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Disney confirms J.J. Abrams to direct next 'Star Wars'

Disney and Lucasfilm confirmed this evening that "Star Trek" director J.J. Abrams will direct the next 'Star Wars' film, expected to be released in 2015.

The news is not unexpected. Yesterday, word leaked out that Abrams was the likely choice, setting off a flurry of discussion online about the same director being in charge of both the "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" franchises at the same time. But tonight, the news was officially announced.

After a bevy of emails and phone calls, the formalities have been wrapped up, and at long last everyone … Read more

Pirate Bay documentary to debut next month

Fredik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, and Peter Sunde, founders of popular file-sharing site The Pirate Bay, are about to hit the big screen.

A documentary on the notorious site, titled "TPB AFK" (The Pirate Bay Away From Keyboard), will debut February 8 at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival.

The filmmakers will also release the documentary online under a Creative Commons license, allowing others to share and use the film in their own works for free. A date has yet to be announced for the online release. … Read more

10 funny tweets about J.J. Abrams directing 'Star Wars'

Take a deep breath, perhaps even a Darth Vader-size breath. Reports indicate that Disney chose "Star Trek" director J.J. Abrams to direct the upcoming "Star Wars: Episode VII" sci-fi epic due in 2015. Have a laugh at a few of the amusing tweets about the rumored news, which caused a level of excitement perhaps equivalent to the noise inside Obi-Wan's head after the destruction of Alderaan.

One Twitter user quipped about how ol' J.J. seems to have his hand in everything star-related.

Might as well give J.J. Abrams Dancing with the Stars, … Read more

J.J. Abrams: One director to rule them all?

Since 1977, there's been "Star Trek" and there's been "Star Wars" and never the twain shall meet.

It's not that fans of one franchise couldn't be fans of the other. But for the most part, if you were involved in the production of one, you weren't involved in the other. But now, with word out of Hollywood that "Star Trek" and "Star Trek Into Darkness" director J.J. Abrams may helm the forthcoming "Star Wars Episode VII," we may have an unprecedented mixing of the … Read more

Microsoft eyes phone that silences itself in movies

You've just sat down to watch "Les Miserables" and Russell Crowe's opened his mouth to bark, when the air is filled with the sound of... marimba? As you scramble to switch your phone to silent, you can look forward to Microsoft's vision of a future in which phones silence themselves when they realize they're in a movie theater.

Microsoft has filed a patent, spotted by InfoWorld, that allows your phone to put itself into "an inconspicuous mode of operation" in certain circumstances. Inconspicuous mode makes it sound like KITT going invisible when … Read more

Time Warner Cable, Netflix at odds over 'Super HD,' 3D

Time Warner Cable and Netflix are reportedly talking to each other about partnering on the streaming provider's content delivery network (CDN), but the cable provider isn't too pleased about the service.

Speaking to Multichannel in an interview published yesterday, a Time Warner Cable spokesperson criticized Netflix for only delivering its higher-quality high-definition service, Super HD, and 3D videos to customers whose cable providers have signed up with Netflix's Open Connect.

"While they call it Open Connect, Netflix is actually closing off access to some of its content while seeking unprecedented preferential treatment from ISPs," the … Read more

From Death Star to Disney, exploring the 'Star Wars' franchise (Q&A)

It's one of the biggest film franchises of all time. It's also one of the biggest merchandising franchises of all time. It's spawned dozens of novels, countless comic books, spoofs, video games, and even was responsible for the name of a controversial military defense system.

We're talking about "Star Wars," of course, George Lucas' mammoth empire that started back in the early-1970s as a much, much smaller creation. But don't think that Lucas didn't have big ideas. From the earliest days of working on the script of his sci-fi space opera, the &… Read more

Warner Bros. to bring 'Revolution,' 'Fringe' to Netflix

Netflix and Warner Bros. have signed a deal that will deliver several popular shows to the streaming service.

The companies announced today that they have signed a deal that will see several Warner Bros. Television Group shows make their way to Netflix, including "Revolution," "Fringe," "The West Wing," and "666 Park Avenue." According to the companies, Netflix will be the exclusive online home to complete prior seasons of the shows.

All told, eight shows are included in the deal, but in the future, more could be added.

Time Warner, which owns Warner … Read more

J.J. Abrams grants movie wish to dying Trekkie

Sometimes it's easy to forget the incredible social power of the Internet, but this story about director J.J. Abrams granting a dying man's "Star Trek" wish serves as a great reminder.

Last week on popular link-sharing site Reddit, a user named ideeeyut described how his 41-year-old friend Daniel -- a Manhattan man who has been afflicted with leukemia, another unrelated cancer, and additional health problems -- wanted to see the latest "Star Trek Into Darkness" movie but may not have the chance.

To get a taste of the upcoming sci-fi epic before his … Read more

Epix films, programming to land on PS3 in first quarter

Epix, the joint venture between a host of prominent movie studios including MGM and Paramount, has announced plans to bring its service to Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita devices.

At some point during the first quarter, Epix will be available to PlayStation 3 users. The console will offer support for over 3,000 Epix titles, including newer releases, like "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" and older titles. Epix's library of comedy, music, and sports events will also be available.

The PlayStation Vita will also receive Epix films and events, but owners of that device will … Read more