Back in August we speculated on whether Studio Ghibli, the legendary animation studio behind films like Spirited Away, Grave of the Fireflies and My Neighbor Totoro, might be closing its doors due to financial difficulties. Now in an interview with the LA Times, the studio’s most vaulted director Hayao Miyazaki has announced that Ghibli is in fact shuttering.
“At this point, we’re not making a new film. I think we will not be making any feature films to be shown in theaters. That was not my intention, though. All I did was announce that I would be retiring and not making any more features.” Miyazaki said, deepening the blow by reiterating that he would be retiring as well.
With that news, that officially makes The Wind Rises, released wide at the start of 2014 in the US, is indeed Miyazaki’s last movie, and that Studio Ghibli’s When Marnie Was There will likely be its last.
Thankfully though, Miyazaki is taking the Soderbergh-lite route, finding the time to work on a manga inspired by Akira Kurosawa about a 16th Century samurai.
“It’s something I wanted to do when I was a student,” Miyazaki told the LA Times. “It’s about samurai in the 16th century, wearing full armor, battling it out with each other. I was very dissatisfied with the way that era was depicted in fiction and film, so I wanted to draw something that would reflect the way I thought that era should look. … The great director Akira Kurosawa filmed his films in large, open spaces like golf courses, and there weren’t those large, open spaces in Japan.”
Miyazaki also just received an honorary Oscar as part of the Governor’s Awards. John Lasseter honored him at the ball just this past weekend. Watch his speech below.
Source: Sound On Sight
Sounds of Sputnik (aka Roman Kalitkin) redefines his listeners’ expectations of Russian music by tastefully mixing post-rock, shoegaze, dream pop, and noise. With a love for The Jesus and Mary Chain, Ride, Sonic Youth, Happy Mondays, and Slowdive, these bands have exerted their influences over Kalitkin’s own compositions, forged through twenty years spent in various post-punk, alternative and shoegaze bands.
New Born is Sounds of Sputnik's debut album, loaded with reverb-soaked distorted guitars, penetrating drums, and thick bass, all underpinning the ethereal vocals of Shauna McLarnon of Ummagma, the Canadian-Ukrainian duo who also co-wrote, produced and recorded this album.
Released on UK label Ear to Ear Records, this project represents a heartfelt attempt to create something of beauty in the face of the hostility currently occurring between Ukraine and Russia.
‘New Born’ is rooted in a shared love of melodic dream pop, post-rock and shoegaze, with aspects of Lush, Curve, My Bloody Valentine and Swervedriver blended with Hammock, Cocteau Twins and The Twilight Sad to create remarkable ‘dream noise’.
The track ‘Overdrive’ features powerhouse drums by Graham Bonnar (Swervedriver, Brian Jonestown Massacre), whose signature sound rings through no less than on Swervedriver’s ‘Son of Mustang Ford’ or ‘Rave Down’. New Born also boasts several legendary guests, with remixes from Malcolm Holmes (OMD), psych rock producer Fran Ashcroft (Damon Albarn, Lords of Acid), Russian producers Morozov and Oleg Mezherovsky, and Brazil’s Mind Movies. British producer Marc Joy (Primal Scream, Oasis, Bernard Butler of Suede, Mike Peters of The Alarm, Golden Fable) provides mastering support.
Who are Ummagma?
This duo emerged on the music scene by releasing two LPs (Ummagma & Antigravity) in 2012, followed by 3 more releases on Emerald & Doreen Recordings. The band has enjoyed a full-page feature in Rolling Stone Russia, won Alternative Eurovision competitions for 2 years in a row (Amazing Radio & Pure 107.8 FM), and received 2 awards at the 2013 Australian Independent Music Video Awards. That’s not the only feather in Ummagma’s cap, as they’ve caught the attention of Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins) and Malcolm Holmes (OMD), who have both remixed tracks for release this winter.
After seven bloody, sexy and most particularly exciting seasons the curtain falls for one of the most controversial and acclaimed series in recent years. Sookie and Co can now find eternal rest , though that might not be so easy for a vampire. The seventh season of True Blood is available on Blu -ray ™ and DVD from 10 December and is the ultimate culmination of this acclaimed HBO - series.
The fans need not despair, as the Complete Collection takes a nostalgic trip to Bon Temps. Relive all your favorite moments from the series , and enjoy the abundance of extras!
SYNOPSIS SEASON 7
The spectacular end of this sexy, terrifying and entertaining series from Alan Ball starts this season with a bloodthirsty war between vampires and the residents of Bon Temps. Some characters are doomed and other games with death. True Blood ends after seven seasons in style, with a stunning and highly goodbye.
BONUS MATERIALS
True Death: The Final Days on Set ( BD)
True Blood: A Farewell to Bon Temps (BD, DVD)
Audio Commentaries (BD, DVD)
Na zeven bloederige, sexy en bovenal bijzonder spannende seizoenen valt het doek voor een van de meest spraakmakende en bejubelde series van de afgelopen jaren. Sookie en co mogen nu eeuwige rust vinden, al is dat voor een vampier misschien niet zo eenvoudig. Het zevende seizoen van True Blood is vanaf 10 december beschikbaar op Blu-ray™ en DVD en is het ultieme sluitstuk van deze bejubelde HBO - reeks.
De fans hoeven echter niet te wanhopen, want dankzij de Complete Collection kun je deze winter een nostalgische trip maken naar Bon Temps. Herbeleef al jouw favoriete momenten uit de serie, en geniet van de karrenvracht extra's!
SYNOPSIS SEIZOEN 7
Het spectaculaire einde van deze sexy, angstaanjagende en entertainende serie van Alan Ball begint dit seizoen met een oorlog tussen bloeddorstige vampieren en de bewoners van Bon Temps. Sommige personages zijn gedoemd en andere spelen met de dood. True Blood eindigt na zeven seizoenen in stijl, met een verbluffend en sterk afscheid.
BONUSMATERIALEN
True Death: The Final Days on Set (BD)
True Blood: A Farewell to Bon Temps (BD, DVD)
Audio Commentaries (BD, DVD)
Dicte Season 2: DVD release on November 25
The sequel to the successful first season with Iben Hjejle as Dicte Svendsen
Based on the character from the crime novels by bestselling author Elsebeth Egholm ( Those Who Kill )
With Iben Hjelje ( Dicte , High Fidelity ), Lars Brygmann ( Borgen ) , Dar Salim ( The Bridge ), Lærke Winther ( Those Who Kill )
In Dicte 2 we follow again the charming crime journalist Dicte Svendsen during her work and leisure in Aarhus.
The second season brings you another typical Scandinavian strain complemented with a good dose of humor and emotion.
Technical data 4 DVD box :
Denmark , 2014 | Duration: 10 x 45 min | Language: Danish | Subtitles: Dutch
Format: 16: 9 | Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
DICTE
Seizoen 2: DVD release op 25 november
Het vervolg op het succesvolle eerste seizoen met Iben Hjejle als Dicte Svendsen
Seizoen 1 van DICTE loopt momenteel succesvol op Vitaya, met wekelijks meer dan 100.000 kijkers per aflevering.
De serie is er nog tot eind november iedere donderdagavond te volgen.
Gebaseerd op het personage uit de misdaadromans van bestsellerauteur Elsebeth Egholm (Those Who Kill)
“Onverminderd lekker”– de Volkskrant
“Drama en spanning van de bovenste plank ”– Nordic Magazine
Met Iben Hjelje (Dicte, High Fidelity), Lars Brygmann (Borgen), Dar Salim (The Bridge), Lærke Winther (Those Who Kill)
In DICTE 2 volgen we opnieuw de charmante misdaadjournaliste Dicte Svendsen tijdens haar werk en haar vrije tijd in Aarhus. Geholpen door een flinke portie mensenkennis en betrokkenheid, stelt zij alles in het werk om misstanden aan de kaak te stellen. Ze schuwt er niet voor de grenzen te overschrijden in haar zoektocht naar de waarheid. Haar doortastendheid zorgt er dan ook vaak voor dat zij gecompliceerde misdaden sneller oplost dan het lokale rechercheteam, die zich ergeren aan de bemoeizieke journaliste.
Het tweede seizoen brengt je opnieuw de typische Scandinavische spanning aangevuld met een flinke dosis humor en ontroering.
Technische gegevens 4 DVD box:
Denemarken, 2014 | Duur: 10 x 45 minuten | Taal: Deens | Ondertiteling: Nederlands
Formaat: 16:9 | Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
British metal legends Paradise Lost have just entered Orgone Studios in London with producer Jaimie Gomez Arellano (GHOST BC, ULVER, CATHEDRAL, ANGEL WITCH) to begin work on their fourteenth studio album.
Longtime fans will be excited to hear the musical direction that the band has chosen to pursue on this outing.
Vocalist Nick Holmes explains: “We wanted to approach the new album differently this time, by embracing the band’s VERY early days with the last few years. We have written a very dark yet melodic album, but this time many songs definitely have a death metal edge, which is something we haven’t done for a long, long time in PARADISE LOST.”
No word on an album title yet, but the record is tentatively scheduled for an April 2015 release date via Century Media Records. We will keep you updated with details as they emerge.
