Race to the bottom of the ocean

• RACE To the bottom
• TRITON SUB Adventure tourism
• VIRGIN SUB One-man mission
• DOER SUB Science explorers
• CAMERON'S SUB Film adventure?

The race is on to reach the deepest place in the ocean: the Mariana Trench, which plunges 11km (7 miles) down. Fifty years after it was first conquered, four teams are vying to return. It will be an epic journey that will push submersible technology to its limits and put the lives of those piloting the vessels at grave risk. Each team has a unique approach, but over the course of the next year only one will be crowned the winner in this journey beyond the abyss.

• Click on the subs for more
• Mariana Trench
• Sea level, 0m
• Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench
  The ocean's deepest point 10,994m down

• TRITON

  Is a ride in this yellow submarine worth $250,000 a seat?

• VIRGIN

  Can this one-man mission break a record in five oceans?

• DOER

  What can this Google-backed sub do for science?

• JAMES CAMERON

  Will the Avatar director find a sequel in the deep?

Written by Rebecca Morelle. Production by John Walton, Helene Sears, Luke Ward and Charlotte Thornton. Camera work, Simon Hancock.

Image credit: CCOM/University of New Hampshire and Google.

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Steve Urkel, All Grown Up

by Jen Trolio TV.com Staff Writer 06/08/10 12:00 PM

Then and now.

Before Family Matters premiered in 1989, Jaleel White was just an unknown child actor. But everything changed when he landed the role of Steve Urkel, the Winslow family's nerdy next-door neighbor—and became an instant hit. White's portrayal of the character as a suspenders-and-saddle-shoes-wearing dweeb transformed Urkel into one of most well-loved TV characters of the '90s, and with today's DVD release of Family Matters Season 1, the geek-with-a-heart-of-gold returns to the small screen for the first time in over a decade. I spoke to White about playing America's favorite nerd-next-door and what he's up to now—notably, producing and staring in an Entourage-inspired web series, Fake It 'Til You Make It, which also comes out today,

Family Matters is just now coming out on DVD for the first time. The story I've heard is that Steve Urkel was only supposed to make a one-time appearance, but audiences loved him so much that episodes were rewritten to bring him back, and all of a sudden he was an integral part of the show. What was the character like when you auditioned? How much did you end up having to do with the development of the role?

I had everything to do with developing the role. And the [reason I got to do so much with it is] that it was a unique time. I worked for very, very powerful producers who just don’t have that type of influence anymore. Their show really wasn’t doing very well. I was 12 years old with a bundle of energy and a lot of creative ideas and I took a really big risk in the audition. I didn’t realize it was a big risk at that age, but now that I’m an adult—

So the risk was going in there a reading the part as a nerd?

Yeah. The glasses, pretty much everything that you saw, with the exception of—I always give our late wardrobe designer the credit that he was due, because with the saddle shoes and suspenders, he really did nail down the character. But in terms of the posture, the walk, and the glasses, that was all me. And then, you know, Rich Correll is a terrific director. He directed probably over half the episodes of Family Matters. Rich comes from a huge physical comedy background, and so from the day Rich got a hold of me, literally, day one, he was like, “You’re going to bump into this wall right here, and I’m going to show you how to do it so you don’t get hurt.” And that was it. It took off from there, and I think the first season will definitely show that, what was happening with the show. By Episode 12, it really starts to become something different. So [the Season 1 DVD set] is a nice piece of nostalgia to have out there now.

Today, when you hear the name Steve Urkel, does it inspire nostalgia or does it give you nightmares?

It’s completely nostalgia. But I will say this: Imagine you’re in a bar and somebody wants to come up to you and show you a picture of yourself in the ninth grade. [Maybe you loved the ninth grade because] you hit a whole lot of home runs in the ninth grade, and you’re really proud of those home runs. But you might not want to see the picture of yourself in the ninth grade.

What was life like after Family Matters ended? Has typecasting been a problem for you at all, or do you just prefer to stay behind-the-scenes these days?

I would definitely like to continue to act when the opportunity presents itself. It’s just that it’s hard to talk about typecasting when I can’t even find a single black show on any of the big networks. So it’s a problem that’s bigger than me. I’m not necessarily going to hurl any water balloons, but it’s a tough business right now. It really is, for anybody, and especially it’s a particularly tough business to get a show off the ground the way you imagined it.

I will give you my favorite quote from our executive producer, Michael Warren, and it directly addresses any notion of typecasting. At the end of Family Matters, at our 200th episode, Michael Warren took me to lunch. He took me to Geoffrey’s Malibu, and he just kind of chuckled, and he said, "You know, the funniest thing about this show is,"—he’s sipping his very expensive wine, and he said—"there’s no way in hell that we could have sold this show to the network the way it’s turned out." And I’m like, "What do you mean, Michael?" He said, "If we had walked in there to ABC and said, 'We have a show we want to pitch you, about a nerdy black kid who’s in love with the girl next door; he loves Polka and cheese and can invent anything,' there’s no way in the world ABC would have bought it. They’d have laughed us out of the room." And when he said that it was kind of disheartening, because I had enjoyed such a level of creativity [in the role of Steve Urkel]. But that pitch doesn’t sit inside of anybody’s box.

Tell us about the new web series, Fake It 'Til You Make It.

Basically, it’s the other side of Entourage. It’s what’s really going on out here in L.A., where people's hustles don’t match their business cards, and I’ll know you for only as long as I need you. But it's a very comedic look at [the scene]. I play a former child star named Reggie Culkin, and I’m a multi-hyphenate former actor. I’m a mobile notary. I am an image consultant. I am a celebrity trainer to other celebrities. I am the typical guy that you meet at the W Hotel on a Friday night.

And you wrote it in addition to starring in it?

Yes, I wrote it and my production company produced it. I wrote every episode. And there are some great cameos, too. [Mixed martial arts fighter] Rashad Evans gave me an amazing episode. Wayne Brady gave me a really amazing episode. Debbie Allen—I really pulled out all the stops for this one.

Do the guests stars appear as themselves, or does everyone play a fictional character?

Wayne plays himself. I tried to stay true to Los Angeles, where we do have celebrities and certain interaction with famous people. It’s just that I’m the most important person these three schlubs who’ve met me know, and if Reggie Culkin is the most important person you know in Los Angeles in your pursuit of fame and fortune, good luck to you.

How much of Fake It 'Til You Make It is autobiographical, given that you're a former child star yourself?

It's not, really. It’s just that whenever I create characters, I like to take little pieces of different people and create my own person. I felt like, obviously, it was a character that people could see me playing. And the character was more or less a conduit into this bigger world of Los Angeles and living this delusion, all under the guise of following your dreams.

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How Avatar toppled Titanic

By Neil Smith Entertainment reporter, BBC News

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Watch a scene from Avatar - courtesy of 20th Century Fox

The original Titanic sank in 1912. Now the blockbuster movie it inspired has also gone down.

This time, though, it was not an iceberg that toppled it, but a 3D film about a blue-skinned alien race defending their planet against human invaders.

Towards the end of the last decade, James Cameron's epic Titanic became the most successful movie ever with global takings of $1.843bn (£1.14bn).

But that record no longer stands thanks to Avatar - also directed by Cameron - which this week stole its crown as the all-time global box office champ, with receipts of $1.859bn (£1.15bn).

It is an astonishing achievement for the 55-year-old Canadian, and one that is unlikely to be repeated in his or our lifetimes.

Yet it is also a triumph for the 20th Century Fox studio and its parent company NewsCorp, the financial backers of this bold, predominantly computer-generated science-fiction saga.

The film is set on a planet populated by blue-skinned aliens

Quite simply, Avatar has been a phenomenon that has captured the cultural zeitgeist in a way few could have predicted.

It did so despite having few star names and generating a mixed reaction from the critics, many of whom slated its plot, dialogue and characterisation.

The film has also drawn fire from the blogosphere, with some pundits attacking it for what they see as its anti-American subtext and environmentalist agenda.

Some have even accused it of being racist in its depiction of a white hero coming to the aid of a persecuted indigenous population - largely portrayed, incidentally, by African-American and native American actors.

No one would claim Avatar is high art, any more than they would consider Titanic a modern masterpiece.

Yet what it does have in its favour is state-of-the-art visual effects that transport the viewer to a spectacularly realised extra-terrestrial world.

That Avatar was Cameron's first feature since Titanic - winner of 11 Oscars in 1998 - was enough by itself to ensure it would be a major release.

Yet it took a combination of canny scheduling, aggressive marketing and an industry-wide drive to revive 3D for its full potential to be realised.

Unchallenged

Had Avatar opened last summer, it would have faced much stiffer competition for audiences and cinema screens.

By launching in December, though, the film has enjoyed a virtually unchallenged month-long run without any significant challenges from other titles.

Fox's rivals may have deliberately refrained from taking it on, mindful of the huge expectation that surrounded this heavily hyped picture.

Unconfirmed reports suggest Fox has spent as much as $150 million (£93 million) promoting a movie some claim cost $300m (£185m) to make.

Hi-tech effects were used to create its eye-popping visuals

Perhaps the key factor in Avatar's success, though, has been the way it has turned the revived interest in the 3D format to its advantage.

Last year, such animated features as Up, Monsters Vs Aliens and Fox's own Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs showed the industry digital 3D projection was a viable proposition.

Avatar has been able to build on their success, capitalising on the higher ticket prices cinema chains have been charging to see it in stereoscope.

Crucial to the film's marketing is that it is an "event" movie that needs to be seen in 3D to be appreciated fully.

It is a message that has clearly taken hold of the UK sector, where audiences have chosen in overwhelming numbers to pay more to see the film than they would otherwise need to.

Invincible

According to entertainment analyst Nielsen EDI, standard "2D" screenings represent just 15% of Avatar's UK takings.

In contrast, 85% have derived from 3D or IMAX 3D screenings.

Such data bodes well for forthcoming 3D titles like Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Toy Story 3 and Tron: Legacy.

It will also encourage more cinemas to install the digital equipment required to screen films in 3D.

According to the Film Distributors' Association, 15% of UK cinema screens - around 500 in all - are 3D enabled.

However, it expects that figure to rise significantly in the coming months as more high-profile titles are released in the format.

Where does this leave Cameron? Back to being the "king of the world" as he proclaimed himself at the Academy Awards 12 years ago.

Oscar glory may not be lavished so fulsomely on Avatar, though that is unlikely to make much of a dent on his apparent box office invincibility.

Not only that, but he now shares - with Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson and Pirates of the Caribbean helmer Gore Verbinski - the honour of having two films in the all-time box-office Top 10.

Crucially, though, he has the top two. And if you think he is not happy about that fact, you do not know Jim Cameron.

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Commentary

What we learned from Avatar:

1) Good actors, not popular names, make good movies. I loved the main character in Avatar when i saw him in Terminator 4, and I couldn't wait to see his next movie. Look for him to find better roles because he definitely deserves it.

He shows pain and emotions in ways most other actors can only dream of.

Also watch for other actors, with big names, to find less work as Avatar should have showed Hollywood that big names mean nothing unless they can give you outstanding rewards. Only a few big names nowadays can do that, one of them being Will Smith.

2) Mercenaries are not Americans. They made that clear at the start of the movie, if people were listening well. Mercenaries for hire are evil because they are driven by cash. That was made ever so clear in this movie and the war for unobtanium.

3) The world becomes a better place when we work together and not against each other. The Na'vi are nothing if not people who band together well and become a true family. The world community needs to band together similarly and stop fighting with one another over small nuances that are insignificant.

I loved the movie and most who went to watch it did too.

Avatar on course to sink Titanic at the box office

Avatar has had phenomenal success at the box office

Avatar is on course to become the highest grossing film of all time, making $1.14bn (£700m) since its release less than three weeks ago.

The Hollywood Reporter said James Cameron's film had overtaken the $1.12bn (£699m) taken by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

But Cameron still has a way to go to top Titanic's $1.84bn (£1.14bn).

It is thought that Avatar's huge box office takings are partly due to the higher cost of 3D film tickets.

Titanic, which starred Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio and won the best director Oscar for Cameron, made a new box office record during its release from 1997-1998.

Most expensive

Earlier this month, Avatar became the fastest movie ever to achieve $1bn (£623m) in ticket sales around the world.

Distributors 20th Century Fox said it had earned more than $350m (£218m) in the US and more than $670m (£417m) across the rest of the world in only 17 days.

The sci-fi epic, about a disabled marine who infiltrates a race of giant blue aliens, mixes live action with digitally-created performances.

It was reportedly the most expensive film ever made, with a budget of at least $300m (£187m).

In December, Cameron said the movie could be the first part of a trilogy.

"I feel like I have to make a second one now, but that'll only happen if we make some money with the first one.

"I have a story worked out for the second film, and the third film, but my lips are sealed," he said.

Meanwhile, it has also been reported that Cameron has set his sights on another project.

According to film magazine Empire, the director has bought the rights to Charles Pellegrino's soon-to-be published The Last Train From Hiroshima: The Survivors Look Back.

The book chronicles two days during and after the atomic bomb drops at the end of the Second World War, using eyewitness accounts from Japanese civilians and American pilots who survived the experience.

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Commentary

Just saw this movie in Imax, having my first Imax experience, and I have to say it was well worth it.

I mean I saw the movie before on lower quality but Imax is definitely worth the 16 dollars I paid. I also brought along 4 people as most of us do when seeing films, and thus helped possibly sink Titanic.

Does this movie deserve to sink Titanic? As far as inflation, no. As far as reaching that 1.8 billion mark, yes.

James Cameron, you did a wonderful job. Terminator 4 would not have even been possible without you launching the series sky high with T2.
Don't forget the short but amazing T.v series Dark Angel.

Harry Potter actors look to the future - My Take on the Series and Movies as a Whole

Harry Potter actors look to the future

Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint talk Half-Blood Prince, Hallows and the future

By Tim Masters Entertainment correspondent, BBC News

With filming on the final two parts of the Harry Potter series under way, the young actors who have grown up on the set and become global superstars are now considering their next steps.

We asked them whether it would be a case of deathly silence after the Deathly Hallows...

The child actors were cast in the summer of 2000

As you might expect, Daniel Radcliffe - who has kept busy on both film and stage projects in between playing Harry - laughs off the idea that the rest of his life might be an anti-climax.

"No man, I've got kids to have yet!" he says excitedly, despite nursing a sore throat on the cold, cavernous film set at Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire.

"They're going to keep me busy if I do - which I hope I do at some point. I'm not planning on it soon - that's one of the things I'm really looking forward to doing."

The 20-year-old adds: "What's been cool is that I've been here when a lot of people here have had kids while on the film, and I've seen the change it's made in their life and how amazing it is."

His co-star Rupert Grint, 21, who plays Ron Weasley, says he has no doubt that Harry Potter will be the "biggest thing" he will be involved with.

"I make the most of it and enjoy it," he says.

Tom Felton on filming the saga's final films, what his future holds and how he has never seen Star Wars

"It is quite scary when this all ends because we're stepping out into the real world - it is quite a bubble I suppose, we've had these films to do every year and it's become quite a routine.

"I'm definitely going to miss it. It's been a great 10 years. I am quite keen to move on and see what else is out there."

Grint, speaking at the launch of the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince DVD, says he is interested in more parts like the "bad boy" role he gets to play in his forthcoming movie Cherrybomb.

The coming-of-age drama premiered at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, but failed to find a distributor.

Fans set up an online petition for its release, and producers now say a distribution deal has been signed, and the Belfast-set movie should be in cinemas in 2010.

I think it's just because I'm ginger they throw me into the frame Rupert Grint

"It's nice because it's so different," says Grint. "That's what attracted me to it - it wasn't really a conscious thing to move away.

"It was really fun to be on a different set and experience a whole different budget - it was quite a shock. I really enjoyed it and hopefully I will get to do more films like that."

He dismisses press speculation that he's in the running to play Prince Harry in a film called The Spare that's due to shoot next year.

"I think it's just because I'm ginger they throw me into the frame, but I haven't really heard anything about it," he says.

Actress Emma Watson, 19, who plays Hermione Granger, began studying at an American university in September, though she hasn't ruled out acting projects out of term-time.

Fellow actress Bonnie Wright, 18, has just begun a degree course in film and TV in London. She has played Ron's sister Ginny Weasley since the first film in 2001.

Personally I think a greater project is out there Bonnie Wright

Speaking on the set at Leavesden, she points out that she's spent more than half of her life working on Harry Potter.

"Although it has been massive," she says, "personally I think a greater project is out there. That's what makes me keep working, knowing that there's this project out there that I'm yet to do."

David Heyman, who has produced all of the Harry Potter films, is confident that the global stars that he's helped create will go on to further success.

"They've had a good structure here and at home, they are pretty solid kids," he says.

"They are going to go and have great fun - they are going to have great success. I'm sure they will thrive."

He adds: "I think they all know I'm here to support them, and if they ever want a chat I'll be there for them.

"Ultimately they've got to leave the fold and take flight - and I know they will."

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is out on DVD on 7 December

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Commentary

I loved the books and re-read the 3rd, 4th, and 5th books to get ready for the 6th and 7th ones. What's funny is i started by reading the 3rd book after seeing the first 2 movies. Then I read the 4th book and then the 5th. After a while I went back and read the first and second book and decided to reread the series continuing onwards to prepare for the newest 6th book.

The movie that is truest to the books is probably the 2nd one, Chamber of Secrets, which follows the book almost to the tee. My favorite book is probably the 4th one, Goblet of Fire. That's really the climax of the story and where it becomes an adult book.

My favorite movie was probably the 3rd one because of the overall feel and the creepiness we really don't witness again in any of the other movies.

The actors are great and the best actor hands down is the one who plays Ron; Rupert Grint I think his name is. He feels so natural on camera and everything seems so unscripted.

My favorite character in the series is probably either Hermione or Hagrid. Snape was definitely the most interesting one.

I hope all these actors do really well in the future and I wish them all the best. I also hope the writer of Harry potter starts up a new series that has nothing to do with Harry or magic.

Lie To Me - Grevious Bodily Harm

Some the greatest, No, No. THE greatest acting I've ever seen at 40 minutes on til the end; especially the loyalty with terry marsh part.

Want to be an actor, than witness the miracle that is Lightman.