Technology

2D Cartoon heroes Bart, Homer, Lisa, Maggie and Marge Simpson make their big screen debut in "The Simpsons Movie', which has gone straight to the top of the South African box office in its opening week (27 July - 2 August). The film has made R2.8m in that period.

"Love, Communism, Revolution & Rivonia- Bram Fischer’s Story' directed by Sharon Farr and "Sharkwater' directed by Canada’s Rob Stewart have won the Jameson Audience Award for Best South African Documentary and Best International Documentary respectively at the Encounters South African International Documentary Festival.

Sixteen countries will present the finest in European cinema at the annual European Union (EU) Film Week at Durban’s Cinema Nouveau screened by Jameson at Gateway from 10 to 16 August, and at Pretoria’s Cinema Nouveau screened by Jameson at Brooklyn Mall from 17 to 23 August.

KenRadio Broadcasting reports that after an expected post-holiday slump in handset shipments in the first quarter of the year, the worldwide mobile phone market grew at a respectable pace in the second quarter, with most vendors citing success in emerging markets, according to IDC.

The Durban Wild Talk Africa Film Festival is calling on the public to vote on this year’s film entries into the first ever ROSCAR Awards.

The 2008 Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) is calling for submissions, with a deadline date of 30 December 2007.

Media agency ZenithOptimedia says that there will be a limited return to growth for the creative industry and TV advertising in the next year.

CareerJunction, a Johnnic Communications company, and a leading online placement solution in South Africa, has acquired a 60% share in WholeBangShoot, an online talent management and casting service that is already showcasing over 30,000 of South Africa’s talent for the entertainment industry.

According to research from Nielsen, which has been tracking product placement for three years, the number of placements in television in 2006 was 108,261, a 30% jump from 2005.

Some lawmakers are worried that too few Americans know that the analogue TVs they have used for years could become "big cathode-ray paperweights' after 18 February 2009, when broadcasters shut off their analog signals, according to a Hollywood Reporter/ Reuters story.