Hello fellow readers, here is a scoop of information about Sony Innovation get-together that occurred in NYC. I’d say this is a pretty rare opportunity that bloggers and Sony enthusiasts who attended the event got to experience at the Sony USA Headquarters on 550 Madison Ave. This gig was hosted on the 35th floor at the Sony Club which is not open to public eyes. Mind you the 34th floor is the Chairman’s floor, where sir Howard Stringer’s office is located, I’ll share more about that part at the end of this post.

When one enters the building, a grand lobby greets its visitors outfitted with a number of Sony Bravia TVs mounted on the wall next to each other. I proceeded to the elevator which takes you to the next level where every employee passes security check each morning. From there you take another elevator and the world of Sony Corporate offices is spread out on each floor.

After we reached the 35th floor we were greeted by the catering staff with finger food and lots of drinks available. But since we are mostly interested in the products we went into special room that was set up with products and Sony specialists waiting to answer any of your questions.

So what impressed me among the Sony gadgetry that I got to play with you may ask? Since I was hoping to see a Google integrated Bravia TV and maybe something new in the VAIO area, and as you know that did not happen, I got to spend some time with the Sony employees and have a good candid talk with some of them about current, past and upcoming products. One of them even mentioned in a polite but fun way that we “blew the embargo” when we posted a story on the not yet released Sony readers. But we would not be a Sony Insider site if we don’t share some of the juicy info from time to time, don’t you agree?

Let’s talk a little about Bravia, I spent a good amount of time discussing 3D, OLED and what Sony is doing in order to gain more share in this competitive market. I mentioned that I believe for 3D to take off, people need more 3D content which is pretty scarce at the moment. Sony rep gave a good response and analogy on how HDTV was also a slow starter and it took some time for it to be adopted and be available to the users. So with 2011 around the corner, let’s hope consumers will be flooded with 3D content from providers as well as Bluray 3D offerings. There is a good possibility that Sony may even consider streaming 3D content through its Bravia Internet Video service available now on all Bravia sets. To which I would say, go for it! Bring us 3D downloadable content from PSN or Qriocity services.

The upcoming Google integrated Bravia is going to be interesting and the sets are being assembled and shipped as we speak. So stay tuned for the announcement and availability this fall. This joint effort of Sony and Google has been praised on techy blogosphere and Sony is very excited about it. I believe if this is done right and most importantly user friendly, it will be an amazing product. I cannot say enough that well-done GUI and Internet features implemented within Bravia would make it or kill it. After asking about design, whether or not it’s going to be 3D ready, I got an answer that this new Bravia is going to be different. The rep felt like it is a good term to describe this upcoming TV, so we will see it and be judges of that.

The new NX810 models were displayed at the event and the 60 inch model drew some attention of course. Its slim design and 3D demos running definitely make the experience fun, but those folks who are neat-picky as far as PQ and want their blacks to be black may still want to wait until Intelligent LED Backlighting reaches the 60 inch mark. For some reason Sony has not yet come up with such a monster and I know many AV enthusiasts are disappointed and jumping the ship to Vizio and Sharp or Samsung 65” plus 3D LCDs. Shortage of panels was one of the main culprits this year.

As far as new monolothic design, I wanted to mention that I like it, but I’d say it’s OK though. I think when XBR10 series were released last year, it was already designed with this monolithic approach in mind as the screen was flush. XBR10 was also a beautiful set. I just think that something is still missing in the design department of the current models and they seem to be just plainly beautiful not striking enough in my opinion (the HX909 model I own is cutting close to being a beauty with its optional aluminum stand it is sitting in, but the panel itself is still on the thick side, I know I am very picky).

The NX810 are available in 46, 55 and 60 inch full HD resolution of course, all models share Dynamic Edge LED Backlighting with local dimming, Motionflow Pro 240Hz (watch the vid below where we discuss difference between 240Hz vs 480Hz).

The Sony NEX-VG10 was another product that drew attention of many. The interchangeable and first of its kind in the world camera will be available this September. There were also TX9 and a pair of NEX-3,5 as well as presentation of several 3D pictures taken by those Cybershots.

Anyways, check out the videos that will be posted soon (they are being uploaded).

As I mentioned in the very beginning the floor below the event was the Chairman’s floor and at that point I did not know that, I needed a lil break and I walked the marble stairs that led to the 34th floor, and as I wondered around, I passed the conference room outfitted with 2 Sony professional monitors where most likely videoconferencing takes place with Tokyo. As I proceeded further, I spotted Bravia HX909 hanging on the wall and a number of pictures and after talking to a lady sitting there, I realized that it was sir Howard’s office! Of course, he was not in, but being in the area where a lot of Sony decisions take place was pretty awesome!  I also got to talk to one of the Sony Club employee who has interfaced with Mr. Stringer on many occasions and that the CEO is a real true English gentleman with an awesome sense of humor.

All in all, it was a remarkable event and I was happy to catch up with a couple of my good Sony friends – Sukhjit  – the social media butterfly that has a huge passion for Sony and loves what she does there, Marcy Cohen and Jon Piazza.

Yup, you heard it right. We have visited San Diego Sony Electronics Headquarters earlier this summer and tomorrow we are heading to New York City where Sony will be hosting a special event for those who are enthusiastic about the brand and its achievements. We are also hearing Sony will be showing some new fall products, maybe get a glance of what we may see at CEDIA. We are armed with an HD camera and a Cybershot G1 to capture whatever will be thrown at us and will report to you our readers. Will we see new Google Bravia, 3D VAIOs or something else? You can find out all about it tomorrow,  so stay tuned!

Sony Masterworks released The Essential Lena Horne today, which spans thirty years of the legendary artist’s career, from her first recordings in 1941 to her live recordings of the 1950s and ’60s. This 39-song, 2-CD collection of golden standards includes six tracks previously unavailable on CD and begins and ends with irreplaceable versions of her signature song, “Stormy Weather.”

Horne’s skills as a performer were sharpened over the years before nightclub audiences around the world. Two such performances are featured extensively in this collection: Horne’s February 1957 appearance at the Waldorf Astoria in New York, and a 1960 Las Vegas performance at the Sands Hotel. The medleys of tunes by Cole Porter, Jules Styne and Duke Ellington highlight the multiple facets of Horne’s delivery.

Horne’s sole appearance in a Broadway musical came in 1957, when she starred in Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg’s Jamaica.  The New York Times critic Brooks Atkinson made special note of Horne’s four songs in the show:  ”[These] are songs that know they have been sung by the time Miss Horne gets through with them.”

The song most identified with Horne is “Stormy Weather,” composed in 1933 by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler.  She recorded it for RCA in 1941, and the song became the title track for the first film in which she had a starring role in 1943. The 1957 version recorded at New York’s Webster Hall with Lennie Hayton and His Orchestra is considered by many to be her definitive recording of the song.

Horne was a unique figure in American culture during the 20th century.  Though often identified as an actress, and frequently cited as one of the first black stars to sign a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio, Lena Horne made just eight films and appeared in only five shows on Broadway.  Winner of four Grammys and a Tony, Horne made some of her finest recordings for RCA Victor in the 1940s and ’50s.

The following selections appear for the first time on CD:

• If You Can Dream recorded January 20, 1956 with Lennie Hayton and His Orchestra
• Give Me Love recorded June 13, 1958
• Push de Button recorded August 27, 1957 with Neil Hefti, His Orchestra and Chorus
• Speak Low recorded June 3, 1958 with Lennie Hayton and His Orchestra
• Take It Slow, Joe recorded August 27, 1957 with Neil Hefti, His Orchestra and Chorus
• I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart recorded July 1, 1962 with Marty Paich, conductor

Inside Job is a 2010 documentary from Academy Award nominated filmmaker, Charles Ferguson (“No End In Sight”), and is the first film to expose the shocking truth behind the economic crisis of 2008. The global financial meltdown, at a cost of over $20 trillion, resulted in millions of people losing their homes and jobs. Through extensive research and interviews with major financial insiders, politicians and journalists, Inside Job traces the rise of a rogue industry and unveils the corrosive relationships which have corrupted politics, regulation and academia.

Narrated by Academy Award winner Matt Damon, the Inside Job was made on location in the United States, Iceland, England, France, Singapore, and China. The movie was screened at Cannes in May 2010 and is scheduled to be released in the USA by Sony Pictures Classics on October 8th, 2010. One of the first catchy marketing lines being used is that this is “The film that cost over $20,000,000,000,000 to produce.” Be sure to also check out the Inside Job official website and Facebook page.

At IFA in 2009 and then at CES in 2010, Sony took the opportunity of international electronics shows to announce the group’s first unified brand message, make.believe, to be used globally and unveil animated 2D and 3D logos. Meet the designers whose teamwork and enterprising spirit brought the logos to life in an interview courtesy of Sony Design.

Here are the principal designers involved with the make.believe design process:

Yamaguchi: The statement make.believe is the first unified brand message used by the Sony Group internationally. But just what form should this message take? How should we introduce it? Answering these questions was the mission of our design team.

In the message, the dot plays a pivotal role in joining two different elements—make, representing action, and believe, a frame of mind. You could also substitute hardware and software for these elements. Besides manufacturing electronics (the “hardware” side of our business), Sony produces a wealth of content, including music, movies, and games (the “software” side). The dot in the brand message is the spark that brings the two elements together, the flash point when new value and experiences are created.

Just adding the Sony logo is not a compelling way to present these concepts. Instead, we thought of adopting an animated logo as our key visual for introducing the new brand message. Normally we finalize static logo graphics before considering how to animate them, but this time, we took the opposite approach.

We also knew that a new age is finally dawning in 3D video. Sony is united in supporting the move to 3D at all stages, from movie production to screening in theaters, from hardware to finished content. It seemed fitting to create versions of the animated logo in both 2D and 3D. But for us, this was an unprecedented challenge.

Jogano: In the animation process, I began by creating a traditional 2D logo sequence. This appears at the end of Sony TV commercials, for example, where time is limited. In just 1.5 seconds in Japan and about twice as long overseas, the animated logo had to convey our brand message concepts accurately and memorably.

I chose the dot in make.believe as the focal point of the image. The sequence opens with curtains of light emanating from the center. Dazzling rays in two colors symbolize the two concepts of make and believe. The image resolves into a dot, and then the brand message appears. The organization and images are simple, because it was intended to be used by many group companies. No matter what Sony business the logo promotes, it must convey the message clearly and consistently. For this reason, an animated logo that’s almost too simple was perfect.

The hard part was 3D optimization of the animation. Objects seem three-dimensional to us because of parallax, differences in focus, and other visual cues, but these cues are not available to us when the object is light. Is it even possible to make light appear three-dimensional? Fortunately, we could call on the resources of group companies Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony PCL. These companies have extensive experience in 3D movie production and technical consulting. Adapting our engineers’ advice to suit our needs, we found a useful approach in design.

My solution was to sprinkle some points of light in the background (like a starry sky) and to add lens effects and rays of light. These objects become part of the image as a whole, making it look three-dimensional. 3D optimization was done at Sony PCL and checked using their 3D projection system. It was refined again and again, as we sought maximum effect from a minimal performance. Ultimately, I think we successfully retained the 2D appearance in an immersive 3D sequence worthy of the Sony name.

Nagahara: Some sounds are etched in our subconscious and move us more than visual images do—when we know intuitively what product or company it is, just by hearing the sound a product makes or an audio logo. Sony knows the power of sound, and besides our other design resources, we can develop sound design internally.

For the audio portion of our animated logos, Nobuhiro asked me to create “the sound of light” and “the sound of the two elements of make and believe.” Not very easy tasks. Manabu and I brainstormed about approaches to take in sound design.

It was insightful to consider the dot as a spark. To imitate a kind of ignition, the attack should be sharp, preferably with a serious edge. For the two elements of make and believe, it seemed simplest to combine two contrasting sounds.

Fujiki: We had to strike the right balance. Simply playing chords for the words would overwhelm the sound at the point of ignition. What could we add to single tones to link them? We sampled the sound of tapping or striking all kinds of things and created material on a synthesizer, until we had considered nearly 100 sound sequences.

In the end, we expressed the elements of make and believe with a set of sounds that includes both treble and bass components. We took a simple, pleasant treble component, added a bass component with impact as an accent, and layered this over the sound of the dot in the animated logo. A distinctive tone is used for the treble component, something between the tone of a musical instrument and the sound of striking crystal glasses. In audio logos, just playing single tones on a piano or synthesizer is not unusual. This time, we sought something different in sound design—something that’s simple but lingers in your memory.

Nagahara:The audio portion of traditional animated logos can be in stereo, but 3D animated logos deserve surround sound. People generally have fairly exacting standards in sound. Once you have been enjoying 3D video in surround sound, you’ll find it very strange if the experience is interrupted by a passage in stereo. Instantly, the 3D video realm collapses and you snap back to reality—the spell is broken.

To create a surround-sound version of the audio logo, we set up a special production environment in the design office. In brief audio sequences, it’s difficult to create the effect of surround sound. After trying various effects, such as rotating the stereo images, we decided it would be more natural and consistent with the original stereo sound source to have the stereo images simply spread out.

Maesaka: We also need to introduce the new make.believe brand message in print and other static media. This includes posters and concept booklets used internally as well as store signage, event displays, and other external media. My task was to adapt a dynamic logo to paper media without diminishing its impact or betraying the intentions of the original designers. To do it, I isolated the most symbolic elements in the traditional (2D) animated logo as resources for graphic design.

My creative palette consisted of curtains of light in two colors (representing make and believe) and the glow of the dot. But converting RGB source images to the CMYK color space for printing is not straightforward. The gamut is restricted, and it’s hard to reproduce the original colors in print. What’s more, paper properties, humidity at the time of printing, and other factors cause inconsistency in printed material. We paid close attention to the colors in our first internal posters, which set the standard for printing around the world. Our posters are created in about 40 languages. In printing, it takes a delicate touch to adjust hues, saturation, and contrast to match the original image.

And although we’re all members of the same corporate group, graphic design guidelines vary among Sony companies. Our goal was to coordinate these guidelines and ensure a unified message from the group. Anticipating how the Sony logo and make.believe should be combined in graphic design, we created simulations of the print ads, brochures, websites, product packaging, store signs, and all the other static media of group companies that incorporate the logo, all around the world. After feedback from our local companies, we refined the simulations as needed. It was hard work, as we repeated this process. But it all seems worthwhile now that we see the new logo gradually being introduced by Sony group companies.

Ikeda: Our logo work was not finished when we distributed the final materials to group companies. Ensuring that it’s used as intended in various areas, media, and scenarios, and that the concepts are conveyed accurately requires ongoing design governance. I’ve been working with the Group Marketing Communication Department (the make.believe project office) to manage overall project progress, help direct the establishment of logo guidelines, and even contribute to related copywriting.

What makes it difficult to establish guidelines is the fact that marketing conditions vary regionally and by group company. It would be easy to establish detailed rules on logo usage and prohibit all other usage. But because this would restrict creative expression, we wanted to avoid rules that were too strict. The guidelines we envisioned are not based on the logos themselves but on our brand message and the concepts involved. If there’s a way to convey the intentions behind our message effectively, that’s what we seek, and considering this possibility can inspire local creativity.

Toward this end, the department assessed local conditions by asking these representatives how we can express the new group message most effectively, and in this case, to cite any points to keep in mind. Their opinions were discussed by our make.believe working group, and in turn, our conclusions were documented. This process revealed that current guidelines needed to be refined, which slowed our progress. It was nerve-wracking to revise our guidelines so often. But ensuring flexibility in creative expression enabled unexpected, unique forms of promotion around the world, which are now seen at events and in stores.

Yamaguchi: Sony group companies represent an array of diverse cultures and marketing strategies. What enables us to understand and adapt to these conditions and speak with one voice (with a consistent message) is a team of in-house designers in close contact with top management. The make.believe logo project demonstrated the advantages we enjoy and was an excellent example of how affiliated departments and companies leverage our combined strengths.

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is a 2010 British-Spanish-American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen and distributed by Sony Pictures Classics in the USA. The latest Woody Allen film, set for release on September 22nd, stars Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Freida Pinto, and Naomi Watts.

The film follows a pair of married couples, Alfie (Hopkins) and Helena (Jones), and their daughter Sally (Watts) and husband Roy (Brolin), as their passions, ambitions, and anxieties lead them into trouble and out of their minds. After Alfie leaves Helena to pursue his lost youth and a free-spirited call girl named Charmaine (Lucy Punch), Helena abandons rationality and surrenders her life to the loopy advice of a charlatan fortune teller.

Unhappy in her marriage, Sally develops a crush on her handsome art gallery owner boss, Greg (Antonio Banderas), while Roy, a novelist nervously awaiting the response to his latest manuscript, becomes moonstruck over Dia (Freida Pinto), a mystery woman who catches his gaze through a nearby window. Despite these characters’ attempts to dodge their problems with pipe dreams and impracticable plans, their efforts lead only to heartache, irrationality, and perilous hot water.

Len Wiseman is in final negotiations to direct Columbia Pictures’ Total Recall. The film will be a new, contemporized adaptation of Total Recall, which was based on the story, “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” by Philip K. Dick. Kurt Wimmer is writing the screenplay. Neal H. Moritz will produce through his Original Film banner.

Commenting on the announcement, Tolmach said, “Len has an incredible love of the genre and a great gift for action. He’ll bring a contemporary feel to the film while taking care with everything we love about Philip K. Dick’s original story.”

Moritz said, “I have been trying for years to work with Len and fortunately we finally found a great project that he loves as much as we do. Len is terrifically talented and we know he is the right director to re-imagine Total Recall for a new generation of fans.”

Wiseman added, “I’ve always been fascinated with Philip K. Dick’s short story, and I’m excited at that prospect of diving even deeper into the type of world it evokes and the questions it asks. I love that the most crucial mystery our character is trying to solve is the one of his own soul.”

Toby Jaffe will oversee production on behalf of Original Film. Tolmach and Sam Dickerman are overseeing the project on behalf of the studio. Columbia Pictures secured the rights to Total Recall from Miramax. Wiseman is represented by ICM and attorney Howard Abramson.

If you watch G4 then you know who Adam Sessler is. Whether it’s during X-Play, E3 Coverage, or Comic-Con, his witty, entertaining, and extremely articulate comments on gaming and the industry are a staple at G4TV. What you might not know is that besides being the Co-Host of X-Play, he is also Editor in Chief Games of Content. I had a chance to chat with him before Comic-Con, and wanted to get his honest, candid thought’s on Sony.

Sony has made some strides with console redesign, and a great ad campaign. Despite that, they are still in a fight with Microsoft. What are something’s you think Sony is doing well?

The one thing that Sony is clearly doing well is titles that are unique to the PS3, which are almost all coming out of Sony development studios or at least partnerships that are exclusive with Sony. I would have to say that if you’re looking at, sort of what’s happening on the Microsoft side with that and what’s happening on the Sony side, I think there is a lot more experimentation and innovation and a greater sense of breadth to those titles on Sony’s side. One of the things I have seen a lot from Microsoft is they have very strong franchises: Halo, Gears, Fable. But there is that point, where, where else can you go with them? What are you going to do to invigorate your base?

And I think obviously with the success of Uncharted 2, The Last Guardian is coming around the corner, Little Big Planet 2, it does star to look, that, they really have that great roster. I think the real issue is that it took so long for Sony to get to that point, that they are in this, real sort of dangerous game of catch-up. I don’t necessarily see Microsoft slowing down to the point where they can sort of close that gap, but I think in terms of Sony trying to reinvigorate just the brand of PlayStation I think there software line up is doing a fine job of showing a greater sense of refinement and breadth in I think their software line up.

Conversely Sony has also made some decisions, that, at times, caused people to scratch their heads. What are some areas that you think they are failing in?

Sony at the beginning of this console generation was coming off the PS2 which was wildly successful. It was the dominant console of that generation. I would have to say that there was a sense of entitlement to that position in this generation and I think it allowed them to make decisions that were really kind of devastating.

I think the big one has to got to be the price point for the PS3; they really misread the appetite of the market to have a gaming console at that level. They were also investing too much in to Blu-ray and when they tried to, sell this machine, bolt on the Blu-ray and on the Cell processor, the games kinda of got lost. And they were not being able to speak the proper language to the audience that they really had quite loyal to them through the PS2. Obviously, there was that horrific, press conference. Not the one where they showed the not completely real Killzone trailer, but the following one, where they suddenly pulled the Sixaxis out of nowhere, they’re doing that with Warhawk, Genji, I mean, really they were asking you spend $600 and they could not reproduce one true killer app at the launch of the console.

I think they still needed to go for another year of really getting beat up before they realized that they should not have that level of entitlement. Then suddenly you started to see the good software. But once again, in the video game industry when your dealing with these consoles, losing that year…

Really, if you look at the PS2, one of the best advantages the PS2 had was it had a year on both the GameCube and the original XBOX. They as a result lost that year to the XBOX360 and then they lost yet another year by not making a good case to the consumer as to why they should be buying the console. Now they seem to be more on track. Even at this E3 you get a small sense of scatterbrained messaging, but at the same time they do have the goods to back it up. I worry about pushing to heavily on 3D. Obviously Sony corporate has 3D televisions they want to sell at the end of the year, but they need to sort of keep their eyes on that core element of which is very very good game developer’s that are within the Sony family.

How do you see 3D gaming evolving in the long-term? Do you see it being viable or being somewhat of a niche market?

I think it’s wholly contingent on the sale of 3D televisions. I think everyone is really holding their breath.

The whole reason we have 3D gaming right now is because of these 3D televisions, and if the televisions don’t sell, 3D gaming is going to go away. I honestly cannot decide if people are going to…it’s a bad economic climate to try and convince people who may have only in the past few years picked up a flat screen television to pick up another. At the same time, there are early adopters who just can’t turn down some sort of new technology. And if there are enough of them out there that are willing to spend the money then I think you will see a slow progression in to more 3D.

I guess, having looked at the 3D games, I am less resistant to the concept of 3D gaming than I was initially. I have always been concerned that the 3D would take such precedence that you’re going to see the game design and gameplay actually suffer because it’s only important to have the 3D. Killzone 3, it was neat with that jetpack to get the vertigo effect, but I don’t know where you go from there. And I think, unfortunately as with motion control, your putting something in the hands of developers that they themselves, have not, sort of been wanting. Their desire is to be creative, and express something and do something inside of a video game. So it is, I think, still putting the carriage a little in front of the horse. I think every so often we will see one or two games and we’ll say “Wow, that was really cool”, but it does concern me that there is this sense of ubiquity that somehow all games need to be 3D in the future. I’m kind of crossing my fingers that people aren’t going to buy 3D’s so it becomes a moot point.

With our E3 coverage, following twitter feeds and stuff like that, wow, did 3D resonant very low with our audience. If 3D is going to catch on, it’s going to catch on with a more marginal group of technophiles who want the new thing. I don’t think there are core gamers who really think that something is going to happen with their gaming.

PSN+. People are split down the middle on this. Do you think Sony is doing enough to make it a viable competitor to XBOX Live?

No. That was one of the more dissatisfying parts of the Sony press conference this year.

I think that people were, because of XBOX Live, finally ready to go “Hey, I will spend a little money if I can have the level of reliability on my online service that I am getting out of Microsoft”. And the whole idea that your going to spend money just to that you can download in the background…they don’t seem to get it.

I don’t know if that’s because your talking about a far more multnational company between the US, Europe and Japan. They really need to just jettison what they have. Maybe they will do that with the next console, but that’s going to be pretty far down the line. With XBOX Live you pay for the service, but you get something that is quite reliable for the most part. I think also, when the strange thing happened with the clock inside of the PS3, while that wasn’t the PlayStation Network’s fault, it just unfortunately put another blemish on it.

There is no reason why they should not have a service that is on par with XBOX Live. That is where some real investment needs to be because multiplayer is such a big element in games. It really means a lot to game publishers because it does reduce the resale of certain game’s if it has multiplayer in it.

The PlayStation Portable has some great titles, Birth by Sleep is on the horizon, but it’s 6 years into the PSP’s lifecycle. Do you think it’s time for Sony to do a larger scale refresh?

Yeah. And I agree with you, there are some really fun games you can get on it. That handheld market is soooo different than the console market. Nintendo has it so wrapped up. I am not saying there is anything, ostensibly wrong with the PSP, although I would really like a second analog stick due to the types of games that are on it.

But I have to question the rationale of having another PSP when Nintendo, especially with the 3DS is going to so dominate that market that are you just throwing good money after bad?  And as we just said, when the PlayStation Network could use such a revitalization, is it better to invest there than in what really seems to be a losing race with Nintendo.

Cloud computing and downloadable content are on the rise. You also have apps like Hulu, MLB.TV and Netflix. Where do you see the PS3 evolving to over it’s lifecycle? Where should it go?

That’s a really interesting question…

With all of those services out there…it’s almost like keeping up with the Jones es’. There seems to be this expectation that we finally are moving our consoles in to something closer to a set top box. Back in the old days when I was at TechTV, that was supposed to be the end all be all and it just never seemed to happen. It finally seems to be happening with the consoles and it seems to be happening in a way that is not distracting from what is supposed to be the core purpose of buying the console which is for the video games.

I think that as consumers expect to have these services they should be on it. It’s funny, I don’t use stuff like that, I’m a little bit old school (laughs). But I don’t know if trying to create something new and different is really going to distinguish the PS3 from those types of services that are on the XBOX. I know that Microsoft announced their deal with ESPN and I just can’t tell if that is going to make a difference. Is someone going to buy the 360 for ESPN service and they have been holding out from buying anything because that hasn’t been made available to them? I think any aspect like that needs to happen in the next generation of consoles, and right now we are just getting the consumer adjusted to the idea that are multiple uses for your gaming console other than just playing video games.

I would like to thank Kelly for arranging and scheduling the interview and Adam for taking the time out of his busy schedule to chat with us. If you ever wondered if he as down to earth in person as he is on TV he is.  I started off the interview by calling him Mr. Sessler and he said “No need, I am just a dood”

Sony Pictures (Columbia) is steadily increasing publicity for The Social Network, which is based on Ben Mezrich’s Book: The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal. The more I see about this I feel that the movie will be most likely known amongst society as “The Facebook Movie.” The film features an ensemble cast which consists of Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Brenda Song, Rashida Jones, Max Minghella, Rooney Mara, Malese Jow, and Joseph Mazzello. The Social Network is set to debut on November 1st, 2010.

The plot summary for the The Social Network is as follows:

On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea. In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication. A mere six years and 500 million friends later, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history… but for this entrepreneur, success leads to both personal and legal complications.

Watch the trailer below, and give us your thoughts in the comments section:

Nicolas Cage officially announced he will be resuming the role of Johnny Blaze.

After speculation that to maintain rights to the character the film might proceed without him, Nicolas Cage shocked everyone by announcing to Craig Ferguson the deal had been signed:

The first film nearly doubled the production budget, making nearly $230 million dollars worldwide

Grown Ups does well at the box office despite competition.

Now that the dust has settled, Grown Ups held it’s own despite having the stiff competition of Toy Story 3, Knight & Day, and Sony’s own The Karate Kid. Grown Ups opened to approximately 5,100 screens at 3,534 locations it’s launch on June 26th.

The all star cast of Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, and David spade created enough laughs to produce a worldwide gross of $123,160,919. Excellent numbers given a production budge of roughly 80 million.

Between the success of this film and The Karate Kid, Sony/Columbia has much to be happy about.

The Green Hornet is an upcoming 2011 superhero action/adventure film directed by Michel Gondry. The film is scheduled to be released on January 14th, 2011 and will be released in both in RealD 3D and IMAX 3D, as well as in 2D. Hornet has a $130 million budget and will be distributed by Columbia Pictures.

Britt Reid (Seth Rogen), son and heir to Los Angeles’ largest newspaper fortune, is a rich, spoiled playboy who has been happy to maintain a direction-less existence.

When his father James Reid (Tom Wilkinson) dies, Britt meets an impressive and resourceful company employee, Kato (Jay Chou). They realize that they have the resources to do something worthwhile with their lives and finally step out of James Reid’s shadow. Kato builds the ultimate weapon, The Black Beauty, an indestructible car with every weapon imaginable and Britt decides that in order to be heroes, they will pose as villains. With the help of Britt’s new secretary, Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz), they learn that the chief criminal in the city is named Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz). He has united all the gangs under his power, and he quickly sees that the Green Hornet is a direct threat to the prosperous criminal underworld he controls.

Rogen, along with everyone else officially attached to the project at that point, appeared at San Diego Comic-Con International 2009 and unveiled the Black Beauty, the Green Hornet’s car, as it will appear in the film. According to The New York Times, the production modified 29 cars to portray the Green Hornet’s luxurious supercar. The 29 cars were a mix of 1964, 1965 and 1966 Chrysler Imperials modified to resemble (but not exactly duplicate) the two 1966 Imperials used to portray the Black Beauty in the 1966 television series. The producers turned down product placement deals with both BMW and General Motors in favor of using the classic Chrysler.

Patrick Seybold, Sony’s Senior Director, Corporate Communications & Social Media was kind enough to allow me to chat with him after Sony’s excellent showing at E3. Mr. Seybold and I discuss PlayStation Move, PSP, the impact of social media, and Kevin Butler.

Sony had an excellent showing at E3 and redefined what the PlayStation brand is all about. What are your thoughts on the incredible reaction those in attendance at the Shrine Auditorium had to those announcements?

We saw an incredibly strong reaction from attendees at the PlayStation Press Conference and I think it’s in large part due to the diverse and new content that we were able to share with the audience. Topping the charts was the upcoming PlayStation Move motion controller and an in-depth look into how we are leading the 3D race, with demos on the show floor that ranged from Killzone 3 in 3D to Gran Turismo 5 in 3D. And on the PS3 platform we started the year with huge releases such as MAG, Heavy Rain, God of War III, MLB 10: The Show, and ModNation Racers. The momentum will carry through as we have an extremely strong back half of the year line-up from both our first party studios and our publishing partners. Our digital entertainment offerings, which comes packed today with premium original content from HBO, and 23,000 movies and TV shows from all of the major networks and studios, was met with more good news with the announcement of PlayStation Network’s new subscription based offering, PlayStation Plus. All in all, it was a great show and I think everyone was really excited by the volume and quality of great new games and hardware brought to the forefront at E3.

The PlayStation Move could almost be likened to t he launch of an entirely new console, and so many more A list titles will be coming out before the holiday season across the product line. What are some of the challenges in gearing up for what is going to be quite a busy year in the coming months?

Yes, exciting times are ahead of us as we look towards the arrival of the PlayStation Move. When PlayStation Move launches on September 19^th in the US, consumers will have access to a compelling line-up of motion-control titles that will appeal to both the casual and core gamers. We also have an incredibly deep line-up coming to PS3 and PSP, so the PlayStation brand will be broadly represented at retail and in consumer’s homes this holiday season.

As E3 demonstrated, the media and fans really identify with Kevin Butler, and those ad campaigns have really reached a whole new audience. What were your thoughts when you saw Kevin Butler make his appearance?

It was a great reaction and the crowd went wild when Kevin Butler appeared. Since launching the “It Only Does Everything” campaign last September, the public has really resonated with the messaging. The next few months it will be interesting to see how our core gamers take to the new advertising campaign “Step Your Game Up” for PSP and PSPgo. The focus is all about providing a deeper look into what makes a PlayStation Portable gaming experience more complete and enjoyable than anything else you’ll find on the market.

I couldn’t attend E3 this year due to scheduling issues, and a lot of people could not either, yet when you visit the E3 site in PS Home, you really get the sense of being there. Do you think this is something we can see moving forward? Might we see more virtual spaces in PS Home, like FEVA Stadium that really leverages the power of the PS3 against its competitors?

I am glad you liked the experience in PlayStation Home. It was very well received and with 250,000 visitors to the booth, it proved that people really utilize the PlayStation Home 3D virtual environment to connect with their fellow PS3 owners. You can expect us to do more of this in the future and while I can’t provide specifics on new spaces to be introduced in Home, you should keep watch because there will be more exciting spaces revealed throughout the remainder of this year.

Early on there was a lot of criticism against the PS3 for being too expensive, and for including technology that, at the time, appeared over-specced. Now all those early decisions are allowing the PS3 to offer experiences that aren’t possible on other consoles. Can you talk about what riding that wave was like, and how it feels to be where Sony is now?

We’ve always said that we are building a product that is future proof. We’ve been able to impress upon both our fan base and potential new customers that we not only have a serious gaming device, but we also have a powerful and unparalleled entertainment device that offers a wide variety of options for everyone – downloading content, photo storage, streaming music, sports, Blu-ray player, and now 3D. Consumers are responding and the PS3 has just surpassed ten consecutive months of double-digit year over year growth.

There were rumors swirling around about a PSP 2, yet Sony showed just how viable the current PSP is by having it take center stage and highlighting excellent titles on the way with a whole new ad campaign. Do you think this deep into the PSP life cycle it’s time for a refresh or does it have a few years left?

PSP is still going strong and has an incredibly deep pipeline of products in development. We already covered a bit about our new advertising campaign “Step Your Game Up” which shows our commitment to the product and to those fans that crave real full-length games. With big franchises like Metal Gear Solid, God of War coming to the platform this year, and new IP such as Invisimals showing off new augmented reality, PSP is still the best portable gaming device on the market.

Social media is a big part of how this generation gets its news and communicates. Your team has done an excellent job with this type of communication by having such an active community on the blog, the forums, twitter and is head and shoulders above what others are doing in the same space. What are the challenges in balancing so many different forms of communication and getting so many different people within Sony to participate?

Our PlayStation blog, the forums and Twitter have all helped us to get closer to our fans/customers. We have a constant interest to be able to utilize these social media tools to engage with the core user base, solicit opinions, provide intel and to course correct as needed based upon their input and feedback. Another good example of this is the PlayStation Share. We want to engage with those that use our products and know their likes/dislikes because that can only help us make a more targeted product. When you arrive at the homepage for Share it says:

Share is a place to formally submit your best ideas on how we can improve all PlayStation products. It’s also a place where you can discover and vote on other people’s ideas, as well as communicate with us and other PlayStation fans about how to bring great ideas to life.

We want to create the best products available and our customers and fans are a great source of ensuring we continue to have the best in class products available.

I want to give a humble thanks to Mr. Seybold  for taking time out of his busy schedule to chat with us and Mrs. von Esmarch for her assistance in coordinating the interview.

The combination of Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson and Harold Zwart proves to be a winner for Sony. With the The Karate Kid having made it’s way through the theaters, initial estimates show the film doing exceptionally well at the box office. According to reports the overall production budget for the film was in the neighborhood of $40 million dollars. Compare that to the total gross for the film, combining both foreign and domestic receipts, and the grand total is a little over $188 million dollars. Not bad considering additional revenue will still arrive from disc sales, and various digital distribution channels.

Given those numbers, it’s no wonder that thoughts of a sequel are already floating around. MTV talked with Harold Zwart about the possibility of a sequel and where he saw things going and he had this to say:

I personally think it’s now so much on its own two feet, given the success, that it would be interesting to see where we could take it without ever thinking about the old ones

He also commented on his dealings with Sony, thoughts on Will Smith’s production company Overbrook, and his desire to return:

I think Sony has been fantastic for me. They’re the best studio to work for. They’re such a filmmaker-friendly studio. And] Overbrook, in my opinion, is by far the coolest company. So, yes, I would love to work with them again

He may be busy with his next film Rollercoaster Tycoon in the coming months, but let’s hope he can indeed return for another film.

The Sony themed event takes place at the OPUS Communication Zone  on the 8th floor at their building in Ginza. Inside the hall Sony has 4K SXRD projector, [SXRD-R110], and a 200 inch (Blue Ocean) Screen. The presentation will be presented in 3D.

The focus of the event will be the amazing inhabitants of the Churaumi Sea and the Okinawan marine ecosystem. To allow for a presentation of the Kuroshio Sea, Sony will be employing the use of 3D cable free underwater camera systems.

Attendance has been as high as 600,000 in recent years so if your in the area, definitely stop by. Admission is free.