After seven years of being officially “dead,” Laserium is once again opening in Hollywood. This time, its new home is the much loved Vine Theatre.

Never heard of Laserium? Well, it is a laser light show, which has withstood the test of time, becoming an icon in its own right. For more than three decades, this laser light show has wowed millions and millions of people in 46 cities. Um, it also gained somewhat of a reputation for being a rite of passage for stoners.

According to Marla Maples, one of the new people behind the light show, she is well aware of this reputation but she also promises that there will be no smoking in the new Laserium. In fact, she is trying to turn things around with regard to the show’s reputation. She is working on a program that will send some money down the way of charities. Her goal is to have one fourth of the group-ticket sales to be given to a good cause.

So what is in store for you at the new Laserium? Expect to see the 3D versions of the classic shows: Beatles, Stones, and Zep. There are new shows as well, including LightDancer Experience, wherein viewers can become participants and control the lights with body movements. In addition to these, live acts are also slated to perform, incorporating the lights into their sets.

For more information, visit the Laserium web site and book your tickets now!

If you thought that everything that has to do with the movies we see come out of Hollywood all come from the same place, think again. The truth of the matter is that more and more TV and film producers have been moving away from Hollywood – and the state of California, actually – in an effort to save on their expenses for production. It is but understandable, as the taxes in the state are quite notoriously high.

A natural consequence of this mass exodus of TV and film producers is the state’s government effort to stop them from leaving. And what has The Terminator done to do so? He has signed a bill offering considerable tax incentives to those TV and film producers who carry on with their production within the state of California.

If you are thinking that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is being a sell out by offering these tax cuts, you just might be wrong. Looking at it from another point of view, the fact is that he just might be doing the state a huge favor. If he didn’t offer these incentives, the state’s losses could very reach $10 billion by the end of the year. The tax incentives, on the other hand, involved $100 million per annum. Now compare those two figures….

The question now is this: “Is the tax program working?”

Apparently it is. According to Amy Lemisch, the executive director of the California Film Commission, she is swamped with calls from producers, directors, and studios, asking about how to keep production in the state. For us viewers, I guess this means “authentic” Hollywood films?

It seems that a longstanding and prominent issue in Hollywood has been forgotten by many. The rift between the producers and the Screen Actor Guild has been long and drawn out and you would think that it would continue to be splashed all over the headlines. Perhaps the Oscars is just too attractive to resist? Or maybe channeling all the attention to the event is one way of dealing with the unpleasant situation?

Whatever the reason may be, I have not been hearing a lot about the developments in that area. Still, from what I read in the report published by the Associated Press, it seems that even the goodwill that the Oscar promotes is not enough to pacify the situation. As a matter of fact, the producers supposedly gave their “last, best, and final offer.” That’s a lot of superlatives right there! Still, they were not enough to sway the staunch Screen Actors Guild.

The report goes:

The contract was rejected by 73 percent of SAG’s board members, spokeswoman Pamela Greenwalt said in a statement.

SAG called the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers’ demand for the contract to run for three years instead of two, “regressive and damaging.”

Producers insist the three-year contract would start when it is ratified, instead of when the last one expired, which would mean SAG would not be able to join with the writers’ and directors’ guilds to increase their bargaining power when their contracts expire in 2011.

According to the AMPTP, the economic situation simply does not allow them to offer better terms. So far, nothing else has been said. What would happen if the SAG calls in these days right after the Oscars?

I suppose it’s a sign of the times. Everyone is hard up and not ready to make any concessions. We have heard of this issue about the tiff between the Screen Actors Guild and the studios – it has been going on for quite some time. Now, instead of things becoming better and instead of the two sides reaching an agreement, rumor has it that they are pointing fingers at each other! Trust Hollywood to turn something already dramatic into something even more dramatic!

The news has reached even the farthest points of the earth – here is a feature article over at Xinhua News:

Hollywood studios and the major actors union of the U.S. entertainment industry are pointing fingers at each other after the two sides failed to reach a new labor contract and an industry-wide strike is looming again in Tinseltown.

In a “open letter” singed by chief executives of eight major studios, Hollywood’s top management said SAG was demanding the entire industry literally throw out all its hard work because the union believed it deserves more than the 230,000 other people working in the industry.

So now, they are at an impasse once again, with the possibility of an industry-wide strike on the horizon. Not a good way to end the year, if you ask me.
What are your thoughts on this issue?

The hullaballoo over writers in Hollywood is not yet over, despite the fact that the issue has been going on for quite some time now. With the recent big movie releases and other issues that have come up, the issues that the SAG have laid on the table have seemed to take the back row. At the end of last week, though, we heard some news regarding this once again.

After a long 4 months of total deadlock, the film studios and the SAG have finally broken their silence and met together for the first time. The BBC has this report:

The two sides came together under the guidance of a mediator, but it is not known what was discussed. At least one Hollywood has figure said the deadlock could last until next year and may result in strike action.

SAG wants actors to get more money from DVD sales, plus a greater say in the endorsement of products on-air. The four major Hollywood Studios quit talks with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in June.

So what is going to happen now? We really do not know as not much was disclosed as to what happened during the meeting. Perhaps the film studios will give way. Perhaps the SAG will settle for a lesser amount. There are a lot of perhaps and ifs here but one thing we do know – if this issue is not resolved soon, we might be facing something similar to the strike that the writers had last year. And we all know that will be damaging to a lot of concerned parties.

It is always heartwarming to see a good cause succeed. We all recently heard about the passing away of Hollywood icon Paul Newman. I am sure that if he had any way of knowing what is happening after his passing away, he would be quite happy. An annual fundraiser for a children’s camp for those with life-threatening diseases was held on Monday and the support that it received from the who’s who of Hollywood was overwhelming. More than actually turning up to help raise money for a good cause, the people also turned up to pay their own tribute to Paul Newman. The Associate Press has this report:

The lineup for a dramatic reading of “The World of Nick Adams” on Monday night at San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall already was set when the acting legend died of cancer Sept. 26 at the age of 83. The event benefited The Painted Turtle, a camp for children with life-threatening illnesses, that was started by Newman in 1999.

“We expected Paul to be with us and so this kind of turned into kind of a tribute,” said Danny Glover, who joined Jack Nicholson, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Warren Beatty, Sean Penn and other big names in the reading. “This is the first time we are doing this without Paul — there is a void there, without a doubt.”

Some 2,500 people attended the star-studded benefit, which began with a video in which Newman discussed his work with the Association of Hole in The Wall Camps, which runs 11 camps around the world including The Painted Turtle.

Just take note of those names mentioned above and you will understand how big the event turned up to be. I am sure that the children involved – and Paul Newman, if he were alive – would deeply appreciate the gesture.

What? Isn’t it steeped enough in cash already? Yeah, I know, I was thinking the same thing initially. However, if you think about it, they do spend billions of dollars on big budget movies. This means that they need some sort of cash infusion before they can create more big budget films.

Well it seems that Hollywood has no problems in this regard. The news is that the oil rich country, United Arab Emirates, is continuing to infuse cash into the coffers of Hollywood. The LA Times reports:

Furthering the links between the United Arab Emirates and Hollywood, a venture controlled by the government of Abu Dhabi is launching a production company with a $1-billion-plus fund to make movies and digital content in partnership with three as-yet-unnamed Los Angeles producers and other international filmmakers.

Abu Dhabi Media Co., through a newly formed subsidiary called Imagenation Abu Dhabi, plans to make eight films a year over the next five years, primarily for the English-speaking market. Imagenation will announce the first of its production deals next week at the Toronto Film Festival. The U.S. companies plan to open offices in Abu Dhabi.

Imagenation will now also assume oversight of Abu Dhabi Media’s year-old entertainment partnership with Warner Bros., which has had little to show for itself since it was announced with fanfare last September.

The parties said at the time that they would each contribute to a $1-billion fund to produce films and video games.

That is a whole lot of money! Then again, I am sure we will all see the results in movies and video games. Keep the money coming in, guys!

After the crippling writer’s strike Hollywood surely must have learned their lesson and must be (should be!) doing all they can to ensure that the issues with the actors’ guild are cleared up before the June 30 deadline.

So far the deal with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artist (AFTRA) is going smoothly with a tentative agreement already reached last May 7. The agreement will be reviewed on June 6 and 7 by the national union board.

On the other hand the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is feeling the pressure of closing a deal and not causing the same problems with unresolved issues that happened with writers. Sag is still not satisfied and negotiations are reportedly on shaky ground mainly due to differences in opinion regarding royalties for DVDs and internet clips.

Aside from problems with negotiations with producers SAG also seems to have a bit of tension with AFTRA since they are after all holding negotiations with producers separately for the first time in three decades.

As for how the negotiations go and as to whether we’ll be seeing another strike, this time by actors, in the near future we can’t really tell and must simply wait for SAG to make their move. Hopefully though the strike doesn’t realise and new films start rolling into production again…

Having recently seen Speed Racer I now feel the need to write about two of my favorite writers/ producers/ directors. The Wachowski brothers, Andy and Larry, has a pretty good list of films both as writers and producers. Although they only have relatively few films between them (15 as writers, 9 as producers, and 8 as directors) you’ll be surprised at the number of awards they have earned, although I’d say that if you saw any of their films you shouldn’t be surprised at all. In fact so far they’ve already been nominated 9 times for various awards and won 6 out of the 5 nominations.

Films and video games done by the Wachowski Brothers include:

Speed Racer (2008) – writers, producers, and directors
V for Vendetta (2005) – writers, producers
The Matrix: Path of Neo (2005 – video game) – writers, directors
The Matrix Online (2005 – video game) – writers, directors
The Matrix Revolutions (2003) – writers, executive producers, and directors
Enter the Matrix (2003 – video game) – writers, directors
The Matrix Reloaded (2003) – writers, executive producers, and directors
The Animatrix (2003) – segment writers; producers
The Matrix (1999) – writers, producers, and directors
Bound (1996) – writers, executive producers, and directors
Assassins (1995) – writers

They are also producers of a film currently filming – Ninja Assassin.

The mark of the Wachowski brothers are one-of-a-kind surreal films that somehow feel familiar and believable. From machines taking over the world to race car drivers winning a fixed race the recurring theme is changing the world despite impossible odds. Hmmm. Sounds corny? Somehow the Wachowski brothers put it together to make it far from corny. Cool beans its another Wachowski film in the making!

Hollywood producer Steven Spielberg has quit his position in the Beijing Olympics following criticism from people in the industry.

Some of the nastier comments that Spielberg received came from actress Mia Farrow:”Does Mr. Spielberg really want to go down in history as the Leni Riefenstahl of the Beijing Games?” Riefenstahl was the German filmmaker and propogandist.