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Saturday, 16 April 2016

Room VOD debate heats up Sean Parker plays coy as Screening

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The spotlight was on Sean Parker and the Screening Room at CinemaCon in Las Vegas this past week, but while the nation's theater owners and studio executives mulled the implications of the proposed at-home viewing service, Parker played coy.

(1 of 3) Alexandra Parker, left, and Sean Parker arrive at Sean Parker and the Parker Foundation's Gala Celebrating a Milestone in Medical Research on Wednesday, April 13, 2016, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP)

April 16, 2016 When The Associated Press asked Parker about his latest venture at the Wednesday launch of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy in Los Angeles, the Napster co-founder said with a laugh: "I don't even know what that is."
His glibness about the revolutionary service, which would stream first-run films to the home at $50 a pop, thus blowing up Hollywood's traditional model of theatrical exclusivity, came at an interesting time. It was the middle of CinemaCon, where the overriding message was that Hollywood is still very committed to the idea of the theatrical experience.
CinemaCon, a gathering of theater owners, exhibitors and industry types whose livelihoods depend on box office, has always been a brazen celebration of the movie theater. During the week-long conference each year, major studios typically trot out big stars and exclusive footage of upcoming films, and technology providers roll out their latest and greatest innovations in sound, screen and immersive experiences.
The death of the cinema comes up every so often, too, whether it's television, VHS, smart phones or streaming services. This year, Screening Room was the threat du jour. Most studio heads and filmmakers at CinemaCon spoke about the Screening Room in broad, vaguely hostile strokes. "Avatar" director James Cameron was one of the few to address the initiative by name.
"Regardless of what the folks associated with the Screening Room say, I think it's absolutely essential for movies to be offered exclusively in theaters upon initial release," Cameron said on Thursday. "My producing partner Jon Landau and I are committed to the sanctity of the in-theater experience. And that's creatively and from a business standpoint."
Yet most chose to address the proposal indirectly, like Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara, who told exhibitors "we are not going to let a third party or middle man come between us." "When there are new technologies," he added, "we will explore them with each of you. We know the status quo is not an option."
"Hangover" director Todd Phillips spoke more sentimentally about the preservation of theatrical exclusivity. "Why are we in such a rush to turn movies into television? It doesn't make sense to me. Movies are special," Phillips said. "We need to do everything we can to protect that part of the experience."
Even execs for Amazon Studios, an emerging producer of digital content and a newcomer at the conference this year, stressed that traditional theatrical releases were planned for most of their feature-length films.
But there was hardly a consensus at CinemaCon, even among some of cinema's most influential voices. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" director J.J. Abrams and veteran producer Frank Marshall ("Jurassic World," ''Indiana Jones") both urged theater owners to be open minded about the technology.
Back in Los Angeles, at Parker's event Wednesday, "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson, a Screening Room backer, stressed that the service is not meant to detract people from going to theaters, but to add audiences.
"The idea of screening room is to try to make movies exist for the people who don't go to the cinema," Jackson said. "If we can try to get that added to the box office of films, that means the films are more successful, which means more films get made and a wider variety of films get made."
"Theater owners should not be concerned and I don't think filmmakers should be," he added. "Honestly, I've kicked the tires of this for so long now, trying to find any fault in it, and I think it's sound. I think it's going to be a very, very positive thing for the industry in a time that we need it."
The big question now is whether or not these two factions will ever see eye-to-eye, and many at CinemaCon were already off-put by the idea of an outsider's business proposal disrupting their industry.
"More sophisticated window modeling may be needed for the growing success of a modern movie industry," said John Fithian, Chairman and CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners. "But those models will be developed by distributors and exhibitors in company-to-company discussions."

Man wrongly convicted in 1957 Illinois murder is released

CHICAGO (AP) — A 76-year-old man who a prosecutor says was wrongly convicted in the 1957 killing of an Illinois schoolgirl was released Friday shortly after a judge vacated his conviction, meaning one of the oldest cold cases to be tried in U.S. history has officially gone cold again.

(1 of 8) Jack McCullough, left, smiles from the backseat of his stepdaughter Janey O'Connor's rental car after he was released from the DeKalb County Jail in Sycamore, Ill., Friday, April 15, 2016. An Illinois judge vacated the conviction of the 76-year-old man in a 1957 killing and ordered his immediate release from prison Friday, meaning that one of the oldest cold cases to be tried in U.S. history has officially gone cold again. (Danielle Guerra/Daily Chronicle via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT; CHICAGO TRIBUNE OUT

April 15, 2016 Jack McCullough was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 in the death of 7-year-old Maria Ridulph in Sycamore, about 70 miles west of Chicago. In a review of documents last year, a prosecutor found evidence that supported the former policeman's long-held alibi that he had been 40 miles away in Rockford at the time of Maria's disappearance.
Judge William P. Brady said Friday that Maria's abduction and slaying had haunted the small town of Sycamore for decades, and that he had also lost sleep over the case. "I'm not blind to the importance of this proceeding to many people," he said, minutes before ordering McCullough's release.
McCullough, in handcuffs, appeared shaken by the decision, rocking back and forth, then taking a deep breath. Family members behind him hugged and cried. Moments later, McCullough, of Washington state, looked back, winked and smiled broadly.
On the other side of the room, Maria's brother and sister displayed little emotion. Hours later, McCullough's stepdaughter, Janey O'Connor, drove him from a jail near the courthouse. McCullough, wearing street clothes, grinned at reporters from the back seat. His request for a first meal out of prison, she said in a phone interview later, was for pepperoni pizza.
O'Connor said she'd been convinced of her stepfather's innocence from the start. "Jack was just a normal person doing his grandpa thing, and this happened to him," she said. She said he told her he's looking forward to shopping for his children and grandchildren, because he has "a lot of birthdays and Christmases to catch up on." She said he has been studying Japanese while in prison and wants to travel to Japan.
DeKalb County State's Attorney Richard Schmack, who pushed hard for McCullough's release, told Brady earlier that his office wouldn't retry McCullough if a retrial was ordered. He said prosecutors were fully convinced of McCullough's innocence.
Schmack, elected as state's attorney as McCullough's 2012 trial was coming to an end, filed a scathing report with the court last month. He had conducted a six-month review of evidence, including newly discovered phone records, and his report picked the case apart, point by point.
He said in an email that he was reviewing the judge's ruling and would not be commenting Friday. Maria's brother, 70-year-old Charles Ridulph, said at the hearing that he would continue to push for a special prosecutor to take over the case. Brady will consider that motion April 22.
McCullough, who was living in the Seattle area when he was arrested, was released on a recognizance bond and isn't allowed to leave Illinois until the state attorney announces a formal decision on a retrial.
Maria's disappearance made headlines nationwide in the 1950s, when reports of child abductions were rare. She had been playing outside in the snow with a friend on Dec. 3, 1957, when a young man approached, introduced himself as "Johnny" and offered them piggyback rides. Maria's friend dashed home to grab mittens, and when she came back, Maria and the man were gone.
Forest hikers found her remains five months later. At his trial four years ago, prosecutors said McCullough was the man who called himself Johnny in 1957, noting that he went by the name John Tessier in his youth. They said McCullough, then 18, dragged Maria away, choked and stabbed her to death.
McCullough has maintained his innocence throughout, saying he had "an iron-clad alibi" that he had been in Rockford, attempting to enlist with the U.S. Air Force at a military recruiting station, on the night Maria disappeared.
New phone records, Schmack said, helped to prove McCullough had made a collect call to his parents at 6:57 p.m. from a phone booth in downtown Rockford, which is 40 miles northwest of where Maria was abducted between 6:45 p.m. and 6:55 p.m.
Schmack reviewed police reports and hundreds of other documents, which he said had been improperly barred at trial and contained "a wealth of information pointing to McCullough's innocence, and absolutely nothing showing guilt."
He also noted that Maria's friend had identified McCullough as the killer five decades later from an array of six photographs; McCullough's picture stood out, partially because everyone but him wore suitcoats and their photos were professional yearbook photos.
McCullough, who was born in Belfast, Ireland, came to the U.S. with his mother in 1946 and settled in Sycamore, where he lived until he was 18, he said in a 2011 interview after his arrest. He said the town had the wholesome feel of the fictional town in the television show "Happy Days." He served four years in the Air Force and 10 years in the Army, including a stint in Vietnam.

Thursday, 14 April 2016

had a red arm in ‘The Force Awakens’Now we know why C-3PO

Star Wars The Force Awakens C-3PO Red Arm Explained

There are plenty of mysteries in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and one of them involved iconic droid C-3PO. In case you didn’t notice, C-3PO had a red left arm instead of his usual gold-colored arm. This mysterious change was totally unexplained in the movie itself and we’ve never had any answer for it… until now.
Per iO9, the first issue of the new Marvel comic Star Wars: C-3PO #1 offers details about how C-3PO got his not-so-shiny new red arm. Spoilers obviously follow below.

10 secrets you missed while watching ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’
The story starts off when C-3PO and a group of allied droids land on an unidentified planet to rescue Admiral Ackbar, who has been kidnapped by the First Order. As you might have guessed with anything involving Admiral Ackbar, the droids’ plan to rescue him is… well… “It’s a trap!”
In the ensuing fights with a number of different monsters on the planet, all of C-3PO’s droid companions are killed and C-3PO himself has his arm ripped off. The final droid to die in his crew just happened to have a red arm that C-3PO attached to his own body and decided to keep there as a reminder of his fellow droids’ sacrifices.

During Kanye West’s Fashion Show Anna Wintour Cried

Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour stopped by Late Night with Seth Meyers to chat about her experience at Kanye West’s massive fashion show/record release party back in February — which involved her sitting alone for a large amount of time while waiting for the Kardashians to arrive, before getting lost in the basement of Madison Square Garden and crying by herself.

Ah, being fashion’s most powerful person is such sweet sorrow

Sunday, 10 April 2016

destroys 400 illegal refineries in Bayelsa NSCDC

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The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps in Bayelsa says it has destroyed more than 400 illegal mini refineries operated by oil thieves in state.

The NSCDC Commandant, Mr. Desmond Agu, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Yenagoa that the illegal refineries were destroyed between January and March.

Agu said that the command now had a gunboat to fortify its operational capacity and had intensified patrols in the coastal settlements and waterways in the state.

He said that the intensified patrols by the command had led to the arrest of ex-militant leader and his gang, whom he said, were being prosecuted.

Agu said that the corps had deployed its personnel to provide security to critical national assets and oil facilities across the state.

He said, “We are on ground to ensure safety and protection of vital oil infrastructure and property within the command.

“The command is determined to deal with the oil thieves and end their illegal businesses.

“We have made some arrests concerning the recent cases of vandalism at Agip’s oil fields in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.”

He added, “The corps recovered the bodies of the three oil workers that died in the explosion in one of the fields on March 26. We have handed over the bodies to Agip.

“The case has also been handed over to the Bayelsa State Police Command because it involves death and falls outside our mandate.”

The Director-General, National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency, Dr. Peter Idabor, had earlier attributed the death of the oil workers to poor safety procedures at the oil field.

Meanwhile, officials of Nigeria Agip Oil Company in Bayelsa and its parent company, Eni, have declined comment on the Easter Sunday’s explosion.

Media Relations Manager, Eni , Mr. Fillippo Cotalini, has yet to respond to the request sent to him through e-mail for a reaction on the explosion.

APC winner of Bwari council FCT poll INEC declares

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Ifeanyi Onuba, Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission on Sunday declared the All Progressives Congress Chairmanship candidate, Mr Musa Dikko as the winner of the Bwari Area council election.

The result of the election was announced by the INEC Returning Officer for the area, Mr Abubakar Abba.

Abba said Dikko who polled 18,066 votes defeated his closest rival, Mr. Andrew Gwani of the People’s Democratic Party who recorded 13,279 votes.

He said that the area council had a total of 162,786 registered voters, while only 33,162 voters were accredited for the election.

The collation of the results which commenced at few minutes past midnight lasted till the early hours of Sunday.

Announcing the results of other contestants, the INEC returning officer said Mr. Wada Abdu of the Action Alliance scored 93 votes while Kenneth Olabaniji of Citizens Popular Party had 72 votes.

As soon as Dikko was declared winner of the polls, there was jubilation within the area as many youths said to be supporters of APC took to the streets.

Some of them who moved in convoy drove round streets such as the Sabon-road, Action layout and Kuduru road among others displaying the APC flags in the process.