Holy Ground

The game of STAY ALIVE chills the blood and pumps the adrenaline of its players in part because it based on a story of murder and bloodthirsty madness that is itself disturbingly and hauntingly real. At the center of the game's action is an actual historical figure who was quite possibly the world's most prolific serial killer ever: Elizabeth Bathory, the alluring 17th century aristocrat whose bizarre thirst for human blood garnered the nickname "The Blood Countess." Bathory's almost unspeakably depraved biography remains a chilling reminder that within humanity, evil monsters lurk in all guises. Born into a powerful noble family in the 17th Century, Elizabeth Bathory started out with every advantage. She was rich, well educated and a renowned beauty said to have been possessed of glowing raven hair and pale, luminous skin. Married off for political reasons at the age of 15, Elizabeth instantly became the Countess of Transylvania (where Count Vlad Dracula had ruled a century before) and was whisked to a mountain-top fortress in the Carpathians, where she was installed as the Lady of the Castle of Csjethe. There, while her soldier husband (himself known as "The Black Hero of Hungary") was away on various war campaigns, a bored and alienated Elizabeth searched for ways to amuse herself. Drawn to the darker side of life, she took up the study of "the sinister arts" and, as a hobby, began gleefully torturing local debtors in the castle dungeons. But it was after her husband's death that things took an even grimmer turn. In an increasingly desperate effort to maintain her waning youth and vitality, history has it that Elizabeth made the accidental and unfortunate discovery that fresh blood could purify and smooth her skin. Thus, she began a ruthless rampage through the countryside, kidnapping, torturing and killing numerous young peasant girls in order to bathe in their moisturizing blood. To create an even steadier supply of virgins for bloodletting, she later opened up a school in her castle, taking in 25 girls at a time from rich families, who were subjected to unsettling cruelties and mass fatalities. It was a mistake. Though the deaths of impoverished peasant girls might have been overlooked by the authorities, the murder of noble children was not. Soon, rumors of Elizabeth's terrible crimes began to spread. Forced to act, the Hungarian Emperor, Matthias II, mounted an investigation, which turned up rooms of lavish torture racks and mutilated, bloodless corpses in Elizabeth's castle. Elizabeth was put on trial, but refused to attend the proceedings, ultimately admitting nothing about the 650 missing girls of whom she was suspected of killing. In the end, the Countess's alleged accomplices were all convicted of being witches and executed, but Elizabeth herself escaped that fate due to her noble birth. She was never even convicted. Instead, she was declared a menace by her family and condemned to live walled up inside her castle, driven insane by solitude, for the rest of her days. It is assumed she died there - but in STAY ALIVE it appears Elizabeth's spirit was able to escape and set up a new lair across the oceans in another famed haunt of vamps and vampires: the city of New Orleans. Today, the Blood Countess is considered one of history's first and most voracious serial killers and an inspiration for numerous vampire legends, including the creation of "Dracula" by Bram Stoker. Although a few contemporary novels and comic books have been written about the Blood Countess, her legend primarily faded into obscurity - another reason why Bell and Peterman felt she would make the perfect villain at the heart of STAY ALIVE. "When we started reading about Elizabeth Bathory, it was like 'why haven't we ever seen a movie about her? She's so dark and fascinating and she's absolutely real. Virtually everything she does in the movie is based on things she actually did according to various histories, which gives it all a very chilling power that affected us even on the set." Story goes the Elizabeth grew up experiencing uncontrollable seizures and rages. She might have been epileptic or suffered some other disorder, but whatever the problem was, it appeared to contribute to her aggression. When she was 15, she married a sadistic man, Count Nadasdy, who shared her interest in sorcery and who became known as the "black Hero." He taught her how to discipline the servants, such as spreading honey over a naked girl and leaving her for the bugs. He also showed Erzebet how to beat them to the edge of their lives, although some accounts describe her lesbian affairs with them as well. She also used them in her diabolical experiments and had a habit of biting them, sometimes to death. It was clear that she favored the dark side and developed a lust for cruelty, mentored by her own childhood nurse, a practitioner of witchcraft. After Nadasdy died in 1604, Elizabeth moved to Vienna. She also stepped up her cruel and arbitrary beatings and was soon torturing and butchering the girls. She sent her maids to lure children and young women to her quarters, so she could satisfy her lust. She might stick pins into sensitive body parts, cut off someone's fingers, slit her skin with knives, or break her face. In the winter, women were dragged outside, doused with water, and left to freeze to death. In a dungeon, girls were chained to the walls, fattened up, and "milked" for their blood. Sometimes they were set on fire. Even when Elizabeth was ill, she didn't stop. Instead she'd have girls brought to her bed so she could bite them. The villagers could do nothing to stop her, because she had too much power. Elizabeth went through two separate trials, and during the second one, a register was discovered in her home that included in her own handwriting the names of over 650 victims. Accounts of her tortures by witnesses made even the judges blanch, and they could not imagine how a single person had devised so many different types of tortures.

The blood runs deep in this mind-bending thriller about a killer video game. The real world and the game world gruesomely collide when a group of friends play Stay Alive, a mysterious underground video game that kills the gamer whose character dies in play. In a death race against time, the survivors must solve the mystery of the game while desperately trying to stay alive.

In lunile care au urmat externarii din spital, Marilyn Monroe s-a impacat cu Joe DiMaggio, barbatul pe care acum il considera un salvator. Cu toate astea, au hotarat de comun acord sa nu faca publica relatia si sa o pastreze informala si fara obligatii. De-a lungul anilor, s-a povestit in biografii ca doreau sa se casatoreasca din nou. Nu este adevarat. De fapt, un obstacol major intre ei era ca Marilyn dorea in acel moment sa revina pe platou, iar Joe inca se opunea cu putere acestui lucru.(...) In aceasta perioada incepuse chiar sa se intalneasca din nou cu Frank Sinatra, deci era clar ca nu se gandea sa se marite cu Joe.(...) Nu se stie cum privea Joe DiMaggio relatia dintre Marilyn si Frank, nici macar daca aceasta conta pentru el.(...) In ce-l priveste pe Frank, in acea perioada se intalnea cu Juliet Prowse, insa era inca atras de Marilyn si, dupa cum povestesc cei care-l cunosteau bine, nu putea sa reziste in fata ei.(...) La spectacolul lui Sinatra din Las Vegas venisera si Elizabeth Taylor impreuna cu sotul ei, Eddie Fisher, si sarbatoritul Dean Martin cu sotia lui , Jeanne Martin; Marilyn a stat cu ei. "Cum mi s-a parut Marilyn in seara aceea? Stiam cu totii ca avea o relatie cu Sinatra, deci era inabordabila. Insa bause atat de mult, incat l-a facut de ras. Nu era bine deloc," a povestit Eddie Fisher. "Era superba, ca o aparitie cu zambet minunat si cu o rochie atat de decoltata, incat nu-ti puteai lua ochii de la sanii ei," spune un fotoreporter din Las Vegas care, impreuna cu un fotograf de la Wide World Photos, a fost unul dintre putinii carora li s-a permis accesul la petrecerea de dupa spectacol, din apartamentul lui Sinatra. "Daca o priveai de departe, ti se parea minunata. Dar de aproape parea distrusa. Nu arata bine si se purta ciudat. Mi s-a parut un pic nebuna. Imi amintesc ca la petrecere se plangea : Of Frankie, hai sa le aratam fotografilor. Te iubesc Frankie. Vreau sa afle toata lumea. Statea in spatele lui, cu mainile in jurul taliei lui, ca si cum s-ar fi sprijinit de el sa nu cada." Dupa cum povesteste jurnalistul, cand Frank s-a ferit, in loc sa se lase fotografiat cu ea, Marilyn aproape si-a pierdut echilibrul. A privit-o ingrijorat si i-a spus unei garzi de corp:"Fii cu ochii pe ea. Nu-mi place cum se clatina. Da-mi de stire daca lesina sau i se intampla ceva."(...) La sfarsitul lui iunie 1961, Marilyn a fost diagnosticata cu calculi la vezica biliara si inflamare a vezicii biliare. Parea ca necazurile nu se mai termina. Operatia din 29 iunie a decurs bine. Sora ei vitrega, Berniece, urma sa vina la New York si sa stea cu Marilyn in perioada convalescentei.(...) Acum Marilyn avea 35 de ani, iar Berniece, 41. Au ajuns la concluzia ca aratau mai bine decat in tinerete, chiar daca Marilyn era slabita dupa operatie si nu era bine deloc. Purta o rochie de vara, alba, si sandale cu toc inalt. Isi coafase parul inainte sa iasa din spital, pentru ca stia ca va fi fotografiata si dorea sa arate in forma. Viata lui Marilyn nu era deloc una obisnuita, iar Berniece a inteles asta, cand a aflat ca primul lucru pe care Lena Pepitone, servitoarea lui Marilyn, trebuia sa-l faca in fiecare zi era sa spele sutienul din dantela bej pe care Marilyn il purtase in ziua precedenta.(...) Dupa cateva zile, Berniece a inceput sa se ingrijoreze; i se parea ca Marilyn lua prea multe medicamente. Cei care se aflau in preajma ei tot timpul se obisnuisera sa vada ca lua mereu medicamente, care o ora mai tarziu o faceau sa se clatine. Nu era niciodata coerenta si parea mereu...un pic dusa.(...) In fiecare seara, doctorul lui Marilyn trecea sa vada cum ii merge. In timpul fiecarei vizite, Marilyn ii pregatea o bautura tare, lucru care-i placea; si asta era ciudat. Apoi ii dadea lui Marilyn tot felul de pastile, in cantitati "generoase". Uneori ii facea o injectie cu Dumnezeu stie ce substanta, insa lui Marilyn ii placea efectul. Berniece a profitat de prezenta doctorului si l-a intrebat despre pastile. "Sincer, chiar are nevoie de toate somniferele astea? Este exagerat, nu credeti?" Doctorul nu a avut timp sa-i raspunda, caci Marilyn a fixat-o cu duritate:"Da, chiar am nevoie de pastilele astea", a spus ea, enervandu-se brusc. "Am nevoie de somn. Asadar, Berniece, raspunsul e da. Asta e raspunsul. Da." S-a lasat o tacere stanjenitoare. Dupa cateva minute, doctorul a continuat sa-i dea lui Marilyn medicamentele, fara sa clipeasca.(...) Berniece a observat si cat de paranoica devenise Marilyn. La un moment dat, in timpul sederii ei, tocmai se deschisese un restaurant italian in zona; lui Marilyn i-a fost trimisa acasa o cina onorifica. Marilyn a rugat-o pe Lena sa arunce mancarea. Nu vroia sa stie ca exista asa ceva in casa. Berniece a presupus ca nu vroia mancarea pentru ca tinea regim sau, poate, pentru ca i se spusese ca dupa operatie sa nu manance condimentat. Insa explicatia lui Marilyn a fost mult mai alarmanta:"ar putea sa fie otravita", i-a spus ea lui Berniece, pe un ton foarte serios."Nu mananc niciodata mancare gatita de straini."

The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 17, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. During its initial release, The Little Mermaid earned $89 million in North American box office revenue, and has to date earned $211 million in total international gross. Ariel, a sixteen-year-old mermaid princess, is dissatisfied with life under the sea and curious about the human world. With her best fish friend Flounder, Ariel collects human artifacts and goes to the surface of the ocean to visit Scuttle the seagull, who offers very inaccurate and comical knowledge of human culture. Ignoring the warnings of her father (King Triton) and court musician (Sebastian the crab) that contact between merpeople and humans is forbidden Ariel still longs to be part of the human world; to this end she has filled a secret grotto with all the human artifacts she has found. Sebastian, who is assigned to watch over Ariel and be sure she does not visit the surface again, tries to convince her that its better to live under the sea than in the human world. One night, Ariel, Flounder and an unwilling Sebastian travel to the ocean surface to watch a celebration for the birthday of Prince Eric, with whom Ariel falls in love. A sudden storm hits, during which everyone manages to escape in a lifeboat--except for Eric who goes back to rescue his dog Max. He almost drowns saving Max but is saved by Ariel, who drags him to the beach. Although it seems that his heart isn't beating, Ariel notices that Eric is breathing. She sings to him but dives underwater when Max returns to Eric. Upon waking, Eric has a vague impression that he was rescued by a girl with a beautiful voice; he vows to find her, and Ariel vows to find a way to join Eric. She is convinced by a pair of eels that she must visit Ursula, the sea witch, if she wants all her dreams to come true. Ursula makes a deal with Ariel to transform her into a human for three days. Within these three days, Ariel must receive the 'kiss of true love' from Eric; otherwise, she will transform back into a mermaid on the third day and belong to Ursula. As payment for legs, Ariel has to give up her voice, which Ursula takes by magically removing the energy from Ariel's vocal chords and storing it in a nautilus shell. Ariel's tail is transformed into legs and Sebastian and Flounder drag her to the surface. Meanwhile, Triton discovers Ariel and Sebastian's disappearance and, wracked with guilt over his behaviour, orders a search for them.
More money and resources were dedicated to Mermaid than any other Disney animated film in decades.
Another first for recent years was the filming of live actors and actresses for motion reference material for the animators, a practice used frequently for many of the Disney animated features produced under Walt Disney's supervision. Broadway actress Jodi Benson was chosen to play Ariel, and Sherri Lynn Stoner, a former member of Los Angeles' Groundlings improvisation comedy group, acted out Ariel's key scenes. Effects animation supervisor Mark Dindal estimated that over a million bubbles were drawn for this film, in addition to the use of other processes such as airbrushing, backlighting, superimposition, and some computer animation. The film was also screened out of competition at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. In a then atypical and controversial move for a new Disney animated film, The Little Mermaid was released as part of the Walt Disney Classics line of VHS and Laserdisc home video releases in May 1990, eight months after the release of the film. Mermaid became that year's top-selling title on home video, with over 10 million units sold. The Little Mermaid was released in a Limited Issue "bare-bones" DVD in 1999, with a standard video transfer and no substantial features. The film was re-released on DVD on October 3, 2006, as part of the Walt Disney Platinum Editions line of classic Walt Disney animated features. The film won two of the awards, for Best Song ("Under the Sea") and Best Score. The film also earned four Golden Globe nominations, including Best Picture - Comedy or Musical, and won the awards for Best Song ("Under the Sea") and Best Score. In addition to the box office and critical success of the film itself, the Mermaid soundtrack album earned two awards at the 33rd Grammy Awards in 1991 - for Best Recording for Children and Best Instrumental Composition written for a Motion Picture or Television. To date, the soundtrack has been certified six times platinum.

Already a massive star in her native Costa Rica— plus six Grammy nominated projects , a No. 1 dance single, and performances as a featured vocalist on tours with Ricky Martin and Sergio Mendes under her belt—singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Debi Nova is ready to make her mark on the rest of the world with the upcoming Decca/Surco release of her hybrid (Spanish/English) debut album Luna Nueva. "The idea of singing in both English and Spanish on the album wasn't planned," Nova says. "As I was writing the songs, I found myself naturally blending the two because it's something I do every day. As a Latina who lives between the US and Costa Rica , I speak Spanglish with my friends and family. My music reflects my being part of a generation of young Latinos who use both naturally. The world is becoming smaller and I'm proud to represent that."

After premiering a 22 second teaser on Larry King last Tuesday, the nearly nine-minute video premiere for Gaga’s current single, “Alejandro,” is now available. In what Gaga has dubbed a tribute to the gay community in which she’s “pining for the love of my gay friends but they just don’t want me,” the “Alejandro” video seems to be more of a tribute to music video past. From the artists Gaga has emulated most heavily—Grace Jones, David Bowie, Madonna, the list goes on—Gaga readily and joyfully likens herself to a tapestry of her pop-culture past, present, and future. Much like her idol Andy Warhol, she acknowledges the transience of art and image in the pop-culture sphere. And, much like Madonna and Michael Jackson, she realizes the duty of being in show business: to entertain.