- With
different directors helming each new chapter of the revived “Star Wars”
franchise, the culture of one-upsmanship is bound to exist. After J.J. Abrams
set various records and received mostly positive reviews for his super-sized
take on the universe that George Lucas built with “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,”
the bar has been set mighty high for Colin
Trevorrow, who will helm the ninth “Star Wars” film, the one set for release
all the way in 2019. It will be the third and final film in the series, so
clearly Trevorrow has to go big….right? “I asked the question, ‘Is it possible
for us to shoot IMAX film plates in actual space for Star Wars?'” Trevorrow
said during an appearance at a Sundance Film Festival event. “And I haven’t
gotten an answer yet, but they’ve shot IMAX in space." Yes, shooting in
outer space because….well, Hollywood excess. Those comments came during the
'Power of Story: The Art of Film' panel and director Christopher Nolan, also a
part of the discussion, noted that he asked a similar question with his film “Interstellar”
and said there is “incredible footage from space now.” On the surface, trying
to shoot part of your movie about space in outer space is both absurd and
logical, but the real question is how much of its money Disney is willing to
blow just to feed Trevorrow’s massive ego and need to be a mind-blowing
cinematic innovator given that Star Wars nerds, er, enthusiasts will go and see
the movie whether they shoot it in space or in a warehouse with a green screen
behind the action………
- Riot
Watch! Riot Watch! Not everyone is on board with a
push by Catalonia's government to break away from Spain and become an
independent nation and some of those afraid of a bold push for sovereignty gathered
to start the week in the powerful northeastern region's capital . Thousands of
protesters filled Barcelona's central Sant Jaume square to call for an end to
secessionism, staging their gathering under the mantra, "The independence
process robs us of our identity." That runs counter to the message of the
pro-independence movement, whose leaders and supporters claim that Catalonia
has its own identity and therefore should go out on its own. Rafael Arenas,
president of the Catalan Civil Society organization, spoke to the assembled
masses and suggested that pro-independence politicians "are trying to rob
us of Spain" and were "promising heaven and earth" to gain
support for their secessionist cause. Those may be exaggerations, but this
gathering at least proves that there are factions of Catalonian society which
oppose independence and don’t feel alienated from the rest of the country. Arenas
said it was unwise "to add a Spanish national implosion" to Europe's
current difficulties, another exaggeration playing off the migrant crisis and
widespread financial issues currently saddling much of the EU. The rally came
just weeks after Catalonia's parliament voted in new leader Carles Puigdemont, who
says he is determined to forge ahead with a drive to secede from Spain by 2017.
The battle lines are being drawn and positions staked out by both sides in this
battle and given Spain’s tumultuous political history, it should be an
entertaining showdown………..
- The
NBA is all about giving fans greater access to the game in the name of making
more money on television deals, merchandise and digital media efforts. The
league is continually shoving more in-game interviews with coaches and players
into broadcasts, connect players with the community and let fans see inside the
game. Yet not every advance in broadcast technology and innovation is good for
the game, as evidenced by the fact that the Association has banned midcourt
sideline television cameras, effective immediately. That reversal of course
comes just over a week after referee Scott Wall rolled his ankle when he
tripped over a midcourt cameraman in the Memphis Grizzlies' 102-101 win over
the Denver Nuggets and a few months after LeBron James suffered an ankle injury
when he tripped over a midcourt camera during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference
Finals last season in Atlanta. In order to protect both players and officials, the
league will no longer allow cameramen to sit on each side of the floor at
midcourt in order to secure high-quality, low-angle shots of both the floor and
the benches. The new edict went into place at Saturday night's Cleveland
Cavaliers-San Antonio Spurs game, televised nationally on ABC, and follows a request
by the National Basketball Referees Association. All of this owes in large part
to the increasing role of 3-pointers in the game, leading referees to move farther
out to create angles to officiate. In recent years, the league has also moved
cameraman on the baseline to create more room around the basket and moved basket
standards to allow maximum space to land under the rim. After all, you can't make
more money off players and what they can do on the court if they’re too injured
to stay on the court………..
- Oh,
if only stamping out racism in law enforcement and abuse of power by police
were so easy. The San Francisco Police
Department is hoping that it is, which is why its leadership is asking officers
to combat racism in the ranks by taking a pledge to turn in colleagues who
display intolerant behavior. Sure, the pledge is merely a small part of a
broader public relations campaign by the embattled department to improve its
strained relations with minority neighborhoods and community activists, but
signing your name to a pledge that has no binding properties has to make
everyone feel better, right? Oh, and if you can combine it with launching a
website that instructs citizens and police on how to report police misconduct,
then clearly all of your problems are solved. As an aside, it’s not really
necessary at this point to tell citizens how to alert someone to police
misconduct because by this point, Americans have experienced enough such
situations in the past few years to be fully aware of how to speak up if they
see a cop who is being racist, abusing his or her power or killing an unarmed
civilian for any number of indefensible reasons. San Francisco is clearly
trying to be proactive in the face of growing tensions between police and black
communities across the country in the hopes that it won't end up firing its top
police officials as has happened in some cities, including Chicago. A mere two
months ago, San Francisco was the site of a police shooting of a young black
man clutching a kitchen knife, prompting calls for the police chief's removal.
Another incident in such a short amount of time and pledge or no pledge, sh*t
is going to get real……..
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