Story from North America

Story from North America (FULL VERSION!) from Kirsten Lepore on Vimeo.

Choreography - Fosse

The Sign Of Leo (Mexican Breakfast) - video powered by Metacafe

Federal Agents Seize 10,000 Copies of a DVD: FBI Agents Confiscate a/k/a Tommy Chong

For a time, the Western Pennsylvania District topped the nation in the number of "anti-terrorism" prosecutions, largely because dozens of Iraqi immigrant truck-drivers were prosecuted for paying off a motor-vehicles official to obtain commercial-drivers licenses. The US attorney responsible for this "anti-terrorism" victory is Mary Beth Buchanan.



Ms.Buchanan has also protected the homeland by serving as the director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys in 2004 and 2005. That was the period when federal prosecutors were pushed to pursue criminal cases against political opponents of the Bush administration and, as a result, at least 5 top federal prosecutors were dismissed because they would not pursue politically motivated prosecutions. Ms. Buchanan has denied any involvement in the firings. And it's unlikely that investigators will uncover any ties to Ms. Buchanan, as long as she is a federal prosecutor. Which may be some time yet, as Ms. Buchanan is currently refusing to turn in her resignation (as is customary when a new President is elected) because it doesn't "serve justice."



Ms. Buchanan is nationally famous for pursuing "justice" even outside her district. For example, Ms. Buchanan prosecuted actor/comedian Tommy Chong in Pittsburgh for selling marijuana bongs via his California company. Mr. Chong cooperated with the prosecution and agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute drug paraphernalia in exchange for non-prosecution of his wife, Shelby, and his son, Paris. Mr. Chong argued for community service and home detention, but was sentenced to 9 months in federal prison (he served time October 8, 2003 to July 7, 2004). Of the 55 people targeted in the investigation, Tommy Chong was the only one without previous convictions that received jail time.

Earlier this year (May 7th, 2008), federal agents raided Spectrum Labs in Newport, Kentucky pursuant to an investigation of Spectrum Labs’ detoxication products. The raid, one of nine during the day, was part of Operation True Test, an investigation led by U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan. The investigation targeted companies that sell "masking products" that are supposed to help drug-users pass employer drug tests. Of the nine search warrants issued, none were for businesses within Mary Beth Buchanan's district, the Western District of Pennsylvania. In executing the search warrant at Spectrum Labs, the federal agents seized over 10,000 copies of Tommy Chong’s yet to be released documentary, a/k/a Tommy Chong.

Christmas Tree

Merry Little Christmas from the Eastwood Brothers

Untitled: Nick Briz

UCF senior Nick Briz has posted a short film he made this week using images recorded behind the scenes on Marco Cordero's Capstone set.


Untitled from Nick Briz on Vimeo.

Slumdog Millionaire -The Music

Director Danny Boyle is known for the use of music in his films.












A. R. Rahman, composer of Slumdog's Oscar worthy score, is a pop star in South Asia, famous for scoring Indian classics like Roja and Lagaan (among dozens of other films).

At the Toronto International Film Festival, Danny Boyle described A.R. Rahman as the "Puff Daddy of India." In an interview with Variety, Boyle added to that description: "He's like more famous than Michael Jackson was in his heyday. He loved doing this because it was something different and it allowed him to crossover into Western culture." Musicians describe Rahman as India's Timbaland.

Apparently, A. R. Rahman planned the score over two months, but completed it in just two weeks.

Danny Boyle and Rahman worked with M.I.A. (Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, the London-born songwriter, vocalist, and recording exec who grew up in various cultures as the daughter of a Tamil Sri Lankan refugee). M.I.A. adds a raw rap energy to the mix.



In addition to M.I. A., a 17 year old Baltimore rapper known as Rye Rye (recently signed to M.I.A.'s record label) also appears on the Slumdog soundtrack.



Ted Hope is another fan who's blogged about the soundtrack.

Here's a link to Rhapsody's site for the soundtrack. Listen to Jai Ho - the song from the wonderful closing credits of Slumdog Millionaire.

Here's a link to a site where you can read more about the music and listen to the tracks O...Saya and Jai Ho.

Slumdog Millionaire - The Camera

Danny Boyle's vindaloo is my pick for Best Movie of 2008.

In addition to the romantic sweep of the story and the incredible kinetic energy of the film, Slumdog breaks new ground technically as well. According to press reports, only 20 percent of the film was shot on conventional celluloid. The rest is done with two kinds of digital cameras. One of these cameras was so unobtrusive the filmmakers apparently could film on location without being detected. I haven't yet seen a photograph of the Slumdog rig in action, but apparently the operator carried a small device in his hands (essentially a handheld lens with a small stability system) with the drive and battery concealed in a backpack. This prototype was used to capture street scenes. For example, the two young slumdog brothers onscreen were not the only ones working illegally inside the Taj Mahal. If the press about the movie is to be believed, Boyle’s guerrilla crew was forbidden to film there.

Here's an interview with Boyle (recorded as the film premiered at Telluride) about how the film was made.