Category: films

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films Indigenous resources websites

Reconciliation Week 27 May – 6 June 2012

Reconciliation Week 27 May – 3 June: Let’s talk recognition
A great chance to celebrate, appreciate and engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. 
 
National Indigenous Youth Parliament
The first National Indigenous Youth Parliament is on this week in Canberra and Steph Pollard (year 12) has been chosen as an ACT representative, along with 50 participants from all around Australia. The program develops youth-led advocacy & community leadership and includes debating bills written by teams. It marks the 50th anniversary  of the Indigenous right to vote in federal elections.  http://www.aec.gov.au/voting/indigenous_vote/niyp.htm
 
NAIDOC & Reconciliation Week Assembly 18 June
Guest performer is Owen Campbell, a local indigenous singer and guitarist who has reached the semi-finals of Australia’s got talent. The assembly falls 2 weeks before NAIDOC Week and after Reconciliation Week so it’s a celebration of both.
 
Info, resources & news about reconciliation
http://www.reconciliation.org.au/home
Animated video for Reconciliation Week (1 min.): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN2zVEWZPUw
Online video competition: Shoot a 45 second video on a handheld device & win an ipad or lunch with chef Mark Olive. Choosea key action for reconciliation such as Change the future, Praise people, Look through different eyes… Entries close 21 June.
http://www.reconciliation.org.au/home/latest/video-competition-launch
 
NAIDOC Week 1 – 8 July
This year’s theme is Spirit of the Tent Embassy: 40 years on.
http://www.naidoc.org.au/celebrating-naidoc-week/2012-national-naidoc-week-theme/

The Sapphires film gets standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival
Based on the play by Tony Briggs, the true story of an all-girl singing group from a remote Aboriginal community in Victoria who play for Australian troops in Vietnam. The feel-good musical comedy stars Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens, Miranda Tapsell and Deborah Mailman; directed by Wayne Blair. http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/movies/sapphires-supreme-effort-all-set-to-dazzle-cannes-20120519-1yxto.html

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/sapphires-cannes-review-326980
 
Mabo: Sunday 10 June ABC1, 8.30pm
Docudrama – the story of Eddie Koiki Mabo and his fight for justice and Native Title. Directed by Rachel Perkins (Bran Nue Dae; Radiance; The first Australians). Stars Jimi Bani & Deborah Mailman.
The ABC website has good resources including teacher notes and activities for Years 7-12. Includes videos from the 480:Mabo series which celebrates 20 years since the Mabo decision. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/mabo/videos/
Timeline of Native Title with short videos: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/mabo/timeline/
 
Amnesty International 2012 human rights report
Amnesty says that Australia continues to violate the rights of Indigenous people, and is driving them from their homelands through policies & inadequate funding.  http://www.amnesty.org.au/report/comments_2012/28734/

Amnesty and Indigenous rights http://www.amnesty.org.au/indigenous-rights/
In March, the Commonwealth Government committed long-term funds to support Homelands, but more is needed. Homelands are communities established so that Aboriginal people can maintain connection with their traditional, ancestral land. These communities have lower levels of social problems and significantly better health outcomes, and are home to around a third of the Aboriginal population of the Northern Territory. http://www.amnesty.org.au/indigenous-rights/homelands/

Categories
films

Great films

The fantastic flying books of Mr Morris Lessmore

Nominated this year at the Academy Awards: Best Animated Short Film…..an entrancing wordless film about “people who devote their lives to books and books who return the favour….a poignant humorous allegory about the curative powers of story”. Award-winning illustrator William Joyce used miniatures, computer animation & 2D animation.

http://vimeo.com/35404908

 

Academy Awards

http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/84/nominees.html

The Academy Awards take place 26 Feb. The list of 9 films nominated as Best Picture has some good films for Fiction to Film courses, Children’s Lit and other social issues courses:

 

The Artist – Silent film; the relationship between an older silent film star & a rising young actress as talkies take over.

The Descendants – Family issues & land rights issues vs big business in Hawaii.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close – Based on the book by Jonathan Safran Foer. Directed by Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot; The hours; The reader – all nominated for Best Director or Best Picture). A boy loses his father in 9/11 and discovers a key in a vase that inspires him to search New York for information, meeting many people along the way.

The Help – Based on the Book by Kathryn Stockett. A young female journalist decides to write a controversial book from the point of view of black maids who worked for white families in 1960s USA.

Hugo – Based on the book The invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Directed by Martin Scorsese. A boy living alone in a Paris station tries to repair a broken mechanical man.

Midnight in Paris – Written & directed by Woody Allen. A writer travels back in time to 1920s Paris and meets artists & authors of the day.

Moneyball – Biographical drama. A manager of a baseball team uses a non-traditional approach to assemble a competitive team.

The Tree of Life – Examines the origins & meaning of life using a man’s childhood memories mixed with imagery of the origins of the universe & life on Earth.

War Horse – Based on the book by Michael Morpurgo & the stage play – a moral epic that exposes the madness of war. A young man joins the army after his beloved horse is sold to the cavalry in WW1; the extraordinary life of the horse is depicted as he moves through the war.

Brief summary of each film with photo:       http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16703165

 

At the movies with David & Margaret

Top 100 films from 2011: Viewers’ Choice Poll

http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/viewerspoll/

Here are the first 10:

1.       Black swan  2. Midnight in Paris  3. True grit  4. Red dog  5. The guard  6. Drive  7. Harry Potter & the deathly hallows (Pt 2)  8. The tree of life  9. The ides of March  10. Bridesmaids

 

Some interesting upcoming films:

Chronicle: (in cinemas now). Three high school students get superpowers and have a lot of fun, until one starts to misuse his powers. Excellent for 15yrs + spec fiction.

World War Z: Directed by Marc Forster; stars Brad Pitt (not as a zombie I hope). Based on the book by Max Brooks (son of Mel). An employee of the U.N. travels the world trying to stop the outbreak of a deadly zombie pandemic.

The Lorax: 3D film based on the environmentally-themed book by Dr Seuss; release date March. Voice of Danny DeVito as the Lorax.

Les Mis (release date Dec 2012): Film adaptation of the amazing musical. Stars Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe & Anne Hathaway. Can’t wait! http://www.lesmis.com/news/article/an_update_on_the_les_mis_film_for_2012

Freddie Mercury biopic: Will probably start filming this year, starring Sacha Baron Cohen as Freddie. Awesome! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11340336

One for the money: For fans of the Janet Evanovich books! The first film about Stephanie Plum the bail enforcement agent; starring Katherine Heigl, Jason O’Mara & Debbie Reynolds(as Grandma). Out soon!

The Dark Knight rises: Directed by Christopher Nolan. Set 8 years after the events of the previous film. Former hero Batman returns to battle a terrorist.

And of course the highly anticipated 2 films The Hobbit (to be released Dec 2012 & 2013). Directed by Peter Jackson; stars Martin Freeman as Bilbo. Also includes LOTR stars Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving. Already I feel like a second breakfast!

Categories
books ed tech films Google popular culture TEDTalks TV websites

Best TEDTalks 2011; Google 2011; Best of iTunes & App Store 2011

Some trivia and “best of” lists for the end of year and some inspirational videos for the holidays…

TEDTalks – 18 great ideas from 2011 that can help shape 2012
TED and the Huffington Post countdown 18 of the most powerful TEDTALK videos of 2011, with ideas that can help shape the world in 2012. Includes Less stuff, more happiness; Pay attention to nonviolence; The power of vulnerability and Google’s driverless car – still uses petrol though. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/tedtalks2011

The 10 best TEDTalks of 2011 (according to ReadWriteWeb)
Includes How to spot a liar; How I became 100 artists and Try something new for 30 days.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/the_best_10_ted_talks_of_2011.php

Google’s top Australian searches for 2011
No real surprises. The top overall searches were for Facebook and YouTube. Jackie Chan was in the top 10 celebrities and red velvet cupcakes was the top food search. The most popular “What is?” search was What is love? The most popular travel destination was Hamilton Island; there were more searches for AFL than NRL and there were more searches for Toyota than Holden.
http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/googles-australian-searches-for-2011-20111206-1ohch.html

Google Zeitgeist 2011
3 minute video of the world in 2011 & other links: http://www.googlezeitgeist.com/#en/

Best of the iTunes & App store 2011
Apple Australia have released the best of the iTunes and App Store for 2011 – the bestsellers and also their top editorial choices.

Apps: Their top choices were Instagram (photosharing app for iPhone) and Snapseed (photo editing app for iPad) but the most popular free apps were Facebook, Viber and Words with friends. Angry birds was the top selling game. They liked Tiny wings and Real racing 2HD.

Music: Bestselling song was Party rock anthem by LMFAO. Bestselling albums were 21 by Adele and Making mirrors by Gotye.

TV shows: They liked Game of thrones & The slap; bestsellers were True blood & The big bang theory.

Movies: Bestsellers were Harry Potter & the deathly hallows Pt 2 and Inception.

Books: They liked Caleb’s crossing by Geraldine Brooks and kids’ book What body part is that? by Andy Griffiths. The top 5 bestsellers (bar one) were all by George R.R. Martin – A Game of thrones series. #3 went to Something borrowed by Emily Griffin. And the bestselling non fiction title was Walter Isaacson’s biography Steve Jobs.

Log in to your iTunes account & visit the App store to see the full Rewind 2011 list.
http://www.itwire.com/your-it-news/entertainment/51675-itunes-rewind-2011-their-choices-and-yours?start=1

Results for iTunes USA:
http://www.webpronews.com/itunes-rewind-2011-apple-gives-us-their-best-music-movies-and-apps-of-the-year-2011-12

Categories
books films media popular culture TV

Books, films and TV

25 October 2010
Steve Jobs’ biography
The authorised biography written by Pulitzer Prize nominee Walter Isaacson was released 24 Oct. Seems to be an honest portrayal written after 40 interviews with Jobs and over 100 interviews with others. Some surprising facts here:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/24/steve-jobs-surprising-facts-from-new-biography_n_1028580.html

And the Jobs biopic?
Rights to the Steve Jobs biography have been sold to Sony. The film should be just as intriguing as The Social Network and may indeed be written by that film’s screenwriter Aaron Sorkin. Who will play Jobs??http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/oct/10/steve-jobs-movie-sony-biopic

First Australian newspaper to charge for digital content
The Australian will be the first general Aust. newspaper to launch subscriptions for digital content in 3 months time ($2.95 pw for online, iPad, mobile). It will follow the “freemium” model, with some content free but charging for premium content. Other daily papers will follow next year, though probably not the Fairfax news websites. Will readers want to pay for information they previously got for free?http://www.theaustralian.com.au/media/the-australian-enters-the-new-age-of-paid-content/story-e6frg996-1226174541122

The 7pm Project becomes The Project
The Channel 10 infotainment show that draws its content and comedy from recent news stories will be extended to one hour from 31 October. It will replace George Negus at 6.30 and run till 7.30 & is the top weeknight news service for 16-39 year olds. Hosted by Carrie Bickmore & Charlie Pickering, it’s informative and fun and the format appeals to high school students – useful for current affairs, popular culture, media & journalism. Our Media class were part of the audience a few months ago and loved it.http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/new-name-and-timeslot-for-the-7pm-project-20111019-1m789.html

The bridge by Jane Higgins
Winner of the Text Prize for young adult and children’s writing 2010; has been described as the Tomorrow series meets Hunger Games. In post-apocalyptic 2199, the city is divided by the bridge. Cityside must be kept safe from the hostiles of Southside. Nik’s school is bombed by hostiles and he goes on the run with Fyffe, with the security corporation after them. When they cross the bridge they start to ask questions no one else will ask and find out how difficult it is to tell right from wrong, and fact from fiction and propaganda – especially in the face of war.http://textpublishing.com.au/books-and-authors/book/the-bridge/

Contagion
Thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh. Stars Kate Winslet & Matt Damon. A deadly disease breaks out and an international team of doctors is contracted to deal with the outbreak. The film portrays a very realistic public health & scientific response to a pandemic & examines personal motives, professional conduct, crowd psychology, loss of social order and the benefits of collaboration. 4 stars from Margaret and 4 and a half from David! http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s3325806.htm

Frozen planet
The new David Attenborough 7 part series examines the Arctic & Antarctic ecosystems; the final episode looks at the threat of global warming and its devastating effects. Begins 30 Sept WIN TV. http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/oct/21/david-attenborough-frozen-planet-climate-change?newsfeed=true

To be or not to be
Anonymous opens 3 Nov, directed by Roland Emmerich; starring Vanessa Redgrave as Elizabeth I and Rafe Spall as Shakespeare. Was Shakespeare an illiterate fraud? The citizens of Stratford-upon-Avon are protesting!
http://www.anonymousmovie.com.au/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-15440882

Categories
books Facebook films media mobile phones popular culture TV

Books, films & ICT news

    

 

 

Happy 30th birthday to mobile phone calls in Australia – 9/8/11

The Telecom call was made in Melbourne in 1981 on an in-car phone that weighed 14kg & was 45cm long & cost $5000. The network covered the greater Melb. area….now we are heading for the  Telstra 4G network with higher data speeds & better video quality. Trials have started.

http://www.itwire.com/your-it-news/mobility/49034-30-years-ago-today-australias-first-mobile-call

 

Facebook to have an executive in Aust. this week

Mia Garlick, a senior bureaucrat from Stephen Conroy’s Dept of Broadband, Communications & the Digital Economy, will have responsibility for Aust. operations & will hopefully be able to act quickly on complaints about Facebook postings & cyberbullying.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/facebook-hires-conroy-staffer-in-bid-to-repair-relations/story-e6frgakx-1226111961208

 

The PricewaterhouseCoopers Aust. Entertainment & Media Outlook 2011-2015

The report on Australia’s media & entertainment industry was issued 1/8/11. The fastest moving sector is the gamer market (9.5% growth by 2015), with gamers using consoles, phones, tablets & social media. Australians will own 5.5 million tablet devices by 2015. Empowered consumers often expect content for free – what incentives can be offered to encourage consumers to pay? Subscription TV revenue will grow by 5.1%. Films will grow by 4%. The internet as an industry will see a slowing of growth (7.4% by 2015). Newspapers will remain stagnant (0.1% growth). Consumer magazines & recorded music will be the only sectors to shrink. Live entertainment will see growth. And as for the book industry…..despite the closure of many A&R stores & Borders, the report predicts the industry will recover with annualised growth of 2.5% over the next 5 years.

http://www.pwcoutlook.com.au/outlook11.nsf/Pages/Press+Materials

 

Plagiarism!

Andrew Denton’s company Zapruder’s Other Films is looking at legal action over a pilot British TV program with the same format as The Gruen Transfer. Meanwhile, the BBC has aired a satirical series about preparations for the London Olympics, that is very similar to John Clarke’s The Games. The concept had been pitched to the BBC by Clarke in 2008.

 

Scarecrow and the army of thieves – Matthew Reilly

Available in October; the 4th book in the series starring Scarecrow, the heroic guy who was introduced in Ice station.

http://www.matthewreilly.com/

 

Inheritance – Christopher Paolini

Available 8/11/11. Book 4 & the conclusion to the series that began with Eragon. Can Eragon & his dragon topple the evil king and restore justice to Alagaesia?

http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Kids/Default/Page/General/Section/inheritance/

http://www.alagaesia.com/

 

Jane Eyre

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2058367,00.html

Yay for Canberra’s Mia Wasikowska in the new film directed by Cary Fukunaga, based on the book by Charlotte Bronte. Also starring Michael Fassbender as Rochester. Some say she is the best Jane ever J Opens 11 August.

 

Batavia by Peter FitzSimons: the miniseries.

Screentime (makers of Underbelly & Cloudstreet) will make the 6 part series based on the 1629 Dutch shipwreck & the battle of good vs evil. FitzSimons describes the tale as an “adults-only version of Lord of the flies meets Nightmare on Elm Street”.

http://if.com.au/2011/08/03/article/Screentime-acquires-rights-to-Peter-FitzSimons-Batavia/XJPPIHGXEN.html

 

The white mouse – directed by Bruce Beresford

New bio-pic about the life of war heroine Nancy Wake, the highest decorated woman of WW2. Begins filming end of 2012.

http://www.encoremagazine.com.au/beresford-directs-nancy-wake-story-9830

Categories
films TV Wikipedia

New films and Wikipedia

 

Some interesting new films coming up for English, psychology, communication, marketing, Australian identity….enjoy 🙂

Jane Eyre

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2058367,00.html

Yay for Canberra’s Mia Wasikowska (whose brother is here at DC) in the new film directed by Cary Fukunaga, based on the book by Charlotte Bronte. Also starring Michael Fassbender as Rochester. Some say she is the best Jane ever J Opens 11 August.

 

 

Anonymous

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(film)

http://www.anonymous-movie.com/

Political thriller directed by Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The day after tomorrow). Stars Rhys Ifans & Vanessa Redgrave. Aust. release Nov 2011. Was Shakespeare a fraud? Was Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford, the true author of Shakespeare’s plays? Did Oxford have an affair with Queen Elizabeth and was it all about who would succeed Elizabeth? Alas, poor Shakespeare…sounds intriguing…

 

Hunger Games: the movie

http://hungergamesmovie.org/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/

Directed by Gary Ross. Stars Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson. In the ruins of North America, a boy & a girl from each district are forced to compete in the Hunger Games, where only one person will survive. This exceptionally popular “cross-over” book will be released as a film in March 2012 (USA).

 

The greatest movie ever sold

Morgan Spurlock’s (Supersize me) new film looks at the huge amounts of product placement in movies – and his film was entirely paid for through product placement & marketing deals. Contributions from Noam Chomsky, Quentin Tarantino, Ralph Nader but not McDonald’s hehe. Apparently even Jules Verne sold naming rights to the shipping companies in Around the world in 80 days!

http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2011-04-19-spurlock-greatest-movie-ever-sold.htm

 

The beaver

Comedy-drama directed by Jodie Foster. Stars Mel Gibson & Jodie Foster. A troubled executive adopts a beaver hand-puppet as his sole means of communicating. A study of delusion, depression and personal redemption.

http://www.filmink.com.au/review/the-beaver-film/

 

Red dog

Based on the book Red dog by Louis de Bernieres (Captain Corelli’s mandolin). Stars Rachel Taylor. Based on the true story of the Red Dog who united a remote mining community while searching for his master in the Australian outback. 4 and a half stars from David & 4 stars from Margaret!    http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s3272052.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Dog_(Karratha)

 

ABC TV

No more New inventors or Art nation and Spicks & specks finishes in Nov. L

 

Wikipedia: Rate This Page

Wikipedia is now crowdsourcing article evaluation – Rate This Page appears at the end of some pages. Use the 5 stars to give ratings. Categories are: Trustworthy? Objective? Complete? Well written? It now appears on over 100 000 Wikipedia pages.

Why it could be a bad idea:    http://gizmodo.com/5823523/ratings-will-ruin-wikipedia

 

Wikimedia Foundation targets for 2015

4 out of 5 Wikipedia editors are male and 4 out of 5 are from the Global North. The Wikimedia Foundation would like to change this. It aims to:

“Increase the total number of people served to 1 billion.

Increase the number of Wikipedia articles we offer to 50 million.

Ensure information is high quality by increasing the percentage of material reviewed to be of high or very high quality by 25 %.

Encourage readers to become contributors by increasing the number of total editors per month who made >5 edits to 200,000.

Support healthy diversity in the editing community by doubling the percentage of female editors to 25 percent and increasing the percentage of Global South editors to 37 percent.”

Check out the graphs of numbers of articles & editors here. Interesting to see a plateau effect .…

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/c/c0/WMF_StrategicPlan2011_spreads.pdf