An exhibition on fictional British spy James Bond opened in Shanghai Thursday, just weeks after the Communist government's censors cut parts of the latest film in the franchise, "Skyfall". Reported by Bangkok Post 3 days ago.

LOS ANGELES -- When your film franchise has gotten tired – the Fast aren't quite as Furious, the Mummy needs a reason to Return – Dwayne Johnson is the guy to call.

The 40-year-old actor has become a savior of stale film series, injecting new life into "Fast Five,""The Mummy Returns,""Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" and now "G.I. Joe: Retaliation." The former professional wrestler rocks established franchises by joining them on the second or subsequent installment and boosting the property's box office.

"Fast & Furious 6" and "Journey 3" are on the way, and Johnson's "Mummy" character got his own spinoff film, "The Scorpion King."

"We call him franchise Viagra," said "Retaliation" director Jon M. Chu. "He comes in and he elevates everything, not just physically, but energy-wise... He was the only one in our minds that could reinvent G.I. Joe and carry the franchise forward."

In "Retaliation," Johnson takes over for Channing Tatum, the star of 2009's "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra." Tatum plays a smaller role in the sequel as Johnson introduces moviegoers to Roadblock, a character from the G.I. Joe universe who's built like a tank but always served second in command.

"He was the glue who held all the G.I. Joes together, but he was happily in the shadows," Johnson said. "To bring him to life and then try to help elevate the franchise with that character is pretty cool."

Johnson grew up playing with G.I. Joe action figures, so he was especially excited to be a part of Joe's second cinematic outing.

"It would be like if George Lucas called me and said, `Hey, want to be in Star Wars?" the actor said.

In fact, he's open to joining any film franchise he might be able to help.

"If I can create a character that audiences will really like and love going on a journey with – whether it's `Fast Five' or `G.I. Joe' or even `Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,' or everything else we have coming up – then I jump at that opportunity," Johnson said, noting the creative challenge. "How do you elevate something that's already successful? What do you do? How do you make it different? How do you make it fun? How do you make it cool?"

The Associated Press asked Johnson what role he might play in some of the top-grossing movie franchises of all time, including a few that may seem finished. The Rock, tongue firmly in cheek, is willing to revive them.

_ STAR WARS: "That could happen. I only say that because of my love for the mythology of `Star Wars.' ... Boba Fett could work. But it can't be the Boba Fett as we know. We can't hide my magic (gestures to his face). This is magic, my friend (laughs). There's got to be a cross between a Sith and a Jedi. What is that? Don't know what that is yet. We've got to create it."

_ JAMES BOND: "I love that franchise. Daniel Craig has been great. You know my grandfather was a baddie in `You Only Live Twice' with Sean Connery. They had this awesome fight scene. So he kind of opened up the doors in my mind a little bit at least. So yeah, absolutely – me chasing down Daniel Craig. But here's the thing. Here's my idea. Chase down Daniel Craig and then become the new Bond. That's what we do ... That's never going to happen, OK, but go ahead."

_ BATMAN: "Um. Let's take a crack at it. I love that. `Batman.' Do I say that? `I'm Batman.'"

_ SHREK: "With `Shrek' we create a five-legged Brahma bull with three horns.. He's neutral. And sometimes he stutters."

_ TWILIGHT: "We would introduce the biggest, baddest, most manliest vampire the world has ever seen or will ever see. Go to Kristen Stewart, grab her by the back of the head, pull her in closely. Here comes Pattinson. Pie-face him out of the way. Look at her before I kiss her: `We're doing away with boyhood things.' Push him out of the way. Give her the kiss. Change her life. Then I'd bite her; rip her face off (laughs)."

_ PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: "We have Johnny Depp on one side, that pirate, then we have myself on another side. I'm a pirate – don't believe in drinking, don't believe in cussing. A clean pirate who happens to be boring. Yes, yes, that's it. How exciting is that? You're lining up. Everyone's lining up to see it."

_ INDIANA JONES: "I would be a professor at the University of Miami of course, naturally ... who stumbles upon something that is considered the fountain of youth. Give it to the real Indy. We go back in time. He becomes Indy from `Raiders of the Lost Ark.' Then we both set off."

___

AP Entertainment Writer Ryan Pearson contributed to this report.

___ Reported by Huffington Post 2 days ago.

AN exhibition on fictional British spy James Bond opened in Shanghai yesterday. Reported by Shanghai Daily 2 days ago.

Adele 's triumphant award-winning streak shows no sign of ending as the promo for her hit James Bond theme tune Skyfall has scooped a prize for its impact on social... Reported by abc4 2 days ago.

Rupert Evans has admitted he's been enjoying living a glamorous James Bond lifestyle while filming new TV series The Man Who Would Be Bond. Reported by Belfast Telegraph 17 hours ago.

Patch West Des Moines, IA --

From action to comedy this week's Top 5 has everything for your weekend.

Check out the other top rentals and new releases near you.

*1. Zero Dark Thirty*- It's been more than a decade since the terror attacks of 2001, but terrorist Osama Bin Laden is still out there, somewhere. Trailer.

*Redbox Review:* 3 Stars *Rating:* R *Stars:* Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle, Mark Strong

*2.* *Argo *-During the Iran hostage crisis, the CIA and Hollywood collaborated in a life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans. Trailer.

*Redbox Review:* 4 Stars *Rating:* R *Stars:* Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber



*Have you seen any of these movies? Give your neighbors a recommendation in the comments section below.*



*3. Rise of the Guardians*- What if there were more to the histories of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman than anyone ever believed? What if the benevolent givers of gifts, eggs, money and dreams were much more than they seemed? Trailer.

*Redbox Review:* 4.5 Stars *Rating:* PG *Stars:* Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Isla Fisher, Hugh Jackman

*4. Skyfall - *When James Bond’s latest assignment goes gravely wrong, and several undercover agents around the world are exposed, MI6 is attacked, forcing M to relocate the agency. Trailer.

*Redbox Review:* 3.5 Stars *Rating:* PG-13 *Stars:* Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris

*5.* *Playing For Keeps *- Gerard Butler is a charming, down-on-his luck former soccer star returns home to put his life back together. Looking for a way to rebuild his relationship with his son, he gets roped into coaching the boy's soccer team. Trailer.

*Redbox Review:* 4 Stars *Rating:* PG-13 *Stars:* Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Noah Lomax, Dennis Quaid, Uma Thurman

Have you already seen the Top 5? Here are the newest flicks in the Redbox.

· Lincoln 

· Killing Them Softly 

· Company of Heroes

· Seal Team Six 

· Chasing Mavericks 


In West Des Moines, Redbox kiosks are found at McDonalds, Kum & Go, Hy-Vee and Walgreens. To ensure that your movie is available, go to redbox.com and reserve online.

Not a fan of Redbox? Family Video in West Des Moines always has great movie deals.

Here are a few new releases available there:

· Lincoln
· Killing Them Softly 

· Parental Guidance 

· Collection 

· Stand Off Reported by Patch 10 hours ago.

Ira Winkler, president of the Information Systems Security Association to be a featured speaker at the LA Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association Fifth Annual Information Security Summit on Wednesday, May 21, 2013, in Los Angeles.


Ira Winkler, CISSP, president of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) ® and internationally acclaimed author of several books on information security, will be a featured speaker at the Los Angeles Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA-LA) Fifth Annual Information Security Summit on Wednesday, May 21, 2013 at Hilton Universal City Hotel in Los Angeles. The theme of the one-day Summit - The Growing Cyber Threat: Protect Your Business -reflects the new reality that cybercrime impacts the financial health of all organizations: business, not-for-profits, government agencies, schools and others. The Summit advances ISSA-LA’s core belief that ‘It takes the village to secure the village’ SM.

“We are fortunate to have Ira speak at our Summit, since he is one of the most sought after speakers and one of the world’s most influential cybersecurity professionals,” said ISSA-LA President Stan Stahl, PhD. “In the face of complex cyber threats, Ira really drives home the challenges of preventing cybercrime, providing valuable wisdom and insights to the security, technology and business professionals who are called on to make crucial decisions on information security in their own organizations.”

Mr. Winkler has been named a “Modern Day James Bond” by CNN and other media. He is an author of several riveting, entertaining, and educational books, including Spies Among Us and Zen and the Art of Information Security. A columnist for ComputerWorld, he also writes for several other industry publications. He has been featured in magazines and newspapers including Forbes, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, Planet Internet, and Business 2.0. He is also a frequent TV commentator on cyber security. Mr. Winkler also won the Hall of Fame award from the Information Systems Security Association, as well as several other prestigious industry awards.

Mr. Winkler began his career at the National Security Agency, where he served as an Intelligence and Computer Systems Analyst. He moved on to support other US and overseas government military and intelligence agencies. After leaving government service, he went on to serve as President of the Internet Security Advisors Group, Chief Security Strategist at HP Consulting, and Director of Technology of the National Computer Security Association. He has also served on the Graduate and Undergraduate faculties of The Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland.

In September 2012, Mr. Winkler was elected president of the international Information Systems Security Association (ISSA)®, the parent organization of ISSA-LA.

The ISSA-LA Summit is the only educational forum in Los Angeles specifically designed to encourage participation and interaction among all three vital information security constituencies: (1) business executives, senior business managers, and their trusted advisors; (2) technical IT personnel with responsibility for information systems and the data they contain; and (3) information security practitioners with responsibility for ensuring the security of sensitive information.

Registration is open to anyone interested in learning more about information security but is particularly recommended for business and nonprofit executives and senior managers; business professionals in law, accounting, insurance and banking; technical IT personnel; law enforcement professionals fighting cybercrime; faculty and students in college and university cybersecurity programs; and information security practitioners.

The Information Security Summit is part of ISSA-LA’s important community outreach program. The goal of the program is to help the community stay safe from cybercrime by enabling the necessary collaboration between business, nonprofit and community leaders, technical IT professionals, and the information security community.

About the LA Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA-LA):
ISSA-LA is the premier catalyst and information source in Los Angeles for improving the practice of information security. The Chapter provides educational programs for information security and IT professionals. The Chapter conducts outreach programs to businesses, financial institutions, nonprofits, governmental agencies, and consumers. ISSA-LA is the founding Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association, an international not-for-profit association of information security professionals and practitioners. For more information or to register for ISSA-LA’s 5th Annual Information Security Summit, please visit
http://www.issala.org.

Company Contact Information
Carl Terzian Associates
Jim Goyjer
10866 Wilshire Blvd., #750
90024
310-207-3361

News and Press Release Distribution From I-Newswire.com Reported by i-Newswire.com 10 hours ago.

Professor Roger Kirby is one of the world's leading prostate surgeons. So when he developed prostate cancer last year he knew exactly what he was up against. He tells Simon Garfield about his operation – and life as a patient

The scenery was truly breathtaking. In March 2012, 47 cyclists had negotiated a 27km climb to the Puyehue Pass on the border of Chile and Argentina, passing forests and mountains, hot springs and glacial melt-water. At the summit one of them spotted a circling Andean vulture and joked that it might be a grim omen. Others noticed that one of their most experienced riders was looking distinctly grey. Roger Kirby, a 62-year-old professor of urology, was taking part to raise money for the Urology Foundation. He had been on similar rides in Malawi and Madagascar and prided himself on his ability to keep up with younger riders, but now he felt breathless. His father had died of a stroke following heart failure at the age of 49, and ever since he had been wary of the weight of genetics. So he resolved to have a cardiac check and some blood tests as soon as he returned to England.

The heart exam showed a little calcifying in the arteries, something fairly typical in men of his age, and the blood tests showed another common male attribute: a raised level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). PSA produces the liquefying component of semen, and may ease the passage of sperm within the uterus. It is a vital protein for conception, but when it enters the bloodstream in increasing amounts it may also indicate the growth of prostate cancer.

Kirby had monitored his PSA level for more than a decade. At 50, it stood at 0.5, which was negligible. But it had risen gradually over the years to 1.5 and then 3.3, which he regarded as a light flashing on the dashboard. Two weeks after getting back from South America, he took a second PSA test and found it had gone down a little, which reassured him. Six months later, in September, he had another test and it was 4.3, the highest it had ever been, so he underwent a high-resolution localised MRI scan.

The news wasn't good. There was a lesion on the right side, which his radiologist thought could be one of two things: prostatitis, an inflammation treatable with antibiotics, or a tumour. And so a biopsy was ordered, involving a local anaesthetic and a probe, and the removal of 12 samples from the suspicious area.

The following day Kirby received a phone call from his pathologist. "Are you sitting down?" He was. "I'm afraid that three of the biopsies show Gleason 7." The Gleason scale is a grading system particular to prostate cancer, made up of two scores, each defining the advancement of a tumour and the risk of spread to other organs, with 10 as the worst prognosis. A combined score of 4 or 5 would prompt concern, and perhaps a policy of watchful waiting. But with a score of 7, Professor Kirby had a decision to make.

He looks boyish for his age, with a full mop of greying hair and a slightly Bunterish face, and he is not averse to wearing a rugby shirt in his leisure time. He likes to think of himself as a rather stoical, stiff-upper-lip type of Brit. But in the case of his illness his stoicism had both cause and irony: Kirby is one of the leading prostate surgeons in the world.

Prostate cancer has not been short of publicity recently, and Kirby is one of the reasons why. The fact that the disease is now regarded as both common and a common topic of conversation is partly thanks to Kirby's proselytising and fundraising. He has written more than 200 research papers on the prostate and several books, including one called The Prostate: Small Gland, Big Problem. He estimates that he has removed more than 2,500 prostates since the mid-1980s.

When I ask Kirby about the emotional impact of his cancer and the irony of contracting the disease on which he has built a career, he is nonchalant to the point of perversity. "I thought we'd better just get on with it," he says. He is in the living room of his house in Wimbledon, and has half an eye on the television as Chelsea, his football team, compete in Japan. "One of my heroes is James Bond, so I was hardly going to go around weeping. And there was no doubt in my mind that I should just have it taken out."

He told his colleagues during a weekly team meeting the day after his biopsy results. "They were interested," he says. "Nobody was emotional. It was just another case, although it was a bit weird that it was me." The prominent question in Kirby's mind (apart from which of his colleagues should perform the operation) was whether to have his prostate removed immediately or to complete another fundraising expedition first, trekking in Morocco. He took the trip, using the time to get as fit as possible. He set a surgery date for 3 December and asked me if I'd like to attend the operation.

In its healthy state, the prostate is a 12g walnut-sized gland that sits at the base of the bladder and surrounds the urethra (the tube that carries urine out of the body) before it connects to the base of the penis. Its principal function – the liquefaction of semen – helps create life: without it a man becomes infertile. But its extreme malfunction may also hasten death. The incidence of prostate cancer has increased markedly over the past 20 years, although this is largely due to greater vigilance and earlier detection. Nearly two-thirds of cases are diagnosed in men of 65 or more, and it is extremely rare before the age of 40. In Britain, prostate cancer accounts for around 7% of all cancer deaths – some 10,721 in 2010.

Kirby knows of four other urologists afflicted with prostate cancer, three of them advanced, one with little hope of survival. He says many of his colleagues remain dubious about the value of PSA screening and surgical intervention to remove a gland that, even if cancerous, may not kill you. "Many are just frightened. It's easier not to know, just as it's easier not to screen for heart disease. Or breast cancer in women. But when I began in the 1970s, before all these tests became available and refined, I only saw patients whose cancer had already metastasised, and many lived only a few weeks." In 2013 this is still the big controversy: whether to test and when to intervene. It is a debate peppered with issues of priorities, medical expertise, money and robotic technology, and complicated by the fact that we are still in the early days of a new science. PSA tests have only existed as a debatable marker of health since the 1970s, and have only been widely available since the late 1980s. Charities dedicated to prostate research and education have been campaigning since the mid-1990s.

In January 2013, Britain's leading charity in the field, Prostate Cancer UK, still claimed the disease was getting less attention than other illnesses with a lower mortality rate. Education and awareness were still vital, it argued, and it set about launching what it called the Sledgehammer Fund as "a call to arms". Its celebrity patron was the comedian Bill Bailey, whose father-in-law had suffered from prostate cancer, but the most prominent name on the roster of experts was another one: Roger Kirby.

In a recent email, Kirby sent me a set of articles from medical journals that laid out the arguments for and against the procedure he was about to undergo. The debate is fairly simple and exists primarily because prostate cancer lacks the historical pathology of other diseases, and thus the near-certainties that permit a relatively unchallenged course of medical action. Instead, we still have an unsatisfactory and incomplete set of evidence from small-scale trials, anecdotal observations from doctors, and a subjective collection of hunches and gut instincts. And there is another difficulty: prostate cancer – unlike breast or lung cancer – is frequently a natural disease of ageing. Many men in their 70s and 80s will develop it with only minor symptoms; it may not present a threat to life, and is likely to be overtaken as a cause of death by something else. But how long should you wait to find out?

The debate has polarised into two horn-locked camps. In one, Kirby and his supporters advocate careful surveillance and, if the surveillance prompts it, medical intervention. They are an increasingly vocal unit and their most visible campaign, gathering momentum each year since its founding in Australia in 2003, is Movember, the month-long festival in which men are urged to grow a jokey moustache. The charity, which raises money for other male-health causes as well as prostate cancer, has helped remove some of the stigma from urological disorders and, since its formation, has raised almost $130m from around 1.25 million globally registered participants.

In the other camp sit those who argue that prostate problems are being overpublicised, overdiagnosed and overtreated, causing men to be unduly alarmed by an illness they never worried about much before. They argue that PSA scores ought to stand for Producer of Stress and Anxiety, as they are not a sufficiently accurate indicator of disease to be helpful, and that making tests more available not only places an unnecessary strain on health providers' funds, but may put overly worried patients in conflict with their doctors. The NHS and the World Health Organisation both state that there is no evidence that universal non-symptomatic screening saves lives.

The arguments are one thing, the personal dilemma another. In one sense, macabre as it sounds, Kirby's cancer could only be good for business. "I could hardly advise so many patients to have their prostates removed and then sit back and do nothing," he told me a few days before his operation. He was in his office at the Prostate Centre in Wimpole Street, a gleaming modern edifice to hi-tech male wellbeing that one satisfied customer in a booklet given to new patients compares favourably to "a gentleman's club".

Kirby practised urology within the NHS for 20 years – "longer", he points out, "than you get for murdering your wife". Many of his colleagues at the centre, including the surgeon to whom he will entrust his own prostate, split their time between NHS work and private care, but a patient who chooses the Prostate Centre will be landed with a bill of £20,000 or more. The list of clients who have benefited from the centre's care includes many famous and wealthy names, most of whom wish to keep their medical history to themselves. One notable exception is Andrew Lloyd Webber, who underwent a prostatectomy in 2009 and has since become a champion of both the centre and early testing.

In America men tend to bandy about PSA scores as if they were sports results. About 70% of American men over 50 are reported to know their PSA score; Kirby thinks the equivalent figure in Britain would be 7%. In America the list of well-known men treated for prostate cancer is far longer. Robert De Niro, Rudy Giuliani, Rupert Murdoch and Colin Powell are all survivors, and most have lent their names to education campaigns. The list of famous fatalities, from whatever country, is longer still: Robert Frost, Telly Savalas, Frank Zappa, François Mitterrand, Sir Harry Secombe, Johnny Ramone and Corin Redgrave.

Kirby and I first met in 2005, when he was due to operate on a friend and former boss of mine, Tony Elliott, the founder of Time Out. At 58, Elliott had begun to feel dizzy. A battery of blood tests revealed a PSA score of 5.8, leading to a biopsy that showed signs of a tumour. Within a week of the biopsy he found himself sitting opposite Kirby, discussing his options (I wrote about the story for this magazine). His choices were manifold, and most patients face the same ones today. Watchful waiting; external radiotherapy involving a 40-day course; brachytherapy, a newer treatment in which pellets are inserted strategically into the prostate; cryotherapy, which involves freezing tissue; high-intensity focused ultrasound and hormone treatment, most often deployed if the cancer has spread. And then there is radical prostatectomy, whereby the entire gland is cut out – something that has the slashing air of the Victorian operating theatre about it but may still be the most thorough and containing treatment. Tony Elliott chose this last option, performed by Kirby with a 10cm incision beneath what he called the bikini line. (The procedure was a success; Elliott remains well, occasionally boosting his resistance with hormone therapy.)

But had Elliott presented today, he would have benefitted from a new option: the da Vinci robot. This is a machine that has brought a far less invasive and more refined method of performing a prostatectomy, and involves making six 10mm keyhole incisions in the abdomen, into which thin steel arms, known as ports, are inserted. This is the robotic element: the arms are fitted at their tips with a variety of instruments for cutting, sewing and sealing, as well as a camera that allows the surgeon to operate the ports remotely from a console a few yards from the patient while looking at an enlarged 3D image on a screen.

Which brings us to the fifth floor of the London Clinic in Devonshire Place at the beginning of December 2012, and a 62-year-old patient awaiting a trip to the basement. Roger Kirby, already in his gown when I arrive, is busy maintaining the air of a man about to take a stroll in the park. We talk about Chelsea's chances in the league and how he broke the news of his cancer to his three adult children: "They felt if I had to have any cancer, this was probably the best one."

At 1pm a chief nurse arrives to accompany us to the operating theatre. We all scrub up. The anaesthetist, Richard Morey, puts a large needle into the base of Kirby's back and injects slowly. Pads and wires are applied to monitor his heartbeat and blood pressure. A nurse shaves his stomach. In a standard routine, everyone in the room introduces themselves and their reason for being there. The precise nature of the procedure is announced. The abdominal cavity is distended with carbon dioxide to lift the walls from organs and create more space, x-marks are applied to the points where the ports will be inserted, the robot is pulled into position, and the first incisions are made. The process of delicately slicing the prostate away from the bladder, urethra and fatty lining begins, and a mixture of pumping and hissing reds and yellows flood the screen as metal pincers pull and cut and seal. We joke that Kirby could have performed this operation in his sleep. Instead his team is led by Professor Prokar Dasgupta. He will repeat the procedure on several other men later in the week.

Kirby's operation, which lasts about 90 minutes, proceeds amid an atmosphere of gentle instruction and good humour. "It's not exactly giving itself up; the professor's very attached to it," someone says as surrounding muscle and fat are snipped away. Ben Challacombe, another of the surgeons present, tells me the priorities are, in order: the removal of the cancer; the resumption of continence following the removal of the catheter; and the resumption of erectile function. It is the third of these that produces the backchat. When it comes to detaching the side of the prostate from the nerves that control erections, someone says: "Mrs Kirby expects us to be absolutely on top of our game here."

The whole procedure is like the mechanised teddy-picker at a fairground, albeit with more chance of a prize at the end. Once cut away, with the catheter inserted and the urethra and bladder tied together, Kirby's prostate – still in his abdomen – is tweezered inside a plastic bag and set aside by his bladder. One of the port holes is then cut a little larger and the plastic bag is removed, to light applause. Professor Dasgupta places his colleague's gland on a piece of gauze and prods and stretches it. It is dark-reddish, grainy and meaty, and if I hadn't just seen it functioning inside a human being I would have thought it as benign as a piece of chicken tikka. Its previous owner is pulled out of his anaesthetic 10 minutes after being sewn up. Colour returns to his face. Kirby is groggy, but his first words are reassuring. "I think, gentlemen, I need a gin and tonic."

Six weeks later, in mid-January, I got an email. "Just received the news that my PSA is undetectable at

It was good to see him looking so well. He told me his prostate was now in the pathology department at St George's, Tooting, and that the biopsy suggested the cancer had been contained within it. He was planning another charity cycle ride for November 2013, this time in South Africa.

And how was everything else? "My erections are not as rigid as they used to be," he said. "But they're still there. You expect three, six, nine, 12 months until you get restoration of those." He is taking small doses of Cialis, a Viagra-style blood-flow booster, and says it helps a bit. "I did wonder about whether I should go public on all this," he concedes as I leave. "Some professional people advised me to keep it quiet, because of the negative connotations that cancer confers. Agents of famous people tell them it's 'game over' for their image, which is one reason a lot of my patients aren't keen to talk about it. Personally, I thought it would only be worthwhile."

prostatecanceruk.org Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 hour ago.

Pierce Brosnan opens up about his latest film bringing back the most painful memories of his life - and how it 'hurt like hell' to lose the role of James Bond to Daniel Craig. Reported by MailOnline 23 hours ago.

'He didn't even give a speech,' a guest revealed. Reported by Indian Express 19 hours ago.

Sure, he has an Academy Award for “Slumdog Millionaire,” almost won another for “127 Hours” and orchestrated the Opening Ceremony of the London Summer Olympic Games, directing the Queen of England in a short James Bond movie. Reported by NY Daily News 8 hours ago.

Sure, he has an Academy Award for “Slumdog Millionaire,” almost won another for “127 Hours” and orchestrated the Opening Ceremony of the London Summer Olympic Games, directing the Queen of England in a short James Bond movie. Reported by NY Daily News 16 hours ago.

Patch Cedar Falls, IA --

From action to comedy this week's top 5 has everything for your weekend.

Check out the other top rentals and new releases near you.

*1. Zero Dark Thirty*- It's been more than a decade since the terror attacks of 2001, but terrorist Osama Bin Laden is still out there, somewhere. Trailer.

*Redbox Review:* 3 Stars *Rating:* R *Stars:* Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle, Mark Strong

*2.* *Argo *-During the Iran hostage crisis, the CIA and Hollywood collaborated in a life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans. Trailer.

*Redbox Review:* 4 Stars *Rating:* R *Stars:* Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber



*Have you seen any of these movies? Give your neighbors a recommendation in the comments section below.*



*3. Skyfall - *When James Bond’s latest assignment goes gravely wrong, and several undercover agents around the world are exposed, MI6 is attacked, forcing M to relocate the agency. Trailer.

*Redbox Review:* 3.5 Stars *Rating:* PG-13 *Stars:* Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris

*4. Rise of the Guardians*- What if there were more to the histories of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman than anyone ever believed? What if the benevolent givers of gifts, eggs, money and dreams were much more than they seemed? Trailer.

*Redbox Review:* 4.5 Stars *Rating:* PG *Stars:* Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Isla Fisher, Hugh Jackman

*5.* *Wreck-It Ralph *- Wreck-It Ralph is an obsolete video game character who longs to be as beloved as his game's perfect Good Guy, Fix-It Felix. When a modern, first-person shooter game arrives featuring tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun, Ralph sneaks into the game with the hopes of winning a medal and proving his heroism. Unfortunately, he wrecks everything, accidentally unleashing a deadly enemy that threatens every game in the arcade. Trailer.

*Redbox Review:* 4.5 Stars *Rating:* PG *Stars:* John C Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk

Already saw the Top 5? Here are the newest flicks in the Redbox.

· Lincoln

· Killing Them Softly

· Company of Heroes

· Seal Team Six

· Chasing Mavericks


Cedar Falls is home to four Redbox kiosks, so there are plenty of options when trying to find the perfect movie.

· Walgreens, 2509 White Tail Dr
· Hy-Vee Gas Station, 6527 University Ave
· Hy-Vee, 6301 University Ave
· Walmart Supercenter, 525 Brandilynn Blvd

To ensure that your movie is available, go to redbox.com and reserve online. Reported by Patch 7 hours ago.

AB Junior beat superstars Shahrukh Khan, Akshay Kumar and Hrithik Roshan to bag the most coveted role. Reported by Bollywood Life 22 hours ago.

Hollywood mega-stars Steven Spielberg, Dustin Hoffman, Goldie Hawn and one-time James Bond, Pierce Brosnan face losing their exclusive multi-million dollar beach-front homes in Broad Beach unless a $20 million scheme to cure the erosion of the shoreline is approved. Reported by MailOnline 18 hours ago.

Hollywood mega-stars Steven Spielberg, Dustin Hoffman, Goldie Hawn and one-time James Bond actor, Pierce Brosnan, face losing their exclusive multi-million dollar beach-front homes unless a Reported by CapitalBay 12 hours ago.

Joan Rivers has slammed Adele, saying she is ''chubby'' and needs to ''lose weight.'' The TV personality - who initially branded the 24-year-old singer fat when she won an Academy Award for her James Bond theme 'Skyfall' - hit out at the 'Rolling in the Deep' singer by accusing her of being overweight, and joked she has taken an advertisement out on Adele's butt to say sorry for her initial jibes. Reported by azcentral.com 10 hours ago.

When executives at Paramount viewed the latest cut of the $175 million Brad Pitt zombie film "World War Z," they were not concerned by the violence or its reengineered ending. They were worried about a minor plot point that involved a sensitive topic: China.

In the offending scene, characters debate the geographic origin of an outbreak that caused a zombie apocalypse and point to China, a Paramount executive told TheWrap.

Normally the detail would not have merited discussion at the top echelons of the studio. But given the fast-rising prominence of the Chinese market, state censorship and the quotas for U.S. releases, the studio advised the movie producers to drop the reference to China and cite a different country as a possible source of the pandemic, an executive with knowledge of the film told TheWrap.

The change was made in recent days in the hopes of landing a deal for one of Paramount’s biggest summer movies to play in China, the world's fastest-growing film market.

"It’s not a huge plot point,” an individual with knowledge of the studio’s plans told TheWrap. “But it’s safe to say [they’re] going to want a release there.”

China passed Japan as the largest international source of box office revenue in 2012, contributing $2.7 billion, a 36 percent increase over the previous year. And some analysts say the Asian giant will pass the United States in standalone box office revenue by 2020.

*Also Read: *From 'Skyfall' to 'The Avengers,' How the Foreign Box Office Is Trouncing Domestic

While China has loosened its restrictions on the number of foreign films that can screen in the country, its film board continues to wield a great deal of influence, causing unprecedented changes in plots, release strategies, casting and other elements of Hollywood production.

Marvel Studios announced on Friday it would release an alternate version of “Iron Man 3” in China featuring China’s leading movie star Fan Bingbing, as well as offer specially prepared bonus footage made exclusively for the Chinese audience.

*Also read:* Movies That Hollywood Changed for China (Photos)

Marvel had initially planned “Iron Man 3” as a Chinese co-production, a tactic that has been taken with films like “Looper” and “The Karate Kid,” in part because co-productions are not subject to China’s quota for imported films. Chinese censors must still approve them.

In the case of “The Karate Kid,” censors objected to the Chinese villain, so Sony cut 12 minutes of the film to secure a release, which came later than initially planned.

*Also Read: *Why Hollywood Studios Need to Learn Chinese

“If you’re going to shoot a film that will be released in China, [scrutiny] is inevitable,” David Franzoni, the Oscar-winning producer and screenwriter, told TheWrap. Franzoni would know better than most since he wrote the script for a drama being produced by the Chinese government’s investment fund, the Xi’an Qujian Film & TV Investment Group.  Antoine Fuqua will direct the 8th century tale of a love affair between a Chinese general and one of the emperor’s concubines.

Franzoni said the Chinese film board approved his treatment but then found flaws in the script. He must now choose between fictionalizing the tale or changing his take on history enough to mollify the censors.

“Theoretically they can make you reshoot scenes,” Franzoni said, comparing the film board’s scrutiny to studio notes. “They have a lot of power so you want to try to be sure you have it all down the first time.”

While Franzoni tries to avoid running afoul of censors before production begins, in other cases studios don’t alter their movies until post-production. Chinese censors cut large chunks out of several movies released last year, including 40 minutes from “Cloud Atlas” and 12 minutes from “Men in Black 3,” excising all scenes in Chinatown.

They also cut parts of the latest James Bond film, “Skyfall,” including a scene that featured the assassination of a nameless Chinese security guard.

The elimination of that sequence had little bearing on the final creative product, and keeping it in the film was not worth surrendering the Chinese market.

*Also Read: *MPAA Report: Global Box Office Breaks Records, China Becomes 2nd Largest Market

Similarly, the minor alteration to a $240 million dollar zombie film will go unnoticed by viewers, but it speaks to the substantial influence China is having on American cinema.

“The Chinese Communist Party wants to have a unified message,” Stanley Rosen, director of USC’s East Asian Studies Center who has also published articles and a book on film, told TheWrap. “They are getting better in terms of what subject matter is allowed to be shown, but worse in terms of remaining hyper-sensitive to anything that puts China in a bad light.”

"Theoretically they [Chinese film board] can make you reshoot scenes. They have a lot of power so you want to try to be sure you have it all down the first time,"– David Franzoni, producer and screenwriter

In the case of “World War Z,” Paramount didn’t wait for Chinese censors to view the film. Before screening it for anyone in China and negotiating for distribution, the executives recommended the change.

“Just the fact that China somehow is the origin of a pandemic with the food safety problem and the SARS epidemic, that would never get approved in China,” Rosen added. “They are wise in taking that out.”

Rosen, who believes studios will soon have to make movies specifically for the Chinese marketplace, said he was surprised Paramount felt “World War Z” stood a chance of gaining distribution in China. The country has strict laws outlawing any movies that deal with magic, horror or superstition.

China only opened its market to the Hollywood studios in 1994, when its own film industry had reached its nadir. “It wasn’t out of admiration for Hollywood but to save the Chinese film industry,” Rosen said. “People weren’t going to the movies.”

At the time, China only permitted 10 foreign movies to screen, then increased it to 20 before the current total of 34. Those additional 14 slots are all reserved for IMAX or 3D films.

Most of the American movies that succeed in China are big-budget blockbusters like “Avatar” and “The Amazing Spider-Man,” where a creative decision is influenced as much by box office implications as any artistic ideal.

 “If you’re making a film about a zombie apocalypse, you’re not going to worry about the integrity of the filmmaker,” Rosen said. “You’re trying to make money.”

*SEE ALSO: China is now the largest international box-office market >*

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Join the conversation about this story » Reported by Business Insider 11 hours ago.

American music producer who worked with many pop greats including Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra

Once nicknamed "The Pope of Pop", Phil Ramone, who has died aged 79, worked as a sound engineer and producer with an unparalleled list of popular musicians including Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Ray Charles and Barbra Streisand. In 1993, he produced Frank Sinatra's comeback album Duets, which paired the crooner with a host of stars such as Aretha Franklin, Bono and Tony Bennett. Its success prompted a follow-up, Duets II, which was Sinatra's final studio album. Ramone used the celebrity guests concept again for Charles's album Genius Loves Company (2004) and duets albums for Bennett.

Ramone won 14 Grammys during his career and was in demand for television, film and stage projects. He collaborated with Streisand on soundtracks for A Star Is Born and Yentl, worked on stage productions of Chicago, The Wiz and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and produced the soundtrack for the James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service. He won an Emmy for a television special about Duke Ellington, Grammys for his work on the soundtracks to Flashdance (the movie) and Promises, Promises (the Broadway musical), and produced Luciano Pavarotti's charity galas in Modena, Italy.

A regular visitor to the White House, where numerous incumbents sought his advice on staging musical gala events, Ramone was part of the recording team for President John F Kennedy's party at Madison Square Garden in 1962 at which Marilyn Monroe delivered her seductive performance of Happy Birthday, Mr President.

Born in South Africa, Ramone began playing the violin at the age of three. He recalled how his early interest in the instrument had been piqued by hearing jazz players such as Joe Venuti and Stuff Smith. His family moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he had ample opportunity to indulge his jazz leanings. He was a particular fan of Count Basie. "By the time I was in my early teens," he said, "I regularly begged my parents to take me to Birdland to hear him and his band."

In the late 1940s he attended the Juilliard School in New York to study classical violin, but it was popular music that exerted the greatest attraction for him. He began to focus on songwriting and production, and spent some time working at the songwriting factory of the Brill Building, meeting the likes of Quincy Jones, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, before being recruited as an engineer at JAC Recording studios.

In 1958 he teamed up with Jack Arnold to open a new studio, A&R Recording (standing for "Arnold and Ramone"), above Manny's Music store on Manhattan's West 48th Street. The aim was to specialise in recording pop and jazz artists. During the 1960s Ramone engineered jazz records including John Coltrane's Olé Coltrane and Gerry Mulligan's Spring Is Sprung, and in 1965 won his first Grammy for his work on Stan Getz and João Gilberto's hit album Getz/Gilberto, which contained The Girl from Ipanema and became an all-time jazz bestseller. He then began to move more into pop, working with Peter, Paul and Mary, Dionne Warwick and Bacharach, whose 1969 album Make It Easy on Yourself earned Ramone his first production credit.

In his 2007 book Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music, Ramone wrote that his career "coincided with one of the most profound periods in pop music history: that of the contemporary singer-songwriter". Ramone was in the vanguard, producing or co-producing such milestones as Dylan's Blood on the Tracks and Simon's There Goes Rhymin' Simon and the Grammy-winning Still Crazy After All These Years.

In 1977 his work on Joel's The Stranger began a lengthy partnership, earning Ramone Grammys for 52nd Street (album of the year) and Just the Way You Are (record of the year). Some of his recent credits included Rod Stewart's It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook and its follow-up As Time Goes By, Rufus Wainwright's Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall, and recording George Michael's Symphonica concert tour for future release.

A founding member of the Music Engineering and Technology Alliance, Ramone was always keen on technological innovation. Joel's 52nd Street is considered the first major release on compact disc, and for the Sinatra duets albums Ramone pioneered a technique of recording contributors remotely via fibre-optic telephone lines. One of the Grammys won by Genius Loves Company was for best surround-sound album. However, as he wrote in Making Records: "Great records are all about feel, and if it comes down to making a choice, I'll go for the take that makes me dance over a bland one with better sound any day."

Ramone is survived by his wife, Karen, and his sons Matt, BJ and Simon.

• Philip Ramone, music producer and engineer, born 5 January 1934; died 30 March 2013 Reported by guardian.co.uk 10 hours ago.

Actor is popular with Barack Obama Reported by Now 7 hours ago.