Suing YouTube for 1 billion dollars, Viacom in their opening statements (which have been made public today) claimed the leading video site does not do enough in dealing with copyrighted material; To which YouTube retorted:
For years, Viacom continuously and secretly uploaded its content to YouTube, even while publicly complaining about its presence there. It hired no fewer than 18 different marketing agencies to upload its content to the site. It deliberately “roughed up” the videos to make them look stolen or leaked. It opened YouTube accounts using phony email addresses. It even sent employees to Kinko’s to upload clips from computers that couldn’t be traced to Viacom. And in an effort to promote its own shows, as a matter of company policy Viacom routinely left up clips from shows that had been uploaded to YouTube by ordinary users. Executives as high up as the president of Comedy Central and the head of MTV Networks felt “very strongly” that clips from shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report should remain on YouTube.
With all the buzz about Tim Burton’s latest film, I thought it might be wise to share a piece of cinematic treasure you have never heard off; It’s a 1976 film titled Bill Osco’s Alice in Wonderland and the reason you are unfamiliar with it is that it is, well, technically porn. Now hold on, hold on, don’t let all the pee-pees and the wee-wees scare you off discovering this gem; This is a very thoughtful musical adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s 19th century classic, which not only includes many of the original characters, but more importantly pays homage to the main themes like Alice’s coming of age and the delicious absurdity of Wonderland. The film, starring Playboy centerfold Kristine DeBell as Alice, is considered part of the Golden Age of Porn and is one of the highest-grossing adult films ever.
Now I’m no film critic, but Roger Ebert is, and this is what he wrote about it almost 34 years ago:
This isn’t another X-rated potboiler but an adult movie with a certain charm. Even the way it avoids the explicitness of hard-core porn is sort of fun, as the camera suggests that the most amazing things are happening just offscreen.
Kristine De Bell wanders through Wonderland with a blissful ignorance as the inhabitants give her a cram course in 50 ways to keep your lover. She’s just fine: Maybe it’s her perpetual look of total innocence and astonishment in the face of Wonderland’s jolly pastimes that makes her seem so sexy. She looks just like the healthy blond with wide-set eyes and Toni curls that sat across the aisle in high school — or should have.
Here’s a snippet (in pre-restoration quality):
You can get your hands on a restored DVD copy here, here -- or through the usual channels.
Musician Dan Bull, whose letters to Lily Allen and Lord Mandelson both became YouTube hits, has done it again; His latests piece is about the music industry’s consistent refusal to accept or adapt to new technology, from the gramophone to the jukebox to commercial radio to the internet. His song, and accompanying video focuses on the most famous campaign, the ill-judged 80s classic; Home Taping is Killing Music.
Check out the British campaign against the Digital Economy Bill at DontDisconnect.us
Lyrics after the jump. Continue reading this post…
Super Size Me (USA, 2004) -- Director: Morgan Spurlock -- documentary
* Well, not really about food in general, but about the global and local impact of corporate production of our food.
** As with any of my ‘Top 10′ lists, upon publishing they usually don’t have 10 items in them as I like to leave room for future additions.
