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Chris Pine Pleads Guilty to Drunk Driving

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Movies, Drunk, Legal Issues,

Chris Pine has pleaded guilty to drink driving.

The Star Trek actor was fined $93 and had his driver's license suspended for six months during a court hearing at the Ashburton district court in New Zealand today. Chris' lawyer, Marilyn Gilchrist, had applied for the star to be discharged without conviction after claiming he had already suffered emotionally and professionally because of the worldwide negative coverage of his crime. The judge, Joanna Maze, said she accepted Chris was "entirely remorseful" of his actions as he had pleaded guilty to the charge at the earliest opportunity and had complied with the police.

The 33-year-old star was stopped by officers in a "routine operation" in Methven, Canterbury, New Zealand, on March 1 and was arrested after tests revealed his blood-alcohol level was 0.11 per cent, which is over New Zealand's legal limit of 0.08 per cent.

Chris was in the country filming Z for Zachariah and had been out celebrating the end of the shoot, the night before he was arrested.

Click to continue reading Chris Pine Pleads Guilty to Drunk Driving

Lady Gaga Suffered a Concussion During Concert

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Concerts / Tours, Performances, Pop,

Lady Gaga suffered concussion during her concert in New Zealand over the weekend.

The "Born This Way" singer was performing her hit song "Judas" at the concert in Auckland when a dancer accidentally hit her on the head with a pole which was being used as a stage prop.

However, Gaga carried on with the show as she didn't want to let her fans down: "I want to apologize. I did hit my head and I think I may have a concussion but don't you worry I will finish this show."

She went on to sing 16 more songs and her make-up artist Tara Savelo was very impressed she managed to carry on. "GaGa has a concussion but she is going to be okay. She wants u to know she loves u. I'm taking care of her. cant believe she finished the show. (sic)" she wrote on her Twitter.

Click to continue reading Lady Gaga Suffered a Concussion During Concert

The Hobbit Will Premiere in New Zealand in November

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Miramax, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction, Upcoming Releases,

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will have its world premiere in New Zealand on November 28.

Director Peter Jackson has revealed the special screening will be hosted at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington before the movie is released worldwide in December as filming took place in the country.

"We cannot think of a more perfect way to send The Hobbit off into the world than to celebrate with a huge party here in Wellington, where the journey began," he said.

Based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, the movie is set 60 years before the events in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy take place. In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins attempts to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from Smaug, the dragon. Martin Freeman plays the hobbit while Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett and Ian McKellen, will all reprise their roles from the trilogy. Andy Serkis will once again star as Gollum using motion capture imagery.

The film is split into two parts, with the second installment - The Hobbit: There And Back Again - due for release in December 2013.

Comic Book Jobs: Concept Artist

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Television,

Who wouldn’t want to work in New Zealand (that’s the place where Peter Jackson filmed Lord Of The Rings).

Oktobor Animation is now accepting “portfolio and reel submissions for super-cool digital concept artists for pre-production including character, prop, and environment design on interactive, transmedia and CG animation projects.”

That’s fine, but what kind of thing are they looking for? They’d “love to see fantastical and epic environments, creatures, stylized characters, robots, vehicles, etc.”

If that sounds like a lot like comic book work, you’re not far off. Concept art for movies, TV shows and animation looks a lot like comic book art. And what are comic book artists if not conceptual artists?

Applicants need to be self motivated, and able to adapt to different styles with a great sense of lighting, color and composition. But my favorite is this: “a strong knowledge of anatomy and proportion, human and creature.”

Click to continue reading Comic Book Jobs: Concept Artist

Mix Tape: Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah, Jay-Z and U2

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Artist News, Collaborations, Concerts / Tours, Gossip, Christian & Gospel, Country, Hip-Hop & Rap, R&B / Soul, Rock,

Description -Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah are teaming up for a new musical project. The two will star in Joyful Noise, a movie about a church choir they want to save.

-Interesting tweets aren’t the only things Kanye West has to offer these days. West has announced that he’ll be “dropping 1 new song every weekend until Xmas.” The track could be a Kanye tune or a “new Jay song etc.” He’s calling the event “good Fridays.”

-Speaking of Jay-Z, the rapper will be joining U2 for stops in Australia and New Zealand. Tickets for the five dates - Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth - will go on sale starting September 3. That leg of the tour begins November 25.

-Singer Faith Evans was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department over the weekend for suspicion of DUI. Notorious B.I.G.‘s widow, who had her car impounded, is prepping to release an album in October.

iPad comes to nine more countries this Friday

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, Handhelds,

Apple has just informed the world that the iPad is set to launch in nine additional countries this Friday. We don’t have any solid numbers yet as far as pricing in these territories goes, however, on July 23rd you’ll be able to buy Apple’s tablet device in the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, and Singapore. Don’t fret if your country has been left off the list, as Apple has also promised that “many more countries” will get the iPad before 2010 ends.

Lady Gaga Explains Passing Out During New Zealand Concert

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Artist News, Concerts / Tours, Gossip, Performances, Videos, Pop,

Although many speculated high temperatures were responsible for Lady Gaga‘s recent performance in Auckland, New Zealand, the singer has since set the record straight.

In an interview with an Australian radio station, the 23-year-old explained that simple exhaustion was what caused her to nearly collapse during that March 13 concert.

“I was so jetlagged, I got in the night before and the jetlag just really caught up with me. I passed out about three times on stage that night but I got myself to the floor,” she recalled.

Click to continue reading Lady Gaga Explains Passing Out During New Zealand Concert

Legend Of The Seeker 2nd Season: Seek It Out!

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Reviews,

Legend Back in the go-go 1990s of television syndication, everybody and his international production company was making hour-long adventure series. My weekend afternoons were filled with two of the best, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. They were fun, action-packed, never took themselves too seriously and both were thoroughly enjoyable. And they had two things in common: Sam Raimi (that’s right, the Evil Dead/Darkman/Spider-Man guy) and Robert Tapert.

But the market shifted and independent programming took a beating for a few years. Then last year, there was a surprise on my widescreen plasma: Legend of the Seeker. And it too had something in common with Hercules and Xena: Raimi and Tapert. They’d returned to New Zealand where their previous shows were filmed, and drew from the Wizard’s First Rule novels of fantasy author Terry Goodkind to craft another terrific action hour with edge-of-the-seat appeal and really nice FX. It fills that gap for me when BBC America isn’t showing Robin Hood.

Now it’s back for season 2, and the first new episode debuts this weekend (either November 7 or November 8, depending on your local listings). For me, it’s KTLA (Channel 5) at Sunday, 3pm. If you’re in NYC (which is where I always dream of being), it’s 4pm Saturday on WPIX. You can find out your own local times and station at the official LOTS website.

Click to continue reading Legend Of The Seeker 2nd Season: Seek It Out!

Toddler Buys Excavator Online

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Internet, PC / Laptop,

A couple in New Zealand woke up one morning only to discover that their 3 year-old had accidentally bought a $NZ20,000 Industrial Excavator from the site Trade Me. Mother Sarah Quinlan said that she had received an email from them saying that they hope she loved the mechanical digger. Claiming her daughter doesn’t even like tractors, she managed to convince the seller to take it back. Daughter Pipi has been banned from the computer when alone and her parents removed their auto-login. We think that is one precocious little girl and can’t wait to see what she can do once she is old enough to have her own.

New Zealand Doctor Claims Carbs Are Addictive

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Science,

Chunky Characters Good news for those who insist that their spare tire is due to genetics. That is not quite the case, but a New Zealand scientist claims that carbohydrates may be as addictive as cigarettes, giving us a new excuse. He claims that heavily processed carbs found in as cereal and desserts raise the amount of sugar in blood. The result is that the sugar rush stimulates the same part of the brain that involves nicotine addiction. Dr.Thornley says that more studying is needed but that so far his research shows that those with a high body mass index have fewer brain pleasure receptors like in those who are addicted to cocaine and alcohol.

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