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Porn Industry May Not Decide Format War
nixkuroi writes "MSNBC Reports that the porn industry may be overstating their numbers and, as a result, may not be the decider of the next winning movie format. Even more interesting: Vivid Entertainment says that despite Sony's refusal to license Blu-ray to the adult industry, they've found a way to replicate the technology and will release Debbie Does Dallas on both formats. Film writer Jimmy Digiorgio states, in an email with MSNBC: 'In the past, porn embraced new technologies that were just gaining a foothold. DVDs are not new, and I don't think consumers perceive Blu-Ray and HD-DVD as new technologies. Instead, they see them as an evolution of an existing technology.... With Blu-ray [versus] HD-DVD, porn will go where the masses go.'"
HOLLYWOOD, Florida (CNN) -- An autopsy will be conducted on Friday to help determine the cause of Anna Nicole Smith's death, according to the Broward County medical examiner's office.
Smith died Thursday at a South Florida hospital after being discovered unconscious in her hotel room. The reality TV star, Playboy playmate and former Guess model was 39.
The autopsy was scheduled to start between 9 and 9:30 a.m. ET Friday. Preliminary results were expected later Friday.
Smith's death came less than five months after the birth of her daughter and the death of her 20-year-old son. (Watch Smith's improbable journey through life )
One of two men involved in a paternity dispute over Smith's daughter is seeking a DNA sample, and a hearing also is set for Friday morning.
Smith checked into the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, on Monday with her lawyer and boyfriend, Howard K. Stern.
Smith's private nurse called hotel workers at 1:38 p.m. Friday, and security officials went to the room, Seminole Police Chief Charlie Tiger said.
Before rescue workers arrived, Smith's bodyguard performed CPR on her, Tiger said. She was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, where she was pronounced dead at 2:49 p.m. (Watch chief describe the rescue effort )
Late Thursday, police told CNN the hotel room where Smith was found had been cleared. Police carried bags of evidence out of the building.
Smith's attorney, Ron Rale, told reporters his client had been suffering from flulike symptoms for the last couple of days. (Watch what might have led to Smith's death )
"We are saddened and heartbroken by my sister's death. No matter what our differences have been over the years, Anna was still our blood and she will be missed terribly," Smith's sister, Donna Hogan, said in a statement Thursday.
"She was a woman who was determined to get out of her small town in Texas and make a name for herself."
Hogan went on to say that the death of Smith's son last year "left her deeply saddened, a sadness she hid from everyone." Dannielynn Hope "is now without a mother," Hogan wrote.
In September, Smith gave birth to Dannielynn Hope in the Bahamas. Her son, Daniel, was found dead in his mother's hospital room days later.
A life of celebrity and tribulations
Smith was known as much for her sometimes-turbulent life off-camera as she was for her show-business endeavors. (Smith rose to fame after dropping out of school)
The former topless dancer in Houston, Texas, made her first appearance in Playboy in 1992, was named Playmate of the Year in 1993 and appeared in Guess jeans ads and movies.
In 2002, Smith launched a reality television program, "The Anna Nicole Show," on the E! Entertainment network. At one point, it was the network's highest-rated program.
She shocked many in 1994 by marrying 89-year-old Texas oil magnate Howard Marshall II, who had an estate valued at $1.6 billion. He died the next year, and until her death Smith waged a legal battle over the inheritance that included a 2006 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
"It's way too early for me to even guess what's going to happen in terms of other claims on behalf of the child," said Rusty Hardin, a Houston attorney who represents the Marshall family.
Earlier this week, Smith was included in a class-action lawsuit against TrimSpa, a company for which she was a spokeswoman in commercials and ads touting her weight loss.
TrimSpa makes a product it claims leads to substantial weight loss. The lawsuit alleges the marketing of the product, TrimSpa X32, was false or misleading. (Full story)
Smith also was embroiled in a dispute over the paternity of Dannielynn Hope.
Larry Birkhead, an entertainment reporter and photographer who has claimed to be the girl's father, will be filing an emergency order to obtain DNA samples to determine paternity, said his attorney, Debra Opri.
Smith and Stern have both said that Stern is Danniely
Yes, you are correct in that they are an equal driving force in the movies, but just because they are equal does NOT mean that we should use the masculine form of the word to speak of women. Should the current Monarch of England be called King Elizabeth II?
Maybe not, but she shouldn't be called the "monarchess", either. You can insist that "actor" is masculine, if you want, but there's no reason why it should be.