September 22, 2015

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Entertainment September 22, 2015

Today in Movie Culture: Disney Parodies, The True Science of 'Ant-Man' and More

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

Movie Mashup of the Day:

Here’s the obligatory trailer mashup of Disney‘s animated The Jungle Book and their upcoming live-action remake (via Geek Tyrant):

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Movie Takedown of the day:

In anticipation of Pan, Honest Trailers reminds us how un-P.C. Disney’s Peter Pan is:

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Alternate Ending of the Day:

Big Hero 6 could have ended a whole lot sooner, according to the latest video by How It Should Have Ended:

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Movie Studio Parody of the Day:

While we’re on a roll with these Disney animated features, watch a student thesis film that offers a twisted spin on the brand (via io9):

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Vintage Images of the Day:

Anna Karina, from two angles, from 1967’s Anna. Happy 75th birthday to the French cinema icon!

Movie Science of the Day:

The Film Theorists explain why Ant-Man would have actually destroyed the world with his super powers:

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Supercut of the Day:

Yes, another dance scene supercut, but this one includes 100 movies all set to “Uptown Funk” (via Film School Rejects):

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Cosplay of the Day:

There weren’t enough women in Mad Max: Fury Road, so here’s Immortan Joan and War Girl, both photographed at DragonCon (via KamiKame):

Surreal Cartoon of the Day:

Animator Yoann Hervo made this weird tribute to the opening of The Simpsons and I can’t stop watching it:

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Classic Trailer of the Day:

Today is the 20th anniversary of the theatrical release of David Fincher‘s Se7en. Watch the original trailer for the movie, which stars Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt:

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Business September 22, 2015

Happy Birthday To Us All — Judge Rules Tune Is Public Domain

Good Morning to You Productions has won a lawsuit challenging the copyright of "Happy Birthday To You."

Good Morning to You Productions has won a lawsuit challenging the copyright of “Happy Birthday To You.” iStockphoto hide caption

itoggle caption iStockphoto

No more sitcom characters standing around a cake, singing “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.” No more Applebee’s servers clapping along to “Happy happy birthday, from Applebee’s to you!”

Well, they can if they want, but not because they’d have to pay the copyright holders of the popular “Happy Birthday To You” song. A federal judge in Los Angeles has ruled that Warner/Chappell Music’s claim to the rights, which earned them an estimated $2 million dollars a year, is not valid.

Warner had been collecting royalties on the song since the 1980s when it bought Birch Tree Group, the successor to Clayton F. Summy Co., which claimed the original copyright.

According to the Los Angeles Times:

“Judge George H. King ruled Tuesday afternoon that a copyright filed by the Summy Co. in 1935 granted only the rights to specific arrangements of the music, not the actual song itself.

“‘Because Summy Co. never acquired the rights to the Happy Birthday lyrics,’ wrote King, ‘defendants, as Summy Co.’s purported successors-in-interest, do not own a valid copyright in the Happy Birthday lyrics.'”

To arrive at his decision, the judge considered a 1922 songbook which features a version of the birthday song called “Good Morning and Birthday Song,” written by sisters Mildred and Patty Hill. That iteration of the tune includes the familiar “happy birthday to you” lyrics and is listed as appearing through “special permission” of the Summy Company with no mention of a copyright.

The lawsuit was filed against Warner by two filmmakers making a documentary about the song’s origins. The publisher charged $1,500 to use it.

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Health September 22, 2015

Rising Health Deductibles Take Bigger Bite Out Of Family Budgets

Note: Bars represent the average family premium for employer-based insurance.

Health care costs continue to rise, and workers are shouldering more of the burden.

The big reason? Skyrocketing deductibles.

More companies are adding deductibles to the insurance plans they offer their employees. And for those who already had to pay deductibles, the out-of-pocket outlays are growing.

Note: Bars represent the average family premium for employer-based insurance. Source: Kaiser Family Foundation survey hide caption

itoggle caption Source: Kaiser Family Foundation survey

Together that means that the average worker has to pay $1,077 before their health plan will cover any medical expenses, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation and The Health Research and Education Trust. That’s a 67 percent increase in five years.

The higher deductibles — combined with more modest but consistent increases in premiums — mean health cost for consumers are growing faster than income, and taking an ever larger bite out of household budgets.

“Deductibles have been going up so much faster than wages, almost seven times faster than wages,” said Drew Altman, president and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation. “When out-of-pocket costs are going up at a time when wages are flat, the pain level is still pretty high.”

He said higher deductibles are particularly difficult for people with chronic illnesses. “They may not get the health care they need if they have a very big deductible,” he said.

Nearly 2,000 employers were surveyed during the first half of 2015 about their health insurance benefits. The survey found that premiums rose about 4 percent. The average premium for family coverage obtained on the job is $17,545 annually, or $1,462 a month, the survey found.

The rise in 2015 continued a decade-long trend of relatively modest premium increases. Prior to 2005, insurance rates were rising at double-digit rates each year.

Still, smaller premium increases and higher deductibles are likely related.

“If you’re an employer … one of the things you can do to hold your premium down now — right away — is increase the deductible,” Altman says.

The premium slowdown is all but invisible to consumers, Altman says, because their own costs have risen so dramatically.

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