The (Dead) Actors Studio

From Jesus Diaz on Gizmodo.com:

According to Mel Smith—friend of George Lucas and director of Radioland Murders—the creator of Star Wars is "buying up the film rights to dead actors." He says that Lucas plans to resurrect them in future movies using 3D technology:

George has been buying up the film rights to dead actors in the hope of using computer trickery to put them all together, so you'd have Orson Welles and Barbara Stanwyck alongside today's stars.

Diaz continues:

Of course, this is the British tabloid The Sun but, knowing the amazing digital 3D actor work in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Tron Legacy, Mel Smith's revelations don't surprise me at all. In fact, the possibility of doing this has been rumored in Hollywood for a while, but, if true, this seems the first actual news of someone buying "film rights" to dead movie stars.

True That.

(H/T: Dan Gauss)

So That's How NBC Found Jeff Zucker!

From the BBC:

The world's first film shot entirely by chimpanzees is to be broadcast by the BBC as part of a natural history documentary.

The apes created the movie using a specially designed chimp-proof camera given to them by primatologists.

The film-making exercise is part of a scientific study into how chimpanzees perceive the world and each other.

It will be screened within the Natural World programme "Chimpcam" shown on BBC Two at 2000GMT on Wednesday 27 January.

Making the movie was the brainchild of primatologist Ms Betsy Herrelko, who is studying for a PhD in primate behaviour at the University of Stirling, UK.

Over 18 months, she introduced video technology to a group of 11 chimpanzees living in a newly built enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo, UK.

The enclosure, which contains three large interlinked outdoor arenas, as well as a series of smaller rooms in which the apes can be studied by researchers, is the largest of its kind in the world.

Despite the fact that the chimps had never taken part in a research project before, they soon displayed an interest in film-making.

Ms Herrelko set the chimps two challenges.

The first was to teach the chimps how to use a touchscreen to select different videos.

By doing so, Ms Herrelko could investigate which types of images chimps prefer to watch.

The second challenge was to give the apes a "Chimpcam", a recording camera housed in a chimp-proof box.

Initially, the chimps were more interested in each other than the video technology, as two male chimps within the study group vied to become the alpha male, disrupting the experiment.

But over time, some of the chimps learned how to select different videos to watch.

For example, the chimps could use a touchscreen to decide whether to watch footage of their outside enclosure, or the food preparation room, where zoo staff prepare the chimps' meals.

The results still have to be analysed in detail, but it seems the chimps did not prefer to watch any of these images over the others.

Ms Herrelko is not sure why, but it could be that the images shown were too familiar to the chimps or because they have no way of asking to see something different.

Then in the final the final stage of her work, she investigated what happened when she gave the Chimpcam to the whole group.

Gradually, the chimps started playing with the Chimpcam, carrying it around the enclosure.

In a related story, the chimps don't find Jay Leno funny, either.

Tom Waits In "The Hobbit?"

From Exclaim.ca:

With his lanky stature and ever-present black fedora, Tom Waits's appearance doesn't exactly scream "dwarf." Something about the legendary songwriter appears to have caught Peter Jackson's eye though, as Ain't It Cool News reports that Waits is under consideration for a role in Jackson's version of The Hobbit, which is due to start filming sometime next year.

Although details are still unclear, an (apparently trustworthy) anonymous source reveals that Waits is being considered for a major part in the film. This role is likely as a dwarf, who is part of the group that leads Bilbo out of his home and on an adventure to the Lonely Mountain. As so little specific information is available, however, some have speculated that Waits may even be considered for the role of Bilbo himself, although it's difficult to imagine him beating out other, younger contenders such as James McAvoy, Martin Freeman, Daniel Radcliff and David Tennant.

The songwriter, who celebrate(d) his 60th birthday (Monday), has previously appeared in many films, with his most notable role coming in Dracula, the 1992 film directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

I had less than zero interest in The Hobbit as a kid, but Waits would be an inspired cinematic choice and is surely a captivating presence. I'll pass along any updates of which I become aware and probably catch it on HBO a year after its release.

The Last Time There Were This Many Teabaggers In A Darkened Theater, The Vice Squad Busted 'Em For Indecent Exposure.

That was just sex; this shit is obscene...