Slashdot Mirror
Domain: imdb.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to imdb.com.
Stories · 553
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Half-Life 2 Voice Actors Revealed
Thanks to 1UP for its story discussing the full voice-acting cast list for hideously long-awaited FPS Half-Life 2. It's noted: "Only two of the original game's actors will be returning; Mike Shapiro as both the ominous G-Man and security guard Barney Calhoun, and Harry S. Robins as Dr. Isaac Kleiner. Naturally, returning protagonist Gordon Freeman will remain voiceless", before it's revealed: "The voice for Dr. Eli Vance will be supplied by Robert Guillaume, otherwise known as the unforgettable Detective Catfish in the Fish Police TV series. Vance's assistant, Dr. Judith Mossman, will be voiced by Michelle Forbes, known for her roles on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Homicide, and Guiding Light. Oscar winner Lou Gossett, Jr. will voice each and every one of the Vortigaunt alien slaves (his second alien role, after the cult sci-fi classic Enemy Mine)." -
Half-Life 2 Voice Actors Revealed
Thanks to 1UP for its story discussing the full voice-acting cast list for hideously long-awaited FPS Half-Life 2. It's noted: "Only two of the original game's actors will be returning; Mike Shapiro as both the ominous G-Man and security guard Barney Calhoun, and Harry S. Robins as Dr. Isaac Kleiner. Naturally, returning protagonist Gordon Freeman will remain voiceless", before it's revealed: "The voice for Dr. Eli Vance will be supplied by Robert Guillaume, otherwise known as the unforgettable Detective Catfish in the Fish Police TV series. Vance's assistant, Dr. Judith Mossman, will be voiced by Michelle Forbes, known for her roles on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Homicide, and Guiding Light. Oscar winner Lou Gossett, Jr. will voice each and every one of the Vortigaunt alien slaves (his second alien role, after the cult sci-fi classic Enemy Mine)." -
Half-Life 2 Voice Actors Revealed
Thanks to 1UP for its story discussing the full voice-acting cast list for hideously long-awaited FPS Half-Life 2. It's noted: "Only two of the original game's actors will be returning; Mike Shapiro as both the ominous G-Man and security guard Barney Calhoun, and Harry S. Robins as Dr. Isaac Kleiner. Naturally, returning protagonist Gordon Freeman will remain voiceless", before it's revealed: "The voice for Dr. Eli Vance will be supplied by Robert Guillaume, otherwise known as the unforgettable Detective Catfish in the Fish Police TV series. Vance's assistant, Dr. Judith Mossman, will be voiced by Michelle Forbes, known for her roles on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Homicide, and Guiding Light. Oscar winner Lou Gossett, Jr. will voice each and every one of the Vortigaunt alien slaves (his second alien role, after the cult sci-fi classic Enemy Mine)." -
Half-Life 2 Voice Actors Revealed
Thanks to 1UP for its story discussing the full voice-acting cast list for hideously long-awaited FPS Half-Life 2. It's noted: "Only two of the original game's actors will be returning; Mike Shapiro as both the ominous G-Man and security guard Barney Calhoun, and Harry S. Robins as Dr. Isaac Kleiner. Naturally, returning protagonist Gordon Freeman will remain voiceless", before it's revealed: "The voice for Dr. Eli Vance will be supplied by Robert Guillaume, otherwise known as the unforgettable Detective Catfish in the Fish Police TV series. Vance's assistant, Dr. Judith Mossman, will be voiced by Michelle Forbes, known for her roles on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Homicide, and Guiding Light. Oscar winner Lou Gossett, Jr. will voice each and every one of the Vortigaunt alien slaves (his second alien role, after the cult sci-fi classic Enemy Mine)." -
Half-Life 2 Voice Actors Revealed
Thanks to 1UP for its story discussing the full voice-acting cast list for hideously long-awaited FPS Half-Life 2. It's noted: "Only two of the original game's actors will be returning; Mike Shapiro as both the ominous G-Man and security guard Barney Calhoun, and Harry S. Robins as Dr. Isaac Kleiner. Naturally, returning protagonist Gordon Freeman will remain voiceless", before it's revealed: "The voice for Dr. Eli Vance will be supplied by Robert Guillaume, otherwise known as the unforgettable Detective Catfish in the Fish Police TV series. Vance's assistant, Dr. Judith Mossman, will be voiced by Michelle Forbes, known for her roles on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Homicide, and Guiding Light. Oscar winner Lou Gossett, Jr. will voice each and every one of the Vortigaunt alien slaves (his second alien role, after the cult sci-fi classic Enemy Mine)." -
Half-Life 2 Voice Actors Revealed
Thanks to 1UP for its story discussing the full voice-acting cast list for hideously long-awaited FPS Half-Life 2. It's noted: "Only two of the original game's actors will be returning; Mike Shapiro as both the ominous G-Man and security guard Barney Calhoun, and Harry S. Robins as Dr. Isaac Kleiner. Naturally, returning protagonist Gordon Freeman will remain voiceless", before it's revealed: "The voice for Dr. Eli Vance will be supplied by Robert Guillaume, otherwise known as the unforgettable Detective Catfish in the Fish Police TV series. Vance's assistant, Dr. Judith Mossman, will be voiced by Michelle Forbes, known for her roles on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Homicide, and Guiding Light. Oscar winner Lou Gossett, Jr. will voice each and every one of the Vortigaunt alien slaves (his second alien role, after the cult sci-fi classic Enemy Mine)." -
Half-Life 2 Voice Actors Revealed
Thanks to 1UP for its story discussing the full voice-acting cast list for hideously long-awaited FPS Half-Life 2. It's noted: "Only two of the original game's actors will be returning; Mike Shapiro as both the ominous G-Man and security guard Barney Calhoun, and Harry S. Robins as Dr. Isaac Kleiner. Naturally, returning protagonist Gordon Freeman will remain voiceless", before it's revealed: "The voice for Dr. Eli Vance will be supplied by Robert Guillaume, otherwise known as the unforgettable Detective Catfish in the Fish Police TV series. Vance's assistant, Dr. Judith Mossman, will be voiced by Michelle Forbes, known for her roles on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Homicide, and Guiding Light. Oscar winner Lou Gossett, Jr. will voice each and every one of the Vortigaunt alien slaves (his second alien role, after the cult sci-fi classic Enemy Mine)." -
C-3PO Joins R2 in the Robot Hall of Fame
dev_alac writes "The BBC is reporting that C-3PO has been inducted into Carnegie Mellon's Robot Hall of Fame, along with Asimo, Shakeyboy -- "the first mobile robot to reason about its actions," Astroboy, and of course, Robby the Robot of Forbidden Planet fame. There, he joins such other legendary mechanical beings as Hal 9000, R2-D2, and Sojourner." Update: 06/20 08:27 GMT by T : Yep, it's a near-dupe of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story linked the other day. -
Robot Hall of Fame 2004 Inductees Announced
generic-man writes "According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Carnegie Mellon University has announced this year's inductees for the Robot Hall of Fame. On October 11, the Hall welcomes Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet, Astroboy, C3PO, Honda's ASIMO, and a 'pioneering mobile robot called Shakey.' They join R2D2. the Mars Pathfinder rover, and other robots from the class of 2003." -
Robot Hall of Fame 2004 Inductees Announced
generic-man writes "According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Carnegie Mellon University has announced this year's inductees for the Robot Hall of Fame. On October 11, the Hall welcomes Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet, Astroboy, C3PO, Honda's ASIMO, and a 'pioneering mobile robot called Shakey.' They join R2D2. the Mars Pathfinder rover, and other robots from the class of 2003." -
Eugene Jarvis Shifts From Terror To Fast, Furious
Thanks to GameSpot for its interview with seminal game designer Eugene Jarvis, best known "for arcade titles from the eighties... including Defender, Robotron, NARC, [and] Smash T.V.", discussing his attempts to revitalize the arcade market. The article mentions his recently released, terrorism-themed Target: Terror lightgun arcade shooter, apparently "the number two most profitable arcade game in its first month in general release" - Jarvis comments of the content: "So Target: Terror is this extreme paranoia, but gosh, it could be real. We take it to the extreme--they're taking over the Golden Gate Bridge and you have to retake that." It's also revealed of Jarvis that "This Fall, his three-year-old, self-funded company, Raw Thrills, will debut its second arcade title, The Fast and the Furious, a driving title based on the Universal Pictures film of the same name." We previously covered Target: Terror earlier this year on Slashdot Games. -
WiFi Gone Wild
b4k4 writes "According to this news release, the Texas Department of Transportation is proposing to install hotspots at all 84 Safety Rest Stops and 12 Travel Information Centers statewide. This would be in addition to the four test locations already in place along US287." Reader polluted notes that Portland is working on free WiFi. An anonymous reader sent in word of this year's wifi-shootout, a contest to maximize the range for an 802.11b connection. And Roland Piquepaille writes in regarding cows wearing WiFi collars, which I'm afraid reminds me of a crummy sci-fi movie. -
The Millennia After Tomorrow?
frankthechicken writes "Analysis of a three-kilometer-long ice core drilled from the Antarctic, has revealed our planet has had eight ice ages during that period, punctuated by rather brief warm spells - one of which we enjoy today. And fortunately, the end of the world is not the day after tomorrow, instead it may be expected on Sunday, 17000." -
"A Sound of Thunder" Movie This Summer
Syberghost writes "Ray Bradbury's classic short story "A Sound of Thunder" is being released thus summer as a movie. It's directed by Peter Hyams, who's done the time travel thing before, but it appears that some of the major characters from the Bradbury story aren't in the credits." -
"A Sound of Thunder" Movie This Summer
Syberghost writes "Ray Bradbury's classic short story "A Sound of Thunder" is being released thus summer as a movie. It's directed by Peter Hyams, who's done the time travel thing before, but it appears that some of the major characters from the Bradbury story aren't in the credits." -
Age Discrimination, Indian-Style
theodp writes "In April, IBM CEO Samuel Palmisano told investors Big Blue hopes to dodge an estimated $6 billion in liability stemming from a judge's ruling that IBM violated U.S. federal age discrimination laws. In May, IBM closes on its $150-$200MM purchase of Indian outsourcer Daksh, whose age requirements for job applicants make Logan's Run seem progressive. On its Opportunities page, Daksh states that Customer Care Specialists should be between 21-25 years of age and Team Leaders should be no older than 27. Early Daksh investors included Citigroup and we-don't-need-no-stinking-unions Amazon." -
Video T-shirts
Lord_Dweomer writes "The Hollywood Reporter brings us the next trick up marketers' sleeves. A new t-shirt with an 11" display and 4 stereo speakers was unveiled at E3 last week playing a trailer of the new I, Robot movie soon to be released. Unfortunately the company behind them, San Francisco based Brand Marketers, has announced that they will not be for individual sale. When will I be able to watch a movie on my sleeve?!" Update: 05/20 15:38 GMT by M : i4u writes "We just reported about Irish Adwalker which uses Xybernaut equipment for a more high-end Video T-shirt. Also we saw the brandmarketers Video T-Shirt at the Wired Nextfest 2004." -
Simulate "The Day After Tomorrow" On Your PC
kpearson writes "climateprediction.net, a distributed computing project to predict Earth's climate 50 years from now, has a new add-on project to study THC slowdown (how climate might change as CO2 changes in the event of a decrease in the strength of the thermohaline circulation). This kind of rapid, extreme climate change is shown in the movie The Day After Tomorrow, in which New York City is treated to a 10,000-year-long ski season. Anyone can download the project's client software and participate in the simulation. climateprediction.net was previously mentioned in the September 13, 2003 article Distributed Computing and Climate Change." Clients are available for various varieties of Microsoft Windows, but none are listed for other OSes. -
Eigenfaces Online Service
nordicfrost writes "At Norways largest online newspaper, they're doing the beta test of an Eigenface service. In short, it takes a portrait picture, treats it with some filters and analyzes the vectors in it. This is used for crimestopping and generic Big Brother activities. In this database, however, your mug is compared with celebrites to find which one that matches you the most. I match, among others, Brad Garrett. This site is pretty self-explaining, upload a portrait pic of yourself taken right in front of your face, closely cropped to the face and use the up arrow to see your top ten list of celebrity matches. You have to agree to some terms first, like giving permission to use your pic in promotions and other stuff and not to upload indecent stuff." -
Using a 747 to Fight Wildfires
RotJ writes "It's fire season again. And the government just grounded 33 aging air tankers on Monday due to safety issues. Looking for a modern solution, Evergreen Aviation has come up with a 747 supertanker with 24,000 gallons of tank space onboard, which allows it to cover seven times the area of today's largest existing airtanker. In addition to fighting fires, it will be able to contain oil spills and 'perform challenging homeland security missions' like neutralizing chemical or biological attacks. And think of how many John Goodmans you could cover with fire retardant. Be sure to watch the videos." -
Perfect Digital Skin
ILMfan writes "BBC Technology is describing a new graphics algorithm for creating perfect virtual skin. This technique by graphics wizard Henrik Jensen (the guy who invented photon mapping) is already being used in movies (it was used on Gollum in Lord of the Rings, and it will be used in the soon-to-be-released van Helsing movie). And perhaps more exciting is that several game companies are planning on using it for their next generation games. So John Carmack are you listening? Any chance this can be included in DOOM3? Of course there are endless other opportunities for virtual humans with perfect skin :-)" -
Synthetic Life In The Lab
niktesla writes "Scientific American is carrying a story about sythetic life - genetic engineered "machines" made from DNA building blocks called "BioBricks". The goal is to produce a library of building blocks that can be assembled to give predictable results. Reminds me of the technology behind Blade Runner's replicants." -
Build Your Own Imperial Star Destroyer
tashanna writes "I got an e-mail from my brother with a link to this. Someone has built an Imperial Star Destroyer model from the original Star Wars movie that's appropriately-sized for the 4" action figures. The guy made it with an armory, bridge, cell bay, computer room, engineering (split over 2 levels), Darth Vader's chamber, conference room, troop rest room, medical bay and it measures 2 meters, by 1.5 meters, by 1 meter and is for sale on Ebay. There are interior photos on the eBay site. Ummm... WOW!" -
What's Geekier Than a Ferengi Bridesmaid?
gbulmash asks: "The newly updated "Star Trek: The Experience" at the Las Vegas Hilton not only offers thrills, chills, and a Borg invasion... It's offering Trek-themed Wedding Packages. You can be married on a replica of the Enterprise bridge by a costumed starfleet officer and have additional Trek characters as guests. I thought "how geeky", but then remembered the guy who paid $22,550 for Joaquin Phoenix's white armor from Gladiator , claiming he was going to wear it at his wedding. All this has inspired me to ask what's the geekiest or nerdiest thing you've ever encountered at a wedding? There was a thread on geeky party favors for a wedding last year, but this question goes beyond that... getting married by a Gandalf impersonator, a cake shaped like Cthulu, groom dressed as Darth Vader and his best man is a stormtrooper. I know tales like these are out there, so please share them." -
What's Geekier Than a Ferengi Bridesmaid?
gbulmash asks: "The newly updated "Star Trek: The Experience" at the Las Vegas Hilton not only offers thrills, chills, and a Borg invasion... It's offering Trek-themed Wedding Packages. You can be married on a replica of the Enterprise bridge by a costumed starfleet officer and have additional Trek characters as guests. I thought "how geeky", but then remembered the guy who paid $22,550 for Joaquin Phoenix's white armor from Gladiator , claiming he was going to wear it at his wedding. All this has inspired me to ask what's the geekiest or nerdiest thing you've ever encountered at a wedding? There was a thread on geeky party favors for a wedding last year, but this question goes beyond that... getting married by a Gandalf impersonator, a cake shaped like Cthulu, groom dressed as Darth Vader and his best man is a stormtrooper. I know tales like these are out there, so please share them." -
On Religious Violence And Videogame Violence
Thanks to the IGDA for its 'Culture Clash' column discussing the violent nature of many religious texts, and how that relates to religious criticism of game violence. The piece references The Passion Of The Christ, mentioning: "The film's portrayal of the delight these men took in administering the scourging draws an alarming parallel to some claims that video games desensitize young people to violence." It then goes on to argue: "The history of opposition to games is a long one, and religion is often used to justify that opposition, though naysayers tend to ignore the fact that religion itself is a major source of violent acts", before concluding: "Frankly, the arguments for and against violence in games, as in any entertainment media, must be assessed in context or not at all." -
Projectionists Using Night Vision Goggles in Theaters
sam0ht writes "Los Angeles police arrested Ruben Centero Moreno, 34, after the projectionist used night vision goggles to spot his video camera in a showing of The Alamo. He has been charged under the new California anti-camcorder law, and could face up to 1 year in jail if convicted. The BBC reports that 'The MPAA has established a nationwide telephone hotline for cinema employees to report violations, and studios and cinemas are also investing in metal detectors and night-vision goggles'. Motion Picture Ass. Head Jack Valenti said he hoped it would 'send a clear signal such crimes will not be tolerated'. Clearly, the 'War on Copyright Violation' is following the successful strategy used for the War on Drugs, with significant resources of technology and police time mobilised to send violators to jail for a long time. Soon, copied films will be as rare as students lighting up a joint after their exams." The lesson is clear: stay out of movie theaters and you won't get arrested. -
On Licenses That Should Be Made Into Games
Ant writes "GameSpy has an article discussing their favorite ideas for licenses that should be made into games, but haven't made the transition yet." The piece, thankfully, notes that we "often get slammed with hideously inappropriate or just badly implemented and misbegotten licensed creations", but also argues: "For every Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Pirates of the Caribbean, or Superman for the N64, we'll occasionally get a Tron 2.0, or Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic", before picking The Road Warrior, Lone Wolf and Cub, and Ender's Game, among others, as licenses they'd like to see made into games. Which licenses do you think could survive the transition to games intact? -
Hollywood's Rising Fascination With Videogames
Thanks to the New York Times for its article (free. reg. req.) discussing the growing interaction of Hollywood directors with videogame products. The piece notes that Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson has "worked out a deal with the game maker Ubisoft and Universal Pictures, the studio that plans to release 'King Kong' next year, that will give Mr. Jackson substantial creative control over the future game", and also mentions John Woo (" now developing for Sega a video game, an idea he will own outright, about an elaborate heist", as well as his proposed Metroid movie), and Ridley Scott ("seeking a video game maker to form a partnership with him and his brother Tony") as other Hollywood creatives seeking input into games. -
Hollywood's Rising Fascination With Videogames
Thanks to the New York Times for its article (free. reg. req.) discussing the growing interaction of Hollywood directors with videogame products. The piece notes that Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson has "worked out a deal with the game maker Ubisoft and Universal Pictures, the studio that plans to release 'King Kong' next year, that will give Mr. Jackson substantial creative control over the future game", and also mentions John Woo (" now developing for Sega a video game, an idea he will own outright, about an elaborate heist", as well as his proposed Metroid movie), and Ridley Scott ("seeking a video game maker to form a partnership with him and his brother Tony") as other Hollywood creatives seeking input into games. -
Hollywood's Rising Fascination With Videogames
Thanks to the New York Times for its article (free. reg. req.) discussing the growing interaction of Hollywood directors with videogame products. The piece notes that Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson has "worked out a deal with the game maker Ubisoft and Universal Pictures, the studio that plans to release 'King Kong' next year, that will give Mr. Jackson substantial creative control over the future game", and also mentions John Woo (" now developing for Sega a video game, an idea he will own outright, about an elaborate heist", as well as his proposed Metroid movie), and Ridley Scott ("seeking a video game maker to form a partnership with him and his brother Tony") as other Hollywood creatives seeking input into games. -
Real 'Akira' Motorcycle
News for nerds writes "At Tokyo Motorcycle Show in Japan (2/3/4 Apr.), the official licensed model of the motorcycle in the anime movie Akira (poster) is displayed. This Kaneda bike is not a mere replica, but a full working model (more pics at ITmedia) with twin-steering system and 249-998cc water-cooled 4-cycle engine, and on its cockpit is DVD-navi-system + trackball & ten-key + custom computer-controlled LED meters - all licenced by the author and the publisher of Akira. Though at the show only miniature figures are sold and real price or release date is unclear, you can check out the manufacturer's website for later info." -
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
Dolemite_the_Wiz writes "The BBC reports that Monty Python's 'Life of Brian' will be re-released, with the remaining Python troupe's full support, in US theaters next month. The Film's Distributor, Rainbow Film Company are marketing the film as an alternative to all the hype that Mel Gibson's film 'The Passion of the Christ' has generated. Trailers for the Film will begin running in theaters on Good Friday. Wait until Biggus Dickus hears about this!" -
New Dr Who Actor Named
gdav writes "Well, after all that talk about Bill Nighy, it's actually going to be Christopher Ecclestone. He was prominent in Cracker, Our Friends in the North, and more recently 28 Days Later." -
New Dr Who Actor Named
gdav writes "Well, after all that talk about Bill Nighy, it's actually going to be Christopher Ecclestone. He was prominent in Cracker, Our Friends in the North, and more recently 28 Days Later." -
New Dr Who Actor Named
gdav writes "Well, after all that talk about Bill Nighy, it's actually going to be Christopher Ecclestone. He was prominent in Cracker, Our Friends in the North, and more recently 28 Days Later." -
How Important Are Mature Videogames To The Industry?
Thanks to GamesIndustry.biz for its editorial discussing whether the market for 'Mature'-rated videogames is really that significant, following "EA CFO Warren Jenson's announcement last week that the company is working on a videogame based on Francis Ford Coppola's classic mafia movie The Godfather. The resulting game is expected to be EA's first foray into publishing M-rated... titles for several years." But the editorial argues: "Mature games, although certainly a popular theme with the stock market, are still basically a hot topic because of one franchise - namely Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto titles." It goes on to point out: "M-rated games accounted for only 11.9 per cent of videogame sales in the USA last year in total... despite this, publishers are rushing headlong into making mature games, believing that emulating the success of Grand Theft Auto is just a splash of blood and a bucketful of swearwords away." -
Peter Jackson Says "Hobbit" Movie In The Works
Patik writes "'Lord of the Rings' Director Peter Jackson is planning to film 'The Hobbit,' according to this Associated Press article. Jackson, who is currently filming 'King Kong', is waiting for New Line and MGM, the two studios with rights to the film, to battle it out for rights to make the prequel. Jackson also mentions wanting the movie to feel just like the LOTR trilogy, including having Ian McKellen return as Gandalf." (This is better than just hinting.) -
Peter Jackson Says "Hobbit" Movie In The Works
Patik writes "'Lord of the Rings' Director Peter Jackson is planning to film 'The Hobbit,' according to this Associated Press article. Jackson, who is currently filming 'King Kong', is waiting for New Line and MGM, the two studios with rights to the film, to battle it out for rights to make the prequel. Jackson also mentions wanting the movie to feel just like the LOTR trilogy, including having Ian McKellen return as Gandalf." (This is better than just hinting.) -
FF7 Advent Children Movie Trailers, Rumors
Wingchild writes "I noticed that the trailers for the new Final Fantasy 7 movie are online at Square-Enix (Squeenix?)'s website, an event as yet unmentioned on Slashdot. Available elsewhere are trailer screenshots and plotline theory. The release will be straight to DVD (Square might still be smarting after the unspectacular performance of The Spirits Within), but it'll still be neat to see what Squeenix is capable of on the ever-moving CG front." S!: The AdventChildren.net fansite also has details of an interview with Tetsuya Nomura, pointing out "the movie [or a new trailer] will be shown in some form at this year's E3", and noting that the past rumor that "the movie will be playable on the PS2 only" has not yet been quashed, although it hasn't been confirmed either. -
Appleseed World Preview Minireview
darrellberry writes "We went to see the World Sneak Preview of Masamune Shirow's Appleseed at the ICA tonight. Complimentary sake and sushi, a loving but silly flipchart presentation from the producer about the politics of the world in which it is set, then the film. The animation is amazing the rendering of the city of Olympus is beautiful, the battle set-pieces are fluid and very well choreographed, and the fine line betwen genre conventions and attempts at hyper-realism is treated with respect. Although the first few minutes owe too much to The Matrix-meets-Avalon, and in parts (to my eye) the human characters suffer somewhat from traditional anime styling, Appleseed is something genuinely new in animation. Detail everywhere, lovingly rendered. Way too much exposition, in the style of some Russian epic from the 60s, and music supervision that was entirely wrong: it was nice to see Basement Jaxx turning up for the premiere, but their music and that of Oakenfold and the rest on the soundtrack made no sense thematically or emotionally. I can see that they are going for a big international release with Appleseed, but the music is just wrong. On the plus side, the motion capture-based character animation is very convincing, and the Mobile Fortresses out-scale any other city-stomping weapons platform I can remember. And lovely to see anime at a high frame-rate, not jumping in triples. Go see it at a big cinema with decent Dolby when it's on release next month, or get it on DVD (evidently on release in July) and turn up the sub-woofer." I don't know if we linked to the official site in our last story. -
Appleseed World Preview Minireview
darrellberry writes "We went to see the World Sneak Preview of Masamune Shirow's Appleseed at the ICA tonight. Complimentary sake and sushi, a loving but silly flipchart presentation from the producer about the politics of the world in which it is set, then the film. The animation is amazing the rendering of the city of Olympus is beautiful, the battle set-pieces are fluid and very well choreographed, and the fine line betwen genre conventions and attempts at hyper-realism is treated with respect. Although the first few minutes owe too much to The Matrix-meets-Avalon, and in parts (to my eye) the human characters suffer somewhat from traditional anime styling, Appleseed is something genuinely new in animation. Detail everywhere, lovingly rendered. Way too much exposition, in the style of some Russian epic from the 60s, and music supervision that was entirely wrong: it was nice to see Basement Jaxx turning up for the premiere, but their music and that of Oakenfold and the rest on the soundtrack made no sense thematically or emotionally. I can see that they are going for a big international release with Appleseed, but the music is just wrong. On the plus side, the motion capture-based character animation is very convincing, and the Mobile Fortresses out-scale any other city-stomping weapons platform I can remember. And lovely to see anime at a high frame-rate, not jumping in triples. Go see it at a big cinema with decent Dolby when it's on release next month, or get it on DVD (evidently on release in July) and turn up the sub-woofer." I don't know if we linked to the official site in our last story. -
GitS Sequel and Appleseed Remake Are Coming
LocusMote writes "Masamune Shirow, the creative genius behind the manga and anime Ghost in the Shell , has a few new irons fresh from the fire. One of his earlier manga, Appleseed, already exists as a rather disappointing television quality anime. Shirow thought so too, apparently. He went back to the original manga storyline, blew off the dust, and has produced a beautiful new all-CG Appleseed which hits the Japanese theaters in April. (Quicktime required) Oh yeah, there's a Ghost in the Shell sequel in the pipeline, too, called Innocence ... w00t!" Beautiful. -
Orwellian Tech Support
alteran writes "Here's a very well-written piece on what goes on inside a tech-support call center. Makes working for Initech seem good. Sorry about the forced ad-viewing - it only last about 10 seconds, and the article is worth it." -
New Cast Information For 'Hitchhiker's' Movie
Kathleen writes "I was listening to the old Hitchiker's radio plays, and feeling nostalgic, I decide to check out how the movie version was going along. Well, they've filled out some important parts, Zaphod and Marvin have been cast. Zaphod is played by Sam Rockwell who's most recently been in Matchstick Men and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Marvin is being played by Warwick Davis (Who was Willow Ufgood in Willow). Slartibartfast will be played by Bill Nighy. This news is a little distressing, since I was under the impression that Stephen Moore would still be handling the voice of Marvin." -
New Cast Information For 'Hitchhiker's' Movie
Kathleen writes "I was listening to the old Hitchiker's radio plays, and feeling nostalgic, I decide to check out how the movie version was going along. Well, they've filled out some important parts, Zaphod and Marvin have been cast. Zaphod is played by Sam Rockwell who's most recently been in Matchstick Men and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Marvin is being played by Warwick Davis (Who was Willow Ufgood in Willow). Slartibartfast will be played by Bill Nighy. This news is a little distressing, since I was under the impression that Stephen Moore would still be handling the voice of Marvin." -
New Cast Information For 'Hitchhiker's' Movie
Kathleen writes "I was listening to the old Hitchiker's radio plays, and feeling nostalgic, I decide to check out how the movie version was going along. Well, they've filled out some important parts, Zaphod and Marvin have been cast. Zaphod is played by Sam Rockwell who's most recently been in Matchstick Men and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Marvin is being played by Warwick Davis (Who was Willow Ufgood in Willow). Slartibartfast will be played by Bill Nighy. This news is a little distressing, since I was under the impression that Stephen Moore would still be handling the voice of Marvin." -
New Cast Information For 'Hitchhiker's' Movie
Kathleen writes "I was listening to the old Hitchiker's radio plays, and feeling nostalgic, I decide to check out how the movie version was going along. Well, they've filled out some important parts, Zaphod and Marvin have been cast. Zaphod is played by Sam Rockwell who's most recently been in Matchstick Men and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Marvin is being played by Warwick Davis (Who was Willow Ufgood in Willow). Slartibartfast will be played by Bill Nighy. This news is a little distressing, since I was under the impression that Stephen Moore would still be handling the voice of Marvin." -
DARPA Offers No Food for Thought
frank249 writes "Wired News has an article outlining the US Defense Advanced Research Projects agency's (DARPA) research into ways to keep soldiers fighting for up to 5 days without food. The DARPA project, called 'Metabolic Dominance' or 'peak soldier performance' is part of a wider, future-facing Pentagon research push to develop grunts who are pretty much immune to normal human demands. Perhaps they should call this the Universal Soldier project?" -
Nominations For AIAS Gaming Awards Announced
yakobusan writes "The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) just announced the finalists for the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, to be given out on March 4th in Las Vegas - there's a full list of nominees over on the AIAS site." It's noted that "Electronic Arts led the finalist count with 29, followed closely by Ubisoft and Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA) with 23 and 21 finalists respectively" - highlights include Metal Arms: Glitch in the System's nomination for "Best Console Action / Adventure", and Snoop Dogg's appearance in the "Best Character Performance - Male" finalists for True Crime: Streets of LA.
