The late Victoria Fromkin may have been to the first linguist to create a language for a television show:
Bowing to what he termed “teacher pressure,” Taritero took the new-language angle a step farther, promoting Pakuni as a potential educational tool. “I decided to commissino a language that would be fun Saturday morning, but then might translate into learning Spanish the following week.” He took this challenge to UCLA, where he was referred to Victoria Fromkin, Ph.D., the head of the university’s department of linguistics. “The idea of creating a language that could be learned by children was an exciting challenge,” remembered Dr. Fromkin, “Not just the old ‘Me Tarzan, You Jane’ sort of thing.”
Linguist Paul Frommer pulls back the curtain on the creation of Na’vi:
Frommer, a linguistics specialist, was brought in by “Avatar” writer-director James Cameron to create an entire functioning language for the tribe of 10-foot-tall blue aliens who inhabit Pandora, the setting for the film’s conflict. Frommer tackled the project with glee — “How often do you get an opportunity like this?” — but the actors who had bend their tongues around the invented vocabulary and syntax were slightly less charmed by the experience.
Disney reimagines the roller coaster:
Epcot on Wednesday opened a new attraction called “Sum of All Thrills,” which lets kids use computer tablets to design a virtual roller coaster, bobsled track or plane ride. After inputting their designs, kids climb into a robotic carriage that uses virtual-reality technology to help them experience the ride they’ve created.
Universal Studios challenges Knott’s Berry Farm for Halloween dominance:
For decades, Knott’s Berry Farm’s Halloween Haunt has reigned supreme as Southern California’s ultimate theme park for Halloween frights. The Buena Park amusement park started the after-hours tradition more than 30 years ago and is credited with inventing the Halloween mazes duplicated by theme parks nationwide.
But this year, officials at Universal Studios Hollywood say they are extending that park’s Halloween Horror Nights and relying heavily on its movie connections to knock Knott’s from its monster perch.
“At the end of the day, we hope to provide the best scare,” said Xiomara Wiley, senior vice president of marketing and sales at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Rebeca Eckler loves her name:
How much does it cost to achieve literary immortality? In the case of Rebeca Eckler, a Canadian journalist and writer, about $7,000. Two years ago, Eckler paid that princely sum at a charity auction to have her name used as a character in the next novel by her favorite author, fellow Canadian Margaret Atwood.
Though the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) can’t force filmmakers to have certain titles, the excessive use of English words made them to come up with a set of rules about a year and a half ago. The rules said filmmakers must avoid English words in titles as far as possible. The committee responsible for okaying titles made many directors change English words. For instance, originally, director S D Aravind had titled his film `Bangalore Bylaw’. But, the KFCC asked him to change it and he renamed it `Jugari.’ “We cited some past instances but they told us these are new rules. We adhered to the norms,” said Aravind.
Linda Holmes thinks these romantic movie titles leave something to be desired:
The new Jennifer Aniston/Aaron Eckhart romance opening tomorrow is called … Love Happens. Which would seem to be based on … you know, the common phrase? “[Blank] Happens”? I’m not saying they’re directly attempting to link love and [blank], but it sort of feels that way, doesn’t it?
Sierra Entertainment today announced that Radical Entertainment is developing Crash Bandicoot: Mind over Mutant, a new installment of the Crash Bandicoot video game franchise scheduled for release this October on Wii, Xbox 360, PSP, DS and PS2. In Crash Bandicoot: Mind over Mutant, a rejuvenated Neo Cortex is taking over the world one brain at a time. Cortex and N. Brio devise a new kind of evil – a text-messaging, do-anything device which controls both mutant and bandicoot minds. Armed with his quick-wits and lightening agility, Crash must free his friends, the titans and save the day.
Dr. Blair A. Rudes, Associate Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, died unexpectedly on March 16, 2008, after spending the afternoon exercising. An internationally known linguist and expert in American Indian languages, Dr. Rudes came to UNC Charlotte as an Assistant Professor in 1999 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2005.
During his career at UNC Charlotte, Dr. Rudes became famous as a “Hollywood linguist.” In 2004, film director Terrence Malick hired Dr. Rudes to work as a consultant and dialect coach for the film The New World, which deals with the founding of Jamestown and the interaction between the Native people and the English settlers. Malick wanted the American Indian characters to speak in their native language, but this language had been extinct for over 200 years. Dr. Rudes drew on his expertise in the history of American Indian languages to revive the Virginia Algonquian language. He then translated the dialog spoken by the Native characters into Virginia Algonquian and coached the actors on how to pronounce their lines in this language. Dr. Rudes’ contributions to this film attracted widespread publicity including a feature story in the New York Times. Impressed with Dr. Rudes’ contributions to The New World, film director Carter Smith hired Dr. Rudes to serve as the Mayan Dialogue Coach for the film The Ruins, which will be released by Dreamworks later in 2008.
Sega Europe is polling the world (or a reasonable sample thereof) to name the new alien baddies in the next iteration of its legendary Sonic The Hedgehog franchise. My vote? The Darkmood.
Sonic is cool and all, but he’s no Crash Bandicoot.