Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Q&A: Shakira says new CD looks out for single gals


FILE - In this Oct. 19, 2009 file photo, singer Shakira poses ...All the single ladies — Shakira is looking out for you!
The Colombian-born singer says the songs on her new album "She Wolf," out this week, is a reflection of a woman who is looking for her prince charming.
"It's very much a common thing for women my age, at least my friends, to be in search for the right man and to be somehow dreaming of the prince who's going to come in and rescue them," the 32-year-old said. "Some of these songs either reveal my own daydreams or fantasies, but some of them have to do with my girlfriends' experiences and things that they go through."
The Grammy-winner says songs like the Brazilian-influenced "Did It Again" and "Men In This Town" will connect women in search of "the one."
However, Shakira doesn't have to deal with that issue. The singer has been in a relationship with Antonio de La Rua, the son of former Argentinian President Fernando de la Rua, for almost a decade.
In a recent interview, the international star talked about her new CD, relationships and why she still passionate about her career.
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The Associated Press: What is the album about lyrically?
Shakira: I think this album in general has been written from a very feminine perspective. Maybe because today I feel more like a woman and I feel the struggle of being of woman, and its advantages too, in my own flesh. I have a better understanding of women's plight, you know. I guess I understand my mom better today than 10 years ago. ...( It's about) the old urban tale, you know, trying to find the right man ... the old urban tale of men not being available, all the good ones are taken.
AP: But you are set though, right?
Shakira: Yeah (laughs). I'm all set. But unfortunately not everyone out there is and it's tough to date, to be out there and so I kind of wanted to portray that other side of women's reality and "Did It Again" is about making recurrently the same mistake which is something us women tend to do because of our emotional nature, that emotional, romantic and dreamy nature.
AP: The CD features a number of party-sounding jams. Did you club-hop to get inspired?
Shakira: Not really. I live in the Bahamas, I only go out sometimes when I'm with my band on the road. We tend to go to clubs, but it's not something I do very often. I live a very simple life.
AP: You and Wyclef have another duet on this CD. Was there any pressure to create something as huge as "Hips Don't Lie"?
Shakira: I knew that it would be difficult to do a song at least of the same genre as "Hips Don't Lie" and make it big as that one. I think when you're in front of a song the size of what "Hips Don't Lie" meant to both of us, it's really hard. The parameters are so high and there's no way to fulfill the expectation. ... Instead of trying to repeat the same formula, which No. 1 could be very boring, and two, it would be an impossible task. We weren't thinking about "Hips Don't Lie," we were thinking about having a good time ... I feel like it's a little jewel in the album. I like the sound — it's smooth and sexy at the same time. Also, it's got a little fantasy in it.
AP: You've had many albums — what was the goal specifically with this one?
Shakira: I wanted to make sure the fantasy was very latent and fresh in the songs. I think that sometimes music today can get pretty straight forward, and blunt, and I refuse to let metaphors die. And I refuse to let fantasy in music die. I admire so much people in other decades like David Bowie and Michael Jackson, people who were in touch with their own inner child and also their own fantasies and dreams, and they sort of portrayed that in their songs. And I felt inspired by that and let my imagination fly, and let my songs be the butterfly catchers.
AP: You've been in this game for 13 years. What is most surprising to you when you look back at your career?
Shakira: It's not that I care less, but surprisingly I still care a lot about my career. I should care less because I've been doing this for a few years but I'm surprised about how I still care so much. This album feels to me like it's my first album, you know. There's no difference about the way I felt when I was 13 and the way I feel now. ... I feel like the owner of my own life.

Monday, November 23, 2009

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Monday, November 16, 2009

'Idol' winner Allen remains humble on new album



Kris Allen knows he's not garnering as much attention as Adam Lambert — and that's OK with him.
Since foiling Lambert at the "American Idol" finale last May, the 24-year-old singer-songwriter from Conway, Ark., has not appeared on thecover of Rolling Stone magazine and declared he's gay. His music can't be heard during the credits of the apocalyptic action flick "2012." And you won't find him posing in a racy Details photo shoot with a naked woman.
"I don't mind," an always modest Allen says while perched in "Idol" overlord Simon Fuller's quiet office 10 stories above the Sunset Strip. "I think that's how I went through the competition as well. I did my thing, and it worked out. And that's how I'm going to do my music career. I'm just going to do my thing, what I like to do, and hopefully it works out."
His thing now is his self-titled album, which comes out Tuesday, a week before Lambert's "For Your Entertainment" is scheduled for release. As one might expect after watching his soulful "Idol" renditions of Kanye West's "Heartless" and "Falling Slowly" from the indie musical "Once," Allen's album is filled with melodic ballads and toe-tapping rock tunes.
Allen teamed with experienced producers like Toby Gad, Steve Kipner,Andrew Frampton and Saalam Remi, but contributed more than just his voice and guitar-and-piano-playing prowess. Allen's name appears on the songwriting credits for all but four of the album's 13 songs — including "Red Guitar," a ditty Allen wrote for his wife, Katy, before his "Idol" run.
"I bought my wife a red guitar for her birthday a long time ago, hoping that she would play it," he says. "She never learned how, so it became a wall decoration in our apartment. One day, I took it off the wall and started playing it, and just started writing a song that ended up being about the guitar itself, which was not the greatest guitar in the world."
His beaming wife's face became a constant presence in the audience during Allen's "Idol" tenure, a move that judge Simon Cowell teased at risk of scaring off female fans. Throughout the post-"Idol" zaniness — the tour! the recording! the trip to Disney World! — Allen says she's kept him fully grounded and embraced their move from Arkansas to La La Land.
Allen admits he doesn't mind being mobbed by fans in public because "people are usually nice about it." But he's still not totally comfortable with on-camera interviews, despite some post-"Idol" media training. His goofy nice-guy demeanor remains refreshing, even when the chime from a friend's rather coarse text message interrupts the interview.
"If I just had one word to describe this entire experience, it would be nuts," Allen says. "It's just nuts going from being a happily married guy into the music industry and this crazy world of entertainment. But in the end, I get to do exactly what I like to do, and that's make music. That's what makes me happy. That's the thing that has always driven me."
Allen is looking forward to touring with his band next year and hopes to keep an Allen family Christmas tradition going strong this holiday. Every year, Allen's mother gives him and his brother, Daniel, a new pair of pajamas and a board game, which they play — no matter how long it takes — before going to bed. He already knows what game he wants this year.
"The new Monopoly with the big towers," he says, his eyes widening. "You can build cities. It's weird."

`Twilight' hunks part of film's heartthrob history



 Fifteen-year-old Chloe Bates is in love.
A 10th-grader at an all-girls Catholic school, she lights up when she talks about her handsome 17-year-old honey. Chloe doesn't know too many boys, so she still gets a nervous, buzzy feeling whenever she thinks about HIM. Her friends know all about this guy — he's a regular text and telephone topic between school, homework and dance practice.
Chloe keeps a few pictures of him on her bedroom wall, scattered among snapshots of her and her friends. She also writes about him in her journal. But she can't really get close to him. It's like he doesn't know she exists.
Chloe is in love with Taylor Lautner, one of the hunky stars of the "Twilight" films. And she's not alone.
Girls have been falling in love with movie stars since the dawn of cinema. When teenagers became Tinseltown's prime marketing target, Hollywood delivered handsome heartthrobs any girl could love.
James DeanFrankie AvalonDavid CassidyRick SpringfieldJohnny Depp. There are teen icons for every generation. For Chloe and millions of girls around the world, it's Lautner and Robert Pattinson of "New Moon," the latest installment in the "Twilight" series.
These girls aren't just experiencing a movie-star crush, they're participating in a uniquely female rite of passage: The birth of romantic fantasy. And today's technology — online fan forums, Twitter, an endless Web stream of photos and videos — lets them get closer than ever.
Before real boyfriends and first kisses, girls' imaginary relationships with their heartthrobs provide a precursor to adult romance — a love before they know what love might be.
"They're practicing feelings of love and attachment and attraction and romance," says Los Angeles psychologist Wendy Walsh, whose own 11-year-old daughter also loves Lautner. "These are all new feelings, and what a safe way to play them out — in the privacy of their own room with a poster of Taylor Lautner."
The "Twilight" series itself is about first love. "New Moon" centers on Bella Swan, an ordinary teenager in love with the mysterious Edward Cullen (Pattinson), who comes from a family of vampires. Edward is romantic and otherworldly, and though he literally hungers for her, he's gentle and protective. But he leaves and Bella finds comfort with her loyal, longtime friend Jacob Black (Lautner), whom she later discovers belongs to a lineage of werewolves.
"It would be so fun to be Bella," Chloe says wistfully. "I love the idea of having two super-hot mythical creatures fighting over me. I just think that would be incredible."
Chloe hasn't had a real boyfriend yet, but she thinks Lautner would be perfect because he's "that fun, hang out, let's-play-video-games kind of guy that I think would be really fun right now."
Like practically everyone at school, Chloe has read all four novels in the "Twilight" series. She spotted Lautner when she saw the film last year and recognized him from a kids' movie she'd seen a few years earlier.
"Now he's hot," she says. "He's really hot."
Besides his looks, Chloe loves the character he plays: A kid-next-door type who's sweet, funny and just a tad awkward.
"I like him because I can feel like that might actually happen, like this guy could be real," she says.
Pattinson is really hot, too, but Chloe finds his character's infinite devotion to Bella "kind of unrealistic."
Fans of the series fall on two sides: Team Edward and Team Jacob. Chloe aligns firmly with the latter, but "it's pretty much half and half at my school," she says.
Each has his charms. On screen, Pattinson plays a dashing vampire. Off-screen, the British actor is shy and soft-spoken, humbled by all the "Twilight" attention. He's 23, lanky and pale, with thick, tousled hair he constantly runs his fingers through.
Lautner is buff and bronzed, with a gregarious personality, dark eyes and an easy smile. To reprise his character in "New Moon," he packed on more than 20 pounds of chiseled physique.
Pattinson and Lautner may be slightly sexier than teen idols past, but they're cut from the same teen-heartthrob cloth as their predecessors: Smooth-faced stars who seem wholesome — and just a touch away from attainable.
Heidi Hurst, executive editor of teen pinup magazine Tiger Beat, notes that since the magazine was established in 1965, the guys on its pages have been "non-threatening, more on the boyish side of good looks." The November issue features Lautner and Pattinson on the cover.
Most Tiger Beat readers, who range in age from 8 to 16, "still aren't dating boys in real life and this is their first exposure to boys as in `They're cute. I like them,'" Hurst says.
Chloe buys Tiger Beat when it has a good Lautner spread. She'll also Google him from time to time and, until recently, kept a "very hot, shirtless picture" of him as her computer screen-saver. But she's not as obsessive as some of her friends, who check YouTube for him daily and follow various "Twilight" fan sites.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Taylor's turn: Swift wins entertainer of the year


Country artist Taylor Swift poses in the press room with her ...All four of the guys who lost to Taylor Swift forentertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards made a tactical error: They asked the crossover sensation to open for them in their concerts.
Swift quickly shed her opener status and shook up the music world with an incredible year that included the best-selling album, a concert tour that sold out almost immediately and, now, a historic night at theCMAs that included becoming the youngest winner of the association's highest honor.
"Yeah, next year we're not going to take any opening acts out," Brad Paisley said jokingly.
The CMA's more than 5,000 members — often cited as a conservative bunch — seemed as taken with Swift as the rest of the music world has been. She won all four awards for which she was nominated, snapping Kenny Chesney's streak of four entertainer wins in the last five years and Carrie Underwood's three-year run as top female vocalist.
Chesney hugged and kissed Swift on her way to the stage and most of her peers hailed her Wednesday night during the ABC telecast at theSommet Center.
"She has taken the music world by storm," Paisley said. "She's the biggest artist in music right now, by far. It's hands down. She's entertainer of the year in country music, no doubt, and I'm really proud of her."
Association members didn't stop with Swift, making interesting choices in most of the 12 categories. Darius Rucker became the second black performer to win a major individual award when he took new artist, joining Charley Pride, who took entertainer of the year in 1971 and male vocalist in 1971-72.
"Making this record, I never thought about being an African-American guy making a country record," said Rucker, whose "Learning to Live" sold 1 million copies this year. "I just thought I was a guy making a country record until my first song went top 20 and people started talking about it. I'm proud of that, I'm proud of being that guy who has taken up where Charley Pride left off."
Lady Antebellum, winners of two awards, ended Rascal Flatts' six-year run in the vocal group category. AndJamey Johnson, known for his outlaw country sound and wild beard, won song of the year for "In Color" with Lee Thomas Miller and James Otto.
Paisley was the only other winner with multiple awards, taking male vocalist for the third straight year and event for his duet "Start a Band" with Keith Urban.
Swift also won album of the year for "Fearless," the top-selling CD of the year, and video of the year for "Love Story."
After being presented with the entertainer trophy by her childhood idol Faith Hill, Swift called her band on stage and was the center of a group hug as fans cheered wildly, holding signs that said, "We love you, Taylor." Her father cried in the audience.
"I'll never forget this moment because in this moment everything that I have ever wanted has just happened to me," Swift said through tears.
Several women country music artists said they were pulling for Swift, including Barbara Mandrell, one of six female acts to win entertainer of the year and the only to win it twice.
Country artist Taylor Swift poses in the press room with her ..."I think it will be exciting to see where she takes it because she entertains you," said Mandrell, the first two-time winner of entertainer of the year, who was honored for her election into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Organizers gave a nod to Swift's popularity, asking her to play two songs during the show. She opened with a rousing rendition of "Forever & Always," throwing a chair from a raised podium, sliding to the floor on a pole, then dropping to her knees to sing the song's bridge.
She also played acoustic guitar while singing "Fifteen" as a few dozen fans waved their arms around her.
The year's not yet over for Swift, but she's already identified the high point in a 2009 that included so many milestones.
"I think about 37 minutes ago is what stands out for me my whole life," Swift told reporters backstage. "You guys, I didn't expect to win, so I'm really at a loss for words."

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Upgrading to Windows 7

Windows has updated and users are now asking, "Should I upgrade to Windows 7?" Windows 7 is finally available for purchase and is essentially a revamp of Vista that addresses owners' most common complaints and tightens the user interface. So, is it worth the plunge to upgrade your system, or should you stick with your current operating system?

Here is a list of reasons why you should upgrade to Windows 7:


  • Windows 7 has lower system requirements. Windows 7 is not a resource hog and you'll spend less money on hardware upgrades. A relatively slow PC with 1GB of memory can run Windows 7, making it suitable for installation on low-end netbooks and high-end desktops.
  • Windows 7 has simpler navigation. Users will now be able to view desktop contents by turning all the windows transparent. Users will also have the option to simply grab an active window and physically shake the mouse to minimize other panes cluttering up one's monitor; you'll also be able to re-size your windows to take up half the screen when dragged to either side of your display.
  • Windows 7 is better at multitasking. Windows has borrowed a trick from Apple's Snow Leopard, by offering a more aesthetically pleasing, icon-based task bar that lets you permanently pin and organize favorite programs on it.
  • Windows 7 has greater stability. Most hardware and software will be compatible with Windows 7 and work right out of the box.
  • Windows 7 has enhanced security; rather than having to constantly click to approve of program access, Windows 7 does away with most nagging pop-ups. Internet Explorer 8 Web Browser is also better-guarded against external threats.
  • Windows 7 has multi-touch capabilities and simpler file organization. Users with touch-screen PCs and laptops will be able to navigate the operating system and pull up documents and data with the flick of a finger. There are also all-purpose containers known as libraries to conveniently catalog photos, music, video and files in a single location.
  • Windows 7 has a new optimized network set-up. You'll have a brisk, painless network setup via new HomeGroup features makes it simple to share devices, documents and printers between other PCs using Windows 7 on a password protected network.
  • Windows 7 has less clutter taking up space on your hard drive. Those pre-installed programs will no longer be installed unless they are in a bundle you purchase, however, if you need any of these programs, they are available for download for free from Microsoft.
  • Windows 7 has upgraded, so the overall performance is definitely worth the wait. Third parties will be more inspired to design new products and programs and new software libraries can take advantage of it's built-in features. More reliable desktop search features and simpler document retrieval have made Windows 7 the best operating system in Microsoft's history.
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Monday, November 9, 2009

Thousands cheer 20 years since fall of Berlin Wall



Ulrich Sauff and his wife stared at the mammoth domino pieces marking the path where the Berlin Wall once stood and reminisced about life in the barrier's shadow.
"It was like a prison," said Mr. Sauff, 73, who lived on the Western side of the wall. "For us 'Wessis,' the few kilometers from our old home to our new home (in the East) was unthinkable."
The Sauffs were among those who gathered Monday to celebrate 20 years of unity, marking the day the wall came down. Thousands cheered as 1,000 colorfully decorated dominoes along a mile-long route were toppled to symbolize both the moment the wall came crashing down and the resulting fall of communist countries in Eastern Europe.
It was the finale to a day of memorial services, speeches and events that attracted leaders from around the world, including former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Merkel and 78-year-old Gorbachev stood shoulder to shoulder as they crossed a former fortified border crossing point between East and West Berlin to cheers of "Gorby! Gorby!" bring this up to the first reference to gorby.
"Looking back, we can see many causes that led to the peaceful revolution, but it still remains a miracle," German President Horst Koehler told the leaders of all 27 European Union countriesRussian President Dmitry Medvedev and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Angela Merkel — Germany's first chancellor to be raised in the former communist east — called the events of Nov. 9, 1989 an "epic" moment in history.

Read more on Yahoo! News

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Luann Nov 09, 2009...

Taylor made? All eyes on Swift at CMA awards



Kenny Chesney has made the very hard work of dominating country music look easy.
And Taylor Swift is paying close attention.
The 19-year-old sensation has the record sales. She beat out every living artist — no matter the genre — this year with more than 3 million copies of her "Fearless" CD sold and counting (only Michael Jacksonhas sold more). The album remains No. 3 after 51 weeks on the charts.
And she's moving concert tickets as fast as they can print them.
That might be enough to sway the more than 5,000 members of theCountry Music Association, who decide who gets the trophy forentertainer of the year, the CMA's highest honor, at the CMA Awardson Wednesday night (the broadcast will air live on ABC).
She's the youngest ever nominated for the award and the first solo female act since Faith Hill in 2000, and she's faced a lot of questions about whether either is a limiting factor.
"I think you have to do the work and put in the effort and do the touring that it takes to win entertainer of the year," she said in an interview with The Associated Press. "And I don't really think it has anything to do with gender. I think if you want to compete with the boys, play on a level that they're playing at."
And the guys in this category are playing at the highest.
Using a combination of unparalleled album and ticket sales, Chesney has dominated the CMA Awards' most prestigious category with three straight wins and four of the last five. A fifth win would move him pastGarth Brooks for most in the 43 years of the awards. This is the eighth straight year he's sold more than a million concert tickets, and fans are drawn to his brand of Caribbean cool like no other.
Brad Paisley leads all nominees with seven and is entering his second year as co-host with Carrie Underwood. His album "American Saturday Night" debuted at No. 2 on the album charts when it was released earlier this year and he's had 11 straight No. 1 singles on the country charts.
Keith Urban's supercharged live show has made him one of country's most bankable stars and his album "Defying Gravity" hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200. He's the only artist to interrupt Chesney's recent domination in the category, winning in 2005.
And then there's George Strait, a two-time winner in the category and CMA's career leader in nominations (79, with Alan Jackson) and wins (22) whose "Twang" also debuted as the nation's No. 1 album. Paisley said he's put together the kind of career and rapport with his fans that's really only possible in country music, and that "always" makes him a contender.
"Look at George Strait," Paisley said. "It's just unbelievable. He first won entertainer of the year 20 years ago in 1989. Isn't that crazy?"
But 2009 might be Swift's year — and she could soon be in the company of icons like Loretta LynnDolly Parton and Reba McEntire, three of the six other female acts to win entertainer of the year.
But tell that to Swift, and she modestly dismisses the idea: "Don't fill my head with that."
"It's so wonderful when people come up to me and say that I have a shot at winning. It actually is really, really a wonderful thing when people do that," she said. "But my parents raised me to have the mindset that the world doesn't owe me anything and you can't feel entitled to winning, you can't feel entitled to success."
It's statements like those that have won Swift fans within the industry as well — not to mention a few votes.
"I will say I did vote for her," McEntire said. "The obvious is that she is a female and I do tend to support my female friends and artists in the business, but also because I think she is the one who's done the most this year — television, touring. She is an extraordinary person and I think she highly deserves it."

Friday, November 6, 2009

Elton John on mend, resuming tour dates



Elton John has been released from a London hospital after being treated for flu and an E. coli bacterial infection.
The singer's spokesman Gary Farrow says John was at home Friday and was feeling fine. He left the hospital early Thursday.
He says John planned to resume his suspended tour and would play scheduled U.S. dates with Billy Joel starting in Oakland, California on Nov. 14.
Illness has forced the 62-year-old musician to cancel several gigs inBritainIreland and the U.S. over the last few weeks.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Jackson is `It' at box office with $23.2M weekend


"Michael Jackson's This Is It" danced to the head of the box office, debuting with $23.2 million domestically in its first weekend.
"This Is It," featuring performances Jackson rehearsed for a marathon concert stand planned before his death in June, took in $103 million worldwide in its first five days.
The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com:
1. "Michael Jackson's This Is It," Sony, $23,234,394, 3,481 locations, $6,675 average, $34,442,926, one week.
2. "Paranormal Activity," Paramount, $16,387,327, 2,404 locations, $6,817 average, $84,627,372, six weeks.
3. "Law Abiding Citizen," Overture Films, $7,403,630, 2,764 locations, $2,679 average, $51,485,280, three weeks.
4. "Couples Retreat," Universal, $6,460,525, 3,026 locations, $2,135 average, $87,026,280, four weeks.
5. "Where the Wild Things Are," Warner Bros., $5,931,417, 3,645 locations, $1,627 average, $62,650,379, three weeks.
6. "Saw VI," Lionsgate, $5,270,794, 3,036 locations, $1,736 average, $22,534,749, two weeks.
7. "Astro Boy," Summit, $3,460,651, 3,020 locations, $1,146 average, $11,316,418, two weeks.
8. "The Stepfather," Sony Screen Gems, $3,207,792, 2,346 locations, $1,367 average, $24,555,801, three weeks.
9. "Cirque du FreakThe Vampire's Assistant," Universal, $3,098,185, 2,754 locations, $1,125 average, $10,809,975, two weeks.
10. "Amelia," Fox Searchlight, $3,034,667, 1,070 locations, $2,836 average, $8,340,499, two weeks.
11. "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," Sony, $2,747,476, 2,322 locations, $1,183 average, $118,604,078, seven weeks.
12. "Zombieland," Sony, $2,620,655, 2,056 locations, $1,275 average, $71,181,556, five weeks.
13. "A Serious Man," Focus, $1,036,396, 238 locations, $4,355 average, $4,595,629, five weeks.
14. "Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day," Apparition, $546,687, 68 locations, $8,040 average, $546,687, one week.
15. "An Education," Sony Pictures Classics, $467,376, 48 locations, $9,737 average, $1,537,993, four weeks.
16. "Halloween II," Weinstein Co., $445,344, 1,083 locations, $411 average, $33,096,757, 10 weeks.
17. "Good Hair," Roadside Attractions, $422,472, 418 locations, $1,011 average, $3,453,044, four weeks.
18. "The Invention of Lying," Warner Bros., $393,270, 452 locations, $870 average, $17,589,249, five weeks.
19. "Capitalism: A Love Story," Overture, $373,992, 492 locations, $760 average, $13,664,911, six weeks.
20. "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" in 3-D," Disney, $262,347, 343 locations, $765 average, $30,593,152, five weeks.

DreamWorks vs. Pixar: Which is better?



To think, just 14 years ago no one had ever seen a full-length computer animated movie. Today, they have almost completely replaced traditional hand-drawn films as the sole form of animation coming from Hollywood.
Various upstarts have tried to get into the computer animation business, some with great successes and others with enormous failures. But the first two studios to produce these movies are still the dominant forces in the market: Pixar and DreamWorks.
Pixar Studios was the originator of the form, producing the world's first computer animated feature, "Toy Story," in 1995. DreamWorks released its first film three years later, but it has produced more movies in a shorter time. Both have set box office records; Pixar has the higher total in the U.S., while DreamWorks has made more money worldwide. And while Pixar is continuing to produce features at a faster rate than they ever have before, DreamWorks is set to release three movies next year -- an unparalleled feat.
To see just how the two giants stack up against each other, take a look at the chart below. Then, preview DreamWorks' next feature, "How to Train Your Dragon," coming in March.
Note: the figures for DreamWorks only include the computer animated features the studio produced, which excludes Aardman Animations' "Flushed Away."

STATS
PIXAR STUDIOS
DREAMWORKS ANIMATION
# of Films
10
11
First Theatrical Film
Toy Story (1995)
Antz (1998)
Most Recent Film
Up (2009)
Total Domestic Gross
$2,424,726,165
$2,352,274,178
Total Worldwide Gross
$5,345,657,852
$5,514,036,138
Top Grossing Film
Finding Nemo (2003)
$339,714,978 U.S.
$864,625,978 Worldwide
Shrek 2 (2004)
$441,226,247 U.S.
$919,838,758 Worldwide
Lowest Grossing Film
A Bug's Life (1998)
$162,798,565 U.S.
$363,398,565 Worldwide
Antz (1998)
$90,757,863 U.S.
$171,757,863 Worldwide
# of Oscar Nominations
30
6
# of Oscar Wins
7
1
2010 Releases
Toy Story 3 - June 18
How to Train Your Dragon - March 26
Shrek Forever After - May 21
Oobermind - November 5


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