By Richard Lawson | The Atlantic Wire
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Category Archives: Entertainment
Chip lets smartphones see through walls, clothes
Researchers at a Texas university have designed a chip that could give smartphones the long-envied ability of comic book her Superman to see through walls, clothes or other objects.
A team at University of Texas at Dallas tuned a small, inexpensive microchip to discern a “terahertz” band of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The design works with chips made using Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor technology behind processors commonly found in personal computers, smartphones, televisions and videogame consoles.
Billboard Hot 100 Singles – Week of Apr.07, 2012
1. fun. f/ Janelle Monae “We Are Young”
2. Kelly Clarkson, “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
3. The Wanter, “Glad You Came”
4. Gotye f/ Kimbra, “Somebody That I Used To Know”
5. Nicki Minaj, “Starships”
6. Adele, “Set Fire To The Rain”
7. Flo Rida f/ Sia, “Wild Ones”
8. Katy Perry, “Part Of Me”
9. Drake f/ Rihanna “Take Care”
10.David Guetta f/ Nicki Minaj, “Turn Me On”
Disney’s Rich Ross Exit: Speculation Swirls Around Possible Replacements
Several names have emerged as possible successors to the fired studio head.
With Rich Ross forced to resign Friday from his post of chairman of Walt Disney Studios, Disney CEO Bob Iger is now tasked with replacing an executive whose rocky tenure demonstrated an inability to transition his success in television to film.
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Sources say Iger informed studio insiders Friday that he doesn’t have anyone in mind for the job yet and is no rush to fill the position. The studio has dramatically trimmed the number of movies it is making and is in production on only one film, Johnny Depp’s The Lone Ranger, limiting the destabilizing effect of a studio head exit.
Roger Ebert: Eight Things You Might Not Have Known
By Mark Deming
Roger Ebert was America’s best-known film critic – and arguably its best. But that was hardly his only accomplishment in a long and distinguished career. Ebert, who died Thursday at the age of 70, wasn’t just a critic, but a screenwriter, a music fan, an on-line activist, a historian, and even Oprah Winfrey’s date for an evening. As we remember Ebert’s life and work, here are eight things you might not have known about the man.
Ebert invented “Two Thumbs Up.” Ebert’s famous TV partnership with Gene Siskel began in 1975 with a local program aired once a month called “Coming Soon To A Theater Near You.” By 1978, it had become a weekly PBS show called “Sneak Previews,” and was a hit in the ratings. When Buena Vista Television (a division of Disney) offered Ebert and Siskel a more lucrative deal in 1986, they took it, but needed to make some changes so as not to seem like they were ripping off the old show. That meant no longer giving movies a “Yes” or “No” vote as they had before. “I came up with the idea of giving thumbs up and thumbs down,” Ebert later said. “And the reason that Siskel and I were able to trademark that is that the phrase ‘two thumbs up’ in connection with movies had never been used. And in fact, the phrase ‘two thumbs up’ was not in the vernacular. And now, of course, it’s part of the language.”
Billboard Hot 100 Singles – Week of Feb.25, 2012
1. Kelly Clarkson, “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
2. Adele, “Set Fire To The Rain”
3. fun. f/ Janelle Monae “We Are You”
4. LMFAO, “Sexy And I Know It”
5. Flo Rida, “Good Feeling”
6. Rihanna f/ Calvin Harris, “We Found Love”
7. Whitney Houston, “I Will Always Love You”
8. David Guetta f/ Nicki Minaj, “Turn Me On”
9. Tyga, “Rack City”
10.Madonna, “Give Me All your Lovin'”
MUCH ‘LOVE’ (AND ‘LUV’): Just as they did during the ’80s and ’90s, Whitney Houston and Madonna again share space in the Billboard Hot 100’s top 10.
With late legend Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” returning to the tally at No. 7 and Madonna’s “Give Me All Your Luvin’,” featuring Nicki Minaj and M.I.A., rising 13-10, Houston and Madonna concurrently rank in the top 10 for the first time in more than 16 years.
The pair last charted in the top tier together the week of Jan. 27, 1996, when Houston’s former No. 1 “Exhale (Shoop, Shoop)” held at No. 2 (for the ninth of its 11 frames at the runner-up spot after its lone week at the summit) and Madonna’s “You’ll See” rebounded 10-8 after peaking at No. 6.
Over their iconic careers, the twosome held court in the top 10 together with multiple sets of prior hits.
Trailer of the week – Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter
Grammy Winners 2012
Adele swept the major Grammy Awards on Sunday, winning all six categories she was nominated in, including song and record of the year for Rolling In the Deep which she performed to a standing ovation. Another big winner of the night was Foo Fighters who walked away with five awards.
Record of the Year: “Rolling in the Deep,” Adele
Song of the Year: “Rolling in the Deep,” Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth
New Artist: Bon Iver
Pop Solo Performance: “Someone Like You,” Adele
Pop Performance by a Duo or Group: “Body and Soul,” Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse
Pop Vocal Album: “21,” Adele
Alternative Album: “Bon Iver,” Bon Iver
Rock Song: “Walk,” Foo Fighters
Rock Album: “Wasting Light,” Foo Fighters
Rock Performance: “Walk,” Foo Fighters
Hard Rock/Metal Performance: “White Limo,” Foo Fighters
R&B Album: “F.A.M.E.,” Chris Brown
R&B Song: “Fool For You,” Cee Lo Green, Melanie Hallim & Jack Splash
R&B Performance: “Is This Love,” Corrine Bailey Rae
Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: “Fool For You,” Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona
Rap Album: “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” Kanye West
Rap Performance: “Otis,” Jay-Z and Kanye West
Rap Song: “All of the Lights,” Jeff Bhasker, Stacy Ferguson, Malik Jones, Warren Trotter & Kanye West
Rap/Sung Collaboration: “All of the Lights,” Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie
2012 BAFTA Winners
The Artist dominates the 2012 BAFTA awards in London, Feb. 12, 2012. Widely considered a precursor to the Oscars, The Artist won six awards including Best Film, Director and Actor.
Here is the full list of winners:
Best Film
The Artist (2011)
Alexander Korda Award for Outstanding British Film of the Year
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
Best Actor
Jean Dujardin for The Artist (2011)
Best Actress
Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady (2011)
Best Supporting Actor
Christopher Plummer for Beginners (2010)
Best Supporting Actress
Octavia Spencer for The Help (2011)
David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction
Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist (2011)
Best Screenplay (Original)
The Artist (2011): Michel Hazanavicius
Best Screenplay (Adapted)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011): Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan
Best Cinematography
The Artist (2011): Guillaume Schiffman
Best Editing
Senna (2010): Gregers Sall, Chris King
Best Production Design
Hugo (2011/II): Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo
Best Costume Design
The Artist (2011): Mark Bridges
Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music
The Artist (2011): Ludovic Bource
Best Make Up/Hair
The Iron Lady (2011)
Best Sound
Hugo (2011/II)
Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
Best Film not in the English Language
The Skin I Live In (2011)
Best Animated Feature Film
Rango (2011)
Best Documentary
Senna (2010)
Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award
Adam Deacon
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
Tyrannosaur (2011): Paddy Considine, Diarmid Scrimshaw
Best Short Animation
A Morning Stroll (2011)
Best Short Film
Pitch Black Heist (2011)
Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Whitney Houston has died, her rep confirms to The Hollywood Reporter.
At a news conference, police officials said they received a call at 3:23 p.m. Saturday saying that someone was unconscious at the Beverly Hilton. Emergency crews summoned to the scene tried to resuscitate the singer in her room on the fourth floor. Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. She was 48.
Beverly Hills Police Lt. Mark Rosen said that there were “no obvious signs of criminal intent” and that the cause of death was being investigated.
The R&B singer and six-time Grammy winner was due to make an appearance at Clive Davis’s Grammy eve gala on Saturday night at the Hilton. She was spotted in the hotel on Thursday morning, when she was overheard chastising an assistant.
Later that night, Houston got into an altercation with The X Factor finalist Stacy Francis at an R&B appreciation event, where she was said to be acting “belligerent.” On Friday night, as THR broke news that Houston had been approached for a seat on the judges’ panel on The X Factor, her publicist said the singer was at a spa.
Says a source close to Davis, “This is a sad day, and it will be a sad Grammys weekend.”
“Whitney Houston was one of the world’s greatest pop singers of all time, who leaves behind a robust musical soundtrack spanning the past three decades,” Recording Academy president Neil Portnow said Saturday. ”A light has been dimmed in our music community today.”