A bit of STAR WARS to start the week

Revenge Of The Sith On HBO HD
We posted a quick blurb about this earlier last month but wanted to let everyone know that HBO has started airing Star Wars Episode III : Revenge of the Sith On Demand as well as in HD ( High Definition ).

I highly suggest you watch the film in HD, here's just no other way to enjoy the last chapter of the Star Wars saga!

Check the HBO schedule right here to see what time would be best for you!
http://www.hbo.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet?ACTION_DETAIL=DETAIL&FOCUS_ID=609402
EDITOR'S NOTE: SINCE I HAVE AN HD TV AND NOT AN HD DVD PLAYER, THIS SHOULD BE EVEN PRETTIER THAN ON THE DVD! (WHICH WAS PRETTY DARN PRETTY). AND AN HD SHOWING WAS STARTING JUST AS I FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS, SO I'M RECORDING IT RIGHT NOW!

WOO HOO......IT IS GOOOOOOOD TO BE QOTD!

WHO'S COMIN OVER TO SEE THIS ON HD!????

MTV Music Performance Has Star Wars Flair
June 4, 2006
This just in from Kid Hell :
Just got home from the 2006 MTV Movie Awards and the highlight of the show was a musical performance by the hot new band Gnarls Barkley of their hit song "Crazy".

Not sure if you know that Gnarls Barkley is the pairing of DJ Dangermouse and Hip-Hop vocalist Cee-Lo Green. EDITOR'S NOTE: NO. I DID NOT KNOW THAT. (AND IN A FEW MINUTES, I WON'T KNOW THAT AGAIN).

For all of the promotional pictures and appearances for their album, they have dressed in costumes from classic films like "The Wizard of Oz", "A Clockwork Orange", "The Big Lebowski", and others.

Well, for the Movie Awards they truly outdid themselves... "Star Wars"!

The costumes most certainly came directly from Lucasfilm. Cee-Lo as Darth Vader, Dangermouse as a brown robed Jedi, Jango on keyboards, 2 Stormtroopers (bass and guitar), 3 X-Wing Pilot backup singers, 4 Imperial Officers on violin, and Chewbacca on drums! It was awesome.

Throughout the performance, the song lyrics appeared on the large monitors surrounding the stage in the gold-yellow of the title scroll. And the song rocked! Just had to share.

The show airs this coming Thursday at 9 p.m. on MTV.

Did you hear that everyone? The show airs this coming Thursday at 9 p.m. on MTV. Time to set up the TIVO as this sounds like one you don't want to miss!

You can view a picture of the performance right here!

EDITOR'S NOTE: NOPE. STILL NO IDEA WHO THESE PEOPLE ARE. NICE COSTUMES, THOUGH.

AND SPEAKING OF THE MTV AWARDS ----

Hayden Wins MTV Movie Award
The MTV Movie Awards were held this past weekend and Hayden Christensen won the "Best Villain" award for Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith.

The complete "2006 MTV Movie Awards" ceremony can be seen Thursday, June 8th beginning at 8:30pm ET/PT with the official MTV News pre-show, followed by the main show at 9pm ET/PT on MTV.

You can find out who won the other awards right here! http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=14832

Vader Bear In Canada
British Columbia has been having an art thing where many bear statues are placed throughout the province. Each is painted differently to reflect the different artists that created them. EDITOR'S NOTE: MUCH LIKE THE COW PARADE.

HERE'S THE VADER BEAR.



The bears will be auctioned off later this year.

Here's a link to all the info about the exhibit: http://www.spiritbearsinthecity.com/


John Williams to receive Henry Mancini Award



John Williams will receive the Hank Award handed out by the Henry Mancini Institute at its 10th Anniversary Concert and Gala Celebration on June 17.

The institute was founded in 1997 by composer Jack Elliott, dedicated to the legacy of Henry Mancini, the legendary film composer who penned such famous themes as THE PINK PANTHER, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S and PETER GUNN and such notable genre works as LIFEFORCE, NIGHTWING, THE NIGHT VISITOR, and portions of TARANTULA and IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE.

The gala will feature the HMI Orchestra and stars Tony Bennett, Julie Andrews, Dave Koz, and Monica Mancini.

In addition to the presentation of the award to John Williams (who incidentally started out in the film music business as a session pianist playing on many of Henry Mancini’s recordings), the institute’s president, Ginny Mancini, will receive the HMI Legacy Award for visionary leadership in music education. EDITOR'S NOTE: GO, JOHNNY, GO!

EDITOR'S NOTE: AND NOW, A BIT OF EU INFO ----

Answers from Aaron Allston

Where does your new novel, Betrayal, fall in the Star Wars timeline?
It takes place several years after The New Jedi Order series. Ben Skywalker, born during the events of the NJO, is 13 at the start of the Legacy of the Force series. Chronologically, the last novel storyline before Legacy of the Force is Troy Denning's Dark Nest trilogy, and Troy does some foreshadowing of Legacy events in his books. EDITOR'S NOTE: I ACTUALLY HAVE SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR, SIMPLY BECAUSE I HAVE GOTTEN SEVERAL BOOKS BEHIND IN MY STAR WARS READING. SO THE "DARK NEST" TRILOGY IS NEXT ON-DECK. (LIFE MIGHT NOT BE GOOD, BUT THE BOOKS ARE).

Can you set things up a bit?
Sure.

Years after the defeat of the Yuuzhan Vong, the galaxy is still recovering from the beating it sustained during those dark times. Now war may erupt again -- this time between once-allied planets, as Corellia defiantly plays a game of brinksmanship with the Galactic Alliance.

The galaxy's greatest heroes -- Luke, Leia, Han, Jaina, Jacen, and many others -- will find themselves reluctantly standing on opposite sides of the conflict... and a danger from Luke's past will force Jacen Solo to make a horrible choice if he's to save the lives of those he loves.

Is this the beginning of a major new story arc, something along the lines of the New Jedi Order, in which many different writers will contribute, or is it a smaller arc to be written entirely by you?
It's sort of halfway between the two extremes. It's a major story arc, as consequential to the Star Wars universe as the NJO was, but it's a nine-book series being written by three writers: me, Karen Traviss, and Troy Denning. We're in constant rotation, so I'm doing the first one, Karen the second, Troy the third, me again for the fourth, and so on.

One of the reasons the Legacy of the Force series has been interesting is because we learned so much nuts-and-bolts stuff with The New Jedi Order -- about coordination of writers, handing off characters and subplots, that sort of thing. It's fun to be able to put into practice what we learned.

Jacen Solo is very much at the heart of this novel. Without giving any spoilers, can you talk a bit about how you see his character, and how he has been shaped, as a man and a Jedi, by the events of his past?
That "without giving any spoilers" restriction makes this one a little tricky to answer. In becoming a Jedi, Jacen has followed a path unlike anything any other Jedi has traveled. He's been exposed to more varieties of Force-related teaching than perhaps any other Force user.

This may be his greatest strength but also his greatest weakness. He can do things no one else can, but he has also become accustomed to thinking so much for himself that he's very, very quick to dismiss and disregard traditions. It's as though he has so many predecessors that he's quick to ignore the lessons learned by many of them. This combination of virtues and vices makes him very interesting to write.

How do you see the relationship between Jacen and Luke? There seems to be some rivalry and resentment there, at least on Jacen's part.
Jacen loves his uncle. But at this point I think he loves him more than he respects him. Yes, there's some resentment there. I don't think of it as rivalry -- Jacen doesn't want Luke's job, doesn't want Luke's specific role in history. He just wishes that Luke would see and understand what Jacen does and make decisions with a greater appreciation of Jacen's outlook. It's a combination of altruism and arrogance on Jacen's part. EDITOR'S NOTE: IT IS THE ARROGANCE OF YOUTH, TO BE SURE. BUT JACEN ISN'T ENTIRELY WRONG, EITHER. LUKE'S HEAD WAS FILLED WITH SO MUCH....AS MY MOTHER WOULD SAY...'MISHEGAS' BY OBI-WAN AND YODA. AND DESPITE TRAVELLING 30 YEARS PAST OBI-WAN'S AND YODA'S RULE-BENDING-FOR-THE-SAKE-OF-EXPEDIENCE-BOSSINESS, LUKE IS STILL SOMEWHAT STUCK IN AN OLD REPUBLIC HE NEVER EVEN KNEW. HE CAN'T QUITE SHAKE THE SHADOWS OF JEDI TEACHINGS HE NEVER EVEN GOT THE FULL COURSELOAD ON.

Ben Skywalker also plays an important role in the book. Can one assume it will grow as the series evolves?
Definitely. Ben is a teenager, with a teenager's normal curiosity, desire to make his way in the world, hormonal tides, resentments, paranoia, extraordinary potential, angst and drama... and he's heir to one of the strongest, well, legacies of the Force in the galaxy far, far away. This is sort of like giving a teenager his own dynamite shack. Just how responsibly is he going to use it?

An essential part of the novel's plot has to do with the ability of Jedi to use the Force to glimpse potential futures. What are the limitations of this power? It seems strange for Jedi, who are trained to be so attuned to the present moment, to seek foreknowledge of a more-or-less predetermined future.
There are great limitations on it, if only because the future is not fixed until it's the present. Assuming you can see "the future" reliably and with crystal clarity -- and no one in the Star Wars universe is that good, so far as I know -- there's the fact that the future is always in motion. Everything you do can change it. So peering into all the observable futures might give a Jedi some indication of patterns, of trends, but basing any decision on one of those futures is a very risky choice. It's Charlie Brown assuming, yet one more time, that Lucy is going to hold the football steady for him to kick. Only this time lives are at stake.

With that in mind, I suspect that the stereotyped Jedi advice to "be mindful of the present," in addition to "pay attention, stop daydreaming," also means, "don't base your decisions on what you see of the present -- if you do, you'll mess up."

You get into some intriguing aspects of Sith philosophy in this novel. How did you go about expanding or deepening the Sith philosophy? What restrictions or guidance did you have? And do you think a Jedi could embrace aspects of Sith beliefs and Force techniques without becoming evil or going over to the dark side as Anakin Skywalker did?
As a writer, I have to do a lot of thinking about the personal ethics of the so-called bad guys in my novels. I'm not fond of cackling madmenEDITOR'S NOTE: BUT THEY DO MAKE LOVELY DANCE PARTNERS. or antagonists who willingly embrace the notion of evil. They are, in a word, lame. So the variations I've made to Sith philosophy emerge from that -- from what I see as a need many of the Sith would have to create a philosophy that makes their actions acceptable, even heroic... from a certain point of view.

So with the Sith, we see a "career path" that makes them capable of ever-greater crimes and atrocities as they progress.

Typically, the human method of inuring one's self to atrocities is to become numb to them, to dehumanize the victims of the atrocities, and so on. That's normal, but it's also old hat, so I wanted to sort of chart a different course for the Sith -- to suggest that those who try to deal with the issue ethically do so by forcing themselves to suffer when they cause suffering, to love what they are destroying, as a means to keep their own excesses in check.

I also wanted to suggest some points in common between Jedi and Sith philosophy, to better express their comparisons and contrasts. For example, if the extreme version of Sith philosophy involves destructive rage, destructive surrender to passion, then the extreme version of Jedi philosophy would be aloofness, emotionlessness, a tendency to become vested in law above compassion, that sort of thing... all with the notion that this was one of the errors made by the Jedi Council during the era of the prequels. EDITOR'S NOTE: AMEN! EXACTLY! I wanted to suggest that any philosophy taken to extremes is destructive, even a philosophy that is theoretically heroic and altruistic, like the Jedi code. EDITOR'S NOTE: THE SITH SERVE A FUNCTION LIKE PREDATORS DO IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. THE OLD REPUBLIC JEDI HAD TO FALL, AND THE SITH WERE THE MEANS TO THAT END. I MAINTAIN THAT THE 'BALANCE OF THE FORCE' THAT ANAKIN AND LUKE BROUGHT ABOUT, WAS ALSO HELPED ALONG BY MAUL, AND DOOKU, AND SIDIOUS.

I didn't have much in the way of restrictions. In part, that's probably because we floated a bit of this concept at a November 2004 story conference with Lucasfilm at Big Rock Ranch, so everyone knew what was going to be explored and what everyone else's concerns were about it.

As for the question of whether a Jedi could embrace some aspects of the Sith philosophy and remain good -- well, I suspect that the answer is yes, as long as it's "aspects" and not the whole package. I also wonder sometimes whether a nonhuman could be a full-bore Sith and not be evil -- I don't think that's possible with a human, owing to the weaknesses in human nature, but perhaps it would be possible with an alien. EDITOR'S NOTE: HEY...ODDBOB! PARTANEOUS IS NON-HUMAN, SO MAYBE YOU CAN GET GAMEMASTER DAVE TO LET YOU GO FURTHER INTO YOUR DARKSIDE POINTS....TO AID OUR TEAM, NATCH....WITHOUT BEING LOST TO EVIL. (I MEAN, UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE LOST TO EVIL? OR IS THAT JUST IN THIS GALAXY?)

Balance and the Force

Wasn't Vader supposed to unite the two sides of the Force? It would seem that prophecy of the future, at least, didn't come true.
Unite them... or bring them into balance? Much of the philosophy of the Force is based on real-world eastern philosophy, which posits the opposed but complementary positions of yin and yang. Bringing balance would seem to involve keeping yin and yang roughly equivalent in influence, rather than blending them together into some sort of New Age protein shake. EDITOR'S NOTE: DOES A FORCE-SHAKE HAVE A LOT OF CALORIES? (JUST ASKIN.....)

Your writing is exceptionally detailed in its descriptions of military hardware, weaponry, and so on. Is the accumulation of detail the secret to convincingly describing objects that don't really exist?
My natural tendency as a writer has always been to under-describe surroundings, so much so that I have to do a separate editing pass on each manuscript to make sure that I've included an adequate amount of sensory detail.

But, yes, I try to put myself into the reader's head and analyze each passage of a book, asking, "Does this offer enough detail that the reader can visualize what's going on?" Add to that the tricky task of describing equipment that's already familiar to fans of the Star Wars universe -- for example, X-wings -- but still must be visualized by those who aren't. What's the magical halfway point between those two positions? I'm constantly trying to find it.

What keeps you excited about working in the Star Wars universe after so many books and so many years?
Well, it's such a vast universe that there's always a new pocket to develop. And the series now spans so much time that we can look in on the familiar characters at each new stage of their lives and find something interesting.

I mean, just look at Luke. There's Luke as a teenager just experiencing the Force for the first time. Luke as a twenty-something, at the top of his craft as a fighter pilot, founding Rogue Squadron and acting as an important Rebellion leader. Luke as a Jedi Master, the only one in existence, taking on the burden of re-creating the Jedi order. Luke apparently doomed, by a series of romantic interests who appear in one novel each, to be a perpetual bachelor. Luke finding the right woman. Luke as a married man. Luke as the Master of a reviving Jedi order that includes other Masters in conflict with him. Luke fighting to keep his family alive in the face of an alien invasion that might destroy civilization as he knows it. Luke as a father. And so on, and so on. Every one of those Lukes can be the protagonist of one or more novels exploring those circumstances, and he's only one character.

In other words, there's always neat new stuff for every writer to jump into.

Are you working on any other projects, Star Wars--related or not?
Oh, yes. My plate is pretty full these days. I have two more novels in this series to do, and other, non--Star Wars, novels on the burners as well. I scripted, produced, and directed an ultra-low-budget horror movie, Deadbacks, that is now in post-production. I used to write roleplaying game supplements for my living, and have another couple of projects to do in that field. I've also done some preliminary work on a couple of nonfiction books, one about writing fiction and one about low-budget film-making.

My website, AaronAllston.com, has all the details on these projects and more.

Exploring Real Life Dagobah



When Jedi Master Yoda fled to Dagobah aboard an escape pod and went into hiding (in a deleted scene from Revenge of the Sith), it may have been an ideal spot to disappear from the eyes of the growing Empire, but it's not the easiest place to set up a cozy home. Covered in jungles of gnarled trees with misty swamps, bizarre creatures, and never-ending rain, Dagobah is one of the more unusual planets in a galaxy far, far away. Its large lagoons are home to enormous snakes and other creatures that swim in the murky waters.

Years later, Anakin Skywalker's son Luke would find the hidden planet by using the Force (as instructed by his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi) and would seek out Jedi training from a much older, but still wiser Yoda. The unrelenting rainfall and unpredictable bog creatures made Skywalker's training all the more difficult, but he continued his tasks at hand, and eventually became a great Jedi like his father before him. EDITOR'S NOTE: GOT ALL THAT? CAUSE THERE WILL BE A QUIZ.



Here on Earth, Yoda might have made a similar home in wetlands around the world including the lush Everglades. When it came time to bring Dagobah to the big screen for The Empire Strikes Back, Associate Producer Robert Watts went to real-world swamps in Florida, South America, the Caribbean and East Africa to explore possible filming locations. The movie makers decided that shooting in a real swamp would be too difficult, dangerous and time-consuming, so they decided to build their own indoors in a movie studio. This allowed them to mix and match features from different swamps around the world. Production Designer Norman Reynolds built Dagobah's trees based on artist Ralph McQuarrie's designs, as well as real-world examples from the swamps of Nigeria.

Similar to Dagobah, much of the wetlands here on this planet are often described as having a temperate and humid atmosphere with a large amount of vegetation like trees, tall shrubs, and large plants surrounded in slow-moving or still water. And even though the wetlands cover less than 10 percent of the planet's surface, the wetlands are the source of almost one-quarter of the world's productivity. Here are a few facts about the wetlands here on Earth.

What exactly is a wetland?There are many official definitions of what constitutes a wetland.
Generally speaking it is land that is saturated in shallow water making the soil soggy and difficult, if not impossible at times, to walk on. Because it's somewhere in between terrestrial and aquatic, a wetland has a special ecosystem that unique plants and animals thrive on.

What's the difference between a swamp and a marsh?
While a swamp can be described as a freshwater wetland with plenty of woody vegetation like trees and shrubs, a marsh mostly has tall grasses, reeds and other plants growing in very shallow water that can be fresh or salt, and is almost always flooded. Both swamps and marshes can be found alongside rivers, creeks and lakes.

What is a bog?



A bog is a very acidic wetland that has no flow of water, and is a happy growing area for many kinds of mosses such as sphagnum. Dead plants also pile up and decay in the bog which in turn forms peat moss. EDITOR'S NOTE: THEY MAKE IT SOUND SO LOVELY AND ECOLOGICAL. BUT YOU KNOW THAT WHEN THEY SAY 'NO FLOW OF WATER' THAT MEANS 'STAGNANT BREEDING GROUND FOR MOSQUITOS THE SIZE OF COWS', RIGHT?!

Where are some of the more famous swamps? EDITOR'S NOTE: MY YARD, AFTER A COUPLE OF DAYS OF RAIN?
In the United States some of the most well-known wetlands are the Everglades (in Florida), Okefenokee Swamp (in Georgia and Florida) and the Great Dismal Swamp (in Virginia and North Carolina). Other swamps outside of the U.S. include the Bangweulu Swamp in Zambia, Niger Delta in Nigeria, Asmat Swamp in Indonesia, and the Vasyugan Swamp in Russia.

What kinds of plants can be found in these wetlands?
Everything from tasty edibles like cranberries and wild rice, as well as exotic-looking cattails and willows can be spotted growing in the wetlands. Three types of plants generally thrive in this environment. Plants that grow out from the water are called emergents, while submergents grow completely underwater. Floating plants like the lotus also grow in the wetlands.

Unusual-looking trees like the Bald (Swamp) Cypress (Taxodium distichum) grow mainly along riverside (also known as riparian) wetlands which are flooded regularly. The tall trees can grow up to 45 meters tall and with a trunk diameter of up to three meters! The Bald Cypress is official state tree of Louisiana and is often revered as the symbol of the southern swamps also known as the bayou. EDITOR'S NOTE: AND IT'S ENTWINED BRANCHES ARE ALSO THE SYMBOL FOR SIBLING MARRIAGES. (SNORT)



What non-swamp trees look like those found on Dagobah?
When Star Wars artist Ralph McQuarrie brought to idea of Dagobah to life in his paintings, he may have been inspired huge banyan trees, which are native to swamps in India, but can also be spotted in an island paradise like Hawaii. EDITOR'S NOTE: AND THERE ARE SOME BEAUTIFUL BANYANS IN SARASOTA, FLORIDA, TOO. (FYI....)The massive, exposed root systems of these trees indeed resemble the enormous Dagobah trees as seen in The Empire Strikes Back. Often referred to as "The Tree with a Thousand Trunks," the banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis) will grow to a certain size then its huge branches will send down rope-like roots which then anchor themselves in the soil and eventually thicken which make it look like additional trunks. Often times the canopy (top) of the tree will grow so large that it covers several acres! One of the largest living banyan trees can be found in the Calcutta Botanic Gardens. It has over 1,700 trunks and is over 200 years old!

What animals call the wetlands home?
Lots of creatures and insects live in the wetlands including mosquitoesEDITOR'S NOTE: LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF 'EM! , dragonflies, leechesEDITOR'S NOTE: AND YOU THOUGHT YOU WOULDN'T LIKE IT THERE?! , many aquatic insects, snails, toads, bass, crocodile, alligators, snakes, turtles, frogs, salamanders, crayfish, beavers, and muskrats.

Many animals also periodically migrate to the wetlands depending on the season such as whooping cranes, geese, sparrows, swans, bitterns, ducks, stilts, deer, elk, black and brown bear, bald eagles, trout, and salmon.



Why are the wetlands in danger? Why do we need to protect them?
Almost half of the endangered species in the United States such as the American crocodile and the wood stork live on or indirectly rely on the wetlands to live. But because of growing agriculture and urban expansion, the wetlands are dwindling at an alarming rate. Do your part by reading more about the wetlands, joining a wetlands protection group and asking your teacher to help educate fellow classmates on what can be done to help.

If you would like to learn more about swamps and the creatures that live in them, please visit your local or school library for more detailed books.

Also feel free to print out this fun wetlands coloring book from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. http://training.fws.gov/library/Pubs/Wetlands_colbk.pdf EDITOR'S NOTE: END OF THE EDUCATIONAL PART OF OUR POSTING. PRINT THIS OUT AND CRAYON TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT, LITTLE PADAWANS!

STAR WARS PICTURES:


Another sneak peak of that big 2007 mystery project
Imperial and Wookiee forces collide on Kashyyyk. EDITOR'S NOTE: I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT, BUT THE ARTWORK SURE IS GORGEOUS!


Norman Reynolds illustrates a possible design for the Emperor's throne room, final confrontation site between Jedi and Sith.


Doug Chiang illustrates an environment that would go unseen in the finished film of Episode I: a Sith landing platform.


Commander Cody's clone troopers wage war with battle droid infantry in the heart of the Separatist stronghold on Utapau.

Harry Potter, early June

Wizardry at work in the corner office
If Harry Potter Ran General Electric
By Tom Morris
Prof. Albus Dumbledore, the principal of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and his brilliant disciple Harry Potter, are both natural leaders. So, it's reasonable to imagine what leaders in the real world can borrow from the wizards in J.K. Rowling's fictional world.

Tom Morris, a former professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, who applied the ideas of great philosophers to today's business in If Aristotle Ran General Motors, returns with another erudite extended essay in If Harry Potter Ran General Electric. "The wisdom of the wizards can enlighten us all," he says. EDITOR'S NOTE: CAN YOU HEAR MY EYES ROLLING? I THINK IT IS AUDIBLE RIGHT NOW.

Although General Electric Co. does have a research facility named "The House of Magic," the book only uses the fabled firm as emblematic of modern business. This is not a book of one specific company or business strategy, but of ethics, courage, wisdom, leadership alchemy, and character.

Ethics, he stresses, is about what we do, and what we refrain from doing, to realize our purposes -- however good those purposes may be. As Prof. Dumbledore puts it: "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

Mr. Morris believes that is one of the most important philosophical insights in the Harry Potter books -- indeed, perhaps the theme of the entire series. "It's also one of the most important realizations that any leader, and any person in business generally, can have." EDITOR'S NOTE: AND THIS, WRITTEN BY SOMEONE WHO PROBABLY DOESN'T GET THAT THE MAGIC OF HARRY POTTER FAR TRANSCENDS THIS SORT OF CORPORATE DUMBING DOWN. AND THAT THIS IS ALSO BEING PREACHED TO PEOPLE WHO ARE FAR TOO BUSY STAMPING OUT INDIVIDUALITY AND INDEPENDENT THINKING TO COMPREHEND THE MESSAGE. (AND IF YOU NEED TO BE TOLD THAT ETHICS AND ETHICAL ACTIONS ARE IMPORTANT, ARE YOU TOO FAR GONE FOR ANY PREACHING TO BE OF VALUE?)

From the perspective of many ancient thinkers, he observes, the single most important human virtue is courage. That's also a virtue needed in business, where tough decisions are demanded of leaders. But he points out that few business or leadership books offer any concrete guidance about how to develop courage and muster it when required.

Courage, of course, is probably Harry Potter's most striking quality, amply displayed in his adventures. Mr. Morris stresses that it derives not from fearlessness but from a determination to do what's right even in the face of fear.

In various passages, readers are told Harry's stomach lurched, he felt icy cold, his heart jumped into his throat, or he felt a sensation of numbness or paralysis throughout his body.

But his values push him on, as he is determined to do what is right, not what is easy.

Mr. Morris pulls out five basic strategies from Harry Potter's encounters with danger that we can use in difficult or even frightening situations:

Prepare for the challenge: As athletes demonstrate, nothing builds confidence and supports courage for a difficult undertaking like preparation. Harry undergoes exhaustive practice for his Qudditch matches, the sport of wizards played on broomsticks with flying balls.

Surround yourself with support: One of the most important themes of the Potter stories is the value of friendships. Everything Harry is able to accomplish is rooted in the collaborative efforts of his friends, teachers, the groundskeeper Hagrid, and Prof. Dumbledore.

Engage in positive self-talk: The human mind is subtle and can work with us or against us. In difficult situations, a positive frame of mind can be helpful and a negative outlook deadly. In the stories, Harry occasionally seems to work explicitly on beefing up his courage, reminding himself of what he has accomplished in the past and how he is capable of taking care of himself.

"It matters what we tell ourselves in the privacy of our own minds and in the solitude of our own rooms," Mr. Morris cautions.

Focus on what's at stake: Remembering what's at risk in our work will renew our sense of purpose and restore our energy. For Harry, often a friend's life is in peril, and that encourages action.

"Great values defeat fear," Mr. Morris states.

Take appropriate action: As Harry acts, fear vanishes.

"Sometimes when great values are at stake, you just have to take action, regardless of how things look and no matter how you feel," Mr. Morris sums up.

Whether you have read any of the Harry Potter books or not, Mr. Morris presents a leisurely, enjoyable excursion through them, gleaning insights, and adding in observations from various philosophers, notably Aristotle. It's an unusual mix, but highly appealing for those who appreciate such essays. EDITOR'S NOTE: SO. TAKE A SERIES OF BOOKS DESIGNED TO BE THE ANTITHESIS OF GROUP-THINK, AND SHOE-HORN THEM INTO A BIZ-LANGUAGE CHEERLEADING SESSION. WHERE PEOPLE WILL GO BACK TO THEIR OFFICES AND USE THE CONVENTIONS OF FEAR AND SHAME AND SAMENESS TO MAKE SURE NO ONE STEPS OFF THE PARTY LINE TRACK.

YES, I'M CYNICAL ABOUT THIS SORT OF THING, BUT I'VE EARNED IT. (AND IF I HAD A WAND....AND ANY MAGICAL POWERS....I'D SMITE SOME PEOPLE, OR TURN THEM INTO TOADS, OR SOMETHING).

SO THEY'D BETTER WATCH OUT!

New Wizard of the Month
JK Rowling's official site has been updated with June's Wizard of the Month.

Daisy Hookum
1962 - present
Wrote bestseller 'My Life as a Muggle', after giving up magic for a year.
Married to celebrity gardener Tilden Toots.
EDITOR'S NOTE: I WONDER IF THEY'D LET ME BRING MY STAR WARS ACTION FIGURES WITH ME WHEN I GO LIVE IN HOGSMEADE?

A little DISNEY Stuff

THE PLACE WHERE THE MAGIC IS MADE
Behind the gates at the Disney studio lot


Walt and Mickey confront the Michael Eisner Team Disney Building and its seven-dwarfs facade.

The Walt Disney Studio grounds are rich in Disney history - after all, history is made here every day, from decades of cartoon shorts to wartime information films, and on to the upcoming chapters of the Pirates of the Caribbean saga.

It's the home of Legends Plaza (where handprint plaques commemorate Disney greats old and new), the Disney Archives, and the Julie Andrews soundstage.

The Disney parks are open to anyone who cares to journey there, and great Disney films are as close as your DVD player - but relatively few Disneyphiles get to pass through the gates of the Disney Studio Lot.

So the Insider decided to take you behind the scenes and share some of the secrets of the Walt Disney Studio.

Walt Disney Archives Manager Becky Cline gave us a quick rundown of the Studio's history, and explained some of the little-known splendors of the Studio Lot.

The Walt Disney Studios has been at its present location in Burbank, California, since 1940. It's not only an active movie studio hosting production for live-action and animated films and TV shows, but also the corporate headquarters for The Walt Disney Company. The spacious grounds include soundstages; television production facilities; an enormous prop house holding everything from jewelry boxes to larger-than-life statuary; a costume department; a studio commissary; and much more.

The very first home of The Walt Disney Company was modest - a space in the rear of the small office of a Los Angeles realty company. Walt and Roy began producing their "Alice Comedies" series of short cartoons there in 1923, and within four months the "Disney Bros. Studio" expanded into the space next door.

In 1925, the Disneys were prosperous enough to build their own studio, on Hyperion Avenue in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles (that space is now occupied by a supermarket and some small shops). Finally, in 1940, the growing and thriving studio needed room for more expansion and relocated to its current home in Burbank, on land purchased with proceeds from Disney's first full-length animated feature, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

Becky tells us, "Walt was personally involved with all aspects of designing the new studio. From the layout of the buildings to the design of the animators' chairs, nothing was left to chance. His main concern was to produce a self-sufficient, state-of-the-art production factory that provided all the essential facilities for the entire production process. Because of the singular problems confronting those working in an animation studio, each department was asked to turn in every suggestion it might have which would make for ideal working conditions.

"Today, because the Studio is in effect a small town, the lot still retains a campus-like feel with buildings that are spaced to allow for the maximum of sunlight and lawn areas between them, as well as its own streets, storm drains, natural gas lines, sewer system, water lines, underground fire protection piping, fire hydrants, and a complete electrical distribution system."

It also feels bucolic and welcoming, with a burgeoning and friendly population of squirrels, lush lawns and flowerbeds, and employees zipping past on bicycles - the quickest way to get around.

One piece of the Hyperion Avenue studio has pride of place on the Lot: The Hyperion Bungalow, built in 1932 as an early home for the Disney Comic Strip Department. It was constructed at the Disney Studio on Hyperion Avenue in Hollywood and moved to the Burbank location as part of the construction in 1939-1940. It is now used as a conference center.

The most famous intersection on the Studio Lot is the intersection of Mickey Avenue and Dopey Drive. It's one of the sights that makes the Studio Lot unmistakably Disney! In addition to the famous signage, the corner is helpfully labeled for Pluto's use, and there are even paw prints in the cement near the fire hydrant.

The original Animation Building, erected in 1939, is no longer the home of the animation department, but it is still in use for office and production company space. Its corridors are hung with animation cels, concept sketches, and background art from Disney animated masterpieces throughout the years. It was constructed with eight wings so that each work area can have natural sunlight. The windows are shaded by mechanized awnings that are adjustable in each room. Walt wanted his animators to have the best light possible for their work.

Today, Feature Animation has moved across Riverside Drive from the main Studio Lot. It's easily visible from the 134 Freeway and prompts millions of daily commuters to ask themselves the burning question: what's inside that Mickey's Sorcerer's Hat in front of the animation building? The answer: a conference room.

"Team Disney - The Michael D. Eisner Building" is the headquarters of The Walt Disney Company, worldwide, and includes the office of Disney President and CEO Bob Iger, as well at the executive Rotunda Dining Room. Its distinctive facade makes it a highly recognizable symbol of Disney - all seven Dwarfs can be seen welcoming visitors to the Studio. Six of the Dwarfs are each 19 feet tall and weigh 30,000 pounds, Dopey, the smallest Dwarf, is 12 feet tall and is situated at the top, "holding up" the center of the building.

Immediately in front of the Team Disney building is Disney Legends Plaza, honoring Disney greats old and new. Brothers Walt and Roy can also be found here, as life-size bronze sculptures, accompanied by Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

Leaving the Walt Disney Studio Lot, we pass through a gate bordered on each side by oversized, cartoon-styled "palm trees," through a fence decorated with wrought-iron Mickey ears.

In every detail, the place where the magic is made is rich in Disney magic - and history - itself. EDITOR'S NOTE: AND I'M SURE THIS WASN'T WRITTEN JUST AS A PUFF PIECE, BUT AS HARD-BITING, FACTUAL REPORTAGE. (SNICKER....)

STILL.....FUN AND INTERESTING.

Movie News, early June

EDITOR'S NOTE: FIRST UP, ONE TV ITEM THAT HAS NO HOME (THIS BEING THE DOWN-TIME/DOLDRUMS IN TV LAND):
Elfman, CBS develop new comedy deal
Jenna Elfman in staying in the CBS fold.

The network has inked a new development deal with the "Dharma & Greg" star to create a comedy vehicle for her.

"She is immensely talented, a truly gifted comedienne," EDITOR'S NOTE: YES SHE IS. SO THIS TIME ,HOW ABOUT YOU HIRE SOME WRITERS TO GIVER HER SOMETHING FUNNY TO DO? (JUST A HELPFUL HINT).CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler said. "She's been an unbelievably collaborative partner, and she's someone America has fallen in love with."

A search is under way for a writer to team with Elfman and pen a script for her.

Under Elfman's previous deal with the network, she starred in CBS' short-lived midseason comedy series "Courting Alex" this past season. That deal stemmed from a series project Elfman had in the works at CBS in 2004 with "Dharma" co-creator Chuck Lorre. In 2004, Elfman also did a two-episode arc on CBS' hit comedy series "Two and a Half Men," from Lorre and Lee Aronsohn. Elfman's title role on ABC's "Dharma" earned her a Golden Globe and three Emmy nominations.

EDITOR'S NOTE: AND NOW, SOME MOVIE NEWS ----

Another Will Smith Project Announced


EDITOR'S NOTE: I WILL SHAMELESSLY USE ANY EXCUSE TO POST THIS PICTURE. CAUSE HE IS JUST LOVERLY.

Will Smith has signed on to star in the upcoming film SEVEN POUNDS for Columbia Pictures.
SEVEN POUNDS was written by Grant Nieporte and follows a man who is attempting to kill himself but falls in love with a woman instead.

Smith just finished shooting THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS, is about to start filming on I AM LEGEND, then will start Tonight, He Comes in 2007, and TIME SHARE will follow in the rear beginning sometime in 2008. EDITOR'S NOTE: MAKING MOVIES LIKE SOMEONE IS CHASING HIM, HUH?

No director has been named as of yet.

X-MEN Spin-Offs: 4
There will be no X-Men: 4, but there will be 4 different spin-offs.

Up first is the WOLVERINE film starring Hugh Jackman. Soon after will come a film based on Magneto (no plot details are yet available).

Two additional spin-offs are being explored: One which would be based on Emma Frost, a mutant telepath who can transform her skin into diamonds, and another which would focus on Professor X's school.

"We've also talked about doing something on the kids in (Professor X's) school, focusing on their lives, and less of a global adventure for the team," said 20th Century Fox's production president Hutch Parker.

In a Marvel related note: Avi Arad hinted that there would be 4 villains in the upcoming SPIDER-MAN film (Sandman, Green Goblin, Venom, and it is speculated that The Lizard will appear though Arad refused to name the fourth villain). EDITOR'S NOTE: THE END OF "XMEN3" SURE SET UP THE POSSIBILITIES FOR #4. AND IT'S DOING VERY GOOD BOX OFFICE. I WONDER WHY THEY AREN'T PLANNING ANOTHER ONE? (TOO HARD TO GET ALL THE PEOPLE BACK, MAYBE?)

Ledger and Weisz making Music together


EDITOR'S NOTE: SHE IS SO VERY LOVELY. SHE HAS THE SAME KIND OF BRIGHT, INTELLIGENT BEAUTY THAT EMMA THOMPSON DOES. (DEFINITELY SIDE BY SIDE ON MY 'SWITCH' LIST).

Rachel Weisz, who has just – congrats! – given birth to a baby boy with fiancée Darren Aronofsky, is considering signing on to Phillip Noyce’s next planned film, Dirt Music.

Heath Ledger is also considering the Australia-based tale, which adapts Tim Winton’s novel about a loveless couple trying (and failing) to make the best of life in a remote fishing village. But don’t expect a big announcement just yet. Noyce still has to lure funding for the film and he’ll be limited by his actors’ schedules – Weisz will be dealing with a new baby and shooting Wong Kar Wai’s My Blueberry Nights, while Ledger has signed up for a part in unconventional Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There.

Still, having the Oscar-scooping Weisz on board would help crack open a few wallets…

Hanks and Howard will return for Code prequel
Tom Hanks will be back. Ron Howard will be back. That’s the plan anyway, for the “Da Vinci” prequel - say those with the cabbage.

"We are definitely planning to make this movie [“Angels & Demons”] with Ron Howard and Tom Hanks," Sony Pictures chief Amy Pascal tells Slate.com.

Rumours are swirling that Sony may be considering replacing Hanks with a younger male lead, being that a) “Angels and Demons” is set before the events of “The Da Vinci Code” and b) Hanks reads reviews, too.

Thing is, if Sony do decide to wait for Hanks and Howard, to do the film, they might be waiting for quite a while – both have pretty full schedules for the next couple of years.

Hanks will star opposite son Colin in “The Great Buck Howard”, will headline Lawrence Kasdan’s “The Risk Pool”, do a film with Julia Roberts called “Charlie Wilson’s War”, and is attached to Mark Romanek’s “A Cold Case”. All that, and not forgetting he’s got a voice to record for a certain “Toy Story” sequel, in the near future, too.

Howard, whilst not quite as booked, is still pretty busy. He’s currently prepping the film version of John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden”, which he’s been tinkering away at for quite a spell now. EDITOR'S NOTE: WELL, GIVEN ALL THE OVER-BOILED PUBLICITY FOR "DA VINCI UNO", WAITING A BIT....PREQUEL AGE ISSUES NOTWITHSTANDING....MIGHT NOT BE A BAD IDEA. WE ARE ALL FAIRLY DISTRACTABLE, AND PUTTING SOME TIME AND DISTANCE BETWEEN THE CURRENT SNARKY PR AND THE NEXT MOVIE AIN'T NECESSARILY AND MAYBE EVERYONE WILL HAVE FORGOTTEN TODAY'S STURM-UND-DRANG. (PROMOTING YOUR MOVIE THRU THE AUDIENCE'S ASSUMED MEMORY LOSS. MY NEW THESIS).

Yen and Clooney are two of the new Seven Samurai?
Danny Ocean and Iron Monkey fighting side-by-side in a remake of “The Seven Samurai”?
Apparent-leeeeee.

According to Monkey Peaches, the Weinstein lads – in all their inspired glory – are enlisting actor Donnie Yen (“Hero”), whose film “Dragon Tiger Gate” they’re handling distribution for, to help them get a remake of the classic 1954 actioner off the ground.

Yen, emerging as one of the most popular arse-kickers around, would star in the film with George Clooney and Zhang Ziyi.

Yep, George Clooney.

Yen would play Kambei, the leader of the Seven Samurai, with Ziyi’s playing Shino, the village girl.

The $100 million dollar remake will reportedly feature a throng of CG-effects, dipped in a profusion of martial-arts mayhem.

The Weinstein’s have long-wanted to remake the film, which starred Takashi Shimura, Toshirô Mifune, Yoshio Inaba, and Seiji Miyaguchi, and reportedly seized the moment when they found some time to chew the fat with Donnie Yen in Cannes. EDITOR'S NOTE: NOT SURE WHY THE AUTHOR OF THIS TIDBIT SOUNDS SO QUESTIONING OF A CLOONEY CASTING IN THIS MOVIE. CLOONEY WOULD BE PERFECT FOR IT, DON'T YOU THINK? (HE'S GOT A SORT OF ZEN THING GOING, AND HAS THE RIGHT LACONIC CYNICISM FOR A LAST STAND SITUATION. IMHO....)

SPEED RACER to be made by Wachowski Brothers?



Larry and Andy Wachowski, the creators of the Matrix trilogy, may sign on to write and direct SPEED RACER for Warner Bros.

None of the parties would go on record, so as of now it simply stands as a rumor. It was reported years back that Vince Vaughn was in talks to star as Racer X who is the long-lost and very protective brother of the title character.

Casting News for THE BRAVE ONE



Some casting news for the upcoming revenge thriller, THE BRAVE ONE.

Naveen Andrews and Mary Steenburgen will join Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard in the film. Andrews will play Foster's fiance, while Steenburgen will be her Boss at the newspaper she writes for. EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS SOUNDS LIKE ONE OF THOSE RARE INSTANCES WHERE THEY DON'T EVEN NEED TO HAVE A SCRIPT. WHAT A GORGEOUS, MARVELOUS CAST!

In the movie a woman (Foster) struggles to recover from a brutal attack by setting out on a mission for revenge.

All Aboard Aardvark Art's Ark/Casey Affleck writes animated 'toon
That Affleck family. You just can’t stop ‘em scribbling scripts or stepping behind the camera.

Despite big bro Ben keeping him busy in Boston-set crime tale Gone, Baby, Gone, Casey Affleck has found the time to write a screenplay of his own.

Warner Brothers has snapped up the animated adventure script Aardvark Art’s Ark, which follows an animal family on the famed Biblical Noah’s ark. EDITOR'S NOTE: I WISH I HAD A RELATIVE THAT COULD GET ME A SCRIPT MEETING WITH A NETWORK EXECUTIVE.

OH....I NEED TO WRITE A SCRIPT FIRST.

WISH I HAD ONE OF THOSE, TOO.

Jon Foster Shows Tenderness/Joins the Russell Crowe drama



The latest addition to Jon Polson’s latest film – the thriller Tenderness – is Jon Foster. Best known for The Door In The Floor, and as the brother of X-Men's Ben "Angel" Foster, Jon will play the central character, a violent teenager who may have slaughtered his family. Russell Crowe has the lead in the previously announced film, playing a cop who tries to track Foster down. With Laura Dern and The Interpreter’s Sophie Traub also on board, Polson is currently shooting the film in New York.

Scott Speedman may be villain in DIE HARD 4



Scooper 'Sandwich Artist' dropped me a line with the following story. Most of the news has been reported, but he had some interesting casting news to send along toward the end.

A little bit more on "Die Hard 4" (as it's being called now) - which I see you mentioned....

TWO YEARS AGO.....
I auditioned for a role in the film two years ago. At that stage, it was a totally different film. Basically, it had John McClane and his daughter fighting off terrorists. Jessica Simpson was there the day I was there - I'd heard later - she was auditioning for the role of the daughter. The film was going to be directed by John McTiernan.

I had about three lines - or three to 'read' - that was essentially a bored male receptionist who gets 'slapped' on the head by McClane, for not being in a hurry to evacuate a building. My character decides to take 'some calls' first, and signals McClane 'just to wait'.

Anyway, nothing ever came of it. The film was shelved. Script problems, apparently.

YESTERDAY.....
Anyway, auditions are coming up again - I just found out yesterday evening there's several roles they're casting. Haven't seen the break-downs yet, but apparently that character and most of the others, are no longer in it. It's a totally different beast. The new director is Len Wiseman. I believe McTiernan is still producing the film. They're talking September shoot.

My agent said that they're casting for a main villain at the moment, the leader of a cyber terrorist unit, and she believes they've gone out to Scott Speedman. The wife character is in the script, as is the news reporter from the first two films. The connection to the first film is the character Theo, the computer expert who worked for Hans Gruber, apparently.

Anyway, If I get an audition - -- -and I hope I do, I'll let you know the latest. EDITOR'S NOTE: OH I DO HOPE THEY HAVE THE WIFE BACK IN THE SCRIPT AND THAT THEY BRING BACK THE SAME ACTRESS. (I AM A STICKLER FOR CONTINUITY, DONCHA KNOW).

Some ALIEN VS PREDATOR 2 News
Bloody Disgusting EDITOR'S NOTE: NOT THEIR GIVEN NAME, I PRESUME? got a report from a scooper regarding ALIEN VS PREDATOR 2. Here is the basic gist:

- None of the cast from ALIEN VS PREDATOR will be returning.
- Movie will be set in a different time.
- Studio wants Sigourney Weaver to play a part.
- Weaver hated the idea behind the film. EDITOR'S NOTE: THAT'S THE PROBLEM. YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOMEONE ABLE TO READ IF YOU WANT THEM TO PERUSE A SCRIPT. BUT IF THEY'RE SMART ENOUGH TO READ, THEY'RE PROBABLY SMART ENOUGH TO RUN AWAY.

ALIEN VS PREDATOR 2 is a 20th Century Fox film and is aiming for an August 10, 2007 release. There is not much official news out yet on the film.

Cage on NEXT
Nicolas Cage recently talked about his role in the upcoming film, NEXT.

NEXT will follow Cris Johnson (Cage), who has a secret which torments him: he can see a few minutes into the future. Sick of the examinations he underwent as a child and the interest of the government and medical establishment in his power, he lies low under an assumed name in Vegas, performing cheap tricks and living off small-time gambling "winnings." But when a terrorist group threatens to detonate a nuclear device in Los Angeles, government agent Callie Ferris must use all her wiles to capture Cris and convince him to help her stop the cataclysm.

"He's always spouting these little ... smatterings of things he's learned," Cage said. "And so I'm sort of bombarding [co-star] Jessica Biel with all these tidbits of wisdom that Cris Johnson may have." EDITOR'S NOTE: JESSICA BIEL. OH WELL. UP TILL THEN, IT SOUNDED INTERESTING. (AND BASED ON A PHILIP K. DICK STORY, TOO. AH WELL...)

NEXT is a film adaptation of the Philip K. Dick SF short story The Golden Man and is being produced by Cage.

Dario Piana makes Directorial Debut
Dario Piana, best known as an international commercial director, will be making his feature directorial debut with the horror film THE DEATHS OF IAN.

The film follows an all-American guy who is murdered each day by various creatures only to wake up in a slightly different life and be murdered again. EDITOR'S NOTE: SOUNDS JUST LIKE THE JOB I HAD FOR TWO YEARS AT THE EVIL AD AGENCY.

The movie is scheduled to shoot in the summer for Stan Winston Prods..

Winona Ryder join SEX AND DEATH 101
Winona Ryder has signed on to star as a feminist vigilante in the movie SEX AND DEATH 101.

The story follows a man (Simon Baker) who's life is turned around by an email. The email includes 101 names of everyone he's had sex with and ever will have sex with. He is stopped in his tracks when he meets Ryder, who targets men guilty of sex crimes against women.

The film was written by Daniel Waters (Heathers) who is also directing.

MORK & MINDY Movie Coming?



Scooper 'Hollow Man' sent me in the following tid bit:

Hi Guys -
In the latest issue of ESQUIRE magazine, it states that ROBIN WILLIAMS is involved in a "MORK & MINDY" movie. It's short and sweet, just mentioning that he is involved and that "Pam Dawber, your boat has come in".

Thank god Williams will be Mork again.... you couldn't imagine it with anyone else in the lead role!!

Pam Dawber mentioned this a while back on Dark Horizons actually, saying "Robin and I were speaking at a function, and he's the one who said he'd love to do a 'Mork' movie sometime - and what's great about Robin is that wouldn't even consider doing it if the original cast didn't return. About six, seven months later, I had a call from Miller-Milkis who said that it was a possibility, and if it happened - would I like to do it. It took me all of five seconds to scream yes. But to cut a long story short, it was put in the pipeline, but Robin had just been so busy with all his other movies that we didn't have time for this one. Everytime we bump into each other though, he still insists we are going to do it one day - a Robin promise. I look forward to it, it'll be such a blast". EDITOR'S NOTE: IT WAS SUCH A CLEVER, CUTE SHOW. HOPE THEY DO IT JUSTICE.

Magnolia Pictures Acquires SEVERANCE
Magnolia Pictures has acquired the rights to the movie SEVERANCE, a horror-comedy.
SEVERANCE is directed by Christopher Smith and stars Danny Dyer and Laura Harris. The film was screened at Cannes.

The movie follows an international arms dealer who rewards his six-member sales division of corporate execs with a weekend team-building retreat in the mountains. While there they encounter a renegade band of war-crazed soldiers seeking revenge. EDITOR'S NOTE: WONDER WHAT HAPPENS IF THE SALES TEAM DOESN'T MAKE QUOTA.

SEVERANCE had me alternately laughing my ass off and gripping the seat handles in suspense. It's a fantastically entertaining mix of corporate comedy and slasher film -- kind of like 'Dilbert' meets 'Freddie,' " Magnolia president Eamonn Bowles said. EDITOR'S NOTE: SEE, THIS IS WHAT THE CORPORATE WORLD NEEDS! I HAVE ENCOUNTERED FAR TOO MUCH DILBERT IN THE RULE-MONGERING WORKADAY WORLD, AND NOT NEARLY ENOUGH FREDDIE. I THINK BOSSES WOULD BE MUCH NICER IF WE WERE ALOWED TO DECAPTITATE THEM WHEN THEY WERE NASTY. (OR AT THE VERY LEAST, IF WE COULD HIT THEM WITH STICKS. I REALLY WANT TO HIT SOME PEOPLE WITH STICKS, BUT THEY WON'T LET ME. THE BIG MEANIES.....)