September 10, 2015

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Today in Movie Culture: Freddy vs. Leonardo DiCaprio, How 'Ghostbusters' Proton Packs Work and More

Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:

Movie Mashup of the Day:

It’s Freddy vs. Leo in this combination of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Inception (via Geek Tyrant):

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Alternative Movie Poster of the Day:

Speaking of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Indian artist Raj Khatri uses broad brush strokes for a new kind of minimalist movie poster design. See his take on Wes Craven‘s horror classic below and posters for Kill Bill, The Dark Knight and The Matrix at Design Taxi.

Movie Science of the Day:

Want to know how the proton pack works in Ghostbusters? Kyle Hill explains the science of these ghost-catching weapons for Nerdist:

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Cosplay of the Day:

All comic book characters get a gender-swapped version eventually. Drax the Destroyer from Guardians of the Galaxy got one in the form of cosplay (via All That’s Cosplay):

Movie Comparison of the Day:

See how much Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull recycled parts of the previous three Indiana Jones movies in this side-by-side comparison video (via Cinematic Montage Creators):

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Filmmaker in Focus:

He’s not dead yet. Check out a trailer for Terry Gilliam‘s “pre-posthumous memoir” Gilliamesque, which hits stores in a few weeks:

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Supercut of the Day:

Another filmmaker in focus, here’s a montage of kisses in Alfred Hitchcock movies:

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Fan Art of the Day:

This cartoon rendition of the Doof Warrior from Mad Max: Fury Road is one of a handful of character portraits by Tim Odland. See his Furiosa, Immortan Joe, Nux and Max art at Live for Films.

Scene Analysis of the Day:

CineFix looks at the “box climax” of David Fincher‘s Se7en for The Art of the Scene:

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Classic Trailer of the Day:

Today is the 35th anniversary of the initial South African release of The Gods Must Be Crazy, which would become a phenomenal hit in the U.S. four years later and spawn official and unofficial sequels. Here is the original trailer for the American release:

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and

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New EPA Rules Motivate Montana To Look Beyond Coal

Kevin Murphy says he is proud of what he and the other workers do at the Rosebud mine, including digging the coal and reclaiming the land afterward.
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Kevin Murphy says he is proud of what he and the other workers do at the Rosebud mine, including digging the coal and reclaiming the land afterward. Amy Martin/Montana Public Radio hide caption

itoggle caption Amy Martin/Montana Public Radio

Colstrip, Mont., is true to its name — it exists because of coal.

“Our coal’s getting deeper, like everywhere else, because everybody’s mining. They’re getting into the deeper stuff,” says Kevin Murphy, who has worked in the Rosebud Mine for 15 years running a bulldozer in the open pits.

Everything about the mine is enormous, especially the dragline, a machine as big as a ship with a giant boom that extends 300 feet up into the air. The dragline perches on the lip of the pit, scraping away hundreds of feet of rocky soil to reveal the black seam of coal below.

The coal goes directly to the power plant across the highway, where it’s pulverized and burned. This mine-to-mouth operation is the second-largest coal-fired power plant west of the Mississippi. But Murphy’s wife, Marti, says if you’re picturing blackened skies and sooty streets, you haven’t actually been to Colstrip.

Marti and Kevin Murphy at home with their children

Marti and Kevin Murphy at home with their children Amy Martin/Montana Public Radio hide caption

itoggle caption Amy Martin/Montana Public Radio

How Montana Compares With Other States

“I feel like that is how we’re perceived, as a dirty coal mining town. It’s just not true,” she says.

Marti works in the accounts payable office at the mine. She points out the money generated from coal has given her community amenities you wouldn’t normally find in a town of just over 2,000 people.

“We have free golf if you live in the city limits, free gym membership if you live in the city limits, walking paths all around town, a park in every single neighborhood that you could think of,” she says.

The goal of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan is to reduce carbon emissions from the power sector by 30 percent nationwide from 2005 levels. Marti says she wants a healthy environment, but talk of shutting down coal-fired power plants feels threatening in Colstrip.

“It’s pretty scary because you think about it, and then you have to think, ‘Well, where would we go if something happened?’ ” she says.

Economist Mark Haggerty is with Headwaters Economics, an independent research group in Bozeman, Mont., that studies energy issues across the West.

“I would be worried,” he says.

Haggerty says the real threat to Colstrip may not be the Clean Power Plan. “There are larger market trends that are already forcing a big transition away from coal towards natural gas,” he says.

Those trends could be good for Montana. The state does produce some natural gas, and it’s also rich in renewable resources, like wind. The American Wind Energy Association ranks Montana third among states with potential land-based wind power generation. But it’s currently 21st in the nation for actual wind production. Haggerty says the infrastructure to move wind energy toward population centers is one of the primary things holding it back.

“Those issues I think will be resolved, and I would expect that we could see renewables being a significant competitor with both coal and natural gas over the next decade,” Haggerty says.

Jenni Bryce's cattle graze around her family's wind turbines and solar panels at her home near Belt, Mont.

Jenni Bryce’s cattle graze around her family’s wind turbines and solar panels at her home near Belt, Mont. Amy Martin/Montana Public Radio hide caption

itoggle caption Amy Martin/Montana Public Radio

That transition is well underway for Jenni Bryce, who lives near the town of Belt, in central Montana. In the pasture behind her house, cattle are grazing, solar panels are collecting sunlight and several turbines are whirling in the wind.

“We have a Bergey 10-kilowatt wind turbine, which is probably the standard size for residential,” she says.

Bryce founded Pine Ridge Products 16 years ago. It’s a small-scale solar and wind installation company that she runs from her home. Bryce didn’t plan to become a renewable energy entrepreneur — she’s actually a speech therapist — but after she and her husband put up solar panels and a wind turbine for their own use, other families started asking them for advice. That led them to start consulting, manufacturing parts and designing new turbine models.

Climate change was not what motivated Bryce to start her business. She points out that families like hers have been using windmills for a long time.

“They’ve been using them for water pumping,” she says. “And you look back at our history of rural electrification and before that they used windmills connected to batteries for their power in their houses.”

In true Montana fashion, Bryce’s commitment to renewable energy grows out of her rural roots — and her passion for self-sufficiency. That passion will be needed to bring Montana into compliance with the new EPA rules and to help ease the transition away from coal in coming decades.

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Beyond Brady: What To Expect In Tonight's NFL Season Opener

The last time the New England Patriots played the Pittsburgh Steelers was Nov. 3, 2013. The Patriots won 55-31.

The last time the New England Patriots played the Pittsburgh Steelers was Nov. 3, 2013. The Patriots won 55-31. Charles Krupa/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Charles Krupa/AP

Football is back.

Tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET the New England Patriots will play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Foxborough, Mass. The contest’s prevailing narrative is sure to focus on the Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady, whose suspension for his alleged role in the Deflate-gate scandal was overturned last week. But there’s more to this game than the return of one man.

It’s possible tonight could mark the burial of the Deflate-gate saga. Beyond that, here’s what you need to know:

  • Suspensions for both teams will be a factor. Patriots running back LeGarette Blount, Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell and Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant are all suspended for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. With Blount and New England wide receiver Brandon LaFell also benched due to injury, Brady will be left with limited options. Luckily for him, star tight end and twerk-master Rob Gronkowski will be one of them.
  • The Patriots are favored to win. Las Vegas odds favor the Pats by 7, up from the 2.5-point favorite they were before Brady was exonerated last week. But what we saw from Brady’s preseason performances doesn’t inspire much confidence. He completed 10-22 passes for a measly 107 yards, and threw for one touchdown in three preseason games. Still, that’s based on a relatively small sample size.
  • The Steelers boast an impressive offensive combo. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Antonio Brown are one of the most potent offensive duos in the league. Last season, Roethlisberger was No. 2 in the league for passing yards with 4,952. He also threw for 32 touchdowns. Brown led the league in receiving yards, recording 1,698 along with 13 touchdowns. Especially with former Patriots corner back Darrelle Revis gone to the Jets, the New England defense will likely have its hands full.
  • Roger Goodell won’t be in attendance. Claiming that he doesn’t want his presence to distract from the football, the beleaguered NFL commissioner (who issued Brady’s since-overturned four game suspension) will break tradition and watch the season opener on TV.

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Price Soars For Key Weapon Against Heroin Overdoses

A nasal spray version of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone demonstrated at police headquarters in Quincy, Mass., in 2014.
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A nasal spray version of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone demonstrated at police headquarters in Quincy, Mass., in 2014. Gretchen Ertl/Reuters/Landov hide caption

itoggle caption Gretchen Ertl/Reuters/Landov

Around the U.S., a worsening heroin epidemic has more and more cities turning to the anti-overdose drug naloxone to reduce deaths from abuse. Also known as Narcan, the medication blocks the effects of opioids and reverses the respiratory depression that occurs during an overdose.

Baltimore recently stepped up its naloxone training, focusing on drug users, and their families and friends. So far this year, city health workers have taught nearly 4,400 people how to use naloxone. That’s more than quadruple the number trained in 2014.

A big concern for Baltimore and other cities is the price of naloxone, which has risen dramatically as demand has gone up. In February, the Baltimore City Health Department was paying about $20 a dose. By July, the price had climbed to nearly $40 a dose.

Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, places the blame squarely on the manufacturers and, in particular, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, the company that makes the naloxone most widely used by health departments and police.

“When drug companies increase their prices and charge exorbitant rates, they decrease the access to the drug,” Cummings said this summer. “There’s something awfully wrong with that picture.”

Amphastar says it raised prices because of increased manufacturing costs, including a rise in the prices of raw materials, energy and labor.

Naloxone isn’t a new drug. It was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1971 as an injectable medication, used primarily in hospital settings.

Today, Baltimore and other cities are choosing intranasal naloxone for community use — naloxone that can be sprayed into the nostril and doesn’t require needles. The intranasal delivery method isn’t explicitly approved by the FDA. Amphastar is currently the only company that makes naloxone in a dosage that can be administered that way.

Daniel Raymond is policy director for the Harm Reduction Coalition, which advocates for broader access to naloxone. He discussed naloxone pricing over the years, the changing market for the drug and what it means for prices and competition. Here are highlights, edited for length and clarity, from a conversation with All Things Considered‘s Audie Cornish.

On the price of naloxone a decade ago

When we started following this issue, it was over 10 years ago, and for the injectable naloxone it was about a dollar a shot. Each vial was dirt cheap. So it’s been a really dramatic increase over a fairly short period of time.

On how the market for naloxone has changed

Emergency rooms have traditionally been the main purchasers of naloxone. It’s also used by anesthesiologists, and it’s been used on some ambulances. So it was typically a hospital market. The hospital would buy in bulk, and there wasn’t a whole lot of prescribing going on.

Now we’ve got over 40 states that have passed laws facilitating access to naloxone, and have first responders carrying it and community distribution. That’s the majority of the country that’s moving in this direction of making naloxone more accessible.

On intranasal naloxone and potential new competitors

Amphastar is currently the only manufacturer in the U.S. who makes the dosage of naloxone used for intranasal administration. They have no competition. They can set whatever price they want, and almost a year ago, they decided to almost double that price. It’s hitting programs and health departments and first responders across the country really hard.

There are a couple companies that saw the need for an FDA-approved intranasal naloxone device. They’ve designed new devices that they’ve submitted to FDA for approval. So, I’m hoping by the end of the year, we’ll have one or two other intranasal naloxone devices available. The challenge will be whether these companies decide they want to compete on price, or they just want to take a share of the market.

On Evzio – the naloxone auto-injector

What the makers of Evzio — a company called kaleo — thought about was: Can we make something that your grandmother could use? So they designed this cartridge that’s an auto-injector. It actually talks you through the process of reversing an overdose. Now, they needed to do the research to show they had the right dose, to show that people could actually follow the instructions and use it without any training at all. And they needed to do all the manufacturing and assembling. So those R&D costs start to add up. The costs of the production line start to add up. Their gamble was, if they could take the complexity of educating somebody out of the picture, then they could drive more doctors to prescribe this.

On pharmaceutical companies’ pricing strategies

I think their choice in front of them is that they can have a narrow market at higher prices, or a much broader market at lower prices. Either way, they’re going to making money. The latter way, they’re saving more lives.

NPR and All Things Considered will continue reporting from Baltimore in the coming months, checking in with Baltimore Health Commissioner Leana Wen and her team periodically. Stay tuned for future stories.

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Songs We Love: Bridget Kearney & Ben Davis, 'Slow Rider'

Benjamin Lazar Davis and Bridget Kearney's new EP, Bawa, is out Sept. 18.
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Benjamin Lazar Davis and Bridget Kearney’s new EP, Bawa, is out Sept. 18. Tim Davis/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

itoggle caption Tim Davis/Courtesy of the artist

When Bridget Kearney and Benjamin Lazar Davis went to Ghana in 2014, they planned to travel and maybe make a few musical friends. They ended up spending the entire three weeks in the city of Accra, studying the traditional music of Northwest Ghana with master gyil player Aaron Bebe. The resulting EP, BAWA, treats the polyrhythmic peregrinations of the xylophone-like gyil not as a gimmick but as source material, a puzzle to be deconstructed and rearranged into a bright new collage.

Bridget Kearney & Benjamin Lazar Davis, Bawa (Signature Sounds Recordings)

Bridget Kearney & Benjamin Lazar Davis, Bawa (Signature Sounds Recordings) Courtesy of the artist hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of the artist

“Slow Rider” is the second song on BAWA, yet the release’s fourth track (each song is preceded by a snippet of the Bebe tune upon which it is based). It may take a few listens to tease out its ingredients because the playing is so dazzlingly complex. “Slow Rider” is more sedate, with the skeleton of a lopsided gyil riff and a lyrical electric guitar melody that trips along on top.

The Brooklyn-based Kearney and Davis are longtime collaborators. Kearney was a member of Davis’s sprawling avant-pop group, Cuddle Magic (she also plays bass in the up-tempo, stripped-down Lake Street Dive), and her knack for wordplay and for unexpected hooks has long been evident. Davis, on the other hand, has honed a weirder, texture-obsessed sensibility, and in fashion typical for his songs “Slow Rider” takes a while to get to the sweet spot, while spotlighting many of his favorite sounds (delicate snare drum hits and whispery harmony vocals). “You’re a slow rider, baby/ I’m a slow rider, hey hey,” Kearney sings in the chorus, and if it’s not immediately clear what a “slow rider” is, the song offers a definition of sorts, as it rises unhurriedly towards a state of gentle bliss.

Bawa is out on Sept. 18 on Signature Sounds.

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