pictures

The Motion Picture Association of America is looking to make a deal with the Federal Communications Commission to get the latest Hollywood movies on TV much sooner after their original release. But there's a catch.

In exchange for the faster release, the MPAA wants the FCC to change its rules to allow the industry to prevent these movies from being recorded on DVRs and viewed on some high-definition TVs.

The MPAA filed its petition last week. The FCC is currently asking for comments on the proposal, and it could make a decision on the petition later this summer.

Even … Read more

This fall, film enthusiasts will have the opportunity to watch an American classic like they've never seen it before. The Godfather trilogy has recently been digitally remastered to look cleaner, brighter, and as as fresh as its original release in 1972.

In Friday's Daily Debrief, I chat with CNET News.com's executive editor, Jim Kerstetter, who also happens to be the office film buff. He explains the painstaking process of the digital facelift and why the preservation of such classics is important for posterity. Also, hear what kind of directives director Francis Ford Coppola gave the technicians … Read more

How's this for pressure? In the care of Daphne Dentz and her colleagues was a masterpiece of American filmmaking: The Godfather.

A year ago, Dentz was sitting in an editing bay with other members of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging (MPI). Also in the room was none other than the movie's director, Francis Ford Coppola. He was there to observe as they set about digitally restoring his 35-year-old classic.

On a bank of computer monitors, The Godfather's opening scene began to play; the melancholy trumpet; the now famous line: "I believe in America...," and slowly … Read more

Any technology firm trying to cut deals in Hollywood should find themselves a good guide, say entertainment industry insiders.

"You need a Sherpa down here," said a Lynda Keeler, a former chief of Sony Pictures Digital Group. "Finding a good lawyer or agent to help navigate is important."

Managers at the big TV networks and film industries say they are more receptive than ever to tech companies with good ideas and they say this has begun to draw Silicon Valley start-ups (see main story here).

Tech companies have plenty of people to learn the ins and … Read more

For the woman who gave you life, you can help her keep all her old memories this Mother's Day with this digital picture converter. Looking a little like a small paper shredder, this device lets you feed in photographs which will then be converted into a format you can edit on a PC.

We know what you're thinking--a scanner can do exactly the same thing for much cheaper. But honestly, we don't think anyone will relish trying to teach their mom how to use a flatbed scanner and Photoshop Elements for resizing, cropping, and touch-ups. This solution … Read more

LOS ANGELES--A Paramount Pictures executive added to the chorus of positive reviews for Big Stage's face-mapping technology during the Digital Hollywood conference on Tuesday.

Derek Broes, Paramount Pictures executive vice president of worldwide business development, was asked during a panel discussion about what interesting new technologies he's seen.

Broes said he was impressed by Big Stage and the start-up's system for manipulating digital recreations of a person's face. The company snaps three photographs of someone's face and processes the photos on its servers to create a digital model of the face. It can then make … Read more

The Landlord on FunnyOrDie.com

To the list of comedians trying to cash in on the Web, add The Groundlings, the revered Los Angeles improvisational comedy troupe.

The group, which helped launch the careers of Will Ferrell, Phil Hartman, and Lisa Kudrow, announced Wednesday that it has agreed to produce 50 Webisodes over a year. The clips, which will be distributed by Sony Pictures Television, will appear on the Internet as well as mobile phones.

Financial details were not disclosed.

Comedy clips have proven a good fit for the Internet. Sites like CollegeHumor and Funny or Die have attracted plenty … Read more

In the latest example of how commercialism continues to creep into art, NBC Universal has plans to create programming designed to highlight a sponsor's products, the company said Friday.

The new shows, which will appear on NBC Universal digital properties, are being produced by the company's Digital Studio division and units, in conjunction with the Omnicom Group, one of the world's most powerful advertising and marketing companies.

One of the first shows to emerge form the partnership will be an Internet sci-fi show called Gemini Division, starring actress Rosario Dawson. The show's planned sponsors are Acura, … Read more

As fellow Craver Leonard Goh observed the other day, anything and everything is subject to hacking these days, including firmware for cameras. So it seems fitting that this open-source spirit be extended to digital picture frames as well.

RedPost has answered that call with "Sign Beta," a hackable Linux frame that succeeds the original released last year. But rather than just display photos, Technbob says, the new model is designed "to replace wasteful paper-covered bulletin boards with an electronic version."

To wit, it's faster and has four times as much memory (1GB) to run "… Read more