Floating Cinema

FLOATING CINEMA 2013

Plans for our brand new Floating Cinema for 2013 are well underway and four shortlisted architect teams have been invited to take their designs to the next stage of the competition. Congratulations go to: Nilsson Pflugfelder  (Berlin/London) vPPR (London) OBRA  (New York/Beijing) Duggan Morris  (London) The winning design will be announced in September – so watch this space!  Our Floating Cinema Architecture Competition is produced in partnership with the Architecture Foundation. The new Floating Cinema is commissioned by the Legacy List and sponsored by Bloomberg.

FLOATING CINEMA: NOT THE OPENING CEREMONY 27 JULY

Abbey Gardens, Newham. Image: Nina Pope

Don't forget we are hosting Not the Opening Ceremony on Friday 27th July at Floating Cinema artists Somewhere’s community garden; Abbey Gardens located next to the Olympic Park in Stratford. We hope you will join us for food, music, film and quite possibly a glimpse of fireworks from the larger event taking place next door!  We hope to see you there – for more info see the Floating Cinema website.

HIT SATIRICAL PODCAST ‘THE BUGLE’ REACHES ITS 200TH EPISODE

The US and UK hit satirical comedy podcast The Bugle, hosted by JOHN OLIVER (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart) and ANDY ZALTZMAN (7 Day Sunday on BBC Radio 5 Live) will celebrate its monumental 200^th episode this Friday 13^th July.

Fans will be able to download the 200th episode, featuring JOHN and ANDY in their respective home cities of New York and London, via iTunes or www.soundcloud.com/the-bugle, and the show’s website, www.thebuglepodcast.com.

The Bugle 200 will see JOHN and ANDY reunite to cast their unique perspective over the week’s major news stories and protagonists.  On the agenda for this week will be the general state of the world, the banking crisis, Berlusconi’s comeback, the Olympics and how the 200th Bugle is unquestionably the showbiz event of the post-palaeolithic era.

Last year, the podcast had an average of over 2 million downloads per month.  It has regularly featured in the official iTunes podcast top 10 in both the USA and UK, with a five star rating from iTunes users. The Bugle was voted as one of the top ten podcasts of 2011 by The A.V. Club.

Since its birth in October 2007, JOHN and ANDY have dispensed their weekly doses of satire to an estimated potential global audience of 7 billion people. They have left no political hot potato unbuttered, and have presided over, and/or caused, and/or commented on (delete according to preference) the downfall of several of the world’s least desirable despots and dinner companions.

The numerous topics the show has covered include: the 2008 U.S. presidential election, the 2010 U.K. general election, the global economic crisis, the Arab Spring, the crackpot antics of the world’s various despots and lunatics, the 2011 Cricket World Cup, and Lou Reed’s epoch-defining 2010 concert for dogs.  The Bugle has left no satirical hot potato unbuttered.

Spy, fly and record

 with Red5.co.uk’s Spy Hawk

…It films, it records, it flies…

RED5.co.uk, the ultimate gadget shop, today announces the Spy Hawk plane featuring a 5 megapixel video camera with live feedback to the 3.5” LCD screen on the transmitter, a 600m range and state of the art stabilisation technology.  Available today on pre-order from www.RED5.co.uk for £245.95.

The Spy Hawk is a 3 channel glider with a built in FPV (first person view) video system that sends a high quality, 5 megapixel live stream to the 3.5” LCD screen on the transmitter. It features an advanced stabilisation system that makes it super easier to fly, even for first time pilots with little or no practice at all. Simply switch on the ‘autopilot’ and the built in gyro will kick-in, keeping the plane at the correct altitude. With the plane actively giving you a helping hand, you get to concentrate on the fun side of flying.

The Sky Hawk has a range of up to 600 metres with an average flight time of  20 to 30 minutes from a single 7.4v lithium-ion polymer battery.  The Spy Hawk is made from EPO crash resistant foam,  so in the unlikely event that it will allow you to crash it, it is strong enough to resist a bumpy landing.  Thanks to its reasonable size, it’s easy to carry around, and is perfect for a trip to the park or anywhere else you’d like to get a great bird’s eye view.

The Intelligent automatic control and video signal binding, enable you to fly more than one Spy Hawk glider at the same time, so you can chase your friend’s plane around and record the dog fight with high quality video and sound. Press the enter button on your rubberised remote and the camera will start to record your progress through the sky and save the video to a 4GB SD card. It even features a sunlight screen guard for the remote that allows you to see the screen in the unlikely event the sun is shining! 

Quite simply it’s the most fun you can have with an RC Plane and when your flight is over you can watch it all back again!

See a flight from Spy Hawk’s point of view here: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3KsgawNOlc&feature=youtu.be

Specifications

• First person view  glider with built in 5 megapixel camera
• Made from EPO crash proof material
• C1404 brushless motor KV3000
• ESC: 6A
• Transmitter: 2.4GHz 4 channels vs 3.5” LCD monitor plus 5.8GHz video transmission
• Live video distance: 400 metres
• Auto-pilot module
• Video recording module
• 7.4V battery 450mAh
• Wing span measures approx. 84cm
• Overall length measures approx. 62cm
• Weighs approx. 180g
• Flying time approx. 20 – 30 minutes
• Charge time approx. 40 minutes

Historic Marilyn Monroe ''Red Velvet'' Photographic Color Separations Offered for Sale

A Las Vegas art collector and owner of the original, one-of-a-kind color separations used to produce the iconic "Golden Dreams" calendars from the famous 1949 Marilyn Monroe "Red Velvet" photo shoot, is offering them for sale. These color separations were originally created and owned by the John Baumgarth Company and were discovered as part of a corporate art collection in 2010. The collection is in pristine condition and archivally preserved and presented.

The most glamorous icon of the 20th Century was captured for all time in a moment of youthful, exuberant sensuality - an unforgettable image that, more than 60 years later, communicates freshness. To reproduce the refined features, supple texture and luxurious tones that were so totally Marilyn, print artisans painstakingly created and corrected the many layers of film needed for the full color printing process to make the original Chromalin color proof - a masterpiece of printer's art.

The Kodachrome photograph and twenty-one large format color separations (16'' x 33'') offered for sale were used by Baumgarth to create the iconic image of Marilyn Monroe featured in the first "Golden Dreams" calendar produced in 1951, before the identity of the blonde bombshell posing for the photos was known (the model wasn't identified as Marilyn until 1952), and which went on to sell over eight million copies worldwide, making Marilyn the best-selling calendar girl of all time.

The collection also includes the "Lure of Lace" and "Entrancing" images that featured Marilyn wearing negligees in order to comply with U.S. postal regulations banning the transport of nude images.

The Kodachrome photograph is framed and the color separations are mounted and protected in OP3 museum-quality acrylic frames so that they may be appreciated, when artfully suspended, from both sides. These are the original separations used to produce the large format calendars and the only known surviving examples, which are documented to have changed hands through a series of corporate acquisitions spanning several decades.

When Marilyn showed up to do the calendar shoot at Tom Kelley's studio on Friday, May 27, 1949, her need was dire and immediate; her contracts with 20th Century Fox and Columbia had not been renewed and she was out of work.  The photo shoot was commissioned by Baumgarth, who paid Kelley $500 for the publication rights.

It has been reported that Marilyn received $50, which was exactly what she needed to get back her car that had been impounded. Marilyn only agreed to do the shoot if Kelley's wife Natalie was present.

Only two of the 24 images taken during the shoot, entitled by Baumgarth "A New Wrinkle" and "Golden Dreams," survived and made it to print, with the others mysteriously stolen from Kelley's studio. "A New Wrinkle" graced one Baumgarth calendar, but the picture that captured a nation's imagination was "Golden Dreams."

Neither the photographer nor the 22-year-old blonde actress and model could have realized what an historic moment they were creating. In her contract with Kelley, the starlet signed under the pseudonym Mona Monroe (right). When her movie studio, 20th Century-Fox, first learned that the nude pinup hanging in gas stations from coast to coast was none other than its rising star, it was something of a scandal. The press assailed her with questions. Was it true she had posed with "nothing on"?

The studio's initial reaction was to deny everything.  Studios such as 20th Century-Fox had stringent moral clauses in their contracts that were designed to intimidate actors and actresses. No celebrity had ever posed nude and then had the pictures distributed to a startled nation. Biographers agree that Marilyn was instrumental in persuading the studio that their natural inclination to deny the whole thing was the wrong way to go. Instead, Marilyn used an upcoming interview with Aline Mosby, a reporter with United Press International, to break the story on March 13, 1952:

"A photograph of a beautiful nude blonde on a 1952 calendar is hanging in garages and barbershops all over the nation today.  Marilyn Monroe admitted today that the beauty is she. She posed, stretched out on rumpled red velvet for the artistic photo 3 years ago because "I was broke and needed the money. Oh, the calendar's hanging in garages all over town," said Marilyn.  "Why deny it? You can get one any place.  Besides, I'm not ashamed of it.  I've done nothing wrong."

The story ended up being picked up by every wire service and circulated around the world. The reaction was swift and immediate national forgiveness. Not only that, but the sensation of the pictures, her interview and all of the related controversy made Marilyn an even bigger star.

In December 1953, an astute young publisher named Hugh Hefner bought the rights from Baumgarth to reproduce the "Golden Dreams" image as the first "Sweetheart of the Month," in the now historic inaugural issue of Playboy magazine. The success of that first issue enabled Hefner to continue producing the magazine and ultimately build his Playboy Empire.

In addition to the Red Velvet Collection, many of the original paintings in the Messenger Art Collection are being offered for sale. Visit the website www.messengerartcollection.com and click on Masterpieces for Sale.

On Blu-ray 3D™, Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital Download on September 10

THE PIRATES! IN AN

ADVENTURE WITH

SCIENTISTS




Special Features Include Games, Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes and More!Blu-ray™ and DVD Include UltraViolet™

                                               

 
It’s going to feel like a ‘plunderful life’ when Sony Pictures Home Entertainment debuts THE PIRATES! IN AN ADVENTURE WITH SCIENTISTS on Blu-ray 3D™, Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital Download on September 10. From the Academy Award®-winning Aardman (Chicken Run) and Sony Pictures Animation (The Smurfs), comes the all-new, swashbuckling stop-motion animated film that’s sure to entertain families from beginning to end. This critically acclaimed action-packed comedy adventure follows the luxuriantly bearded Pirate Captain, voiced by Hugh Grant (About A Boy), and his band of misfits (Martin Freeman, Brendan Gleeson, Russell Tovey and Ashley Jensen) as they frolic on the high seas in a madcap quest to win the coveted “Pirate of the Year” award. Along the way they battle a diabolical queen (Imelda Staunton) and team up with a haplessly smitten young scientist (David Tennant), but never lose sight of what a pirate loves best: adventure! The film also stars Brian Blessed (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves) as The Pirate King, Salma Hayek (Puss In Boots) as Cutlass Liz and Jeremy Piven (TV’s “Entourage”) as Black Bellamy.
 
THE PIRATES! IN AN ADVENTURE WITH SCIENTISTS, Aardman’s most ambitious stop-motion film to date, is directed by Peter Lord, a founding partner of Aardman, director ofChicken Run (with Nick Park), and a two-time Academy Award^® nominee for his short films made with the company. The film is co-directed by Jeff Newitt. The screenplay is by Gideon Defoe, based upon his books. Production Designer is Norman Garwood. Producers are Peter Lord, David Sproxton, and Julie Lockhart. Executive Producer is Carla Shelley.
 
The Blu-ray and DVD boast hours of kid-friendly extras, including Filmmakers’ Commentary and two behind-the-scenes featurettes: “From Stop to Motion,” taking fans on a journey through the making of the film, and “Creating the Bath Chase Sequence,” a look at the various stages involved with shooting the bath tub scene. Exclusive to the Blu-ray is the “Pirate Disguise Dress-Up” game, in which fans can help our swashbuckling pals get past Queen Victoria by disguising them in various silly get-ups. Additionally, two short films with optional commentary from Director Peter Lord are exclusive to the Blu-ray.
 
Owners of the Blu-ray and DVD will be able to add THE PIRATES! IN AN ADVENTURE WITH SCIENTISTS to their free cloud-based UltraViolet account, enabling them to access their film through any UltraViolet-compatible service or device – from PCs and tablets to TVs and smart phones.
 
Synopsis:
Set sail for a fun-filled voyage and hilarious pirate antics with the biggest Band of Misfits on the seven seas! When the infamous Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) is shunned once again by his rivals Black Bellamy and Cutlass Liz, he sets his sights to win the coveted Pirate of the Year Award. With his trusted dodo, Polly and rag-tag crew at his side, the Pirate Captain will need to battle a diabolical queen, save a young scientist and never lose sight of what a pirate loves best: Adventure!
 
DVD Bonus Features Include:
•        Filmmakers’ Commentary
•        Exclusive to DVD: MR. BOBO’S FLASH CARD CHALLENGE
•        “From Stop to Motion”featurette
•        “Creating the Bath Chase Sequence”featurette
•        DVD-ROM link to more fun online
 
Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray Exclusives Include:
•        Added value included on the DVD
•        Pirate Disguise Dress-Up Game
·        Peter Lord Short Films:

•   Wats Pig with optional commentary intro
•   War Story with optional commentary intro

 
THE PIRATES! IN AN ADVENTURE WITH SCIENTISTS has a running time of approximately 88 minutes on Blu-ray and 84 minutes on DVD and is rated U.
 

 

Find The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jointhepiratecaptain

 

PRODUCT INFORMATION

 

TITLE	THE PIRATES! IN AN ADVENTURE WITH SCIENTISTS
Release Date	10 September, 2012
Format	Blu-ray 3D™, Blu-ray™, DVD & Digital Download
RRP	DVD: £19.99 Blu-ray: £24.99 Blu-ray 3D: £29.99
Certificate	U
Genre	Animation
Running Time	DVD:  84mins Blu-ray: 88mins

 

 

NASA 3-D App Gives Public Ability to Experience Robotic Space Travel

A NASA-created application that brings some of the agency's robotic spacecraft to life in 3-D now is available for free on the iPhone and iPad. 

Called Spacecraft 3D, the app uses animation to show how spacecraft can maneuver and manipulate their outside components. Presently, the new app features two NASA missions, the Curiosity rover that will touch down on Mars on Aug. 5 at 10:31 p.m. PDT (Aug. 6 at 1:31 a.m. EDT), and the twin GRAIL spacecraft, Ebb and Flow, currently orbiting the moon. 

"With Spacecraft 3D and a mobile device, you can put high definition, three-dimensional models literally into the hands of kids of all ages," said Stephen Kulczycki, deputy director for communications and education at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. 

Spacecraft 3D is among the first of what are known as augmented-reality apps for Apple devices. Augmented reality provides users a view of a real-world environment where elements are improved by additional input. Spacecraft 3D uses the iPhone or iPad camera to overlay information on the device's main screen. The app instructs users to print an augmented-reality target on a standard sheet of paper. When the device's camera is pointed at the target, the spacecraft chosen by the user materializes on screen. 

"Let's say you want to get an idea what our Curiosity Mars rover is all about," said Kevin Hussey, manager of visualization technology at JPL. "Like Hollywood directors sizing up their next shot, you move your camera-equipped iPad or iPhone in and out, up and down, and the spacecraft perspective moves with you. It is a great way to study the 3-D nature of NASA spacecraft." 

Spacecraft 3D also has a feature where you can take your own augmented-reality picture of the rover or GRAIL spacecraft. You can even make a self-portrait with a spacecraft, putting yourself or someone else in the picture. 

"In the near future, we will incorporate the Cassini spacecraft, which is orbiting Saturn, the Dawn spacecraft, which is deep in the heart of the asteroid belt, and the Voyagers, which are right now at the very edge of our solar system," said Hussey. "Looking down the road, we've got a veritable solar system full of spacecraft to work with." 

Spacecraft 3D currently is available only for Apple formats, but should be available on other formats in the near future. 

The detailed computer models of the spacecraft used in Spacecraft 3D originally were originally generated for NASA's "Eyes on the Solar System" Web application. "Eyes on the Solar System" is a 3-D environment full of NASA mission data that allows anyone to explore the cosmos from their computer.

For information on how to download the Spacecraft 3D app, visit: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/spacecraft-3d/id541089908?mt=8 . 

For more information about Eyes on the Solar System and NASA robotic missions, visit:http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/eyes/ . 

For information on the GRAIL mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/grail . 

For information on Curiosity, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/msl . 

Glasses-free 3-D TV looks nearer

A new method for producing multiple-perspective 3-D images could prove more practical in the short term than holography.


As striking as it is, the illusion of depth now routinely offered by 3-D movies is a paltry facsimile of a true three-dimensional visual experience. In the real world, as you move around an object, your perspective on it changes. But in a movie theater showing a 3-D movie, everyone in the audience has the same, fixed perspective — and has to wear cumbersome glasses, to boot.

Despite impressive recent advances, holographic television, which would present images that vary with varying perspectives, probably remains some distance in the future. But in a new paper featured as a research highlight at this summer’s Siggraph computer-graphics conference, the MIT Media Lab’s Camera Culture group offers a new approach to multiple-perspective, glasses-free 3-D that could prove much more practical in the short term.

Instead of the complex hardware required to produce holograms, the Media Lab system uses several layers of liquid-crystal displays (LCDs), the technology currently found in most flat-panel TVs. To produce a convincing 3-D illusion, the displays would need to refresh at a rate of about 360 times a second, or 360 hertz. Such displays may not be far off: LCD TVs that boast 240-hertz refresh rates have already appeared on the market, just a few years after 120-hertz TVs made their debut.

“Holography works, it’s beautiful, nothing can touch its quality,” says Douglas Lanman, a postdoc at the Media Lab and one of the new paper’s co-authors. “The problem, of course, is that holograms don’t move. To make them move, you need to create a hologram in real time, and to do that, you need … little tiny pixels, smaller than anything we can build at large volume at low cost. So the question is, what do we have now? We have LCDs. They’re incredibly mature, and they’re cheap.”

Layers of research

The Nintendo 3DS — a portable, glasses-free 3-D gaming device introduced last year — uses two layered LCD screens to produce the illusion of depth, with the bottom screen simply displaying alternating dark and light bands. Two slightly offset images, which represent the different perspectives of the viewer’s two eyes, are sliced up and interleaved on the top screen. The dark bands on the bottom screen block the light coming from the display’s backlight in such a way that each eye sees only the image intended for it.

This technique is in fact more than a century old and produces a stereoscopic image, the type of single-perspective illusion familiar from 3-D movies. The bottom screen displays the same pattern of light and dark bands no matter the image on the top screen. But Lanman, graduate student Matthew Hirsch and professor Ramesh Raskar, who leads the Camera Culture group, reasoned that by tailoring the patterns displayed on the top and bottom screens to each other, they could filter the light emitted by the display in more sophisticated ways, creating an image that would change with varying perspectives. In a project they dubbed HR3D, they developed algorithms for generating the top and bottom patterns as well as a prototype display, which they presented at Siggraph Asia in 2010.

The problem is that, whereas a stereoscopic system such as a 3-D movie projector or the 3DS needs to display only two perspectives on a visual scene — one for each eye — the system the Media Lab researchers envisioned had to display hundreds of perspectives in order to accommodate a moving viewer. That was too much information to display at once, so for every frame of 3-D video, the HR3D screen in fact flickered 10 times, displaying slightly different patterns each time. With this approach, however, producing a convincing 3-D illusion would require displays with a 1,000-hertz refresh rate.

To get the refresh rate down to 360 hertz, the researchers added another LCD screen, which displays yet another pattern. That makes the problem of calculating the patterns exponentially more complex, however. In solving that problem, Raskar, Lanman and Hirsch were joined by Gordon Wetzstein, a new postdoc in the Camera Culture group.

CT in reverse

As it turns out, the math is similar to that behind computed tomography, or CT, an X-ray technique used to produce three-dimensional images of internal organs. In a CT scan, a sensor makes a slow circle around the subject, making a series of measurements of X-rays passing through the subject’s body. Each measurement captures information about the composition of tissues at different distances from the sensor; finally, all the information is stitched together into a composite 3-D image.

“The way I like to think about it is, we’re building a patient whose CT scan is the view,” Lanman says.

At Siggraph, the Media Lab researchers will demonstrate a prototype display that uses three LCD panels. They’ve also developed another prototype that uses only two panels, but between the panels they introduce a sheet of lenses that refract light left and right. The lenses were actually developed for stereoscopic display systems; an LCD panel beneath the lenses alternately displays one image intended for the left eye, which is diffracted to the left, and another for the right eye, which is diffracted to the right. The MIT display also takes advantage of the ability to project different patterns in different directions, but the chief purpose of the lenses is to widen the viewing angle of the display. With the three-panel version, the 3-D illusion is consistent within a viewing angle of 20 degrees, but with the refractive-lens version, the viewing angle expands to 50 degrees.
###


Written by Larry Hardesty, MIT News Office

Vue Entertainment Announces Public Takeover of CinemaxX AG

·        Important strategic move to create new leading Pan-European multiplex cinema operator
·        Offer price of EUR 6.45 per share in cash
·        Premium of 45 percent on the closing share price of CinemaxX AG on July 9, 2012
·        Offer supported by Dr. Herbert Kloiber, majority shareholder of CinemaxX AG – Vue Entertainment has committed to acquiring his shares in the takeover offer.

Vue Entertainment, the world-class developer and operator of multiplex cinemas based in the UK and Ireland, today announced its intention to launch a voluntary public takeover offer for all outstanding shares of CinemaxX AG. By combining two major cinema operators Vue will make the important strategic move to create a new Pan-European cinema group covering the UK, Ireland, Germany, Denmark and Portugal. The combined group will operate 119 state-of-the-art multiplex cinemas with close to 1,100 screens, over 230,000 seats, over 5,100 employees and over 55 million attendances per annum.


Vue Entertainment will offer all shareholders of CinemaxX AG EUR 6.45 per share in cash. The offer price represents a premium of 45 percent on the CinemaxX closing share price on July 9, 2012 and of 56 percent on the share’s weighted average trading price over the last three months (Frankfurt). The offer is supported by Dr. Herbert Kloiber, the majority shareholder of CinemaxX AG who owns 84.6 percent of its shares. Vue Entertainment and Dr. Kloiber respectively Dr. Kloiber Vermögensverwaltungs-gesellschaft mbH & Co. Beteiligungs KG have signed a Share Purchase Agreement. In this Agreement, Vue Entertainment has committed to acquiring in the takeover offer the 22,806,450 shares of Dr. Kloiber respectively Dr. Kloiber Vermögensverwaltungs-gesellschaft mbH & Co. Beteiligungs KG. The offer is contingent upon merger control clearance in Germany. Vue Entertainment aims to close the transaction in the third or fourth quarter of 2012.
Tim Richards, CEO of Vue Entertainment said: “We are really excited about this important strategic move into Europe for the company. CinemaxX is a great circuit with superb modern multiplex cinemas offering fantastic infrastructure including 100 percent stadium seating, digital projection and 3D. It will be a perfect complement to our existing cinemas and brand.”


“Moving into continental Europe has been part of our strategic plan since Vue was launched in 2003 and we firmly believe that the new group will drive increased cinema going by offering a best in class superior cinema going experience. We have a market leading team of highly experienced Executives, many of whom have been with the company from the very beginning.”


Dr. Herbert Kloiber, majority shareholder of CinemaxX AG, stated: “The stake in CinemaxX, which I bought eight years ago, was always run as a separate investment from Tele München Group by me. I am grateful to Christian Gisy and his colleagues for their contribution to develop CinemaxX. In just about five turbulent years, they transformed CinemaxX into a very profitable and debt-free company. Today, CinemaxX is well positioned to pursue an expansion course. Vue Entertainment, as one of the most successful European cinema operators, will enter the German and Scandinavian market and contribute its longstanding expertise as well as continue the dynamic development already initiated.”


Following the recently announced acquisition of the Apollo UK circuit in May 2012, Vue Entertainment has 85 cinemas across the UK, Ireland, Portugal and Taiwan. It has close to 800 screens and over 156,000 super comfortable standard and luxury VIP seats. Over 95 percent of the auditoria have full stadium seating providing uninterrupted views of the large floor to ceiling screens. By late summer 2012, the company will have completed its rollout of the market leading Sony 4K digital projectors providing the very best picture quality available. The circuit also has a significant number of Real D 3D enabled screens and a growing number of large format super sized sound and vision auditoriums called VueXtreme. In 2011, the company generated revenues of GBP 300 million. Vue had approximately 3,300 employees at the end of financial year 2011.


Vue’s new cinema build programme has led the way in the UK over the past 10 years with a total of 22 cinemas opened, the most recent being Vue Westfield London (February 2010) and Vue Westfield Stratford City (September 2011), which are now the first and third highest grossing cinemas in the country. The company will also be opening in Halifax (UK) in October 2012 and will have at least another 4 new cinemas on site in 2013 with more in the pipeline for 2014 and beyond.


CinemaxX is a major German operator of state-of-the-art multiplex cinemas. Its circuit consists of 34 cinemas with over 290 screens and approximately 75,000 seats. The company operates 31 cinemas in Germany and 3 in Denmark and served 16.3 million customers in 2011. Founded in 1977, the company is recognized as one of the pioneers of multiplex cinemas in Germany and as an innovator in introducing new technologies. In 2011, CinemaxX generated revenues of EUR 199.4 million and an EBITDA of EUR 41.2 million. The company has more than 1,800 employees.


Berenberg Bank and Pall Mall Capital are acting as financial advisors to Vue Entertainment.

COSTUMES FROM THE DARK KNIGHT RISES COME TO HMV

 To celebrate the 20^th July 2012 release of Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ The Dark Knight Rises, the third film in Christopher Nolan’s epic Dark Knight trilogy, the film’s costumes have gone on display at HMV’s 150 Oxford Street flagship store from Mon 9^th July – Sun 15^th July. 

Experience the world of Gotham City by seeing firsthand the authentic film costumes of Batman and Bane, from the production of the highly anticipated ACTION DRAMA. The authentic costumes, which are exhibited on life-size mannequins both measuring over 6ft, feature Batman's famous headwear, body armour and cape as well as Bane's unique face mask.

Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ The Dark Knight Rises is the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.

Leading an all-star international cast, Oscar^® winner Christian Bale (The Fighter) again plays the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar^® winner Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose), as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake.

Returning to the main cast, Oscar^® winner Michael Caine (The Cider House Rules) plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar^® winner Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby) reprises the role of Lucius Fox.

The screenplay is written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer.  The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven, who previously teamed on Batman Begins and the record-breaking blockbuster The Dark Knight.  The executive producers are Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull, with Jordan Goldberg serving as co-producer. The film is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.  Batman was created by Bob Kane.

Behind the scenes, The Dark Knight Rises reunites the director with several of his longtime collaborators, all of whom worked together on The Dark Knight.  The creative team includes director of photography Wally Pfister, who recently won an Oscar^® for his work on Nolan’s Inception; production designer Nathan Crowley; editor Lee Smith; and Oscar^®-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming (Topsy-Turvy).  In addition, Paul Franklin and Chris Corbould, who both won Oscars^® for the effects in Inception, supervised the visual and special effects, respectively.  The music is composed by Oscar^® winner Hans Zimmer (The Lion King).

In helming the film, Christopher Nolan is utilizing IMAX^® cameras even more extensively than he did on The Dark Knight, which had marked the first time ever that a major feature film was partially shot with IMAX cameras. 

The locations span three continents and include the American cities of Pittsburgh, New York and Los Angeles, as well as sites in India, England and Scotland.

The Dark Knight Rises is a presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Legendary Pictures.  Slated for release beginning July 20, 2012, the film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. www.the-dark-knight-rises.co.uk

Prize Island uncovered by ITV1

ITV has commissioned a brand new entertainment format for 2013, from Initial, an Endemol company.

 Hosted by Alexander Armstrong and Emma Willis, Prize Island is a visually spectacular, action-filled game show set on a tropical Island, where pairs of contestants compete to uncover and win incredible prizes, which are literally scattered through the sand dunes, coconut palm trees and sweeping grasslands. 

 Each episode begins with four couples arriving on the sandy beach of our desert island paradise. The pairs, who are friends or family, will then have their skills, relationships and resourcefulness put to the test, in a series of thrilling and challenging games, specially built right across the island. 

 Over four tense and exciting rounds the pairs of contestants will venture deep into the mysterious island competing head-to-head, in the knowledge that there are countless prizes to be won, from sensational holidays to top of the range TV systems, but that after each round, one pair will be leaving the show.

 For the remaining contestants, round-by-round, the pile of prizes grows ever bigger as they head towards the nail-biting end game – Buried Treasure – which promises a brand new car, with a whopping £50,000 locked in the boot. Can the contestants work together to solve the clues and uncover Prize Island's ultimate treasure?

 Alexander Armstrong said “Prize Island is the kind of show every presenter dreams of - inventive, clever, funny, absolutely compelling... oh and set on a tropical island in the middle of the ocean. With Prizes! I am so excited about this!"

Emma Willis said “I am beyond excited to be one of the presenters of Prize Island. It promises to be a show like no other where contestants win unbelievable prizes, and get to visit one of the most exotic and beautiful locations on the planet. It’s going to be a show that will transport the viewer to the other side of the world every weekend and I can’t wait to be a part of such an ambitious and unique project for ITV1.”

 Elaine Bedell, ITV Director of Entertainment and Comedy, said  “Prize Island will be fantastic family fun in a stunning, paradise island setting, and promises a lot of laughs and thrills for our viewers, both from the games themselves, and the wittiness of our brilliant hosts Alexander and Emma, who we're really pleased to have on board."

 Nick Samwell-Smith, Creative Director at Initial, said "Prize Island is fabulous and ambitious and we are thrilled to be making it for ITV. The contestants are set for the journey of a lifetime to a tropical paradise that promises spectacular and ingenious games, surprises round every corner and prizes ripe for the picking absolutely everywhere. The entire desert island is our set, from the warm waters of the golden beaches to the towering sand dunes and the mysterious interior and you can win more awesome stuff than you can shake a coconut at."

The series was commissioned for ITV1 by Director of Entertainment and Comedy Elaine Bedell and Kate Maddigan, Commissioning Editor, Entertainment.  It will be made by Initial, an Endemol company and Executive Produced by Andy Rowe. The format was created by Richard Osman, Creative Director Endemol UK.

A Perfect Blend of Form and Function

ego™ & company Inc. Launches the World’s First iPhone® Case with Removable USB Drive

Design-rich mix & match iPhone® 4/4S cases come with a removable USB drive and feature superior protective and scratch-resistant properties   ego™ & company Inc., a premium Apple® accessories designer, is proud to announce its red dot award winning Hybrid Series USB Case is now shipping worldwide. This first-of-its-kind iPhone® 4/4S case comes in seven different colors and can be mix & matched with the six color options of the slide-in USB drive available in 4GB, 8GB or 16GB storage capacities. This intelligently designed case, the first model in ego’s Hybrid Series, is perfect for on-the-go iPhone® users who want convenient access to their favorite photos, music, videos, documents and more without taking up valuable space on their mobile device. In addition to the superior protective and scratch resistant qualities of the USB Case, all iPhone ports and controls are easily accessible at all times and the USB drive fits seamlessly into the back of the case. These iPhone® cases and included USBs are available in Blue (4GB), Pink (4GB), Yellow (8GB), Light Green (8GB), Red (16GB) and Black (16GB). Online buyers can mix & match the colors of the case and USB drive or they can keep the look uniform with one solid color choice -- that’s 42 different possible color combinations. In-store buyers will be able to purchase Grey cases with the option to select the USB drive color. The 4GB, 8GB and 16GB cases are available now for $34.95, $39.95 and $49.95, respectively, atwww.egoncompany.com.

Global Bestseller, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

Now Available as a Windows® Phone App. The dictionary You Can Rely on Whenever You Need Help with English, Now Fits in Your Pocket.

Offline Content, Audio Pronunciation, Colour Illustrations and Customizable screen help users communicate confidently in English. Already Available on Android™, iPad® and iPhone®.

Paragon Software Group, a leading multi-platform software developer for mobile devices and desktop computers, and Oxford University Press, the publisher of the world’s most trusted dictionaries and learning materials, bring the groundbreaking Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 8^th edition mobile application to Windows® Phone devices.  Loaded with powerful learning features, the app offers full-sentence pronunciation, thousands of colour illustrations, clear explanations, and help with expanding vocabulary for anyone who needs to communicate in English.

Whether reading in English on the Internet, communicating in a work setting or studying English at school, the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary for Windows® Phone includes the most up-to-date vocabulary such as:

blogosphere n.

cloud computing n.

incentivize vb.

malware n.

staycation n.

tweet vb., n. (new "Twitter" sense)

umami n.

Key features:

•           Listen to real British and American voices pronounce words, with no Internet access required

•           Access spoken sentence audio online, or download all 116,000 example sentences to listen offline (approximately 430MB each for British and American sentences)

•           184,500 words, phrases and meanings explained clearly

•           198,500 example sentences

•           57,000 synonyms, opposites and related words - find words with similar or opposite meanings in the integrated Thesaurus

•           Learn words in their natural context with over 83,000 collocations (words that go together) included

•           Use Full Dictionary Search to find your word in any phrase or example sentence in the dictionary

•           Use the Oxford 3000™ keyword entries to learn the most important words in English

•           Find the Academic Word List words easily – they are all labelled

•           View and enlarge 1,300 illustrations to build your topic vocabulary

•           Study usage notes, verb forms, and word origins

•           All the dictionary text is live -- tap to instantly look up any word

•           Use My View to choose how much information appears on your screen – hide IPA, example sentences, pictures, synonyms, etc. – tap to show the full entry again

•           Bookmark your Favourite entries to easily find them again

Requirements: Windows® Phone 7.5 or higher

Availability: Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary is available for 19.99 GBP (23,49 EUR, 26,99 USD) from the Windows® Phone Marketplace http://Windows® phone.com/s?appId=ad82bdf2-1485-4e24-a355-d0007177e889

Previously released Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary for Android™ is available at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.slovoed.oald, and iPad® and iPhone® at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/oxford-advanced-learnersdictionary/id442911228?mt=8.

Streaming The Ring

The premier of Alfred Hitchcock’s rare silent masterpiece, The Ring, recently restored by the BFI National Archive, will be streamed live for the first time ever from London’s Hackney Empire exclusively on The Space www.TheSpace.org on Friday 13^th July at 20.00 (GMT). The premiere will be accompanied by a specially commissioned soundtrack composed and performed by award-winning jazz musician Soweto Kinch.

Marking it as a worthy precursor to Scorsese’s Raging Bull, Hitchcock’s melodrama tells the story of a love-triangle between boxer Bob Corby, his sparring partner Jack Sander and Jack’s beautiful wife Mabel. The bouts in the ring become more than gamely sparring, leading up to the championship fight (famously set in the Albert Hall) between the two men for the love of Mabel.

Since its launch in May, digital arts service The Space has become the online destination for film fans everywhere offering a selection of free and on-demand films, whenever you want it and wherever you happen to be, featuringunmissable live events, rare archive material and interactive collections, with new material added every week.

In the run up to the live stream, The Space will feature Hitchcock documentaries including Hitchcock and cinema in the 20s and Hitchcock and the Evolution of Style. There will also be an interview Hitchcock gave to the BBC programme Late Night Line-Up in 1966.

The Space is currently showcasing a selection of first or early films by major British directors, from the BFI archive, including Ridley Scott, Ken Russell and Shane Meadows. And the BFI collection on The Space also celebrates Britain’s emerging filmmakers with a selection of shorts, from quirky animations, shocking comedies and thrilling genre movies to thought-provoking dramas and moving documentaries.

Coming up in July are short films about some of the great artists of the 20^th century including Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore and Francis Bacon, as well as a Peter Greenaway retrospective and films from the GPO film unit also from the BFI National Archive.

TheSpace.org

@thespacearts

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