Movies

Retro Bond Covers

Great Western Dragon — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 23:33:02 -0400

Like any avid reader, I appreciate the beauty of good cover art. No matter what they say, millions of people judge books by their covers every day.

These retro covers for Penguin's reissues of Ian Fleming's master spy stories fit the style and sexiness that fans all over the world have come to associate with James Bond. Some of the covers are completely original while others pay homage to the movie based upon them. (See Dr. No for the now iconic white knife belt worn by Ursula Andress and then most recently by Halle Berry.)

Obviously these come just in time for the release of Quantum of Solace, the newest big screen film featuring Daniel Craig as 007.

A Leaked Sneak Peek at the HP Trailer

birdie — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:18:56 -0400

Have you seen the new Harry Potter trailer?

Geek Pride at Comic-Con

birdie — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:42:27 -0400

Consider yourself a geek? You'd be in good company at San Diego's thirty-ninth annual Comic-Con(vention), which opened yesterday. It started as a comic book conference way back when, but has since expanded into a multitude of entertainment formats.

Reports from Reuters, E Online, NYTimes, Empire OnLine, Publishers Weekly, AP, various live-bloggers and more.

Librarians in Movies

Anonymous Patron — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:31:13 -0400

TCM's official blog (Movie Morlocks) had a nice entry about librarians in movies... "Since I love libraries, and the people who keep them alive, here’s a few library moments on film that I’d like to share...."

10 Books That Were Better Off on Paper

Blake — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:37:08 -0400

It's happened to all of us. We read a novel that blows us away, and a few years later its title appears on posters underneath the face of Harrison Ford or Natalie Portman. But at some inevitable point in that darkened theater, the movie takes a turn we didn't expect. Our eyebrows go up, our lips turn down, and the disappointment begins. Maybe the wrong director or writer can curse an otherwise excellent project — or maybe some things were just never meant to be filmed. Here are 10 books that io9.com thinks should never have been committed to celluloid.

Public libraries allow minors to check out R-rated movies

Anonymous Patron — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:48:20 -0400

From ABC15 (KNXV-TV) in Phoenix, AZ:

Public libraries allow minors to check out R-rated movies:

R-rated movies with sex, nudity, and graphic violence are available for check-out at public libraries across the Valley, and the ABC15 Investigators found teenagers can get movies there they can't at the video store . . . .

6/4/08 UPDATE:
The Phoenix Library Advisory Board is conducting a comprehensive review of its circulation policies for minors. We'll keep you posted on any changes they may make.

Comparing Sales of Books, Movies, Games and Music

Blake — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:23:12 -0400

Everyone follows along with the biggest box office draws, top selling games, Billboard Top 100, and best seller lists, but how can you compare them? How Iron Man was trounced by a scruffy car thief tries to quantify the GTA lucrative launch against other mediums. The book "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" sold more than 10 million copies at launch. That's actually four million more than Bellic, but the Hogwarts student's final adventure cost about half as much as the game. *NSYNC beats them both, the pop quintet's "No Strings Attached" holds the record for biggest first-week CD sales with 2.4 million copies when it was released in 2000, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That's far meeker than the first-week success of "Iron Man," "Deathly Hallows" and "GTA IV."

The Book Was Better

Great Western Dragon — Thu, 01 May 2008 01:09:10 -0400

I think that we all agree that, 9.9 times out of 10, whenever someone makes a movie based on a book, the book is better.

Entertainment Weekly has a decent list of the 23 most disappointing book to movie adaptations. Included are some real gems like The Golden Compass and (shudder) A Sound of Thunder. Whether you agree the movie was good or bad, I think most all of us will agree that the book was most definitely better.

The Hollywood Librarian's financial predicament

Blake — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:06:22 -0400

Lynne writes: "Greetings to all librarians. I am Lynne Martin Erickson. I have been the fiscal agent for The Hollywood Librarian documentary film since 2004. I post this in the hope that librarians will respond immediately and repost widely.

As many of you know, this wonderful film is the result of the tireless efforts of one person: Ann Seidl. She single-handedly raised $200,000 to make and distribute this movie, worked on it for over 8 years and she is still working to get it seen by as many members of our public as possible. She is traveling throughout the US and the world to promote the film. Thanks to the librarian network, the film is being seen in dozens of locations by hundreds and even thousands of people.

While Ann has devoted her full-time work to this cause, she has been paid very little. She insists she is not in it for the money. I can guarantee that is the case. She wouldn't say this to you, but I can assure you that Ann is broke.

During the Banned Book Week release, when tickets sold for $8, we took in about $10,000, but less than $400 was profit. These days, she is asking for a small fee to screen the film but that money is to fund the editing and authoring process for the DVD which she wants to make available this fall. But she must have some financial support to go on working on the film. We can't let her stop working on the film to take other employment when she is so close to finishing.

If you are a fan of The Hollywood Librarian or of Ann, I am asking you to send her your financial encouragement.

Go here now http://www.hollywoodlibrarian.com/involved.html and click on the Paypal link."

Iowa Senate Votes down Proposal on Libraries and R-rated movies

dubuquer — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:22:58 -0400

From Radio Iowa News:

"The Iowa Senate Wednesday voted down a proposal to require libraries which get state funds to restrict loaning R-rated movies to kids under 18-years old. Brad Zahn, a Republican from Urbandale, offered the amendment to an education appropriations bill. . . . The proposed ban was defeated by a vote of 31 to 17."