Oscar winner Stan Winston dies Jun 18, 2008
Winston died Sunday at his home in Malibu after a seven-year battle with myeloma, a Stan Winston Studio spokeswoman said ... He won four Oscars, for the visual effects in "Jurassic Park," "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" and "Aliens" and for makeup on "T2." He also earned Oscar noms for his work on "AI: Artificial Intelligence," "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," "Batman Returns," "Edward Scissorhands," "Predator" and "Heartbeeps." He was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2001 ... Praise... (Hollywood Reporter)
Effects wiz Winston dies Jun 17, 2008
"The entertainment industry has lost a genius, and I lost one of my best friends with the death Sunday night of Stan Winston," said 'Terminator' star Arnold Schwarzenegger ... His work transforming Danny De Vito into the villainous Penguin in Burton's 1992 film 'Batman Returns' nabbed him a makeup Oscar ... He worked on 75 films over four decades and in that time earned 10 Academy Award nominations, his last coming for creating a human-like teddy bear in Spielberg's 'AI. (iAfrica.com)
'Boom Blox' a hit, 'Haze,' 'Deca Sports' not so much May 28, 2008
After the complete train wreck that was Jenga World Tour, you had a better chance dumping me in that cabin from that "The Strangers" movie then getting me to play another "remove a block from a collapsing tower" game. So when I heard that EA paired with Steven Spielberg to produce the similarly sounding Boom Blox, I was packing my bags for a secluded, woodland run-in with freaks in masks ... The single-player mode of Boom Blox will certainly not light your spirits ablaze. (Scripps Howard News Wire)
There couldn't be more sequels, could there? May 21, 2008
Globe and Mail Update ... The journalist posing the question who said he was from a free China website seemed to be suggesting that Communist governments, and not the richest men in Hollywood, had been the driving force behind Indiana Jones IV. The expression on Spielberg's face was priceless and he finally said, Do you want me to actually answer that question ... The reason that the film's villains are Communist (Russians, in this case) is simple, Spielberg said: The first Indiana Jones movie... (Globe and Mail -- Entertainment)
Future perspectives - Artificial Intelligence: Intelligent behavior May 8, 2008
" Over at the University of Georgia, though, it's a slightly more pedestrian term. The Artificial Intelligence Center is an interdepartmental research and instructional center within UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. On a recent busy afternoon in a lab, a graduate student working on tiny computer chips explained his work on a "smart" wheelchair. When finished, it will allow even people without sight to "drive" the motorized chair; sensors will pick up obstacles on all sides, and... (Athens Banner-Herald)
Spielberg boycotts Olympic role Feb 13, 2008
This is a noble move by Spielberg - he will certainly go down in history as someone who gave human lives precedence over fame and money ... A source in the Beijing Olympic Committee said a response was being discussed at the highest levels but had not yet been made public ... Mr Spielberg, who had been brought in as artistic adviser for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games, said the cause of Darfur was more important than his role. (Yahoo News -- China)
The synthetic genome Jan 27, 2008
Navigation - link to other main sections from here ... Maverick scientist Craig Venter claims he can create artificial life in the lab ... From Frankenstein s monster through I, Robot to the lost young cyborg of Steven Spielberg s AI, the idea of creating artificial life from inert matter has long inspired human imagination. (Times Online)
Building bridges Dec 7, 2007
At this week's IE2007 conference on interactive entertainment at RMIT, Screen Play got the chance to chew the fat with passionate designer Robin Hunicke, who following her role on is working on one of Steven Spielberg's games for Electronics Arts. Robin's keynote "You can't build a robot that will tell you how to throw a great party" encouraged developers to "make chocolates instead of cake": smaller, sustainable games crafted using iterative steps during development ... For an adult person in... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Technology)
China Olympics: Parts falling into place for big U.S. profits Nov 15, 2007
Got a question about a TV, print or online ad you've seen or about an ad campaign ... "It's going to be a frenzy of commercialism here, a party like no other," says James McGregor, chairman of the JL McGregor & Co. business advisory firm in Beijing and author of One Billion Customers ... Advertisers are launching multimedia campaigns now and next year to reach the estimated 250 million consumers in China's emerging middle class. (USA Today -- Money)
'Spielberg' lets director speak for himself Jul 9, 2007
There's an ongoing debate, in entertainment-critic circles, over whether there's better-quality fare these days in the movies or on TV. And it isn't hard to make the case that, pound-for-pound, TV is better -- richer, deeper, more ambiguous, more consistently entertaining. "Spielberg on Spielberg," the TCM documentary that airs tonight , makes an unintentional case for what movies can do and television can't ... This 90-minute special, directed by film historian Richard Schickel , is filled with... (Boston Globe)
Spielberg, Jonah Nolan plan sci-fi epic Mar 23, 2007
Spielberg, who's putting together the David Koepp-scripted fourth installment of the Indiana Jones saga, has a long history of exploring the sci-fi realm, in films as diverse as "War of the Worlds," "Artificial Intelligence: AI," and early classics such as "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind.". For Nolan, who's just finishing his screenplay for the "Batman Begins" sequel, "The Dark Knight," working with Spielberg is like getting hit "by a meteorite made entirely... (Los Angeles Times)
