THE GIFT OF ANIMATION THIS CHRISTMAS WITH MOVIESTORM

This Christmas give the gift of movie-making with Moviestorm - the downloadable software that lets anyone to write, produce, direct and edit their own digitally animated movies on their PC or Mac. 

Get going quickly with template movies and pre-built sets and characters, or choose from thousands of movie assets perfectly designed to bring all types of production to life.  You can also create yourself, your friends or famous celebs to be the stars of your show using the character generator, then output your film as an in-your-face epic with the 3D filter and upload it to share with your friends on YouTube, or other sites.

This virtual movie-making  studio is now available with a range of Theme bundles ranging from Action Movies to Factual TV, Kids Shows to Music Videos and more.  Alternatively, you can get the lot with Complete 2010 which contains 35 content packs ,  each including a varied mix of movie props, costumes and animations. From just £50 to buy, it makes a perfect gift for film hobbyists, or you can even rent for just a few pounds per month

Moviestorm.co.uk provides an easy-to-use software platform enabling anyone to write, produce, direct and edit their own digitally animated movies. Aspiring movie-makers, from total novices to students and professionals can create animated movies.

“The Moviestorm software package makes an ideal gift for creative types who want to produce professional-looking animation - anything from satirical comedies to horror movies. Go to our site to choose from our new range of bundles, that are designed to suit any budget.” says Andrew Kennedy, Managing Director of Moviestorm.

The box product is available to buy only from the Moviestorm.co.uk website, and the product is available to ship worldwide in time for Christmas. Delivery takes between 4-6 days.

The Snowman on DVD

A timeless classic for over 30 years, this award winning film, adapted from the best selling book, really is an essential for all DVD collections.  Loved by both children and parents alike, the popularity of Raymond Briggs’ ‘The Snowman’ shows no sign of waning.   

‘The Snowman’ Christmas stage show continues to tour the UK every year and the range of branded products from which the story spawned are still best sellers. 

In recognition of the huge and loyal following for ‘The Snowman’ film, which gave Aled Jones his massive hit single ‘Walking In The Air’, Universal Pictures (UK) is releasing a Special Edition DVD of this beautiful and charming film on November 15. It comes for the first time with an exclusive Christmas Colouring Fun book, plus a sticker set of classic scenes from ‘The Snowman’, perfect for keeping the kids entertained this Christmas. 

The Snowman …

One winter morning a little boy named James wakes up to find that everything outside has turned snow white. Overjoyed he rushes downstairs and out into the garden where he begins to build a snowman. 

That night James cannot sleep and at midnight he wakes up and decides to check on his snowman. 

He opens the back door leading into the garden and can’t believe his eyes …. the snowman has come to life! 

James finds himself face-to-face with the smiling snowman who with a polite doff of his hat introduces himself and signals the beginning of a magical friendship and a marvelous adventure.

       

Retail DVD Details 

Cat number 8279240  

RRP £9.99

Running Time – 26mins

Documentary Running Time – 28 mins

A Perfect Film Night With blinkbox and Grolsh

As the winter months approach and staying in becomes the new going out, Grolsch has partnered with blinkbox, the UK’s leading movie streaming site, to bring film fans the ultimate night in.

To get their hands on a movie rental, film buffs should look out for special Grolsch packs available now at participating retailers. Every pack will offer an online film rental from the thousands available at blinkbox.com, with the option to enjoy the film instantly, or save it for another time.

To experience the ultimate film night in fans should follow three simple steps;

1.       Purchase a special Grolsch pack and find the unique code inside

2.       Register and enter the unique Grolsch code at www.grolschfilm.co.uk and click the blinkbox logo

3.       Choose a film and follow the instructions to instantly enjoy the rental

For full terms and conditions please visit www.grolschfilm.co.uk.

Seal Team VI – Journey Into Darkness

‘Seal Team VI – Journey Into Darkness’, a gripping drama inspired by the heroic and highly secretive missions of the US Navy’s SEAL Special Forces Team, is being released on retail DVD by Scanbox Entertainment on 25th October. Not to be confused with a sequel, SEAL Team VI is the most elite of the 12 US Navy & Special Forces SEAL Teams. 

It is the heart wrenching story of the team’s so-called black ops incursion into Iraq four days prior to the start of Operation Desert Storm and the harrowing consequences it ultimately faces when their mission is suddenly compromised. 

Having been handpicked by one man, Master Chief Devon ‘Mack’ Mackefy, the squad specialises in counter-terrorism operations and is ready at any time to travel the world to respond to terrorist threats from air, land or sea.
 

Mack and his team are highly respected for their ability to finish the most complex tasks irrespective of the circumstances and while their reputation is uncompromised their activities are shrouded in both controversy and secrecy. 

When the team is called up by the US government to undertake an operation inside Iraq, they are one man short and seriously strained from a previous mission. 

Furthermore, their newest recruit Davis is untested in the field and these factors threaten the success of the operation as well as the team’s survival. 

They find themselves surrounded by the enemy in every direction as they try to identify and mark aerial targets, avoid capture and stay alive for four days. 

On top of all these problems, the team’s fearless leader is distracted because he is privately grieving over the recent loss of his 12-year-old son. 

His wife Cassandra knew what she was getting herself into by marrying Mack but the unexpected and immediate deployment of the team when she needed him most proves too much for her to handle.
 

Her fear of losing what’s left of her family is outweighed by the fact that Mack has no choice in the matter but he is forced to deal with his own demons during the mission when he has to decide between taking the life of an innocent boy or risking the lives of his men. 

However, ultimately Mack, Davis and the rest of the team know they have to opt for honour, brotherhood and courage as they risk their lives in the name of freedom. 

‘Seal Team VI – Journey Into Darkness’ has a run time of 96 minutes, a 15 certificate and a recommended retail price of £12.99 

All In the iMinds

With the aim of making broad-based general knowledge accessible to people's lifestyles and devices, a new company, iMinds has recently launched 8 minute knowledge grabs for MP3s and other devices, making it easier to resolve to learn new things this New Year.

Understanding the importance of general knowledge as a way of giving context and clarity to the specialised knowledge we use every day, iMinds has sought to replace some of the music on our MP3 players with knowledge instead.  Across a diverse 12 categories of information including Politics, Business, Science and History, iMinds gives the listener a self-contained knowledge grab complete with engaging soundscape.

iMinds has received significant industry and consumer acclaim.  In less than three months, iMinds has secured over 200 chart positions in iTunes Music Stores globally including Top 10 results in countries as diverse as the USA, UK, Ireland, France, Netherlands, Denmark, Spain and Australia.  Named as one of the 25 Best Travel Gadgets of 2009 by Time Magazine and receiving features in US Vogue, LA Times, Wired, Mashable and TechCrunch.. to name just a few..  iMinds has also extended its distribution through OverDrive to over 10,000 libraries and schools around the world while also being available in retail channels such as Audible.com, iTunes, BooksOnBoard and BarnesandNoble.com.

Now with over 180 titles, this is the future of general knowledge acquisition ..iMinds' expansive library is a unique targeted learning-on-demand experience that's compatible with people's devices, interests and lifestyles and introduce readers of all ages to a new way of learning.  iMinds has also released a Junior range, based on the school curriculum, aimed at ages 7-14years and a Travel range aimed at frequent flyers and armchair travellers alike.

http://www.iminds.com

http://www.myipodissmarterthanyours.com

DOUGHTY HANSON TO ACQUIRE VUE ENTERTAINMENT

8 November 2010:  Doughty Hanson & Co, one of the largest independent private equity firms in Europe, today announced that it is to acquire Vue Entertainment (“Vue”), one of the UK’s leading developers and operators of state-of-the-art multiplex cinemas from Cavendish Square Partners, affiliated investment funds of Och-Ziff Capital Management Group and the existing management team.  The Vue management team, including Tim Richards (CEO) who established the company, will be reinvesting in the transaction.

Vue has the third largest market share in the UK in terms of box office via its 68 cinemas and 678 screens. The company also runs 2 cinemas internationally. In recent years, Vue has led the way in new cinema development in the UK and 50% of all new multiplex cinemas built nationwide in the past couple of years have been a Vue multiplex. The most recent openings include the all digital Vue Westfield cinema in London which has broken records as the highest grossing cinema in the country.

Cinema visits rank as one of the UK’s most popular paid for out of home entertainment activities for people of all ages.  Cinema attendance has grown year on year, even against the backdrop of the economic downturn. UK box office revenues were up 11% in 2009 and UK admissions were up 6%. Future growth is expected to be driven though a number of areas, including digital 3D films which are increasing in popularity and are set to represent around 30% of the box office next year.

In addition, the roll-out of digital projection will deliver a wider choice of content and greater flexibility in programming, helping to drive attendance alongside the strong slate of movies already scheduled for 2011 and beyond.  Vue has recently announced that it will be working with Sony Digital Europe on the rollout of 4K projectors across Vue’s cinema portfolio, which is set to be completed by 2012.

Julian Huxtable, Senior Principal at Doughty Hanson said today:  “Vue Entertainment is a great company led by an exceptional, highly experienced management team which has created a strong market position for the company with an exciting future ahead. Vue has an excellent reputation for its high quality customer experience and its innovative approach of developing and marketing new products and services designed to grow the business and customer base.   

“The company has achieved consistent financial performance and has succeeded in growing through the recent recession.  We believe that Vue offers a strong platform for growth and we are excited about working with Tim and his team on the next exciting chapter of the Vue story.”
  

Tim Richards, CEO of Vue Entertainment, said: “Doughty Hanson is an ideal partner for Vue, as it shares our vision of driving attractive growth and investment returns by consistently delivering an excellent entertainment experience for our customers.

“Vue has come a long way since it was launched in 2003 and this next phase of our journey with Doughty Hanson as our new partner is going to be very exciting. We will continue to innovate, enhance and grow the business. We will continue to open fantastic new state of the art cinemas such as the new 14 screen all digital Vue multiplex cinema in Westfield’s Stratford City which opens in September next year.”