Someone over at the official British government site Direct.Gov.uk may have watched too many James Bond films.

That or he or she may be still be mesmerized from watching the latest 007 film Skyfall as a posting on the site was briefly put up advertising the exact same job James Bond has.

First noticed by The Verge reader TinyTank, the post was titled Target Elimination Specialist and came with the job code 007.

The post has been erased but not after The Verge managed to get a screenshot of the page. The job announcement says in full:

“Secret Intelligence Service

Target Elimination Specialist

Job Description

From time to time the UK government has a need to remove people whose continued existence poses a risk to the effective conduct of public order. So we require particularly skilled professionals who are prepared to work on a non-attributable basis to deal with these problems.

The role will involve international travel to a number of countries where individuals need to be removed.

The ideal candidate will need to have no particular distinguishing features so as to blend in and be able to take on new identities as required. They will need to be resourceful in finding ways to accomplish their missions and, in some cases, to leave foreign countries by non-conventional means. The role would suit candidates with prior military experience, particularly in the use of sniper rifles.

The job holder will receive all necessary equipment, including passports, special watches, jet packs, mini-submarines and a Walther PPK.

This role is particularly appropriate for those who like their martinis shaken and not stirred.

To apply for this role, please express your interest somewhere in the vicinity of the large and rather fake-looking rock in Regent’s Park.”

The post is evidently a joke but given that it got posted on the official job site run by the UK government, it surely was a well-played one.

According to The Verge, the prankster who completed all the necessary steps and managed to get the prank job post on the official UK government job site is registered using the email mi6recruitment@hotmail.com.

The latest James Bond film, Skyfall, made its world premier on October 23 followed by its release on October 26 in the United Kingdom.

The 23rd 007 film made its debut in the US in November 8.

Via The Verge

Image from waldopepper on Flickr (CC)

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IMAX Corporation and Summit Entertainment, a LIONSGATE company, has announced that The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 will be digitally re-mastered into the immersive IMAX format and released in the UK through Entertainment One in IMAX theatres starting November 16, 2012.

The film will also screen in the IMAX format in select IMAX theatres in other international markets.

The fifth installment of Summit’s Twilight Saga film franchise is directed by Bill Condon and stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner.

“IMAX’s participation in 2010 on the release of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse was a success, so we’re thrilled to continue this productive collaboration,” said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairs Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger. “IMAX delivers a unique and memorable experience that is the perfect way to celebrate this special movie-going event.”

“The Twilight Saga franchise and its passionate fans deserve an epic send-off,” said Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. “We’re excited to present the saga, larger than life, in IMAX.”

The IMAX release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience with proprietary IMAX DMR (Digital Re-mastering) technology.

The crystal-clear images coupled with IMAX’s customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

The Twilight Saga film series stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner and tells the story of 17-year-old Bella Swan who moves to the small town of Forks, Wash. to live with her father. She soon becomes drawn to Edward Cullen, a pale, mysterious classmate who seems determined to push her away. Neither can deny the attraction that pulls them together…even when Edward confides that he and his family are vampires.

The action-packed, modern-day vampire love story Twilight, the first film in the series, was released in theatres on Nov. 21, 2008 to a blockbuster reception.

The second installment of the film franchise, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, was released Nov. 20, 2009, the third installment, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, was released June 30, 2010, and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 was released on Nov. 18, 2011.

IMAX Corporation is one of the world’s leading entertainment and technology companies, specializing in the creation and delivery of premium, awe-inspiring entertainment experiences.

With a growing suite of cutting-edge motion picture and sound technologies, and a globally recognized entertainment brand, IMAX is singularly situated at the convergence of the entertainment industry, innovation and the digital media world.

Source: IMAX Corporation

Image: Martin Pettitt, via Flickr (CC)

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As Felix Baumgartner broke the world record for a free fall jump from higher than 120,000 feet today, Sunday, October 14 in space — becoming the first person to free fall while breaking the sound barrier — the National Geographic Channel and BBC detailed every second with more than 20 cameras.

The footage will be combined with exclusive behind-the-scenes access following Baumgartner’s four-year metamorphosis from an elite BASE jumper to an extreme altitude specialist who can think and act like an astronaut.

Space Dive will premiere on the National Geographic Channel this November.

Four years in the making, Space Dive allows viewers to witness a mission fraught with epic challenges as a team of leading experts in medicine, science and engineering push the boundaries of science to design and to build the equipment needed to get Baumgartner to the edge of space and back safely.

The Red Bull Stratos mission served to further the progress of aerospace safety, including the development of a new generation of space suits and parachute systems, the development of protocols for exposure to high altitude, and supersonic acceleration and deceleration.

Setting records for the highest balloon ascent, highest parachute jump, and fastest speed by a human through the atmosphere, Baumgartner’s epic journey ended with him raising the flag of the National Geographic Society.

“Felix is an explorer in the truest sense of the word, and National Geographic Channel was honored to be a part of this mission,” said Michael Cascio, EVP of Programming for the National Geographic Channel.

“And while the project itself is obviously groundbreaking, our exclusive inside access adds unique insight and perspective into this four-year journey, and is sure to thrill our viewers.”

In August 1960, Colonel Joe Kittinger took one of humankind’s first steps towards space exploration.

Leaping from 102,800 feet, Kittinger fell for 4 minutes and 36 seconds, reaching a speed of 614 mph, setting records for the highest balloon ascent, highest parachute jump and fastest speed by a human through the atmosphere.

Kittinger, now 83, was one of many experts who trained Baumgartner to overcome the many challenges required and to break the records he set as a young test pilot for the benefit of the aerospace community.

The near vacuum of the stratosphere and the perils of travelling faster than the speed of sound make Baumgartner’s space dive all the more audacious.

Since Kittinger’s record-setting jump in 1960, two men have died in similar attempts.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHtvDA0W34I

NGC cameras on the ground in cooperation with the prototype high-altitude and ground-based tracking cameras developed by the Red Bull Media House were there to capture all of the physical and aptitude training that Baumgartner undertook, as well as his test jumps from 71,522 feet and 96,637 feet.

While wrestling with a dangerous claustrophobic reaction to his pressure suit that could have jeopardized the mission and ultimately cost him his life, Baumgartner had to endure countless and often times discouraging operational tests in the pressurized suit.

With breathtaking footage of the jump itself, viewers will be able to share in Felix’s experience every step of the way: launching from the New Mexico desert; climbing 24 miles in a space capsule suspended below a 55-story helium balloon; stepping out at 128,100 feet to see the curvature of the earth; and finally free-falling through the stratosphere at over 700 mph, exceeding the speed of sound with his own body.

Space Dive is a co-production between the BBC, Red Bull Media House and National Geographic Channel.

For BBC, Gary Hunter is the executive producer.

For National Geographic Channel, Richard J. Wells is the Executive Producer, Charlie Parsons, the Vice President in Charge of Production/Development; the Executive in Charge of Production is Michael Cascio.

Source: National Geographic Channels

Image: Kansir, via Flickr (CC)

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25 years after hit movie Full Metal Jacket which starred Mathew Modine and was directed by Stanley Kubrick was released, the crew and cast of this war-time epic movie have another reason to celebrate. The Full Metal Jacket Diary, initially published as a limited edition book in 2005 has been developed into an iPad application. Readers can now access the book anytime they want to read it.

Full Metal Jacket Diary

The diary was written by actor Modine, who was encouraged by Kubrick to keep a diary as part of his research for his role as a war reporter for Stars and Stripes. The whole experience, which Modine describes as “amazing”, took about two years of his life.

WIRED’s Gadget Lab describes this latest version of the book as “about as close to a behind-the-scenes documentary as you can get without actual video.” In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Modine says that the constant encouragement he received from Kubrick to read his diary in front of the cast and crew during the production days pushed him to be a better writer. He says that 25 years on, he still feels that Full Metal Jacket is as significant a film as it was when it was released in 1987.

In other news, it seems that Kubrick’s two unfilmed screen plays will have their day soon. Funded by Entertainment One, these two films are already in production, one as a TV Movie and the other as a miniseries. This is obviously good news for Kubrick fans who eagerly await the release of these two flicks.

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MyVidster has been found not guilty for allegedly embedding a copyright-infringing video on another website in a court of appeals ruling.

U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner has concluded and ruled that no deed of infringement was seen on the actions of the social video-bookmarking site against porn production company Flava Works.

Flava Works has allegedly accused MyVidster for illegally embedding copyright-infringing versions of its content from third-party websites.

It was in 2010 when the porn production company filed a case against the bookmarking site, which was bound for preliminary sanction as enacted by a lower court in 2011. However, the decision was recently reversed by the court of appeals.

The court ruling has found out that MyVidster only offers links to versions hosted in another site on the Web since it “doesn’t touch the data stream” and thus, doesn’t host the infringing video.

It further stated that MyVidster was “not encouraging swapping, which in turn encourages infringement.”

The New York-based bookmarking site simply provides addresses by listing shows and providing the playhouse name and location to web surfers who seek to gain entertainment. It is not “transmitting or communicating” them.

As to the question whether MyVidster has done any unlawful act or not, let us recall the establishment of the contact information transmission or communication. Considering myVidster as a direct infringer would make it unclear to distinguish the difference between direct and contributory infringement. This would eventually make the provider of such information an infringer despite having no knowledge that pointing a visitor to his website was copyrighted.

Meanwhile, several firms have handed their support towards MyVidster. Both Google and Facebook filed papers arguing that sites similar to theirs should not be held accountable for uploaded copyright material to their servers from users, and should be perceived as merely intermediaries, taking the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) safe harbor as defense. Another supporter is the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which has also filed an amicus brief in support of the site.

On the other hand, The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) defended Flava Works, and in turn filed a brief to the appeals court, advising the sustainability of the lower court’s injunction.

As to the effect of such case in other litigations remains a doubt. Taking into account for illustration’s sake is 23-year old TV-Shack site operator Richard O’Dwyer, who is facing copyright infringement accusations for offering links to other websites hosting uploaded copyrighted television programs and movies, rather than hosting the content itself. O’Dwyer will be deported from the U.K. for litigation in the U.S.

Image: Andrew Allingham via Flickr (CC)

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Some Twitter users didn't know the Titanic was real (Image: Will Write for Food (CC) via Flickr)

Twitter has caught on with the Titanic 3D fever as tweets from all over are buzzing about the release of the 3D version of this film directed by James Cameron. Twitter tweets also show how the film had people talking that it has already been 100 years since the “unsinkable” ship hit an iceberg and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean.

On the other hand, there are tweets as well that show ignorance. Some people tweet that they did not know the true story that is Titanic, that it was a real big boat and not just fiction from James Cameron’s mind.

Keith Andrews, a Pocketgamer, created a document collecting several tweets from users saying that they were surprised that the Titanic is indeed a real ship in history.

One Twitter user asked if it is bad he/she didn’t know that the boat was real. One user said that a cruise is definitely one he or she would never ride.

It makes one wonder if these Twitter netizens are joking, because in many schools, the Titanic disaster helps portray irony, and it seems common knowledge enough, especially when the film first screened in 1997.

The Titanic hashtag #TITANIC from the History Channel feed gives tweets following real time scenario to the short 5-day voyage of the ship. Furthermore, Ancestry.com opened up Titanic archives for a limited time, April 9-15, 2012.

Source: Washington Post

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Screenvision introduces Screenfanz, an application that allows moviegoers a more interactive experience during the theater pre-show. (Image: Mike Flacy via digitaltrends.com)

Screenvision, a company that ventures on cinema advertisements, is letting moviegoers use their mobile smartphones during the early screenings of 2,400 theaters across the USA.

With the Screenfanz iOS application developed by Screenvision, moviegoers that come early in the theater can play games using their smartphones.

Users try to gain as much points as they can, and they do so by rating movies outside the theater, answering trivia problems shown on the theater screen, taking weekly quizzes or simply checking in the theater house.

During April to September, there will be six giveaway periods, by which the number of points that a Screenfanz user has determines how many entries he or she has to obtain one of fifty reward codes, getting two movie tickets for winners.

Aside from that, Screenvision will also give out 5-dollar concession codes that they can use for concession stands within the theater.

Screenfanz is more than just a gaming app. It is also a movie information app, letting you read the latest movies showing in local movie houses, their show times, and you can even watch trailers of new movies.

Screenvision aims to give moviegoers a more interactive time using their smartphones, and hopefully draw in more advertisers for their company profit.

Source: Digitaltrends

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The tale of 1001 Nights is being used by a South African Documentary depicting the Arab Spring, and gathering support through social media crowd-funding campaigns. (Image: garlandcannon (CC), via Flickr)

A team of filmmakers from South Africa is currently in the process of finish their film, a documentary showing events that have recently transpired in Middle East and the Maghreb, using the help of social media to realize a campaign funding to finish their film.

What happened during the past 18 months has been described as the “Arab Spring.” This is one of two major events that unfolded during the time frame, with the other one being the fall of dictators such as Mubarak and Gaddafi. Countries involved in this spring include Syria, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Egypt and Morocco.

The Arab Spring is a welling up of creativity from a once repressed region, and this new political and social revolution reflects through the documentary filmed by Neil Brandt, Shameela Seedatand Francois Verster of South Africa.

The film, which was first started in 2006, shows that this creativity boost is not new, but is rather rooted during the early histories of the region, in the form of stories; in particular 1001 Nights, a.k.a. Arabian Nights. The story tells of Shahrazad, a princess who tells stories and saves lives in the process.

The documentary will be finished by October, with funding from The Sundance Documentary Fund, Jan Vrijman Documentary Fund, Spier Films and NFVF. However, since the film needs more funding to finish, the directors initiated a campaign for crowd-funding through Social Media.

Brandt says that this is the first time among South African film directors, using social media for film financing, and he hopes that funding approach through this platform will be a success.

Source: Mediaupdate.co.za

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