Top 10 Recut Movie Trailers

Counting backwards, here are some of the best re-imagined, recut movie trailers. It seems to successfully make a recut trailer, you need to switch the original genre to its polar opposite (children to horror, romance to thriller, etc...) Key elements that will be very noticable shall be: music, voice over, and the text appearing between shots. So let's get started:

10) Mary Poppins



9) My Girl



8) You've Got Mail



7) Sleepless in Seattle



6) Mrs Doubtfire



5) Dumb and Dumber



4) When Harry Met Sally



3) Toy Story/Requiem for a Dream



2) Top Gun



1) The Shining

Miley Cyrus' So Called Life

There is a time in an artists life when they will release a retrospective piece that speaks over their (hopefully) interesting career. Sometimes we find artists who are not exactly worthy of releasing retrospective pieces, doing just this same thing. Artists will oftne release a greatest hits compilation album after decades of studio albums, or a countless array of hits. Then there are the artists who compile a "greatest hits" collection, after only releasing a couple of albums. This leaves me wondering how easy is it to be considered worthy of a career retrospective. And I'm talking the Aaron Carter, Keith Urban, Hilary Duff Collections here.

The same can be said with celebrity autobiographies. More often than not, a celebrity, whether it be an actor, musician, sportsperson, or whoever, will generally produce a work of non fiction/autobiography at the end of either their career, or during a retirement, or a quiet time in their professional life; a reflection period. However, much like pre-emptive greatest hit compilations, we see sometimes see the pre-emptive autobiography.

Miley Cyrus, the teenage bucktoothed sensation is my Exhibit A. An example of a career that has only begun within the last few years. Not even last decade. Despite this lack of experience in the industry, little Smiley Miley has come up with "her story". It's sad when you know that there is an audience for this hogwahed filled piece of mediocrity.

Miley, also know to millions of 'tweens' as Hannah Montana is a bit of the media mogul. Despite only JUST turning 17, little Miley (daughter of 80s country Achy Breaky Heart one hit wonder Billy Ray Cyrus) has already starred in a television program, released CD's, her own clothing line, and now the autobiography, ironically titled "Miles To Go" (Ironic for me, as I feel that's where I stand with her synergising ways...It's only just begun!?!?!) I can only assume that the perfume and energy drinks products are just around the corner.

It is important to note that Miley is not the first young celebrity to pen her story. Back in the day, Drew Barrymore wrote "Little Girl Lost", an autobiography in 1991 about her turbulent childhood and drug addictions at age 14. Now we take in hand that Drew had been through quite a journey in this short space of time. In comparion, Miley suffered some "serious" bullying, and had a "serious" two year relationship that is worthy of a marriage comparison to Jonas Brother Nick Jonas (Another Disney tween sensation.)

Recently I saw a clip of Miley on The View, a popular US daytime television talk show. When asked out what she would like to say to the girls who bullied her in high school, she replied, "Hahaha!" And not only that, but she also said that the popular girls who bullied her were always the ones being cast in lead roles in school productions and she was not, but now she has a show and they don’t. Now, to me, this seems suggests less of a rags to riches story, and more of a revenge driven reality.

Apparent the Disney company payed Cyrus a 7 figure sum to write the autobiography and there is already talks of a movie based on the book. Is this going to be a similar situation to Patty Duke starring in the Patty Duke story? Or the Joan Rivers/Melissa Rivers story, starring Joan and Melissa Rivers? Miley Cyrus stars as Miley Cyrus in the Miley Cyrus story.

Give me a break!

First stop: Myspace, Then onto: Facebook, Get off at Twitter. I'm on the cyber-networking express

There's a new thing in town. It's all the rage. And now I've jumped on it.

In the past I have reported on my crippling addiction to Facebook. I'm a recovering addict and each day is another struggle. However, to combat an addiction, one addict will often find another addiction to harbor in doom with. And so, in the style of former alcoholics becoming over-eaters, I have jumped on the Twitter bandwagon.

What is Twitter you ask? It is a site that allows you to create a profile that allows you to update on what you're doing, and keep updated on other peoples lives. Twitter has been around for a while, but, as far as I'm concerned, Twitter is a new thing. It has only been within the last couple of weeks that I've first heard of this new social networking site. At first I didn't get it. It seems just like the update status feature on Facebook. But as I've been studying it a bit more, I think I'm getting the gist of it. It is all about what you're doing. And while I could have just been content with Facebook, joining Twitter proves a valuable exercise in my attempt to be rid of the Facebook addiction.

What has been the bane of my Facebook problem is that I was sick of constantly checking my home page to see if I was getting any love. The joy about Twitter: it's all about what you're doing, and what other people are doing, and less about the interaction between both. Not that you can't interact, but it doesn't seem to be the point of it all. Perhaps this is a godsend from heaven.

So as I ponder the existence of Twitter-dom, I will keep you updated. Is this just another step into the dark abyss of inner torment and hell or, is it a step up to Jesus, in his holy multi-media wonderment?

The joys of...

...Watching Television on DVD

It's a new technological age, and so it seems that there are certain changes that are taking shape and now becoming quite obvious to the techno-savvy eye. One thing that has specifically changed within the last 10 years is how television shows are accessed and digested. With DVD technology becoming less expensive, the consumption of our favourite television shows, and more notably, television shows we've yet to discover, have become cheaper and more accessible than ever before. This has lead to people watching the television shows on DVD as opposed to watching them live on television, and in some cases, television shows being altered in favour of DVD audiences.

Writers of Family Guy can be heard on many DVD commentaries noting which parts of an episode have been specifically written for the DVD and were cut from original airing on the FOX television network. This suggests that not only is there an auidence for DVD TV but that the creators of the shows are catering specifically for this audience and perhaps moving away from the traditional forms of exhibition.

So, why should you watch a TV show on DVD as opposed to watching it in real time on your own television? Well, firsly, everything is on your own time. You are your own programmer. You decide what shows are worthy of being broadcast in primetime hours, and not only that, but you can decide how many episodes you wish to view at the one time. You can have your own marathon if you choose. It's all up to you. And another benefit of owning your own TV series, is that you can repeat, pause, add subtitles and fast forward as much as your hearts desire.

In an article written in The Age (click here if you want to read more), creator of The Wire David Simon notes how the trend is turning with television shows being made in a different televisual world, where everything will turn into On Demand viewing, instead of viewers having to curb their lives around television programming.

I have been a fan of this new trend. I have discovered many gems that were many a time unavailable on normal network television. And even having the added bonus of cable does not ensure you will see the show you so called desire, unless you have some kind of electronic recording device. But still, owning DVD TV is the ultimate convienence of television consumption. Television shows like The Wire and Family Guy are finding their audiences within the DVD market, and not via network programming.

Of course this does not spell the end for television broadcasting. Nonetheless, television broadcasting will undoubtably change within the next 5-10 years. And this could very well allow for much easier consumption of television shows, much similar to DVD TV. I personally cannot wait! While the good ol' days of turning on your box at 8.30 on a Sunday night may become a thing of the past, hopefully we'll be able embrace the new age of technological television broadcasting.