Artist: Withered
Genre(s):
Metal: Death,Black
Discography:
Memento Mori
Year: 2005
Tracks: 7
Strokes - Fascinating Fact 5328
Hollywood superstar WILL SMITH is investing more than $1 million (GBP500,000) in a new school near his California home.
The I Am Legend star has paid $889,000 (GBP444,500) to lease the Indian Hills High School in Calabasas, after failing to find a suitable institute for his two young children, Jaden, nine and Willow, seven.
The actor and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith have, until now, been home schooling the pair.
A spokesperson for Smith says of the school - renamed the New Village Academy of Calabasas: "Will is leasing the campus for three years, plus he'll cover all costs such as utilities.
"The academy will be run privately, and will include prekindergarten through grade six."
LATEST: HARRY POTTER superfan STEVEN VANDER ARK wept in court on the second day of his legal battle with author J.K. ROWLING, over his plans to publish an encyclopedia about the fantasy series.
The British writer sued Michigan, Detroit-based RDR Books for copyright infringement in 2007, in a bid to prevent the publication of Vander Ark's Harry Potter Lexicon, based on a fan website he created, inspired by her novels.
Rowling has so far managed to stall the publication of the 400-page text, which was initially intended for release last November (07).
On Monday (14Apr08), Rowling told the New York court how the fan's book "constitutes wholesale theft" of 17 years of her work - adding that her books were like "children" to her.
But, appearing in a U.S. District Court in New York on Tuesday (15Apr08), Vander Ark insisted he was just a big fan of the Harry Potter franchise, and had read every Harry Potter book "30 or 40 times" and every article ever written about Rowling.
Calling Rowling "a genius", the 50-year-old librarian broke down and claimed his clash with the author had left him an outcast among Harry Potter fans.
He told the court, "It's been... it's been difficult because there's been a lot of criticism, obviously, but... that was never the intention.
"This has been an important part of my life for the last nine years or so."
Vander Ark also claims he was initially reluctant to go ahead with the lexicon, but was convinced by RDR that it was legal.
However, a statement from Rowling and Warner Brothers - who own the rights to the Potter works - reads, "A fan's affectionate enthusiasm should not obscure acts of plagiarism.
"The publishers knew what they were doing."
The case continues.
In the preface to his book The Fifties, David Halberstam observes that the 1950s were actually a more exciting, turbulent decade than people remember. "Others were made uneasy by the degree of conformity around them, as if the middle-class living standard had been delivered in an obvious trade-off for blind acceptance of the status quo," he writes.
Is there a movie that better captures that overlooked attitude than High Noon? You can go on and on about Gary Cooper and the story's high moral code (it's one of Bill Clinton's favorite movies), and that's all well and good. But the movie is really about the staggering power of complacency, both then and now. It's doubtful that message was received during the movie's release in 1952. Watch the movie in today's climate of uncertainty and fear, and it hits you like a frying pan over the head. It's not the only reason to love this movie, but it's a hell of a start.
Cooper plays Will Kane, the marshal of a small town whose wedding marks his last day on the job. He's about to start a new life with his peace-embracing lady (Grace Kelly), when word gets out that an unwelcome visitor is looking for Kane. Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald), who Kane put in jail years ago, has been pardoned and is coming to town on the noon train, his boys waiting for him. Kane has about 90 minutes to leave forever, and has certainly earned the right to do so. He decides, though, to stay and take care of his responsibility.
Recruiting volunteers to fight four armed men shouldn't be that hard. Kane is a respected member of the community, an honorable man who brought this dusty town to prominence, but as time screams by, he finds that there are no takers. The judge is leaving. His deputies hide behind their families or personal flaws. Appeals to the parishioners at the town church and the saloon go unanswered. If Kane leaves, the threat goes away. Why in the world should anyone else handle it? Isn't it Kane's mess?
This ethical quandary drives High Noon, as the notion of heroism and civic loyalty being permanent qualities gets discarded like yesterday's garbage. As soon as those qualities aren't convenient or absolutely necessary, director Fred Zinneman and writer Carl Foreman suggest, people want nothing to do with them. It's hard to imagine just how risky this pose was in 1952, with America's patriotism still on the high of World War II and not yet destroyed by the Vietnam War. The message is still timely, but High Noon's packaging gives it sting. It looks like a conventional western, but that uncertain cloud of morality makes it special.
High Noon isn't politically overbearing because it's so enjoyable at face value. Zinnemann films the movie in real time, so there's a sense of creeping dread as doors slam in Kane's face. Zinnemann also provides his own quiet commentary. After getting refused by the church, Kane steps outside to a game of tug of war, which sums up everything. As Kane meets his fate, Zinnemann provides an aerial shot of a solitary Kane walking through town and we realize just how alone he is. Cooper is perfectly cast. He's weary and somber, but he's almost always composed. He's an uncertain hero. And his face is so expressive, telling the whole story of his ordeal, that there is no need for him to wail and whine to the heavens.
It's sometimes hard to define a "classic" movie because it's linked to a particular era or to a particular population. The motivations behind fear and heroism will always change, but they'll never go away. For that reason, neither will High Noon.
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