360 DEGREES Weblog

Madonna is poised to become a billionaire thanks to an offer of a five-year performing residency in Las Vegas. The deal, valued at $1 billion, is being brokered by Las Vegas officials looking to give the beleaguered town a boost and restore its tourist traffic, the London Sun reports, and would likely involve appearances at more than one glitzy casino. The arrangement is similar to ones that Celine Dion, Elton John and Cher have had in the past though much more lucrative. Madonna, who is already the fourth highest earning female entertainer in the world, would join Oprah on the very short list of celebrity female billionaires if she decides to sign on the dotted line. The megabucks payment would totally eclipse her previous earnings; in 2007, she signed a ten-year contract worth a measly $125 million with promoter Live Nation.

DJ lovers can get the party started anytime, anywhere with “Pioneer Pro - 1400 FLT” designed by a French design student, Vivier Raphael. The mobile DJ concept offers two configurations, a sober and classic to keep neutral during transport, the other focuses more on the event with LED devices.

Screenwriter William Goldman once famously declared that the most important fact of life in Hollywood is that “nobody knows anything.” It was his way of describing a reality that continues to haunt the movie business: Studio executives have no idea which pictures will make money.

Unless, of course, those pictures are made by Pixar Animation Studios. Since 1995, when the first Toy Story was released, Pixar has made nine films, and every one has been a smashing success.

Pixar’s secret? Its unusual creative process. Most of the time, a studio assembles a cast of freelance professionals to work on a single project and cuts them loose when the picture is done. At Pixar, a staff of writers, directors, animators, and technicians move from project to project. As a result, the studio has built a team of moviemakers who know and trust one another in ways unimaginable on most sets.

Which explains how they can handle the constant critiques that are at the heart of Pixar’s relentless process. Animation days at the studio all begin the same way: The animators and director gather in a small screening room filled with comfy couches. They eat Cap’n Crunch and drink coffee. Then the team begins analyzing the few seconds of film animated the day before, as they ruthlessly “shred” each frame. Even the most junior staffers are encouraged to join in.

The upper echelons also subject themselves to megadoses of healthy criticism. Every few months, the director of each Pixar film meets with the brain trust, a group of senior creative staff. The purpose of the meeting is to offer comments on the work in progress, and that can lead to some major revisions. “It’s important that nobody gets mad at you for screwing up,” says Lee Unkrich, director of Toy Story 3. “We know screwups are an essential part of making something good. That’s why our goal is to screw up as fast as possible.”

The proof is in the product. The average international gross per Pixar film is more than $550 million, and the cartoons are critical darlings—the studio has collected 24 Academy Awards. Nobody in Hollywood knows anything. Pixar seems to know everything.

Thanks WIRED

Nothing makes a job more dull than a lack of background music, but unfortunately most job sites aren’t really boombox-friendly. Luckily, the Bosch Power Box 360 ($200-$250) isn’t your average boombox. Inside its rugged aluminum and rubber roll case, the 360 packs full 360-degree speakers for all-around sound, a weather-sealed media bay for your iPod, a powered USB port for charging your cell phone, MP3 and WMA support for the SD card slot, external auxiliary ports, a built-in battery bay for either charging your tool batteries or powering the Power Box itself, an illuminated LCD display, and a remote control for cranking up the music while you crank up the saw.

The “world’s first ride-in restaurant” opens Monday, April 12, 2010 just south of downtown San Antonio, at the location known as the “world’s first drive-in restaurant.”

Frank’s Hog Stand, at 801 South Presa, is a restaurant focusing on serving the motorcycle enthusiast some of their favorite classic American style burgers, fries and fod.
The new motorcycle-themed restaurant will serve classic burgers, fries and other food in a casual dining area and to patrons who arrive outside on motorized bikes.
Owner Frank Arevalo grew up in the restaurant’s local area, now known as South Town, bordering the King William historical neighborhood.
The Pig Stand building started as a new idea 89 years ago by offering curbside service from car hops, who brought the food on trays to patrons remaining in their automobiles. Pig Stands became very famous in the 1920’s and 30’s as it expanded across the country.
Pig Stands were also the first restaurants to have drive up windows. They invented Texas Toast and onion rings in the 1920’s and chicken fried steaks in the 1940’s.
A historical and unique giant pig building, that is thought to have provided shelter from bad weather or hot sun for the cop hops, remains on site.
This location was closed in 2007 and was one of the last few Pig Stands for the company that once had over 130 restaurants during and after the Great Depression.
The newly refurbished restaurant will remain open seven days a week.

Since the movie’s release date is still something ridiculous like 15 years away, these images are just Photoshop mockups at the moment, but eventually Disney World in Orlando will be promoting the upcoming Tron Legacy sequel by converting their monorails into light cycles. And by ‘converting’ I of course mean just covering them in light cycle graphics, but if you have a Disney vacation planned in the very near future, make sure to include Epcot where the upgraded monorails could be running as early as sometime this month.

Longevity and success in both acting and directing of the type Clint Eastwood has enjoyed is quite unusual, as is the film icon’s long-standing relationship with Warner Bros. Thankfully, it’s this relationship that makes Clint Eastwood: 35 Films, 35 Years ($135) possible. This encyclopedic box set packs every WB Eastwood film since 1968’s Where Eagles Dare, including the full Dirty Harry series, 1992’s Oscar-winning Unforgiven, recent standouts Million Dollar Baby and Gran Turino, and many, many more, as well as the all-new documentary The Eastwood Factor, which offers a rare look at Eastwood as both an actor and director.

It’s 2010. You know — the future. The first entertainment advancement of this strange new decade comes to us from the leader in TV sports and Dad-like catchphrases. ESPN 3D is a newly announced channel that will show around 85 live sporting events in 3D during its first year, launching on June 11 with the first 2010 FIFA World Cup match. Other events will include the 2011 BCS National Championship Game, various college basketball and football games, and the Summer X Games. You’ll need a new 3D-capable HDTV (stay tuned for announcements this week from the Consumer Electronics Show on Uncrate) and those dorky 3D glasses.

If you are looking for a tone machine that can be an extension of your personality and complement your unique musical abilities, don’t look any further. Here’s the machine that can meet your tonal equation with a fuller and sonically complete amp. Manufactured by the iconic guitar maker Paul Reed Smith (PRS), the Original Sewell has a smooth tone that was crafted to give an expressive, vocal quality to lead work. The Original Sewell is available in 50- and 100-watt head and combo configurations (1×12 and 2×12), and user can also choose between 6L6 and EL34 power tubes. It features simple and elegant front panel, with controls for Volume, Master Volume, Treble, Bass/Boost, a Bright switch, and an input jack. Priced at $4385, the Original Sewell with its own sonic signature might rise to the level of a legend.

No other actor would ever be able to do justice to the role of Captain Jack Sparrow so perfectly essayed by Johnny Depp in the world famous Pirate of The Caribbean movie series. The makers too probably realize this and hence to ensure that the star remains a part of the series have offered him a sum no actor has ever received. Believe it or not, to reprise his role as Jack Sparrow for the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film, On Stranger Tides, Johnny Depp has been offered a whopping £21 million ($35.3million) pay deal! The fee is a guaranteed minimum earning for the film but could increase if it is a box-office hit. This enormous pay deal has made Johnny Depp the highest earning star ever, above the likes of Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks and Mel Gibson, who each command around £18 million ($30million). Studio bosses at Disney agreed to pay the exorbitant sum because Depp’s high-profile Pirates co-stars, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, are not returning for the forthcoming film.