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eyedelater · 1 year

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the great ace attorney chronicles post

i went to a really cool video game / CD / DVD / comic / manga store and i HAD to patronize them because i don't want such stores to stop existing even if i'm not going to go there very often because it's quite far from where i live. so i bought the great ace attorney chronicles on switch because it was the only game i felt like i really wanted to buy.

i have played most of the other ace attorney games. i like them, but i'm not an active fan, if that makes sense? i love the weirdness of the characters. i like the game mechanics. the stories are usually fun. i even played the crossover game with professor layton a few years ago. so now the great ace attorney chronicles is both Great Ace Attorney games stuck together for my convenience?! how... convenient!!!

anyway this is the first time i've played an ace attorney game in several years and i started playing it with just a little trepidation. like what if it's not fun? but of course it'll be fun… but what if it's not? i was also interested to see how the english version approaches localization when this one explicitly and undeniably takes place in japan. i already knew that they couldn't localize the name of ryuunosuke naruhodou (apart from omitting a "u" from each name), and i also already knew that phoenix wright's non-localized name is naruhodou, so i was curious to see how they'd tackle it. it seems they've taken the approach of making jokes out of some of the names (iyesa nosa and kyurio korekuta, for example) while keeping the important characters' names intact and punless to the untrained eye (like you only know the pun of "naruhodo" if you know a little japanese). which i think is the best path they could have taken, given the difficult circumstances of pitting "an entire history of punful localized names in the series" against "keeping japanese names for characters who are clearly japanese." (i even just went to court-records.net to check on the japanese name of korekuta and yes of course it was a localization pun and his original japanese name was different. that means they also added or greatly changed brett's line about how the "kyuri" in his name is like the word for "cucumber.") very interesting. i'm eager to look at more fun localized or not localized names as i continue the game. that being said, i do want to know the naming puns for the characters whose names remain in japanese, like hosonaga. (without looking at the kanji… hosoi means thin and nagai means long, so is he mr. long and thin, is that the joke…? [note added in later: yes, that does seem to be the extent of the joke. even the kanji match.] ) and mikotoba (mi can mean beautiful, and kotoba is words, so is he mr. beautiful words, is that the joke…? but that doesn't have anything to do with being a professor of forensic science?? is it a different mi? is it body, is it 3? i don't know. [note added in later: it's a different mi. it's 御 which you usually see pronounced as "go" and the phrase 御言葉 mikotoba means "word of god" in a christian sense. so that's the joke?]) maybe i'll just play the whole game and then look up the jokes of everyone's names later?

(after playing the 2nd and 3rd chapters)

i did have a strong suspicion that kazuma was going to die. his death flag was "too flawlessly capable; not weird enough." there's no way someone that smart, capable, and helpful could survive an entire ace attorney game. his death was extra sad, though, because accidental deaths are sadder than murders, because there's nothing to get angry about.

i knew that we were expecting a Herlock Sholmes to appear. when i realized that in japanese they just called him sherlock holmes like normal, i was ready to be annoyed at the change that must have been due to some copyright problem (how's the conan doyle estate? don't care). but i was eventually pleased to see that the character of herlock sholmes is annoying as fuck and the annoying stupid name suits him perfectly, so i have no complaint.

i noticed that much of the english translation is in british english (though i feel like there might be some inconsistencies?) and that's a nice touch, i think. make us dumbass yanks read "defence" and "manoeuvring" and the like and we can't object because the game takes place in england. and the japanese characters are speaking english. the difficulty level of english they're speaking is very high. if they are speaking an accordingly high level of japanese in the original text, i bet it would be super difficult for me to read. i haven't read the original japanese whatsoever in any ace attorney games, but i get the strong impression that the localization team for this game has done an excellent job translating. a lot of the text does not feel translated at all, and you read it without it being obvious that it has been paraphrased by necessity. if that makes sense.

we met van zieks and he didn't seem to leave a strong antagonistic impression the way some prosecutors have. like for comparison, in the early games i remember being so pissed at edgeworth that it took me a long time to let him into my heart as a sympathetic character. he was such a strong antagonist in the courtroom that i could not let go of the feeling that he was going to be a thorn in my side. even auchi left a stronger impression of antagonism than van zieks because he just wouldn't shut the fuck up in the first trial. but van zieks didn't put up that much of a fight, did he? so it was a bit of a weak comeback after 5 years, wasn't it? and the defendant got a not guilty verdict by some incomprehensible technicality. it was a little bit pathetic. van zieks's animations and gestures were fantastic, though. i wanted to see the various white parts of his outfit get stained with red wine. i'm very interested to learn more about him. at this point, right after the third chapter, knowing what little we know about van zieks, i suspect that his backstory is sad. but maybe he'll put up more of a fight in the mean time before we get to learning about his character more personally.

i LOVE the way susato raises her eyebrows with pity and looks at you like you're the biggest fucking idiot in the world. she's the best.

all the ace attorney games up to apollo justice, i've played at least twice, maybe three times. it was fun, but looking back, that kind of game also presses some of my buttons that makes me remember it as something of a vexing struggle that we're glad is now over. like all these problems cropped up one after another and we solved them and now it's all set. so going back and replaying those games feels like it would be revisiting problems i've already solved and don't need to solve again (and it would also be extra vexing because i'll know i've solved them before but i won't remember exactly how to do it). so even though i do look back on ace attorney games fondly, i don't know if i want to replay them. (including this game when i'm done with it). even though there were some really really good moments that i might like to experience again. maybe i'll watch playthroughs or something.

i think van zieks isn't as satisfying an opponent as edgeworth partly because of the jury setup; it's like he and i have a common enemy, and that is the idiot jurors, so there isn't such an exciting animus between us, and something is lost. i also think the wine thing really isn't that funny the 10th time. and so far, he hasn't made the kind of really desperate, truly vexed face i want to see… it's like he's not really that invested. i want to see him come closer to fully losing his cool. he's too composed… i don't know. maybe he'll lose it later on. but that's two trials now. [note added in later: he did finally make some truly deranged poses at the very end of the second game. it was pretty satisfying to see his shoulders heaving with desperation.]

TANGENT: out of curiosity i started reading "i am a cat" by our unfortunate character and real life person Natsume Soseki, and i'm very tickled by it so far. i can really feel the love and skill that went into the translation as well; the formal wording they use is so consistently funny. this is truly the self-important and blithely curious viewpoint of a cat. given the complexity of the english vocabulary used, i bet the japanese is crazy difficult. but i certainly like it a lot better than a lot of what i had to read in school. (i heard it is a book often assigned to schoolchildren in japan.) it's also interesting how they sort of half-localized it, translating main character names so we get the puns but leaving place names and some characters' names untranslated? i wonder about that. (the version i'm reading is the 1972 translation by aiko ito and graeme wilson.) i also notice the story takes place during the russo-japanese war, a time period i am slightly familiar with from golden kamuy. the late meiji era. it seems like i'm in a late meiji era spectacular with these three works of fiction lately.

i bet the sequences with herlock's deductions are polarizing among players. if you're impatient, i bet they're excruciating. but i enjoy them well enough. herlock is such a reigen. he's such a dipshit. he's more of a dipshit than reigen.

overall i think the use of motion capture for the character models really adds something special. i appreciate that they went all-out with it and didn't stick only to Plausible posing. that being said, i don't think it hits the mark 100% of the time. (like some of natsume soseki's movements, for example...) plus there's the inherent uncanny contradiction of "moving smoothly between poses (human-like)" and "otherwise maintaining static poses (less human-like)," if that makes sense. like they don't have idle animations. i guess it's not a big deal. i also wonder if the use of 3d models made the animators less inclined to go wild with the faces. i think some of the faces should've gone a little wilder maybe? like if van zieks's eyes got much wider when he was upset or something? hard to pinpoint what i'm longing for.

windibank's little habit with the gun was not fucking cute or funny at all. what were they thinking. honestly.

i laid in my bed for 11 hours and played ace attorney until it wasn't fun anymore. i like that there is the story mode option for when you're stuck and you can't even be bothered to google the solution. i don't give even half a shit about the stupid achievements they have added in to the game. achievements are worthless and meaningless when it's a linear visual novel. especially on the nintendo switch. so even though i feel slightly miffed with myself on some level for using the autoplay option when it means that you get no achievements for that section… on a logical level, i don't care and am in fact more miffed by the fact that there are achievements at all. because that's dumb.

so there's gonna be some dramatic personal history reason why van zieks is racist against japanese people… ok

the more i look at ryunosuke, the more it sinks in… this isn't a word i use lightly, but the only word that can describe him… is "cutie." of course he strongly resembles phoenix wright, but phoenix was never this much of a cutie. ryunosuke is the one who is a cutie. he is just as much of a cutie as apollo justice. or almost.

i just wish van zieks's white gloves would turn red when he crushes the chalice of red wine in his hand. is that too much to ask?

(plays a lot more without writing any notes)

(i hated myself for wasting my saturday playing ace attorney in bed for 11 hours, but i did the same thing the next week.)

kazuma reappears in a cute and sexy new white outfit, obviously a foil to ryunosuke's all black outfit, and with a red splash-of-blood cravat at his neck to show that he died once. but the important part is the very large and unmistakable strap-on harness at his crotch. please tell me there's fanart where he straps the appropriate implement to the front of that thing.

i'm glad gregson turned out to be a bad guy. or, you know, grey area. when he showed up i was like, "are we supposed to like this guy? i can't tell… certainly he's not the gumshoe of this game… they wouldn't give him an annoying habit like constantly eating fish and chips if he was intended to be the gumshoe of this game… right…?" though i'll say that every time he showed up, i was well and truly struck with a VERY powerful craving for potato wedges. oh my god. i can practically taste them. fried fish i don't have such strong feelings about but oh my god. i need to get potato wedges soon. with the skin on. what was i talking about? gregson is not very likeable. i do appreciate the audacious character design of choosing not to endow the man with a chin.

what is the connotation of unicorns in japan? what about in britain? because as far as i know, to americans like me, the connotation is maaaybe "mystical magical legendary forest gracefulness" but primarily "little-girliness and silliness and like rainbows and sunshine cutesiness." so when stronghart appeared behind the bench and his usual walking stick had turned into a unicorn apropos of nothing??? and he bangs it like a gavel even though it doesn't have any surfaces that look good for banging on and he's gonna poke holes into the gaveling block??? and neither he nor anyone else comments on it, ever??? it was more baffling than anything. like, first of all, does this fit his motif, stylistically or symbolically? what message were they trying to send with the unicorn? and why is it suddenly a unicorn now that he's acting as the judge? why couldn't it have been a unicorn the whole time and then the joke is that he bangs his usual walking stick instead of a gavel? why didn't he use his usual walking stick? why is the joke instead that he put away his old walking stick, brought out his fancy unicorn walking stick, and used that as a gavel? just incomprehensible. (also was this guy's japanese name really "Hurt Vortex"? fantastic. that's awe-inspiring. ok to be fair you could have transliterated it as "Hart" instead and then it would actually be a plausible given name. if the localization team was hardcore they could've tried to make "vortex" work by approaching it from a dutch "voort" kind of angle. maybe.)

speaking of gavels, when jigoku was on the witness stand, i was really expecting him to bring out his own gavel. i know he had it in his pocket. he had it in his pocket when we last saw him. it would've been some very welcome comic relief if he had brought out his own gavel and banged it a little.

for years i went to court-records.net to get my explanations of ace attorney character name puns, but it seems they haven't updated it with names from great ace attorney resolve… the people running the site must have lost their thunder… i certainly don't have enough ace attorney thunder to go help them with their website. i guess i'll go to the reprehensible fandom wikia. (grits teeth) it's… very comprehensive and helpful... i looked up a lot of the japanese names of the characters and some of the puns are pretty weak. makes me feel better about some of the weaker localization puns. sometimes there's only so much you can do.

you can tell by the way the characters use both -san/-sama and Mr./Miss that they are frequently flipping back and forth between english and japanese. some hardcore person should put together a hack of these games in which they're speaking japanese for every line that they're speaking in japanese in canon and english for every line that they're speaking english. you'll have to come up with some creative solution for the names.

i have finished playing. i enjoyed the game (i.e., the duology of both games) but it didn't blow me out of the water. i would recommend it to someone who already likes visual novels and ace attorney games, and i will tentatively categorize it as "worth playing" if you already suspect that you might like it. but i won't replay it. i think the motion capture character animation was, on the whole, really funny and totally worth it. even just shamspeare alone was worth it. but like i said, i think some of the faces should've deformed a little more sometimes to show greater emotion. all the outfits were fun. i have to say that in terms of old-timey london aesthetic and interacting with funny londony characters while solving mysteries, that itch has been VERY well scratched by the professor layton series, so this really didn't feel like anything especially new or worthwhile in that respect. i wonder if the game's scenario wouldn't have been more fun if they had stayed in late meiji era japan. and i don't feel one way or another about how *erlock *olmes was involved in the story, but it's worth pointing out that in western culture, he is a pretty played out and tired character, completely lacking any kind of intriguing freshness. even reinventing him as a total reigen can't cleanse him of that tired feeling, in my view. though of course in the end you can't help but love him a little. and his excessively stylized trenchcoat was magnificent.

i guess it was interesting to play a game that starkly highlights the similarities and differences between victorian london and late meiji japan, with characters often butting heads between the two cultures, as someone who is part of neither culture (but who is a native speaker of one of the languages). though during my golden kamuy fixation i did spend a lot of time in the same era of japanese history. and as an english speaker in america, i've absorbed my fair share of cultural and historical information about victorian london. so i was a bit familiar with both cultures. but i guess my point is… they couldn't come up with a more fun or interesting flaw for van zieks than having him be racist against japanese people? i dunno. in conclusion, the culture shock element of the story was necessary but not very striking to me. it didn't leave a strong impression. and it's also worth noting that despite the characters constantly extolling their respective countries, looking back in history, no one nowadays really likes that both great britain and japan were Empires at that time… like, you know… imperialism turned out bad for a lot of people… it's actually quite a bad thing that they had in common.

it seems the last ace attorney game i haven't played yet is Spirit of Justice. i haven't decided whether i want to buy it. it feels like i've been out of touch with phoenix and apollo for a decade and i'd have to catch up again before i could play another game that features them. hmm...

well, what matters now is that i can finally look at some great ace attorney fanart.

#this goes on my anime/manga blog bc the work is originally in japanese.#the great ace attorney spoilers #dgs spoilers

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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From Lupin III to Inspector Gadget: Examining the Heirs of Arsène Lupin

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This piece contains spoilers for Netflix’s Lupin.

As Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief created by Maurice Leblanc in 1905, is a renowned master of disguise, it is fitting that he has inspired a number of literary characters to take up his mantle. Arguably the most recognizable riff is Lupin III, a copyright-infringing, quasi-canonical descendant by way of Japanese manga and anime. Yet it wasn’t until Netflix’s new French mystery comedy-drama series Lupin—which reinvented the source material through Omar Sy’s Lupin and the lenses of immigration, racism, and fandom—that readers and viewers have truly been challenged to consider what it means to inherit, whether through blood or through books, an iconic character’s legacy. Consider this a field guide to the many different Arsène Lupins.

What is immediately intriguing about both Lupins is that neither is as white as the top-hatted, monocled thief that Leblanc created over a century ago. Assane Diop (Sy), the charismatic lead of George Kay’s Lupin, is a Senegalese immigrant whose father Babakar (Fargass Assandé) brought him to Paris for a better life. The lethal mix of elitism and systemic racism that they encounter via Babakar’s employers, the Pellegrini family, are what shape young Assane’s life into a revenge narrative, but also become tools in his career as a gentleman thief. Yet even Lupin III, created in 1967 by manga artist Monkey Punch (a.k.a. Kazuhito Katō), is introduced as the French-Japanese grandson of Leblanc’s Arsène Lupin. In the Lupin the Third Part II episode “The Southern Cross Looked Like Diamonds,” which concerns Japanese casualties of the Pacific War, Lupin discusses his dual heritage. Both adaptations add texture to their Lupins’ stories by not allowing them to move through society quite as smoothly as the original French thief.

That said, Monkey Punch’s Lupin III certainly benefits from a fair amount of family legacy by carrying on his grandfather’s and father’s reputation as a world-renowned thief, marksman, master of disguise, womanizer—you name it. He’s almost more of a reincarnation of the original than a descendant, with the only real change being the shift in period from the early 20th century to the swingin’ sixties. Monkey Punch also drew from Lupin III’s contemporary James Bond to enhance some of those darker and more adult aspects in the manga, while basing Lupin’s on-again, off-again romance with bombshell spy Fujiko Mine on D’Artagnan and Milady de Winter’s relationship from Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers.

According to a 1995 issue of Manga Mania, Monkey Punch had initially considered keeping the blood connection a bit more under wraps, having not obtained the legal rights from Leblanc’s estate, but was convinced to embrace the Arsène Lupin connections. While Monkey Punch’s adoption of the Lupin persona wasn’t kosher by copyright standards, it was also very much in the spirit of the character—asking for forgiveness rather than permission—as well as the creator himself: Leblanc borrowed Sherlock Holmes for a few Lupin adventures before Sir Arthur Conan Doyle realized, and only then changed the detective’s name to “Herlock Sholmes” for subsequent showdowns. Still, it did eventually backfire for him, though it also led to, fascinatingly, beloved animated character Inspector Gadget (more on that later).

Lupin Part 2: 2021 Release Confirmed by Netflix

By Kirsten Howard

Perhaps the most beloved iteration of Lupin III is in Hayao Miyazaki’s 1979 film The Castle of Cagliostro. Monkey Punch’s manga cast Lupin III as a rather unsympathetic master thief: callous about his victims, a caddish ladies’ man who often harassed women he saw as little more than sex objects. While the anime quickly established a moral code—stealing from rich people who either deserved it or would not overly suffer for it—it was Miyazaki’s film that gave Lupin III real heart. In rescuing princess bride Clarisse from a Gothic marriage, he displays a surprising sense of chivalry, especially when the plucky girl wants to be his sidekick. Lupin’s silent agony over turning her down lends the otherwise carefree heist film a shocking touch of melancholy, and lays the groundwork for a more well-rounded Lupin III in future outings.

The Lupin III bloodline has extended several generations into the future, though none of these descendants made much of an impact beyond their respective adventures. First there was Lupin III Jr. (yes, that’s his name), the son of Lupin III and Fujiko, who only ever existed in the manga. Elusiveness of the Fog, the nineteenth Lupin III TV special, uses a time machine to jump ahead to 2883 and glimpse Lupin XXXIII, a.k.a. Lupin the 33rd, identical to his green-jacketed ancestor. He gets three whole lines and mostly seems like an excuse to show that thirty generations later, little about the iconic thief has changed.

In between those two there was Lupin the Eighth, would-be star of a 1982 spinoff created in collaboration between Lupin III studio TMS Entertainment and French-American studio DiC Entertainment. The Lupin VIII series would have jumped a conservative five generations ahead, with the familiar crew’s great-great-great-great-great-grandchildren carrying on the same names, traits, and rivalries and romantic entanglements. But when the Leblanc estate got wind of this Japanese/French collaboration showing up on their continent, they put the kibosh on the project; only the pilot was animated, and was shut down before vocals had been recorded.

Because TMS and DiC had already lost their investment, they scrambled to come up with a replacement for the timeslot. And so Inspector Gadget was created, with the trenchcoat-clad cyborg bumbling his way into viewers’ hearts. Despite his complete lack of suaveness compared to any version of Lupin, you could say that, in terms of staying power, Gadget was Lupin III’s true successor.

Yet while Lupin III had every familial and financial resource at his disposal to continue his grandfather’s and father’s work, everything Assane Diop needs to know he learns from a book. The Arsène Lupin books, which Babakar gifts him right before he is framed for stealing the priceless Queen’s Necklace from the Pellegrinis. Babakar’s arrest, guilty plea, and prison suicide leave Assane burdened with a strange inheritance of misfortune, words, and blood money—as Madame Pellegrini (Nicole Garcia) pays for fancy schooling he otherwise would not have been able to afford. Attending a prestigious academy is where he forges friendships with fellow morally gray criminal Benjamin Ferel (Antoine Gouy) and his eventual partner Claire (Ludivine Sagnier) and learns how to code-switch among his peers.

Presumably, that upbringing creates the scaffolding of connections that allows him to move through high society, but his wealth and prestige in adulthood is all due to Arsène Lupin. Assane studies those books like religious texts, like instruction manuals, like the last connection to his late father. His obsessive fandom provides him the blueprints for foolproof heists that he enhances with his own experiences at playing with disguise. Though he does later employ prosthetics for his appearance as Twitter user Salvator, for the most part Assane doesn’t obscure his face. Instead, he trusts in his marks’ implicit racial biases that they will buy him as a deadbeat dad and immigrant janitor Luis Perenna, then not blink twice when staring him in the face as millionaire Paul Sernine in the course of the same evening. In prison, he literally counts on a white guard’s inability to differentiate between two black men to switch places with a prisoner.

Assane also continues his father’s tradition of gifting the Arsène Lupin books to his own son for his 14th birthday: Raoul (Etan Simon), French-born, mixed-race and equally enamored of the gentleman thief’s adventures. While it’s unlikely that Assane wants his son to make the same dangerous enemies, he clearly wants Raoul to see himself in the character—and to see his father, who understandably has difficulty showing his true self to anyone.

This by-the-book adaptation (Arsène Lupin entered the public domain in 2012) engages with the notion that anyone can embody an iconic character—that their skin color or class upbringing doesn’t have to match the original, that they don’t have to be a blood relation to inherit a persona. For all that Lupin III exists in his own right and will endure as a classic franchise, Assane Diop’s Lupin may be the truer heir to the gentleman thief’s legacy.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Lupin is available to stream now on Netflix.

The post From Lupin III to Inspector Gadget: Examining the Heirs of Arsène Lupin appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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shauncartoons · 4 years

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Works Entering the Public Domain in 2020

At the stroke of midnight hundreds if not thousands of books, songs, paintings, etc. first published in 1924 will be entering the public domain in the United States, the second year in a row this has happened after a twenty year extension that went into effect near the end of 1998, and as the year comes to a close let us take a look at some of the highlights of works I find of interest that will soon be available to all, including the first film adaptation of Peter Pan and the first appearance of the character who would later become known as Winnie the Pooh. I should note that for the purposes of this article that I will be focusing mainly on United States copyright law as laws differ from country to country and some of the works below will still be copyrighted in some countries, along with a few that will only be entering the public domain in the United States for reasons that will be explained.

How long copyright lasts

Before diving into the meat of the article, it will be helpful to explain the basics of how long copyrights last and what the public domain is. All creative works are protected for a certain amount of time after fixation and/or publication and after the copyright for a work expires, it enters the public domain where all can use it however they please in most cases. How long that copyright lasts depends on the laws on the country and in some cases the type of work. In the United States, copyrights on all works published before 1978 last for a period of 95 years with a few exceptions. The main exception are sound recordings as, due to a wide range of state and federal legal complications going back decades, none will enter the public domain prior to the start of 2022 when all recordings released before 1923 will become public domain. The other main exception to the 95 year rule is if a work was first published before 1978 and did not have a copyright notice, which released a work into the public domain immediately, or was released before 1964 and its copyright was not renewed after 28 years. These rules only apply to works that were first published in the United States and does not apply to most foreign works as, due to a number of reasons that will not be covered here, many works originating from outside of the U.S. that expired for such reasons had their copyrights restored in the mid-1990s as most countries do not have formality requirements, and even the ones who did largely abandoned them long ago.

In most countries outside of the United States and all works published after 1977 in the U.S , copyrights last for a certain amount of time after the author’s death, usually 50 or 70 years though others have terms that are either longer or shorter. Only a handful of countries have terms outside of that range with a few going as low as around 20 years after the author dies, a few go up to 75 and 80 years, and Jamaica and Mexico have the longest terms with 95 and 100 years after the author’s death respectively. Some, like India, go between the two with a term of 60 years after the author’s death. Sound recordings and corporate works usually have fixed terms, but they not always. Things get even more complicated for movies as while many countries give them a fixed copyright length, others do not and determining the author of a film can be complicated. For the purposes of this article when determining a film’s copyright status outside of the U.S. I will use the laws for movies used in countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany which determines the copyright length based on the last survivor of the main director, screenwriter, and composer.

In many countries, a copyright set to expire in a given year expires on January 1 of the following one. This is why all works from 1924 are entering the public domain at the start of 2020 in the U.S. instead of entering it at various points throughout 2019.

Works entering the public domain outside of the U.S.

While I will be focusing on the United States public domain in this article, I will also try to determine the status of a work in other countries if possible and start off by mentioning a few authors whose works are entering the public domain in countries with life+70 and life+50 terms, with some notable works being listed in parenthesis.

In life+70 countries, all works from authors who died in 1949 will be entering the public domain. Some examples include works by composer Richard Strauss (Don Juan, Also sprach Zarathustra), Margaret Mitchell (Gone With the Wind), and Richard Connell (The Most Dangerous Game). The original 1922 version of Nosferatu, considered to be one of the earliest vampire films and the first (though unauthorized) adaptation of Dracula, is also entering the public domain in many countries including its native Germany as screenwriter Henrik Galeen died in 1949. In life+50 countries works from authors who died in 1969 will enter the public domain including songwriters such as Frank Loesser (Baby, It's Cold Outside).

Works entering the public domain in the U.S.

This is a list of selected works from 1924 broken down into categories:

Music:

· Tzigane by Maurice Ravel

o Ravel died in 1937, so this composition is public domain in most of the world.

· Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin

o Gershwin died in 1937, so this composition is public domain in most of the world.

· It Had To Be You by Gus Kahn (lyrics) and Isham Jones (music)

o Gus Kahn died in 1941, so the lyrics are public domain in life+70 countries. Isham Jones died in 1956, so the music is public domain in life+60 countries.

· All Alone, The Call of the South, Lazy, and What’ll I Do by Irving Berlin

o Irving Berlin died in 1989, so these songs are still copyrighted in most of the world.

Movies:

· He Who Gets Slapped, starring Lon Channey and directed by Victor Sjöström

o Screenwriter Carey Wilson died in 1962, so the film is public domain in countries where the term is life+50.

o The movie is based on a play by Leonid Andreyev that was published in 1914. Since he died in 1919, the play is public domain worldwide and has been for some time.

· Peter Pan, starring Betty Bronson and directed by Herbert Brenon.

o Screenwriter Willis Goldbeck died in 1979, so this film is still copyrighted in most of the world.

o This movie is based on James M. Barrie’s play (which would be published in its final form in 1928) and had his direct involvement. Since he died in 1937, the play is public domain in most countries besides the U.S. (though the 1911 novel version entered the public domain long ago) and a limited exception in the United Kingdom regarding royalties.

Novels and Short Stories:

· A few works by Agatha Christie including the novel The Man in the Brown Suit along with several short stories featuring characters such as Hercule Poirot and Tommy and Tumpance.

o Agatha Christie died in 1976, so these works are still copyrighted in most of the world.

o The Man in the Brown Suit Introduced the character Colonel Race, who would go on to appear in later Christie works such as Death on the Nile.

· The Illustrious Client, The Sussex Vampire, and The Three Garridebs by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

o Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Doyle died in 1930, so these stories are public domain in most countries.

o These are among the last of the original Sherlock Holmes stories. Not including the above stories, only six of the original 56 stories are copyrighted in the U.S.

· The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell

o As mentioned earlier, this work is also entering the public domain in life+70 countries as Richard Connell died in 1949.

o The 1932 film version is also public domain in the U.S. as its copyright was never renewed.

· When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne

o Since A.A. Milne died in 1956, this book is public domain in life+60 countries.

o This is a collection of poems. One of them, “Teddy Bear” was the first appearance of a character named Edward Bear who would be given the name Winne the Pooh in 1925. Under that name, he would go on to be featured in many stories published between 1926 and 1928.

· Grampa in Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson

o Since Ruth Plumly Thompson died in 1976, this book is still copyrighted in most countries.

o This is the eighteenth Oz book and the fourth written by Thompson, who continued the series following L. Frank Baum’s death in 1919. All of the Oz books in the “famous forty” published after this are still copyrighted with the exception of seven that were not renewed.

· The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann

o Since Thomas Mann died in 1956, this book is public domain in life+60 countries.

o The first English translation of one of Mann’s earlier works, Buddenbrooks¸ is also entering the public domain.

· The Dream by H.G. Wells

o Since H.G. Wells died in 1946, this book is public domain in life+70 countries.

Comics and Cartoons:

· Roughly 20 Felix the Cat shorts, though some were already in the public domain as they were not renewed.

· Ten of the Disney Alice Comedies.

· Little Orphan Annie by Harold Gray debuted in 1924 as a Sunday and daily strip.

o Since Harold Gray died in 1968, these comics are public domain in life+50 countries.

Works not included above and why:

If you looked at the works listed above some of you might notice a few notable works first released in 1924 that I did not mention and there is a reason for that. In the film section some might have noticed that the original version of The Thief of Baghdad staring Douglas Fairbanks and directed by Raoul Walsh was not listed. Similarly, the original version of Gertrude Chandler Warner’s The Boxcar Children is missing from the book section. The reason I omitted these is because they were already in the public domain since neither of them had their copyright renewed. However, this only applies in the U.S. as both works are still copyrighted outside of the U.S. since Raoul Walsh died in 1980 and Gertrude Chandler Warner in 1979. One should also exercise caution with The Boxcar Children as the similar though heavily revised version published in 1942 did have its copyright renewed along with its sequels. The same is also true of the 1940 remake of The Thief of Baghdad.

In the coming weeks and certainly over the course of the year, I will try to post some of the above works, mainly some of the poems, short stories, and arrangements of some of the musical works.

#public domain #public domain day #1924

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ramajmedia · 5 years

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Characters That Should Be Public Domain (If It Wasn't For Disney)

Disney's corporate lobbying means a whole host of characters and concepts are still in copyright, when they'd otherwise be in the public domain. The relationship between Disney and Sony Pictures recently broke down, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe losing Spider-Man as a result. In an ironic twist, without Disney's lobbying, Spider-Man would be in the public domain by now.

Disney has long been fighting a running political battle to ensure the copyright license to Mickey Mouse continues for as long as possible. As a direct result of Disney's lobbying, in 1976 and again in 1998, Congress extended the duration of copyright to allow Disney to keep Mickey safe and secure. These extended copyright terms have had a strange effect on the entertainment industry, especially given film studios and networks increasingly depend on old and established franchises. If not for Disney, a number of high-profile superheroes would now be public domain, which would have a profound impact on Hollywood.

Related: Disney Has Just Had Its Worst Week

There are literally hundreds of established franchises that are still protected because of Disney's corporate lobbying. Let's take a look at some of the ones that are only protected because of the last extension, in 1998.

The most obvious one is Mickey Mouse's origin story, Steamboat Willie, which Disney has been scrambling to protect all this time. The copyright to Steamboat Willie is currently set to expire in 2024, which will bring Disney's best-known character into the public domain. The House of Mouse seems to have accepted defeat at last, and there's no evidence they're intending to push for another extension.

Created by A.A. Milne in 1924, Winnie the Pooh is a very important bear indeed. Comic book pioneer Stephen Slesinger bought the copyright from Milne in 1930, and his widow licensed the rights to Disney in 1953. In 1991, the Slesinger family sued Disney, claiming they'd been short-changed in the deal, and the court case dragged out some 18 years before the House of Mouse emerged triumphant. The irony is that the copyright would have long since expired if not for the 1976 extension, and anyone would be able to use Winnie the Pooh. The bear of very little brain will become public domain in 2026.

The general story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is long since public domain, but Disney's specific portrayal is copyrighted until 2032. Until then, anyone can make a Snow White story, but the House of Mouse alone can call the Dwarves Grumpy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Dopey, Happy, Bashful, and Doc. What's more, Snow White isn't the only Disney film currently protected thanks to the extensions to copyright; the same is true of Pinocchio as well.

Related: All The Live-Action Disney Remakes In Development

Ironically, Disney's corporate lobbying also secured extended copyright for some of their rivals' trademarks as well. Take the example of Bugs Bunny, whose first story falls into the public domain in 2035. There's some discussion on whether Warner Bros. will attempt to claim Bugs is their "intellectual property," which may give them a way to keep the bunny to themselves for a little longer. It would, no doubt, be contested.

In 2015, veteran producer Don Murphy (Natural Born Killers, Transformers) announced that he was beginning work on Armageddon 2419, a movie that was based on Philip Nowlan's first Buck Rogers novel. Unfortunately, he sound wound up embroiled in copyright law, simply because the character is never named "Buck" in that first book, and it's wound up going to court. In the case of Buck Rogers, different aspects of the hero's character and arc will become public domain depending on when they were published. Again, this issue would have passed long ago if not for the copyright extensions.

Comic books are big business nowadays, if only because they inspire some of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters of all time. But, if not for the copyright extensions of 1976 and 1998, a lot of iconic characters would have begun to enter the public domain. How would Warner Bros. deal with a world in which anyone could make a Superman film? THR spoke to a Warner Bros. lawyer, who contended that trademark law - a separate form of intellectual property - may apply in this case. They further pointed out that not everything is black and white when dealing with serialized works like comic books. "Superman's power of flight was not introduced until some years after the character first appeared," they noted. The copyright will begin to expire in 2033, and it's safe to say this one's going to wind up in court.

Superman isn't the only DC superhero to be affected by this. Batman was created in 1939, and his copyright is currently due to end in 2034. This will prove quite an interesting case, because Batman is well known for the quality of his rogues' gallery, and many of those characters - including the Joker - won't be in public domain for a few years after. Even Batman's loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth wasn't created until 1943, meaning he can't be used until 2038.

The problem facing Warner Bros., though, will be that many of Batman's core attributes are implied in the original comics. In 2014, the Conan Doyle estate attempted to strengthen Sherlock Holmes copyright in court, and failed. As influential Judge Richard Posner observed, "the ten Holmes-Watson stories in which copyright persists are derivative from the earlier stories, so only original elements added in the later stories remain protected." Again, this will be tested in court - and given the strength of the Batman brand, it's safe to say Warner Bros. will do everything in their power to keep the Dark Knight safe.

Related: The Best Superhero Movie Performances Of The Decade

Marvel's heroes were generally created later, in the 1960s and beyond, and so wouldn't yet be affected by this copyright debate. One exception, however, is Captain America himself. He was created in 1941 and, without the 1998 legislation, he'd be in public domain as well; in this case, the copyright will expire in 2036. This is one case where the serialized nature of comic books really will kick in, though. As an example, his sidekick Bucky Barnes will lose copyright in 2036 as well, but Bucky's later Winter Soldier identity certainly wasn't implicit in the original comics. That particular arc will be safe until 2100.

The current extended copyright terms have had a strange effect on American culture. Companies like Disney and Warner Bros. remain focused on characters and concepts that are decades old, rather than creating new brands, and as a result, nostalgia has become the driving force of contemporary society. The current Golden Age of superhero films is largely based on characters from the 1940s through to the 1960s, and few new brands have the power of superheroes like Batman, Superman, Iron Man, the X-Men, and Captain America. The world would no doubt be very different if copyright terms were shorter, and if corporate lobbying hadn't successfully changed the laws to protect a certain mouse.

More: The Winners And Losers Of The 2019 Summer Box Office

source https://screenrant.com/characters-public-domain-disney-copyright-lobby/

#screenrant

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justanotherdumpingground · 5 years

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Chapter Reviews: May 14-18, 2019

Across the Void Chapter 22:

The fighting sequence was pretty intense. I bought the reflective armor just in case anything goes wrong. Turns out a lot of things go wrong if I don't pay diamonds, primarily on Holmes, Zaniah, and Oberon. I may not be attached to them in any way, but it's really idiotic to have to spend diamonds to save characters's lives when strategic choices would be a better option.

That was an anticlimactic ending. I expected a long scene showing the consequences of my decision to hand the astral charges to the Vanguard and Jura, but nope. All I saw is everything fading to black while my MC and Sol just stood there as the Vanguard and Jura receive the astral charges. This is just...

Honestly, never in my have I felt cheated from something I promised than this story. The first half of the story is sluggish, I barely know about the setting aside from Lektra and Matara, the Vanguard vs. Jura conflict is never fully explained, and the characters are largely underdeveloped. Kepler gets the most development, but that's not saying much. Not to mention that having to pamper a bunch of mostly worthless passengers doesn't immerse me into the story. There's so much wasted potential that could fit in a blog post that I won't bother cramming in here. Unless Pixelberry doesn't add proper epilogue scenes for the final choice and the characters who can live or die, I'm never touching ATV again. And if PB sventually does that, chances are still extremely low. The damage had already been done.

High School Story: Class Act Chapter 14:

No surprise Rory won against Lorenzo, and I'm relieved the latter took his defeat well. Still rather salty that he and Amber were never punished for endangering the kitten, but I'm mostly relieved that the election drama is over. It's boring me to no end.

Aiden making a wood pun was so funny I wish I could replay the chapter just to get a screenshot of it. Clearly old MC's dad has influenced him. I swear, it's always a delight to see my old MC and Aiden together.

Speaking of delight, I'm so glad my new MC gets to be official with Skye. Honestly, this book would've gotten worse if it wasn't for her. Not only did she express her concerns about the election drama tearing her friends apart, but she also urged Rory and the twin to cooperate for once. Pity I didn't spend my diamonds on her for most of the time, but I will if I replay Class Act.

Wishful Thinking Chapter 6:

I'm so glad I adopted the cat and puppy. Reading their thoughts is funny, especially the part where Jaime fed the puppy peanut butter whenever the MC's away. Even the cat wanting to be pampered is adorable. So glad I got to adopt those two.

Does anyone think Charlie is up to no good? Sure he seems like a charming person, but he seems to have an agenda, and I want to investigate him further. I hope Anna will be fine.

I freaked out at Mira Banerji's model recycled for a lawyer, along with her outfit. What kind of lawyer wears an apron? Why didn't PB just have Mira make a cameo appearance preparing food for the gala guests?

For love interest, it's a toss-up between Jaime and Anna for me. I'm not invested in the romance aspect, so I'll take my time.

Power outages are a nuisance, and the one in the studio is no exception. But do the ones here have to freak out so much that it comes across as slightly melodramatic?

Passport to Romance Chapter 10:

Great, Ahmed just screwed himself up by staying up late. To be honest, his coach was right to scold him for such irresponsible behavior. He really should've returned to the hotel early in the previous chapter.

Oh hi, Julian Castillo! I miss seeing you in High School Story.

Kinda glad Marisa saved Ahmed's game by giving him the food he desperately needs. He should've eaten a light snack first, I think.

I got the soccer terms from Elliot mostly right, though it's a mix of guesses and my own knowledge. I'm no soccer fan, even though it's popular from where I'm from. Still no fan of Elliot using it to act condescending towards MC. It doesn't help matters that he didn't bother inviting Marisa and Sumire to his private box, just the MC. Hmph!

Honestly, how dumb is this MC? They're always late to stuff, they're clueless on what they're blogging about, they couldn't bother looking up their friends's names unless told to, they invaded someone's privacy, and they dragged their friends into countless fiascos. What was Yvette thinking when she hired them in the first place? And now they missed the flight due to carelessness. I swear, this story's nagging me.

I even read someone commenting that livestreaming a soccer match is copyright infringement, which makes it really stupid of MC and might spell doom to the magazine as well as the vlog.

Nightbound Chapter 5:

The fight scene was okay, and I think Cal having visible body hair is a nice break from the clean shaven chests found in all other male characters. I think it's part of being a werewolf. And it's great of the MC to tackle the cheater trying to make Cal lose.

During the meeting with the werewolves, I chose to accept Octavia's challenge, and I managed to impress her. I wish this scene is free instead of paywalled. That would've given some means to persuade the pack in case it comes in handy.

Speaking of the pack, can these people realize that the MC is innocent of Kristof's death? He was the one who wanted a bloodwraith as a trophy, and the one that got summoned killed him. In other words, he brought this on himself. I hope Octavia can be persuaded to calm these people down.

Open Heart Chapter 14:

Dang, this is another intense chapter, and I like it as well! First of all, Landry deserves to be kicked out of Edenbrook. How dare he act like he has the higher moral ground by saying it's the right thing to inform even though he sabotaged MC's pager, delaying their ability to treat patients. I know he's a suspect, but to see him stoop that low just to get to the top spot and impress Ethan pisses me off.

The subway train derailment accident was so tense thant I though I'll accidentally kill patients if I give them the wrong tags. I gave a red tag on a patient in a vegetative state, and Ines said there's nothing that can be done for him, which left me scared that I'll mess up. On a brighter note, helping Aurora focus on treating patients when she was overwhelmed felt good. Sure, she was cold and aloof towards others, but in a situation with so many injured patients, it's imperative to toss away old grudges and focus on the bigger picture. Besides, Aurora deserves my sympathy for having to deal with sycophants trying to exploit her aunt's status as chief of medicine. Not to mention she's good with patients, apart from the incident with Dolores, which turned out to be a crafty ploy to put MC at the top of the list.

Rafael just earned my respect. On one hand, I was scared upon seeing him severely injured after rescuing a little girl. On the other hand, I admire his courage as a paramedic willing to rescue others and ensure their safety, even at great risk of his own life. It was a no brainer for me to pick the premium option to operate on him. He deserves a speedy recovery.

Speaking of no-brainers, that premium option to accompany Sienna as she breaks up with Wayne was super sweet and satisfying. I was pissed off at him dismissing the subway train accident in favor of dinner time with Sienna, then had the gall to assume she dumps her responsibilities on others. I even called him by the barrage of expletives.

Man, I'm worried for my MC now that he confessed to giving Mrs. Martinez thd medication. I know his career will be saved, most likely with Ethan's intervention, but situations like this aren't meant to be taken lightly, and I respect Harper's stance on this issue. On another note, I wanna comfort Aurora after her aunt said she's disappointed in her. She did her best in treating the patients, especially since I helped her regain her composure.

Bloodbound Chapter 1:

Finally Book 2's out! I miss playing Bloodbound that I replayed Book 1 and spent diamonds on Kamilah and the portrait fragments. I managed to complete Book 1 before starting Book 2, so I feel ready for this.

The MC's dream with Nicole Anderson's ghost, a mysterious woman in white, and a bleeding tree gives me the creeps. My guess is that this figure is the First Vampire or one of the vampires created by her, just like Gaius Augustine. That makes her an important figure in the story, especially for lore and the storyline. I'm already excited.

Something doesn't feel right with Jax's assistant Nikhil. He claimed to be turned during the early 19th Century and went into hiding until his discovery, even though the clan system was established during the 1920s. Not helping matters is the disappearance of a dozen humans in Central Park. Scholar Jameson and Gaius Augustine are the prime suspects, but Nikhil shouldn't be ruled out, especially considering his resemblance to the woman in white.

Speaking of my MC and the love interests, I'm so glad to see them again. I'm proud of Lily for creating an app allowing vampires to connect together. This better come in handy for everyone in case things go south. Even better, the Shadow Den looks nice and spiffy from much-needed funds. My only insecurity is that I have to see Priya and The Baron again. As anyone knows, I have nothing but contempt for those two, though Lester's not far behind.

That scene with the hooded guy attacking and kidnapping the MC got me worried for her well-being. Nevertheless, I can't wait for more.

#choices stories you play #chapter reviews

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