The first trailer for the upcoming Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy film was posted on the front page of Amazon.com today. Do not stop, do not pass go, etc., just get yourself over to there and watch it NOW. Warning: The video takes a about 60 seconds to load — traffic issues? or just a slow Flash player?
Of extra note – I reported earlier that the release date for the movie was May 6, 2005 – but Amazon’s info has moved this up one week to April 29.
I’m prepared to be hugely underwhelmed by this movie, some twenty years in the making. But I’m cautiously optimistic seeing this trailer, the first showing action from the film (the earlier trailer was just a CG tease). The trailer suggests a bit more of an ‘Independence Day 2005’ feel, and is perhaps less humorous in tone than I expected. But that’s probably just marketing spin for this, an early Summer release. Amazon also has a selection of new screenshots from the film, and the new movie poster, pictured above.
Despite the calendar indicating it’s still the depths of winter, Sports Illustrated has it’s annual respite for all of us. The annual Swimsuit Issue launched today on SI.com. 2005 is the first year since 1997 that I haven’t worked on the production of the online version of the American icon, but it’s great to see the issue without getting sick of all the photos weeks in advance of the public release. The magazine blessed the release of close to double the number of photos in past years, although some are for magazine subscribers only. But there are tons of free video clips (it was pay-only in past years), and a smattering of VR photography by my friend Bruce Kaufman. And my friend Chris Gibbons created some very slick Flash features for the Rate-a-Photo section. Another new feature this year is a digital edition of the magazine available for download for $4.99. The application from company OliveSoftware uses their ‘ActivePaper’ technology, basically serving the assets to registered users via Flash. An interesting model, so to speak. Anyway, start clicking!
My hometown of Savannah, GA is in the news today, but not for a terribly positive reason. Savannah State University, one of the country’s historically African-American colleges, achieved the dubious honor of going 0-28 this season with a loss to Florida A&M 49-44 on Monday night. In 50 years, only one other Division 1-A team has lost every game. Head coach Edward Daniels’ explained to the Savannah Morning News that his former coach Al McGuire taught him to ‘keep a sense of humor…You can’t let things get you down so far that you’re a Grim Reaper-type guy.’ Well, maybe going 0-28 gives you reason to be just a little bit down…Read coverage at SI.com here, and at the Savannah Morning News site here. Photograph by Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
I stumbled on this while wandering through Restoration Hardware yesterday. The Firefly Visual Dictionary ($33.97 at Amazon) is chock full of infographics breaking down, for example, all the parts in a power transformer pole outside your home. Or the innards of a windmill. You name it, it’s in here. Close to 1,000 pages with over 6,000 illustrations, this is the kind of book I loved to read all the time as a kid. I’m going to have to pick this up sometime soon.
