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Monday, June 24, 2013

'Monsters' beats zombies, Superman at box office

En esta imagen promocional difundida por Disney-Pixar, los personajes de Mike, en la voz de Billy Crystal, a la izquierda, y el profesor Knight, cuya voz hace Alfred Molina, a la derecha, en una escena de la cinta animada "Monsters University". (AP Foto/Disney-Pixar)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Turns out zombies and Superman are no match for monsters.

Disney's "Monsters University" is the weekend box-office winner, according to studio estimates released Sunday. The animated family film, which reunites stars Billy Crystal and John Goodman and their characters from the 2001 hit "Monsters, Inc.," debuted in first place with $82 million, beating out swarming zombies in "World War Z" and Superman himself in "Man of Steel."

"The diversity of this weekend is part of what makes this business so great," said Dave Hollis, Disney's head of distribution. "It's a really extraordinary weekend for the industry."

Especially for "Monsters University," Pixar's 14th consecutive film to open in first place. Such expectations of excellence put a "healthy pressure" on filmmakers, Hollis said: "To deliver that kind of quality consistently is a differentiator in the marketplace."

Still, the film exceeded studio expectations with its domestic totals, he said.

Paramount's Brad Pitt zombie romp overcame critical advance publicity to open in second place with $66 million. Media reports months ahead of the film's opening chronicled its problems, including a revamped ending that delayed its release.

Rewrites and reshoots sent the film over budget. It ended up reportedly costing more than $200 million to make, but early reviews were positive.

"What 'World War Z' proves is that all the negative backstory that can be thrown at a movie doesn't matter if the movie's good," said Paul Dergarabedian of box-office tracker Hollywood.com. "I don't think the audience cares one lick if they had to reshoot the ending if they like the ending and like the movie."

The success of the film means it could be a franchise in the making. Paramount's president of domestic distribution, Don Harris, called the opening "spectacular."

"It's the biggest live-action original opening since 'Avatar,'" he said. "(It's) Brad Pitt's biggest opening ever, and in terms of Paramount's recent history, it ranks behind 'Iron Man' and 'Transformers' as the third largest potential franchise opening in the history of the company."

Warner Bros. "Man of Steel" was third at the box office, adding another $41.2 million to its coffers and bringing its domestic ticket sales over $210 million in just the second week of release.

The Sony comedy "This Is the End," which stars Seth Rogen, James Franco and Jonah Hill as versions of themselves trapped in a mansion during the apocalypse, finished in fourth place.

Summit Entertainment's magic-heist thriller "Now You See Me" held onto fifth place in its fourth week in theaters.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released on Monday.

1. "Monsters University," $82 million ($54.5 million international).

2. "World War Z," $66 million ($45.8 million international).

3. "Man of Steel," $41.2 million ($89 million international).

4. "This Is the End," $13 million.

5. "Now You See Me," $7.87 million ($6.6 million international).

6. "Fast & Furious 6," $4.7 million ($11.2 million international).

7. "The Internship," $3.43 million ($3.2 million international).

8. "The Purge," $3.41 million ($1.1 million international).

9. "Star Trek: Into Darkness," $3 million ($4.9 million international).

10. "Iron Man 3," $2.2 million ($400,000 international).

___

Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "Man of Steel," $89 million.

2. "Monsters University," $54.5 million.

3. "World War Z," $45.8 million.

4. "After Earth," $13.4 million.

5. "Fast & Furious 6," $11.2 million.

6. "The Hangover Part III," $8.6 million.

7. "Now You See Me," $6.6 million.

8. "Despicable Me 2," $6.4 million.

9. "The Great Gatsby," $5.5 million.

10. "Star Trek: Into Darkness," $4.9 million.

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/APSandy .

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-06-23-Box%20Office/id-3f4791da00824a0e8845575db8a96062

Kyle Long

13 feared dead in bus crash in Montenegro

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) ? Officials say at least 13 people were killed and several were injured when a bus swayed off a bridge and plunged into a deep ravine in central Montenegro on Sunday.

Local Public Attorney Vojislav Grujic said the bus crashed some 30 kilometers north of the capital Podgorica. He said it is still unclear whether the bus is Romanian or Ukrainian.

The nationality of the passengers was not given.

Police said the bus plunged from a bridge over the Moraca river during a rain storm and crashed some 40 meters into the ravine. A helicopter was used in the rescue operation mounted by Montenegro police.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/13-feared-dead-bus-crash-montenegro-175948989.html

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Champions needed for an Order of Peace Keepers and Guardians

I'm currently seeking more players for a revered order of champions and peacekeepers on a planet within the Multiverse Roleplay. Characters of all nature are welcome. The Patronus order may be steeped in honor and sacrifice, but it is compromised of individuals with their own minds, desires, and morality that may or may not fall in line with that of the order. Members could be valiant and noble champions, misguided zealots, or perhaps criminals looking to bring the order down from the inside.

Though the Patronus order is largely comprised of fantasy based characters, the Multiverse is a sandbox style RP in which all genres are welcomed and embraced in a mixup of realms and worlds spanning between archaic and primitive to highly fantastical lands, and over to sci-fi and everything else in between.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact me via this thread or PM.

5 years ago

Bound together by a common cause, The Patronus grew to its prime at the peak of the Orsa of Terminus' rise to power. With its sworn foe defeated these legendary warriors have scattered across the verse to resume their lives, but old ties are not easily severed. With a kinship forged through blood and sacrifice, perhaps these champions of old only await a time when Terra might have need of their strength once more, a time where one might call them back together again.

Present

The call has been sounded across the realms for all with a heroes heart. Whether you be old, young, veteran, novice, or wayward soul in need of new beginnings, all with the seed of a champion within them will feel the tug of the resonating call. The compulsion to seek out the temple from your dreams calls you northward into the icy peaks of Aslund on the planet of Terra.

The Patronus is an order of peace keepers sworn to the defense of Terra. Warriors, scholars, ambassadors, teachers, heroes and even reformed criminals, the patroni come from all walks of life before swearing off home and country in favor of a deeper purpose. Though The Patronus exists outside of the authority of any singular governmental body and maintains a stance of neutrality on matters of political strife, its members frequently serve in the capacity of ambassadors and negotiators to assist in stemming conflicts.

The Patronus is comprised of several branches and splinter groups all across Terra; though, its primary place of operation is located within the Icy Peaks of Aslund. The temple situated atop the snowy mountains was built to honor the fallen heroes who lay down their lives for Terra and it serves both as a place of remembrance and as a symbol of hope where new patronri are trained to one day join the ranks of these venerable champions.

Though once a prominent and revered order, The Patronus has only just begun to regain its former presence within Terra. With a life-long service that spans generations of blood and sacrifice, this order still commands a great deal of respect, but its global influence has waned with the years. Will this ancient and archaic order rise to the challenge of claiming a place for itself in a changing world, or will it succumb to the ravages of time and fading memories.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/WC8Ut_JhSHk/viewtopic.php

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Pa. girl who fought for lung transplant now awake

PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? A spokeswoman for the family of a 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl who underwent a double-lung transplant after a national debate over the process of getting the organs says the girl has awakened from a coma and is communicating by nodding to questions.

Tracy Simon says Sarah Murnaghan was awake Friday and responding to simple questions by nodding to indicate yes or no. Two days earlier, she was moved from a heavy-duty breathing machine to a traditional ventilator.

Sarah, of Newtown Square, suffers from severe cystic fibrosis. She underwent a six-hour operation after a judge intervened and gave her a chance at the list of organs from adult donors, not just child donors.

Simon says Sarah's family is optimistic with the latest progress, but Sarah is frustrated because she can't talk yet.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pa-girl-fought-lung-transplant-now-awake-122708877.html

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Wing walker, pilot die in crash at Ohio air show

CINCINNATI (AP) ? The plane that crashed at an Ohio air show, killing the pilot and stunt walker, is registered to a veteran wing walker.

Federal records show that the Boeing Stearman biplane that crashed Saturday at the Vectren Air Show near Dayton was registered to Jane Wicker of Loudon, Va.

The Federal Aviation Administration says Wicker was also a contract employee who worked as an FAA budget analyst.

An FAA official says the kind of aircraft that crashed was heavily used for pilot training during World War II.

The plane turned upside-down as Wicker sat on top of the wing before it titled and crashed into the ground, bursting into flames.

The air show canceled the rest of Saturday's events after the crash but planned to resume Sunday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wing-walker-pilot-die-crash-ohio-air-show-191655523.html

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Eternal Sunshine of the Bionic Mind: Prosthesis Could Restore Memory

NEW YORK ? In the film "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," the characters undergo a scientific procedure to erase their memory. But what if instead of erasing memory, you could restore it? One neuroscientist aims to do just that.

Theodore Berger of the University of Southern California is developing a prosthesis to restore memory, by replacing a circuit in the brain's hippocampus. Berger described the device at the Global Future 2045 International Congress, held here June 15-16. Already successful in rats and monkeys, the prosthesis is now being tested in humans.

Memory machine

The hippocampus, a brain structure tucked deep in the brain's temporal lobe, converts short-term memories to long-term ones. Epilepsy or other neurological disorders can damage the hippocampus, preventing a person from retaining new memories. [5 Crazy Technologies That Are Revolutionizing Biotech]

The device Berger and his colleagues are developing could replace parts of a damaged hippocampus, and even enhance an intact one. A tiny chip of electrodes implanted in the hippocampus records signals representing a short-term memory; the signals are sent to a computer that mathematically transforms them into a long-term memory; and signals representing the long-term memory are sent to a second set of electrodes that stimulates another layer of the hippocampus.

The point of the device is not to identify individual memories, but to learn how they are transformed into long-term memory. "It's like learning rules for translation," Berger said, adding that the memories are like words, and the mathematical transformation is like a translator.

Berger's team tested the device in rats trained in a simple memory task. Each rat (with the prosthesis) was placed in a chamber with two levers. First, the lever on just one side was presented, and the rat would push it. After a short waiting period, the levers on both sides would appear, and if the rat pushed the opposite lever from the one it pushed before, the rat got a sip of water. Performing the task successfully required the rat to remember which lever it pushed originally.

To test their memory prosthesis, the researchers injected some of these rats with a drug that impaired the rats' natural memory function, and tested the animals in the lever experiment. The rats were still able to push the correct lever to receive their drink, suggesting they were able to form new memories. In other words, the rats' brain implant was remembering for them.

Remarkably, the researchers found that the prosthesis could enhance memory function in rats even when they hadn't been given the drug that impaired their memory.

Replacement recall

Berger's team found that the device was similarly effective when they tested it in monkeys. The researchers are now running a human trial on patients with epilepsy. They haven't gotten much data yet, Berger said, but he thinks it will be fascinating.

Figuring out how to mathematically transform a short-term memory into a long-term one is a major challenge, Berger said ? you only have one shot at getting it right.

The brain's adaptability, or plasticity, is going to be hugely important for the device's effectiveness in humans, Berger said. "There's going to be more influence of the human on the device than the device on the human."

Ultimately, the hope is that memory prostheses could restore or enhance human memory. But the philosophical implications of meddling with memory are immense: If humans could control memories, could they also alter them? Could memories be decoded and used as evidence in a courtroom? And could people erase memories and replace them with new ones altogether? For now, at least, these are questions for the future.

Follow Tanya Lewis on Twitterand Google+.?Follow us @livescience, Facebook& Google+. Original article on?LiveScience.com.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eternal-sunshine-bionic-mind-prosthesis-could-restore-memory-142110542.html

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Zimmerman jurors begin life in sequestration

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) ? The six jurors and four alternates who will hear opening statements Monday in George Zimmerman's murder trial are beginning their time together in a sequestered bubble: They won't return to their homes for weeks, contact with family and friends will be limited, and Internet and phone usage is restricted.

Court officials are keeping mum about the details of the jury sequestration, which begins this week. But if past cases are any example, the Zimmerman jurors won't be able to tweet or blog. They'll read only newspapers that have been censored of anything dealing with the case. They will do almost everything together as a group. In their hotel rooms, TV news channels will be inaccessible and landline telephones likely will be removed. Deputies will keep the jurors' cellphones and give them back once a day so they can call loved ones and friends.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys say the sequestration is necessary to eliminate jurors' exposure to outside influences as they consider whether the neighborhood watch volunteer committed murder last year when he fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. After spending almost two weeks picking a jury, the attorneys will make opening statements Monday.

"Your contact with the outside world will be severely limited," prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda warned potential jurors last week.

Potential jurors looked surprised and glum as the details sank in. One potential juror, a woman who wasn't picked, asked whether court sessions would be held seven days a week during the trial since jurors weren't going to go home. Circuit Judge Debra Nelson said, "No."

"So everyone else will get to go home on weekends but us?" the potential juror asked.

The judge answered "yes" and tried to reassure potential jurors that they wouldn't be cooped up in hotel rooms when not at the Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford. Nelson explained that their meals, transportation and personal needs would be taken care of.

"There will be planned activities for you," the judge said.

The Seminole County's Clerk of Courts has budgeted $150 per person per day to cover room, board and entertainment for the length of the trial, said Maryanne Morse, the clerk. Given that it could last from two weeks to a month, the total cost of sequestration could range from $21,000 to $45,000. That doesn't include the cost of keeping deputies assigned to the group for security.

Court spokeswoman Michelle Kennedy wouldn't comment on the details or logistics of sequestration, or even how jurors will be spend the Fourth of July.

"Their comfort is going to be our top priority," Kennedy said.

A 2007 survey for the National Center for State Courts said that about a quarter of state trials have sequestered juries. But NCSC analyst Gregory Hurley said that number is unreliable since "sequester" wasn't clearly defined, and there was some confusion about its definition. Some respondents defined the term "sequestered" to include deliberations in which the jury was kept together during routine breaks but not overnight.

The six jurors and four alternates in Zimmerman's trial were whittled down from a pool of 40 candidates who had made it into a second round of interviews after questions about their views on firearms, self-defense and crime. The jurors are all women, and the alternates are two men and two women. Their identities are not being released to protect their privacy.

Zimmerman, 29, says he acted in self-defense in shooting Martin in the central Florida community of Sanford, where Zimmerman lived.

Martin's shooting death on Feb. 26, 2012 ? and the initial decision not to charge him ? led to public outrage and demonstrations around the nation, with some accusing Sanford police of failing to thoroughly investigate the shooting.

Prosecutors have said Zimmerman, while a neighborhood watch volunteer for his community, profiled the black teenager as Martin walked back from a convenience store to the home of his father's fiancee. Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic.

In 2011, just about 20 miles from the court in Seminole County, the Orange County Courthouse in downtown Orlando sequestered jurors in another high-profile case: the Casey Anthony murder trial. Jurors were sequestered for six weeks in 2011 as they listened to testimony about the young mother charged with killing her 2-year-old daughter. Anthony was acquitted of murder.

The Anthony jury was almost twice the size of the Zimmerman jury. The trial went on twice as long as the Zimmerman trial is expected to last. In Florida, 12 jurors are required only for criminal trials involving capital cases, when the death penalty is on the table if there's a conviction.

In picking a hotel for the Anthony jurors, court officials in Orange County wanted laundry facilities, a gym so jurors could exercise, and a private dining area where they could eat most meals out of the public's view, said courts spokeswoman Karen Levey. When jurors went to local restaurants for lunch or dinner, it was only at places with private dining areas. Televisions were turned off, and newspapers were removed.

Jurors were allowed to watch movie DVDs in their hotel rooms, but the movies had to be approved by prosecutors and defense attorneys. The crime thriller "Primal Fear" didn't make the cut. Neither did Ice Cube's "Are We There Yet?" The cable provider to the hotel reconfigured the televisions in the jurors' hotel rooms to eliminate news programs. But as attention to the trial grew, promotions about trial coverage started popping up on channels that previously had been deemed safe and those also were removed from jurors' selection, Levey said.

By the end of the trial, only one channel remained: the Home Shopping Network.

___

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/zimmerman-jurors-begin-life-sequestration-134044980.html

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