Microsoft is set to announce that subscribers to the Internet-connected console recently started using their device more often for TV, movies and music than for games…
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/xbox-live-hbo-go-xfinity-tv-mlb-tv-304304
Americans now watch more online movies than DVDs
U.S. movie buffs will pay to watch more movies online in 2012 than they will on physical video formats like DVD. That historic first marks a tipping point for Hollywood — and its business model…
https://money.cnn.com/2012/03/22/technology/streaming-movie-sales/index.htm
George Lucas says there will ‘never’ be a new ‘Star Wars’
Are you a “Star Wars” fan who still holds out hope that Episodes VII, VIII and IX will someday hit theater screens? Don’t count on it.
On Wednesday, George Lucas blasted away any chance of ever seeing a new birth of the “Star Wars” franchise when TMZ briefly caught him leaving a Hollywood restaurant.
Asked when the newest installment of “Star Wars” would be, Lucas was blunt: “Never,” he said, adding “I’m retired.”
It appears to be Lucas’ latest film venture that turned the prolific filmmaker off moviemaking. After spending 23 years developing and fighting studios to produce “Red Tails,” the first all-black action film, which hit theaters in January, Lucas told the New York Times he was done making action movies…
Bike lets you change gears with your mind
In 2011, Toyota commissioned the high-tech marketing firm Deeplocal to create an unusual Prius campaign. The firm came up with a mind-controlled bike…
Super-human brain technology sparks ethics debate
A British ethics group has launched a debate on the ethical dilemmas posed by new technologies that tap into the brain and could bring super-human strength, highly enhanced concentration or thought-controlled weaponry…
https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/01/us-brain-neurotechnology-ethics-idUSTRE82000F20120301
Why books and movies are better the second time
New research reveals why people like to reread books, re-watch movies and generally repeat the same experiences over and over again. It’s not addictive or ritualistic behavior, but rather a conscious effort to probe deeper layers of significance in the revisited material, while also reflecting on one’s own growth through the lens of the familiar book, movie or place…
White House: China to Allow More U.S. Films
The announcement is applauded by the MPAA, which says it will “return a much better share of the box office revenues to U.S studios.”
China has agreed to allow “significantly more job-supporting US film exports” in an effort to provide fairer compensation to Hollywood film producers, the White House announced Friday evening…
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/white-house-china-films-joe-biden-xi-jinping-mpaa-292500
Netflix gives new customers DVD-only option again
Despite its commitment to streaming movies and TV, Netflix is offering its DVD-only service option to new customers again, but will it tempt those who have converted to Redbox?…
Mind Reading a Reality in Five Years, IBM Says
Within five years, IBM believes we’ll begin to see early applications of mind reading technology that up to now have been little more than science fiction fantasies. The geeks in blue are, at this very moment, researching ways to link your brain to electronic devices so, for example, you could simply think about calling someone on your smartphone and it would happen. And looking longer term, IBM believes brain control will take over manual typing…
https://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/mind_reading_reality_five_years_ibm_says
The average movie ticket in the U.S. cost $7.93 last year, topping the previous high of $7.89 in 2010.
Going to the movies has never been more expensive.
Ticket prices in the U.S. hit an all-time high in 2011, according to numbers released Thursday to The Hollywood Reporter by the National Association of Theatre Owners. The price of admission rose last year to $7.93 from $7.89 in 2010.
The high comes despite the average price for a ticket dropping slightly, to $7.83, in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to NATO. The lower fourth-quarter average is believed to reflect a slower pace of business, especially for 3D movies, which carry a higher price….
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/movie-ticket-prices-increase-2011-288569