Like it or not, there will be new Star Wars films. Episode 7 is targeted for release in 2015. There will likely be many more to follow.
And they'll be made by Disney.
The "House of Mouse" has acquired Lucasfilm in a blockbuster deal.
What do you think of this mega-merger?
You've probably heard this icebreaker question before: If you could be any superhero, who would you be?
Without fail, whoever says Batman will gush about the gadgets and point out that Bruce Wayne is not an alien. Trust me.
But could any human become Batman? And just how realistic are his crime-fighting tools?
Find out below:
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... or rather in 2009 on the internet, the "Star Wars: Uncut" project was created. More than two years later, it has become a movie. It is a crowd-sourced remake of the original Star Wars film, "A New Hope". FULL POST
From Harry Potter's roots in Edinburgh's Old Town (where a young Joanne Rowling started scribbling her saga) right up to the climactic, cinematic Battle of Hogwarts, Scotland has cast its spell over the series. And just as Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy had viewers salivating over New Zealand, the Potter movie anthology has done a first-class branding job for my home country.
A quick admission before I proceed. I am a former employee of VisitScotland, the national tourism board. Indeed, I was working for the organization in London when the first Potter film was released. Times were hard. The motherland was still reeling from the double ignominy of the foot and mouth outbreak and Madonna’s Highland wedding to Guy Ritchie. We were grateful for small mercies, such as Madge’s decision to leave her leotard at home.
Then, with a wave of his little wizard wand, Harry Potter breathed new life into our industry. Hagrid’s hut sprung up on a Highland hillside. Small Scottish children hopped aboard the Hogwarts Express as it chugged its way west from Fort William. The national newspapers were full of it. The rest of the world would follow.
Much attention has focused on filming locations such as London’s Kings Cross Station (bearing a remarkable resemblance to its neighbor St Pancras) and Gloucester Cathedral (whose corridors are recognizable as the haunt of Nearly Headless Nick and Moaning Myrtle). But for me - and millions of Potterphiles – the majesty of the wizarding world is most potent in its landscapes. These made me homesick as a 21-year old in London, just as they do as a 31-year old in Hong Kong. And, as such, I offer you my five favorite Scottish Potter scene-stealers:
After the Hollywood launch of "Kung Fu Panda 2," there's word of a backlash in Beijing.
According to China's official Xinhua news agency, some Chinese artists and scholars say that the animated kiddie flick has "twisted Chinese culture and serves as a tool to 'kidnap' the mind of the Chinese people."
Zhao Bandi, an avant-garde artist in Beijing, has launched a campaign to boycott the DreamWorks film by placing ads in newspapers across the country. He's joined by an academic, Kong Qingdong of Peking University, who calls "Kung Fu Panda 2" a "cultural invasion." FULL POST
I'm not sure what's harder to believe: That "Top Gun" is 25 years old, or that there's a whole day dedicated to the movie.
Either way, being the 80s movie buffs that we are, News Stream just had to join in the fun and celebrate Top Gun Day... which we did with a little help from our good friends at iReport. And aviator sunglasses.
Why "Top Gun"?
There's something about that movie that's struck a chord with people that makes it memorable 25 years on. It's hard to say it's a great film - but it's inspired so many to send us a ton of great iReports.
It is intensely cheesy. And yet it is incredibly enjoyable. It's extremely clichéd, but also eminently quotable.
It simultaneously panders to both sexes: Men get gratuitous shots of fighter jets set to rock music; women get that volleyball scene.
And while most movies have one iconic song associated with them, Top Gun has four: Danger Zone, Take My Breath Away, You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', and Great Balls of Fire. (And I'm not including the theme!)
There is something strangely compelling about Top Gun that endures to this day, proving that it's always a good time to buzz the tower.
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