Paranormal Activity: $15,000 Independent Horror Movie Grossing +$66 Million in US & Canada
Paranormal Activity is a 2007 mockumentary horror film written and directed by Oren Peli. The movie premiered at the Screamfest Film Festival in US on October 14, 2007, and was shown at the Slamdance Film Festival on January 18, 2008. The movie received a limited release in several U.S. cities on October 9, 2009 and had a nationwide release on October 16, 2009.
As of October 30, 2009, Paranormal Activity has grossed $66,605,222 in the United States and Canada and has become the most profitable independent film ever.
The movie centers on a young couple, Katie and Micah, who are haunted by a supernatural presence in their home. The movie is presented in a documentary style, using footage from the camera set up by the couple to capture what is haunting them, in a similar manner to The Blair Witch Project, and The Last Broadcast.
CNN Hologram Interview: Big Setup To Produce "Star Wars" Like Technology
It was an election night like none other, in every sense of the phrase. In addition to the obvious -- the selection of the nation's first black president -- Tuesday night's coverage on CNN showcased groundbreaking technology.
"I want you to watch what we're about to do," CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer told viewers early in the evening's coverage, "because you've never seen anything like this on television." And he was right. Cue CNN political correspondent Jessica Yellin.
"Hi Wolf!" said Yellin, waving to Blitzer as she stood a few feet in front of him in the network's New York City studios. Or at least, that's the way it appeared at first glance.
In reality, Yellin -- a correspondent who had been covering Sen. Barack Obama's campaign -- was at the now president-elect's mega-rally along the lakefront in Chicago, Illinois, more than 700 miles away from CNN's Election Center in New York.
It looked like a scene straight out of "Star Wars." Here was Yellin, partially translucent with a glowing blue haze around her, appearing to materialize in thin air. She even referenced the classic movie on her own, saying, "It's like I follow in the tradition of Princess Leia. It's something else."
The technology involved placing a subject in the middle of a bright-green circular room inside a large tent at Obama's Grant Park victory celebration. The subject was then filmed with 35 high-definition video cameras, barely larger than average point-and-shoot cameras, which ringed the wall of the circular room. The video cameras were 6 inches apart and at eye level, 220 degrees around the subject.
According to Gizmodo, this is what CNN used to create this visual trick:
On the subject's side:
35 HD cameras pointed at the subject in a ring.
Different cameras shoot at different angles (like the matrix), to transmit the entire body image.
The cameras are hooked up to the cameras in home base in NY, synchronizing the angles so perspective is right.
The system is set up in trailers outside Obama and McCain HQ
Not only is it mechanical tracking via camera communication, there's infrared as well.
Correspondents see a 37-inch plasma where the return feed of the combined images are fed back to them.
Twenty "computers" are crunching this data in order to make it usable.
On the HQ side:
Only used on two out of 40-something total camera feeds that CNN has.
The delay is either minimal, or we've gotten used to satellite delay that we don't even notice now.
An array of computers takes the crunched info feed from the subject's side in order to mesh it with the video from Wolf's side.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the images are actually "projected" onto the floor of the CNN studio so that Wolf can actually talk to the person, you know, in a face to face. So it's not quite Star Wars just yet. Only after computers merge the video feeds together do you get a coherent hologram + person scenario.
Here is the video that talks about the secret of this magic ...
Panasonic Shows World's Largest Plasma TV In GITEX 2008
The first thing attracted my attention when I entered the Consumer Electronics wing of GITEX 2008 in Dubai is the World's Largest & super full High Definition 150-inch Plasma TV. This enormous screen is the size of nine 50-inch plasmas combined and delivers amazing image quality with 8.84 million pixel resolution (2,160 x 4,096), which is more than four times that of a conventional 1080p HD plasma television (1,080 x 1,920).
No official announcement of how much this TV costs ... but rumors said the price is in the range of $100,000 !
Sha3biyat Al Cartoon 3: UAE Animated Show Reflecting The Mixture of Culture
I admit that I'm a big fan of the Arabic animated series (Sha3biyat Al Cartoon), specially the 3rd season which currently being aired on Sama Dubai TV channel during the month of Ramadan. The idea and characters of the show are by (Haydar Mohamed), a young talent from the UAE. The show is directed by (Amer Kokh).
Sha'beyat Alcartoon is a place existed once upon a time in the old Dubai. It was a collection of cardboard and wood manufactured homes and inhabited by several nationalities and cultures. The characters represent the mixture of cultures living in the UAE Society. Look at the following image to see what I mean ...
The following is one of the funniest episodes this year. It's about obtaining driving license in the UAE ...
The picture below shows (Haydar Mohamed) giving instructions to the voice cast of the show. You can see in the picture the director (Amer Kokh) ...
Now see and hear the cast making the voices of the characters ...
Mohamed Haydar is currently working on another animated series. He is also preparing an animated movie to be released to UAE cinemas.
During the holy month of Ramadan, “Ayna” is organizing a religious and cultural competition called “Ya Hala Ramadan”, and offering valuable prizes for winners.
Participants can search Ayna to find the answer for a multiple-choice question asked daily throughout the period of Ramadan. The competition is only available in Arabic language.
Participants in the competition should meet the following conditions:
Participate in the competition once daily and choose only one answer.
The winner of the competition is the one answering correctly the highest number of answers. In a multi-winner scenario, a draw will take place to choose the winner.
Valuable prizes will be awarded to winners (special thanks to Fototec, Lebanon and Bahrain Air). First, Second, and Third- Place winners will select from the below prizes:
Fourth- Place winner gets the F400 Fuji Film Digital Camera, offered by Fuji Film, whereas the Fifth-Place winner receives one MP3 player, courtesy of Tuny, in addition to a USB offered by Transcend.
As for the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth- Place winners, each will get an MP3 player whereas Ninth and Tenth – Place winners will collect each a USB Device.
The competition shall begin at the first day of the month of Ramadan and end at its last, whereas the names of the winners will be announced on the 8th of October 2008 and notified afterwards via email.
In case winners of the competition fail to reply to the email sent by” Ayna” within one week of the notification date, another winners shall be selected by draw.
Interview with Mohamed AbdelRahman from CNBC Arabia
I am a big fan of this new Arabic news channel (CNBC Arabia). I can't put my finger on it, but every time I switch my TV to (CNBC Arabia) I get hooked to it. I've never been a fan to an Arabic news channel like I've been to this one. Maybe one big reason for my "addiction" to (CNBC Arabia) is Mr. Mohamed AbdelRahman, the host of many of the channel's shows. He attracts me to his shows with the way he presents his shows and interacts with his guests. I wanted to know more about this man and about (CNBC Arabia) through him, so I started by searching in the internet. I couldn't find any except some video clips of his shows posted in YouTube. Therefore, I decided to interview him and he was so kind to accept my invitation. The following is my interview with Mohamed AbdelRahman from (CNBC Arabia) ...
أرجو أن تعطيني نبذة عن حياتك و بداياتك المهنية و خصوصاً مع (سي إن بي سي عربية)
تخرجت من أكاديمية الفنون بالقاهرة قبل عشرين عاما، بعد ان درست النقد الفني والأدبي, وأمضيت بُعيد تخرجي سنة أو أكثر قليلا من الارتباك الكامل, لم يكن فيها من إيجابيات إلا إتمامي لخدمتي العسكرية الإلزامية – ولعلك ستندهش حينما أخبرك بأنني أنا الذي يعاني من ضعف بصره منذ مولده كنت قناصا في الجيش المصري!!!
حاولت الخروج من أزمة الغموض المرير لتلك الفترة ومن أسئلتها الوجودية –من أنا؟ ولماذا أعيش؟ وماذا سأفعل بحياتي؟- بأن ألتحق بالدراسات العليا في ذات الأكاديمية ولكنني بعد شهر واحد أتيحت لي فرصة العمل بصحيفة أخبار اليوم الأسبوعية المصرية –أتاحها لي رئيس أكاديمية الفنون آنذاك الدكتور فوزي فهمي أحد أهم أساتذتي .
تعلمت الكثير في أخبار اليوم، تعلمت من فنون الحياة أكثر مما تعلمته من فنون الصحافة!
ولكنني خرجت من المؤسسة العريقة خائبا بعد ثلاث سنوات –لم أرُق للبعض هناك- وانضممت انضماما عابرا للأهرام ثم استقر بي الحال مذيعا في الشبكة الرئيسية للإذاعة المصرية، وهناك –فيما أظن- بدأت شخصيتي الإعلامية تتبلور ...
ولأن المرتبات في الإذاعة تكفي الخبز ولا تكفي الإدام كما يقولون عملت بالتوازي مع عملي الإذاعي مراسلا لتليفزيون الكويت ثم مراسلا لقناة دبي الاقتصادية –التي لم يعد لها وجود الآن – ثم عُرض علي أن أنضم لمذيعي تليفزيون دبي ففعلت بلاتردد عام 2001 وظللت أقدم نشرات هذه المحطة المهمة حتى تم تعديل هيكلها الإداري فحدث الخلاف مع أقطابها الجدد فانتقلت إلى سي إن بي سي عربية عام 2005 بمباركة من مدير برامجها آنذاك محمد مؤمنين الذي ترك لدي انطباعا عميقا بالنبل ...
وهأنذا ماأزال للعام الرابع على التوالي في سي إن بي سي مستمتعا بمساحة رحبة من الحرية لقول ما أريد ولأكون نفسي بلا تزييف ولا ضغوط ودون الحاجة لأقنعة .
ما هي طبيعة العلاقة بين (سي إن بي سي عربية) و بين قناة (سي إن بي سي) الأمريكية؟ هل هناك أي تأثيرات أو توجيهات أو انتقادات تتلقونها من قناة سي إن بي سي الأم بخصوص المواضيع التي تطرحونها؟
سي إن بي سي هي علامة تجارية إعلامية أمريكية تنضوي تحت مظلتها مظاهر إعلامية متعددة, وسي إن بي سي عربية هي مالك حق استغلال هذه العلامة عربيا, ولا توجد أي رقابة على ما نقدمه من الشركة الأم, وقد يكون هناك نوع من التعاون ...ولا أعرف ما يتجاوز ذلك .
كثير من الإنتقادات الموجهة إلى موقع (سي إن بي سي عربية) الأكتروني هو افتقاره لعناصر التفاعل مع المشاهدين و صفحات الحوارات التي تناقش المواضيع المطروحة على القناة. ما هو رأيك في هذه الإنتقادات؟
أنا المنتقد الأول – ومعي معظم زملائي – لتهافت الموقع الإلكتروني للقناة ...وأعرف أن الإدارة بصدد تعديله تعديلا ثوريا ...وأفلحوا إن صدقوا !!!!
من يقوم بانتقاء ضيوف برامجك؟ و ما مدى تجاوب رجال الأعمال و الإقتصاد العرب في تلبية دعواتكم و إجراء الحوارات على الهواء؟
نتعاون جميعا لانتقاء الضيوف وأحيانا ما نضطر للقبول بالمتاح وخصوصا في موسم الصيف حيث يسافر "القادرون" إلى بلاد الشمال !!! ولاحظ أن القناة لا تدفع مقابلا ماديا لضيوفها وهذا يضيق من هوامش حرية الحركة في ظل المنافسة من القنوات الثرية التي تدفع دولارات خضراء كثيرة للضيوف ...!!! القناة كما تعرف ليست مدعومة من "حكومة" ولهذا نحن بحاجة لممارسة الاقتصاد عمليا ونظريا !!! ولكنك قد تندهش إذا ما قلت لك إن عددا وافرا من "الكبار" يفضلون سي إن بي سي عربية !!!!
ما رأيك بتفاعل المشاهدين مع البرامج التي تقدمها بوجه خاص (مثال: برنامج أنت المسؤول) و مع باقي برامج (سي إن بي سي عربية) بشكل عام؟
لا أعرف !!! لا توجد طريقة لقياس ردود أفعال الناس إلا إذا قابلك أحدهم في الطريق فابتسم أو تجهم ! وقد تعرضت للكثير من الأمرين !!!
ماذا لا يتم تحضير برامج تفاعلية مع الشباب العربي المهتم بالقضايا الإقتصادية العربية و العالمية و تبادل الآراء معهم؟
لعلك تعرف أن ستيف هول قد صار مؤخرا المسؤول الأول عن القناة، وأظن أنه بخبرته التليفزيونية الطويلة سيستمع لصوت المنطق في هذا المجال دافعا باتجاه سي إن بي سي عربية شابة وحيوية وجديرة بمضاعفة مشاهديها مرات، وقادرة على استقطاب الشباب والعجائز وما بينهما!!!
في رأيك ، ما المواصفات و المميزات الواجب توافرها في مقدم البرامج الحوارية الإقتصادية لضمان النجاح و تحقيق الإنتشار و الفائدة؟
الثقافة والصوت الحسن والثقة بالنفس، والقدرة اللامتناهية على التعلم من أخطائه وعلى الإنصات لنصائح الآخرين ...ولكن الأهم هو أن يكون منيعا في مواجهة الغرور!
كيف تقيّم أداء قناة (سي إن بي سي عربية) في خضم و جود العشرات من القنوات الفضائية العربية الإخبارية؟ و ما الذي يميّز قناة (سي إن بي سي عربية) عن باقي القنوات الإخبارية و الإقتصادية؟
أكثر ما أحبه في سي إن بي سي عربية هو استقلاليتها التي تمنحها مذاقها الموضوعي المنعش، نحن فقراء لكننا نمتلك الكثير من الصدق والكبرياء ! كما أن هناك مساحة واسعة للتعلم من الأخطاء!
ما رأيك في الواقع التي تعيشه دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة و الطفرة العمرانية و الإقتصادية التي تشهدها دبي على وجه الخصوص؟ و هل أنت من المتفائلين بهذا الواقع أم من "القلقين"؟
لعلك تنتظر مني كلاما في الاقتصاد ....لن أفعل.... فلدي ما هو أهم لأقوله ....الإماراتيون يا سيدي هم الضامنون لاستمرار ازدهارهم، فإذا ما حافظوا على قدرتهم الرفيعة على التعايش مع الآخرين ومع المتغيرات وإذا ما استمروا يبدعون الحلول للأزمات ويدهشون العالم بقدرتهم الخلاقة على التحديث ... إذا لم يتراخ الإماراتي وإذا ما بقي محافظا على قلبه الطيب المفتوح استمر ازدهاره !
كيف أنت من عالم الإنترنت؟ هل أنت ممن يحب أن يتفاعل مع الناس ألكترونياً؟ و هل تتصفح أو تشارك في منتديات الحوارات الإقتصادية العربية؟
أنا أحب الإنترنت كثيرا وأمضي وقتا لا يستهان به يوميا في حالة تصفح !
هل لديك موقع خاص (أو مدونة) على شبكة الإنترنت؟ و ما هي أفضل طريقة للتواصل معك؟
لا يا عزيزي ليست لدي مواقع ولا مدونات ! وبريدي الإلكتروني هو pharaoh.m7@gmail.com
ماذا تحب أن تقول إلى محبي الأستاذ محمد عبدالرحمن و ما الذي تتمناه منهم؟
لو أن هناك من يمكن تسميتهم ب"محبي محمد عبد الرحمن" فسأكون سعيدا بهم للغاية، وسيكون أول ما سأطلبه منهم هو الغفران !!! فليغفروا لي أنني لست إعلاميا أفضل لأستحق حبهم !
هل تود أن تضيف أي شيء قبل أن نختم هذا اللقاء؟
أحب أن أترك لديك انطباعا أخيرا، فكرت في أن أخبرك أنني تحررت مؤخرا من الخشية العبثية من رقم 13 !!! أو أنني أرى نفسي مشروع شاعر وقاص قبل أن أكون إعلاميا ! أو أن الأربعين التي أتممتها هذا الشهر هي سن النضج والذعر من الأفول ! ولكنني قررت أن يكون الانطباع متعلقا بإيماني العميق المترجم في سلوكي اليومي بالإنسان بكل عثراته وعبقرياته بحطته وبعظمته بوحشيته وبرقته ...الإنسان يستحق التعاطف والمحبة والغفران وأنا أفعل ذلك ما استطعت !
في الختام أشكرك شكراً جزيلاً يا سيدي على إتاحتك هذه الفرصة للتواصل مع متابعيك من خلال شبكة الإنترنت و أتمنى لك المزيد من النجاح و التوفيق.
Flint & Silver: Treasure Island Prequal Tells The Story of The Two Most Famous Pirates
Who does not know Long John Silver? Who haven't read the book "Treasure Island", written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1883, or at least watched the movie or the animated series whether in Arabic, English, or Japanese? By the way, you can download the full book in PDF format by clicking here (8.42 MB).
When you read "Treasure Island", you feel like you are reading a sequel! The book is full of un-answered questions. How did Long John lose his leg? Where did he get the parrot? Who was the black girl he married? Who was the monster, demon, Captain Flint? And above all, why did they bury the treasure?
In my summer vacation to Gold Coast, Australia, early this month, I came across this book displayed in (New Releases) section of a bookshop. It was just published last month. The book is "Flint & Silver" by John Drake. It was like a dream came true to me! I bought the book and I'm currently half way through it.
John Drake, the author of "Flint & Silver", explained about the idea of pirates burying their treasure, "Think about that because buried treasure is so deeply entrenched in our culture that we never ask why pirates did it. And the truth is that they didn't. I know of no proven instance of pirates burying their treasure. This isn't surprising. Pirates lived short lives. They didn't set aside for the future. When they got money it went on girls, booze and food. You didn't stick in a hole in the ground to get 5.75% interest minus tax at standard rate. You didn't set it aside for the future because you didn't have a future. Blackbeard the most famous of all pirates lasted about fifteen months till the Navy caught him and killed him and cut his head off.".
Drake continues, "Since Robert Louis Stevenson was dead, and I was fascinated by this period of history. I decided to answer all these prequel/sequel questions, but to do it for adults. Stephenson wrote the book for his stepson Lloyd Osborne who was thirteen and wanted no women in the book. But I can't have that. I'm older than thirteen. So I brought Long John to life again, who has for years been in the shadow of Robert Newton's character: a short, dark, boozy, dirty, squinting A-harrr Jim-Lad, which is nothing like the character Stevenson created: who should be tall - that's why he's called Long John - and big and clean and blond! Flint was the other great opportunity. In Treasure Island he was long dead, but a monster who terrified everyone but Silver. So I've brought him to life, as a monster, but a beautiful one. A charismatic psychopath. Charming and clever and mad. "
Watch John Drake talking about his book ...
I can tell you from what I've read so far is that I'm hooked to this book. I totally recommend it for all "Treasure Island" fans to read. The book is full of action and will answer so many questions left unanswered from Stevenson's greatest masterpiece.
There are some rumors that "Flint & Silver" will be made a movie to hit the big screen in 2010.
"Flint and Silver is the beginning of a series. There are plenty more to come. And I'll keep writing them if you keep buying them. ", said Drake.
This is not my opinions, but the opinion of 207,426 voters in the well known website of The Internet Movie Database. According to IMDB's top 250 movies as voted by users, the latest Batman movie (The Dark Knight) has achieved a rating of 9.3 out of 10. This is truly phenomenal !
I've always known that the ranking system of IMDB is very popular and most of the time reflects my own opinion of different movies. Actually, a lot of people believe that IMDb's Top 250 is one of the most accurate lists ranking the greatest films in history. I usually visit the site before watching any movie to see the ranking and read the users' comments and votes. The current top 10 movies as I'm writing this blog are:
Rank
Rating
Title
Votes
1.
9.3
The Dark Knight (2008)
207,426
2.
9.2
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
357,104
3.
9.1
The Godfather (1972)
306,312
4.
9.0
The Godfather: Part II (1974)
173,872
5.
9.0
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly (1966)
101,774
6.
8.9
Pulp Fiction (1994)
302,561
7.
8.8
Schindler's List (1993)
200,744
8.
8.8
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
152,234
9.
8.8
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
211,804
10.
8.8
Casablanca (1942)
129,198
I haven't watched the movie yet, but I'm planning to watch it today just to see for myself ... does the movie (The Dark Knight) really deserve to be the best movie in history?
Ayna Launched First Online Map Service For The Middle East
On July 13, 2008 as part of its Idrissi “Rabat Release”, Ayna launched a beta version of Ayna Maps, a service that provides interactive maps of places and businesses for all major Arab capitals in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Ayna is known for being the first Arabic search engine in the region. Its new street level map service will cover 26 cities in 17 countries and presented in Arabic and English.
Ayna maps provides street level detailed mapping that is not available through any other online service, including Google, Yahoo, and MapQuest. With the launch of Ayna Maps, businesses and individuals will be able to easily locate and add points of interest. As of the launch, Ayna Maps are preloaded with over fifty thousand searchable points of interest available in Arabic, English and French to meet the needs of local audiences.
Real-estate, banks, retails stores, hotels and tourism services will greatly benefit from Ayna Maps by marking their point of interest on a map to guide their customers to their physical location. Ayna makes it easy to embed the marked map in any web site along with contact details, such as name, address, phone, email, and a descriptive summary. The CEO of Ayna, Mr. Adonis El Fakih, describes the ability to view where Ayna is located in Beirut with his favorite line, “a picture is worth a 1000 words, and I will not get lost driving to work anymore.”
Ayna search engine is the only service that provides a geo-referenced (GeoRSS) news feed in the Middle East and North Africa. This allows users to view what is occurring in their part of the world by clicking on map markers. This feature enhances the offerings of online news providers in the region and provides an alternative way to access news.
Ayna Maps future releases include providing routing and directions, updating map data, and publishing submitted points of interest for businesses in the region. A mobile version of the map service will also be available soon.
I only found out about this today. Stan Winston died 20 days ago (on June 15th). The Oscar-winning special-effects maestro responsible for bringing the dinosaurs of "Jurassic Park" and other iconic movie creatures to life, has died after a seven-year struggle with multiple myeloma. He was 62. I admit that I am a big fan of his work and his Sci-Fi monsters (Terminator, Predator, Alien, & T-Rex). I'm sure that Hollywood will miss him alot.
"The entertainment industry has lost a genius, and I lost one of my best friends with the death Sunday night of Stan Winston," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "Stan's work and four Oscars speak for themselves and will live on forever. What will live forever in my heart is the way that Stan loved everyone and treated each of his friends like they were family."
Winston won visual effects Oscars for 1986's "Aliens," 1992's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" and 1993's "Jurassic Park." He also won a makeup Oscar for 1992's "Batman Returns."
Winston was nominated for his work on "Heartbeeps," "Predator," "Edward Scissorhands," "Batman Returns," "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" and "A.I."
He last worked with director Jon Favreau on "Iron Man."
Do you speak English and you want to learn Arabic the fun way? Then I would recommend to you ArabicPod. With ArabicPod, you can learn basic things like greetings, weather, and ordering food. ArabicPod is creative and attractive way to learn basic Arabic language by listening to conversations between Ehab Saleh (25 from Jordan) & Mohammed Moshaya (26 from Saudi Arabia). Ehab & Mohammed are also the creators and maintainers of ArabicPod. They are currently students at Brighton University (80 miles south London).
Early of 2007 Mohammad has started learning Chinese via podcast & found out that podcasting is a great method to learn languages. Mohammed & Ehab recorded their first podcast lesson in March 2007. You can watch their first lesson below ...
"Everyone who is interested in learning Arabic is our target, we found that people learn Arabic due to heritage where learners wants to learn their fathers language, others learn Arabic for business and work purposes, also people learn Arabic for religious reasons and some people say that they love the sound of the language and that’s why they want to learn it. We have learners from all over the word", said Ehab Saleh, co-creator of ArabicPod.
"We are looking forwards to seeing ArabicPod as a big company teaches Arabic for the entire word, the internet has no borders and we are hoping that this effort that is made totally by two Arabs in their 20s would reach high level and be a source for everyone wants to learn Arabic."
Warner Bros. To Open Theme Park & Cinemas In Abu Dhabi
What’s up doc? Quite a bit in Abu Dhabi after a developer yesterday signed a multi-billion-dirham deal to bring the creative energy of Warner Bros Entertainment to the emirate.
A joint venture was created between Aldar and the newly-established Abu Dhabi Media Company and the studio that brought us the Harry Potter and Scooby-Doo films and Bugs Bunny.
The massive entertainment project will include a theme park, a luxury hotel and multiplex cinemas on Yas Island, the formation of a joint fund to finance feature films and develop and produce video games, as well as the growth of new media in the emirate.
And that’s not all, folks… New Warner Bros branded cinemas will also be built in Abu Dhabi’s under-construction Central Market, Ruwais in the Western Region and Al Ain.
Abu Dhabi Media Company Chairman Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei said: “From theme parks to hotels, this agreement will put Abu Dhabi at the centre of the world’s entertainment map.” Aldar will co-ordinate and oversee physical construction of both the theme park and the hotel. Both projects are expected to start in 2009.
Warner Bros International Cinemas will develop, design and manage jointly owned multiplex cinemas in Abu Dhabi, to be built by Aldar. Construction on the multiplex cinemas at the Central Market development has already begun and they are due to open in the first quarter of 2010.
The film production fund, a 50-50 venture, calls for the development and production of broad-appeal films, with Warner Bros retaining worldwide distribution options and rights on all such projects.
Separate from this arrangement, Warner Bros Pictures International will work with Abu Dhabi Media Company to develop and produce Arabic-language films for local and regional distribution.
Specifics about the cost of the deal were not revealed in the announcement. Emirates Today spoke with Osama Ghanoum, Aldar’s Media and Marketing Manager in New York, who declined to reveal details but said: “It is a huge multi-billion-dirham project.” The agreement was signed in the presence of Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is also the Chairman of the National Media Council.
Warner Bros Chairman and CEO Barry Meyer said he was “thrilled to be partnering with Aldar and the Abu Dhabi Media Company on these exciting endeavours”.
“We are impressed by their… philosophy. It is a firstrate company, led by first-rate executives,” said Meyer.
News of Abu Dhabi’s agreement with Warner Bros comes after Dubai is set to invest Dh8 billion in a Universal Studios theme park for Dubailand.
Universal Studios Dubai was announced in April and developers Tatweer expect it to attract five million visitors a year when it is completed in 2010.
The Universal Studios theme park is expected to cover 1.9 million square meters, with the whole Dubailand complex spreading over an area of some 280 sq km, twice the size of Walt Disney World in Florida.
The theme park will feature attractions based on films such as King Kong and The Mummy.
Paramount Pictures has also signed a licensing deal, with Ruwaad Holdings in Dubai, for the developer to build rides and attractions based on its library of films and characters.Ruwaad plans to spend $2.5bn (Dh9.1bn) on the Paramount Pictures branded park.
Real estate, hospitality and tourism investment and development company Ruwaad Holdings and Paramount Licensing Inc. announced Monday June 25, 2007 a long-term licensing agreement in connection with Ruwaad's planned development of a Paramount Pictures-branded theme park in the United Arab Emirates. The planned development would be part of a $2.5 billion destination envisioned to incorporate boutique hotels and resorts, large themed retail areas and adjoining lifestyle properties.
Under the licensing arrangement, International Destination Brands Limited, an affiliate of Ruwaad Holdings will be responsible for funding development and securing a feasible site for the large-scale destination. Paramount Licensing will not invest funds, but instead provide access to Paramount Pictures' intellectual property library -- one of the largest of any Hollywood studio -- and its intellectual capital through the oversight of planning and design aspects. Paramount Pictures' legendary catalogue includes Academy Award(R)-winning films such as Titanic, Braveheart and Forrest Gump, as well as classic and current hits including The Godfather, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Top Gun, Mission: Impossible, Charlotte's Web, Nacho Libre, and Dreamgirls (a co-production with DreamWorks Pictures).
The Paramount Pictures-branded theme park would be the entertainment hub of the family destination, featuring rides, shows, and attractions based on its rich Hollywood heritage and library of motion picture titles. The theme park would benefit from Paramount Pictures' stable of new titles, which would provide the basis for the development of new rides and attractions. It would also be the first-in-the-world to have a unique blend of Hollywood, Bollywood and Arabian motion picture entertainment content to address the family entertainment needs of existing and future global tourism trends.
Ruwaad and Paramount Licensing are also exploring other development opportunities in select countries within the Middle East and elsewhere.
Marvel Super Heroes Part of New Dubai Theme Park In 2011
Al Ahli Group and Marvel Entertainment, Inc. announced Tuesday March 20 a partnership that will bring Marvel’s full library of Super Heroes to Dubai for a major new theme park destination being developed by AAG.
The Al Ahli Group is poised to bring the region’s first and only global theme park destination directly to the heart of the Emirates. AAG and Marvel are also in initial stages of discussions about additional projects throughout the greater Pan Arabia region.
Mohamed Khammas, CEO of Al Ahli Group commented “Marvel is a brand that is recognized globally via its ever expanding list of ‘Super Hero’ characters. Now, it won’t be much longer until the children in Pan Arabia and the world can experience new and exciting rides with Marvel’s Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the Fantastic Four and many other Super Heroes right here in the UAE."
The Project will open in 2011 with a direct investment of over $1 billion USD.
Freej: First 3D Animated Series In The Middle East
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Freej, the Middle East’s first 3D animated series is the brainchild of Mohammed Saeed Harib who also directs the fifteen standalone episodes of fifteen minutes each, launching this September on national television. Freej is the tale of four old national women living in a secluded neighborhood in modern day Dubai. The show’s main characters; Um Saeed, Um Saloom, Um Allawi and Um Khammas try to live a peaceful life in the midst of the ever-expanding city around them, but the city’s boom unveils new social issues every day that they would have to tackle solve in their own simple way. For those four old women, there is no issue too hard to crack with a good cup of coffee at Um Saeed’s house.
Freej started of as a six page study book in 1998 but it never materialised until 2003 when it was adopted by Dubai Media City. A small demo was created to test the concept and shortly after it was given the official go ahead by the Sheikh Mohammed Establishment for Young Business Leaders (SME) who took on the initial funding of the project. On September 2005, Lammtara Pictures was established to overlook the production and a team of almost 500 people were signed up to make this big dream a reality.
The show is now in official association with Dubai Media City, Awraq Publishing, Arab Radio Network, JBM and the Sheikh Mohammed Establishment for Young Business Leaders (SME). The show also benefited from a pool of 100 volunteers from across all national universities who worked hard on the research and development part of it.
Freej is a national dream that required a lot of effort and hard work from many directions to make it a reality and to give the people of this region and especially the UAE its first animated series.
The first episode of Freej was premiered on Dubai TV and Sama Dubai on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan. The first season of Freej will be rerun in the latter half of Ramadan.
