NewsFactor - Although the Internet is changing the way movies are distributed, archived, and advertised, few in the entertainment industry are willing to close the doors on the multiplex for good. The desire for a communal experience and the visceral punch of seeing a blockbuster on the big screen has always made film palaces special places. Traditional viewing habits remain entrenched, and it might be years before consumers are ready to break away from the tried and true.

It brought Kong to life, put Sin City on the map and is making next-gen X-Men fly. Digital animation is coming of age in Hollywood, one blockbuster at a time. By Matt Brady from Wired magazine.

Reuters - German multiplex giant CinemaxX has pulled the Turkish action blockbuster "Valley of the Wolves: Iraq" from theaters after accusations that the film, which stars Billy Zane and Gary Busey, is anti-Semitic and anti-American.

InfoWorld - In the ever-increasing battle to offer the best search engine on the planet, SAP is planning a blockbuster extension to its search capabilities with the next major release of NetWeaver.

AP - The Walt Disney Co.'s MovieBeam set-top box is coming back in an upgraded version that clearly aims to be a Blockbuster in a box.

Peter Benchley, the US author whose novel Jaws became a blockbuster movie, has died aged 65.

Reuters - Peter Benchley, the author of the bestseller "Jaws" which was made into a blockbuster movie that kept beachgoers out of the water for years, died at his home at age 65, his family said on Sunday.

AP - The Academy Awards nominations confirm it: 2005 may have been an off year for the blockbuster crowd, but it was a great year for people who love quality cinema.

E! Online - It took a little work, but NBC managed to acquire superstar sportscaster Al Michaels in a blockbuster trade from ESPN that will shake up the Monday Night Football broadcast booth and see Michaels reteamed with John Madden on Sunday nights.

Reuters - No. 1 U.S. video rental chain Blockbuster Inc. on Thursday said it was doubling the number of free in-store rentals given to subscribers to its online rental service, which it will promote with its second Super Bowl ad in as many years.

Reuters - Dan Brown's publisher will bring out the first U.S. paperback edition of his blockbuster "The Da Vinci Code" on March 28, ahead of the May release of the film adaptation starring Tom Hanks, the company said on Monday.

Reuters - Generic drugmakers are gearing up for a big year as blockbuster brand-name medicines such as Zocor, Zoloft, Pravachol and Ambien are set to lose U.S. patent protection, but analysts warned that stocks in producers of cheaper versions of those drugs are not sure bets.

Reuters - When the head of Netflix Inc. said rival Blockbuster Inc. threw "everything but the kitchen sink at us," the world's largest video rental chain responded by sending him ... a kitchen sink.

Editor and Publisher - The newspaper industry had quite the rollercoaster year in 2005, with many of the twists and turns leading down rather than up. We saw anonymous sourcing attacked, blockbuster deals struck, and, of course, cuts, cuts and more cuts.

AP - "King Kong" was less of a box-office brute than Hollywood expected, taking in $50.15 million in its first weekend, a sturdy start but unremarkable by Hollywood blockbuster standards.

AP - "King Kong" was less of a box-office brute than Hollywood expected, taking in $50.15 million in its first weekend, a sturdy start but unremarkable by Hollywood blockbuster standards.

AP - Blockbuster Inc. stores in several states are quietly resuming late fees for customers who keep movies too long, rejecting the video-rental chain's national advertising of "No Late Fees!" because they can no longer keep popular movies on their shelves.

AP - Mel Gibson stirred passions with his blockbuster "Passion of the Christ" and might well again with his latest project — a nonfiction television movie set against the backdrop of the Holocaust.