How To Get An Agent Or Manager

by: Sacreeta Veneficus


What is the difference between a manager, and an agent?

Glad you asked. It’s quite simple really.

A manager offers a service to you that entails zoning in on your strengths and weaknesses. They can direct you to the type of acting classes you need, according to your current skill level. They can help you rehearse, support you in your goal setting and point you in the right direction, especially when you are so overwhelmed you aren’t sure where to start.

An agent finds and books you auditions. They hunt down casting calls, make bookings, negotiate the contracts, and basically do the leg work for your career. They normally charge 10% of what you are paid, and at the end of the day, that’s fair. If you have both a manager and an agent, it’s OK for them to know about each other. Having them develop a relationship centered on your career actually strengthens your chances at success.

One neat trick in obtaining a good manager or agent is to send out invitations to one of your productions. In standup comedy or theater, you’d be surprised how well that works. It’s also good to have agents hear about you through referrals. If you are in a production, or have done some good work for a casting director, networking with those contacts might be another great way to go.

An agent-client relationship is mutual. They require something from you, in the form of marketable talent, and you require something from them: marketing your talent. Having an agent speak your language, meaning that you both have the same goals for your career, is prudent. Just try to keep it in perspective: you are the hirer, who enlisted them to fulfill the duties necessary to handle your career, and they work hard, and get paid when you do.

Getting an interview with an agent or talent manager doesn’t necessarily mean they will take your career in their capable hands. You have a window of opportunity to convince them that if they find you work, you won’t let them down. Be punctual and polite, keep any "artist attitude" in check, have an 8x10 head shot, and don’t forget to have your resume, with the list of credits, if any, in hand ready to be discussed.

Before walking in there, have a mental note of what it is you are looking for in an agent, and in your career. Have realistic expectations. If you have no experience, don’t walk in their office feeling disappointed they haven’t told you they will make you a star. That is something a dishonest agent would tell you, and you need honesty. Always remember that if you are starting out, expect to be treated as a rookie. It's not disrespect, it’s honesty. And hiring someone honest is far better than someone who will leave your portfolio filed under D, for dust collector.

Don’t forget to consider if you are ready for union or non-union work. It’s important to be clear on that aspect. Newcomers who try to work into the union too soon often have a difficult time, as they can no longer have the luxury of taking on non-union jobs to build up credits. Union workers get jobs based on credits mostly, and taking the plunge is a great idea after you have become established.

Gaining agent or manager representation is something not to be rushed into. Taking on the first agent who comes along could be as risky as buying the first second-hand car you were offered. While an agent isn't a used car, the hunt is very similar. You want to kick the tires, see how many miles are on it, what its performance is like. Agents are pretty much the same. It PAYS to check them out before you make any deals with them. Here are a few links where you can find an agent and check their credentials.

LINKS
AGENTS:
http://www.Agentassociation.com/
http://www.sag.org/sagWebApp/index.jsp

MANAGERS
http://www.talentManagers.org/
http://www.ncopm.com/

Don’t be afraid to compromise with an agent. They are in the business to help you, as helping you at the end of the day helps them. If they suggest you get a better headshot or take some acting classes that's fine, as long as they aren’t dictating which photographer/school you must attend. If they try to specify, be careful. They could be scamming you. A good agent could suggest a few reputable schools, or YOU could suggest to them that the Kamitic Acting System is one they should be suggesting.

Take their advice seriously. If they want you to take a job you feel is beneath you, and your wonderful talent, try to see it from their point of view. If you are new, they have actors more qualified than you, and there’s a reason they are more qualified. Keep doing the work offered, and soon you will be one the more qualified actors with plenty of credits to your name.

Before, during and after obtaining an agent, do one thing: work. Take all the work you can get! It doesn’t matter if it’s a student film, theater, commercials, videos, non-union (if you are not union yourself), or anything else. Attend acting classes, hone your special skills, like dancing, singing and projecting, and grow your image by nurturing your resume.

Don’t constantly bother your agent! Don’t call them several times a day to check in to see if anything new has popped up. They aren’t going to have time to find you work if you keep them busy telling you that they are trying to get you off the phone to find you work.

Next, be sure to have a set time when you can meet with your agent by phone or in person. Keep them updated with the NEW things you have been adding to your resume, as you work and take classes. They will be impressed by how hard you work, and how dedicated you are, and will be excited enough to keep up the good work on your behalf.

Lastly, a reminder that in this business, not everything or everyone is as they seem. There are scammers not only online, but in offices and on movie sets. Always remember to be alert. If you are in an office that has its walls filled with photos of famous people, and it is in a run-down building that ought to be condemned, chances are it’s too good to be true, and it’s time to keep looking. If they ask you for upfront fees, thank them so much for their kindness, leave, and throw their business card in the nearest trash can. If they guarantee they can make you a star, toss that card, too.

And lastly, and I cannot say this enough, always check them out. Look on the links provided above, do runs on their names, go on actors' blogs and ask if anyone has worked with them. Check out their credentials. You do not want to sign a contract with them, to make you sit on your hands for 2 years or more, when they don’t intend to move your career.

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Paramount And Hollywood Power’s Shift, And Now Hedge Funds

by: Richard Stoyeck

Until the 1950’s, Hollywood was controlled by seven major motion picture studios. More importantly it was controlled by moguls, all of whom were men they of eastern European descent, who ruled the studio in the same way that the kings of their previous countries ruled the peasants. Creative control belonged to the mogul, while the money was always controlled by the New York bankers, the so-called “Suits”.

This power alignment began with the beginning of Hollywood prior to 1920, and continued for 40 plus years. What held it intact was the caste system, whereby the stars were controlled by individual studios. They were paid on a yearly basis, and had no say whatsoever in the movies they would appear in. In essence they were slaves to the system, not very different from how baseball players were handled until the Supreme Court outlawed career-long captive players.

The Hollywood caste system began to crack in the 1950’s, when Kirk Douglas, the father of Michael Douglas went independent, and formed one of the first independent film companies called Bryna, for his mother. They produced the “Vikings”, “Spartacus”, and “Seven Days in May”. The so called Studio system was now dead. Power shifted to the individual actors, who became BRAND NAMES in their own right.

Two developments began in the 1960’s. The Hollywood studios would be taken over by corporations, and then reacquired by giant multinational corporations seeking world-wide influence. The second development was that the stars began to exercise their power. Giant multinationals like Sony, Newscorp, and Viacom hated the fact that stars had so much power. In the last ten years, A-List actors like Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, and Robert Redford started to receive profit participations, which the studios only gave begrudgingly.

At first it didn’t matter because Hollywood accounting is such that somehow the studios could always show a loss on the movie. The stars got wise to that very quickly, and started taking front end participations, a percentage of the ticket when movie goers bought their tickets. In my 35 years on Wall Street, I participated in financing many movies, and I have to tell you that nobody ever made money on the backend. No matter how big the movie, somehow the movie always lost money when it came to the backend participations.

We have now reached a point where the giant multinationals that control media on a world wide basis are fed up with what they are putting up with on behalf of brand name stars. Mel Gibson as you know has run into trouble on the West Coast with his drinking, and purported anti-Semitic remarks resulting in Disney canceling a Holocaust series with Gibson’s production company.

Now Tom Cruise has had a falling out with Sumner Redstone, and Viacom. Publicly Redstone has stated he doesn’t like some of Cruise’s actions in the last year. This doesn’t make sense. Normally when a studio breaks with a star, there is no public statement. None is required to be given, and they just part ways. This is more personal.

It is rumored that Viacom had offered Cruise a $2 million production deal, down from $4 million in the previous deal, plus a $6 million fund for the development of movie projects. Here’s the real deal. Tom Cruise did “Mission Impossible III” for Viacom, the movie grosses near $400 million world-wide. Cruise had negotiated as a fee, 25% of Viacom’s gross revenue on the movie.

This is the way it works. The movie does $400 million. The theaters get half, and Viacom gets half, that’s $200 million apiece. Cruise gets 25% of Viacom’s half, that’s $50 million. In the end Viacom gets $150 million, and Cruise gets $50 million. Sounds great for Viacom doesn’t it. Not really, Viacom must pay for the movie which had to be $150 million plus advertising. Viacom gets zero, and Cruise still gets $50 million. This is why Sumner Redstone of Viacom is annoyed, and Cruise is sitting on top of the world.

In the end Redstone will last laugh, why you ask? There’s still Hollywood accounting to deal with. Remember that all the original Hollywood studios were sold off into the hands of multinational corporations (MNC’s). Do you really think the MNC’s bought the studios for the theater gross? Absolutely not. In reality movie ticket sales represent a third of a movie’s earnings power. Viacom can lose money on a picture, and still make a fortune on DVD sales (a third), and future television and cable rights (a third).

The MNC’s have never shared profits on these other two-thirds of the revenue, and they never will. They refuse to even discuss it, and the numbers are buried deep in the corporation’s financial statements. They are never broken out, and they are kept secret. Viacom has made, and will make hundreds of millions of dollars on Mission Impossible III.

Redstone got fed up and threw Cruise off the lot. There are now statements being made by Cruise’s production partner Paula Wagner. She says that Cruise is raising $200 million from hedge funds to fund Cruise’s future projects. Wait until these Wall Street hedge fund types learn about Hollywood accounting. They are going to lose their shirts funding movies. This is not an industry that Wall Street should want to get involved with. Losing your shirt is one thing, but not even knowing that you have lost it until you are standing naked in the street is quite another.

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Create Audio CDs from MP3 files

By: Jill Kane

Music has found a new way of storage in the form of digital files in the computer and other digital systems. The MP3 format is the most popular and widely used storage media for music. Many people store a database of music in the form of MP3s in their computer system. There is a need to create a back up of every file stored on the computer due to the fear of its crashing. Similar to the data files backup, MP3 backup is also necessary. The most convenient and intelligent way of creating MP3 backup is by converting them into audio CDs.

Converting MP3 files into audio CDs is very simple and relatively easier than creating a backup of a data file. There is an abundance of CD burning software which can burn or make an audio CD with the help of a CD writer drive. The user just needs to compile a play list of the MP3 song files which he needs to store and then the software stores them into the CD.

The burning procedure of the audio CD is easy to understand. In the burning procedure, first the Mp3 files are converted into Compact Disc Audio (CDA) format files. This process is internal to the software program and is not displayed to the user. The most popular CD burning program is Nero. Although Nero software can handle all the burning procedure and behind the scenes conversion, it provides additional customized options for advanced users. For instance, Nero has a simple audio editor which provides the advanced option of applying filters like noise reduction, equalization or stereo widening and splitting of files.

Not all the CD burning software comes with the advanced features. In these cases the MP3 can be processed manually before burning the CD using dedicated audio editing software. There are plenty of freeware and commercial software programs available on the Internet for this service. The most useful editing functions while preparing MP3 files for burning onto CDs is to 'normalize' them. The normalization process smoothens out the volume spikes or differences between the various tracks on the CD. This process ensures that the entire CD plays at the same relative loudness. After the editing procedure of the MP3 files they should be saved in the WAV file format to be burned to CD. Sometimes the MP3s are burned to a Compact Disc Recordable (CD-R) format. The problem with this format is that although most modern CD players can play this CD format, the older CD players might not read them.

It is not essential for MP3s to be converted to another format. They can be burned directly to Audio CDs in the original MP3 format without any conversion. As MP3 files comes in a more highly compressed format than other formats, a large amount of song files can be stored on one CD - about 120 songs instead of 10 Wav type files. Moreover, the MP3 CDs can be played on a computer CD-ROM in addition to the compatible CD and DVD players.

There is one problem with MP3 CDs and that is looking for a particular piece of music among the huge file list is difficult, especially if the CD player doesn't have a display. The solution to this problem is to use a DVD player connected to a TV or home theater system and arrange the songs into logically divided folders - by artist, album etc. Also the name of the MP3 files should start with the name of the song rather than the artist to facilitate searching.

For more information on MP3 Music or MP3 Players visit http://www.mp3-express.com/mp3-players.htm

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Facts to Consider In Downloading Free MP3 Songs

MP3 players are the latest innovation in the audio technology. There had been many designs and features that sprouted out about MP3 players. Not to mention immense companies making various models of MP3 players.

Truly, MP3 players are the latest trend in the society nowadays. Mostly of teens own a MP3 player. They carry it anywhere they go and what ever they do.

MP3 players have many features that can be useful in everyday living. For students, Mp3 players are very useful in recording seminars or professor’s lectures for future review. One can record almost all sounds using his MP3 player.

Looking for MP3 formatted songs for your MP3 player is now made easy. Everywhere, you may find many Internet cafes or even Tech stores that offer encoding and downloading of MP3 songs. In addition to that, with the aide of the Internet, you may as well look for your favourite songs in MP3 formats.

However, acquiring those songs, be it in Internet cafes or the web, will require you money. Mostly, Internet cafes charge a person per song. Same thing in the Internet but the difference is that, in the Internet downloading is made in bulk. Every download is limited to a minimum of 10 songs only or even higher depending on the company offering the service.

On the other hand, there are also web companies in the Internet that offers free downloads of songs in exchange for a simple task ask to you. They maybe ask you to register your e-mail to them, inquire at a certain site, when you apply for a visa, etc. Sometimes these offers have no money involve.

These are limited offers and sometimes temporary. There are cases that you may be asked to pay very minimal cost for a big quantity of MP3 songs.

Although they offer free MP3 songs, the risk you may get from it could be immense. Illegal web hosts are widely out in the Internet. Nobody is exempted to accidentally land on their fraudulent offers. These web hosts may infect your PC with virus upon downloading files. You are offered free MP3 songs but what are given you are free viruses.

The legality of the free downloadable MP3 songs is very essential. All sites must transact with legal songs only. Songs and albums have copyrights from the artist, producer or the recording company.

Copying of it in any form and in any circumstance without the permission of the copyright holder is illegal and punishable by the existing law.

There are also web sites that offer free downloadable MP3 songs only upon purchase of their products. Others offer 1 or 2 free MP3 songs when one downloads at least 10 or more songs. Quite very good offer but is not completely free. You will still need to spend a penny before you may enjoy the free songs.

These are just but few of the realities happening behind a free MP3 download. Some of these offers are reasonable and very practical. However, if you are looking for absolute free MP3 downloadable songs, you are actually looking for nothing.

All of the offers in exchange of something from except money are somehow true. But it will not guarantee you of a complete free download of MP3 songs. They are just incentives for patronizing their product or their company.

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Free MP3: Know all about it and get it free!

What is mp3?

Mp3 is a name of a file extension specifically the type of file for MPEG, audio layer 3.

Coding schemes includes layer 1, layer 2, and layer 3. Layer 3 is responsible for the compression of audio signals. It uses perceptual audio coding and psychoacoustic compression to remove the redundant and irrelevant parts of a sound signal like the sound the human ear does not hear.

It increases frequency resolution 18 times higher than that of layer 2 because MDCT (Modified Discrete Cosine Transform) that implements a filter bank. It is also capable of compressing the original sound data from a CD with a bit rate of 1411.2 kilobits per one second of stereo music by a factor of 12 down to 112-128kbps without sacrificing sound quality.

What are the Qualities of an Mp3 audio?

Mp3 is a lousy format providing a number of different options for its bit rate. Bit rate is the number of bits of encoded data representing each second of audio.

The quality of Mp3 files is dependent upon the quality of the encoder and the difficulty in encoding signals. Mp3 files encoded with lower bit rate generally playback at lower quality. Too low bit rate affects compression artifacts thus sounds that were not present during the encoding may appear in the reproduction.

Mp3 with a compression ratio of approximately 11:1 can achieve sound quality superior to FM radio and cassette tape due to limitation of bandwidth, SNR and other analog media.

How does Mp3 go public?

ISO MPEG Audio committee members developed reference simulation software written in C language known as ISO 11172-5 to produce bit complaint MPEG Audio files (Layer 1, Layer2, and Layer 3). It was able to demonstrate the first real time hardware decoding (DSP based) of compressed audio.

13enc was the first software Mp3 encoder released on July 7, 1994 by Fraunhofer Society. The files had been named .bit until the team have chosen the file extension.mp3 on July 14, 1995.

Many people were able to encode and playback Mp3 files on their PCs due to the release of Winplay3-the first real-time software Mp3 player on September 9, 1995.

Mp3 files are small so they can be easily transferred across the internet. Small hard drives ranging 500MB during its invention can store music on the computer. It gives a breakthrough in listening music using computers.

Mp3 files during the first half of 1995 became popular in the internet due to and interchangeable with the successes of companies and software packages. Nullsoft Winamp was released in 1997 while mpg123 and Napster in 1999 gives a breakthrough for the user’s easy playback, create, share and collect Mp3s.

Widespread of Mp3 files on the internet created a controversy that arises regarding peer-to-peer file sharing of Mp3 files. High compression enables sharing of files that are too large and cumbersome to share. People should also be aware of the intellectual property rights so that filing of lawsuit can be prevented.

You can choose from the following architecture free Mp3 players. I-tunes for the Macintosh and PC, Winamp for Windows 95/98 or NT or XMMS if you are using UNIX are great tools.

What are you waiting for? Get your Mp3 free and listen to your favourite type of music!

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Book Review: This Terrible Business Has Been Good to Me - An autobiography by filmmaker Norman Jewison

by: Aldene Fredenburg

This exuberant autobiography takes us through movie director Norman Jewison's entire career, from the fluffy Doris Day comedies of his early years to his most powerful dramas. Over more than forty years, he has made films that are not only highly entertaining, but at times manage to make a valuable moral statement about the world.

Jewison, who was born in Canada in 1927, describes a pivotal moment in his life when, after World War II, he traveled through the American South in his Canadian military uniform and was browbeaten by a bus driver after he, not understanding the system of segregation, chose to sit in the back of a bus. The incident made a powerful impact on him, and eventually resulted in a determination to portray the ugliness of racial injustice cinematically. The outcome of this determination is a collection of groundbreaking movies which illuminate the inequities in an America divided into black and white.

Jewison's powerful 1967 drama In the Heat of the Night stars Sidney Poitier as strong, outspoken black Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs, who ends up stranded at a Mississippi train depot in the middle of the night. When a wealthy factory owner is murdered, Tibbs is hauled in for questioning and ends up collaborating with chief of police Bill Gillespie to solve the crime. The entire film crackles with racial tension as Tibbs comes up against dangerously violent citizens stirred up by the businessman's death and Tibbs' powerful and unyielding presence.

Jewison expressed doubts about being able to get the movie made to Senator Robert F. Kennedy; Kennedy urged him to persist, saying, "The time is right for a movie like this." Kennedy was right; the film was received with critical acclaim and recognized as revolutionary for its time, the first portrayal of a strong, independent black man who did not back down in the face of white aggression.

Jewison has continued to make pointed statements about race; in the 1984 A Soldier's Story, an Army investigator (Howard Rollins) looks into the murder of an unpopular black sergeant in the South; the 1999 drama The Hurricane, depicts the true story of boxer Hurricane Carter's conviction and imprisonment for a crime he didn't commit, and the man's ultimate vindication.

Jewison's cinematic range covers just about every genre. The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! (1966) is a hilarious and touching account of a Russian submarine which beaches itself on a sandbar off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. Part of the crew goes ashore and causes a panic among the island's residents; when the rest of the crew manages to free the submarine, it ends up tooling into the town harbor, threatening a violent confrontation which is averted when the islanders and the Russians must work together to save a small boy from danger. The movie was a resounding success in the Soviet Union as well as in the U.S., and may have done as much for détente between the two superpowers as any politician in either country.

Moonstruck (1987), an off-beat romantic comedy starring Cher and Nicholas Cage; In Country (1989), a brooding analysis of the effects of the Vietnam War on an emotionally damaged vet (Bruce Willis) and his niece (Emily Lloyd), herself an orphan of a soldier who didn't make it home; The Cincinnati Kid (1965), in which Edward G. Robinson and Steve McQueen face off in a gritty and psychologically intense poker game are all markedly different from each other, as are all his movies. One trait each of Jewison's movies does have in common with all the others is a deep understanding and sympathy for human nature; even his villains exhibit a depth and a complexity uncommon in moviemaking.

The book contains inside info on the making of each of Jewison's movies and plenty of fascinating tidbits about the actors and other celebrities he's dealt with over the years. The result is a book which offers insight into the author, a great overview of his movies, and a thoroughly enjoyable read.

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The Birth of Legal Music Downloads

by: Morgan Hamilton

In recent years, less people have been buying CDs and many are now downloading music online. This is due to the emergence of music download sites like Napster, and the rising popularity of MP3 players from iPod and other similar companies. People are now choosing downloads over CDs because of the expensive price of a whole CD, and they want to take advantage of the free music that downloads can offer. However, a crackdown on free music a few years ago has made shareware illegal and turned legal music downloads a popular alternative.

The creation of legal music downloads came about because of the complaints of many artists and musicians. They pleaded with the government that they owned their music, and it therefore should not be available for free downloading through shareware like Napster. The government decided that shareware sites are indeed illegal, and allowed companies to provide music downloads for a small fee, as long as it was not free or through shareware.

As a result, music downloading websites began popping up online, with ITunes being the most popular. Napster also began providing legal music downloads to consumers for a monthly subscription fee. ITunes became increasingly popular mainly because they provided legal music downloads for a very nominal fee of only ninety-nine cents per song, and it was also more convenient than other sources. You don’t have to pay a costly monthly subscription if you just want to one or two songs. There are now more than a hundred of sites that offer music downloads ranging from small start up companies to established ones like Yahoo and ITunes.

There are even a handful of international sites that offer legal music downloads. Russia has the most popular and widespread international sites. However, they are monitored very closely because they offer songs for as little as five cents each. Music companies and artists are not very fond of music being sold for that little. It has been difficult to crack down on them because other countries do not fully recognize intellectual property laws.

You can find legal music downloads in several ways. It is advisable that you go through reputable and well known sites such as Itunes or Yahoo. You can also take a risk and download your music through one of the international sites that currently offer legal music downloads. However, you have to run the chance of a government crackdown or glitches in the site that can prevent you from fully downloading the music you paid for.

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Diamond Head / Gone With the Wave - "Music"

by: Kevin McGann

For their latest Colpix CD double-header, FSM have brought together two titans of film scoring, under the banner of sand, surf and sea. From 1963, we get Johnny Williams' Hawaiian-influenced “soap” score to the Chuck Heston starrer Diamond Head, coupled with Lalo Schifrin's 'groovin' tunes from the 'cult' surf documentary Gone With The Wave, which surfaced one year later in 1964. These are straight re-issues of the LP's which were released at the same time as the movies they accompanied.

Although Diamond Head follows the same path as a lot of Johnny Williams' scores from this period (namely, a collection of dance and source cues, rearranged for the LP release), this score does contain some hidden highlights. In amongst the lightweight pop/jazz arrangements, for which Williams was popular during this decade, there are four tracks which evoke the sound of the more dramatic John Williams, who would go on to become a major force in movie scoring for many years to come.


‘Main Title’, ‘Sloan Strolls’, ‘Sloan's Dream’ and ‘End Title’ will resonate with fans of the composer's dramatic style, which feature his yearning string sound, as well as some powerful horn and strident brass passages. Although the main theme is not written by Williams (the title song has lyrics by Mack David set to a Hugo Winterhalter melody), his strong orchestration technique pretty much makes it sound like a John Williams composition, when it is employed. Even the tracks ‘Mei Chen’ and ‘Manoalani’ have a less “poppy” feel to them, coming across as more dramatic and fleshed out than other Williams 'source' cues from his films from this period.

Although fans of Lalo Schifrin's more dramatic music will find little to sink their teeth into during Gone With The Wave, his jazz/groove listeners will eat this up. It's basically a collection of laid back, unrelated melodies, which Schifrin composed without seeing the film, with what he termed a 'good band' (which included some of the best West Coast jazz performers of the time). The styles covered include a samba, some jazz and blues pieces and a slice of Mexicana. It's a pretty rare album though (and was a huge seller at the time), so Schifrin completists should be in heaven.

Film Score Monthly's booklet and packaging continue to show the others how it should be done, with their now customary reversible covers, informative track by track breakdown, original LP liner notes and even a nice note of explanation concerning their source of the music tracks. Anyone concerned that these two soundtracks were sourced from original LP and tape transfers need not worry. The minute you hit play on your CD player all concerns will vanish. The sound is quite astonishing!

Whilst (dramatic) Schifrin fans should approach with care, there is less to debate for fans of Williams, who will lap up the opportunity to hear passages of music wherein Johnny would eventually become John, thereby making this an essential purchase for anyone who follows the career of this legendary composer.

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The Passion of the Maya ( Movies Review )

By A. O. SCOTT

“I’m going to peel off his skin and make him watch me wear it.” This grisly threat is delivered by one of the main bad guys in Mel Gibson’s “Apocalypto.” The promised flaying never takes place, but viewers who share this director’s apparently limitless appetite for gore will not be disappointed, since not much else in the way of bodily torment has been left to the imagination. There are plenty of disembowelings, impalings, clubbings and beheadings. Hearts are torn, still beating, from slashed-open chests. A man’s face is chewed off by a jaguar. Another’s neck is pierced by darts tipped with frog venom. Most disturbing, perhaps, is the sight of hundreds of corpses haphazardly layered in an open pit: a provocative and ill-advised excursion into Holocaust imagery on this director’s part.

Violence has become the central axiom in Mr. Gibson’s practice as a filmmaker, his major theme and also his chief aesthetic interest. The brutality in “Apocalypto” is so relentless and extreme that it sometimes moves beyond horror into a kind of grotesque comedy, but to dismiss it as excessive or gratuitous would be to underestimate Mr. Gibson’s seriousness. And say what you will about him — about his problem with booze or his problem with Jews — he is a serious filmmaker.

Which is not to say that “Apocalypto” is a great film, or even that it can be taken quite as seriously as it wants to be. Mr. Gibson’s technical command has never been surer; for most of its 2-hour 18-minute running time, “Apocalypto,” written by Mr. Gibson and Farhad Safinia, is a model of narrative economy, moving nimbly forward and telling its tale with clarity and force. It is, above all, a muscular and kinetic action movie, a drama of rescue and revenge with very little organic relation to its historical setting. Yes, the dialogue is in various Mayan dialects, which will sound at least as strange to American ears as the Latin and Aramaic of “The Passion of the Christ,” but the film’s real language is Hollywood’s, and Mr. Gibson’s, native tongue.

When I first heard about this project, and later when I saw the early trailers, I halfway hoped that Mr. Gibson might turn out to be an American (or half-Australian) version of Werner Herzog, setting out into the jungle to explore the dark and tangled regions of human nature. Once you get past the costumes and the subtitles, though, the most striking thing about “Apocalypto” is how comfortably it sits within the conventions of mainstream moviemaking. It is not an obsessive opera like Mr. Herzog’s “Aguirre: The Wrath of God,” but rather a pop period epic in the manner of “Gladiator” or “Braveheart,” and as such less interested in historical or cultural authenticity than in imposing an accessible scheme on a faraway time and place.

The setting is Central America before the arrival of the Spanish, when the Maya empire, in Mr. Gibson’s version, was already in the process of collapsing from within. The basic moral conflict — as it was in “Braveheart,” directed by and starring Mr. Gibson, and in “The Patriot,” a vehicle for him directed by Roland Emmerich — is between a small group of people trying to live simple, decent, traditional lives and a larger, more powerful political entity driven by bloodlust and greed. This kind of conservative anti-imperialism runs consistently through Mr. Gibson’s work; whether the empire in question is Roman, British or Mesoamerican, and whatever its political resonance might be, it allows the viewer to root for an unambiguously virtuous underdog.

“Apocalypto” begins with a group of young men out on a hunt and lingers for a while in their happy, earthy village, a place that might double as a nostalgic vision of small-town America were it not for the loin cloths, the tattooed buttocks and the facial piercings. Blunted (Jonathan Brewer) is nagged by his mother-in-law and teased by his buddies because he hasn’t yet made his wife pregnant, but he accepts his humiliation in good humor, like the jolly fat kid on a family sitcom.

Meanwhile Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood), whose father (Morris Birdyellowhead) is an admired hunter and warrior, snuggles down with his pregnant wife, Seven (Dalia Hernandez), and their young son, Turtle Run (Carlos Emilio Baez). There’s fresh tapir meat on the grill and an old-timer telling stories by the fire. Life is good.

Needless to say, this pastoral idyll cannot last. The ominous strains of James Horner’s score indicate as much. Before long the village is set upon by fearsome marauders, led by Zero Wolf (Raoul Trujillo), who rape, burn and kill with ruthless discipline and undisguised glee. The locals resist valiantly, but the survivors are led away to an uncertain fate. Seven and Turtle Run stay behind, hidden in a hole in the ground.

Jaguar Paw’s mission will be to rescue them and also to avenge his friends and kin. First, though, he will accompany us on a Cecil B. DeMille tour of the decadent imperial capital, a place of misery, luxury and corruption, where priests and nobles try to keep famine and pestilence at bay with round-the-clock human sacrifices.

Neither Mr. Gibson’s fans nor his detractors are likely to accuse him of excessive subtlety, and the effectiveness of “Apocalypto” is inseparable from its crudity. But the blunt characterizations and the emphatic emotional cues are also evidence of the director’s skill.

Perhaps because he is aiming for an audience wary of subtitles, Mr. Gibson rarely uses dialogue as a means of exposition, and he proves himself to be an able, if not always terribly original, visual storyteller. He is not afraid of clichés — the slow-motion, head-on sprint toward the camera; the leap from the waterfall into the river below — but he executes them with a showman’s maniacal relish.

And it is, all in all, a pretty good show. There is a tendency, at least among journalists, to take Mr. Gibson as either a monster or a genius, a false choice that he frequently seems intent on encouraging. Is he a madman or a visionary? Should he be shunned or embraced? Censured or forgiven?

These are the wrong questions, but their persistence reveals the truth about this shrewd and bloody-minded filmmaker. He is an entertainer. He will be publicized, and he will be paid.

“Apocalypto” is rated R (Under 17 must be accompanied by parent or adult guardian). See the first paragraph above.

APOCALYPTO

Opens today nationwide.

Directed by Mel Gibson; written (in Maya, with English subtitles) by Mr. Gibson and Farhad Safinia; director of photography, Dean Semler; edited by John Wright; music by James Horner; production designer, Tom Sanders; produced by Mr. Gibson and Bruce Davey; released by Touchstone Pictures. Running time: 138 minutes.

WITH: Rudy Youngblood (Jaguar Paw), Dalia Hernandez (Seven), Jonathan Brewer (Blunted), Raoul Trujillo (Zero Wolf), Gerardo Taracena (Middle Eye), Rodolfo Palacios (Snake Ink), Fernando Hernandez (High Priest), Maria Isidra Hoil and Aquetzali Garcia (Oracle Girls) and Abel Woolrich (Laughing Man).

info from;nytimes.com

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Movie Downloads Online - What's The Best Way?

by: Jonathan Teabing

Today, more and more people understand that having a subscription at a video store is simply does not meet their needs. Instead, they turn to online movie downloads to provide them with films they wish to watch.

This happens for several reasons, where the top reasons are dramatically reduced costs, larger title selection and time saving.

Now, there are basically two online downloading models for movies:

One website supplies content to members. Typically, these websites charge a per-movie fee of several dollars (2$--4$ usually). However, some also charge a monthly fee of about 10$.

A website provides membership to a network of users, where each member has several movies on his or hers computer. You can download movies from every person on the network. These sites typically charge a one-time fee of about 35-50$ for registration, and you are never billed again.

The model that gives the best value to the end-user is irrevocably the member-network model. I will therefore elaborate on this model:

After registering, the website provides you with a software to access the network.

The network consists of millions of users just like yourself. Each member of the network has at least several movie files on his computer. Every member can download movies from any other member. This way you have up to millions of users sharing their movies with you. Because of the vast number of members in a network, the quantity of movies can be in the range of dozens of millions.

A good website will provide you with manuals on software installation and operation, as well as high-availability technical support (some sites provide a 24/7 support system).

Most of the movie networks are more than just movie networks - they contain files of virtually any type - music, software, etc. Some sites will charge you extra for access to music directories.

How long does it take to download an entire film?

Most of the time, download will be completed in a matter of hours. The time may vary, as it depends on two factors:

Your download speed. If you have a broadband connection, you'll be able to download much faster than a member with a dial-up modem.

The number of users that have the movie you're downloading, and their upload speed.

In order to bring the download time to a minimum, files are usually split into several relatively small parts, and you can download each part from a different member, so you are far less limited by a specific member's upload speed. Each network has its own algorithms for managing this split-into-files, so the time of download might still be considerably different between every two networks.

So how do you choose the download network that's right for you?

You need to compare:

The cost of the program. make sure that the prices you compare are for the same time period! Often a website would offer a one-year membership as well as a lifetime membership.

The number of users and movies on the network.

Additional features supplied - music, software downloads, games, etc. Music playing software, movie playing software and CD & DVD burning software are also common features.

And finally, one note on cautious shopping: Too many times, innocent customers fall into the clutches of scams to steal credit card numbers and other personal information. For a short review that will help you avoid the most common mistakes (and learn a little about movie download sites in particular), you are welcome to visit this site.

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Watch Movies, Music, Sports All4Free On Your PC

by: Tony Pescatore

With your computer you can watch movies, music, sports all4free on your PC, which is what I do. I don't have to pay any monthly satellite subscription payments or any other recurring payments ever.

There are over 3000 stations I can choose from to watch (Movies, Sports, Music, Clips, News, Radio, etc.) from all over the world including local, regional and international broadcasts.

I can watch over 40 music channels with this software plus includes masses of radio stations as well.

Do you like baseball which has it's own baseball channel TV, basketball NBA TV, hockey NHL, football offcourse live games, soccer which has most English Premier League games live if two or more are on the same time you choose which one you want to see, tennis or even athletics, what about boxing, whatever the sport you can watch until your hearts content.

All you need to be able to connect to a world of television is a computer with Internet access. Meaning that you do not need to buy extra hardware equipment or a PC TV card because the TV channels are streamed through your Internet connection. It even works with a 56k connection. Personally though I only recommend this if you have broadband connection not just 56k connection.(A broadband connection will deliver superior audio and video quality).

The lifetime fee for all the entertainment you need costs $49.95 and as that would suggest, it is the only payment you will ever have to make then you can watch movies, music, sports all4free on your PC.

These are some of the channels for TVU CHANNEL GUIDE, CBN, Fashion, ESPN (ASIA), Star Sports, CCT-5 (Sports), Fox, NBC, NBC15, CBS, ESPN, ESPN 2, Hunan TV, CSTV, NHL2, Telecapri (Italy Sports), NHL, ONTOP TV (Music), USA Network, CW, E-Music (Harik), EA Music, Xin Chi, Class News (Italy), DW TV (German), Bloomberg, NASA TV, CNBC (India), WSCN, Fox News (M), MSNBC, Phoenix Info, StarTV, Phoenix CN, CTITV, Channel 52, AXN, Hollywood Movie, East TV, CCTV 8, HuaYu, Channel V, Comedy Central, Voice TV, TeleMundo, My Life, EasyFM, CRI Language Studio, HITZ Radio, Nickelodeon, CHANNEL D1, RTM2 etc.

The above channels are just a taste of what there is plus movies you can watch blockbuster titles from all around the world for free from the comfort of your own home.

Over 100 USA TV stations, 60 plus UK TV stations, also ALBANIA, ALGERIA, ANDORRA, ARGENTINA, AUSTRALIA, AUSTRIA, BELARUS, BELGIUM, BOLIVIA, BOSNIA, BRAZIL, CANADA, CHILE, CHINA, COLOMBIA, COSTA RICA, CUBA, CZECH REP, DENMARK, DOMINIC. REP, EGYPT, ESTONIA, FINLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, GREECE, HUNGARY, ICELAND, INDIA, INDONESIA, IRAN, IRAQ, ISRAEL, ITALY, JAMAICA, JAPAN, JORDAN, KURDISTAN, KUWAIT, LATVIA, LEBANON, LUXEMBURG, MACEDONIA, MALAYSIA, MALTA, MEXICO, MONGOLIA, NETHERLANDS, NEW ZEALAND, NICARAGUA, NIGERIA, OMAN, PANAMA, PERU, PHILIPPINES, POLAND, PORTUGAL, PUERTO RICO, QATAR, ROMANIA, RUSSIAN FED, SAUDI ARABIA, SERBIA, SOUTH AFRICA, SOUTH KOREA, SPAIN, SRI LANKA, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, TAIWAN, THAILAND, TURKEY, UKRAINE, VATICAN CITY, VENEZUELA, VIETNAM +PLUS MUCH MORE!!!

Plus Foreign (136) Domestic (89) Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan (64) General (62) TV broadcast channels (59) Entertainment (46) Television (44) sports (41) Issued (36) radio (31) Recommendation (28) Republic of Korea (26) CCTV (22) science (18) TVANTS Television (11) digital television channels (8) 3TV test channel (7) VIP tests (5) FINANCIAL (5), religion (4) Film (3) games (2) CNC (2) NBA (1) Shanghai (1) Opera (1)

If you have kids at home and you want to keep them quiet there is a whole variety of children shows. There is also news, weather, politics, and much, much more are also covered. Whatever you want to watch it's all there for you with an Internet satellite television connection. The best part about this it’s completely, 100% free so you can watch movies, music, sports all4free on your PC.

They only hire the best developers who have previously been employed by the world's leading technology companies such as Microsoft, IBM and Google. This has ensured a high level of compatibility and that the software is robust, powerful, and entirely unique.

This is what I call entertainment on my computer. Don't forget it includes free lifetime updates plus new stations. They are on the cutting edge of satellite TV for PC technology and constantly update other software to keep up with new developments. As TV technology changes so will satellite TV for PC. They will be adding many more quality stations in the near future such as MTV USA, HBO, Playboy TV, Pay Per View, plus many many more. Once you have this software you are entitle to receive these new stations plus all future software upgrades for FREE enjoy.

Watch Movies, Music, Sports All4Free On Your PC

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Science Fiction Movie Reviews

by: Francesca Black

Nothing beats a Friday night at home, snuggled up on a coach with a bowl of popcorn watching Science Fiction Movies. Stop at your local video store and find a science fiction movie sure to get you thinking about what could have been or what might be. Here are some of the best all time science fiction movies.

The Matrix

In this complex story that aspires to mythology, a computer hacker searches for the truth behind the mysterious force known as the Matrix. He finds his answer with a group of strangers led by the charismatic Morpheus. What they encounter in confronting that truth makes for a lightning-paced, eye-popping thrill ride of a movie that cleverly combines sociopolitical commentary with cutting-edge special effects.

Star Wars Episode 1

In this Star Wars prequel, Qui-Gon Jinn and a young Obi-Wan Kenobi must protect the Queen of Naboo from the evil clutches of Darth Sidious and Senator Palpatine. Along the way, they meet Anakin Skywalker, who shows the beginnings of a great gift.

ET

Heartwarming story of the special bond 10-year-old Elliot forges with an alien he names E.T. The adventures they share as Elliot tries to hide his new friend, as E.T. tries to get back to his planet.

Cocoon

A group of shut-ins at a rest home get a new lease on life when they're offered the gift of eternal youth by visiting aliens. A charter boat captain who helps fellow seniors make the choice between perennial youth or old age.

Lord of the Rings; Fellowship of the Ring

From the idyllic shire of the Hobbits to the smoking chasms of Mordor, Lord of the Rings is full of action. Frodo Baggins embarks on his epic quest for the one true ring.

Men in Black

This sci-fi comedy features J and K, agents in a top secret, above-the-government agency monitoring alien activity on Earth. Before rookie agent J even breaks in his stylish black suit, the team is called to save a galaxy from a bad-tempered alien "bug" and save Earth from total annihilation.

Harry Potter

Harry has lived under the stairs at his aunt and uncle's house his whole life. But on his 11th birthday, he learns he's a powerful wizard -- with a place waiting for him at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There, he uncovers the truth about his parents' deaths ... and about the villain who's to blame.

Beetlejuice

Thanks to an untimely demise, a young couple ends up as poltergeists in their New England farmhouse, where they fail to meet the challenge of scaring away the insufferable new owners. In desperation, the undead newlyweds turn to an expert frightmeister named Beetlejuice -- who has a diabolical agenda behind his scheme to help them.

The Crow

Young rock guitarist Eric Draven and his fiancée are brutally killed by a ruthless gang of criminals. Exactly one year after his death, Eric returns -- watched over by a hypnotic crow -- to seek revenge.

Mists of Avalon

King Arthur's Camelot with a feminist slant. Avalon high priestess Viviane and sisters Morgaine and Morgause battle for control of the kingdom. Viviane manipulates her own sister into marrying a king in order to produce an amenable heir, but deceit, magic and human fallibility threaten to destroy both the plan and Avalon itself.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

When Roy Neary encounters a UFO, he's left with a sunburned face, a skeptical family and a shaken psyche. Soon, Roy begins seeking out others who've had similar "visions." Among those he finds are Jillian , a woman who's lost her son to the aliens, and Claude, a researcher preparing for Earth's first contact with extraterrestrials.

Poltergeist

Life is very pleasant for the close-knit Freeling family until a host of otherworldy forces invades their peaceful suburban home. Before long, their house is transformed into a swirling supernatural sideshow -- all centered around their angelic young daughter, Carol Anne.

Andromeda Strain

When a satellite crashes in New Mexico, the Air Force sends two men to retrieve it. To their horror, they discover that the probe carries an alien virus that's already killed all but two of the residents of the town where it landed. Now, scientists must isolate the virus and stop it from spreading.

12 Monkeys

In the year 2035, convict James Cole reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time by scientists to 1996 to discover the origin of a virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth's population. When Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990, he's arrested and locked up in a mental hospital, where he meets a psychiatrist and the son of a famous virus expert.

Read more!

Science Fiction Movie Reviews

by: Francesca Black

Nothing beats a Friday night at home, snuggled up on a coach with a bowl of popcorn watching Science Fiction Movies. Stop at your local video store and find a science fiction movie sure to get you thinking about what could have been or what might be. Here are some of the best all time science fiction movies.

The Matrix

In this complex story that aspires to mythology, a computer hacker searches for the truth behind the mysterious force known as the Matrix. He finds his answer with a group of strangers led by the charismatic Morpheus. What they encounter in confronting that truth makes for a lightning-paced, eye-popping thrill ride of a movie that cleverly combines sociopolitical commentary with cutting-edge special effects.

Star Wars Episode 1

In this Star Wars prequel, Qui-Gon Jinn and a young Obi-Wan Kenobi must protect the Queen of Naboo from the evil clutches of Darth Sidious and Senator Palpatine. Along the way, they meet Anakin Skywalker, who shows the beginnings of a great gift.

ET

Heartwarming story of the special bond 10-year-old Elliot forges with an alien he names E.T. The adventures they share as Elliot tries to hide his new friend, as E.T. tries to get back to his planet.

Cocoon

A group of shut-ins at a rest home get a new lease on life when they're offered the gift of eternal youth by visiting aliens. A charter boat captain who helps fellow seniors make the choice between perennial youth or old age.

Lord of the Rings; Fellowship of the Ring

From the idyllic shire of the Hobbits to the smoking chasms of Mordor, Lord of the Rings is full of action. Frodo Baggins embarks on his epic quest for the one true ring.

Men in Black

This sci-fi comedy features J and K, agents in a top secret, above-the-government agency monitoring alien activity on Earth. Before rookie agent J even breaks in his stylish black suit, the team is called to save a galaxy from a bad-tempered alien "bug" and save Earth from total annihilation.

Harry Potter

Harry has lived under the stairs at his aunt and uncle's house his whole life. But on his 11th birthday, he learns he's a powerful wizard -- with a place waiting for him at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There, he uncovers the truth about his parents' deaths ... and about the villain who's to blame.

Beetlejuice

Thanks to an untimely demise, a young couple ends up as poltergeists in their New England farmhouse, where they fail to meet the challenge of scaring away the insufferable new owners. In desperation, the undead newlyweds turn to an expert frightmeister named Beetlejuice -- who has a diabolical agenda behind his scheme to help them.

The Crow

Young rock guitarist Eric Draven and his fiancée are brutally killed by a ruthless gang of criminals. Exactly one year after his death, Eric returns -- watched over by a hypnotic crow -- to seek revenge.

Mists of Avalon

King Arthur's Camelot with a feminist slant. Avalon high priestess Viviane and sisters Morgaine and Morgause battle for control of the kingdom. Viviane manipulates her own sister into marrying a king in order to produce an amenable heir, but deceit, magic and human fallibility threaten to destroy both the plan and Avalon itself.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

When Roy Neary encounters a UFO, he's left with a sunburned face, a skeptical family and a shaken psyche. Soon, Roy begins seeking out others who've had similar "visions." Among those he finds are Jillian , a woman who's lost her son to the aliens, and Claude, a researcher preparing for Earth's first contact with extraterrestrials.

Poltergeist

Life is very pleasant for the close-knit Freeling family until a host of otherworldy forces invades their peaceful suburban home. Before long, their house is transformed into a swirling supernatural sideshow -- all centered around their angelic young daughter, Carol Anne.

Andromeda Strain

When a satellite crashes in New Mexico, the Air Force sends two men to retrieve it. To their horror, they discover that the probe carries an alien virus that's already killed all but two of the residents of the town where it landed. Now, scientists must isolate the virus and stop it from spreading.

12 Monkeys

In the year 2035, convict James Cole reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time by scientists to 1996 to discover the origin of a virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth's population. When Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990, he's arrested and locked up in a mental hospital, where he meets a psychiatrist and the son of a famous virus expert.

Read more!