Chill acquires sequel to "Birdemic," reviled cult classic

By Lucas Shaw

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Chill has secured exclusive digital distribution rights to "Birdemic 2: The Resurrection," the sequel to a cult classic that some dubbed the worst movie ever made.

Director James Ngyuen is in the middle of a multi-city tour that will bring his new film, in which eagles and vultures attacking Hollywood, to cities such as New York, San Francisco and London. Though Ngyuen had been speaking with other distributors suggesting more traditional release strategies, such as theatrical first and then DVD, Chill offered to make the film available just as the social buzz from the tour was kicking in.

"What better time to release it than when you've got word of mouth and social activity," Marc Hustvedt, head of entertainment at Chill, told The Wrap. "It runs like an extended crowdfunding campaign. The same dynamics are in play where you're posting regular updates, creating limited edition merchandise, telling a story and having the filmmakers participate in the process."

Chill, which last November transformed into a digital video storefront and on-demand site, has been staffing up in its marketing division. It will release signed posters and hand-puppets to fans of "Birdemic" after the film goes on sale Tuesday.

The film will be available exclusively on Chill for 90 days, selling for $9.99. It will then be available on iTunes and other digital platforms, with Chill netting a fraction of the revenue from those sales.

The company just hired George Rausch to oversee the distribution of its videos to other platforms, part of a series of hires better suited to the site's latest incarnation. Rausch joined the company from The Collective, a talent management and production company, where he oversaw theatrical and digital distribution for select films.

"A great film and great piece of entertainment is fluid; it needs to live in a lot of places," Hustvedt said. "To think Chill is the end-all-be-all is fallacy. Eventually it should be wide and widely distributed."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chill-acquires-sequel-birdemic-reviled-cult-classic-214803123.html

sound of music Peter Billingsley festivus festivus nfl playoff picture nfl playoff picture Larry King

Alison Brie Esquire Photos: Holy Hotness!!!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/alison-brie-esquire-photos-holy-hotness/

Girl Meets World Jason Babin Nolan Daniels angus t. jones monday night football monday night football SEC Championship Game 2012

Johnson's free kick lifts Timbers by 'Quakes, 1-0

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) ? When Earthquakes forward Alan Gordon directed a slur at Will Johnson, the Timbers midfielder responded with the game-winning goal.

Johnson's goal in the 78th minute gave Portland a 1-0 win on Sunday night. It was their second straight victory, moving the team to 2-1-3 under new coach Caleb Porter.

Gordon was ejected in the second half after receiving a pair of yellow cards involving fouls on other players. But minutes earlier, he was seen on the television broadcast using a slur toward Johnson.

After the match, Gordon released a statement through the team.

"I would like to sincerely apologize to everyone who watched tonight's match on NBC Sports Network. The language I used came during a heated moment and does not reflect my feelings toward the gay and lesbian community. I made a mistake and I accept full responsibility for my actions," the statement read.

Johnson was diplomatic.

"I think it's probably better that I don't comment on that," he said. "It's a very sensitive matter. I'd prefer the league go through with their protocol."

It's standard procedure for Major League Soccer to review the video of matches that involve a red card.

Gordon was escorted from the locker room after the game by team personnel and did not speak with reporters after match.

The loss dropped the Earthquakes to 2-3-2.

Forward Steven Lenhart was back in San Jose's starting lineup after returning from a partially torn meniscus last weekend as a reserve. The striker missed San Jose's first five matches after offseason surgery. That meant the Earthquakes' so-called Bash Brothers ? Lenhart and Gordon ? were both starting for the first time this season.

But Gordon was sent off in the 68th minute after getting a second yellow card, for elbowing Timbers defender Mikael Silvestre in the face, causing a bloody lip. Gordon was also received a yellow in the 41st minute for a foul on Diego Chara.

Video replay appeared to show that Gordon directed a slur at Johnson a few minutes before his ejection. Such a comment would bring an automatic three-match suspension by MLS.

Some 10 minutes later, Johnson hit a free kick from just outside the penalty arc that sailed over the wall and past goalkeeper Jon Busch.

"It doesn't work every time," Johnson said. "But when it does, it's nice."

Earlier in the day, Porter had texted Johnson asking "Why don't you hit a free kick tonight?" The coach was floored when it happened.

"Everybody's going to talk about the free kick," Johnson said. "But it's really about the team."

The teams played to a scoreless draw in the first half. Portland missed an opportunity when Ryan Johnson's header was snagged in midair by Busch in the 43rd minute.

The Timbers dominated possession (62.6 percent) in the first half, but matched San Jose with just four shots. It was a physical match, as evidenced by the yellow cards. Four minutes after Chara was fouled by Gordon, Chara got a yellow card for a foul on Rafael Baca.

Following the game, Yallop questioned why officials waited to make the call to eject Gordon until after the video scoreboard had shown a replay, firing up the crowd at Jeld-Wen.

"You should let the officials call the game," he said, adding that he had not seen the replay.

Portland was without midfielder Diego Valeri, who was elbowed in the face last weekend against the Dynamo and only participated in light workouts this week because of the league's concussion protocol. The Timbers also lost defender David Horst to a fractured right tibia during the Houston game. He is out six months.

The Timbers also announced shortly before the game that defender Andrew Jean-Baptiste would not start because of a right adductor strain. Futty Danso started in his place.

Portland is 2-0-4 against the Earthquakes. Sunday's game was the first of a home-and-home with San Jose, and the two teams meet again next Sunday at Buck Shaw Stadium.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/johnsons-free-kick-lifts-timbers-quakes-1-0-070852480--sow.html

lunar eclipse alabama football florida lotto sean taylor Lisa Robin Kelly Nexus 4 Girl Meets World

Thermo Fisher to buy Life Tech for $13.6 billion

By Bill Berkrot and Susan Kelly

(Reuters) - Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc on Monday agreed to buy Life Technologies Corp for $13.6 billion in a deal that would make it one of the top companies in the hot field of genetic testing.

The pact values Life Tech at $76 per share, a 12 percent premium, and is one of the year's biggest corporate takeovers.

The deal would catapult Thermo, the world's largest maker of scientific and laboratory equipment, to the forefront of the fledgling field of personalized medicine, in which research is uncovering the hereditary underpinnings of diseases to better tailor treatments to patients.

"Genetic sequencing is an area that will become increasingly important over the years in terms of specialty diagnostics, and Thermo needs to compete in that market because they have a number of products in that area that ultimately could get displaced by sequencing applications," said Macquarie Capital analyst Jonathan Groberg.

Thermo Chief Executive Marc Casper said advanced genetic testing was an important field going forward, and his company wanted to get into it as an industry leader.

"We didn't want to be a more distant participant, and this transaction facilitated us having a stronger position there. Today there are two industry leaders, Life Technologies being one of them," Casper said in a telephone interview.

On a call with analysts, Casper acknowledged that Life Tech is No. 2 behind Illumina Inc on next-generation gene sequencing, but he said Life Tech has been gaining market share and has a promising pipeline of products in development.

Illumina last year turned down a $6.8 billion hostile takeover offer from Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG that demonstrated the appeal of gene-sequencing technology.

SHARES OF BOTH COMPANIES RISE

While the agreed price for Life Tech was at the high end of analysts' expectations, and large acquisitions typically drive down the share price of the acquirer, Thermo said the deal would add 90 cents to $1 to its per-share profit in the first full year, sending its shares higher. After jumping nearly 6 percent, the shares were up 1.1 percent at $80.45 in afternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

The offer represents a premium of about 12 percent to Life Tech's market close on Friday. Life Tech shares were up 7.5 percent at $73.11, below the offer price.

The combined company would have 2013 revenue of about $17 billion, according to analysts' estimates. The acquisition will also enhance Thermo's offerings in the fast growing field of food safety, and its ability to grow in China and other emerging markets.

"The combined company has significant scale in emerging markets and scale makes a huge difference there," said Casper, adding that the combination of the two companies "will put us in even better position to grow in the fastest growing regions in the world."

The acquisition is by far the biggest deal for Thermo since the company was created in the $12.8 billion merger of Thermo Electron and Fisher Scientific International in 2006. It is also far larger than the biggest previous deal on Casper's watch - the $3.5 billion acquisition of Phadia in 2011.

"We obviously had a good track record and a strong methodology to successfully integrate businesses," Casper said. "We feel comfortable in our ability to execute this successfully."

Thermo expects the transaction to close early in 2014, pending U.S. regulatory and shareholder approvals.

Thermo will assume Life Tech's net debt of about $2.2 billion. In the third year following the deal's closing, Thermo said it expects to achieve cost savings of $250 million by consolidating facilities and support functions.

Thermo's products range from basic scientific instruments, such as test tubes, to advanced mass spectrometry equipment used to determine the chemical structure of molecules. It also sells chemicals, agents and antibodies used in the manufacture and research of biotech medicine - a line that will be complemented by Life Tech's product lines - and in recent years has increased its portfolio of products for testing air and water quality and food safety.

LIFE TECH EXPLORED MANY OPTIONS

Life Tech explored a sale after previous attempts by Chief Executive Gregory Lucier to boost the value of the company's stock and capture more market share from Illumina.

Lucier said the company explored many options during a lengthy strategic review, with the ultimate sale of the company always one of them. "We are very satisfied both with the process and the outcome," he said in a telephone interview.

Life Tech President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Stevenson is expected to play a significant role in the combined company, the companies said.

Lucier oversaw the merger of his former company Invitrogen and Applied Biosystems that created Life Tech.

"It's been an honor to work with a team of people that created a company that ultimately Thermo Fisher thought highly enough to pay over $13 billion for," Lucier said.

Thermo has obtained committed bridge financing from JPMorgan and Barclays, which also acted as the company's financial advisers.

Sources familiar with the deal told Reuters that Life Tech chose Thermo over Sigma-Aldrich Corp, a maker of chemicals for research laboratories, and a private equity consortium consisting of Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group, KKR & Co and Temasek Holdings.

Deutsche Bank Securities and Moelis & Co advised Life Tech.

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz and WilmerHale are legal counsel to Thermo Fisher; Cravath, Swaine and Moore is legal counsel to Life Tech.

(Additional reporting by Michele Gershberg in New York and Esha Dey in Bangalore; Editing by Maureen Bavdek, Lisa Von Ahn and John Wallace)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/life-tech-13-6-billion-buyout-thermo-fisher-113723093--sector.html

vanessa williams nicklas backstrom discovery shuttle allure jane goodall saturday night fever glamping

Russia tells North Korea not to provoke more tensions

By Alan Baldwin SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton went from sick to quick at the Chinese Grand Prix on Friday only to find his tires were falling apart. The two free practice sessions marked the season debut of Pirelli's quick-wearing soft tires and, while Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Lotus found them to their liking, Hamilton was of the opposite opinion. "My tire was the worst I've ever experienced. There were bits flying off it all over the place. It didn't last long," said the Mercedes driver, who had retired to his hotel with an allergy on Thursday. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-tells-north-korea-not-provoke-more-tensions-154903803.html

chris christie sofia vergara American Horror Story Patti Page anonymous texas chainsaw massacre nfl playoffs

Trayvon Martin's family settles wrongful death claim: report

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - The family of black teenager Trayvon Martin, who was shot to death last year by a neighborhood watch captain, has settled a wrongful death claim against the homeowners association of the Florida gated community where he was killed, a Florida newspaper reported on Friday.

Benjamin Crump, an attorney for the Martin family, filed paperwork outlining the settlement, which is thought to be more than $1 million, at a courthouse in Sanford, Florida, according to the Orlando Sentinel newspaper. Crump did not return calls for comment.

A spokesman for the lawyer of homeowners association told Reuters he had no comment.

George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch captain, goes on trial June 10 for second-degree murder for Martin's killing.

Representatives of The Retreat at Twin Lakes subdivision at one point in the negotiations offered the Martin family a $1 million settlement, Shawn Vincent, a spokesman for Zimmerman's defense team, told Reuters.

The Sentinel reported on Friday that the settlement amount was crossed out of paperwork filed at the Seminole County Courthouse. Later in the day, the document appeared to have been withdrawn from public view.

Although a cover page indicated copies of the settlement were given to Zimmerman's lawyer and the judge presiding over the criminal trial, Vincent told Reuters that the defense team did not receive its copy.

Martin died on his way back to a townhouse where he was spending the week with his father. Prosecutors contend Zimmerman profiled Martin, a black 17-year-old, then pursued Martin against the advice of police and shot him during an altercation.

Zimmerman claims he shot Martin in self-defense.

(Editing by Kevin Gray and Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/trayvon-martins-family-settles-wrongful-death-claim-report-232428707.html

alex jones Google Docs Huell Howser Justin Bieber Smoking Weed Katherine Webb Cut for Bieber AJ McCarron

Rep. Peter King Compares North Korean Government to 'Organized Crime Family'

Below you can find some of the notable comments made Sunday on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." Political roundtable guests included former Newark Mayor Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.; ABC News political analyst and special correspondent Matthew Dowd; ABC News senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny; and editor and publisher of The Nation Katrina vanden Heuvel. Our special religion and politics roundtable included writer and religious scholar Reza Aslan; Rev. Calvin Butts, Pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York; author and atheist Susan Jacoby; Dr. Richard Land, of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission; and Sojourners president Rev. Jim Wallis, author of "On God's Side."

King describes North Korean government as 'organized crime family'

KING: As far as I see, this is not even government. It's more like an organized crime family running a territory. They are brutal, he is brutal, his father was brutal, his grandfather was brutal. I don't see any purpose at all in [direct talks with North Korea] at all. It would demoralize our allies in Asia, certainly in South Korea, and it would - to me - serve no constructive purpose whatsoever.

Vanden Heuvel on gay marriage: 'justice delayed is justice denied'

VANDEN HEUVEL: "Justice delayed is justice denied. But I think that the Supreme Court is lagging so far behind now that marriage equality has won in this country? It is moving in states, it is moving politically. And I think you've seen, perhaps, the most rapid mass evolution on an issue, among our politicos as well. They know where the future of this country is. It is also a qualifier to win a next generation."

So I think whatever happens in the court, and it may well be that Kennedy's - Justice Kennedy's consuming affection for state rights does lead to overruling DOMA, I think we are going to see a social, moral, and political paradigm shift that is extraordinary.

King supports President Obama's position on guns

KING: Let me say, I support the president's position on guns. So I'll say that. Having said that, it's going to be very difficult to get very meaningful legislation through the congress, because despite what [Mayor Booker] was saying? is that you get a majority of Americans who don't seem to want this type of legislation. And I support it. So I'm - I am again, supporting legislation on gun trafficking, on background checks, assault weapons, all of that. But I just don't see the intensity building up.

Vanden Heuvel states 'the Republican Party is a values challenged party'

VANDEN HEUVEL: If they don't go along with immigration. I mean, as you head into 2014, the Republican Party is a values challenged party. They have big problems on immigration, on same-sex marriage, on gun reform, commonsense gun reform. So I think this is going to be a test case

Land thinks immigration reform 'needs to be done'

LAND: "Immigration reform is tearing the social fabric of the country. It needs to be done. The lack of doing it is causing havoc that will be difficult to repair in the social fabric of the country. And there is a way to do it, and a way to do it that's fair, and a way to do it that will heal the country."

Like "This Week" on Facebook here. You can also follow the show on Twitter here.

Get more pure politics at ABC News.com/Politics and a different take on the news at OTUSNews.com.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rep-peter-king-compares-north-korean-government-organized-163609641--abc-news-politics.html

Nexus 7 KDKA Pumpkin Carving Ideas Hurricane Sandy path sandy Time Change 2012 Marcus Lattimore