Xbox 360's 'Rez HD': What Does Cult Game's Creator Dream About?, In GameFile & other: June 2008

Friday, 27 June 2008

DJ Falk Vs DJ Sakin

Artist: DJ Falk Vs DJ Sakin

   Genre(s):
Trance

Discography:

No Fate 2007 Remix Vinyl

Year: 2007
Tracks: 2

Sunday, 22 June 2008

'Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian' Stars Get Royal Red-Carpet Treatment As They Defend Movie's Romantic Twist

NEW YORK — Nearly 1300 years may have passed in Narnia since the last big-screen adaptation of C.S. Lewis' beloved books, but the Pevensies were still looking youthful and beautiful at the red-carpet premiere for "The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian" last night in New York City. William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Georgie Henley and Skander Heynes were all smiles alongside the likes of Aslan and the White Witch, in the form of Liam Neeson and Oscar winner Tilda Swinton.

But it was a night dominated by the young stars of the hugely popular franchise ("The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" grossed nearly $750 million worldwide). Despite being the lead of the last Narnia adventure, William Moseley admitted to MTV News, "I still feel like a newcomer to this whole premiere thing." Indeed, Mosely made his film acting debut as Peter Pevensie in December 2005.

"It's a lot less freezing," Popplewell said, comparing the beautiful night in Midtown Manhattan to the London premiere two-and-a-half years ago. "It was a royal premiere ... and I had to really grit my teeth with my coat on," she recalled.

Few coats were seen in the sunny early evening on this go-round. In fact, one had to feel sorry for the Narnia guards in full battle regalia lined up along the red carpet.

Meanwhile, the titular star of the new adventure, Ben Barnes, confided that he had been dreading the premiere's gauntlet of reporters and photographers. He exuded calm, however, as he told MTV, "It's not as crazy as I thought it would be." Later, Barnes would inspire some hysteria simply by leaving the carpet to sign photos for the many Narnia fans who had come out for the event.

In recent weeks, Barnes' face seems to have been as omnipresent on the streets of New York as Starbucks — a fact that's been noticed by the actor. "It's so bizarre and surreal [to see the posters]," Barnes laughed. Asked if he'd followed the fan reactions to him since his casting had been announced, Barnes said, "I looked online once when I got the job and saw people write, 'I hate that they chose Ben Barnes. He's too old. He's got the wrong hair.' And then I looked again a few weeks ago, and they said they were sick of seeing my face everywhere. I won't be going [online] again."

If Barnes did go online again, he'd see that much of the prerelease chatter about "Prince Caspian" has been about a new element that the filmmakers contributed: a romance between Caspian and Susan. Barnes said he initially shared the concerns of many die-hard Narnia fans, "I was deeply concerned about [the romance]."

Director Andrew Adamson carefully defended the plot addition. "I think it's very sensitively handled," he said. "The kids are growing up. If you look at Ben and you look at Anna, it seems really implausible that they wouldn't have some feelings for each other."

Moseley is confident that the change only helps Lewis' story. "I think it's a much-needed addition," he said. "It adds a sweet, nostalgic touch."

But will it be the kind of change that fans can accept? Adamson was all optimism as he walked the final steps of the red carpet. "I think the Narnia fans are going to be happy," he told MTV News with conviction. "I'm a hard-core Narnia fan. I've seen the movie with some hard-core fans. I think people who see this movie are going to see the book that they read. I'm very respectful of these books. I grew up with them."

Check out everything we've got on "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Saturday, 14 June 2008

Carnie Wilson

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Monday, 9 June 2008

Mint Royale - Singin In The Rain Remix Set To Top Charts

A three-year song looks likely to top the UK singles charts this weekend after being used by Britain's Got Talent winner George Sampson.

A remix of Singin' in the Rain from Mancunian dance duo Mint Royale is number one in the midweek chart, according to Music Week, with 10,000 more units sold than its nearest competitors, Rihanna's Take A Bow and the Ting Tings' That's Not My Name.

The revamped version of the musical classic, which reached number 20 after its 2005 release, is favourite to top the chart after Sampson performed a rain-soaked break dancing routine to it on Saturday's live Britain's Got Talent final.

The song, which is only available as a download, re-entered the chart at number 28 after the 14-year-old's body popping performance in the reality show semi-final and now is set for the top after he won the ITV1 talent contest.

"We just wanted to say a huge congratulations to George Sampson for winning Britain's Got Talent," said a message on Mint Royale's MySpace page.

"A massive 14 million people watched his winning dance to our very own Singin' in the Rain, earning him a big pot of money and a slot at this year's Royal Variety Performance."

Gabriella Cilmi's Sweet About Me is also likely to enter the top ten this weekend.

03/06/2008 14:54:12

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Sunday, 8 June 2008

Irish interest in BBC's new Oliver show

After Saturday's selection show, there is Irish interest in the final two dozen for the new BBC talent series 'I'd Do Anything'.
The winners will play Nancy and Oliver in the upcoming West End revival of the classic Lionel Bart musical 'Oliver!'.
Jessie, 18, from Kerry, Niamh, 17, from Northern Ireland, and Rachel, 26, from Northern Ireland, are the three female Irish contestants competing to play Nancy. Gareth, 12, from Derry, is among the dozen Oliver hopefuls.
As with previous BBC hit musical talent searches 'Any Dream Will Do' and 'How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?', 'I'd Do Anything' will be presented by Graham Norton and feature Andrew Lloyd Webber, Denise Van Outen and John Barrowman as judges.
The producers have also added writer, actor and Dame Edna Everage creator Barry Humphries to the judging panel.
Irish contestants have had success on the show before; Galway native Aoife Mulholland was famously fourth to Connie Fisher in 'How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?', and the pair are currently sharing singing duties in the stage musical of the 'Sound of Music' in London.
The first public vote and eliminations will take place on Saturday, 29 March.

Kylie, Coldplay duet 'too sexy'

Coldplay axed a duet with Kylie Minogue from their new album, saying it was "too sexy".

The band teamed up with the Australian singer for Luna but frontman Chris Martin admits it just didn’t fit in with the serious tone of their new LP Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends.

Chris said: "At this point we cannot be that sexy. It’s a song called Luna and Kylie was particularly brilliant on it.

"She writes most of our stuff - and we design most of her outfits!"

However, the musician has promised fans they will get to hear the song, saying: "It will be on a record we will put out in 2009, sometime at the end of next year. It will be track nine, I imagine."

Meanwhile, Chris claims to be the only person in the world who believes in Zeus.

The 31-year-old star, who was raised as a Christian, is exploring his faith but is interested in the Greek god of sky and thunder.

He said: “I’m always trying to work out what he or she or it is. I’m not sure who’s right. I don’t know if it’s Allah or Jesus or Mohammed or Zeus.

But I’d maybe go for Zeus.

"I lay claim to being the only person in the world who still believes in Zeus."

Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends is released next week.

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Jennifer Hudson - Parker Hudson Gives Sex A Young Black Face

Oscar winner JENNIFER HUDSON was added to the cast of SEX AND THE CITY for the cult TV show's movie adaptation so there would be a young black face in the mix.

Sarah Jessica Parker reveals director Michael Patrick King was very keen to sign Hudson up to play Carrie Bradshaw's assistant in the much-anticipated new film - because she could serve two huge areas of Sex And The City's audience.

She explains, "First of all we needed to have a 20-year-old in this movie; we really have to remember that there is a significant audience now that are very, very young.

"It's a great way of reminding people who Carrie was when she came to New York; what was New York, what did it mean to her...And African-American women and women of colour have been a big part of our audience for a long time (and) we really haven't been responsible to them."

And Parker couldn't imagine a better onscreen assistant for her Bradshaw: "She is especially lovely in this movie... She is remarkably beautiful and she's probably about eight inches taller than I am and she is a presence."

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Multi-Platinum Rapper and Actor T.I. Speaks to Toure about His Trouble With the Law in a BET News National Exclusive: 'T.I. Speaks,' Premiering Wednesday, May 7 at 7:30PM*

NEW YORK, May 6 -- In his first televised interview since
a plea bargain on weapon charges, multi-platinum recording artist and actor
T.I., a.k.a. Clifford Harris, Jr., speaks exclusively to BET News in the
half-hour special T.I. SPEAKS, premiering Wednesday, May 7 at 7:30 PM*. He
directly answers the tough questions from host Toure and at-risk youth
about his life and future after being sentenced to a year in prison. In a
compelling moment, he explains why someone who seems to have everything --
money, power and fame -- would risk it all.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080506/NETU045 )

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070716/BETNETWORKSLOGO )

On October 13, 2007, T.I. was set to perform at BET's second annual HIP
HOP AWARDS in Atlanta, but he never made it to the stage. Just hours before
the show, the Grammy Award winner and budding actor was taken into custody
by federal authorities who alleged that he gave his bodyguard cash to buy
firearms. Never bashful in his lyrics about his days of drug dealing and
guns, this arrest was just another line in the 27-year old Atlanta native's
already long rap sheet.

While not making excuses for his poor decisions, the rapper discusses
his best friend's murder in 2006 and explains how being a celebrity has its
drawbacks and "ignites a certain paranoia." He says, "Every one knew me and
I knew no one ... you can't tell if a person is a fan or not until the
(car) window winds down." With a new baby on the way, a forthcoming
marriage, a new album and the one-year jail sentence awaiting him, T.I.
details how this entire ordeal has changed his life. Claiming a new
understanding for life and its meaning, T.I. delivers a strong message
about decision-making to a group of at-risk students and reveals his
thoughts about going back to jail and his career's future. He says, "I must
be a man and stand up and accept responsibility. I exercised extremely poor
judgment, and for that, I must be willing to pay whatever price that comes
before me."

For more on T.I. SPEAKS, viewers can go online to http://www.bet.com.

* All times ET/PT.
About BET Networks

BET Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is the
nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public
affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The
primary BET channel reaches more than 87 million households according to
Nielsen Media Research, and can be seen in the U.S., Canada and the
Caribbean. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a
diverse group of businesses extensions: BET.com, a leading internet
destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET Digital
Networks -- BET J, BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for
cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Event Productions, a full-scale
event management and production company; BET Home Entertainment, a
collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs
and video-on-demand; BET Mobile, which offers ringtones, games and video
content for wireless devices; and BET International, an extension of BET
network programming for global distribution.

Musikman

Artist: Musikman

   Genre(s):
Trance

Discography:

The Lockout Incl Marcos Remix Vinyl

Year: 2007
Tracks: 2

Al Jolson

Barenaked Ladies

Artist: Barenaked Ladies

   Genre(s):
Indie
   ROck: Alternative
   Rock
   Alternative
   Other

Discography:

Stunt

Year: 2007
Tracks: 13

Are Men

Year: 2007
Tracks: 16

Barenaked Ladies Are Me

Year: 2006
Tracks: 13

Barenaked for the Holidays

Year: 2004
Tracks: 20

Everything To Everyone (SE)

Year: 2003
Tracks: 17

Disc 1: All Their Greatest Hits 1991-2001

Year: 2001
Tracks: 19

All Their Greatest Hits: Disc 1 1991-2001

Year: 2001
Tracks: 19

Maroon

Year: 2000
Tracks: 12

Rock Spectacle

Year: 1996
Tracks: 11

Born On A Pirate Ship [ENHANCED CD]

Year: 1996
Tracks: 14

Born On A Pirate Ship

Year: 1996
Tracks: 14

Maybe You Should Drive

Year: 1994
Tracks: 12

Gordon

Year: 1992
Tracks: 15

By combine sense of humor, songcraft, and an eclecticist mix of folk and pop/rock, the Barenaked Ladies enjoyed considerable popularity in their native Canada before acclivitous to universal condition with 1998's "Unrivalled Week." Vocalists Ed Robertson and Steve Page launched the ring in the late '80s as an acoustic roleplay, travelling to different college campuses and playing warm up gigs for comedy troupes. These early shows played an important role in the group's instauration, as Robertson and Page began injecting their performances with humourous between-song exchanges to hold their audiences' attention. The trick worked, and the band's mix of humour and musicianship was incessantly cemented.

Following the duo's tour of the college circuit, the Barenaked Ladies expanded into a tight musical group with the gain of bass human being Jim Creeggan, his blood brother Andy on keyboards, and drummer Tyler Stewart. Several cassette tapes were released and helped increase the band's regional popularity, but 1991's Yellow Tape was a different animal, marketing so quickly that it before long became the first independently released tape to get through pt status in Canada. The plug was compounded by the fact that Toronto's city manager, June Rowlands, considered the band's name to be sexist and demanding to women, and so forbade the Barenaked Ladies from playing a 1991 New Years Eve concert near City Hall. The write up institute its elbow room onto the front thomas Nelson Page of The Toronto Star, and gross revenue for Yellow Tape readily soared. In typical style, BNL laughed the debacle off and set-aside a different show. Meanwhile, record labels had begun approach the band with attractive offers, and BNL before long signed with Sire/Reprise and issued their full-length debut,Gordon, in 1992. Featuring "Be My Yoko Ono," "If I Had a $1,000,000," and "Brian Wilson," the record album stirred over one meg units and initiated BNL's reign as Canadian pop kings.

At the pinnacle of grunge's popularity, producer Ben Mink came alongside to helm the acoustically high Peradventure You Should Drive in 1994. Songs care the debonaire "Alternative Girlfriend" and the sweetly melodic "Jane" were college wireless favorites, simply changes were on the way. Before the bandmates could gather themselves for a third base album, Andy Creeggan left the lineup in order to finish college and Look People guitarist/keyboardist Kevin Hearn hopped on board for BNL's stick term of enlistment with Billy Bragg. Hearn linked the group as a permanent member for 1996's obscuro-pop album Innate on a Pirate Ship, and the band charted modern celebrity soil by coming into court on an episode of Beverly Hills 90210 to perform their Top 40 bump off "The Old Apartment." Success came immobile, and BNL sold kO'd multitudinous summer shows. This rattling havoc was captured on the band's first live album, Rock Spectacle; the uninhibited and playful travail (nail with makeshift rapping and point banter) introduced a new audience to an panorama of the banding that had been winning them fans since they started -- their live shows. Rock candy Spectacle was BNL's first gear criminal record to be qualified gold in the U.S., and it paved the way for their biggest album to date.

Stunt, the group's fourth studio drive, was issued in July 1998 and transformed the Barenaked Ladies into commercial heavyweights in both the U.S. and U.K. Buoyed by the chart-topping single "Unrivalled Week," the album debuted at number three on the Billboard charts and went on to sell all over four zillion units. The band upgraded to stadium performances for their subsequent North American term of enlistment, departure behind the theaters and clubs of their premature shows, simply unhappiness loomed all over BNL's freewheeling frothiness. Hearn had been diagnosed with leukemia in the beginning that leaping and exhausted nigh six months recuperating. Geggy Tah's Greg Kurstin and multi-instrumentalist Chris Brown, a fellow BNL brother, filled in for Hearn on the Stunt term of enlistment. After a bone heart and soul transplant in October, Hearn was liberate of all cancerous cells, and BNL were reunited at their commercial eyeshade. Maroon followed two years later on and reached pt status on the success of "Pinch Me," although the group's never-ending touring was also good. Maroon displayed a more mature (yet still funny) stripe and webbed the band two Juno Awards for Best Pop Album and Best Group, as well as a nomination for a Grammy. A greatest-hits collection, Disk One: All Their Greatest Hits (1991-2001), was issued in fall 2001 and storied BNL's work and adhesiveness as a musical fellowship.

Two age after, the band released Everything to Everyone and effectively fulfilled their constrict with Reprise Records. The album sold comparatively unwell, however, and Reprise neglected to offer an extended deal, so reversive the Barenaked Ladies to autonomous condition for the first time since 1992. Unfazed, the group soldiered onwards. A holiday criminal record, Barenaked for the Holidays, arrived in 2004, while the companion albums Barenaked Ladies Are Me and Barenaked Ladies Are Men were issued in 2006 and 2007, respectively.

Angelina Jolie Hails Childbirth A 'Fascinating Miracle'

Angelina Jolie insists that she loves every aspect of motherhood – including the painful birth part.

The mom-of-four - who is expecting twins with partner Brad Pitt – says she finds childbirth so “fascinating” that it outweighs any pain she may feel during the process.

"I had a C-section (with Shiloh) and I found it fascinating. I didn't find it a sacrifice and I didn't find it a painful experience," she tells the new issue of Vanity Fair.

"I found it a fascinating miracle of what a body can do."

Jolie and Pitt are also parents to adopted kids Maddox, six, Pax, four, and Zahara, three.

Xbox 360's 'Rez HD': What Does Cult Game's Creator Dream About?, In GameFile

LAS VEGAS — It's a game that's kind of like "Halo" or "Doom," but mixed with a rave. It's called "Rez," and a couple of weeks ago at the DICE gaming summit in Las Vegas, it was the game I was talking about with creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi.

When people talk about video games as art, "Rez" gets mentioned. When people talk about cult classics, that's "Rez." When people talk about the only game that got known for encouraging players to put vibrating controllers against their body while playing it — really — that's "Rez."

"Rez" was a cult classic. Mizuguchi said Sega, the game's original publisher, didn't even want to sell it in America. "It was too abstract," he remembers them saying. "But I had a confidence that if people played it once, they would feel something. And I wanted to give people a chance to play." So the game is back, six years after it was released in the U.S., in the no-confidence release window of the first week of January. It's back as the polished "Rez HD," a downloadable game for the Xbox 360's Live Arcade.

Soft-spoken, and frequently with a shy smile, Mizuguchi described the game as his "life work" and something he wants to do more of, given the proper motivation. "I need a reaction from the people — from real people, not just a cult reaction." Play it the new way, the way Mizuguchi intended, and a gamer will need to have one 360 controller in hand, another under their feet, and two behind their back and neck, each one vibrating to a different beat while the game's lead character flies and shoots rhythmically as techno music zips and pounds.

So what's the guy who made this game like?

He's not the kind of guy you'd expect to spend his morning in a really quiet place. But Mizuguchi had done just that before he sat down for his interview with GameFile early in the sunny Vegas afternoon. He had awoken at 5 a.m. and driven to Death Valley. He had gone there just to think.

"I was thinking about the future, life, being a human being," he said. "All that time, I wasn't thinking about the game."

He's not obsessed with games. Unlike some other game designers, he seems almost hesitant to talk about them. He said he spends his plane rides from his home base in Tokyo to the U.S. reading, not playing a PSP or DS.

But he does run a game company — Q Entertainment — and he does think about making games all the time — games like "Rez." And he dreams about them. "Sometimes I'm playing my games in my brain," he said. "Sometimes I have a vision, a very clear vision that 'this is going to be fun.' I wake up and take a memo. In the process of making 'Rez,' I had that kind of dream all the time."

He gave an example about how his dreams help shape his games. He cited a rhythm game he made in 1999. "When I was making 'Space Channel 5,' I played all the time in the studio. And in the night, I slept on the couch in the studio. I would play and play." He'd fall asleep and still be playing in his dreams. One night that happened and "suddenly I heard a voice when I made a mistake. [It said:] 'Hey, what are you doing?' It was different voices. But I thought, 'This must be fun.' Suddenly, I had the inspiration: 'Let's [base] this on a TV show.' " The "Space Channel Five" game went from a simple music game to one set in a space-age TV soundstage.

Mizuguchi started his career making more conventional games, like the "Sega Rally Championship" racing game. He's spent the last decade, however, following his musical muse. And with each game, he's been hopeful to prove that the experience of a game like "Rez," or anything else that flutters through his dreams, can be mainstream. "I think we are always fighting between art and commerce," he said. "Sometimes I think it depends on the thing [we're making]. I think the 'Rez' experience may be becoming a bit more commercial in the future."

Can that hope be true? A year earlier at the DICE Summit, the makers of "Rock Band" talked about their nine years of struggle and cult-favorite status before hitting it big with the "Guitar Hero" series. Mizuguchi's career might get to that stage. Or he might stay a cult favorite, his work an electrified acquired taste. Either way, he can keep dreaming.

"Rez HD" is available now on the Xbox 360's Live Arcade download service. Multiple controllers can be used for maximum vibration feedback, but players with less hardware or experimental ambition can play the game with just one in their hands. Mizuguchi hopes people will at least try the game's free demo, but fans of the game say the fifth and final level is, by far, the game's best bit.

More from the world of video games:

The Game Developers Conference has come to an end, but MTV News is just getting warmed up covering it. Check out a battery of GDC items on our Multiplayer blog, including the inside story on "Wii Fit," details on the next big "Star Wars" game, and a first look at "APB," a cross between "Grand Theft Auto" and "World of Warcraft."

LEGO video game news came fast, furious and sometimes a little garbled as we recently got some exclusive looks at the upcoming "LEGO Batman" and "LEGO Indiana Jones" video games. Check out our LEGO game index for more.

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Friday, 27 June 2008

Sunday, 22 June 2008

Saturday, 14 June 2008

Monday, 9 June 2008

Sunday, 8 June 2008

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