Thursday, 19. January 2012

Internet SOPA/PIPA Revolt: Don’t Declare Victory Yet


There’s a bit of a dancing-in-the-street mentality online Wednesday in response to a widespread internet revolt against anti-piracy legislation that many believe goes too far fighting online copyright and trademark infringement.

Thousands of sites, big and small, went dark or altered themselves to protest the Protect IP Act in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House.

But by no sense of the imagination are these bills scuttled, despite Senate websites reportedly buckling under the weight of constituents weighing in against the measure.

wired.com

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Kodak stellt Insolvenzantrag


Eine Umstrukturierung des Foto-Pioniers soll bis 2013 erfolgen. Erst vor Kurzem wurde bekannt, dass das Unternehmen Samsung, Fujifilm, HTC und Apple wegen Patentverleztungen anklagt.

Der Foto-Pionier Kodak hat nach einem langen Überlebenskampf einen Insolvenzantrag gestellt. Das Unternehmen wolle aber weiterarbeiten, hieß es in der Mitteilung am Donnerstag. Dafür sei eine Finanzierung von fast einer Milliarde Dollar vereinbart worden, die von der Großbank Citigroup zur Verfügung gestellt werden soll. In den USA ist es nicht ungewöhnlich, dass sich Konzerne mit Hilfe des Gläubigerschutzes sanieren. Kodak hatte einst die analoge Fotografie entscheidend geprägt. Mit dem Wechsel zu digitalen Bildern kam das US-Unternehmen jedoch nie klar.

futurezone.at

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How Stanley Kubrick Invented the Modern Box-Office Report


Stanley Kubrick believed that "filmmaking is an exercise in problem solving." He meant that to include the distribution and marketing of his films as well as their production, and he devoted more time and effort to managing the release of his films than any other director. In my view, it's one of the reasons he made only 13 films in 46 years. He relished the problem-solving.

I spent two years overseeing the marketing of Kubrick's 1968 masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey, devising its successful 70-mm. relaunch strategy, before joining him in England to handle the release of A Clockwork Orange. Our collaboration began shortly after Clockwork wrapped and lasted through its December 1971 premiere, its official U.S. release date of February 2, 1972, and throughout its extended rollout. With Stanley's rare combination of meticulousness and creativity, we achieved what we set out to accomplish -- but the most influential result of our collaboration was unexpected.

moviefone.com

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George Lucas is retiring from movie making


This was a new feeling for George Lucas. He made a movie about a plucky band of freedom fighters who battle an evil empire — a movie loaded with special effects like no one had seen before. Then he showed it to executives from all the Hollywood studios. And every one of them said, “Nope.”

One studio’s executives didn’t even show up for the screening. “Isn’t this their job?” Lucas says, astonished. “Isn’t their job at least to see movies? It’s not like some Sundance kid coming in there and saying, ‘I’ve got this little movie — would you see it?’ If Steven (Spielberg) or I or Jim Cameron or Bob Zemeckis comes in there, and they say, ‘We don’t even want to bother to see it. . . .’ ”

nytimes.com

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Orbán will umstrittene Gesetze ändern


Ungarns Premier setzt im Streit mit der EU auf Deeskalation: Vor dem EU-Parlament kündigte Viktor Orbán an, die umstrittenen Gesetzesänderungen in seinem Land besprechen zu wollen. Die Probleme könne man "leicht lösen". EU-Kommissionschef Barroso geht das nicht weit genug.

spiegel.de

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Orbán attackiert Kritiker


Eine sachliche Aussprache sieht anders aus: Victor Orbán schwenkte vor dem EU-Parlament nach moderatem Beginn schnell auf nationalistische Tiraden um. Die Rede des ungarischen Premiers zielte aufs heimische Publikum und war nicht die erste dieser Art in Straßburg.

spiegel.de

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