films

The future is now: Sci-fi films in real locations

The modern science-fiction film is synonymous with CGI wizardry, clever gadgets, and elaborate sets. While those are some of our favorite things, it's all too easy to lose sight of the human story among the whooshing, 'sploding, and transforming.

One way to focus on the people is to place them in an all-too-familiar future that looks a lot like now. There's a fascinating strand of sci-fi cinema that does just that, with auteurs such as Traffaut, Godard, and Kubrick creating the future by filming in real locations.

Science fiction has a slippery definition, but for this article Robert Heinlein'… Read more

Why Hollywood needs to hear more about Twitter

LOS ANGELES--There are a lot of reasons why the entertainment industry is still trying to figure out how to wrangle Twitter: real-time tabloid drama, on-set spoilers, and the fact that 140 characters offers a lot of ways to say a movie really sucks.

The 140Conf LA event, which took place on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Kodak Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, had a great opportunity to be the definitive discussion hub for tackling those tricky issues and complications that arise when the much-talked-about "real-time Web" collides with the old-school entertainment industry. That didn't happen. Instead, the event … Read more

Free iPhone app streams short films, documentaries, cartoons, and more

Like indie films? Documentaries? Animation? Ho, boy, have I got an app for you: NFB Films lets you watch over a thousand movies on your iPhone. For free.

The "NFB" stands for National Film Board, a kind of Canadian PBS. The app taps the NFB's mammoth library of documentaries, animated films, trailers (for upcoming NFB releases), and more.

All the movies are streamed to your iPhone, but there's also an ingenious "watch later" option that downloads a selected movie for later viewing. However, these downloads expire after 24 hours, not unlike App Store movie … Read more

'Gossip Girl' actor cast as ConnectU founders in 'The Social Network'

Did director David Fincher end up finding a pair of 6-foot-5-inch identical twins to play ConnectU founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss in "The Social Network," his upcoming movie about the contested origins of Facebook? It appears the answer is no.

According to blog The Playlist, which picked up on filmmaker Richard Kelly's Twitter account, a single actor has been cast: 23-year-old Armie Hammer, best known for the role of moneyed sleazebag Gabriel on teen drama "Gossip Girl." A thread on screenwriter Aaron Sorkin's Facebook page reveals that additional young actors cast include Max Minghella, … Read more

Polaroid relaunches instant cameras

After an incredible response to the passing of Polaroid instant film, the new licensee of the Polaroid brand has decided to relaunch some of the most popular instant cameras.

Endeavors like The Impossible Project, a scheme to reinvent Polaroid instant film after the company ceased its manufacture, has proved that there's still interest and demand for the film.

The Summit Global Group, which licensed the Polaroid brand, has enlisted The Impossible Project to produce limited-edition Polaroid-branded instant films for the new cameras, to be released in mid-2010.

Read more of "Polaroid relaunches instant cameras" on CNET Australia. … Read more

'The Social Network' filming starts in Boston soon

The crew of "The Social Network," the David Fincher-directed retelling of Facebook's earliest days, is headed to film in the Boston area soon with a widely reported start date of October 19.

Rumors on Web forums indicate that the Harvard Square neighborhood of Cambridge, Mass.--the eponymous university's epicenter--will be the backdrop for some scenes involving actor Jesse Eisenberg, who plays Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Eisenberg himself has been quoted as saying that the movie will actually be filming on Harvard's campus, something that the university would not confirm.

Facebook was founded in a dorm … Read more

RealNetworks set to file appeal in RealDVD case

RealNetworks, a maker of media software, has said it will file an appeal and ask that a district court decision to ban sales of its DVD-copying software, RealDVD, be overturned.

In August, a federal district judge issued a preliminary injunction to halt sales of the $30 software, which enables users to create digital copies of DVDs and then store them on a hard drive. Real said in court documents that sometime before November 9, the Seattle-based company will file an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The film studios claimed in a 2008 lawsuit … Read more

GE: Solar business is our 'next wind'

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--General Electric plans to give its solar business a charge within two years by introducing panels with the same solar cell material used by industry cost leader First Solar.

In 2011, the energy giant expects to produce solar panels made with cadmium telluride, a thin-film solar cell material, Michael Idelchik, vice president of advanced technologies at GE Global Research, said here Wednesday at the EmTech conference. The company now sells solar panels that use silicon solar cells, but its long-term bet is on thin-film--and specifically cadmium telluride--because it offers the cheapest cost per watt, he said.

Last year, … Read more

Fujifilm brings second instant-film camera to U.S.

With Polaroid killing off its instant-film business in favor of its Zink printing technology, Fujifilm saw a hole it could fill with its instant-film cameras. The first Instax camera arrived in November 2008, and Wednesday the company announced the arrival of the Instax Mini 7S.

The 7S features:

Automatic built-in flash for low-light shooting 1/60-second electronic shutter LED exposure indicator Silken white finish Measures 5 inches by 5 inches by 2.5 inches (HWD)

The camera uses Fujifilm's Mini Instax 2-inch by 3-inch film with a printed area of 1.8 inches by 2.4 inches. It's … Read more