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February 10, 2012
 
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Andy Serkis Talks About His 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' Motion-Capture Performance (VIDEO)

by Nick Zaino, posted Aug 4th 2011 4:10PM
Andy Serkis talks about 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' on 'Today'Playing an ape through motion-capture technology might be daunting to some actors. Not Andy Serkis. He's been through the motion-capture process before, playing Golem in the 'Lord of the Rings' series. He's even played an ape before, acting as Kong in 'King Kong.' Thursday on 'The Early Show' (weekdays, 7AM on CBS), Serkis talked about the particulars of motion-capture acting and his latest role, playing the chimpanzee Caesar in 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes.'

What I love about acting is the art of transformation," he said. "I'm inside of Caesar when I'm playing Caesar. There's no question. I mean, it's ... there is a period of, you know, subsuming yourself completely into the role, and then there's a deep decompression period afterwards. And you have to be able to do that."

The same company that created the characters on film for 'Avatar' created the chimps and apes for 'Rise,' studying the skin and fur of the animals to faithfully recreate that on the screen. The 'Early' report said to look forward to more of that kind of technology working its way into the movies. It may be time to remake 'Every Which Way But Loose' with Serkis as Clyde.

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Macy's magical commercial: 150 years in the making

by Allison Waldman, posted Sep 27th 2009 5:20PM
macys_worlds_largest_storeRecently, when I shared my view about a certain Dell computer commercial, some of you thought I was a moron. Okay, we'll call it a difference of opinion. However, just to show you that I'm not a grumpster, allow me to extol the virtues of the Macy's commercial that celebrates this iconic American department story that's been around for over 150 years.

What makes The Magic of Macy's so much fun is that it doesn't tell you why the place is legendary, it shows you why. All those film clips from movies and television, years before anyone was using mentions like these for commercial purposes, underscore how much a part of pop culture Macy's was.

(It still is, to some extent, but the days of one brick and mortar store dominating the business landscape are long gone.)

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Major fire at Universal Studios

by Bob Sassone, posted Jun 1st 2008 8:40PM

Universal fire

This news will leave a hole in the gut of movie and TV fans.

A giant fire broke out at Universal Studios in Los Angeles early this morning, destroying the courthouse square from the Back to the Future movies and damaging the famous clock tower. The King Kong attraction was destroyed, along with over 40,000 videos that were housed in a vault, including footage from I Love Lucy and Miami Vice. Not sure why videos aren't stored in a fireproof vault, maybe underground or some other safe area, but luckily there are copies of the videos in another office.

There have also been a few sets that have been destroyed, including fake New York City and New England street sets that have been used in various TV shows, commercials, and movies. No word on how the fire started but officials say that it has now been contained. One firefighter and two other have been hurt (the latter in an explosion at the vault after the fire was out), but the MTV Movie Awards will go on as scheduled tonight.

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Saturday Morning: 1966 - VIDEOS

by Richard Keller, posted Apr 5th 2008 9:06AM

Alex Toth's Space Ghost premiered in 1966.Road Runner, that Coyote's after you. Road Runner, if he catches you your through. -- Theme to The Road Runner Show, which premiered in the fall of 1966.

Showtime! After years of playing around on Saturday mornings to find the right mixture to bring in the young viewers, the networks took the bull by the horns in the fall of 1966 and ushered in the Golden Age of Saturday morning cartoons. No less than 11 new cartoon series appeared during the 1966-67 season. Many of them were action and superhero-oriented thanks to the popularity of ABC's live-action Batman series.

The 1966 season also began the domination of Saturday mornings by two animation studios -- Hanna-Barbera and Filmation. For Hanna-Barbera this would be the second year of original Saturday morning programming. For Filmation this would be the first of many years producing fairly entertaining and slightly better animated fare that featured more action and adventure and less in the way of talking animals.

So, if you have your bowl of Cocoa Puffs in front of you, let's see what you were watching back in 1966.

%Gallery-19781%

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What's On Tonight: Men In Trees, 50 Greatest TV Icons, Stargate Atlantis

by Bob Sassone, posted Nov 16th 2007 4:06PM
  • King KongAt 8, ABC has a new Men in Trees, followed by new episodes of Women's Murder Club and 20/20.
  • CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, then new episodes of Moonlight and Numb3rs.
  • NBC has new episodes of Deal Or No Deal, Friday Night Lights, and Las Vegas.
  • FOX has a new Next Great American Band at 8, followed by a new Don't Forget The Lyrics.
  • There's a new Smackdown on The CW at 8.
  • PBS has a new NOW at 8, then new episodes of Washington Week and Bill Moyers Journal.
  • TV Land has that 50 Greatest TV Icons special at 8.
  • TCM has The Asphalt Jungle at 8, then the original King Kong.
  • Also at 8: Sci-Fi has a new Flash Gordon.
  • At 9, Discovery has a new Man vs. Wild.
  • Food Network has Rachael Ray's Thanksgiving in 60 at 9, then Paula's Southern Thanksgiving.
  • USA has a new Lisa Williams: Life Among The Dead at 9, followed by America's Psychic Challenge.
  • At 9:30, VH-1 has a new Best Week Ever.
  • At 10, E! has a new episode of The Soup.
  • Sci-Fi has a new Stargate Atlantis at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

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What's on tonight: Doctor Who, Hannah Montana, Vanished, Las Vegas, Paula Deen

by Bob Sassone, posted Nov 3rd 2006 5:11PM
  • Battlestar GalacticaAt 8, PBS has a new NOW, followed by a new Washington Week.
  • ABC has a repeat Grey's Anatomy at 8, followed by a new 20/20.
  • CBS has a new Ghost Whisperer at 8, followed by new episodes of Close To Home and Numb3rs.
  • NBC has new eps of 1 vs. 100, Las Vegas, and Law and Order.
  • There's a new Vanished on FOX at 8, then a new Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy.
  • The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
  • Disney has a new ep of Hannah Montana at 8.
  • Cartoon Network has a new Class of 3000 at 8, then new episodes of Squirrel Boy and The Life and Times of Juniper Lee.
  • There's a new Doctor Who on Sci-Fi at 8, then a new Battlestar Galactica.
  • Also at 8: TCM has the original King Kong.
  • At 10, Food Network has a new Paula's Party.

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King Kong makes its television debut... in 2008

by Anna Johns, posted Feb 15th 2006 10:48AM
king kong turnerTurner Broadcasting just inked a deal with NBC Universal that puts a bunch of movies, including this winter's King Kong, on its networks in 2008. Not sure if the NBC network had the first right of refusal on that movie, but you would think so.

Along with King Kong, Turner also bought the rights to air these movies in 2008:

  • The Ice Harvest, starring Billy Bob Thornton and John Cusack;
  • Doom, starring The Rock;
  • Two for the Money, starring Al Pacino and Matthew McConaughey;
  • Prime, starring Meryl Streep and Uma Thurman.

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The Brits loved Serenity

by Anna Johns, posted Jan 8th 2006 11:00AM
The British think that Serenity, the movie based on the short-lived Firefly series, was pretty damn good. Good enough, in fact, that they voted it among the top movies of the year in a poll for Channel 4. It comes in at Number 3.

The station's website says "the excitement and spectacular set-pieces are in place, but they are balanced by strong characterisation, distinctive dialogue and effective performances." Yes, that is a rather tempered way of saying "we love these guys!" I know it was my favorite movie-going experience of the year because 1) I went on opening night with a bunch of Firefly fans who cheered throughout the movie and then freaked out when a certain character met up with a certain toothpick the size of a telephone pole, and 2) I love those those guys!

Here are the Top 5 movies according to the Channel 4 poll:

5. Crash
4. King Kong
3. Serenity
2. Batman Begins
1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

That number one pick is a real shocker, eh?

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