Cate Blanchett on crusade to ‘Indiana Jones 4′
“Cate Blanchett has signed on to star in the fourth installment of the “Indiana Jones” adventures.
Harrison Ford already has boarded the project, which will be produced by Lucasfilm and directed by Steven Spielberg.
With David Koepp’s screenplay shrouded in secrecy, it is unclear what character Blanchett will play. However, sources said the Oscar-winning actress has landed a starring role.
Shooting will begin in June in Los Angeles and at undisclosed locations around the world. Paramount Pictures will release “Indy 4″ day-and-date around the world on May 22, 2008, with a handful of territories opening the following day.”
Read more from Hollywood Elsewhere
Billy Budd
“Bought a copy yesterday afternoon of Warner Home Video’s just-released DVD of Peter Ustinov’s Billy Budd (1962). Black-and-white scope is one of my favorite visual formats, and what an exquisite and luscious silver-toned transfer this is — spotless, velvety smooth, ultra-crisp perfection with each carefully-lit value and tiny detail on view, and assembled exactly right.”
Read more from Hollywood Elsewhere
Google to make search logs anonymous
“Google will start making its records about users’ searches anonymous after 18 to 24 months under a policy announced Wednesday.
Until now, the dominant search company has indefinitely retained a log of every search, with identifiers that can associate it with a particular computer. The new policy, to be implemented within the next year, is intended to better protect users’ privacy, two executives wrote in a Google Blog entry posted Wednesday.”
Read more from Macworld
Wait time on DVD releases shrinks
“DVDs featuring new movies are coming out faster than ever.
The average time between the premiere of a movie at the multiplex and its appearance on DVD shrank an additional 10 days last year, further unnerving theater owners who believe that the tightening window threatens their business.
The revelation from a new study is likely to further shake exhibitors when it is formally unveiled this week by the National Assn. of Theatre Owners at the industry’s annual ShoWest convention in Las Vegas.”
Read more from LA Times
Cool stuff on DVD this week
From USA Today:
“Once again, here’s a rundown of films you may want to reserve for the weekend. (I think it goes without saying that Casino Royale arrives in stores today. A two-disc special edition has a bunch of Bond features, but no commentary.)
The flicks:
Shortbus — John Cameron Mitchell makes a smart sex movie. I was one of the few people who were brave enough to see it in the theater, and I’m glad I did. The soundtrack is worth hearing, too.
Bosom Buddies: The First Season — Looking back, it’s amazing any of those chracters actually believed Tom Hanks as Buffy … he is not a pretty woman.
The Holiday — Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, switching houses, blah, blah. I think we all know to expect from this one, but it probably won’t stop me from watching it on a rainy day.
Harsh Times — Christian Bale is the man who has fallen on harsh times in this drama, helmed by the director of Training Day. Eva Longoria plays his girlfriend.
Sublime — Ed’s Tom Cavanagh stars in this indie horror flick about a haunted hospital.
Ghost: Special Collector’s Edition — Need more Swayze? This edition has lots of featurettes (”Making of a Classic,” etc.), if you’re into that.”
Blu-ray edges out HD DVD in February
“For the second month in a row, Blu-ray Disc (BD) sales were about double that of HD DVD, according to recently released February sales data.
According to trade magazine Video Business, around 250,000 Blu-ray movies were sold last month. HD DVD sales, on the other hand, totaled 125,000.
During January, Blu-ray received a similar sales edge over HD DVD. Many attributed the advantage to the fact that BD has more studio support and a bigger library of movies, meaning that sales of individual titles were not necessarily greater than HD DVD. However, in the same article, Video Business reported on a format comparison for one movie. The Departed, which was released on both Blu-ray and HD DVD, sold about 20,000 and 13,000 for the two formats, respectively.”
Read more from TG Daily
From WSJ: Don’t Get Caught In a Losing Battle Over DVD Technology
“Competition in technology products is often a good thing. Microsoft and Apple spur each other on by competing in computer operating systems. Research in Motion’s BlackBerry smart phones and Palm’s Treo models have the same sort of rivalry.
Partisans of these platforms can argue all day about which is better. But the competitors have some things in common. Windows computers and Apple Macintoshes can both display the same photos and office documents, and play the same MP3 songs and YouTube videos. BlackBerrys and Treos can receive the same emails and call the same phone numbers.”
Read more from WSJ
New Lost Last Night
Great discussion over at USA Today’s Popcandy…