LAS VEGAS - Walt Disney is going 3-D on a lot of future films — and some from its past.
The studio announced Tuesday that 3-D versions of the computer-animated tales “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2” will be released Oct. 2 for a two-week run as a double feature. Disney also is preparing a 3-D version of its hand-drawn animated musical “Beauty and the Beast” for release Feb. 12, 2010.
The “Toy Story” double bill is an “offer to moms and dads and people of all ages that they can come back to the movie theater and they can see two movies that they loved in 2-D format. Now they can see them in 3-D format for one price,” said Mark Zoradi, president of Disney’s motion picture group. “This was a way to kind of create an event with a very good value proposition given today’s economy.”
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Saturday, April 11, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Vitamin D Pills May Prevent Fractures in Older Adults
supplements may help prevent fractures in people over 65, provided they take enough of the right kind. A new review of clinical trials appears to show a strong dose-dependent effect for vitamin D in lowering the risk for nonvertebral fractures in the elderly
The lead author of the analysis, Heike A. Bischoff-Ferrari, a professor of medicine at the University of Zurich, said that “vitamin D in a high enough dose is not only beneficial in the frail older population, but it also works in those still living at home and able to take care of themselves.”
The researchers, writing in the March 23 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine, reviewed 12 randomized trials that together included more than 65,000 subjects. Doses under 400 international units a day had no discernible effect, but for doses larger than that, the pooled data showed a 20 percent reduction in the risk for all nonvertebral fractures, and an 18 percent reduction for broken hips.
The type of vitamin D made a difference. The effect of vitamin D3 was significant, with a 23 percent risk reduction, but there was no significant reduction with vitamin D2. The authors suggest that D3 is more effective in maintaining blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, the active form that the supplement takes in the body.
The lead author of the analysis, Heike A. Bischoff-Ferrari, a professor of medicine at the University of Zurich, said that “vitamin D in a high enough dose is not only beneficial in the frail older population, but it also works in those still living at home and able to take care of themselves.”
The researchers, writing in the March 23 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine, reviewed 12 randomized trials that together included more than 65,000 subjects. Doses under 400 international units a day had no discernible effect, but for doses larger than that, the pooled data showed a 20 percent reduction in the risk for all nonvertebral fractures, and an 18 percent reduction for broken hips.
The type of vitamin D made a difference. The effect of vitamin D3 was significant, with a 23 percent risk reduction, but there was no significant reduction with vitamin D2. The authors suggest that D3 is more effective in maintaining blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, the active form that the supplement takes in the body.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Monsters Vs. Aliens" Team To Hit No. 1
(AP) Movie beasts from old-time Hollywood got a makeover as heroes and conquered the weekend box office.
DreamWorks Animation's action comedy "Monsters vs. Aliens," which features creatures from 1950s films in a showdown with invading extraterrestrials, launched itself into the No. 1 spot with a $58.2 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.
It was the biggest debut so far in 2009, topping the $55.2 million first weekend of "Watchmen" in early March.
Opening in second place was Lionsgate's ghost story "The Haunting in Connecticut" with $23 million in ticket sales.
The previous weekend's top movie, Summit Entertainment's apocalyptic thriller "Knowing," slipped to third with $14.7 million, raising its 10-day total to $46.2 million.
The big opening for "Monsters vs. Aliens" boosted Hollywood revenues after a couple of down weekends. Movies overall pulled in about $148 million, up 39 percent from the same weekend a year ago, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.
For the year, revenues have reached $2.38 billion, up 12 percent from 2008's, according to Media By Numbers. Accounting for this year's higher ticket prices, movie attendance is up 10.4 percent.
Hollywood historically weathers recessions well given the relative low cost of movies compared with other entertainment such as concerts or sports events. But the declining revenues of the previous two weekends showed that audiences will not run out to just any old film, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers.
"The recession offers a framework from which movies can do well for people looking to escape," Dergarabedian said. "But they have to want to escape to these movies. The appeal has to be there, and it clearly was for `Monsters vs. Aliens."'
Reese Witherspoon leads the cast of "Monsters vs. Aliens," providing vocals for a woman who grows to nearly 50 feet (15 meters) after an encounter with a meteor. The voice cast also includes Seth Rogen, Kiefer Sutherland, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett and Stephen Colbert.
"Monsters vs. Aliens" was the latest success story for digital 3-D projection. While the 2,080 3-D screens accounted for just 28 percent of the roughly 7,300 on which the movie played, they made up 56 percent of its total box-office haul, said Anne Globe, head of marketing for DreamWorks Animation.
Tickets for 3-D movies typically cost a few dollars more than the 2-D version.
"Audiences donned 3-D glasses in the biggest way ever," Globe said. "`Monsters vs. Aliens' serves as valuable proof of concept for the next generation of 3-D."
The company plans to offer 3-D versions of all of its future animated films, including next year's "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Shrek Goes Fourth," the third sequel to the blockbuster ogre franchise.
Other upcoming 3-D releases this year include Pixar Animation's "Up" and James Cameron's science-fiction adventure "Avatar."
Large-screen IMAX theaters showing "Monsters vs. Aliens" in 3-D accounted for $5.2 million of the movie's overall grosses. Those 143 IMAX theaters represented only about 2 percent of the screens on which the movie played but contributed 9 percent of its total box office.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Monsters vs. Aliens," $58.2 million.
2. "The Haunting in Connecticut," $23 million.
3. "Knowing," $14.7 million.
4. "I Love You, Man," $12.6 million.
5. "Duplicity," $7.6 million.
6. "Race to Witch Mountain," $5.6 million.
7. "12 Rounds," $5.3 million.
8. "Watchmen," $2.755 million.
9. "Taken," $2.75 million.
10. "The Last House on the Left," $2.6 million.
DreamWorks Animation's action comedy "Monsters vs. Aliens," which features creatures from 1950s films in a showdown with invading extraterrestrials, launched itself into the No. 1 spot with a $58.2 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.
It was the biggest debut so far in 2009, topping the $55.2 million first weekend of "Watchmen" in early March.
Opening in second place was Lionsgate's ghost story "The Haunting in Connecticut" with $23 million in ticket sales.
The previous weekend's top movie, Summit Entertainment's apocalyptic thriller "Knowing," slipped to third with $14.7 million, raising its 10-day total to $46.2 million.
The big opening for "Monsters vs. Aliens" boosted Hollywood revenues after a couple of down weekends. Movies overall pulled in about $148 million, up 39 percent from the same weekend a year ago, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.
For the year, revenues have reached $2.38 billion, up 12 percent from 2008's, according to Media By Numbers. Accounting for this year's higher ticket prices, movie attendance is up 10.4 percent.
Hollywood historically weathers recessions well given the relative low cost of movies compared with other entertainment such as concerts or sports events. But the declining revenues of the previous two weekends showed that audiences will not run out to just any old film, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers.
"The recession offers a framework from which movies can do well for people looking to escape," Dergarabedian said. "But they have to want to escape to these movies. The appeal has to be there, and it clearly was for `Monsters vs. Aliens."'
Reese Witherspoon leads the cast of "Monsters vs. Aliens," providing vocals for a woman who grows to nearly 50 feet (15 meters) after an encounter with a meteor. The voice cast also includes Seth Rogen, Kiefer Sutherland, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett and Stephen Colbert.
"Monsters vs. Aliens" was the latest success story for digital 3-D projection. While the 2,080 3-D screens accounted for just 28 percent of the roughly 7,300 on which the movie played, they made up 56 percent of its total box-office haul, said Anne Globe, head of marketing for DreamWorks Animation.
Tickets for 3-D movies typically cost a few dollars more than the 2-D version.
"Audiences donned 3-D glasses in the biggest way ever," Globe said. "`Monsters vs. Aliens' serves as valuable proof of concept for the next generation of 3-D."
The company plans to offer 3-D versions of all of its future animated films, including next year's "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Shrek Goes Fourth," the third sequel to the blockbuster ogre franchise.
Other upcoming 3-D releases this year include Pixar Animation's "Up" and James Cameron's science-fiction adventure "Avatar."
Large-screen IMAX theaters showing "Monsters vs. Aliens" in 3-D accounted for $5.2 million of the movie's overall grosses. Those 143 IMAX theaters represented only about 2 percent of the screens on which the movie played but contributed 9 percent of its total box office.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Monsters vs. Aliens," $58.2 million.
2. "The Haunting in Connecticut," $23 million.
3. "Knowing," $14.7 million.
4. "I Love You, Man," $12.6 million.
5. "Duplicity," $7.6 million.
6. "Race to Witch Mountain," $5.6 million.
7. "12 Rounds," $5.3 million.
8. "Watchmen," $2.755 million.
9. "Taken," $2.75 million.
10. "The Last House on the Left," $2.6 million.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Miss Universe says had "lot of fun" in Guantanamo
MIAMI (Reuters) - A "relaxing, calm, beautiful place" may not be everyone's description of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the United States holds about 240 prisoners in a detention center that has drawn condemnation from around the world.
Miss Universe 2008 Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela poses with President of the Nicaraguan Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS Leticia Sanchez (R) and Aracelis Canon (L), who are both HIV positive, after a news conference in Managua in this January 22, 2009 file photo. (REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas/Files)
But this was the opinion of reigning Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela, who visited the U.S. naval facility in eastern Cuba this month on a trip organized by the United Service Organizations (USO) which supports U.S. troops.
The Guantanamo Bay base, whose presence Cuba's government has contested as illegal for years, is used by U.S. authorities as a prison camp for foreign terrorism suspects. Critics have condemned it as a symbol of abuses in Washington's war on terrorism launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Caracas-born Mendoza, 22, who visited the facility March 20-25 along with Miss USA Crystle Stewart, 27, enthused about her Guantanamo trip as an "incredible experience" in a blog entry posted on the Miss Universe website dated March 27, 2009.
"It was a loooot of fun!," Mendoza wrote, describing how she and Stewart met U.S. military personnel and took rides around the camp, which is encircled by a barbed-wire fenced, minefields and watchtowers. She said they also visited a bar on the base and the "unbelievable" beach there.
"We visited the Detainees camps and we saw the jails, where they shower, how the(y) recreate themselves with movies, classes of art, books. It was very interesting," she wrote.
"I didn't want to leave, it was such a relaxing place, so calm and beautiful," she added.
Former detainees and human rights groups have alleged the use of torture, including "waterboarding" (simulated drowning) and other physical abuses, at the Guantanamo prison.
In a statement, the Miss Universe Organization said Mendoza and Stewart's trip to Guantanamo was part of a longstanding relationship with the USO and its entertainment program "which boosts the morale of U.S. troops."
"Dayana Mendoza's comments on her blog were in reference to the hospitality she received while meeting the members of the U.S. military and their families who are stationed in Guantanamo," Miss Universe Organization President Paula M. Shugart said in the statement.
"We will continue to show our appreciation and express our gratitude to the military personnel who serve our nation," Shugart said.
Recounting her "memorable" trip, Mendoza, who was crowned Miss Universe 2008 in Vietnam, said: "We also met the Military dogs, and they did a very nice demonstration of their skills. All the guys from the Army were amazing with us."
Britain announced last week it would investigate whether members of its secret services were complicit in the torture of a British resident released from Guantanamo Bay last month.
Spanish prosecutors may decide this week whether to start an investigation of six former officials from George W. Bush's administration in connection with the torture of Guantanamo detainees.
In one of his first acts in office, U.S. President Barack Obama set a one-year deadline for shutting the prison.
The Pentagon said last month it had received renewed reports of prisoner abuse during a recent review of conditions at Guantanamo, but had concluded that all prisoners were being kept in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.
(Additional reporting by Jane Sutton)
Miss Universe 2008 Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela poses with President of the Nicaraguan Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS Leticia Sanchez (R) and Aracelis Canon (L), who are both HIV positive, after a news conference in Managua in this January 22, 2009 file photo. (REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas/Files)
But this was the opinion of reigning Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza of Venezuela, who visited the U.S. naval facility in eastern Cuba this month on a trip organized by the United Service Organizations (USO) which supports U.S. troops.
The Guantanamo Bay base, whose presence Cuba's government has contested as illegal for years, is used by U.S. authorities as a prison camp for foreign terrorism suspects. Critics have condemned it as a symbol of abuses in Washington's war on terrorism launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Caracas-born Mendoza, 22, who visited the facility March 20-25 along with Miss USA Crystle Stewart, 27, enthused about her Guantanamo trip as an "incredible experience" in a blog entry posted on the Miss Universe website dated March 27, 2009.
"It was a loooot of fun!," Mendoza wrote, describing how she and Stewart met U.S. military personnel and took rides around the camp, which is encircled by a barbed-wire fenced, minefields and watchtowers. She said they also visited a bar on the base and the "unbelievable" beach there.
"We visited the Detainees camps and we saw the jails, where they shower, how the(y) recreate themselves with movies, classes of art, books. It was very interesting," she wrote.
"I didn't want to leave, it was such a relaxing place, so calm and beautiful," she added.
Former detainees and human rights groups have alleged the use of torture, including "waterboarding" (simulated drowning) and other physical abuses, at the Guantanamo prison.
In a statement, the Miss Universe Organization said Mendoza and Stewart's trip to Guantanamo was part of a longstanding relationship with the USO and its entertainment program "which boosts the morale of U.S. troops."
"Dayana Mendoza's comments on her blog were in reference to the hospitality she received while meeting the members of the U.S. military and their families who are stationed in Guantanamo," Miss Universe Organization President Paula M. Shugart said in the statement.
"We will continue to show our appreciation and express our gratitude to the military personnel who serve our nation," Shugart said.
Recounting her "memorable" trip, Mendoza, who was crowned Miss Universe 2008 in Vietnam, said: "We also met the Military dogs, and they did a very nice demonstration of their skills. All the guys from the Army were amazing with us."
Britain announced last week it would investigate whether members of its secret services were complicit in the torture of a British resident released from Guantanamo Bay last month.
Spanish prosecutors may decide this week whether to start an investigation of six former officials from George W. Bush's administration in connection with the torture of Guantanamo detainees.
In one of his first acts in office, U.S. President Barack Obama set a one-year deadline for shutting the prison.
The Pentagon said last month it had received renewed reports of prisoner abuse during a recent review of conditions at Guantanamo, but had concluded that all prisoners were being kept in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.
(Additional reporting by Jane Sutton)
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