Motorcycle helmets are a simple safety measure -- they keep your noggin safe from objects and falls that would otherwise do it harm. But what if your helmet could help prevent you from getting into an accident in the first place? Marcus Weller, founder of Skully, asked just that question, and the ...
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/OS5OLQadm24/Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., gestures during a news conference with, from left, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., after passing a bill to raise the debt ceiling and fund the government on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013 in Washington. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., gestures during a news conference with, from left, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., after passing a bill to raise the debt ceiling and fund the government on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013 in Washington. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress has passed legislation to reopen the partially-shuttered federal government and avert a potentially disastrous default on U.S. obligations, clearing the measure for President Barack Obama's promised signature.
Passage of the bill late Wednesday in the House and Senate ended a Washington-created crisis that closed much of government for 16 days. It came on the eve of the date the Treasury Department warned it would no longer be able to borrow to pay the government's bills.
The legislation was carried to passage in the House by strong support from Democrats and 87 yes votes from majority Republicans who had originally sought to use the measure to derail Obama's three-year-old health care law.
The legislation will reopen the government through Jan. 15 and permit Treasury to borrow normally through Feb. 7.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-10-16-US-Budget-Battle-House/id-4aac559db52b4ad8bf20845d09477ca8OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's Conservative government promised on Wednesday to introduce new legislation that will require balanced budgets except during economic crises, and renewed a pledge to balance its books by 2015.
In a speech setting out priorities for the second half of its mandate, the government said it would freeze the federal operating budget and make further targeted cuts to internal government spending.
The government will also:
- Target a debt to GDP ratio of 25 percent in 2021 and reduce that ratio to pre-recession levels by 2017
- Invest C$70 billion ($68 billion) in infrastructure over the next decade
- Review federal assets and sell them when it is in the best interest of Canadians
- Require rail shippers to carry more insurance and take steps to increase the safety of the transportation of dangerous good
- Ensure natural resource sectors remain open to foreign investment "when it is market-oriented and in the long-term interests of Canadians"
(Reporting by Randall Palmer; Editing by Janet Guttsman)
'Sons of Anarchy' Actor
Allegedly Bails on
$56 Bar Tab
Exclusive
Sources tell us, 43-year-old Paul Vasquez got drunk at a dive bar in San Jose last night, and tried to bail on the bill. Cops were called to the scene, where Paul was detained, and we're told his dad had to come pay for him.
Paul was eventually released, but there's a lesson here ...
Paul has had small roles on two episodes of "Sons of Anarchy." He's appeared on "Justified," "CSI:NY," "Kingshighway," "How I Met Your Mother," "ER," and much more ... going all the way back to his first acting gig in 1987.
The pay scale for the Screen Actors' Guild is nothing to thumb your nose at either -- someone like Vasquez could stand to earn anywhere from several hundreds of dollars per day to several thousand -- but clearly, steady work is hard to come by.
So what's the lesson? Think twice before you move to Hollywood, kids. Not everyone's Tom Cruise.
Calls to Paul's rep weren't returned.
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In the wake of Charlie Hunnam's abrupt departure from "Fifty Shades of Grey," the studio is left to scramble desperately for another actor to star opposite Dakota Johnson.
This story first appeared in the Oct. 25 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
Universal Pictures and Focus Features haven't yet resorted to posting a woman-seeking-man personal ad on Craigslist. But in the wake of Charlie Hunnam's abrupt departure from Fifty Shades of Grey -- after what sources say was increasing conflict with the high-profile film's creative team -- the studio is left to scramble desperately for another actor to star opposite Dakota Johnson in the role of billionaire S&M fan Christian Grey so the project can meet a looming Nov. 1 start date.
PHOTOS: Stars Misaligned: Charlie Hunnam Quits 'Fifty Shades' and 15 Other Casting Near-Misses
Universal chairman Donna Langley, producers Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti, director Sam Taylor-Johnson and author EL James are said to have drafted a list of four men they want to read for the role. Although the list is being kept under NSA-level secrecy, THR.com revealed Oct. 13 that British TV stars Jamie Dornan, 31, and Christian Cooke, 26, are among the targets. Both actors came close to capturing the part the first time around but lost to Hunnam because the Sons of Anarchy star is a bigger name. (True Blood's Alexander Skarsgard also is being considered.)
Dornan could be emerging as a front-runner. Born in Northern Ireland, he's a former Calvin Klein model, dated Keira Knightley for two years and played Sheriff Graham on the first season of ABC's Once Upon a Time. According to a source, Dornan was contacted by Langley even before Hunnam officially dropped out Oct. 12. But a Dornan confidant says no overtures had been made at press time to the actor, who stars in British series The Fall, on which he plays a killer terrorizing Belfast. The fact that Dornan's wife, actress-singer Amelia Warner, is pregnant also could complicate matters.
PHOTOS: Top 10 Fan Favorites for the Cast of 'Fifty Shades of Grey'
The last thing Universal wants is another actor to emerge as its Fifty Shades protagonist only to waffle. The studio is reeling over Hunnam's exit less than three weeks before the start of production. Sources say his discomfort with the hoopla around the project had been mounting for at least four weeks before he bailed, which officially was blamed on his Sons schedule not allowing him time to prepare (the FX series wraps production Oct. 21). After signing Sept. 2, Hunnam faced a public frenzy on social media sites, where fans of the book congregated to fawn over and complain about his casting. Universal was forced to hire bodyguards for the actor at a recent Sons premiere, and two appearances to promote the show were canceled -- one at Goulet Motosports in Hawkesbury, Ontario, on Sept. 14, and one at Rocky's Harley-Davidson in London, Ontario, on Oct. 13.
In addition, Hunnam, who also is a writer (he penned the gothic horror screenplay Vlad for Brad Pitt's Plan B and Summit Entertainment), is said to have submitted his own very detailed script notes on Kelly Marcel's adaptation of the runaway best-seller. The notes were well received, according to sources, but that only led to Hunnam seeking further script approval, which was denied. "That's Charlie, that's who he is. He's particular," says one source.
STORY: Charlie Hunnam Drops Out of 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Movie
According to another source, Hunnam, who was to be paid about $125,000 for the film, began butting heads with the creative team, including Taylor-Johnson. The conflict reached a fever pitch in early October, though everyone involved thought the issues had been resolved. But the discord spiked again Oct. 11. Hunnam's team at CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners strongly advised him to stay on the project for fear that his exit would embarrass Langley -- new to the chairman job -- and burn a bridge with one of the major studios. That same day, Universal hired writer Patrick Marber -- no stranger to taboo sex themes with his Oscar-nominated screenplay Notes on a Scandal -- to do a polish and bolster the characters. But by then, Hunnam, whose heart it seems never was in the project, had decided to decamp. The next morning, the studio announced his departure, and James tweeted, "I wish Charlie all the best." Universal and CAA declined comment.
Hunnam isn't the first actor to have doubts about playing the dungeon-loving Christian Grey. James' first choice, Robert Pattinson, never engaged with producers. Garrett Hedlund was heavily courted this summer and even received an informal offer, but the Tron: Legacy star passed in July because he couldn't connect with the character. Now he is in Australia to shoot the Angelina Jolie-directed Unbroken.
EXCLUSIVE: 'Fifty Shades' Movie Hires Writer for Script Work
Fortunately for Universal, its leading lady, Johnson, 24, remains firmly in place, ready to take on the virgin-turned-sexpert Anastasia Steele, a role that has greater dimension than the Grey character. But with the clock ticking, the start of production likely will need to be pushed back at least a week. Still, the studio says it remains committed to making its Aug. 1, 2014, release date.
For her part, the ever-involved James (she has approval rights on cast) is in Los Angeles the week of Oct. 14 as the hunt for a new Christian Grey continues. As the author writes no fewer than 44 times in Fifty Shades: "Oh my."
Borys Kit contributed to this report.
E-mail: Tatiana.Siegel@THR.com
Twitter: @TatianaSiegel27
Intercontinental Group Holdings Limited's Honorary Group chairman Terry Lai and adviser Rigo Jesu will be honored with the CineAsia lifetime achievement award in distribution at this year's convention.
The duo will be recognized at a Dec. 12 awards ceremony set to take place at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre.
"It is with great pleasure that we are able to honor Terry Lai and Rigo Jesu with the CineAsia 2013 lifetime achievement award in distribution," said Robert H. Sunshine, co-managing director of the annual convention. "Both Terry and Rigo have a long and acclaimed history that makes them a 'tour de force' in distribution, production, content creation, video, gaming and live performances."
Lai established Intercontinental Film Distributors (HK) Limitedin 1969 to produce and export Chinese films around the world. This success led to the establishment of Intercontinental Group Holdings Limited in 1996, which today is an organization more than 400 employees with a turnover in the HK$600 million range. Its businesses include film and video distribution, cinema operations, advertising and promotion services, video games distribution, e-commerce and character products merchandising.
Rigo began his career in entertainment at Capital Artists Limited, where he was promoted to the position of acting general manager in 1973. In 1980, he formed his own company, Jesu International Entertainment Limited, and later joined Intercontinental Film Distributors (H.K.) Limited, focusing mainly on the sourcing of foreign films and introducing them into Hong Kong. In 1985, he shuttered his business to focus on the growth and development of IFDL and its parent, Intercontinental Group Holdings Limited, as managing director. From 2005-11, he served as co-CEO of Intercontinental Group before shifting into the role of adviser.
CineAsia 2013 will take place from Dec. 10-12 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. It will feature screenings of upcoming Hollywood films, sponsored events, timely and informative seminars,and the CineAsia Trade Show.
CineAsia is produced by Prometheus Global Media, owner of The Hollywood Reporter.
