Hollywood

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--Deep inside a series of very cold vaults, surrounded by thick concrete and protected from fire and water damage, more than 76,000 movies sit on shelves, preserved for future generations to enjoy.

Welcome to the Academy Film Archive, the storage arm of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. On your right is a stack of cans containing several reels of the 1962 classic "Lawrence of Arabia." On your left are several cans comprising a copy of "2001: A Space Odyssey."

Since opening its doors in 1927, the Academy -- the folks … Read more

BURBANK, Calif.--Back in the dark ages of modern 3D filmmaking -- meaning more than a year or two ago -- the process of aligning imagery coming from the two cameras required to shoot in 3D could be slow, methodical, and frustrating work. But one company thinks it has done away with those days forever.

At 3ality, an outfit here that is among the leaders in the nascent new era of 3D filmmaking -- as opposed to the horrible 3D films dating back a few decades -- there's no reason to labor over the optimization of such imagery after … Read more

As people, we understand instinctively what flowing hair looks like. Or the way layers of clothes move on someone's body, or how water would splash when a bear runs through it. If it looks unnatural, our brains know -- and get distracted by it.

These are some of the technical challenges Pixar faced when making the studio's 13th feature, "Brave," which was directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, and which opens June 22: If the technology behind its animation doesn't ring true, the audience may lose focus on the most important thing of all: … Read more

For the last seven years, I've had the chance to explore much of the United States (and Europe) as part of my annual CNET Road Trip project.

In the U.S., these trips have taken me through the Northeast, the Rocky Mountain region, the Southeast, the Southwest, and the Pacific Northwest, and in each of those regions I've gone in search of stories, photos, and videos about some of the best geek-oriented destinations I can find.

Yet, despite those many long journeys along America's roadways, I've never explored CNET's own backdoor -- California. So this … Read more

Dish's new ad-skipping feature has aroused anger among TV broadcasters, but the company's chairman sees it as a wake-up call to the industry.

In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen defended Ad Hop, the new feature that lets Dish viewers skip advertisements.

Cheap Web-based TV is a threat to pay TV, believes Ergen, a trend created in part by the networks themselves because of their failure to develop ads better targeted toward viewers. Ergen is hoping Ad Hop will convince TV networks to create "more meaningful" ads that people won'… Read more

Karita Brun is her own designer, makeup artist, model, and photographer. The self-taught artist proudly sports her geeky sensibilities by interpreting characters as diverse at the Hulk and Darth Vader through eye shadow and liner.

"Many comic/movie characters have easily recognizable color or patterns which are easy to transform to makeup," Brun tells Crave. "I just take some key features of a character and start working from there."

Brun has delved into the "Star Wars" universe for both R2-D2 and Darth Vader eyes. Darth presented a special challenge. "My first idea was to do the makeup in the shape of his mask, but as it turned out, it didn't work, it wasn't instantly recognizable," she says. That's when she hit on the idea of adding the lightsaber and cape. The Dark Side has never looked lovelier.… Read more

The original release of "Star Wars" was a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away (the 1970s), and ever since, George Lucas has been constructing his huge empire at Lucasfilm.

But now, in "an effort to move forward with his retirement plans," Lucas has hand-picked longtime Hollywood producer Kathleen Kennedy to become the co-chair of Lucasfilm, according to a press release today. Lucas will stay on as co-chair and CEO.

"I've spent my life building Lucasfilm and as I shift my focus into other directions I wanted to make sure it was … Read more

No Doubt's lawsuit against Activision is going to be heard by a jury.

The pop rock band sued gaming giant Activision in 2009 on allegations that the company's game Band Hero lets players convert the avatars "into a virtual karaoke circus act." The case has been ongoing ever since, and today Superior Court Judge Ramona See ruled that the decision will now be up to a jury, according to the Associated Press.

The lawsuit was first brought when No Doubt claimed that Activision didn't tell the pop musicians that players would be able to unlock … Read more

If you've worked an office job for any length of time, you've probably found yourself envying "the creatives" -- the people in the design department, say, who always seem to be having more fun than anyone else, with their crazy cubicle setups and unusual work routines.

Matthew Panzarino over at The Next Web has posted a great little story about one of the most extreme -- and awesome -- examples of this that I can imagine.

Panzarino's piece concerns a secret room at Pixar. Judging from what the author says, I should've known about the hideaway before. But I didn't, and you may not have either, so here we go.

It seems that when Pixar moved into its then-new building in Emeryville, Calif., animator Andrew Gordon (who worked on "Monsters Inc.," "Little Nemo," "The Incredibles," and so on) felt a bit of pressure to outdo his co-workers' cubicle craziness. (You can imagine, at a place like Pixar -- which is packed with "creatives" -- just how inventive people get with their work setups.)

Luckily, he discovered a small access hatch in the wall of his office, and -- creative, curious, and mischievous person that he must be -- he wasted no time in doing what many of us probably wouldn't have. He opened it. Then he got on his hands and knees and crawled into it. Then, lo and behold, he discovered a secret "room."… Read more