Gaming, Entertainment, Hollywood and Celebrity News

Gaming, Entertainment, Hollywood and Celebrity News: Sydney casino, Spider-Man movie, movie ratings, The Wolverine, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, James Bond 007 in Skyfall, Highest paid actors includes "The Rock" and more...

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Australia's Lend Lease: development could host small-scale casino...

A planned $6 billion development on Sydney Harbour does not have space for a large casino but could cater for smaller-scale VIP gaming, developer Lend Lease said on Monday, which would suit a proposal put forward by billionaire James Packer.

Packer outlined a plan for an international hotel and casino at Barangaroo, on Sydney's waterfront, after his company Crown Ltd doubled its stake in its main rival, Echo Entertainment, which owns Sydney's sole casino.

Crown wants to raise its stake in Echo to 25 percent from 10 percent, as part of its plans to lobby for a second Sydney casino licence to attract more Asian high-rollers.

The developer of the site, Lend Lease, said on Monday it could focus more on plans for the hotel after announcing it has secured A$2 billion ($2.04 billion) funding for the first two commercial towers at its flagship project, including A$1 billion committed by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Lend Lease chief executive Steve McCann said the site did not have the capacity for a mass-market casino.

"If there was going to be anything in the tower with any gaming capacity, it would be VIP-style gaming," he told analysts on a conference call.

The New South Wales state government would need to approve any gaming licence, since Echo currently holds Sydney's exclusive casino licence until 2019. The state government previously welcomed Packer's proposal as a boost to tourism.

Lend Lease has said it is in talks with a number of hotel groups for the site, including Crown.

Shares in Crown gained 1.5 percent in morning trade and Lend Lease was up 0.3 percent, against a broader market down 0.8 percent. (Reuters)

'Amazing Spider-Man' Tops Box Office, Snares $140 Million Over Six Days...

After a record-setting opening day, "The Amazing Spider-Man" remained strong through the weekend, helping the Sony/Columbia production earn $140 million in less than a week in theaters. Oliver Stone's "Savages" also opened with a decent $16 million in revenue, though music documentary "Katy Perry: Part of Me" struggled to find an audience and racked up just $7 million. Seth MacFarlane's "Ted" also continued to hit with its target demographic, hauling in $32 million and pushing its 10-day total to an enormous $120 million in domestic revenue.

With a $230 million production budget and a very large built-in fan base, expectations were understandably high for "The Amazing Spider-Man." The Sony/Columbia reboot didn't take long to find its audience, racking up $35 million in revenue on Tuesday alone and putting up solid numbers throughout the rest of the week. "The Amazing Spider-Man" ended up with $65 million in weekend revenue, helping it to hit the lofty industry expectations.

Globally, "The Amazing Spider-Man" also got off to a good start by bringing in more than $200 million in revenue outside of the U.S. After already eclipsing $340 million worldwide, "The Amazing Spider-Man" will easily cruise past $500 million in worldwide revenue in the coming weeks, though it's still unclear whether it will be able to challenge the franchise-best $890 million that "Spider-Man 3" brought in. Without any major new competition until "The Dark Knight Rises" opens in a couple weeks, "Spider-Man" should remain a box office stalwart and continue to put up some big overall numbers throughout the rest of the month.

As mainstream action audiences came out in droves to see the new version of "Spider-Man," older audience members turned up for Oliver Stone's thriller "Savages." Backed by some decent critical reviews, "Savages" ended up with a decent $16 million in opening revenue - a strong total for a $45 million production. "Savages" also doesn't have to worry about too much new competition next weekend, opening the door for another decent revenue haul.

While "Spider-Man" and "Savages" mainly hit with their target demographics, "Katy Perry: Part of Me" wasn't quite as fortunate. "Katy Perry" managed just $7.15 million over the weekend and $10.25 million in its first four days following its Thursday release. Though these are unimpressive numbers for a release of more than 2,700 total venues, "Katy Perry" also comes with a slender production budget of just $12 million. "Katy Perry" won't end up as one of the most lucrative music documentaries released in recent years, but it should end up as an overall success for distributor Paramount.

Aiming at a much different demographic than "Katy Perry" this weekend was "Ted," which headed into its second weekend with plenty of buzz. After dominating the box office a week ago and posting $54 million, "Ted" dipped just 40% from its opening totals and finished the weekend with $32 million. Now with $120 million domestically in just 10 days in theaters, "Ted" is easily the top R-rated hit of the year and might even challenge $200 million in the U.S. if it can remain strong in the coming weekends.

Also continuing to hit with its intended audience was Pixar/Disney's "Brave." "Brave" earned $20 million in its third weekend in theaters, pushing it to a very solid $174 million in its first 17 days. Foreign numbers have been slow so far for "Brave," though that should also change as it gets released in its biggest overseas markets in the coming weekends. The only real problem for "Brave" is the impending release of "Ice Age: Continental Drift," which opens this weekend with an enormous built-in family audience.

Next weekend, the release schedule will slow down, as "Ice Age: Continental Drift" is the only new title slated to hit theaters in wide release. Though not as touted as some other animated franchises, "Ice Age" has been a great success for Fox, with enormous worldwide revenues despite production budgets roughly half the size of Pixar releases. The following weekend, Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" brings a similar amount of hype as "The Avengers" and is a lock to dominate the box office well into August.

Early Studio Box Office Estimates for 7/6/12 - 7/8/12 (In Millions):

1. The Amazing Spider-Man (Sony/Columbia): $65 [$70]

2. Ted (Universal): $32.59 [$32]

3. Brave (Disney): $20.16 [$18]

4. Savages (Universal): $16.16 [$13.5]

5. Magic Mike (Warner Brothers): $15.61 [$21]

6. Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection (Lionsgate): $10.20 [$11.5]

7. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (Paramount/Dreamworks): $7.70 [$6.4]

8. Katy Perry: Part of Me (Paramount): $7.15 [$13]

9. Moonrise Kingdom (Focus): $4.64 [$2.6]

10. To Rome with Love (Sony Classics): $3.50 [N/A]

Hugh Jackman Joined By Six Additions to Cast of The Wolverine...

If director James Mangold's (3:10 to Yuma) The Wolverine hadn't been beset by weather, script and scheduling problems — title star Hugh Jackman opted to star in the musical version of Les Miserables rather than wait for those issues to be sorted out — the movie would currently be in post-production, with potentially enough edited footage to offer at least a teaser at this week's San Diego Comic-Con. As it is, Mangold is spending his time in the casting room, rather than the editing room, as he tries to put together a cast to support Jackman. In the last several days, six actors have joined the cast of The Wolverine, which takes Logan (Jackman) far away from his X-Men teammates and his wilderness retreat in Canada to Japan, where he must fight against the Silver Samurai and the deadly Hand ninjas at his command.

Written by Chris McQuarrie (Valkyrie), with rewrites by Mark Bomback (Live Free or Die Hard), The Wolverine is based on the classic Marvel Comics limited series Wolverine by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, creator of Sin City and 300. The series stripped away Wolverine's superhero trappings and thrust him into a Japanese underworld brimming with feudal warriors and mystical ninjas. According to the list compiled by Empire from various sources, the cast will include: Hiroyuki Sanada (Speed Race) as Japanese crimelord Shingen Harada, leader of Clan Yashida; Tao Okamoto as Shingen's daughter and Wolverine's love interest, Mariko Yashida; Will Yun Lee (Total Recall remake) as Mariko's mutant half-brother, Kenuichio Harada, a.k.a. the Silver Samurai; Rila Fukushima as Yukio, an assassin who drugs Wolverine before his duel with Shingen; Hal Yamanouchi (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) as Yashida; and Brian Tee (Wedding Palace) as Noboru Mori, a corrupt minister of justice betrothed to Mariko.

The Wolverine is set to begin shooting next month. It will primarily be filmed in Jackman's native Australia, but will also shoot on location in Japan.

Next Showing:The Wolverine is slated to open July 26, 2013 (Reelz)


Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson In Highest Paid Actors List...

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was listed at #4 on the Forbes annual list of the highest paid actors in the world over the past year. Johnson was reported as earning $36 million this past year, behind only Tom Cruise ($75 million), Leonardo DiCaprio ($37 million) and Adam Sandler ($37 million).


Bwin.party warns over 'predictable' Euro 2012 results...

Bwin.party digital entertainment, the world’s largest listed online gaming company, said a run of “predictable” results in the Euro 2012 football championships marred an otherwise “solid” second quarter performance.

The football tournament, in which all of the favourites progressed to the later stages, is believed to have hit the betting industry hard this summer.

Bwin said customer numbers and activity rose during the tournament but gross margins were “lower than expected”.

Despite this, the online gambling group said its casino and bingo products helped offset the weakness in sports betting and “continued pressures” in poker.

Bwin had been in negotiations with Shuffle Master (NasdaqGS: SHFL - news) to offload Ongame, its poker network, but talks were aborted at the end of last month after the two sides failed to reach agreement.

In a pre-close trading update on Tuesday, bwin said several parties were interested in buying Ongame.

The group claims it has reached a top three market position in Spain, where online gaming was recently opened up by authorities.

Looking ahead, the company warned gaming taxes in Germany and an investment in social games games that are played through sites such as Facebook would impact its performance in the second half. (News Corp)


Zynga is “all in” to acquire Bwin.party-owned poker business Ongame: Report...

Social gaming juggernaut Zynga is poised to take over online poker provider Ongame Network from its current owner, Internet gambling powerhouse Bwin.party.

An exclusive report from eGaming Review (eGR) – behind a paywall – says Zynga is ‘leading the race’ to acquire Ongame, although there are four other unnamed bidders at the table (poker pun intended).

Zynga has made a ‘verbal offer’, according to eGR’s sources, and have reportedly visited Ongame’s Stockholm headquarters last Friday.

Gambling table and slot machine maker Shuffle Master had already agreed and announced that it would be purchasing for up to $38.9 million in cash in February 2012, but it dropped those plans last week.

Interestingly, Shuffle Master said it would pay out 10 million euros ($12.6 million) of that total purchase price within five years of the transaction closing, provided that real-money online poker would be legal in the United States within such period – something that will happen eventually but is taking time.

Not familiar with Ongame? Here’s what they do, according to their website:

Ongame is the world’s leading B2B online poker provider, serving partnes including bwin, Betfair, Betsson and Unibet. Reaching over 20 million customers in more than 25 markets, with an international network licensed in Gibraltar, as well as regional networks in Italy and France.

Ongame is the premier choice for sportsbook operators, providing a poker environment optimized for recreational players and a proven track record of increasing partner revenues.

Ongame claims P5, the game engine powering its poker offering, is the ‘most advanced poker engine ever designed’.

The company is owned by Bwin.party as a result of an earlier merger, and has been dubbed by the latter as a ‘surplus asset’.

Zynga of course offers a wildly popular poker game called – wait for it – Zynga Poker, which can be played on Zynga.com, Facebook, iOS and Android devices.

In fact, Zynga Poker was the company’s very first game.

It certainly makes a lot of sense for them to buy Ongame Networks, even if it’s to keep it out of the hands of other players looking to move online with poker games as soon as it becomes legal in the US, and the company certainly has the cash on hand to make this kind of acquisition.


'Amazing Spider-Man' finishes weekend with $62M...

LOS ANGELES (AP) "The Amazing Spider-Man" had a slightly slower start at the box office than initially estimated, taking in $62 million domestically over opening weekend.

The final numbers Monday came in $3 million lower than the $65 million that distributor Sony had projected a day earlier, but it still was a healthy start for the new take on the Marvel Comics superhero.

Since opening last Tuesday, "The Amazing Spider-Man" has taken in $137 million domestically. Its worldwide total is about $340 million since it began rolling out overseas the previous week.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:

1. "The Amazing Spider Man," Sony, $62,004,688, 4,318 locations, $14,360 average, $137,022,258, one week.

2. "Ted," Universal, $32,202,395, 3,256 locations, $9,890 average, $119,849,740, two weeks.

3. "Brave," Disney, $19,612,370, 3,891 locations, $5,040 average, $173,969,341, three weeks.

4. "Savages," Universal, $16,016,910, 2,628 locations, $6,095 average, $16,016,910, one week.

5. "Magic Mike," Warner Bros., $15,642,337, 3,120 locations, $5,014 average, $72,829,107, two weeks.

6. "Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection," Lionsgate, $10,177,029, 2,161 locations, $4,709 average, $45,822,984, two weeks.

7. "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted," Paramount, $7,520,690, 2,861 locations, $2,629 average, $195,905,126, five weeks.

8. "Katy Perry: Part of Me," Paramount, $7,138,266, 2,730 locations, $2,615 average, $10,240,213, one week.

9. "Moonrise Kingdom," Focus Features, $4,519,195, 884 locations, $5,112 average, $26,780,989, seven weeks.

10. "To Rome with Love," Sony Pictures Classics, $3,104,328, 806 locations, $3,852 average, $4,863,538, three weeks.

11. "People Like Us," Disney, $2,194,535, 2,055 locations, $1,068 average, $9,190,902, two weeks.

12. "The Avengers," Disney, $2,168,124, 1,125 locations, $1,927 average, $611,127,884, 10 weeks.

13. "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," Fox, $1,944,534, 1,657 locations, $1,174 average, $34,050,910, three weeks.

14. "Prometheus," Fox, $1,815,500, 1,105 locations, $1,643 average, $122,390,274, five weeks.

15. "Snow White & the Huntsman," Universal, $1,768,355, 1,152 locations, $1,535 average, $149,756,565, six weeks.

16. "Men in Black 3," Sony, $1,680,714, 879 locations, $1,912 average, $173,089,690, seven weeks.

17. "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," Fox Searchlight, $741,091, 359 locations, $2,064 average, $41,991,873, 10 weeks.

18. "Rock of Ages," Warner Bros., $639,406, 701 locations, $912 average, $36,974,619, four weeks.

19. "That's My Boy," Sony, $621,656, 400 locations, $1,554 average, $36,100,833, four weeks.

20. "Bol Bachchan," FIP, $561,996, 98 locations, $5,735 average, $561,996, one week.

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.


Broker snap: Taxing times for bwin.party, says Peel Hunt...

Peel Hunt has pared its target price for online gaming group bwin.party digital entertainment from 140p to 124p and maintained its ‘hold’ rating on the stock.

‘The H1 pre-close held few surprises and no real catalyst to get the shares moving. At the current point the rating reflects concerns about Germany and a lack of visibility in many of the group’s markets,’ said analyst Nick Batram.

‘This is unlikely to change in the short term and further downgrades reflect the uncertain margin environment.’

The broker says that the uncertain regulatory backdrop continues to hit the bottom line, with federal sports taxes in Germany set to reduce EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) by EUR5-10m.

Peel Hunt has reduced its clean EBITDA forecast by EUR10m to EUR165m for the year ending December 2012. The 2013 EBITDA estimate has been cut from EUR196m to EUR175m.

‘While regulation is the main factor, the business’s underlying performance is also a growing concern, particularly the rate at which poker is going backwards,’ Batram said.

Shares were down 3.25% at 104.3p by 10:56 on Tuesday.


Roger Moore croons 007 birthday song...

PARIS — One-time 007 Roger Moore has teamed up with a former Bond Girl to record a song marking 50 years of the spy's on-screen adventures, a James Bond fan club said on Wednesday.

The 84-year-old British actor took over Bond film duties from Sean Connery in 1973, making his debut in "Live and Let Die" before completing the sequence with "A View to a Kill" 12 years later.

He teamed up with Irka Bochenko, his co-star in the 1979 film "Moonraker", for the anniversary duet titled "Happy Birthday Mr. Bond!", the spy's French fan club told AFP.

Extracts will be posted online at www.jamesbond007.net ahead of the record's release in September.

Hundreds of items -- from tuxedos to bikinis and vodka martinis -- went on show at London's Barbican Centre last week to mark 50 years since Bond made the jump from Ian Fleming's novels to the silver screen with the 1962 "Dr No".

The next Bond movie, "Skyfall", directed by Sam Mendes with Daniel Craig as the glamorous spy, will hit world screens from October.

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Pro Wrestling: Movie connection; Hollywood and Entertainment news; Spider-Man inspired by masked luchadors

Pro Wrestling; Movie connection; Hollywood and Entertainment news; Spider-Man Inspired By Masked Luchadors...

The Media Man agency has another piledriver and bodyslamming look at the connection between Hollywood movies and professional wrestling. WWE and Marvel comic book - Spider-Man fans once again cheer on their masked heroes and some even get the guts to play the Spider-Man online games, in this web of extreme entertainment.

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Spider-Man Inspired By Masked Luchadors...

In The Amazing Spider-Man, which hit theaters Tuesday, Peter Parker is inspired to create a mask after winding up inside a wrestling ring surrounded by posters of masked luchadors. It is not the first wrestling connection in the movie franchise as in the premiere film released in 2002, Peter enters a wrestling tournament and squares off against a character portrayed by the late Randy "Macho Man" Savage.


Spider-Man movie has strong ties to pro wrestling; "Macho Man" Randy Savage connection...

The Amazing Spider-Man was released during the Independence Day week and so far the flick has performed well, netting in $35 U.S million on its opening day.

While the record-setting Tuesday opening is awesome, it is something else which has pro wrestling fans excited about the latest reboot of the superhero franchise.

In the original film, starring Tobey Maguire, we witnessed Spider-Man enter a pro wrestling match in order to win a sum of cash which would allow him to purchase a used car he thought would impress Mary Jane.

Initially, Peter Parker wanted to be called The Human Spider, but Bruce Campbell put a stop to that nonsense and sent him down to the ring as Spider-Man.

As if seeing the man most famously known as Ash Williams wasn't enough, we were treated to a second cameo within seconds.

Spidey was facing off against Bonesaw McGraw, who was played by the late, great Randy "Macho Man" Savage.

It was here where Spidey first faced off against a foe who put him through hell.

This cameo by the legendary "Macho Man" was warmly welcomed by wrestling fans who had missed Savage. The new film, featuring Andrew Garfield as the webby one has gone back to its roots and given Peter Parker another wrestling-based inspiration.

At one point in the film Peter Parker is walking away from a group of hoodlums he had just schooled when he falls through a roof, landing in the middle of a wrestling ring.

When he stood up and looked around he saw what provided him with the inspiration for his signature mask.

The small arena was filled with signs featuring Lucha Libre masks, one of which catches Parker's eye more than the others.

The mask is red with dark-colored designs surrounding the eyes, nearly an exact copy of Spidey's look sans the webbing all over the face area.

Director Marc Webb made a lot of wrestling fans happy by inserting another inspiration for Spider-Man which is based in the world of pro wrestling.

Wrestling fans and comic book fans have a large cross over audience which these film makers have smartly plugged into - further casting their own web, to help increase net profits of course.

Comics and pro wrestling have a few elements in common. They both feature people dressed in fancy outfits, have signature attacks / finishing moves, and have a good VS evil theme for the most part.

Both Marc Webb and Sam Raimi chose to use wrestling as a launching pad for Peter Parker is also another point that wrestling fans are high on.

This latest part of the Hollywood - pro wrestling connection has gone over well and may even lead to the wrestling themes been further cast out in the Hollywood movie web and the movie industry wrestles attempting to get back some of the glory and money it used to make.


Marvel Entertainment Movies: Amazing Spider-Man, Thor 2, The Avengers Et Al Boost Popularity Of Marvel Slot Games...

The Media Man agency reports that Marvel themed online slot games across the network, and featured at partner, PartyCasino.com , are boosting the popularity of the superhero themed online slot games. Bwin.Party currently offers The Incredible Hulk, Thor, The Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four, with more expected to soon hit the popular gaming and entertainment website destination.


WWE Keen To Work With UFC Fighter; Ties To C.M Punk And "Stone Cold" Steve Austin...

Various news media is reporting that WWE is interested in working with 35 year old UFC fighter "The American Gangster" Chael Sonnen. Sonnen lost to Anderson Silva at Saturday's UFC 148 pay-per-view but word is that WWE is ready to negotiate. No word yet if they want him to wrestle or play another kind of role.

Sonnen has ties to WWE as he is mates with WWE Champion CM Punk. Punk was ready to accompany Sonnen to the Octagon for a fight several months back but that was nixed.

Sonnen is also close to WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin. Austin has been bringing Sonnen out to his Broken Skull Ranch in Texas to help him with strength and conditioning training.


UFC 148: Chael Sonnen's Coach Planned Appeal, Demands Rematch from UFC Top Brass Dana White...

Although middleweight contender Chael Sonnen seemed to accept his loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 148, we have learned that Sonnen's team is less forgiving of Silva's potentially illegal tactics. They think that a knee strike to a seated Sonnen, which hit the challenger in the chest, also connected solidly with Sonnen's face, making it an illegal strike.

"Chael's not the kind of guy who likes to complain after a fight," Sonnen's head trainer Scott McQuarry said. "I felt I needed to take this action to protect him. At the point of impact, Anderson had his hand locked in the cage and his feet left the ground. We believe his intentions were clear.

"We started the process of filing a complaint with the Nevada Athletic Commission. We believe the knee that Anderson Silva threw was illegal with the clear intent to strike the face. And it did in fact connect with the face. Chael bit his tongue and needed eight stitches."

McQuarry believes the potentially illegal knee changed the remainder of the fight, creating the opening for Silva to finish the bout with punches. After contacting Nevada Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer to determine how to proceed, he was informed that filing a complaint would almost certainly not result in the fight being declared a no contest.

Rather, McQuarry is taking his case to the fans and UFC president Dana White.

"What I'm going to do is change my tactic," McQuarry said. "We're going to ask for a rematch. We deserve a rematch. If the only way Anderson Silva can win is by cheating, we need to keep a closer eye on Silva before and during a fight. And we need a rematch now. Legal knee or illegal knee, there's enough doubt with all the fouls to warrant a rematch."

In addition to the knee strike, Silva was also caught rubbing Vaseline on his chest. Although referee Yves Lavigne caught this, McQuarry says that the substance sinks into the pores, making simply wiping it off ineffective. Additionally, Silva was warned twice for grabbing Sonnen's shorts during the fight.

"I think it did make a difference in the outcome," McQuarry said. "I know that Chael grabbed Silva's shorts briefly too in response, but not for 15 seconds and two punches."

While Sonnen and his team weigh their options, McQuarry hopes the people will make their voices heard.

"They need to call the UFC. We need a rematch. Chael is a great champion and deserves a fair fight."

In the meantime Sonnen is understood to be keen to further open up lines of communication with the WWE, and this will likely be facilitated by friends in the business including "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and C.M Punk.

Right not Sonnen is hot property and is doing well to keep his name in the press as excitement grows as to what next for this unique and tough as nails talent.


WWE Legend Bob Backlund May Return To WWE RAW Tonight...

Former two time WWF Champion Bob Backlund is heavily expected to be the returning “main event” legend during tonight’s WWE Raw SuperShow. The likelihood is he will be wrestling or at the very least will be involved in an angle with Heath Slater, as has been the segments in previous weeks involving Vader, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Psycho Sid and Doink The Clown and "Diamond" Dallas Page.

News media reports that Backlund was visiting his mother at her Minnesota rest home this past weekend and was telling people there that he was heading to fly right out to Denver, Colardo, which is the location for tonight’s WWE Raw SuperShow.

Backlund last appeared on WWE television back in 2007 at the RAW 15th anniversary show that December where he participated in a Battle Royal. That appearance came just a few short months after Backlund defeated Alex Shelley at TNA’s Slammiversary pay-per-view and also after wrestled at TNA Victory Road.

62-year-old Backlund holds the record for the second longest WWF title reign in history and was one of the biggest wrestling stars of the late 70′s and early 80′s. He had a second, less successful stint with the WWF in the early 90′s and even appeared in the Attitude Era at the 2000 Royal Rumble and briefly managed former Olympian Kurt Angle.

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Charlie Sheen socially Raw on USA Network...

Social Media Ambassador for Raw’s historic 1,000 episode

WWE® (NYSE: WWE) announced Charlie Sheen, star of the highly anticipated FX comedy series “Anger Management,” as the Social Media Ambassador for Monday Night Raw’s historic 1000th episode live at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST July 23 on USA Network.

Sheen will tweet during Raw, providing up-to-the-minute commentary on the night’s action to his 7.5-million Twitter followers. Sheen has more than 12-million fans combined on the social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

WWE fans and Sheen followers can ask the actor questions during the broadcast via Twitter using the #SheenGetsRaw hashtag.

In “Anger Management,” Sheen stars as Charlie, a non-traditional therapist specializing in anger management. He has a successful private practice, holding sessions with his group of primary patients each week, as well as performing pro bono counseling for an inmate group at a state prison. Selma Blair, Shawnee Smith, Daniela Bobadilla, Michael Arden and Noureen DeWulf co-star.

The series premiere of “Anger Management” starts Thursday, June 28 with the first two episodes airing at 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

• WWE’s 1,000 episode of Raw on July 23 will debut a three-hour format.

• Follow Charlie Sheen on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @CharlieSheen.

• Follow WWE on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @WWE.


WWE teams with ION for new Wednesday night show...

“WWE Main Event” debuts Oct. 3 on ION Television

WWE (NYSE: WWE) and ION Television announced a new weekly one-hour original series airing 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST on Wednesdays.

“WWE Main Event” will debut on Oct. 3 and feature WWE superstars and divas from the rosters of Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown. The new show will be available in 100 million U.S. television households on ION Television, a top-rated general entertainment network that features a broad mix of critically acclaimed series, movies and original programming.

“ION Television is delighted to begin a new partnership with such a successful and well-recognized franchise as WWE,” Brandon Burgess, CEO, ION Media Networks, said in a release. “As a general entertainment network with a solid foundation, ‘WWE Main Event’ is a great addition to our lineup that features something for everyone. We look forward to introducing our ION audience to all of the excitement and drama WWE has to offer as well as welcoming a passionate new fan base to the network.”

WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon said: “WWE looks forward to this new partnership with ION Television. We are excited about producing this new television show, ‘WWE Main Event,’ and bringing our fans to ION Television every Wednesday.”

“WWE Main Event” will feature in-ring action and fit seamlessly in storylines from Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown, making Wednesday night appointment viewing for fans. The new series will offer a big arena experience with live audiences like current WWE weekly programs. Check you cable, satellite or dish outlet for channel availability.

• WWE celebrates its amazing 1,000 episode of Raw at 8 p.m. Monday, July 23 on the USA Network. The show will debut Raw’s three-hour format.

• Visit www.wwe.com and www.iontelevision.com.


Roddy Piper Talks 1000th Raw, Cyndi Lauper, Rock & Wrestling...

In a WWE.com Exclusive, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper discussed his return to Raw along side pop singer Cyndi Lauper.

“Cyndi, oh, we have a long history. We weren’t always on the same side, but to be honest with you, it was a true pleasure,” said Piper.

Piper also addressed the comments he made on Raw in regards to the Rock & Wrestling being the saving grace of WWE.

“If it wasn’t for the Rock & Wrestling connection at that time being so big on TV — you know, they were all cheering [Hulk] Hogan and booing Piper — I don’t know if wrestling would have gotten the huge launching pad that it did,” Piper explained.

“It’s very surreal to think that you were apart of the beginnings of it but I was and I’m proud of it.”

Piper was also asked to address Raw’s 1000th episode which will be coming up, July 23rd.

“The fact that a wrestling program called Raw could be the longest running television show in the history of television, bar nobody — nobody can now say we’re not on the map,” stated Piper. “We’re for real. I have worked all my life to make that happen, along with a lot of other guys that have worked just as hard or harder.”


Brock Lesnar May Be At 1000th RAW...

As noted last week, Lesnar is advertised for RAW on August 13th, the Monday before SummerSlam. He is currently not advertised for any other shows before that.


Sid Vicious Returns To WWE RAW...

Sid Vicious thanked the fans for the ovation he received on RAW tonight, writing on his Twitter, "Thank you for the huge pop on #RAW! Much respect to all of my fans! #MasterAndRulerOfTheWorld ... Off for now. Love being backstage at #RAW. Tweet you tomorrow. Again, THANK YOU EVERYONE!"


Raw social media highest since April...

Monday's WWE Raw episode scored 186,954 in social media activity, which was the highest since April 23 for the episode leading into Extreme Rules hyping Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena. Raw was up 17 percent in social media activity compared to last week's show and topped the yearly average by 14 percent.

Raw still ranked #3 on cable TV, trailing "Love & Hip Hop Atlanta" on VH1 and "Teen Wolf" on MTV. Raw has not taken the top spot on Monday nights since April 9. [ Data Source: Trendrr.TV ]


World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. : WWE® Names Casey Collins EVP of Consumer Products
06/26/2012

WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced the appointment of Casey Collins as Executive Vice President, Consumer Products. Collins will oversee WWE Global Licensing, Home Entertainment and Publishing. He will report directly to WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon.

Prior to joining WWE, Collins was Executive Vice President, Global Licensing & Entertainment at MGA Entertainment, where he oversaw the entertainment, consumer products, retail development and promotions divisions. Before joining MGA Entertainment, Collins spent 10 years at Lucasfilm Ltd., where he was responsible for the management of Lucasfilm's domestic and international licensing and retail merchandise programs.

Collins also spent time as Director of Worldwide Licensing & Motorsports at World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW), where he built and managed WCW's worldwide consumer products program. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business from Florida State University and did post graduate work at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.



The Amazing Spider-Man Video Game Now On Sale: Get 'The Amazing Spider-Man' for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS & Nintendo 3DS!...

If your spider-senses are tinglin’, it’s because "The Amazing Spider-Man" video game has web-slung its way onto retail store shelves today in North America, and will be available in Europe on June 29. From Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc., and Marvel Entertainment, "The Amazing Spider-Man" video game serves as an epilogue story to this summer’s upcoming blockbuster feature film, heralding Spidey’s return to a free-roaming Manhattan as players take the role of a young Peter Parker discovering his newfound powers and super hero responsibilities. "The Amazing Spider-Man" video game is available on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, the Wii system from Nintendo, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS handheld systems.

"Dee Brown and his team at Beenox have completely revamped 'The Amazing Spider-Man's' proprietary game engine to deliver a fresh, innovative gameplay experience for the fans," said David Oxford, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Activision Publishing, Inc. “With the adrenaline rush from just swinging through the city and the new zoomed-in camera angle opening up a whole new perspective in realistic detail, 'The Amazing Spider-Man' allows gamers to BE Spider-Man like never before.”

Go beyond Sony Picture Entertainment’s Columbia Pictures’ feature film and find out what happens next in "The Amazing Spider-Man" video game. Set against an original story crafted by Hollywood writer Seamus Kevin Fahey ("Spartacus: Vengeance," "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena," "Battlestar Galactica") that picks up immediately after the events of the movie, "The Amazing Spider-Man" video game delivers a brand-new, immersive and cinematic adventure allowing fans to truly harness the power of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Players will experience numerous choices in navigation and combat with the debut of the innovative Web Rush gameplay mechanic, pushing Spider-Man’s abilities to the limit against classic Marvel villains that are re-imagined exclusively for the game, such as Scorpion, Felicia Hardy, Rhino, Iguana and more.

“'The Amazing Spider-Man' video game is the ultimate fan tribute to Spider-Man and Manhattan,” said Andreea Enache-Thune, SVP, Games & Digital Distribution, Marvel Entertainment. “We’re thrilled with all of the content and collectibles Activision and Beenox have packed into the game’s free-roaming Manhattan setting, and we can’t wait for fans to web-swing around the city and start saving the world.”

"The Amazing Spider-Man" video game also features fan-favorite talent, including "Evil Dead" and "Burn Notice's" Bruce Campbell taking the role of an “extreme action” reporter who provides death-defying challenges that only Spider-Man can accomplish. And for fans that pre-ordered the game from Amazon, Stan Lee himself is available as a playable character for the first time ever.

Developed by Beenox for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 system, Wii and Nintendo 3DS, "The Amazing Spider-Man" is rated “T” (Teen – content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older) by the ESRB. The Nintendo 3DS edition features several unique mini-games that use its touch-screen abilities, including the exclusive Vigilante Mode using StreetPass. Additionally, Beenox is working on a Windows PC version of the game planned to launch August 10, 2012, which will be available on Steam and integrated with Steam achievements. The Nintendo DS version of the game was created by developer Other Ocean, is rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older – content that may be suitable for ages 10 and older) by the ESRB, and follows the exact same storyline in an entirely different platforming adventure.

For more information on "The Amazing Spider-Man" video game, please go to http://www.TheAmazingSpiderManGame.com, and be sure to check out the game’s Facebook page at http://www.Facebook.com/TheAmazingSpiderManGame (Marvel)


Social Gaming Supplier of the year!...

NextGen Gaming, the independent game studio of the recently formed NYX Gaming Group incorporating NYX Interactive and NextGen Gaming, celebrate landmark eGR B2B Award.

London, May 21st, 2012:

NextGen Gaming is the proud recipient of the inaugural eGR Magazine B2B Award for Social Gaming Supplier of the Year, presented at a lavish dinner event at London’s Wembley Stadium on 10th May 2012. Now in their third year, the awards celebrate the best service providers and B2B operators in the online gaming industry.

The judges recognized NextGen’s unique fully hosted social gaming application which provides Operators with all the tools required to run and operate a play for fun slot site on Facebook, with the Operator managing their marketing. Debuting at the turn of 2012, NextGen have now licensed multiple applications including Trophy Slots, Slots Villa and Slots Point. NextGen’s Social application is fully graphically configurable and offers a swift route to market for any Operator keen to explore the Social space with the finest, mature and proven Slots available anywhere online, including hit titles such as Doctor Love, Mad Mad Monkey and 2012’s Merlin’s Millions Superbet. The platform includes full access to operational back office and reporting of KPI’s, full player data ownership, the lobby, games, integrated Facebook credits and key social features such as leaderboards, levels and badges, gifting, bragging; everything an Operator needs to go Social.

“I’m delighted the judging panel recognized the pioneering and unique product NextGen Gaming have presented to the market in offering the only B2B solution featuring real gamblers games within Facebook” said Sales Director David Johnson, who received the award on behalf of NextGen.

“We’re seeing Operators take the view that Social Media is a crucial marketing tool allowing them to get an in-depth understanding of their player behavior in preparation for specific market sectors opening, drive down CPA costs and to monetize their players outside of the Social environment. Only NextGen Gaming provide the opportunity for Operators to market the same premium Slots in both the Social and real money wagering world.”

Johnson continued ”The award justifies NextGen’s efforts at continuing to provide the best in Slots content via whichever medium our partners’ desire, with titles now available across the Social, Mobile, App Store, Online & land based markets. All delivery variants stay true to NextGen’s core of providing advanced Slots technologies such as true reel bounce, multiple feature sets and rich, bespoke sounds, which offer players true gaming excitement. We look forward to the release of further NextGen Gaming titles across all platforms in the coming months.”

Slots Villa is available at https://apps.facebook.com/slotsvilla
Slots Point is available at: https://apps.facebook.com/slotspoint
Trophy Slots is available at: https://apps.facebook.com/trophyslots


International box office: Madagascar 3 stays in top spot...

For the third straight week, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted remained No. 1 around the world, according to The Hollywood Reporter, drawing $30.1 million from 44 territories for a total of $365.9 million. The animated comedy features the voices of Ben Stiller (Meet The Fockers), Chris
Rock (Grown Ups), and Sacha Baron Cohen (The Dictator), as Alex, Marty and Melman trying to get home to New York via a circus.

At No. 2, Snow White And The Huntsman drew $22.6 million in 60 territories, with its strongest earnings coming from France, Japan and Australia. The action fantasy takeoff of the fairy tale, costarring Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron, has a total of $261.7 million worldwide.

In third place, Pixar's animated Brave, a family-friendly tale about a warrior princess, debuted in 10 markets to earn $13.5 million. In Russia it took 42 percent of the market with $5.6 million, it came in second in Australia with $3.6 million, and in China it took $2.2 million for 17 percent of the market, featuring the voices of Robbie Coltrane and Emma Thompson.

Ranking fourth is Ridley Scott's Prometheus, taking $12.7 million from 61 territories. The sci-fi/action film has grossed more than $577.3 per date on the foreign circuit.

Finishing fifth was Men In Black III, which grabbed another $10.5 million from 75 markets, with Japan in the lead. Director Barry Sonnenfeld's sci-fi 3D comedy costars Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin.

Notable films include the No. 1 film in the UK, The Five-Year Engagement, the romantic comedy costarring Jason Segel and Emily Blunt, which collected $1.8 million; the No. 2 film in Mexico, Tim Burton's Dark Shadows with Johnny Depp for $2.6 million, and The Dictator, starring Sacha Baron Cohen, which debuted in France, pulling in $1.9 million.

Due to the Euro Cup, attendance in theaters is soft across Europe, with the box office seeing between 45% and 70% decreases. The games head into the finals this week and another slow weekend is ahead.


Former AFL star Ben Cousins guilty plea...

Former AFL star Ben Cousins has been fined a total of $800 for drug possession.

The 33-year-old pleaded guilty to three charges after one of the charges was downgraded from intent to sell or supply methamphetamine to simple possession.

Cousins was fined $500 plus $66 costs for possession of 4.56 grams methamphetamine.

He was also fined $150 each for possession of one gram of cannabis and a smoking implement.

Perth Magistrate Steven Heath took into account Cousins' early guilty plea and the fact he had no prior drug convictions.

This was despite the Brownlow medallist's very public battle with drug addiction over the years.

Cousins' lawyer, Michael Tudori, said the former West Coast Eagles premiership-winning captain had made 'a huge error in his judgment' and was 'remorseful and regretful' for his actions.

He said his client wanted to apologise to the court, the public and Teen Challenge, the drug rehabilitation clinic in the south coastal town of Esperance where he was arrested at the airport with 4.56g of methamphetamine on March 27.


News Corp Expected To Announce Split Plans On Thursday...

The News Corp board will meet tomorrow to discuss the plan to separate its TV and film operations from the print ones, with advice from Goldman Sachs and Blair Effron of Centerview Partners. Assuming there’s no last-minute hitch, the arrangement will be made public on Thursday. Then the waiting game begins; it could take as long as a year for the split to actually take place. The thinking is that News Corp investors would receive shares in a new entity housing the publishing and education assets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, and book publisher Harper Collins. Rupert Murdoch would continue to control about 40% of the votes at both companies and serve on each board as chairman. Decisions regarding management have yet to be firmed up, but I hear that Murdoch likely would remain CEO of entertainment-focused News Corp while someone else would run day-to-day affairs at the print company. Possibilities for that job include Dow Jones Managing Editor Robert Thompson, Dow Jones CEO Lex Fenwick, and News International CEO Tom Mockridge.

Investors blessed the deal Monday, sending News Corp shares up 8.3% to $21.76. Fitch Ratings, a debt analysis firm, said that the split would “have no impact” on the company’s ‘BBB+’ rating with a Stable Outlook. Other analysts also applauded. Lazard Capital Markets’ Barton Crockett said that the two entities would have a combined value of $26 a share, up $2 from his current price target for News Corp. Nomura Equity Research’s Michael Nathanson says the two stocks would be worth “at least” $24, up from his present $23 target. But Bernstein Research’s Todd Juenger stuck with his $22 target. Half of News Corp’s value comes from its cable networks and “Even in optimistic scenarios, which we question due to audience erosion at (Fox News Channel) and cost pressures at FX, this segment alone is not enough to power the stock to attractive upside.” (Deadline.com)



E3 download: Six gaming trends to expect over next six months...

Gamers play Alien’s Colonial Marines from Sega on the third day of the E3 video game extravaganza in Los Angeles. Credit: Frederic Brown / Getty Images

It’s game over for this year’s E3 but what’s the final score?

We put the question to Yves Guillemot, the chief executive of Ubisoft Entertainment, a French company he co-founded in 1986 and guided to its current ranking as the world’s third-largest game publisher (after Activision-Blizzard and Electronic Arts) with franchises such as “Assassin’s Creed,” “Rayman Raving Rabbids,” and “Splinter Cell.”

From his perch in Montreuil-sous-Bois, an eastern suburb of Paris, Guillemot has built a reputation as an astute trend-spotter who was nimble in capitalizing on the Wii and DS craze then heard a hit in the dance-game craze and delivered “Just Dance,” a franchise that has sold more than 28 million copies.

Here are six major trends that will affect the games players will see in the coming months.

1) THE SECOND SCREEN: “Video games played on home television sets will increasingly incorporate another mobile screen,” Guillemot said.

Nintendo’s Wii U console, scheduled to launch later this year, will have a tablet controller toward the end of this year. The 6.2-inch touch screen will be used to display game information that’s not on the big TV screen.

A good example is Ubisoft’s “Zombiu,” which uses the Wii U GamePad touch screen as a way for players to access their inventory and pick locks or to use as a motion detector or minimap. A reviewer from Kotaku went so far as to say, “It’s the game that made me finally see the potential of the Wii U’s special second screen.”

Microsoft, with its SmartGlass software, will make use of existing touch screen devices, including iPads and smartphones. Users who download an application on the devices can turn their tablets or cellphones into a game controller or a screen that can display “companion content” for other forms of entertainment. Think team stats during a live sports game, or actor bios during a movie.

Sony has similar plans for its PlayStation Vita handheld game console.

2) NON-STOP GAMING: “The game doesn’t stop,” Guillemot said. “You’ll be able to pick up the game continuously, anytime and on multiple devices.”

Game developers are creating game “experiences” that let players check into their game from their cellphones, tablets, Web browsers or consoles. Players can configure their teams on a tablet, buy new uniforms on a cellphone and play a match on a console or computer. Progress in the game is saved in the “cloud,” so players can pick up where they left off, regardless of which device they last used.

3) SOCIAL GAMING: It’s not just for Facebook anymore. Game developers and console companies are building plenty of social hooks into their products, Guillemot said. Nintendo on Sunday announced Miiverse, a social network for players of its Wii U console. The Sims City, coming out in February 2013, will let players affect the outcome of neighboring cities operated by friends. Cultivating a crime-ridden, smog-filled city, for example, will boost the crime and pollution in their friends’ cities. The franchise, which had always been single player, will let players form alliances and trade resources – much like real cities.

4) ASYNCHRONOUS MULTIPLAYER GAMING: Having a social experience is great. But not everyone has the luxury of being able to play together at the same time – so-called “appointment gaming,” where guilds get together at a specific time, for example, to stage a raid.

So developers are cooking up ways to get players to interact without having to pick up their controllers at the same time, Guillemot said. A player can leave messages or a challenge for another gamer to pick up when they log in. Or, to complete quests, they can send help requests that friends can respond to at a later time.

This is a common staple in Facebook games, where players check in for a few minutes at a time, often not at the same time. Now, that feature will be increasingly built into other types of games, Guillemot said.

5) COMPANION GAMING: No, that doesn’t mean a “Women of Warcraft” dating site. It’s a term that was thrown around in great profusion at E3 this year and it refers to developers creating “side content” for major franchises.

One example is “Ghost Recon: Commander,” a social game released on Facebook at the same time Ubisoft released ”Ghost Recon: Future Soldier.” Progress in the Facebook game helped players unlock new weapons in the main console game, for example.

Developers can also explore separate story lines, say of a minor character, in mobile versions. Or configure a football team on an iPad app that they can later use to play in the console game. The idea is to have players engage in the game wherever they happen to be.

“We want you to be able to play on any screen that’s nearest to you,” Guillemot said.

Of course, the “companion content” has to be appropriate for the device, he cautioned. It may not be ideal, for example, to be playing a full-featured console game on a cellphone.

6) FREE GAMES: Game publishers are increasingly enamored with so-called “freemium games” that give players a limited version of the game for free, but charge for extras.

For players, that can be both good and bad. The nice thing is that people can get a taste of a game before they decide to spend money on it. How many times have you paid $60 for a game, 0nly to discover that you hate it once you’ve had a chance to play it for 15 minutes?

The downside, of course, is that players can wind up spending a lot more than $60 over time — paying 99 cents for a power-up here, $2 for a weapon there, and so on. For some, the price tag can add up to hundreds of dollars. This is why Nintendo has refused to pursue this model, referring to it as a “gotcha” scheme for players.

That said, if players can exercise some self-restraint in clicking the in-game “buy” button, the good news is that there will be more choices available to players than ever before. (L.A Times)


ION Preps Weekly WWE Wrestling Show...

ION Television has teamed with WWE for a new weekly one-hour original series. WWE Main Event will debut October 3 and air on Wednesday nights at 8 PM. It will feature WWE stars from the rosters of Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown, including in-ring action and storylines.

The new show provides WWE with a show on a broadcast network for the first time since Friday Night SmackDown left MyNetworkTV in September 2010 and gives the wrestling federation weekly programs on Monday (Monday Night Raw on USA), Wednesday (WWE Main Event on ION) and Friday (Friday Night SmackDown on Syfy). “As a general entertainment network with a solid foundation, WWE Main Event is a great addition to our lineup that features something for everyone,” ION Media Networks CEO Brandon Burgess said.


Telstra accused of tracking Next G internet use...

Telstra has been accused of tracking the internet use of its Next G mobile phone users and sending their internet history to a company in the United States.

One of the telco's customers discovered that when he visited a website using his Next G network in Australia, a server in the United States would visit the same address almost instantly.

Telstra says it is collecting the information for use in a new internet filter product, but internet users are outraged and are demanding the Australian Privacy Commissioner investigate.

The tracking was confirmed by Mark Newton, who up until late last year was one of the longest serving technical engineers at Australian internet company Internode.

When he saw rumours on a network administrator email list that Telstra was sending the URLs from Next G internet use to a company overseas, he set up a test.

"In real time, information about the URL that I was visiting was being sent offshore so that that offshore data centre could then make that second request," he said.

"It means if you go to abc.net.au on your Next G internet connection, both Telstra and the US company knows about it."

Mr Newton says he had no idea such information was going offshore.

"Australians should know when their private data is collected, what that data is going to be used for and who it is going to be disclosed to," he said.

He says he has emailed Telstra, asking why it is sending internet address data to a third party.

"Privacy protections in the United States are very, very minimal. There are almost no controls at all on what an American company can do with private data that’s been gathered from consumers," he said.

Privacy concerns

Users on the Australian broadband forum Whirlpool also want to know why the information is being sent, who it is being sent to, and why they were not told about it.

No one at Telstra was available for an interview, but in a statement the company admitted it was sending data overseas.

Telstra said it was building a database for one of its new products which will allow parents to block their children from accessing certain websites.

It is working with US company Netsweeper, which is building the database for the filter.

Telstra says the product will be "opt in", but Mr Newton says its current data collection strategy is not.

"It's being collected and then sent to the US company without anyone being told about it. And I have a problem with that. And I think anyone who has concerns about privacy should also," he said.

Western Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam says he has asked Telstra to provide more details.

"Any item that's out there on the web has to have its unique address or it can't be found. And I don't want to overstate or overplay this because at the moment it's just really quite ambiguous as to what’s even occurring," he said.

"But, potentially, profiles can be built of people out of the places that they go and the things that they look at online, or the people that they're in contact with. These things are possible. These are live debates." (ABC News)




Russell Crowe to play Rupert Murdoch in film...

Russell Crowe is reportedly in line to play Rupert Murdoch in a film.

The 'Gladiator' star is tipped to take on the role of the media mogul in a movie based on 'Good Times, Bad Times', the memoirs of former Sunday Times editor Sir Harold Evans.

A source told the Daily Star newspaper: ''You have to be brave to play someone like Murdoch. Russell can do it.''

Colin Firth is believed to be up for the role as Harold, but no deals are yet in place.

Leon Lecash, creative director of what's it all about?, which is making the movie said: ''The film will be a drama, either for the big screen or television. It is very early days as the option deal with Harry was only just completed.

''No actors or even writers have been signed up yet.''

The film will focus on then-Prime Minister Lady Margaret Thatcher's dealings with the Australian tycoon.

Evidence is said to suggest she manipulated rules to facilitate the deal for Murdoch to buy The Times newspaper in 1981 in return for favourable publicity for her party.

Leon added to the Evening Standard newspaper: ''Murdoch went to Chequers to talk about the deal, which was never brought to the attention of the Monopolies Commission.

''Harry had suspicions that some intimate contacts were taking place between Murdoch and Thatcher, with late-night whisky drinking in Downing Street when Murdoch was let in by the back door. This type of stuff came to light recently when Sir Bernard Ingham's notes were released under the 30-year rule. Much of what Harry wrote about Murdoch when they fell out in 1983 is so prescient he has said he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.''


Casino Hires Robert De Niro as Celebrity Flack...

You talkin' to me?

A casino in South Korea hopes you'll be listening!

The Paradise Walker-Hill Casino in Seoul, South Korea, has announced that it has hired actor Robert De Niro to serve as a paid celebrity spokesman for the casino.

The casino, which is South Korea's oldest and is open to foreigners only--meaning no South Koreans are allowed in--is located in the Sheraton Walker-Hill Hotel, a luxury hotel in Seoul that is popular with tourists and foreign business people.

Large ads featuring De Niro plugging the casino have already begun appearing at Seoul's airport and other locations frequented by tourists.

In addition, the casino announced, television commercials with De Niro promoting the casino were filmed in New York City last month.

The TV spots will not air in the USA.

One of De Niro's most famous movie roles was in the film "Casino," in which he played Ace Rothstein, a character based on real-life mob associate and Stardust Casino executive Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal.

De Niro, like many other American celebrities, does not appear in any commercials or ads in the USA, but does appear in foreign advertising.

Several celebs in recent years, however, have flacked for casinos that advertised in the USA.

Among them are singer Kenny Rogers, whose hit song "The Gambler" permanently linked him to the pastime in the eyes of the American public.

For years, he has shilled for the Barona Casino, an Indian casino near San Diego.

And former professional wrestler and Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura served as a celebrity spokesman for Bet U.S., an online sportsbook and casino based in Costa Rica.

In addition, baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson once briefly served as a paid celeb shill for an online casino, until Major League Baseball told him to nix the deal or be banned from baseball. (www.gambling911.com)



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Mafia rat who inspired Goodfellas had real-life criminal career steeped in blood - 14th June 2012

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Gangster turned informant whose life and crimes were immortalised in the film Goodfellas

Henry Hill, who has died aged 69, was a mobster whose nefarious exploits with the Lucchese family on the New York crime scene of the 1970s were made famous by the Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas (1990).

In the film, an adaptation of the book Wiseguy by the journalist Nicholas Pileggi, Hill, played by Ray Liotta, is the narrator and central figure, running the gamut of mob crime over a 25-year period from 1955.

Among many other misdeeds, he dangles a tardy loan repayer over the lion's den in a zoo and helps organise a robbery at JFK airport in New York, known as the Lufthansa heist, which nets millions but results in a bloody feud between the thieves.

But though Hill's real-life criminal career was steeped in blood, he insisted that he never "whacked" anyone himself. "I never killed anybody," he said last year. "I was a money man." He did, however, confess to burying "a lot of bodies". As for the film, he was happy to admit that it was "99.9 per cent dead on". His character's opening line is: "As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster."

Henry Hill was born on June 11 1943, one of eight children in a poor family in Brooklyn, New York. His father, also Henry, was Irish-American, while his mother, Carmella, was of Italian extraction. Henry Jr's mixed heritage meant that he could never become a "made" man in the Mafia, a status which offers certain protections and privileges.

He began his criminal career innocently enough, running errands for Paul Vario, a capo in the Lucchese family who ran a cabstand near the Hills' house. But soon Henry was being given glimpses of the mob lifestyle, learning how Vario ran loan sharking operations and protection rackets. He was awed by the easy money on display.

By the time he was 14 he had dropped out of school, and his position with Vario was formalised when he was made a member of a local construction union, which allowed him to collect a salary for a no-show job. He became a youthful mascot for the Vario crew, which included Jimmy Burke, the charismatic and brutal gangster played by Robert de Niro in Goodfellas.

Henry's first major crime came after he was ordered to put a rival cab rank out of business. Smashing his way into the opposition taxis, he doused them in petrol and set them on fire. But he was not arrested for the first time until 1959, when he attempted to buy goods with a stolen credit card. He was soon released, however, and his unwillingness to talk during his detention only added to the affection in which he was held by the Vario crew.

For three years, between 1960 and 1963, Hill served with the 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army. It is not clear whether this was an attempt to "go straight", but in Wiseguy Hill claims that the move to Fort Bragg was made to wait out the "heat" of police attention.

On his return to New York he duly picked up the threads of his old life, enjoying the perks of the mob life. Perhaps the most celebrated scene in Goodfellas is a single shot which shows Hill and his girlfriend Karen (later to be his wife) bypassing the long queues outside the Copacabana nightclub by greasing many palms until they are sitting right in front of the stage. "What do you do?" she asks him, dazzled. "I'm in construction," he lies.

In 1972 Hill and Burke went to jail, sentenced to 10 years for extortion. But life inside did not dent his mob career. Hill peddled drugs and made books and, in 1978, was released for good behaviour.
Back on the outside Hill, along with Burke and Tommy DeSimone (played in the film by Joe Pesci), made ever more money, notably robbing trucks and fencing stolen goods. But as the stakes grew higher, so the mutual mistrust and fear of betrayal, never far beneath the surface, rose. "The money," Hill recounted in an interview recently, "was unbelievable. We never robbed nothing small."

The biggest job of all, the Lufthansa heist of 1978, started with Hill. He had previous experience of robbing the cargo terminal at JFK airport, having stolen $US420,000 in 1967 with DeSimone from the poorly-secured Air France lot. Eleven years later a Lufthansa worker at the airport, with serious gambling debts to a bookmaker called Martin Krugman, revealed that the airline regularly moved millions of dollars in cash destined for US servicemen in Germany. Krugman told Hill, and Hill told Burke, who planned the theft, to be carried out by a team that once again included DeSimone.

It was a success beyond the gangsters' wildest dreams. They scooped more than $US6 million, a sum now equivalent to $US20 million, making the robbery one of America's biggest ever. Within days, however, the fallout had begun. With the FBI scrutinising their every move, the robbers assumed one of their number would crack, and began to turn on each other. Edward "Stacks" Parnell, a getaway driver who had failed properly to dispose of his truck, was the first to go, shot on December 18, a week after the raid. Over the next six months, at least eight more mobsters connected with the robbery would die, as Burke launched a vicious campaign to stamp out potential "rats".

As the body count mounted, Hill feared he too would be "whacked". He escalated his drug dealing, and - a cardinal sin in the Mafia - eventually became addicted himself. It was this business that got him arrested, in April 1980. When the police moved in, they played Hill wiretaps of his erstwhile allies in the mob, Vario and Burke, discussing the need to kill him. Hill, who had said that he would rather "put a gun in my mouth" than become a "snitch", recognised that "the whole crew were homicidal maniacs" and agreed to become an informant.

His evidence helped secure 50 convictions, earning Hill and his family a place in the Witness Protection Program. That is where Goodfellas ends, with Hill looking out of a bland housing lot in Omaha. In fact, his life subsequently remained anything but placid. The Mob continued to hunt him. One of the 10 moves he had to make was completed with just a few hours' notice. On each occasion Hill would have to assume a new identity. Peter Haines and Martin Todd Lewis were two of the names he used.

His problems with drink and drugs endured. He was arrested in 1987 on drugs charges and, though he recognised that the FBI "kept me safe when I didn't know how to keep myself safe", he left witness protection in the early 1990s.

He reassumed the name Henry Hill, but few of his adversaries were left to track him down. Vario had died in 1988, and Jimmy Burke was in jail, where he would die in 1996. None the less, Hill was always looking over his shoulder for "some punk kid trying to make a rep for himself".

The money had all gone. "The government said a couple of hundred million dollars went through my hands," he revealed. "But I just blew it on slow horses, women, drugs and rock-and-roll. We partied five, six nights a week and I was making $US15,000 to $US40,000 a week. But I was a degenerate gambler. I could lose $US40,000 in a week."

He made several hundred thousand dollars from Goodfellas and turned himself into something of a consultant for mob films and television series. Recently, when asked if the Mafia might kill him, he replied: "The mob? They don't care about me anymore. Are you kidding? They send me their scripts and treatments to sell in Hollywood."

He continued to be a victim of his various addictions, making regular visits to the tables at Las Vegas and having to check in and out of drying-out clinics. Unlike many of his fellow mobsters, however, he died in bed, in a Los Angeles hospital.

Henry Hill married, in 1965, Karen Friedman. They divorced in 2002, and he subsequently married Kelly Alor and then Lisa Caserta. He is survived by a son and a daughter of his first marriage.

Henry Hill, born June 11, 1943, died June 12, 2012.

The Daily Telegraph, London

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Hollywood action hero news: Stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Expendables 2, The Tomb...

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Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone share a hospital ward

Arnold Schwarzenegger may be getting older, but he's still in demand by Hollywood movie studios, and still a big draw with movie fans.

After retiring from politics last year, he has cautiously eased his way back to acting.

The prospect of a multimillion-dollar divorce settlement with ex-wife Maria Shriver may have helped made up his mind, and Arnie has since committed to appearing in many action flicks.

Early next year he'll play an ageing sheriff who takes on a drug cartel in Last Stand, and he's also agreed to appear alongside long time mate Danny DeVito and Eddie Murphy in a sequel to the 1980s comedy Twins.

In the meantime he will tag team with close mate Sly Stallone to portray a mercenary in The Expendables 2.

Sly and Arnie are the most celebrated of the bodybuilding action heroes, and they both played a huge part of putting the action genre on the map.

There is however a new breed of bulked up, talented actors, headed up by The Avengers team, with Australian mega star Chris Hemsworth playing the beefed up Thor.

He added 20lbs of muscle to his six-foot-three frame for the role, through weights and constant eating. English actor Tom Hardy has put on over 30lbs for his role as Batman's nemesis Bane in the much-anticipated Dark Knight Rises, and looks huge.

Then again so does Christian Bale's Batman, and Bale famously put on 100lbs in six months in order to star in Batman Begins.

Rhys Ifans also seems impressively muscular as the villainous 'Lizard' in the forthcoming reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man.

It took an Austrian bodybuilder and an extra from Hell's Kitchen to rescue the muscleman from B-movie obscurity.

The art of bodybuilding stemmed from the British military during the 19th Century. The craze caught on in the US in the 1940s, mainly due in part to a switched on Italian immigrant called Angelo Siciliano, who renamed himself Charles Atlas and launched a bodybuilding programme that promised to turn "97lb weaklings" into "heroes of the beach".

Bodybuilders began showing up in Hollywood films in the 1950s. Steve Reeves played Hercules in a series of historical action dramas, and so did Leeds-born weightlifter Reg Park.

But movies like Hercules and the Captive Women were hacked together B-pictures that no one took seriously.

Things began to evolve in the late 1970s, when a new breed of super bodybuilders burst on to the scene. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno were deadly rivals in the Mr Universe contest, and both had acting ambitions and the will to success in Hollywood.

Ferrigno got his break first, starring in popular TV series, The Hulk. But Schwarzenegger became a much bigger star thanks to hit movies like Conan the Barbarian and Terminator.

The young Arnie had average English and ordinary acting ability, but turned his faults to his advantage by deliberately targeting roles that were light on dialogue and heavy on action.

He hit the jackpot with Terminator, James Cameron's groundbreaking 1984 sci-fi thriller, but used it as a template for future roles. He said little, flexed his well oiled muscles and killed indiscriminately with a stony face.

Arnie also cracked jokes, using deadpan comic timing that surprised many critics and got over well with fans.

In planning his movie career, Schwarzenegger must surely have been inspired by the example of Sylvester Stallone. Born in Hell's Kitchen, New York, and raised in Washington DC, Stallone took to bodybuilding as a teenager but found it hard to break into acting.

His feature debut was in a 1971 soft-core porn movie called The Party at Kitty and Stud's, which was re-released to his enduring embarrassment after he became famous.

He appeared as a thuggish extra in films like Woody Allen's Bananas and Klute. For a while it seemed he was doomed to a life of obscurity until he came up with an idea for a boxing flick.

The story is that Stallone wrote the script of Rocky in three days in the spring of 1975, and when Hollywood picked up on the idea he insisted on playing Rocky Balboa himself. The film was a huge hit, and acted as a catalyst for Stallone to become one of Hollywood's more unlikely A-listers.

The rise of Stallone and Schwarzenegger fitted in well with the new conservatism of Reagan-era America. In the 1970s, Hollywood had reacted to the moral confusion of the Nixon presidency with weighty anti-war films and edgy conspiracy thrillers.

But Ronald Reagan led a return to uncomplicated patriotism and a deep distrust of Johnny foreigner. In a way Sly and Arnie were the John Waynes of their time, and were quick to exploit the new enthusiasm for American flag-waving.

In the Rambo flicks, Sly Stallone provided a bloody rebuttal to the 1970s anti-Vietnam War activists. And though not American himself, Schwarzenegger made sure to kick the butts of commies and Islamic extremists in films like Commando and True Lies. Their movies were generally formulaic but highly effective, especially at the box office, and soon a host of buffed up imitators of sorts emerged.

Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme all became action stars in the 1980s, churning out ever-more violent B-pictures in which the hulked hero took on impossible odds to defeat America's enemies.

But by the late-1980s, the hulky format was getting a bit tired and has out-welcomed its stay.

Mel Gibson and Bruce Willis, neither of whom were bodybuilders, paved the way for a new, quicker and slicker kind of action flick, and in the mid-1990s both Schwarzenegger's and Stallone's careers began to slide.

Arnie entered politics, and Sly limped off to lick his wounds and plot the inevitable comeback.

Come back he did, and his 2010 film The Expendables was warmly welcomed.

Sly and Arnie would have had their work cut out trying to keep up with the likes of Jason Bourne, and these days speed, not bulk, tends to be a key requirement for survival in the business.

If Schwarzenegger and Stallone have left a legacy, it's this: nowadays all the male stars hit the gym before they start shooting anything. Hollywood loves actors who can act, look great and buffed, and have the 'It Factor' - heard of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson? We thought so, and he's well on the way to becoming the biggest Hollywood movie money making actor of all time, and in an act of loyality continues to compete a few times a year for professional wrestling aka "sports entertainment" powerhouse, WWE, which also helps keep his fan base cultivated, and his face all over mainstream television. What may be in the future for 'The Rock'? Politics of course. The next Regan? Don't laugh - stranger things have happened. Jesse For Prez may not have happened, but maybe 'The Body' Ventura was just warning up the landscape for Rocky.

News Update...

Marvel Entertainment: The Incredible Hulk May Make Smash Hit To Combat Sly - Arnie Connection...

Be on the lookout for Marvel Entertainment - Marvel Studios to build upon the massive success of The Avengers with a remake or continuation of The Incredible Hulk movie. Don't expect Sly or Arnie to be cast, but there's always a decent chance Lou Ferrigno may turn up - especially in a cameo, following the lead of Marvel Comics icon, Stan Lee.

Press Release...

PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY UNDERWAY ON THE TOMB

Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Jim Caviezel, Amy Ryan, Vincent D’Onofrio, Vinnie Jones, Sam Neil Lead Cast

Mikael Håfström directs the action-thriller now shooting on location in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS, LA MAY 10 – Production is underway on Summit Entertainment’s The Tomb. Directed by Mikael Håfström, the action-thriller is an Emmett-Furla Films/Mark Canton production. The producers are Atmosphere Entertainment’s chairman Mark Canton, Randall Emmett, George Furla, Robbie Brenner and Kevin King-Templeton. Co-financed by Emmett-Furla Films and Summit Entertainment, The Tomb is being filmed on location in the New Orleans area. Summit Entertainment, a LIONSGATE company, holds worldwide distribution rights and will release the motion picture in North America.

Written by Miles Chapman for the screen, with a rewrite by Jason Keller, The Tomb follows Ray Breslin (Stallone), the world’s foremost authority on structural security. He’s analyzed nearly every high security prison. After being framed by persons unknown, all of Breslin’s ingenuity and expertise are about to be put to work in the most challenging test he’s ever faced: escaping from a high-tech prison facility that’s design is based on his own protocols.

Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Emil Rottmayer,a complex inmate with multiple shades of gray. He’s the guy who fights to keep the prisoners from losing their humanity in their darkest hour as they struggle together to stay alive.

Jim Caviezel plays Hobbes, the warden of the Tomb. This is the type of prison facility that deals with inmates that no government wants on its books. The lead guard of the maximum-security facility, Drake, is played by English actor and retired footballer Vinnie Jones.

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson plays Hush, Ray Breslin’s right-hand man and high-technology expert. Buttoned-down with street lurking just below the surface, Hush is aptly named because when he speaks, it is just above a whisper…but it’s a whisper with attitude and edge that can turn from soft to drop dead serious in the blink of an eye. Vincent D’Onofrio plays Lester Clark, Breslin’s business partner and CEO of B&C Security, their independent security company hired by the Federal Bureau of Prisons to test the integrity of their maximum-security facilities nationwide. Amy Ryan plays Abigail Ross, jack-of-all trades and one of Beslin’s closest confidants at B&C Security. Sam Neil is cast as Dr. Emil Kaikev, the prison doctor embedded within the Tomb, who is sympathetic to Breslin’s plight.

Håfström’s previous writing/directing credits in his native Sweden include: the gripping coming of age drama Evil, which was nominated for an Academy Award® in 2004 for Best Foreign Language film; the thriller Drowning Ghost; and the drama Days Like This, which won Sweden’s Guldbagge Award for Best Screenplay. His films have been invited to festivals around the world and, at home, Håfström has received multiple Guldbagge nominations, with Evil winning the Award for Best Direction and Best Screenplay.

The behind-the scenes filmmaking team of The Tombincludes director of photography Brendan Galvin (Immortals, Behind Enemy Lines, Flight of the Phoenix), production designer Barry Chusid (Source Code, 2012, Aliens in the Attic, The Day After Tomorrow) and costume designer Lizz Wolf (The Expendables and The Expendables 2, Rambo, Dreamgirls, Suspect Zero, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl, Armageddon, Traffic).

Special effects are supervised by Michael Lantieri (Alice in Wonderland, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, The Hulk, Minority Report, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest) and visual effects are supervised by Chris Wells (300, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Live Free or Die Hard). Elliot Greenberg (Chronicle) is editing. The sound mixer is Richard Schexnayder (Red, The Expendables, Jonah Hex) and stunts are coordinated by Noon Orsatti (The Expendables 2, American History X, Conan The Barbarian).

The executive producers of The Tomb are Nicolas Stern, Bill Chase, Stefan Partirosyan.

Schwarzenegger and Stallone will next be seen on screen together in The Expendables 2, which is currently in post-production and will be released this summer by Lionsgate. Schwarzenegger recently wrapped filming The Last Stand, also for Lionsgate, produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and directed by Jee-woon Kim.

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