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Source: IMAX Corporation

IMAX Corporation and Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - the third Harry Potter film to be converted into IMAX’s format – will be simultaneously released to both IMAX® and conventional theatres on July 13, 2007. The film is based on the best-selling J.K. Rowling book and is the fifth installment of the widely successful “Harry Potter” film series. The last installment of the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire which opened on November 18, 2005, shattered numerous IMAX 2D box office records and grossed more than $20 million in IMAX theatres worldwide.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is Warner Bros. Pictures’ thirteenth title scheduled to be digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. Warner Bros. Pictures will be the exclusive distributor of the film to IMAX theatres worldwide.

“The ‘Harry Potter’ series has been a huge success in IMAX theatres, and we are delighted to combine this next exciting installment with The IMAX Experience to offer Harry Potter fans another magical adventure for 2007,” said Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures. “The IMAX theatre network is a proven source of incremental revenue that we believe will grow exponentially as more IMAX theatres continue to open around the world.”

“We’re delighted to be working with Warner Bros. Pictures on our 2007 film slate this early in the year,” said IMAX Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler. “The last two ‘Harry Potter’ films we released to IMAX theatres grossed a combined $34 million, demonstrating the strong worldwide appeal of Harry Potter and The IMAX Experience. This new title gives us a powerful kick-start to next year’s film slate.”

“We are proud of our partnership with Warner Bros. and producer David Heyman, and we’re excited that once again Warner Bros. Pictures will be delivering a film that lends itself perfectly to The IMAX Experience,” added Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. “As we explore the possibility of converting some of the picture into IMAX® 3D, we expect to have an even broader audience base for the release of ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ in 2007.”

WAPATO — A motorcycle rider returning from a rally by a group opposing the state’s mandatory helmet law died after crashing into a pickup truck on U.S. 97 outside this lower Yakima Valley town.

Alcohol was suspected in the death of Jason Irvine, 27, of Yakima, who was wearing a helmet while returning from an annual rally at the Toppenish fairgrounds by American Bikers Aimed Toward Education, or ABATE, Washington State Patrol Lt. James W. Keightley said.

A rally representative would not comment to the Yakima Herald-Republic. According to ABATE’s Web site, the group does not advocate riding without a helmet, only that riders be given a choice.

Irvine and another biker were northbound when a Ford F-150 ahead of them pulled to the shoulder to check a possible mechanical problem about 2:20 p.m., Keightley said.

The first rider swung around the truck, but Irvine hit the left rear corner of the vehicle and remained with the motorcycle for about 80 feet before coming to a stop on the roadway.

Irvine, who was pronounced dead at the scene, might have been struck by a second pickup.

Story Source

I crashed my new GTS today. It’s a good thing I have full insurance coverage. I was coming down a road, not paying as close attention as I should have (kind of on auto pilot). An oncoming pickup was drifting into my lane, I over compensated and swerved to the right, towards the curb. I hit my throttle more than I should have. Either I could have gone down with the bike and hurt myself, or ditch the bike and stay safe. So I ditched the bike. Not a scratch on me… can’t say the same for the bike. (click pics to zoom in and see the carnage close up)

PayPal has fixed a flaw in its Web site to block a sophisticated scam designed to obtain sensitive data from members, the payment service said Friday.

By exploiting the flaw, attackers were able to redirect people from a PayPal Web page to an online trap located in South Korea, a representative for the service said. The page actually has a real PayPal URL, but hosts malicious code that presents a message warning members that their account had been compromised. It then redirects them to a “phishing” Web site.

Full Story Here

WASHINGTON — For a governor with a secret hot line to the Department of Homeland Security, the only thing worse than hearing that phone ring, is answering the call and hearing:

“Hello! Are you satisfied with your long-distance service provider?”

“Every time that phone rings, it’s telemarketers,” grumbled Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, whose secret homeland defense hot line sits in her office, ringing occasionally with offers of time share condominiums and great deals on long distance.

“I wonder about the security of that line,” said Minner, noting that other governors have reported similarly unwelcome intrusions on the hot line phones that are supposed to ring only in the event of a national catastrophe.

Read the Ful Story here, story via POEnews.

DEKALB, Ill. Starting today, kids with a passion for Harry Potter can play a “muggle” version of quidditch (KWI’-ditch) at Northern Illinois University.

N-I-U’s holding The Muggle Academy for junior high and high school students. The academic summer camp is modeled after Hogwarts, the fictional school of witchcraft and wizardry in the wildly popular Harry Potter book series by J-K Rowling.

Participants will be pitted against each other in Potter trivia contests, attend a Yule Ball and study the Harry Potter movies. Campers will be sorted into four houses, just like Hogwarts students.

N-I-U faculty members Karley Adney and Caresse John came up with the idea after attending a symposium in Salem, Massachusetts. Adney was a presenter at the meeting which taked about Harry Potter’s effect on culture.

Source: AP

NEW YORK (AFP) – For a comic book hero, it’s the ultimate taboo.

In the latest edition of the Marvel comic “Civil War” on sale, Spiderman does the unthinkable and removes his Spidey mask to publicly reveal his hidden identity.

“I’m proud of who I am, and I’m here right now to prove it,” the legendary webslinger tells a press conference called in New York’s Times Square, before pulling off his mask and standing before the massed ranks of reporters as newspaper photographer Peter Parker.

“Any questions?” Parker asks in the final panel of the issue, amid a barrage of camera flashes.

In a statement, Marvel trumpeted the revelation as “arguably the most shocking event in comic book history.”

The seven-issue “Civil War” series, launched in May, sees Marvel’s writers taking on the topical issue of civil liberties.

Following a showdown between a group of superheroes and supervillains in which hundreds of innocent civilians are killed, the government passes the Super-Hero Registration Act, requiring all superheroes to reveal their identities and register as “living weapons of mass destruction.”

Marvel’s roster of invincible crime fighters is split into two bitterly opposed factions, with one camp — championed by the likes of Spiderman — in favour of the new law and the other, including Captain America and his ilk, refusing to relinquish anonymity.

“It’s about which side you are on and why you think you are right,” said Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada.

blockquote> ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — A man is suing an auto-parts store for assault and battery after he attempted to hold up the business and employees responded by beating him with a metal pipe.

Dana Buckman, 46, walked into an auto shop brandishing a semiautomatic pistol last summer, only to have it turned on him by two AutoZone employees, police said. The men beat Buckman with a metal pipe and held him with his own gun.

Buckman escaped and was arrested a week later.

He pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery and was sentenced to 18 years in prison as a repeat violent felon.

Buckman claims the men chased him out of the store and continued to beat him. He is suing the auto shop and the men for the injuries he suffered and for emotional distress.
Read the Full Story Here

Also on fileplanet, there is an offer for a 10 day free trial for World of Warcraft which I might actually play as I am looking for another MMORPG to start up, I am researching it now.

Here’s the link, enjoy!

Thought I would share. I have played both City of Heros, and City of Villians. They are both extremely good games. I am sure if you like story arch, and mmo games you will love both.

17 day trail link here!