After Global Gaming Factory (GGF) announced its intention to buy The Pirate Bay, the public was left wondering what the site’s future would look like. Today it was confirmed that sharing on the new site will come with a cost, as the new owners plan to charge the users of the site a monthly fee. Thus far the plans revealed by GGF concerning the future of the site and tracker have been rather vague and uncertain. However, today the freshly appointed Wayne Rosso - who has previous experience with failing P2P services - came out with a few crucial additional details on the site’s future business model. For years The Pirate Bay’s users have been able to share files without censorship or charges, but this is all about to change. Rosso said that under the new management, the 3.7 million Pirate Bay users (or whatever userbase remains) will have to pay a monthly fee to access the site. The money collected from user subscriptions and advertising revenue will then be used to pay off the copyright holders. The exact monthly fee is yet to be decided, but Rosso did confirm that the more files people share, the lower it will be. “The more of your computer resources you contribute to the network, the less you pay down to zero,” Rosso told Cnet. “The user is in control.” In addition, GGF hopes to cut deals with ISPs. “We hope to introduce a new BitTorrent technology that will optimize ISP traffic,” Rosso said. “We can save ISPs up to 80 percent of their resources. Half of the Internet traffic is file sharing and half of that traffic is Pirate Bay.” Rosso conveniently fails to mention that a Pirate Bay where users have to pay for access will not be generating much traffic at all, so this part of GGF’s business model has to be rethought. BitTorrent does not depend on The Pirate Bay, and new trackers have already lined up to take over its job. Details about the actual acquisition of The Pirate Bay are still scarce. Pirate Bay’s Peter Sunde told TorrentFreak that GGF will get the domain names for thepiratebay (under all the tlds they exist) and a copy of the code and the database. If all goes well the transfer of ownership will take place at the end of July. GGF has to raise $7.8 million in funding in order to buy the site. After that, the share holders - who’ve seen a drop in the stock price after the announced buy-out - have to vote in favor of the deal. Source: torrentfreak.com
Academy Award winners Gary Cooper and Ray Milland star along with Robert Preston in the epic adventure Beau Geste. When three brothers join the Foreign Legion to escape a troubled past, they find themselves trapped under the command of a sadistic sergeant deep in the scorching Sahara. Now the brothers must fight for their lives as they plot mutiny against tyranny and defend a desert fortress against a brutal enemy. Nominated for 2 Academy Awards, Beau Geste has been universally acclaimed by generations of critics and audiences alike as a true motion picture classic.
A classic film in all regards is a vehicle for Gary Cooper, but it’s Brian Donlevy’s sadistic sergeant who stands out. The film had only been available as part of a Cooper box set but is given solo treatment for Universal’s Backlot Collection. Unfortunately that doesn’t mean that there are special features included. The Geste brothers, “Beau” (Gary Cooper), John (Ray Milland), and Digby (Robert Preston), have lived with Lady Brandon (Heather Thatcher) and her ward Isobel (Susan Hayward) since their childhood. The Brandon family has possession of the gem called the blue water, but the irresponsible head-of-family Sir Hector Brandon has been spending money like it was water.Word comes that Sir Hector is returning home to sell off the gem to pay for his massive debts. When the household finds out that the gem is about to be sold off, Beau suggests that they pull it out of the vault and look at it one last time. As they admire it the lights go out and when they’re turned back on the gem is missing. No one will confess to the crime, but Lady Brandon says the gem box will remain on the table and the guilty party can return it by morning with no questions asked. In the night, Digby finds John to tell him that Beau has left England to join the French Foreign Legion. Digby tells John that he’s following him. John has romantic notions towards Isobel so he’s torn but eventually joins his brothers in the Legion. The brothers come to the attention of the rat-like thief Rasinoff (J. Carrol Naish) who tries to search Beau in his sleep. When he’s caught he’s brought before the vile Sgt. Markoff (Brian Donlevy) who learns of the existence of the gem and that Rasinoff thinks that Beau has possession of it. The two scheme to get the jewel for themselves. Markoff sends Digby to another regiment to separate the brothers, but when Arabs attack the fort the gem is forgotten as the fight for survival begins or does the scheming dog Markoff have other plans?Beau Geste is based on the novel by P.C. Wren and this 1939 version would be mainly known as a vehicle for Gary Cooper and overshadows its 1926 predecessor. However, it’s Brian Donlevy’s mad performance as the evil, grinning Markoff. It would garner Donlevy a nomination for best supporting actor. Also look for Donald O’Conner as the young Beau. The film is partially a mystery but the “who” of the stealing of the blue water takes a backseat to the fine portrayals and the thrill of who will survive the attack on the fort. There’s also Donlevy’s mad plan of making the fort look as if it’s still fully manned with the fallen.It’s a shocking image when the other Legionnaires come upon the fort at the beginning of the film. The end is already known since the movie begins with the fort having suffered the attack and the fuller story of the gem and the Gestes being one long flashback. Beau Geste had only been available as part of The Gary Cooper Collection released in 2005. The title is now highlighted as part of the Universal Backlot Series for those that didn’t want to buy the set (though if you’re a fan of Coop you’ll already have it in your collection). Beau Geste is presented in fullscreen. I had high hopes that the Backlot Series would garner some special features but all that Beau gets is a trailer. It would seem that the economy only garners one title getting special features (Lonely are the Brave) and the others either getting a trailer (Geste) or nothing (Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and Trail of the Lonesome Pine). The film is a proper classic, but I still would’ve liked some retrospective special features.Beau Geste is a classic and Coop at his best. He’s nearly upstaged by Brian Donlevy in a ferocious performance though. Those who don’t have the other set can purchase Geste separately now, but I wish some more attention would’ve been given to this wonderful film (if anything a digital restoration would’ve been most welcome). Beau Geste is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.Source: monstersandcritics.com
Softball Team USA's third baseman committed two errors that led to two runs by the Netherlands, tying the game in the top of the third inning. But Jenae Leles responded with a three-run home run in the bottom half of the inning to spur the Americans to a 7-2 victory in their World Cup of Softball opener Thursday night at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
Angelina Jolie vacillates between two kinds of movies: award bait, like A Mighty Heart, and action films, like Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The former earn her nominations and critical praise: She won an Oscar in 2000 for her work in Girl, Interrupted and a Best Actress nomination for last year's Changeling. The latter earn her big bucks. Mr. and Mrs. Smith, where Jolie met her boyfriend, Brad Pitt, earned $480 million at the worldwide box office. Last year's Wanted brought in $341 million. Jolie's cinematic butt kicking made her the highest-paid actress on our annual Celebrity 100 list. Between June 2008 and June 2009, Jolie earned an estimated $27 million. Much of To figure out earnings, we talked to agents, managers, producers and lawyers to determine what the stars got as upfront pay on movies they are currently shooting, as well as back-end pay earned after a movie hit the theaters. We also looked at any money actresses might have earned through their perfume or clothing lines. As is still typical for Hollywood, our actresses earned significantly less than their male counterparts. Harrison Ford was the top-earning actor this year with $65 million, $38 million more than Jolie earned. All told, the top 10 actors earned $393 million, compared with $183 million for the top 10 actresses. Coming in second behind Jolie is Jennifer Aniston, continuing the never-ending tabloid battle between the two actresses. Aniston earned $25 million thanks to her work in the romantic comedy Marley & Me and the upcoming comedy The Baster, in which Aniston plays a woman who tries to become pregnant on her own. Aniston still earns money from Friends and she gets a nice paycheck shilling for Glaceau's SmartWater. Source: Abc
that came from her share of the profits on Wanted, but she also scored a fat upfront check for Salt, an action film originally slated to star Tom Cruise, in which Jolie plays a CIA agent who is accused of being a Russian spy. Judging by scenes filmed on the streets of New York City, the film should have plenty of action to satisfy Jolie's fans.
A fierce custody battle is brewing over two of Michael Jackson's children, with their mother relaying word Thursday that she plans to fight for them in court, and the Jackson family signaling they will fight right back.
Debbie Rowe, the mother of Prince, 12, and Paris, 11, spoke to her former attorney Iris Finsilver, who says, "She is going to be pursuing custody of the children."
"Frankly, she won't have to fight for them," Finsilver tells PEOPLE. "She is the children's biological mother. She loves her children."
The kids, along with a third child, Prince Michael II (Blanket), 7, whose mother is unknown, are in the temporary court-ordered care of Jackson family matriarch Katherine Jackson, 79, whom the singer named as guardian in his 2002 . (Diana Ross was also named, in the event that Katherine was no longer living.)
A source close to the Jackson family says they intend to seek permanent custody. "They will fight," says the source.
Rowe earlier made her position clear July 2 in an interview with a Los Angeles television station, saying, "I want my children."
"I am stepping up," she told a reporter for in a 90-minute phone conversation. "I have to."
Rowe also said she'd be willing to take custody of Blanket to keep the three children together, and she may seek a restraining order to keep her former father-in-law, Joe Jackson, away from her children.
