Whether one agrees with #OccupyWallStreet or not, the movement has helped to highlight the levels of greed that pervade America today. The focus is on corporate America, but many are starting to also highlight greed that hurts other institutions such as entertainment and government. With Will Smith’s demands of $50 million to do the two sequels planned for the movie “Independence Day”, I can say in true #Occupy fashion that if he’s in the movies, I won’t see them. If his wife and kids are in the movie as he is also demanding, I may find myself camping out with nasty signs at the local AMC telling people…

HBO is out and Netflix is in. With a bid of approximately $30 million per movie, Netflix put together the deal with DreamWorks Animation to send its movies and television specials through the streaming-video company. There was no mention of Qwikster, the company that Netflix is splitting off to handle its DVD-by-mail business, but speculation is that the new company will indeed be included in the DreamWorks content package. The timing couldn’t be better for Netflix as they continue to struggle with several public relations snafus. “This is one of the few family entertainment brands that…

When Scott Pilgrim vs. The World hit Comic-Con last year, many declared it a hit before it made it to theaters. The excitement surrounding the geek crowd was electric and the reviews were, for the most part, stellar. It didn’t break $30 million in domestic ticket sales. This is not an isolated event. Comic-Con, the yearly Mecca of geek entertainment, has built a reputation as incorrectly predicting the overall success of movies. The image above tells the story. People get into a certain frame of mind when they go. There is tons of cosplay, eager fans waiting in long lines to watch premiers, and a celebrity…

There’s nothing wrong with reusing old material on new projects. It’s done all the time in Hollywood. Heck, the Wilhelm Scream has been used over and over again for 60 years. However, if you do recycle material, it’s important to be sure that it was either content that was found on the cutting room floor (and not in the movie itself) or something so small that nobody will notice. When Michael Bay made his current blockbuster, he did not heed either rule of recycling. Not only is the scene in question part of one of the most exciting sequences in both The Island and Transformers 3, it was so easily distinguishable…

With the start of summer, the start of blockbuster movie season begins. While the money-making is strong for many summer releases, they often pale in comparison to big game releases. Much of it can be attributed to the prices – a newly released video game costs much more than the price of admission to a movie. Still, there has to be something more to it. Game prices have not gone up as much as movie tickets relatively. Volumes have been increasing. More gamers are born into the world of COD and other franchises every day. Movie watchers, on the other hand, accounts for a steady number of people. The only…

With Star Wars Kinect previews coming out and disappointing real fans such as myself, I thought it was appropriate to show my age and reminisce a bit. Below, you will find the original trailer for the epic that was (and still is) Star Wars. Prepare yourself. Get into a happy place. If you haven’t seen it before, it should still all seem strangely familiar. If you have seen it before, get ready to remember. …

Just over a month ago, American Airlines said it was installing Wi-Fi to its entire domestic fleet. Now, they’re going to allow streaming video to be played on Wi-Fi-enabled personal devices such as smartphones and tablets. While many airlines offer television channels and a selection of movies to be played on screens on the cabin ceiling or on the back of chairs, this new service will offer a wider variety of movies that travelers will be able to play on their own devices. No word yet on the cost, but it will likely be in line and in addition to the $8-$13 they charge currently for Wi-Fi. “By expanding…

After failing miserably and discontinuing their attempt at “going social” last year, Netflix is giving it another run. This time, they’re getting help from a company that has experience in social media. Their integration will be with Facebook. You may have heard of them. Wednesday, Netflix announced what they described as “an extensive Facebook integration” in a shareholders’ letter that accompanied their quarterly earnings report. While integration with Facebook is becoming more and more common, this particular move is striking because they are planning to change much of the way…

You might think that 2011 will be all about how the amazing the iPad 2 or iPhone 5 will be. However, this is nothing compared to what Hollywood has in store for all of us. The big movie studios are making great strides towards providing consumers with more access to movies and television shows than ever before, and they might actually pull it off this time around. But there is a catch. Ever since the creation of the Internet, the movie studios have been more determined than ever to prevent illegal sharing of their content over the Web. They have gone to extremes — convincing governments to shut down…

When you think about a movie theater, you usually envision these huge rooms with hundreds of seats and a gigantic movie screen. But this is not one of those examples. In fact, this is the complete opposite. This cinema — called the Sol Cinema — rolls on wheels, is powered by the sun, can seat up to eight people, has its own usher, and is truly tiny. Just don’t expect any Hollywood thrillers anytime soon. But it is still cool. For that, you should watch the video and admire British ingenuity….