Perhaps you remember yesterday when we noted that Chinese officials of Wulingyan National Park had renamed one of the famous peaks in that Hunan-province natural reserve after the “Hallelujah Mountains” in “Avatar”, a movie that apparently used the unique landscape to create their CGI environment. Well not so fast now. Seems that officials speaking through the State’s Xinhua news agency ... Read More »
Miramax, the once-pugnacious arthouse Hollywood indie studio that fought and clawed its way into mainstream success, quietly closes today after 31 years of bringing the great vistas of the world to American moviegoers. It’s been a long, slow death for the firm that, under the direction of the uncompromising, often combative Weinstein brothers, went from a small distributor, to ... Read More »
Back when “Avatar” was just a gleam in James Cameron’s eye, a photographer took some shots of China’s “Southern Sky Column” (above, right), a series of finger-like mountain peaks in Zhangjiajie in the country’s southern Hunan province. Somehow, the story goes, pictures of this natural wonder and UNESCO World Heritage site made their way to the director, who recycled ... Read More »
Daylight gang hits in narrow streets. Aggressive pimps in low-ceilinged bars. Orbiting nogoodniks angling to slip sailors and greenhorns the mickey. If it sounds like the Big Apple of old, the Manhattan of the Bowery Boys and “Gangs of New York”, you’re right and you’re wrong. According to an article in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times, the economic slowdown, which ... Read More »
In honor of the release of what’s widely tipped to be one of the albums of the year, Beach House‘s third effort Teen Dream, this years Scene In Six Sounds will be taking us to where it all started for the dreamy twosome, Baltimore. A scene known for its affordability and slightly eccentric outlook, there’s no doubt that the Maryland ... Read More »
Over at Jaunted, they’ve got the first images of what promises to be a new Mecca for children and emotionally stunted adults (e.g. us), “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” at the Universal Studios Orlando theme park. Seeing as how Spider-Man his superhero friends from Marvel will soon be heading down the highway to Disney World, there’s now room ... Read More »
The West Coast isn’t the only place where high-tech bleeps and bloops meet with paranormal possibilities. Scouting New York, our favorite New-York-based film locations blog, has divined that Barcade, a go-to spot for beer and vintage video games was built atop the Old Methodist Burying Ground, last used in the 1850s. There are no reports of any eerie apparitions as ... Read More »
As we learned from Gadling, TripAdvisor, San Francisco’s Hertiage Marina Hotel has beat out the competition to land at the top of the “Dirtiest Hotel In America” list for 2010. A user-generated honor, TripAdvisor offers the review of one former guest: “This hotel is like in a horrible horror movie! The bed was a nightmare. It smelled like urine ... Read More »
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