U.S. Policy has been based upon the fact that globalisation and economic growth would ease censorship and repression in Socialist China.  But it hasn't.   The Chinese continue to expand their Socialist propaganda and censorship.  The Google incursion involved a serious cyberattack on the Gmail accounts of human rights activists.   Remember that Yahoo had actually helped Chinese authorities to find a dissident which resulted in his arrest and incarceration for 11 years.

The moment is set for confrontation on a global scale about the importance of Freedom of Speech and censorship  In this article, "Why America and China will Clash," you can see how the issue of censorship remains with the recent Google confrontation.

The president’s recent set-piece speech on Asia was a classic statement of the case for US engagement with China – complete with the ritualistic assertion that America welcomes China’s rise. But, after being censored by Chinese television in Shanghai and harangued by a junior Chinese official at the Copenhagen climate talks, Barack Obama may be feeling less warm towards Beijing. An early sign that the White House is hardening its policy could come in the next few months, with an official decision to label China a “currency manipulator”.

I worked with Pierre Morel on "Taken".  He's very talented, nice, well-spoken and funny.  He did another movie called "District B13" which is really enjoyable, featuring the 'parcours who are these amazing tumblers who jump off roofs, jump up walls and do incredible acrobatic movements without wires.

His newest film is "From Paris, With Love" about an American Spy (Travolta) working with an American employee of the Paris embassy to stop a terrorist attack.  My friend, India Osborne, was a producer on the film along with Luc Besson.

A film that I worked on in 1989, "Girlfriend from Hell" recently had this price on Amazon.  Amazing, what a few years can do for the price of a VHS.

by Michael Mandaville

[Originally published on BigHollywood.com]

When growing up in Los Angeles, a singular delight was getting the TV Guide in the Sunday paper and scouring it, pen in hand.  My movie search.  In the sixties, Los Angeles had the greatest number of TV channels in any city: 2-4-5-7-9-11-13.  In trips to San Diego, the Mid-West or anywhere else, you’d be lucky to get two, maybe three channels.  And not very good ones.

Some years ago, my daughter asked: “…so in the olden times, Dad, when did you see movies?” Hmmmm.  Olden times.  As if the wheel, the pen, writing, music, and entertainment were invented with her generation.  I explained that there were two places to see movies.  Theaters and Television.  That was it.  No DVD, VHS, iPod, or Hulu.com.  My TV Guide search was essential to find the right movies and straighten out my schedule for the week by circling and grading the films.  After all, if a movie came on at 11 p.m., you’d be up for two hours to “The End.”

But each week, when I got the TV Guide in my young hands, it was like opening a present.  Before the internet, I explained to my daughter, we had this ancient forum called a “library” where you could get books on movies and famous actors.

“Oh,” she said.  “You actually go someplace?”

"Hybrids" is a feature film that I started working on.   It is either going to be ultra low budget or very low budget - depending on the level of interest that I can get from financiers. 

 In this film, an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) hits San Diego.  This EMP renders all unshielded electronic and computer devices worthless.  In other words, cars won't run.  Registers won't work. ATM's are shutdown.   Water won't run.  Electricity definitely not.  It's a massive disaster.  A terrorist attack of incalculable human suffering and disaster.

 In Los Angeles, a Warlord takes advantage of this to seize control.  He's on his way to complete dictatorship when a lone man, speaking out on a Guerilla radio program, tells the People about his efforts to hurt them, control them, dominate them.

Infuriated, the Dictator orders the Guerilla Radio operator killed and calls in a special assassin to do the job.  The Underground gets wind of this murderous attempt and sends out three times to stop this killer.  

And another things.  The EMP has made humans become Hybrids with special powers and skills. 

 BTW - Iran has test fired from barges in the Caspian Sea