Author, Activist Howard Zinn Dead at 87 (Negromancer News Bits & Bites)

Howard Zinn, the author, historian, teacher and political activist, died of a heart attack in Santa Monica, California on Wednesday, January 27, 2010. Born on August 24, 1922 to Jewish immigrant parents in Brooklyn, Zinn served in the Army Air Force during World War II and also participated in the Civil Rights movement. Zinn was Professor of History at Spellman College from 1956 to 1963 and Professor of Political Science at Boston University from 1964 to 1988.

Zinn authored more than 20 books, but his most famous book is the leftist A People's History of the United States. An alternative to mainstream history texts, the book is also a favorite of such celebrities as Bruce Springsteen and Ben Affleck. First published in 1980 with little promotion and a first printing of 5,000, A People's History of the United States could be described as a people's best-seller. Through word of mouth, it attracted a broad audience and finally reached one million sales in 2003.

The Los Angeles Times website has this obituary.

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Negromancer Movie Review: "Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 180 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train (2004)
Running time: 78 minutes
PRODUCERS/DIRECTORS: Deb Ellis and Denis Mueller
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Judy Hoffman
EDITOR: Deb Ellis

DOCUMENTARY/BIOGRAPHY/HISTORY

Starring: Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, Marian Wright Edelman, Daniel Ellsberg, Tom Hayden, Alice Walker, and Matt Damon (narrator)

Author, historian, and activist Howard Zinn is probably best known for his landmark 1980 book, A People’s History of the United States. However, he has been anti-war, civil rights, and labor activist for decades, and he has been on the forefront of progressive thought in America for as long. Through archival film footage and photos and with commentary from Zinn himself, the documentary film, Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train, chronicles this influential thinker’s life as an activist committed to social change. The film also includes interviews with Noam Chomsky, Daniel Ellsberg, Tom Hayden, Marian Wright Edelman, and Alice Walker (Edelman and Walker were students of Zinn’s when he taught at Spellman College in Atlanta in the early 1960’s.).

Howard Zinn has taken the position that the American Revolution has served the interests of an elite ruling class and that the resulting U.S. government is as tyrannical (perhaps at least as tyrannical as the British government it replaced). Over time, our governing class and our laws have largely protected the wealth and property of a rich, right wing elite and large corporations. As a historian, Zinn has examined our past from the point of view of the poor and the disenfranchised, and his books on history reflect that. Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train gives us a nice overview of Zinn’s life, work, and beliefs.

However, the life and work of such an activist and intellectual requires a much longer film and certainly a more impassioned one. This is kind of like a class lecture on Zinn, narrated by actor Matt Damon doing his best solemn monotone. Still, this documentary is required viewing for people who want to learn about someone who has revealed the dark side of our democracy.

6 of 10
B

Thursday, August 17, 2006

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Kekkaishi Anime Available at Hulu

Press release from VIZ Media:

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF THE KEKKAISHI ANIMATED SERIES ON HULU

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, brings the animated demon-battling action and adventure of KEKKAISHI to Hulu, an online video service that offers hit TV shows, movies and clips at Hulu.com and other online destination sites — anytime in the U.S. The series debuts with 5 episodes with new installments launching each week. To view KEKKAISHI, please visit http://www.hulu.com/.
KEKKAISHI is based on a hit manga series by Yellow Tanabe (also published in North America by VIZ Media). Mystical forces are powerful in the region called Karasumori. For over 400 years, it has been the duty of a clan of “kekkaishi”—barrier masters—to guard the land and exterminate the supernatural creatures that are drawn to the area night after night.

Yoshimori Sumimura is a junior high school student at Karasumori Academy. Following in the tradition that's been passed down through generations, he is the twenty-second “kekkaishi” of the Sumimura clan. But by day, Yoshimori's got other demons to battle: an addiction to sweets and a seriously crotchety grandfather! Yoshimori's pretty neighbor, childhood friend and rival, Tokine Yukimura, is also a “kekkaishi,” but their families are feuding over who is the true practitioner of the art. Protecting people from danger while growing stronger himself, Yoshimori will battle the forces of evil again tonight!

“KEKKAISHI is the latest series to join the VIZ Media family of animated titles available to U.S. audiences on Hulu and we hope that fans will enjoy its lively mix of adventure, comedy and demon-slaying action,” says Candice Uyloan, Director, Brand Management at VIZ Media. “We are committed to utilizing the web to deliver the best in anime through innovative web-based, video streaming outlets like Hulu. KEKKAISHI is an exciting addition to all the other top-rated anime from VIZ Media and we invite audiences to dive into this new series!”

Other VIZ Media animated titles available on Hulu include: BLEACH, THE PRINCE OF TENNIS, BUSO RENKIN, DEATH NOTE, HIKARU NO GO, HONEY & COVER, INUYASHA and INUYASHA: THE FINAL ACT, NANA, NARUTO and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN.

For more information on KEKKAISHI or other SHONEN SUNDAY series, please also visit www.shonensunday.com or http://www.viz.com/. [END]

Director Says Jurassic Park IV Will Happen

According to the website, Comic Book Movie, director Joe Johnston told boxoffice.com:

"Well, there is going to be a Jurassic Park IV. And it's going to be unlike anything you've seen. It breaks away from the first three—it's essentially the beginning of the second Jurassic Park trilogy. It's going to be done in a completely different way. That's pretty much all I can tell you."

That would be great.  Ever since the fourth film didn't appear in 2005, I've been waiting... and waiting.  The reasons for the now 9-year wait since Jurassic Park III are many.  The main reason is apparently that boss Steven Spielberg found the scripts delivered for the fourth film lacking in one way or another - for instance, some scripts had too much science which slowed the story and some too much action and not enough science making the story shallow.

One of my favorite directors, John Sayles, who also works as a scriptwriter-for-hire and script doctor, reportedly wrote one of the scripts that was seriously being considered back around 2004-05.  I'd recently read somewhere that Sayles' script or parts of it may still be used.

Johnston's next film is the remake of The Wolfman, due in Feb. 2010.

The Hughes Brothers on Everything Including Batman

In the run up to the release of the Denzel Washington starrer, The Book of Eli, the film’s directors, brothers Albert and Allen Hughes, did the usual round of interviews. Here are some highlights from two of them:

From Hollywood Reporter:

YOU BASICALLY MOVED OUT OF THE COUNTRY, CORRECT?


ALBERT HUGHES: I moved to Prague eight years ago. I have a kid in Los Angeles, so I come out and stay there when I'm here to work. But if I had my choice, I would not set foot in this town or this country again. It's 50% the business I'm in and 50% the culture and politics of the country. The youthfulness of this country, not having to deal with thousands of years of sexuality, religion, everything. This country is a big baby, and I don't want to be here while it's still learning. I'd rather be in a country where I don't understand the language and nobody is bothering me or telling me what to read or who to f--- and what movies to make. Out there, I do these little shorts that no one ever sees. They're experimental. I get more joy outta doing that than doing a movie. I can just make some bull---t and have fun. I've been doing that for eight years.

From MTV via Comic Book Movie:

"Three different Batman projects were presented to us over the years," revealed Albert Hughes. "The first time, it was 'The Dark Knight Returns.' I remember how dark the comic book was. Batman was old. He had to rely more on his tools and other shit, and he was a decrepit, 60 or 70 year-old man in this comic book."

According to the brothers, this Batman project never came to be because the studio thought that this film would kill the franchise.  I don't believe that a movie about Batman at the end of his career would kill the franchise, and I think the today's movie audiences are sophisticated enough to understand a Batman reboot that would inevitably have to appear after a film version of The Dark Knight Returns.  Certainly, the recent Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey, Jr. and the Jude Law, proved that any character franchise can be refreshed and revived, because if any literary character had been done to death, it was Sherlock Holmes.

Boulder International Film Festival to Honor Alec Baldwin

From Business Wire:

Oscar-Nominated Actor Alec Baldwin to be Honored at Boulder International Film Festival on Feb. 14

Famed Actor, Comedian and Philanthropist to Receive Award of Excellence in Acting

BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As Blake in Glengarry Glen Ross, he said: “I’d wish you good luck, but you wouldn’t know what to do with it if you got it.” It’s more than luck that brings that famous actor to the Rocky Mountain state. The Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF) announced today that Alec Baldwin, Emmy award-winning television, stage and film actor will be honored with an Award of Excellence in Acting at Closing Night of the 2010 festival on Sunday, Feb. 14, at the Boulder Theater in Boulder, Colo.

“I’d wish you good luck, but you wouldn’t know what to do with it if you got it.”

“We are thrilled to have Baldwin attending the Boulder International Film Festival,” said Kathy Beeck, festival co-founder and director. “He’s a magnificent actor who has influenced many young actors and comedians, and we’re honored he will join us at this year’s festival.”

The evening’s tribute to Baldwin will include a film retrospective of his work followed by a question and answer session hosted by BIFF Executive Producer Ron Bostwick. Tony Bennett’s pianist, Ralph Sharon, will provide the entertainment for the evening before Baldwin’s tribute.

Three weeks following BIFF, Baldwin will co-host the 2010 Academy Awards ceremony with his It’s Complicated co-star Steve Martin. Baldwin stars with Tina Fey on NBC’s “30 Rock,” winner of the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series for the past three years. He’s received three SAG Awards, two Golden Globes, the Television Critics Award, and two Emmies for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. He appears in the film It’s Complicated opposite Meryl Streep, which is still running in theatres.

Baldwin was nominated for a Tony award for his role in A Streetcar Named Desire. He’s appeared in over forty films, including Beetlejuice, The Hunt for Red October, The Aviator and The Departed. His performance in The Cooler earned him a National Board of Review Award and an Oscar nomination.

Baldwin is a supporter of numerous causes related to public policy and the arts. He serves on the boards of People For The American Way, The Hamptons International Film Festival, and the Actors Studio. He supports The Radiation and Public Health Project, The Roundabout Theatre and The Water Keeper Alliance.

The four-day festival, sponsored at the gold level by Premier Members Federal Credit Union, will feature an Opening Night event to be announced later in January and the “Tribute to Alec Baldwin” on Valentine’s Day at 7 p.m., at the Boulder Theater, at 2032 14th St. Tickets for the Feb. 14 tribute are $40 and go on sale Wednesday, Jan. 13.

All-access VIP passes can be purchased now through Jan. 15 for $295 and starting Jan. 16 for $345. Tickets can be purchased at www.bouldertheater.com or by calling (303) 786-7030. Other single-tickets go on sale Friday, Jan. 22.

For more information about the festival, please visit http://www.biff1.com/. [END]

Time Running out to Win Complete Horrorfest III DVD Collection

Press release from Gravity Interactive:

Requiem Partners with After Dark Films!


Gravity Interactive, the world renowned massively multiplayer online game publisher of Requiem, is happy to be partnering with After Dark Films this year to present the Requiem Horrorfest DVD Giveaway. Over 800,000 Requiem community members will have the opportunity to enter to win the Complete Horrorfest III “8 Films to Die For” DVD Collection by visiting http://www.playrequiem.com/splash/horrorfest

The Requiem Horrorfest DVD Giveaway presents players the opportunity to enter into a drawing, between January 12th to January 29th, to win the Complete Horrorfest III “8 Films to Die For” DVD Collection. Four lucky winners will be chosen to win this terrifying collection of DVDs from the nationally popular horror film festival. Each film was created by today's hottest and most groundbreaking filmmakers in horror and is considered to be among the most cutting-edge films to have appeared on the big screen. A true celebration of horror at its most wicked; each film will include bonus materials including "Miss Horrorfest" webisodes and other assorted special features that include "making of" featurettes, webisodes and audio commentaries.

“We’re really excited to be partnering with Horrorfest IV “8 Films to Die For”….” said Jason Koerperich, Community Manager at Gravity Interactive. “…our community is really excited about Horrorfest IV’s upcoming release and the amazing opportunity to win the complete Horrorfest III DVD collection.”

Designed with horror themes, Gravity’s title, Requiem, engages it’s users in story driven quests, battling monsters, worlds to explore and the ability to socialize with friends while engaged in special events and activities. Gravity’s games offer user controlled PVP and Clan combat systems, enhanced item upgrading systems, customizable stats, unique skills, pets, customizable characters and numerous events and community outlets.

More Information about the Requiem Horrorfest DVD Giveaway can be found at:

http://www.playrequiem.com/splash/horrorfest


About Gravity Interactive Inc.:
Headquartered in Marina Del Rey, CA, Gravity Interactive Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of Korean based Gravity Corp (GRVY). Gravity is a leading global developer and publisher of a wide variety of online games including both casual and hardcore MMO’s and online games. The company’s most successful title, Ragnarok Online, has more than 40 million registered users worldwide with over 3 million in the US, ranking the title amongst the most popular online games played throughout the world. For more information about advertising with Gravity on Ragnarok Online or any of Gravity’s other titles e-mail Chris Castagnetto at ccas@gravityus.com. [END]