Tag Archives: Steven Spielberg

'Schindler's List' reportedly to be auctioned on eBay

“Schindler’s List” is being auctioned off on eBay.

No, not a DVD of the Oscar-winning Steven Spielberg film, but one of the original Schindler’s lists — the only one ever to go on the open market — will be publicly auctioned tonight on the popular shopping Web site.

The reserve price is an eye-popping $3 million.

But its sellers, California collectors Gary Zimet and Eric Gazin, are hoping it will go for as high as $5 million.

“Enter US $3,000,000.00 or more” the listing will instruct bidders when it goes live at 9 p.m. EDT, according to an advance copy obtained by The Post.

“Free Local Pickup” the listing will advise. “Item location: Israel.”

“We decided to sell the list on eBay because it has over 100 million worldwide members, and this is a global story,” Gazin told The Post.

“There are billionaires using the site, wealthy celebrities,” said Gazin, who is the president of AuctionCause.com. “We like the platform.”

The “list” was named for Oskar Schindler, a businessman from Germany who is credited with saving more than 1,000 Jewish refugees from the Nazis by deeming them essential workers for his enamel-works factories.

Of the seven original versions of the list, only four are known to still exist — including two in Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Memorial Museum, and one in the US Holocaust Museum in Washington.

The one being offered for sale on eBay tonight is 14 onion-skin pages long.

The date April 18, 1945, is written in pencil on the first page. It lists 801 male names.

“It is extremely rare that a document of this historical significance is put on the market,” Zimet said.

“Many of the survivors on this list and their descendants moved to the United States, and there are names on this list which will sound very familiar to New Yorkers.”

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

Feedback Is Overrated

By Rajeev Peshawaria, Contributor What do Nelson Mandela, Steve Jobs, John Lennon and the Beatles, Mahatma Gandhi, Howard Schultz, Abraham Lincoln, Michelle Kwan, Thomas Edison, Beethoven, Steven Spielberg, Marilyn Monroe, Walt Disney, Soichiro Honda, Charles Darwin and Michael Jordan have in common? …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Weekend Box Office: 'Oblivion' opens among top Tom Cruise debuts.

By Scott Mendelson, Contributor

Tom Cruise became a movie star during an era when a film’s success was less predicated on opening weekend.  Like Harrison Ford and Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise made his name as Hollywood’s biggest and most consistent star when a $15 million opening weekend was very good, a $25 million weekend was fantastic, and a $100 million total was an unqualified smash hit.  Before today, Cruise had six opening weekends above $25 million. They are Minority Report ($35 million), Interview with the Vampire ($36 million), Mission: Impossible ($45 million), Mission: Impossible III ($47 million), Mission: Impossible II ($57 million), and War of the Worlds ($64 million). The next highest are four films (The Last Samurai, Collateral, The Firm, and Vanilla Sky) that have opened around $24-25 million. Of the six biggest opening weekends, two of them were Steven Spielberg sci-fi action pictures, three of them were Mission: Impossible films, and one of them was a controversial adaptation of a beloved novel. So Cruise‘s biggest original-material openings are Minority Report and Collateral, which opened about $10 million apart from each other. Oh, and two of those openings (War of the Worlds and Mission: Impossible III) occurred in the heat of Cruise’s couch-jumping public-relations meltdown. Aside from the $64 million Fri-Sun and $112 million Wed-Sun debut of Steven Spielberg‘s War of the Worlds in 2005 and three of the four Mission: Impossible films, not a single Tom Cruise film had opened above $36 million.  As such, the estimated $38.1 million for Oblivion (review) is actually Tom Cruise‘s biggest opening weekend outside of War of the Worlds for a non-Mission: Impossible entry and his biggest debut for a film that arguably was purely about Tom Cruise‘s star power.

From: http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2013/04/21/weekend-box-office-oblivion-opens-among-top-tom-cruise-debuts/

Friday Box Office: Tom Cruise Scores Near-Record Opening Day With 'Oblivion'

By Scott Mendelson, Contributor

Tom Cruise may be among the biggest movie stars of the last thirty years, but his peak stardom occurred from the mid-80’s to mid-2000’s (Top Gun to War of the Worlds). That’s an incredibly long run, but it was also mostly during an age where opening weekend wasn’t quite as much of a dominating force in a film’s overall box office performance.  Tom Cruise came of age during a time when a $15 million opening weekend was a big deal and $100 million domestic was an unqualified smash hit.  I bring this up to explain that while Tom Cruise was and is among the biggest movie stars of the last few decades, his opening weekends as a whole don’t tend to measure up to what we would consider a massive debut. Aside from the $64 million Fri-Sun and $112 million Wed-Sun debut of Steven Spielberg‘s War of the Worlds in 2005 and three of the four Mission: Impossible films, not a single Tom Cruise film has opened above $36 million. As such, the $13 million (as reported by Exhibitor Relations) opening day  of Oblivion may be somewhat run of the mill in today’s blockbuster context, but it’s actually somewhat of a milestone for Cruise.  Aside from the $21 million Wednesday debut of War of the Worlds, the  $13 million opening Friday for Oblivion possibly marks Tom Cruise‘s largest single day for a non-Mission: Impossible entry.

From: http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2013/04/20/friday-box-office-tom-cruise-scores-near-record-opening-day-with-oblivion/

2013 Lexus LX 570 Test Drive and Review: Juraissic Luxury

By Jason Fogelson, Contributor

It’s just a coincidence that they’re re-releasing Jurassic Park in 3D right now, just as I prepare to review the 2013 LX 570. Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film was a tremendous smash back in the 1990s, spawning two sequels to date. Lexus’s LX was a big success, too, but the full size luxury SUV has become a bit of a dinosaur of late, mostly due to its unhealthy appetite for fossil fuels. Now in its third generation, the LX returns with a revised exterior design, new flourishes on the interior, and a whole lot of attitude for 2013. With a base price of $80,930 ($88,775 as tested), a 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, a 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty and EPA fuel economy estimates of 12 mpg city/17 mpg highway, is the 2013 Lexus LX 570 still a force to be reckoned with, or is it on the road to extinction?

From: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonfogelson/2013/04/17/2013-lexus-lx-570-test-drive-and-review-juraissic-luxury/

How hacking fixed the worst video game of all time

According to urban legend, a landfill somewhere in the small city of Alamogordo, New Mexico, bulges with millions of copies of the worst game ever made—a game that many observers blamed for the North American video-game sales crash of 1983. Atari’s bubble burst because of a little alien.

In December 1982, Atari released E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial for the Atari 2600, and critics quickly labeled it the worst game of all time. In light of many more-recent debacles—I’m looking at you Aliens: Colonial Marines and SimCitygranting “worst game ever” status to E.T. in perpetuity seems somewhat unfair. Nonetheless, this primordial Atari 2600 title continues to top “worst of” charts, including our own, time and time again.

So why should you give it another chance? Because code hackers managed to fix some of the games most glaring problems, and now it’s actually fun to play.

What went wrong?

When Atari finally got the rights to the E.T. name in late July 1982, it wanted to make the game a holiday-season sales hit. Steven Spielberg chose Howard Scott Warshaw (designer of both Yars’ Revenge and Raiders of the Lost Ark, two of the best Atari games ever) to design the game, and Atari established a schedule that gave him just five weeks to do the job.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

From: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2032869/how-hacking-fixed-the-worst-video-game-of-all-time.html#tk.rss_all

Jurassic Park 3D Review

By Jim Vejvoda

You know the story of Jurassic Park so there’s no need to recap it except to say: Amusement park. Cloned dinosaurs. Run for your life. In honor of the 20th anniversary of director Steven Spielberg‘s blockbuster adaptation of Michael Crichton‘s bestseller, Universal has converted the film and re-released it as Jurassic Park 3D.

Many films have been converted to 3D for release, but Star Was – Episode I: The Phantom Menace is the best example of an older film being converted to 3D and not exactly wowing people with the 3D results. So is it worth returning to an even older film, Jurassic Park, just for the 3D experience? Yes, it is.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at IGN Movie Reviews

The box office legacy of Jurassic Park, 20 years later…

By Scott Mendelson, Contributor

It would be all too easy to detail the ways in which Steven Spielberg‘s Jurassic Park was a game changer in the realm of summer blockbusters and major-studio releases in general.  Its June 1993 release shattered a number of box office records and kicked off the glorious second act of Steven Spielberg‘s illustrious career.  But the story is more complicated than that.  Jurassic Park was a movie precisely of its time.  In some ways it did lead the charge in terms of how films were made and released.  In other ways, quite frankly, it was one of the last of its kind.  Jurassic Park is perhaps a defining example of the perfect combination of newfangled and old-school blockbuster film-making.  It represented both a preview of what was to come and the last gasp of traditional mainstream movie-making in one glorious concoction. …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Video: Angry giraffe frightens vacationers on safari in Jurassic Park-style chase

By Jeffrey N. Ross

Angry giraffe chases safari-goers in an open-top truck - video screencap

Filed under:

Step aside Steven Spielberg, here’s a real-life animal-versus-car that did not require CGI nor a multi-million dollar production budget. As some vacationers on safari in South Africa recently learned, an upset 13-foot tall giraffe can be just as terrifying as the Tyrannosaurus Rex that chased down Jeff Goldblum and a Jeep Wrangler in the 1993 blockbuster film Jurassic Park.

According to reports, the safari group was photographing a wild giraffe, when for some reason, the animal began to chase the open-top vehicle at speeds upwards of 30 miles per hour. At one point, the giraffe even sideswipes the truck, knocking off the side mirror before the driver was finally able to escape the animal’s pursuit. All that’s missing is a little John Williams music bed.

Scroll down to watch two news reports showing the dramatic chase, an incident we’re sure the safari-goers will remember for years to come.

Continue reading Angry giraffe frightens vacationers on safari in Jurassic Park-style chase

Angry giraffe frightens vacationers on safari in Jurassic Park-style chase originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

Christian Bale to Part the Red Sea?

Christian Bale is now reportedly in talks with 20th Century Fox to star in Ridley Scott’s Moses movie.

The upcoming film, titled Exodus, was originally scripted by Adam Cooper and Bill Collage, but the project was recently made a studio priority after Dragon Tattoo scribe Steve Zaillian came on board for a rewrite. (The writer also worked with Scott on American Gangster.) According to Deadline, Fox hopes to get the ball rolling as soon as Scott completes work on his other film The Counselor.

This news comes hot on the heels of Steven Spielberg‘s departure from another Moses project, Gods and Kings, which is set up at Warner Bros. Life of Pi director Ang Lee is next in line for that one, although he’s yet to formally meet with the studio about it.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at IGN Movies

Colin Trevorrow to Direct Jurassic Park 4

Helmer Colin Trevorrow, who made his mark with the low-budget indie Safety Not Guaranteed, has signed on to direct Jurassic Park IV for Universal and Steven Spielberg.

Spielberg is executive-producing (he, of course, directed the first two films, while Captain America: The First Avenger’s Joe Johnston directed Jurassic Park III). Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver penned the script for part four.

No word yet on what the film will be about — aside from dinosaurs, of course. But we do know that it will be shot in 3D and released on June 13, 2014. And in the meantime, the first film is getting a 3D re-release next month.

Talk to Senior Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottIGN, on IGN at scottcollura and on Facebook.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at IGN Movies

Steven Spielberg Praises Krishna Bala Shenoi, Amateur Filmmaker, For Animated Tribute In Handwritten Note (VIDEO)

By The Huffington Post News Editors

When amateur filmmaker Krishna Bala Shenoi created an animated tribute to Steven Spielberg, he may have imagined that his idol would see the short clip, but he never thought the legendary director would actually watch his video.

However, less than a week later, Shenoi’s dream came true when he received an email from Spielberg’s assistant Samantha Becker on Tuesday. Shenoi’s role model had seen his tribute and was so delighted by it that he praised the 19-year-old student in a handwritten note.

“Your image choices and clever transitions gave your tribute film a real narrative,” Spielberg wrote. “I was impressed to say the least.”

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post

How science debunked the ancient Aztec crystal skull hoax

They may have gained fame in the Steven Spielberg adventure film “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” but those quartz-crystal skulls that once ranked as a great enigma of archaeology are certifiably fake. And the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News, (C&EN) the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society, recalls the details of their rise and fall. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Phys.org

Spielberg Developing Stanley Kubrick's Napoleon

The late Stanley Kubrick‘s famous unrealized screenplay centred around Napoleon will get another lease on life, thanks to Steven Spielberg.

“I’ve been developing Stanley Kubrick’s screenplay, for a miniseries not for a motion picture, about the life of Napoleon,” Spielberg told the French TV network Canal+. Kubrick wrote the script in 1961, leaving behind an excessive amount of research on the life of the French political and military icon, as well as numerous correspondences with potential collaborators on the project. His vision ultimately grew too expensive and was cancelled, despite being well into pre-production. He had originally approached Oskar Werner and Audrey Hepburn to star.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at IGN Movies

Here's How You Buy Your Way Onto The New York Times Bestsellers List

By Jeff Bercovici, Forbes Staff

An endorsement from Oprah Winfrey. A film deal from Steven Spielberg. A debut at the top of The New York Times bestsellers list. These are the things every author craves most, and while the first two require the favor of a benevolent God, the third can be had by anyone with the ability to write a check — a pretty big one. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Photographic artifacts of black Civil War troops

By hnn

In the year’s most haunting image of black Civil War soldiers, the opening battlefield sequence in Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” Confederate forces massacre many fallen former slaves.

In reality, African-American prisoners of war were killed en masse. Black troops in action endured lower wages and poorer medical care and living conditions than their white counterparts. But soldiers of both races did have surprisingly easy access to the luxury of photography.

Photographers ran government-sanctioned booths near encampments, selling souvenir portraits. The images of black personnel, from officers to gravediggers, are now on view widely in 150th-anniversary commemorations of the Emancipation Proclamation. They provide a nuanced view of African-American life at the front, even though some of the subjects can no longer be identified….

Source:
NYT

Source URL:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/22/arts/design/photographic-artifacts-of-black-civil-war-troops.html?pagewanted=all

Date:
2-21-13

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at History News Network – George Mason University

3 new Lincoln movies

By hnn

Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg’s frequent collaborator, snags himself a seat on Mr. Spielberg’s bandwagon on Sunday when he turns up as the narrator of “Killing Lincoln,” a docudrama on the National Geographic Channel.
If Mr. Spielberg’s “Lincoln” achieves greatness largely through the detailed performances of Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and others, “Killing Lincoln” also has details to recommend it — historical details, the kind of tidbits that (along with Mr. Hanks’s assured narration) can hold your attention, even though the tale is familiar.
Killing Lincoln,” based on the book by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, puts its focus just where the title suggests: on the final days of Lincoln’s life and the pursuit of those behind the assassination. And yes, for anyone who can’t get enough of the 16th president, on Sunday it will be possible to arrange a Lincoln trifecta, seeing “Lincoln,” Salvador Litvak’s new film; “Saving Lincoln” (about the president’s bodyguard); and “Killing Lincoln” in a single day. Happy belated birthday, Abe.
Source:
NYT

Source URL:
http://tv.nytimes.com/2013/02/16/arts/television/killing-lincoln-on-national-geographic-channel.html?_r=0

Date:
2-15-13

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at History News Network – George Mason University

Rep. Joe Courtney gets lesson in Oscar politics in debate over ‘Lincoln’ accuracy

By hnn

Rep. Joe Courtney says he had no idea he was wading into controversy when he questioned the accuracy of a key scene in “Lincoln.”

After all, he knows Washington politics, not Hollywood politics.

Last week, the Connecticut Democrat called on Steven Spielberg to “correct an historical inaccuracy” in the Oscar-nominated box-office hit — a scene, at the film’s climax, suggesting that two of his state’s three representatives voted against outlawing slavery in 1865.

Source:
WaPo

Source URL:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/post/rep-joe-courtney-sparks-hollywood-controversy-over-lincoln-inaccuracy/2013/02/11/61ccc47a-749e-11e2-95e4-6148e45d7adb_blog.html

Date:
2-12-13

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at History News Network – George Mason University

Affleck's Argo Wins Big at BAFTAs

Argo won big at this year’s BAFTAs, with the political thriller picking up both best picture, and best director for Ben Affleck’s work behind the camera.

Skyfall was named best British film, the first major award that the Bond series has won in more than 50 years.

Quentin Tarantino picked up the original screenplay award for Django Unchained, with Christoph Waltz winning best supporting actor for his turn in the hugely successful western.

And as expected, Daniel Day-Lewis was named best actor for his performance in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln.

Full list of winners…

Best Film: Argo

Director: Ben Affleck – Argo

Leading Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at IGN Movies