Copyright Explained by Disney

Professor Eric Faden of Bucknell University provides this humorous, yet informative, review of copyright principles delivered through the words of the very folks we can thank for nearly endless copyright terms.

In an age where copyright laws are getting ridiculous, this is an important film explaining when infringing copyright is allowed. When copyright was first conceived, they realised that after a period of time, material should be allowed to be copied, in order to come up with new ideas.... now, however, using copyrighted material sends you straight into a legal hell.

Monty Python's Star Wars

I've been meaning to post this one for ages.... its absolutely hilarious.....

The 80's are Back!!

Even before Transformers is released, confirmation that two more 80's cartoons are being adapted for the big screen. He-Man and Thundercats are both being made into full length, live-action films. This will be the second He-Man movie.... hopefully it'll be better than the first attempt in the 80's... that film still gives me nightmares. Hopefully it'll come out first, so everyone can see how much of a rip-off Thundercats always has been. I mean, it's just He-Man with fur really... even the bad guy looks similar.

Prince's New Single

Here's a preview of Prince's new single which you can download onto your mobile.... if you live in the USA that is. He offered up a different version of this song earlier this year on his website... funnily enough, for a song named "Guitar", that instrument seemed to be hidden in the mix. Now he's re-done it, and it sounds awesome loud, especially that guitar solo. This could be a huge hit... its nice to see Prince marketed properly for a change.

Damien Hirst's Diamond Skull

Damien Hirst's latest artwork is this life-size platinum skull encrusted with 8,601 fine diamonds. The sculpture, titled "For The Love of God," will likely sell for as much as $100 million, making it the priciest contemporary artwork ever made. White Cube gallery is selling several limited edition silkscreen prints of the work, priced from £900 to £10,000, for one sprinkled with diamond dust. The title of the piece comes from Hirst's mother who asked her son, “For the love of God, what are you going to do next?” From the New York Times:

For Hirst, famous pickler of sharks and bovine bisector, all his art is about death. This piece, which was cast from an 18th-century skull he bought in London, was influenced by Mexican skulls encrusted in turquoise. “I remember thinking it would be great to do a diamond one — but just prohibitively expensive,” he recalls. “Then I started to think — maybe that’s why it is a good thing to do. Death is such a heavy subject, it would be good to make something that laughed in the face of it.”

Hirst, who financed the piece himself, watched for months as the price of international diamonds rose while the Bond Street gem dealer Bentley & Skinner tried to corner the market for the artist’s benefit. Given the ongoing controversy over blood diamonds from Africa, “For the Love of God” now has the potential to be about death in a more literal way.

“That’s when you stop laughing,” Hirst says. “You might have created something that people might die because of. I guess I felt like Oppenheimer or something. What have I done? Because it’s going to need high security all its life.”

Family Guy Star Wars Episode

If you haven't heard, kicking off it's 6th season of Family Guy in Fall 07 will be a 1-hour special episode that re-tells the story of Star Wars: A New Hope (Family Guy style). At this weekend's Celebration IV convention they showed off a preview over 10 minutes long. We now bring you that preview for your home viewing pleasure. The preview starts with familiar yellow words scrolling down the screen.....

Click to enlarge

Mach 5!!!

Revvin' up the powerful Mach 5: The car from the live-action version of Speed Racer is based on the one from the original cartoon, but with a more modern look.

The film will have a "retro future" look and will center on Speed trying to make a name for himself in the racing world despite the efforts of corporate giants to foil his career. The film also stars Christina Ricci as girlfriend Trixie and Matthew Fox as Speed's older brother, Racer X.

Like the Matrix films and the Wachowski-produced V for Vendetta, Racer "has a lot to say about remaining independent and thinking for yourself," Hirsch says. "The brothers weren't just looking to do the TV show on film."

Unlike those darker movies, Racer "is going to be very bright, very family-friendly," Silver says. "And it will have great effects like The Matrix, just with the car."

A car that will not see much time on pavement. The Mach 5 will be placed on a crane and most effects will be computer-generated.