March 20, 2008 the Free-Content News Source That You Can Write! Page 1
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March 20, 2008 The free-content news source that you can write! Page 1 Top Stories Top Stories Wikipedia Current Events Zenit rocket launches that "removing Saddam Hussein such autonomy...which could be DirecTV-11 satellite from power was the right decision seen as a move towards A Ukranian-built Zenit-3SL rocket — and this is a fight America can independence." The Foreign has had a and must win." The speech Ministry also linked the events in successful lift-off marked five years since the start Tibet with the declaration of from a Norwegian of the Iraq War. independence by Kosovo, launch platform to showing a growing movement of carry a groups seeking independence. communications •The Parliament of Pakistan elects satellite for DirecTV Wikinews interviews author Fahmida Mirza as its first female into orbit. and filmmaker John Gaspard speaker. Launching at Author and filmmaker John 22:47:59 (UTC) yesterday Gaspard spoke with Wikinews on evening, the mission marked the his three low budget feature films Hubble detects methane on 13th orbital launch of 2008 and and books. He told us how he distant planet the 25th commercial launch to be was able to make his latest NASA's Hubble Space Telescope conducted by the international movie, Grown Men, for under has detected methane in the Sea Launch consortium. $13,000 and how his popular atmosphere of a planet 63 light- book, Digital Filmmaking 101, years away, marking the first Three of Serbia's neighbors came to be. He even had a few discovery of an organic compound recognize Kosovo tips for the amateur filmmakers on a planet outside our Solar Croatia, Bulgaria and Hungary, all reading this. System. of which border Serbia, Wikipedia Current Events The methane was found on a Jupiter-sized planet named HD announced in a Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin 189733b. The planet closely orbits joint statement Laden releases an audio tape HD 189733, a yellow dwarf star in Wednesday that criticizing the European Union for the constellation Vulpecula. they will recognize Kosovo as an allowing publication of cartoons independent state. The three that he claims insulted the Although methane can play a key nations expressed their interest in Prophet Mohammed and role in the chemical reactions helping the European Union threatening a strong reaction. stabilize the region. Serbian needed to form life, the planet is foreign minister Vuk Jeremić •Early elections are called for May too close to its parent star to criticized their decision. 2008 in Kuwait after a crisis support life, scientists say. It is between the cabinet and known as a "hot Jupiter" - a planet George Bush discusses Iraq 5 parliament leads the emir Sabah whose mass is comparable to that years after invasion al-Sabah to dissolve parliament. of Jupiter, but orbits nearer to the parent star than Mercury, our George W. Bush, the President of •Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary and Solar System's innermost planet. the United States Monaco jointly recognize delivered today a Kosovo's independence. speech regarding This particular hot Jupiter takes Iraq and the •Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey just two days to completely orbit "global war on Lavrov states that "the Albanians its parent star, and the terror." He said in Macedonia have already made temperatures in its atmosphere demands that they be granted can reach 1,650 degrees If you would like to write, publish or edit articles, visit en .wikinews.org Thursday, March 20, 2008 Wikinews Page 2 Fahrenheit, around the melting spectroscopy. "With this films spend on coffee and rolls." point of silver. observation there is no question whether there is water or not - Gaspard has written two other “This observation is proof that water is present," Swain said. books as well. Fast, Cheap and spectroscopy can eventually be Under Control: Lessons Learned done on a cooler and potentially The ultimate goal of these studies From the Greatest Low-Budget habitable Earth-sized planet is to identify the molecules of Movie of All Time features orbiting a dimmer red dwarf-type more Earth-like planets in the interviews with some of the star.” —Mark Swain habitable zone of stars, where world's most well known low conditions may be favorable for budget filmmakers, including "The methane here, although we life. Roger Corman and Academy can call it an organic constituent, Award winner Jonathan Demme is not produced by life - it is way Adam Showman at the University (The Silence of the Lambs). Fast, too hot there for life," said of Arizona said, "We are thus now Cheap and Written that Way: Top Giovanna Tinetti, part of the NASA seeing but the opening salvo in a Screenwriters on Writing for Low- team that made the discovery. revolution that will extend Budget Movies features interviews humankind's view of planetary with successful screenwriters who However, scientists believe the worlds far beyond the provincial have written for low budget films. spectroscopic methods used to boundaries of our Solar System." detect the methane can be used to Interview find organic compounds on other Giovanna Tinetti, who co-authored Wikinews: You've directed three distant planets. "This observation the Nature article, believes the films (Resident Alien, Beyond Bob is proof that spectroscopy can concept of life on other planets is and Grown Men). Tell us about eventually be done on a cooler and not too unlikely. "My personal view them. potentially habitable Earth-sized is it is way too arrogant to think Mr. Gaspard: Since I despise the planet orbiting a dimmer red that we are the only ones living in process of trying to raise money to dwarf-type star," said Mark Swain, the Universe," she says. finance movies, each movie was a NASA scientist whose paper on written specifically to be shot on the discovery will appear in the Wikinews interviews author an ultra-low budget. scientific journal Nature. and filmmaker John Gaspard Resident Alien and Beyond Bob Wikinews held an exclusive were produced on 16mm film, and Spectroscopy is the splitting of interview with author and each cost a little under $30,000 to light into its components. As the filmmaker John Gaspard. His films produce. light from the star passed through Resident Alien, Beyond Bob and Resident Alien, a science fiction- the planet's atmosphere, the Grown Men, besides opening to comedy feature film, is the story of atmospheric gases imprinted their positive critical response, were all a UFO crash that changes the lives chemical signature onto the light, made on very low budgets; costing of two down-on-their-luck people allowing the atmosphere's around US$30,000. He says this is in a small Midwestern town. The chemical composition to be because "I despise the process of Minneapolis Star Tribune analyzed by Near Infrared Camera trying to raise money to finance newspaper said, "Resident Alien is and Multi-Object Spectrometer. movies." the best low-budget project to come out of the area." To their surprise, astronomers He has also written several books Beyond Bob, an award-winning found much high levels of methane on filmmaking, most notably comedy from the other side, is a than had been predicted for hot Digital Filmmaking 101. He says story of love and friendship, of Jupiters. "This indicates we don't that it was "originally.....a series of passion from beyond the grave, of really understand exoplanet notes to ourselves, to remind us of a love that was made in heaven ... atmospheres yet," said Swain. the steps we took to make a and was just too darned important feature for very little money. We to stay there. Beyond Bob was This discovery also confirmed the later expanded those notes into a recently awarded the "Best presence of water molecules in the complete book to provide Feature" award at the Forx Film planet's atmosphere, which was beginning filmmakers with the Festival; it also received an found by NASA's Spitzer Space tools they would need to make a Honorable Mention at the Seventh Telescope last year using feature for what most Hollywood Annual George Lindsey UNA Film If you would like to write, publish or edit articles, visit www.wikinews.org Thursday, March 20, 2008 Wikinews Page 3 Festival, and a Bronze Award at generation (Swingers, The Blair this? the WorldFest Houston. Witch Project, Open Water, etc.). Mr. Gaspard: See as many movies Grown Men is a digital feature, The latest book, Fast, Cheap and as you can -- low-budget consisting of five interlocking Written that Way: Top independent films, Hollywood stories from four Minnesota Screenwriters on Writing for Low- films, classic movies from the writers: Rewired by David Fields, Budget Movies, does just what the Golden Era. You can learn It’s A Date and The Late Mrs. title suggests. I spoke to over something valuable from every Boynton by John Gaspard, The twenty top screenwriters who had movie you watch, so the more you $1,000 Wedding by Tom Poole, previously worked on low-budget see the more you learn. and Red Velvet Handcuffs by films and got their secrets on how Read scripts to learn how to write Matthew G. Anderson. to write for a tiny budget. one. And I mean real scripts, not Grown Men premiered at the Interviewees included George transcriptions of finished movies. Ashland Independent Film Festival. Romero, Tom DiCillo, Stuart Learn what the words look like on It was named "Best of the Fest - Gordon, Bob Clark and Kenneth the page and how that gets Best Feature Screenplay" at the Lonnergan, among others. translated into images on the Black Point Film Festival in Lake screen. Geneva. It was also featured at WN: Your films were made on very And, most important, don't ever the New York International low budgets.