Sci-fi parody never reaches comic stratosphere
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) – Fans of '50s-era sci-fi movies would be well advised to stock up their Netflix queue with the originals rather than checking out director R.W. Goodwin's technically expert but dread
Encompassing ideas borrowed from a plethora of genre offerings, especially the oft-satirized "The Day the Earth Stood Still," the film -- which Roadside Attractions releases Friday (April 3) -- certainly looks and sounds like the real thing. The proceedings begin with a faux 1957 newsreel documenting the studio scrapping of a finished sci-fi movie called "Alien Trespass," which is then unspooled.
Shot in vivid Technicolor-style hues, the movie depicts the arrival in the California desert of the proverbial flying saucer, which naturally attracts the attention of bespectacled, pipe-smoking astronomer Ted Lewis (Eric McCormack). When he emerges from the ship and returns home, it quickly becomes apparent that Ted's body has been inhabited by an alien. The extraterrestrial, Urp, is attempting to recapture a more malevolent space creature who looks like a one-eyed Mr. Potato Head and who soon starts vaporizing the local townspeople into small piles of goo.
With the assistance of comely waitress Tammy (Jenni Baird), Ted/Urp attempts to hunt down the creature, receiving little help from a world-weary police chief (Dan Lauria) and his gung ho officer (Robert Patrick).
The film recaptures the cheesy dialogue and visual absurdities of its inspirations to a precise degree, and the use of a theremin for the eerie musical score is a nice touch. But ultimately -- despite such clever moments as a theater full of teenagers being scared silly watching "The Blob" even while a similar creature is in their midst -- "Trespass" is too droll and deadpan for its own good.
By the time the tedious proceedings reach their conclusion, one has long begun wishing for a little Mel Brooks-style comic anarchy.
Calvin Klein Works Hard For Your Money
New York – "Subtly sexy," was the theme of the Calvin Klein men's and women's apparel and accessories for Fall 2009, said creative director Kevin Carrigan at the collection's presentation on Thursday
"There's a return to dressing up again," said Carrigan. "We're calling it 'refined eighties,' with good fabrics that are softly sculptured, rather than linear and hard." This is not the eighties of severe angles, touch chic and New Wave haircuts, in other words. Instead, it's the "Working Girl" eighties of loose blazers with pushed up sleeves, high-waisted leather skirts, and splashes of red, "the new pop color of the season," he said.
And get ready to shelve the opaque black tights to make room for a new version of legwear.
"It's all about the sheer hose with a sandal, something we haven't had it in a while," said Carrigan.
The sheer hose is just one of the new offerings from the Calvin Klein Underwear "Black" collections for women, a more sophisticated take on underpinnings for Calvin Klein with all-lace styles made with antique French lace machines. For men, "Black," includes classic underwear silhouettes in lightweight microfiber fabrics while the new "White" collection consists of luxe stretch cotton.
Calvin Klein Jeans, one of the company's signatures, introduced the Body collection, styles for men and women that focus on enhancing the body through a new fit, which Carrigan said they developed over eight or nine months.
"I wanted to launch a sexy jean for Calvin," said Carrigan, who explained that in recent seasons, denim factories have been more concerned with finishes, from embellishments to varying washes, rather than the technology of how the jeans are designed for the body. "It's a study in fit to make her look sexy," he said.
There are significant differences, explained Carrigan. For example, the yoke seam on the back of the jean is reversed. Instead of being sewn inward, the seam curves outward, following the curve of the body. And while the jeans are low-rise, the prevailing style for several years now, a new innovation here is a piece of elastic in the waistband to prevent unsightly gapping in the back, so that the jean hugs the body.
At $79, the designer jean with a high tech fit is a well-priced addition to one's denim closet. Eventually, added Carrigan, they plan to expand the Body jean collection to include a Body jacket, as well as t-shirts, all with a precision fit.
British reality TV star Jade Goody dead: publicist
LONDON (AFP) – British reality television star Jade Goody died in her sleep early Sunday aged just 27, her publicist said, after a very public battle with cervical cancer.
Goody died at her home in Upshire, Essex,
"I think she's going to be remembered as a young girl who has, and who will, save an awful lot of lives," her publicist Max Clifford said, referring to how her battle with cancer has raised awareness of the disease.
"She was a very, very brave girl. And she faced her death in the way she faced her whole life -- full on, with a lot of courage."
Goody, an ex-dental nurse from south London, first found fame on Britain's "Big Brother" reality television programme in 2002.
But her career was nearly ruined when she subjected Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty to racist bullying on the celebrity edition of the show in 2007, referring to her as "Shilpa Poppadom".
The two subsequently made peace, with Goody appearing on the Indian "Big Brother" -- "Bigg Boss" -- although she pulled out after receiving her cancer diagnosis.
Shetty has said she was "sad" about Goody's illness and had hoped to visit her last week while on a trip to Britain.
Goody's decision to live out her final weeks in the public eye prompted many commentators uncomfortable with the coverage to raise questions about the ethics of reality television.
But she won the hearts of many Britons -- and was responsible for a huge jump in the number of young women taking tests for cervical cancer.
Goody married Tweed -- a 21-year-old aspiring footballers' agent who was jailed last year for attacking a teenager with a golf club -- on February 22, nine days after he proposed in hospital following her terminal diagnosis.
Media rights for the lavish ceremony at a country house hotel north of London were reportedly sold for one million pounds (1.1 million euros, 1.4 million dollars).
Goody plus sons Bobby, five, and Freddy, four -- who she had with her ex-boyfriend, television presenter Jeff Brazier -- were christened on March 7, another event captured by a magazine.
The christening was one of her final requests and her publicist Clifford said she wanted to do it so her sons "know about Jesus and hopefully in the years ahead they'll be able to keep in touch with (her) through Jesus".
On Tuesday, her publishers also revealed she would be publishing a diary of her dying days. A percentage of the profits will go towards a cancer charity.
Goody always said she was seeking publicity not for herself, but as a way to make her sons financially secure when she was gone.
Although some commentators found the spectacle ghoulish, others lept to her defence.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown called her case a "tragedy" and the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, said she wanted the last weeks of her life to teach people something.
Her case reportedly led to a 20 percent rise in the number of young women taking smear tests which can detect cervical cancer.
Robert Music, director of cervical cancer charity Jo's Trust, told British media he had "never seen anything like it".
"The Jade effect has been nothing short of phenomenal," he added. "Quite simply, Jade Goody will end up saving lives."
Goody's body was taken out of her home shortly before 8:00 am (0800 GMT) as mourners started leaving floral tributes at the gates of her home.
Speaking outside the house, her mother said: "Family and friends would like privacy at last."
British reality TV star Jade Goody dead
LONDON (AFP) – British reality television star Jade Goody died in her sleep early Sunday aged just 27, her mother and publicist said, after a very public battle with cervical cancer.
Goody died at her home in Upshi
"My beautiful daughter is at peace," Budden said. Goody's publicist Max Clifford added: "She was a very, very brave girl. And she faced her death in the way she faced her whole life -- full on, with a lot of courage".
Goody, an ex-dental nurse from south London, first found fame on Britain's "Big Brother" reality television programme in 2002.
But her rags-to-riches career was nearly ruined when she subjected Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty to racist bullying on the celebrity edition of the show in 2007, referring to her as "Shilpa Poppadom".
The two subsequently made peace, with Goody appearing on the Indian "Big Brother" -- "Bigg Boss", hosted by Shetty -- although she pulled out after her cancer diagnosis.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown led the tributes to Goody Sunday, saying he was "deeply saddened" by her death.
"She was a courageous woman both in life and death and the whole country has admired her determination to provide a bright future for her children," Brown said.
"She will be remembered fondly by all who knew her and her family can be extremely proud of the work she has done to raise awareness of cervical cancer."
Shetty added: "I was deeply saddened by the news, but in hindsight glad she is out of pain and passed away peacefully in her sleep."
Goody's decision to live out her final weeks in the public eye prompted many commentators uncomfortable with the coverage to raise questions about the ethics of reality television.
But she won the hearts of many Britons and was responsible for a huge jump in the number of young women taking tests for cervical cancer.
She married Tweed -- a 21-year-old aspiring footballers' agent jailed last year for attacking a 16-year-old with a golf club -- on February 22, nine days after he proposed in hospital following her terminal diagnosis.
Media rights for the lavish ceremony at a country house hotel north of London were reportedly sold for one million pounds (1.1 million euros, 1.4 million dollars).
Goody plus sons Bobby, five, and Freddy, four -- who she had with her ex-boyfriend, television presenter Jeff Brazier -- were christened on March 7, another event captured by a magazine.
The christening was one of her final requests and her publicist Clifford said she wanted to do it so her sons "know about Jesus and hopefully in the years ahead they'll be able to keep in touch with (her) through Jesus".
On Tuesday, her publishers said they would publish a diary of her dying days.
Even her funeral, to be held at her local church in the next 10 days, is set to be highly public. Clifford said Goody planned it herself and that it would be "very much a Jade Goody production".
Goody always said she was seeking publicity not for herself but to make her sons financially secure when she was gone.
Although some found the spectacle ghoulish, others leapt to her defence.
Her case reportedly led to a 20 percent rise in the number of young women taking smear tests which can detect cervical cancer.
Robert Music, director of cervical cancer charity Jo's Trust, told British media he had "never seen anything like it".
"The Jade effect has been nothing short of phenomenal," he added. "Quite simply, Jade Goody will end up saving lives."
Goody's body was taken out of her home shortly before 8:00 am (0800 GMT) as mourners started leaving floral tributes at the gates of her home.
Speaking outside the house, her mother said: "Family and friends would like privacy at last."
Style stars can be winners at the Oscars too
The red carpet at the Academy Awards is the Superbowl of fashion, with stars emerging after big plays and others sinking after big mistakes.
The stakes are high for actresses and the designers who dress them. Prada began
And do you ever hear anyone buzzing about Bjork these days unless it's a joke about her bizarre swan getup?
An actress' fashion choice for Hollywood's biggest event will follow her around in photos for a lifetime like a glamorous Giorgio Armani train.
This year's lot of best-actress nominees is a group of lovely ladies who now have a chance to put their own fashion stamp on the biggest Hollywood event of the year. The AP asked stylist and Harper's Bazaar consultant Mary Alice Stephenson to make her own suggestions to the stars about what to wear to make the biggest style splash:
_Angelina Jolie in Calvin Klein
Jolie wants people to see her as a fine actress, not a fashion plate, says Stephenson, and that's fine. However, she can still look amazing — thanks to her natural beauty and fantastic figure — while not changing the message.
Simple and sensual is the way for Jolie to go, Stephenson says, perhaps in sleek jersey gown in a flesh tone or smoky gray from Calvin Klein. The gowns designed by Francisco Costa graze the body and look even better moving than standing still.
"I respect the understated glamour, but she also leans to dresses that are very modern, and that's why she's a match for Calvin Klein. In a Calvin, it's about what's not there that makes the dresses really special," she says.
She'd look stunning in an either a plunging neckline or deep, sexy opening in the back — or both — but don't expect her in any sequins, corsetry or bows.
_Kate Winslet in Alberta Ferretti
Winslet has looked great this awards season, especially since she's been accessorizing with all those gold trophies, says Stephenson, but each of her gowns have been dark and highly structured, flaunting her curvy figure.
Now might be the time to be a goddess, Stephenson suggests, picking out a bronze ruffle-back gown with retro-style beading. Ferretti gowns have the built-in corsetry of the more architectural styles Winslet seems to favor, but the outward appearance is one of a softer touch.
Winslet's rosy skin would allow her to wear romantic colors, without looking washed out. Stephenson also likes for her a lilac one-shoulder goddess gown and a teal strapless gown with floral beading and soft tiers of ruffle at the bust.
"I'd like to see her feminine and ethereal."
_Anne Hathaway in Thakoon
Hathaway could become the fashion plate she played in "The Devil Wears Prada," although so far she's played it safe with traditional glamour-girl looks. Thakoon, says Stephenson, would push the envelope just enough — perhaps experimenting with fabric or color — to capture Hathaway's natural "fashion exuberance."
"She's young and she should dress young and wear clothes as fresh as she is. She can take classic glamour and turn it upside down."
Stephenson picks from Thakoon's downtown studio a short, one-shoulder dress made with upper and lower layers of black tulle with silver beading floating between the layers. A one-of-a-kind dress such as this one take about three days to make, the designer says.
It's a less traditional Oscar gown, but it's also dramatic and highly photogenic — and that's as important as looking good in person. "When these actresses hit the red carpet, they have to look like movie stars."
_Melissa Leo in J. Mendel
A lesser-known star nominated for her role in the low-budget drama "Frozen River," Melissa Leo is a stylist's dream because "she hasn't made her fashion imprint yet," says Stephenson. "Melissa Leo is a white canvas, and I want to take her from zero to 100 in a single outing."
Stephenson suggests J. Mendel, a design house known for sophistication, glamour and luxurious details.
In the designer's workroom, she sees a navy dress with all-over vertical pleats that Stephenson says is a dramatic silhouette that a fine dramatic actress can pull off. The other choice would be a more ethereal, diaphanous purple gown that still defines the waist.
"So much about this is about how an actress feels that morning of the Oscars: Does she feel bold or delicate?" Stephenson says.
If she were actually dressing any of these stars for the big night, she adds, she wouldn't arrive with one dress that day, she'd have at least three — whittled down from 30 original choices.
_Meryl Streep in Donna Karan
Streep is the most Oscar-nominated performer in history, yet has never emerged as a style star. That could change, Stephenson says, in a Donna Karan gown straight from the New York Fashion Week runway.
Her two picks would be either an all-over draped gown with a strong shoulder, or a fan-style strapless gown.
Karan's collection was sensual and stylish, while still embracing the dark colors and significant coverage that Streep seems to like. Stephenson says, however, that she might try to nudge both the designer and the star to make a switch to a rich jewel tone color — still dark, but more regal.
"I love seeing Donna Karan on the red carpet because the dresses are chic and sophisticated and ultimately you pay more attention to how glamorous the woman looks," she says. "You notice the woman first not the dress, and isn't that what it supposed to be about?"
Go for gold, silver, bronze at NY Fashion Week
NEW YORK – If the economy hangs over New York Fashion Week like a basic black cloud, designers are seeking a silver — or gold, platinum or bronze — lining.
Metallic dresses melted down the runways Wednesd
Who needs to win an Oscar when you can dress like one?
But metallics weren't just for the red carpet. Marc Jacobs presented eye-catching metallic floral coats and Nanette Lepore dressed down the bling. "We showed metallic dresses in the show with hoodies and jackets to make it casual for day with their modest and simple shape," Lepore said after her runway show.
The hint of flash fit into the space-age theme that also emerged at fashion week, but avoided a costumey feel.
"Metallic dresses are a great option when a woman wants to wear clothes that have impact but she's not a big fan of any particular color," said Hal Rubenstein, InStyle magazine. "Metallic dresses are also perfect for the minimalist because they require little or no accessorizing with jewel. They have their own sparkle built in."
OSCAR DE LA RENTA
The beauty of an Oscar de la Renta design is its luxuriousness. For fall, de la Renta stayed true to his principles and didn't offer a "recession collection," or anything that could be called a "de la Renta lite."
Fur (and lots of it) set the tone, and during the 15-minute show de la Renta did what he could to reassure fashion-followers that everything would be all right as long as they looked good.
The best of the bunch were a contemporary gray broadtail vest and a regal hooded feathered sable coat. His signature beading and embroideries were sparser than usual, but, with his socialite customers dutifully filling the former church on Park Avenue he uses to stage runway shows, that seemed a commentary on emerging trends, not trying times.
MICHAEL KORS
Michael Kors is addressing what he calls "modern times" — designers don't like to mention the economy — by serving up a fall collection of classics with a twist.
Turtlenecks and women's tweed suits have sexy-but-not-skin-baring cutouts around the collar bone, sheath dresses and sweaters both the get the one-shoulder treatment and the overall strong silhouette is fueled by origami-folded shoulders, perhaps a more user-friendly alternative to shoulder pads.
Kors also used origami techniques for some of the best outerwear pieces so far for fall. A black "cashgora" coat worn over a simple white cashmere pullover and gray cigarette pants was the picture of chic that Kors aims for.
MAX AZRIA
Like the sexy cover of the night, Max Azria sent all the models down the runway at the preview of his namesake collection in black catsuits, sometimes under flowing dresses.
The clothes were mostly black with sharp lines, strong shoulders and tough leather trim, but there was a more sultry quality in his use of wool, velvet, lace and other tactile fabrics.
He also figured out an alternative to the shoulder pad that has been so prevalent this season: folding the fabric on the shoulder to create a stiff square that stands away from the body without bulking it up.
In his notes to an audience that included Rob Thomas, Alicia Keys and Rachel Bilson, Azria explained he was exploring "the ethereal seduction of the dark side."
NANETTE LEPORE
Nanette Lepore turned up the heat with layers upon layers of fresh fall styles. She also managed to mine a little romance, something that's largely been missing from this round of seasonal style previews.
Who could argue with a dress that brings the next generation of plaid, with laser cutouts of the usual geometric shapes and layering gold under them to contrast the purple on the rest of the dress?
She showed further attention to detail when she paired a gold pailette top under a V-neck tweed dress and lined with a gold fabric a shiny paisley print dress so that as the model walked, the audience caught glimpses of shimmer. A gold pailette cocktail dress was the a dressier complement to the daytime gold-fabric dress she wore to take her bow.
3.1 PHILLIP LIM
The era of the late 1960s-early '70s seems to be an endless well for fashion inspiration. The new 3.1 Phillip Lim collection borrowed ideas, inspiration and haircuts from the decade's breakthrough music scene.
One model wore an ivory morning coat with tails named "the Hendrix," and another wore a shorter "Sergeant Pepper" topper. A dusty-rose "Bowie" pantsuit with sharp shoulders and skinny legs also made its way down the runway to the live music of the band Lissy Truillie.
Designer Lim also tapped into Carnaby Street, mixing "dandy" blouses with more hard-core rock 'n' roll tight trousers, many of them slung low around the hips. Lim's staple military influences and ruffles were also well represented. "He loves a good ruffle," says Cindy Weber Cleary, fashion director for InStyle.
J. MENDEL
New York Fashion week is no stranger to drama — front-row dustups, shouting photographers, fewer seats than guests — but J. Mendel put drama to a better use: He put it all on the clothes.
Mendel didn't just put fur coats on this runway, which are the brand's heritage, he offered toppers that combined the luxe textures of swakara and mink with leather. And no bow details on the gowns here, instead he used wide black ribbon cascading down the front to create a little bit of art.
Those were the pieces the J. Mendel customer, who appreciates fine detail, is used to. But designer Gilles Mendel also put some untested styles on the runway, more casual — by ladies-who-lunch standards — daytime pieces.
It's part of a plan to broaden the brand's reach, says Susan Sokol, J. Mendel's new president.
BABY PHAT
Somehow "fabulosity" doesn't seem all that anymore.
That means even bling-heavy Kimora Lee Simmons' Baby Phat collection had to be toned down for the fall.
In her notes describing the clothes, Simmons still seemed caught up with the go-go luxury mentality that now is out of touch with reality. She used phrases included "arouse your inner mogul," and described the brand's style as "synonymous with a lifestyle of extravagance."
Yet, many of the looks on the runway signaled she was aware that the world, and especially the retail landscape, had changed from a year ago. Denim dominated the catwalk, with Simmons jazzing up skinny silhouettes with studs, purposeful tears or bleach stains, but it was the dressier styles — something Simmons probably relates to — that were the best.
William Rast's Motorcycle Diaries
New York – Justin Timberlake forms one-fourth of all-American denim label William Rast, and it is a good thing for the rest of the team - Trace Ayala, Marcella and Johan Lindeberg - that there is the Timberlake associatio
Timberlake's girlfriend, actress Jesicca Biel, slid into her seat champagne in hand just minutes before the show started, refusing to do any interviews. Even though it was her beau's collection, she didn't feel the need to offer anything in the way of commentary pre-show, but once the show started, her facial expressions and body language told all.
Derrier-hugging, acid washed, high-waisted skirts with jet bead embroidery garnered approving whispers and smiles between Biel and Timberlake's mother, Lynn Harless. A thick black blanket-like poncho with the same kind of black beading also incited enthusiastic head nods.
But those are the sort of items that are no-brainers - who wouldn't love a sexy miniskirt or a poncho that lets you bring your bed with you. In that sense, William Rast is quite saleable, if you're into that kind of thing. But to say that "we believe that during this coming era of modern America, it is creativity that will be one of the most important ingredients to bring energy into today's culture," as they did in their program notes, is misleading. There was nothing creative about this collection.
After the umpteenth studded motorcycle jacket and skinny pair of jeans came out - Earth to designers, just because they're acid-washed and embellished does not somehow make them "new' - one had to wonder whether all the thrift stores in the Midwest had seen their stock dry up or the vintage leather jacket stock of the state of California had dried up.
Citing films like Francis Ford Coppola's "Rumble Fish" starring Mickey Rourke as "the Motorcycle Boy" and girlfriends-on-the-road-living-dangerously "Thelma and Louise," William Rast clearly wanted to evoke the tough, free-spiritedness of those film's protagonists. True, biker chic never goes out of style. But bothering to spend money to produce a fashion show during New York fashion week for such uninspired casual wear seemed excessive, which is something a brand supposedly in touch with Americana should already understand.
Olympic sprinter Maurice Greene swaps spikes for dancing shoes
RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) – Maurice Greene's powerful legs still keep him in the spotlight but his ballroom dancing shoes, not sprinter's spikes, pay the bills these days.
The former Olympic and wor
"This is a lot fun-er," Greene told Reuters during a recent stop in Raleigh. "When I was competing that was stressful. This is going out and having fun."
The 34-year-old American retired from athletics before the 2008 season, citing a calf injury, but he was not ready to put away his showmanship.
An agent arranged for the sprinter to team up with professional dancer Cheryl Burke on the television show and after a fifth-place finish they joined the 37-city tour.
"He's very good, he's disciplined and an athlete," Burke told television reporters.
"I thought I was okay (as a dancer)," Greene told Reuters, "but ballroom dancing is completely different than dancing in the clubs. I knew nothing about that."
The biggest challenge was learning technique, Greene said.
"When you are on the TV show, you have to learn a new dance every week. Then there is different techniques for the different dances and different step placement and arm movement."
He missed the competition of athletics, he said, "but my heart was not in it any more, and the sport is in a lot of trouble. ...I decided it was time for me to move on."
LONG CAREER
Three times the world 100 meters champion, winner of Olympic gold in Sydney in 2000 and bronze in Athens in 2004 and the world-record holder at 9.79 seconds for more than three years beginning in 1999, Greene would not single out one event as his greatest achievement.
"You're at places in life that no one can ever touch," he said of his lengthy career in which he ran the 100 in under 10 seconds a record 52 times. He still holds the world-best mark for the indoor 60 meters.
"I will always be known as once the world's fastest man," he said. "Then you are on a shortlist of people who have won Olympic gold. Then you have a list of people who have won world championships... Everything is significant to me."
If he could have one race back, it would be his 2001 world championship in Edmonton, he said.
His body had never felt so fit before a race, Greene said, but the feeling did not last long.
Sixty meters into the final, pain racked his left thigh and by the finish line he was hobbling. Yet he still ran 9.82 seconds, the third-fastest performance ever at the time, to defeat compatriot Tim Montgomery.
"Who knows what I would have run," Greene said. "That was truly an out-of-body experience...I was injured but I was able to pull it off."
Victory, though, eluded him at the 2004 Olympics, where he placed third behind since-disgraced American Justin Gatlin and Portugal's Francis Obikwelu after winning the U.S. trials.
"The biggest disappointment (of my career)," Greene said. "I felt like I gave that race up.
"I should have run hard all the way through in the semi-finals, which would have given me a better lane," he said. "In the middle of the track I can feel what is going on to the left and the right...Justin was just too far away from me. I didn't even know he was there."
ENTERTAINING ATHLETES
Always a showman, Greene said the sport today needed more athletes to entertain crowds -- and not just with their races.
"That's why I was the way I was," said the outgoing Greene. "Some people might not have liked it but a lot of people laughed at it and I was a joy to watch."
A lot of that joy had gone from the sport now, he said, because of positive doping tests.
"I think people believe in the sport but then they don't," he said. "It's just hard once you see people working hard and then something comes up on them. Every time drugs is brought up in our sport, it's hurtful to the sport."
Greene himself was linked with a Mexican steroids dealer last year although he said that he had bought only legal products to give to his team mates and he denied using performance-enhancing drugs.
"When some man tries to come up and lies about me, that hurts," he said.
The dance show tour, which ended on Sunday in Philadelphia, gave him a chance to find new joy in a different type of competition.
"It was fun but now I have to move on to my other business," Greene said. "I have a record company that I have been working with, and we are about to put our artist out," he said. "His name is Amazing and the music is hip-hop."
"I own the company and I'm the mastermind behind it," he said with a smile.
(Editing by Clare Fallon)
Cabell, Dizzia, Niebanck Plugged Into Ruhl's 'Vibrator Play' at Berkeley Rep
The new comedy about marriage, intimacy - and electricity - was commissioned by Berkeley Rep, which will present the staging in the Roda Theatre Jan. 30-March 15, 2009. Opening is Feb. 4.
The cast will include Hannah Cab
"Some may find the title titillating," Waters, associate artistic director of Berkeley Rep, stated, "yet this is a serious work that examines how sexuality and sexual politics affect our lives, how race relations and women's rights influence our society, and how technology is trumpeted as an answer to our ills - even as it repeatedly fails to meet our deepest needs. Sarah achieves all this with the light touch and the elegant comic sense that have brought her national acclaim, and I'm honored to have been a part of her development as an artist."
"I can't think of a better town than Berkeley to premiere a play about the history of the vibrator," Ruhl stated. "Although saying that the play is about vibrators is slightly misleading, because the play at bottom is about marriage, and intimacy, and the mind/body split. Still, I'm fascinated by the fact that the vibrator was a very early invention at the dawn of electricity, right next to kettles and light bulbs. No one thought its use was sexual, because women weren't thought to have sexual pleasure. As soon as we discovered that vibrators caused sexual pleasure for women, we made them illegal. So the play is about that tension between the mind and the body at a time when people were, in a sense, enormously innocent about female sexuality. Now we live in a time when pornography is mainstream, but the connective tissue between the emotions and sexual pleasure is a rarity."
According to Berkeley Rep notes, "In the Next Room illuminates the lives of six lonely people seeking relief from a local doctor - but, despite his expertise with a strange new technology, all they really need is intimacy. It's a tender tale that takes place in the twilight of the Victorian age, a comedy lit by unexpected sparks from the approaching era of electricity, equality, science and sexuality."
In the Next Room received the 2008 Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award and is supported by the Bernard Osher Foundation's New Play Development Program, the Mosse Artistic Development Fund and the National Endowment for the Arts.
In addition to this being Berkeley Rep's 50th world premiere, the troupe announced that it has a plan to commission another 50 works by 2013. More than 25 writers have been engaged for the project so far.
Berkeley Rep debuted its first new script in 1968 and went on to earn a national reputation for nurturing writers and developing new work.
In the last five years, Berkeley Rep has invested more than $1 million in new play development.
Ruhl has written numerous award-winning plays, including The Clean House, Dead Man's Cell Phone, Demeter in the City, Eurydice, Late: a cowboy song, Melancholy Play, Orlando and Passion Play: a cycle.
The creative team for In the Next Room includes Annie Smart (scenic design), David Zinn (costume design), Russell H. Champa (lighting design), Bray Poor (sound design) Jonathan Bell (composer) and Michael Suenkel (Berkeley Rep's resident production stage manager).
For more information visit berkeleyrep.org.
Videogames get set to go on vacation
RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) – With the holiday season fast approaching, videogame makers are making sure they have games and consoles handy for trains, planes and automobiles -- and so are holiday destinations.
Nintendo is introducing two limited edition Nintendo DS bundles on Friday which include a Mario Red Nintendo DS with the "New Super Mario Bros." game and an Ice Blue Nintendo DS with a matching carrying case and a copy of "Brain Age."
In Japan, Nintendo recently introduced its next generation portable, Nintendo DSi, which adds two cameras, an SD card slot, an online game store, advanced music capabilities, larger screens and a slimmer body to the dual-screen handheld player.
The Nintendo DSi will be released in North America and Europe in 2009, about five years since it debuted the Nintendo DS in North America of which it has shipped over 84 million units.
Sony Corp. has a new portable game offering, the PSP 3000, which adds a high-resolution screen and a built-in microphone to let users call friends between games or movies.
Since debuting the original PlayStation Portable in December 2004 in Japan, Sony has sold over 40 million PSPs worldwide.
Apple's iPhone 3G and iPod Touch have also become popular gaming devices for vacationers. There are over 13 million iPhone 3Gs around the globe and over 1,500 games available on the App Store.
DESTINATION WII
But videogames are not just becoming an integral packing item for vacationers on the move. Their end destinations as well have noticed the wider demand for gaming, way beyond just families.
Nintendo's Wii consoles, with its unique motion-sensing controller and simpler games, can now be found in select Marriott and Westin Hotels and on board many cruise liners with games like "Wii Sports" and "Endless Ocean" part of daily itineraries.
"We always have had PlayStations aboard our ships but we've upgraded recently to Wiis and integrated them throughout our ships for kids, teenagers and adults to play," said Jim Urry, vice president of entertainment for Disney Cruise Line.
Urry said next year, Disney will introduce a new videogame experience to passengers using motion-sensor technology designed by Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI).
A "Pirates of the Caribbean" game, which can be played by large groups on the ship's deck, lets players steer a course for Captain Jack Sparrow's ship by leaning in different directions.
The virtual characters and ship will be displayed on a giant outdoor screen used by the cruise line for some Wii tournaments.
Videogames are also influencing the work of WDI at Walt Disney World and Disneyland with both parks introducing a new ride this year, "Toy Story's Midway Mania," which plays like a next generation videogame with 3D glasses and special effects like air and water.
"We know kids come into our parks with Nintendo DSes and they're with them all day," said Sue Bryan, senior show producer and director, WDI, who oversaw development of the new ride.
"If we can involve them more in the theme park storytelling with that game technology, that's a great thing."
(Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)
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