Angelina Jolie
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Angelina Jolie is directing a war drama original for Netflix
Netflix has secured a deal with actor/director Angelina Jolie Pitt to produce and direct an Original film adaptation of First They Killed My Father. It's based on a memoir by author Loung Ung about her ordeal as a child soldier for the infamous Khmer Rouge period in Cambodia, when nearly 2 million people were killed. Jolie Pitt said that she was "deeply affected" by the book, and she and Ung spent several years adapting it for the screen. She noted that Netflix took on a project that would normally be a tough sell. "Films like this are hard to watch, but important to see."
Salt enables six times the storage capacity for snail-unfriendly hard drives
Salt: sure, you might use it to cure meats for your latest solar-powered circumnavigation. But hold onto your kippers, Magellan, because Singaporean scientists have found that sodium chloride -- ordinary table salt! -- can also dramatically increase storage capacity. You see, typical hard drives have randomly-arranged magnetic grains, which allow data density of about 0.5 terabit per square inch. But a high-resolution e-beam lithography process, aided by our good friend NaCl, arranges the grains in a tighter, more orderly fashion, upping the density to 3.3 terabits per square inch. Called nanopatterning, this technique enables a 1TB drive to hold 6TB without additional platters; it also works with current manufacturing technology, meaning no expensive upgrades. If that's got you dreaming of a higher-capacity future, hit the source link for more glorious technical details. We'll warn you, though: the pictures of luscious, bee-stung lips stop here.
Report: Warner Bros. rebooting Tomb Raider film (sans Megan Fox)
Warner Bros. is preparing to restart Lara Croft's celluloid career, reports ComingSoon.net. The rights to a Tomb Raider film were reportedly included in the deal when Warner acquired approximately 20% of publisher Eidos last year. How this particular franchise reboot -- overseen by producer Dan Lin -- ties in with Eidos' alleged plan to redesign the iconic protagonist (again!) remains to be seen.Chances are she won't be played by Megan Fox, though. According to a rumor making the rounds yesterday, the Transformers star was poised to succeed Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft in a third Tomb Raider film. However, according to What They Play, Fox's spokesperson says the actress is "not involved in the movie at all."Sorry, Fox fans; looks like the role of Lara still belongs to Angelina.Source -- Warner Bros. Rebooting Tomb RaiderSource -- Megan Fox is not the new Lara Croft
Wanted movie spawns "Fan Immersion Game"
That fabled beast, Convergence, draws closer every day. Proponents of this phenomenon believe that one of these days, all media will be intertwined -- you'll watch a movie online, see a product, click on it to launch its related website or download its video game tie-in -- that sort of thing. As the Internet matures, and Hollywood wises up, we'll see more of this happening.A step in this direction is the new "Fan Immersion Game" based on the Angelina Jolie action film Wanted. Developed by Stillfront AB, this is a web-based MMO in which players rise through the ranks of a fraternal order of assassins. Stillfront CEO Marco Ahlgren says in the press release "The concept of different fraternities of assassins lends itself perfectly to the design of a casual MMOG, and the unique objects ingrained in the property -- from ancient weapons to intricately woven hit orders -- are well-suited for a microtransaction model. The Wanted FIG provides an addictive game play experience for fans while generating online brand awareness leading up to the film release, and well beyond." Check out that marketing speak, wouldja? Decide for yourself if the game lives up to its own hype and we'll see you in the movie theaters.
Angelina Jolie buys Ghost Squad, promotes violence
We'd like to be envious of Angelina Jolie's vast wealth and movie star looks, but heck, we just can't muster up the hate -- not when she has the nous to buy games like Ghost Squad.Alas, not everybody appreciates Ms. Jolie's discerning taste in Wii Zapper titles. Brad Pitt's own sister, for example, was less than pleased that her children received a copy of the T-rated game from the actress for Christmas, and apparently sent it back with a slightly indignant note, explaining to Auntie that "We don't promote violence in our home."This apparently trivial celebrity tale probably raises lots of important questions concerning violent video game content and the role of parents. But we have our own questions -- vital questions -- that need answers. Questions such as: Did Jolie get the game cheap? Does she have her own dolphin-shaped Zapper? And if so ... does she read us?! Hai Angelina![Via Game Politics]
Most of Beowulf cast lends voice to game
The game adaptation of Beowulf will have a few things in its favor when it transitions from film to video game as several of the movie's stars have lent their voice talents and likenesses to Ubisoft. Although Anthony Hopkins, Rayn Winstone, Brendan Gleeson and Sebastien Roche all are on board, Beowulf actress and Tomb Raider star Angelina Jolie declined to participate. "I must say it was one of the hardest working days of my career," Winstone said of his days spent working with Ubisoft. "But it was vital to capturing the power of the film and translating that into a great gaming experience. Beowulf is a brutal character, a Dark Age-gangster with both hero and monster in him ... as a player, I can identify with the monster slayer."Not only will the game benefit from the movie actor's participation, Ubisoft is also adding in more than 30 years of story that didn't make the cut in the movie. It's about time this legendary story has been turned into a video game, but we just hope Ubisoft can capture director Robert Zemeckis' excellent vision. We'll see when the game releases Nov. 13.
Tomb Raider: Anniversary set for June 5th (don't forget!)
Those longing to don a pair of unreasonably tight pants, shoot up ancestral tombs and mow down innocent bears (without getting arrested) would be wise to circle the date of June 5th, 2007 on their official Rhona Mitra calendars. This day marks the release of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary, a Crystal Dynamics remake of the adventure that put the grave-robbing heroine on the map, the coffee mug, the magazine cover and the unfortunate t-shirt which proclaimed, "I raided Lara's tomb." Hearkening to a time (1996!) when Tomb Raider regularly induced drool as opposed to debilitating nausea, Anniversary sees reworked puzzles, improved controls and enhanced graphics injected into one of the greatest games of all time. Play it on your PS2, PC or PSP while you wait for a sequel to last year's surprisingly superb Tomb Raider: Legend to arrive -- and don't forget to do a graceful swan dive straight into a boulder. That's always good for a laugh.
