and underperform many parks in Asia as well.
European firms are still woefully primitive when it comes to marketing and educating their public. According to the Economic Research Associates, a consultancy, venture capital is rare and usually squandered by developers on wages and other “soft”, non-productive costs. Management is inexperienced and peripatetic.
In Asia, theme parks are considered the magic pill. Japan has Disney World and the Tokyo DisneySea Park. Disney is slated to open a giant franchise in Hong Kong in 2005. Mainland China is eyeing the experiment favorably. Universal Studios countered by inaugurating a themed playground in Osaka in 2001 and by embarking on three feasibility studies in China.
From Jakarta, Indonesia (the Taman Ria amusement park) to Vietnam – everyone is climbing on the bandwagon. There seems to be a dearth of American interest in Europe despite its far higher purchasing power and the existence of a single business address – the European Commission.
Theme parks are multifarious businesses. They provide work to thousand of small suppliers in a virtuous ripple effect. Hosting and gaming experts, marketers, managers, on-site employees, suppliers of logistics, food retailers and caterers, entertainers – all benefit mightily from the presence of such grounds. The park’s brand is often parlayed into trinkets, toys, clothes and souvenirs sold by locals to tourists, both domestic and foreign.
Destination travel is a growth sector.
The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, a trade group, reported that worldwide park attendance was up one quarter between 1991-2001 to 319 million people. During this decade, revenues perked up by 50 percent to almost $10 billion annually. This was largely due to a rise in per capita spending within the grounds from $23 to $30. Returns on – usually massive – investments are impressive even in saturated markets such as the United States.
The profitability of theme parks frequently balances losses spawned by more glamorous bits of entertainment groups. Amusement grounds – themed or not – are astoundingly immune to geopolitical upheavals. Attendance in Disney’s US parks declined by only c. 5 percent during the 1991 Gulf War. Even September 11 failed to dent it measurably.
EuroDisney is partly to blame for the scarcity of themed parks in Europe. For many years it was perceived, quite correctly, as an insatiable white elephant gulping rivers of red ink. Reality moved on but impressions – fostered by smug pundits – lasted. Wary investors and governments throughout the Old Continent confined themselves to the mostly family-operated “garden parks” and “carnival grounds” built during the 1960s and 1970s.
The truth is that Disney’s Parisian adventure is flourishing. The entertainment behemoth is planning to invest c. $540 million in Walt Disney Studios, an annex of the French outfit. This is projected to add 5 million visitors to the current 12.
Another satisfied investor is Six Flags. The operator recently expanded to Mexico and Europe where it runs the six sites of the former Walibi Parks and Movie world, an erstwhile Warner Bros. property in Germany. It soon added a Spanish Movie World to its portfolio. Non-US operations already account for 15 percent of its sales.
But these are the exceptions that prove the rule. Europe is staid and serious. It prefers indigenous high-brow culture to American low-brow imports. Or so the French would have us all believe.
Movies, Marketing And Media 2007
Movies, Marketing And Media 2007
If there was ever a summer designated as the year of the blockbuster, super-hyped, mega, big-time movie packed with amazing special effects and will make a gazillion dollars by the end of its first day of release, well, 2007 would be it. With highly anticipated sequels like Spider-Man 3, Shrek 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and the latest Harry Potter movie (which might be a 3, but who knows) mixing with other big time movies like the Transformers, it’s a safe bet to assume that 2007 might go down as the most profitable year in movie history. And, of course, those big profits aren’t exclusive to the big screen itself.
You can bet that as soon as those movies are released, and maybe even before hand, that the cross-promotional marketing will begin. There will be the hit theme song for each movie available for download on your iPod Nano. There will be the home video game ready to play on the Xbox 360. For those on the go, they will more than likely be able to play that same video game on their Sony Playstation Portable. And for those people who simply can’t wait, they can download the movie trailer and watch it on the digital camcorder feature of their phone.
Even though all these movies will be playing in theaters, people are simply going to see advertising and marketing for them wherever they go. And more interestingly is that people will be exposed to movie marketing as well, regardless of what type of electronic device they decide to use. If you are always plugged into your iPod, you won’t be immune to any movie marketing mayhem. If you visit your favorite store or refurbished electronics retailer looking for the hottest game for your Xbox 360, you’ll see posters promoting the official video game of the movie all over the store. And the same rings true for the Sony Playstation Portable as well.
Today’s technology aren’t just vehicles for entertainment, they also serve as potential locations to reach target customers. The new Transformers video game for the Xbox 360 will probably have live scenes from the movie interspersed into it, in order to entice the game player to check out the movie, if he hasn’t done so already. Conversely previews for the new Shrek film will probably have an advertisement in it targeting iPod Nano users to download the new hit theme song. And don’t forget the constant barrage of ads that ask people to text a phone number in order to get the latest Harry Potter trivia game sent to the digital camcorder display feature of their cell phone.
In today’s world, it’s all about being connected. That’s because if you’re connected online, either with an iPod, Sony PSP or an Xbox 360, you’re a member of the target audience and you will be reached. Now, being subjected to all these advertisements and media messages are one thing, but reacting to them altogether is a subject best saved for another day.
What are Movies Now Playing
What are Movies Now Playing
If you’re like most human beings, you enjoy a good movie. At least once in a while. Virtually everyone likes to be entertained and movies now playing are always at your fingertips. That’s what’s so great about cyberspace. You can get the skinny any time you please regarding almost anything; including modern entertainment. So regardless if you prefer horror flicks, great dramas, romantic comedies, action films or a suspenseful thriller, you can always acquire the latest film news on what movies are play now in theaters near you.
Remember back in the day when you wanted to know all the movies now playing in local theaters? It was a bit of a hassle. First you had to get out the phonebook and look up movie theaters. Then you had to call each of them to find out which films they were currently showing and listen carefully for the times that each movie played. Naturally this process was annoying for several reasons. First of all, the line was always busy on Friday nights and second of all, if you missed what the recording said in regards to a certain time, you had to listen to the entire spiel all over again. What a hassle and utter pain in the keyster. Anyway, in this modern day of Internet and computer convenience, that whole routine is out the window. Simply pop open a search engine and key in the phrase “movies now playing” or “current new releases.” Suddenly you’ll be flooded with movie trailers to watch and the times each film is showing at local theaters. Now that’s awesome!
Aside for knowing which movies are now playing, you’ll more than likely want to view a few trailers to better understand your film options. Since you’re going to fork out the cash on theater tickets and concessions, you may as well get your money’s worth. Try websites such as apple trailers. This is an outstanding place to begin reviewing current films playing now in theaters. Watch the preview and see if you’re even interested in viewing the film. Furthermore, take a peek at how critics rated the movie overall. This can sometimes effect your decision to watch a certain new release film.
History of filmmaking and movies
History of filmmaking and movies
Movie is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of Movie as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Movies are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects.
Movies are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them. Movie is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment and a powerful method for educating — or indoctrinating — citizens. The visual elements of cinema gives motion pictures a universal power of communication. Some movies have become popular worldwide attractions by using dubbing or subtitles that translate the dialogue.
Traditional Movies are made up of a series of individual images called frames. When these images are shown rapidly in succession, a viewer has the illusion that motion is occurring. The viewer cannot see the flickering between frames due to an effect known as persistence of vision, whereby the eye retains a visual image for a fraction of a second after the source has been removed. Viewers perceive motion due to a psychological effect called beta movement.
The origin of the name “Movie” comes from the fact that photographic Movie (also called Movie stock) had historically been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist for an individual motion picture, including picture, picture show, photo-play, flick, and most commonly, movie. Additional terms for the field in general include the big screen, the silver screen, the cinema, and the movies.
In the 1860s, mechanisms for producing artificially created, two-dimensional images in motion were demonstrated with devices such as the zoetrope and the praxinoscope. These machines were outgrowths of simple optical devices (such as magic lanterns) and would display sequences of still pictures at sufficient speed for the images on the pictures to appear to be moving, a phenomenon called persistence of vision. Naturally, the images needed to be carefully designed to achieve the desired effect — and the underlying principle became the basis for the development of Movie animation.
With the development of celluloid Movie for still photography, it became possible to directly capture objects in motion in real time. Early versions of the technology sometimes required a person to look into a viewing machine to see the pictures which were separate paper prints attached to a drum turned by a handcrank. The pictures were shown at a variable speed of about 5 to 10 pictures per second depending on how rapidly the crank was turned. Some of these machines were coin operated. By the 1880s, the development of the motion picture camera allowed the individual component images to be captured and stored on a single reel, and led quickly to the development of a motion picture projector to shine light through the processed and printed Movie and magnify these “moving picture shows” onto a screen for an entire audience. These reels, so exhibited, came to be known as “motion pictures”. Early motion pictures were static shots that showed an event or action with no editing or other cinematic techniques.
R.J. Williams and Young Hollywood
R.J. Williams and Young Hollywood
R. J. Williams or Robert Jackson Williams (born: July 19, 1978) was a child actor on movies and television shows. He is best recognized by soap opera fans for playing Rowdy on General Hospital from 1989 through 1991. He appeared on numerous hit shows in the 80s and 90s such as Full House, Star Trek the Next Generation, Young and the Restless, Baywatch, Magnum PI, Love Boat, TJ hooker and many others. He earned 2 Young Artist Award and 9 Young Artist Award nominations.
After spending his entire childhood as an actor R.J. Williams decided to attend the prestigious USC School of Cinema-Television. Upon completion of his studies, he formed his own production company: Arjay Entertainment.
Since its inception, Arjay Entertainment has established its presence among Young Hollywood. The company had formed several distribution alliances and provided content for ABC, Showtime, TV Guide Channel, America Online and various Fox Cable channels.
In 2006, R.J. Williams launched www.younghollywood.com. Younghollywood.com is an online destination for original celebrity and Lifestyle video content that focuses on the rising generation. RJ Williams developed a very simple programming philosophy at Young Hollywood – all of his content is based on integrity, accuracy, and a real sense of fun.
Young Hollywood features the latest Hollywood entertainment news and latest scoops on your favorite celebrities. It stays away from gossip, tabloids and paparazzi and focuses on the positive side of celebrity life. Young Hollywood also features exclusive video footage on Hollywood celebrities and lifestyle that are updated daily. What restaurant they dine in and clubs they get their grove on. Young Hollywood offers movie trailers, music videos and celebrity photo galleries that range from headline makers, heartthrobs, TV hotties, Oscar nominees, comedians and athletes.
Young Hollywood is all about entertainment, but we’re informative too. We offer breaking news, update content on our web site daily, and send out a weekly newsletter to our fans, so you’ll always be in-the-know about what is hip, cool and fun.
Young Hollywood has already formed numerous strategic relationships – including recent deals with YouTube and Myspace. Young Hollywood branded segments also appear on CBSs hit show Entertainment Tonight. All of this brings Young Hollywood closer to the long-term goal of becoming the ultimate multi-platform entertainment experience.
R.J. Williams and Young Hollywood
R.J. Williams and Young Hollywood
R. J. Williams or Robert Jackson Williams (born: July 19, 1978) was a child actor on movies and television shows. He is best recognized by soap opera fans for playing Rowdy on General Hospital from 1989 through 1991. He appeared on numerous hit shows in the 80s and 90s such as Full House, Star Trek the Next Generation, Young and the Restless, Baywatch, Magnum PI, Love Boat, TJ hooker and many others. He earned 2 Young Artist Award and 9 Young Artist Award nominations.
After spending his entire childhood as an actor R.J. Williams decided to attend the prestigious USC School of Cinema-Television. Upon completion of his studies, he formed his own production company: Arjay Entertainment.
Since its inception, Arjay Entertainment has established its presence among Young Hollywood. The company had formed several distribution alliances and provided content for ABC, Showtime, TV Guide Channel, America Online and various Fox Cable channels.
In 2006, R.J. Williams launched www.younghollywood.com. Younghollywood.com is an online destination for original celebrity and Lifestyle video content that focuses on the rising generation. RJ Williams developed a very simple programming philosophy at Young Hollywood – all of his content is based on integrity, accuracy, and a real sense of fun.
Young Hollywood features the latest Hollywood entertainment news and latest scoops on your favorite celebrities. It stays away from gossip, tabloids and paparazzi and focuses on the positive side of celebrity life. Young Hollywood also features exclusive video footage on Hollywood celebrities and lifestyle that are updated daily. What restaurant they dine in and clubs they get their grove on. Young Hollywood offers movie trailers, music videos and celebrity photo galleries that range from headline makers, heartthrobs, TV hotties, Oscar nominees, comedians and athletes.
Young Hollywood is all about entertainment, but we’re informative too. We offer breaking news, update content on our web site daily, and send out a weekly newsletter to our fans, so you’ll always be in-the-know about what is hip, cool and fun.
Young Hollywood has already formed numerous strategic relationships – including recent deals with YouTube and Myspace. Young Hollywood branded segments also appear on CBSs hit show Entertainment Tonight. All of this brings Young Hollywood closer to the long-term goal of becoming the ultimate multi-platform entertainment experience.
Home theater design may require professional help
Home theater design may require professional help
Having to be able to bring home entertainment may be a luxury. This is because only very few households can afford home theater system. Of late, only the rich and the famous can afford such luxury. This notion is now a thing of the past. Home theater systems may now be available to greater number of households because of the knowledge of basic home theater design. The basic home theater design may only require three basic components and these three components may already be affordable for the working class.
However, before you may need to think of the basic home theater design for your home theater system, you may need to know the size of the room for the home theater set up. The size of the room to where the home theater will be set up will depend on how basic the home theater design needs to be.
Home theater experts recommends that if the room is quite small, all you need for your home theater design is a television set, three speakers and a DVD player. The home theater design may be dependent of the shpre of the room; however, the position of the speakers remains to be the left, the right and the center of the room. Basic home theater design may require a television set bigger than 27 inches. Too small screen for your home theater design may not be sufficient for a movie theater-like experience. This is because even for the home theater design, you may need to consider the sight and sound of a movie theater. It is the main consideration why people go to a movie theater, the big screen and the surround sound. With respect to the surround sound of a movie theater, the basic three speakers is only applicable for smaller rooms, if the room is bigger, the home theater design needs to be more than three, you may go up to six speakers and a complimenting subwoofer may be necessary for the surround effect. Going back to a small room, if you will only put three speakers, you may want to consider buying a high quality brand speaker; this will give you enough surround sound for a smaller room.
If you have a small budget, ensure that the store where you will buy your speakers will allow you to test the product in your room and if it will not give you a good surround sound, they should allow you to return or replace the unit. This is because some speakers sound good in the store but when you finally set them up in a small room, the effect is not very good. Find a neat deal where they can allow you to return or replace the speakers. However, if your budget is sufficient, you may consider hiring the services of a home theater designer. Your home theater designer will be able to design the home theater better and with complete accessories. He may require checking the power rating, and the need for amplifiers. He may also recommend using home theater projectors and he may recommend how the speakers need to be. You will get a good home theater design if you will be able to hire home theater designers. The need for home theater seating and television cabinet may also be necessary for the complete package of your home theater.
You may enjoy the entertainment without having to tide traffic jam and enjoy in your own home theater system.
Korean Film Producers Turn to Movie Downloads
Korean Film Producers Turn to Movie Downloads
There is Korean invasion in the global entertainment industry. You may probably have been noticing that many Korean commercial films are enjoying global attention. Many of them are now being run in theaters not just in Asia but also in America and Europe. Many viewers are starting to establish an attachment and liking to such movies. To be able to reach more viewers, and of course, generate more income, Korean movie producers are now turning to movie downloads.
Back there in South Korea, the DVD industry has always been lackluster. Sales of DVDs has not been very impressive. It was this fact that opened the doors for movie downloading across the Internet. To cover losses of film producers from releasing DVD titles, they started offering their films to online consumers at least two months post theatrical runs. The movie downloads cost about a fraction of total DVD costs.
During the initial stage, the move proved to be viable and profitable. However, as years went by, it was not sufficient enough, especially when movie piracy broke out. Since then, Korean movie industry began sharing the sentiments of most other film producers around the world, especially those in Hollywood.
For the second half of 2009, most Korean film productions would introduce simultaneous showing of movies on theaters and online. This move would be noticeable particularly among film premieres. Movie downloads would already be available even if the film is still being shown in commercial theaters. This would be a first in Korean film history. It is also a pioneering move across the globe.
Not too many film producers are open to doing the same due to income issues. Thus, this Korean producers’ initiative would be monumental and would surely be monitored by all film production all around the world. Koreans would serve as a model that would serve as a case to prove that such innovations would surely work. In Hollywood and elsewhere, film outfits would not easily and openly jump into such an action because of logical fear to lose significant amounts of income.
A Japanese film producer is already set to follow suit. However, it admits it is all eyes and all ears into what the Korean movie download endeavor would end up with. Film productions are businesses. They also need to assess their viability and profitability before making significant moves. For sure, film outfits around the world would make the rounds to further study implications of releasing move downloads at the same time as commercial releases of movies.
Analysts are also yet to learn about technologies and concrete measures that would ensure prevention of piracy. The Internet is a much more open venue to film piracy. Thus, film producers would also take note of how Korean film producers would address such concerns.
It seems that the future of the movie industry is really reliant on the effectiveness and success of online movie downloads. The Internet is really a powerful media. In the future, there is also an unrelenting possibility that instead of going to commercial theaters, people would just rely on online movie downloading to watch movies. This is more possible these days because of the enhanced speed of broadband and the emergence of powerful and attractive home theater systems, which could also be connected to the Internet for online movie viewing.